Virus had a gloomy expression on his face once he realized that Cross Haven did not visit them with just a small squadron, but rather a full force. However, he was still dumbfounded as to why Wang Qiang had appeared on this battlefield.
"Wang Qiang, should you really be here right now when your Cross Haven guild is about to face off against Blue Oasis?" Virus said as he tried to remain calm and think of a way to escape from his current predicament.
The plan did not account for reinforcements from Cross Haven to show up, therefore, they were not prepared for the addition of two hundred enemies. Also, everyone knew that the members of Cross Haven were a step above the rest. So even though there were only two hundred players, it might as well be four or six hundred!
"Oh? What reason would my Cross Haven have to fight against Blue Oasis?" Wang Qiang asked as he secretly analyzed Virus.
"What reason? How about trying to assassinate you! Is Cross Haven so weak and frail that it's willing to throw aside all of its face? Truly, Cross Haven is a stain of the top ten guilds!" Virus said.
All of a sudden, a wave of purple light shot out towards Wang Qiang and Wang Ping. Virus had taken the opportunity during their conversation to cast a spell and attempt to make his escape.
However, Wang Qiang had already figured that he would try something like this with his character.
"You don't know when to quit!" Wang Ping said as the orb around his body began to spin faster.
Wang Ping was on full alert as he ordered his wind wolf to unleash a blade made out of wind towards the purple wave which canceled out the attack. While it looked simple to do, it was actually exceedingly difficult to pull off such a technique within RML.
The name of the high-level technique Wang Ping used was referred to as Magic Canceling. In simple terms, it was when a player matched the number of magic sequences that another player's spell contained. This, in turn, caused the magic attacks to cancel each other out.
While it was a bit easier to do so if you knew your opponent's skills beforehand, it still required great skill in order to execute it properly in the middle of a battle.
Virus did not even bother looking back as he instantly retreated after he cast the purple wave of magic. But, he soon felt a powerful force strike against his body as he was slammed into the ground.
"What?! How did I become so weak?!" Virus said to himself as he could not comprehend how he was subdued so fast. It was as if all of his stats had been drained and for some reason, Virus was extremely fatigued.
"I have to admit, I did not think that Sage Falls had anyone so capable of formulating such complex and intricate strategies. However, one cannot help but plunge in when the bait before them is so tempting." Wang Qiang said as his shield as pressed down on Virus' body.
"But don't worry Virus. Sage Falls will not get away with having angered so many top guilds at once. In the end, greed ultimately became its downfall." Wang Qiang then used his saber to constantly attack Virus.
Virus was unable to fight back due to the fatigue while being in a weakened state. Soon enough, he had dissipated and was easily eliminated.
In the near distance, a player was hidden amongst some other players. However, he blended in perfectly with the surroundings. If Izroth, Guan Yu, or Zi Yi were here, they would recognize that player as Doctor Dark.
It was the same member of the Headhunter Syndicate who was weakening Guan Yu and Zi Yi during their fight against the other members of the Headhunter Syndicate.
"Heh, it's almost too easy. With this, he should be satisfied." Doctor Dark said as he slowly began his retreat. He had accomplished his task in making sure things went exactly as planned. Now, it was time for him to report his success.
Wang Qiang scanned the battlefield and saw that the members of Sage Falls were falling back. However, a large number of them had already been eliminated once Cross Haven joined the fray.
Just when Wang Qiang thought that the battle was over, he saw a group of nearly fifty players rushing over from the distance.
The first thought that crossed Wang Qiang's mind was that it was Sage Falls reinforcements. However, he quickly dismissed the idea since fifty members would not help change the outcome of the battle and they would only be charging towards their own demise.
However, a familiar face had appeared at the front of the group which surprised him. It was Dark Suffice, one of the highest ranking members of the guild Hollow Tempo. But the question remained, what was he doing here?
That question was swiftly answered as Dark Suffice and the other members of Hollow Tempo showed no mercy in eliminating the retreating members of Sage Falls.
Those who retreated were chased down and ruthlessly slaughtered. Not a single member of Sage Falls managed to escape. It had been a massacre just as Sage Falls expected, but what they did not expect was being the one on the receiving end of it.
In a fit of rage, Dark Suffice put together a group that he planned on storming the area that Sage Falls was located in. He figured that they would not expect to be attacked immediately after and would be caught off guard so it was the best time to do so.
While traveling in that direction, he saw a group of casual players running away. He stopped a small group and got some information out of them before heading over. However, the main culprit Reaper was nowhere to be found.
But, he still got to take out some of his pent up anger on the retreating members of Sage Falls. Dark Suffice then swept his gaze across the battlefield and soon spotted Wang Ping, as well as, Wang Qiang.
