"Fate has always possessed the habit of not going as one planned." Izroth said in a carefree manner.
Niflheim nodded, "However, I have to say that I didn't expect to see you here. In Opal Town..."
As Izroth and Niflheim continued to speak, the others were a bit taken aback. Originally, they thought that Niflheim was coming over to make some sort of ridiculous demands or threats. After all, Minus had not left them with a good impression of Blue Oasis.
However, Izroth seemed to know Niflheim and they did not feel any kind of hostile intent between the two. Maybe they had been hasty in their judgment towards Blue Oasis based solely off of their encounter with Minus.
"I wondered what party would be so bold as to fight over a rare boss with two top guilds present." Niflheim said with a slight grin on his face.
"It would seem that the two of you have more pressing matters to attend to." Izroth said as he swept his gaze towards Zhang Jie in the near distance.
"That's why I came over here to warn you, Izroth. You and your party should leave this area while you still have the chance. I am unable to predict what will happen next, but there's a high chance that things will not go smoothly." Niflheim said in a serious tone of voice.
Izroth, of course, could feel the tension rising between the members of Blue Oasis and Cross Haven. He had met a few members of Cross Haven, but they had not been unreasonable.
While Izroth understood that there were multiple personalities embedded into a guild, they still in many ways operated like a sect from the Seven Realms. For example, no matter how benevolent and righteous a sect was, there was always a few bad apples in the mix.
But, in the end, you could determine a sect's moral based on the core concept they followed. In this way, the guilds within RML were no different. After all, very few would choose to freely stay amongst people who did not have a moral compass similar to their own.
"How is that possible? There have never been any issues between Cross Haven and Blue Oasis to my knowledge." Zi Yi frowned and could not help but to bring up that piece of information. To her knowledge, while the two could not be called close allies, they were definitely far from enemies and did not have conflicting views.
Niflheim was a bit surprised by Zi Yi's question. Everyone who did not live under a rock should have heard about what happened. But, when Niflheim saw the inquiring look upon everyone faces, he knew that they truly were in the dark about things.
"This-" Niflheim furrowed his brows as he thought about how to put it into words that would not implicate Blue Oasis.
"Let's just say that things have been a bit shaky between our two guilds during this event." Niflheim said.
'Something doesn't add up.'
That was the first thought that crossed Izroth's mind. No matter which angle he looked at it from, this entire situation was illogical. There were too many questions that had answers that did not make any sense.
For example, why did Cross Haven arrive before Blue Oasis in their own sector? It was more than just good planning or a coincidence, that much was obvious to Izroth. But, the thing that made him question everything was the actions of one particular individual.
"We are thankful for your concern, however, we are more than capable of taking care of ourselves." Izroth said.
Niflheim figured that he would say something like that, but he still decided to give it a try. Though, the main reason he wanted to meet with Izroth was to discuss something else entirely.
"Then, I have nothing more to say on that matter." Niflheim said as he turned towards the direction Zhang Jie was in.
Zhang Jie stood there with his spear in hand without a hint of worry about him. In fact, there was a strange calmness that drifted around him.
"Izroth, after this event is over I hope that we can discuss a few things. I have a proposition for you that I believe will benefit both of us. Since the message system is down due to the event and it's a more private matter, you'll have to excuse the delay in information. Just know that it will be worth your time." Niflheim said as he began to walk towards Zhang Jie.
"Until we cross paths again." Niflheim gave a small wave as he departed.
'Something worth my time, hm?'
Izroth did not mind meeting with Niflheim after the event, but right now he had a more important task at hand and so pushed it to the back of his mind for now.
"So that's why I was still unable to access the message system earlier. This event has disabled the messaging function as well." Luna said.
"It would be nice to have more information on what happened between Cross Haven and Blue Oasis, however, no one seems willing to talk about it." Zi Yi said with a small frown on her face.
"What do their problems have to do with us?" Halls asked.
"For now, nothing. But, that may change sometime in the near future. Therefore, it's necessary to collect as much information as possible so that we can be prepared for as many potential outcomes as possible." Zi Yi explained.
"Whatever it is, we should remain vigilant. If a battle does break out between both sides, then we may get caught in the crossfire." Izroth reminded them.
As he spoke, Izroth felt someone's gaze set directly on him in the nearby distance. When he turned to see who it was, he saw that Minus was glaring knives and daggers at him.
Minus wanted nothing more than to go over there and put Izroth in his place. Not only did he steal a rare boss from right under his nose, but he also made him drop down one rank on the event points leaderboard. How could he not be angered?
"Hmph, just you wait. If you think that this will end just like this, then you're just as foolish as the rest of them." Minus said to himself as a merciless look flashed through his eyes. He released a low grunting sound before pulling back with his main party members.
"Here I was hoping that he made a move!" Guan Yu said in a disappointed tone of voice.