Wang Qiang signaled one of his guild members over. "Go and find out why Hollow Tempo has come here." He already had a good feeling as to what the reason was, but he still had to confirm it just to be safe.
Wang Ping turned towards Wang Qiang and gave a friendly smile. "General Wang Qiang, on behalf of Hypers Symphony, we thank you and the members of Cross Haven for your assistance in our time of need. You have my word that if Cross Haven should ever require our aid in the future, they shall have it."
"You're too kind in your words, guild leader Wang Ping. We are allies so, of course, we would do everything in our power to assist you. Things aren't over just yet, we still have a score to settle with Sage Falls. Though, it must be timed correctly." Wang Qiang said with a firm tone of voice.
"You'll have to get in line! My Hollow Tempo will be the first to rip Sage Falls to shreds!" Dark Suffice had traveled over towards Wang Qiang and Wang Ping alone. This was just to show that he was not there to cause them trouble, but for another purpose.
"Has Sage Falls attacked Hollow Tempo as well?" Wang Qiang frowned. Did Sage Falls have a death wish? Why would they antagonize four top guilds at the same time? Could it be that they wanted to reduce the strength of their competition during this event?
"They not only attacked, but they ran like cowards after using despicable tactics to attack our guild leader. Therefore, Sage Falls must answer for their crimes!" Dark Suffice said in a clearly agitated tone of voice.
Wang Qiang nodded, "It would seem that we all have a common enemy. However, even if we've weakened Sage Falls forces, fifty people are still far from enough to do any true damage. So, Dark Suffice, I have a better path for you to take. This involves you as well, guild leader Wang Ping."
"Oh? What did you have in mind?" Wang Ping asked. Hypers Symphony had been unjustly attacked, therefore, it was only natural that Wang Ping would want to make Sage Falls pay some kind of price for it.
Dark Suffice would normally not pay any attention to someone outside of Seeking Fangs trying to suggest something to him. However, he knew of Wang Qiang and his reputation. Also, although he hated to admit it, Wang Qiang was correct. It was likely that this would be a suicide mission with just fifty people.
Even if they did manage to eliminate Slayer, they would definitely not be able to escape after the deed was done.
Dark Suffice narrowed his eyes, "I'm listening."
...
Izroth stared up into the sky and noticed that the space above had been devastated. There were cracks everywhere, however, only someone with Izroth monstrous senses would be able to see it due to how high up in the sky it was.
'What caused such spatial deformities and anomalies to form within a concentrated area?'
Izroth and his party were currently waiting for the seventh wave to begin. Right now, everyone was in their own zone as they felt the time limit for the Chaotic Dogma Realm slowly tick away second by second.
"Gah! Why is the next wave taking so long to start?! At this rate, we'll die of old age!" Guan Yu said in a frustrated manner.
"It's not so bad having a small break. We haven't had much time to rest ever since we've entered into the Chaotic Dogma Realm." Zi Yi said as she removed a small crystal no bigger than the size of a finger from her inventory.
"Also, I don't know about the rest of you, but I have not had the time to peacefully activate my Skill Crystal." The crystal within Zi Yi's hand flashed with a bright red color.
"Ah, now that you mention it, I haven't had any time to check my Skill Crystal." Halls said which caused him to take out a small crystal that was the exact same as Zi Yi's, however, it flashed with a green light instead of red light.
Luna, Guan Yu, and Valentine all removed similar crystals from their inventories after Zi Yi's reminder.
'So those are Skill Crystals.'
Players of all classes, with the exception of the Combat Master class, were given a Skill Crystal once they completed their first class upgrade. A Skill Crystal was a soulbound object that made it so that players could learn new skills from their class without having to make multiple trips back to the class instructor.
Everyone had completely forgotten to check their Skill Crystal with everything that had been going on. Now was the perfect time to do so before the start of the seventh wave. It would also boost their overall combat prowess.
Izroth's Combat Master class did not have any use for Skill Crystals for obvious reasons. Therefore, although he knew what they were, he had never seen one in person before today.
A few moments later, everyone had finished going through their Skill Crystal and gained one or two new skills in the process.
"I feel stronger already! Ahahaha!" Guan Yu said while laughing with joy.
〈System Alert: Wave seven of the event «Protectors of Amaharpe» will commence in 5 Minutes!〉
'It is time that I learn the next few sword forms. Since the next two are so closely linked to one another, it should be killing two birds with one stone.'
Izroth had already decided to acquire as many of the ten sword forms as possible during his time within the Chaotic Dogma Realm. This event provided him with the perfect means to do so.
Five minutes flew by as another system alert went out to all players.
〈System Alert: Wave seven of the event «Protectors of Amaharpe» has begun! Prepare for battle!〉
The next wave had finally arrived.