"He will make a move, eventually. However, the results will be far from his ideal." Izroth said.
Not too far from their current location, Niflheim and Zhang Jie could be seen speaking with one another. But, a few moments later, a player rushed over and whispered something in Zhang Jie ears which caused his facial expression to turn more serious.
"Captain Niflheim, it seems the battle between our two guilds will have to be delayed. Our General Wang Qiang sends his regards." Zhang Jie said in a way that sounded almost playful.
"Indeed, General Zhang Jie. It would seem that we both have some unfinished business to settle. Give General Wang Qiang my regards." Niflheim said.
"We're pulling back!" Zhang Jie ordered. This order shocked everyone, including the members of Cross Haven. They had come all this way just to turn back around with nothing to show for it. What was the point of such a thing?
"Everyone, we're falling back!" Niflheim ordered the members of Blue Oasis he arrived with who were similarly confused by his orders. However, they would not question the orders of someone given the power of the Second Order.
"They have taken the bait." Niflheim said to himself. It was time to force the snake in hiding to reveal itself.
...
Meanwhile, within Hypers Symphony's sector, the guild was currently being hit hard by Sage Falls. The attack had come out of nowhere and caused them to suffer numerous losses.
Although Hypers Symphony was also a top guild, they were not as strong combat wise as Sage Falls. Therefore, they were on the losing end of the battle. But what they failed to understand was what Sage Falls gained by doing this.
"Virus! Has Sage Falls gone mad?!" The guild leader of Hypers Symphony, Wang Ping, shouted at one of the attacking players.
Wang Ping stood around 178cm tall with an average build that was more on the slim side. He had black hair with a single purple stripe going down the side, a pair of gray eyes, and a handsome appearance. He wore a purple scholar's robe with white magic markings and a purple orb gravitated constantly around his body.
"Gone mad from attacking a bunch of weaklings? Hah, don't flatter yourselves!" Virus responded. He was one of the Six Hands of Sage Falls, which could be compared to the Seven Captains from Blue Oasis.
Virus wore a pure silver mask and similarly wore a scholar's robe. The only difference was that his scholar robe was pure black in color with purple magic markings. Hovering in front of Virus was an opened hardcovered book with strange text on the cover.
"I do not wish to fight without purpose." Wang Ping said as he made a few hand gestures as the orb gravitating around him began to spin faster and released a steady stream of magic energy.
A few moments later, a strong gust of wind blew throughout the surrounding area and a howl of a wolf filled the air. A wolf with wind magic constantly flowing around its feet, neck, and body had appeared before Wang Ping.
Wang Ping's class was one that was branched from the summoner's class. After another set of hand gestures, another wolf creature had formed before Wang Ping. However this time, it was a wolf encompassed in fire magic.
"Twin Wolf Summons: Wind&Fire." Wang Ping then controlled the wolves to attack together. The wind wolf released a powerful gust of wind magic towards Virus. At the same time, the fire wolf spewed a concentrated blast of fire magic from its mouth which fused with the wind magic.
The two attacks exploded just before reaching Virus and fused together creating a small contained fire tornado.
Virus, however, was prepared for the attack. The book in front of him flipped through multiple pages before a dark purple light flashed and corroded the fire tornado. It was as if something were eating away at it as the magic soon disappeared altogether.
Wang Ping frowned. No matter what attack he threw at Virus, it was devoured by some strange purple light that seemed to have no limit. If things continued on at this rate, then it would not be long before he ran out of mana.
Virus' book flipped through a few more pages before a beam of purple light shot out towards Wang Ping. "Make this easier on yourself and just submit. Otherwise, your end will not be pleasant." Virus said in a threatening manner.
"It's too fast." Wang Ping tried to command one of his summons to intercept the blow, but the beam of light was simply too fast.
Ding!
However, just as the beam of light as about to pierce through Wang Ping, the sound of it crashing against something metallic rang in his ears.
Standing in front of Wang Ping was a player wielding a shield with magic symbols carved into it in one hand and a saber with a faint glow around it in the other.
"General Wang Qiang!" Wang Ping was shocked to see Wang Qiang appear here out of nowhere. Even though they were allies with Cross Haven during this event, it was mostly in name only. He did not expect them to actually come to their aid in such a timely manner.
"Guild leader Wang Ping, I have much to explain. But first, we should take care of the infestation that invades your sector." Wang Qiang said as he locked his gaze onto Virus.
"Impossible...!" Virus was shocked. What was Wang Qiang, the main strategist of Cross Haven, doing at a place like this when a huge fight against Blue Oasis was getting ready to take place?
"Virus, you truly live up to your name. However, I happen to know of a unique strategy to get rid of viruses like you. Though it's nothing too complex, you just have to be eradicated!" Wang Qiang then gave the order as around two hundred Cross Haven members coming in from all sides joined the battle against Sage Falls.