Chapter 425 Battles Within the Walls
Inside the restricted area of the Leisure Guild, a few invaders started to climb over the walls. But even as they managed to enter the Leisure Guild, they were faced with yet another obstacle.
Rowes of guild members lined the back walls, ranging from lv. 40 to lv. 60. Rather than remain in the front, they had been ordered to defend the back wall. Kims led them, holding fast to his title as the Security Advisor. And amidst that army of guild members were large, one-eyed beasts drooling at the sight of the intruders.
At the core of those guild members was a party, and each member of that party had at least one beast companion at their side. And though that party was low-leveled compared to the invaders, it was their beasts that startled the invaders, especially the three-headed hydra roaring at the invaders. Just when the invaders thought that they'd seen enough strange beasts, they found even more within the guild walls.
A fight immediately broke out as the invaders dared rush into the guild, confident in their superior levels.
While the fighting got more intense by the minute as more and more invaders managed to climb over the wall, Jack's party remained calm. They fought as well, but they would fight only one, two, or up to three invaders at a time as a party. That battle was a matter of synergy between lower leveled guild members versus the higher leveled invaders with fewer numbers.
As for the few regents that squeaked past Dragov, they were targeted by the beholders or Kims and Ssildro.
The battle was organized but grew more chaotic.
Just when the party was getting a good rhythm going, having killed a duo of lv. 50's, Lina's attention jolted behind them. She shouted, "Look out!"
Two hooded men were darting directly toward the party. Their faces were concealed but all the party members could feel the cold gazes of those approaching experts. It was clear that those two men knew exactly who they were after.
"Die!"
As those two men were about to launch an attack at the party, they suddenly jumped backward. They managed to evade Mooldrat's disintegration ray.
The large beholder eyed both hooded figures, growling and separating himself from the party. "Daliea, allow me to handle them. They're too strong for the party."
"But--"
"They're lv. 73 and lv. 74," stated Mooldrat, snatching the entire party's attention. "I'll take care of them. Don't' concern yourselves with them."
"Okay…" Daliea replied. "But ask for help should you need it, Mool."
"Of course, Daliea."
With that said, Mooldrat floated forward, rushing the two men before they got close enough to threaten the rest of the party.
Both of those hooded men overheard Mooldrat's comments. They had no ability to discern Moodrat's strength but they knew that the beast had strange abilities and was at least high enough level to threaten them, otherwise it wouldn't have such confidence.
Guessing what those two would do next, Mooldrat revealed the barbs on all of his tentacles and gathered energy over his eye. He snarled with a smile, "If you think one is enough to handle me, then you'll become my meal before you know the cause of your death."
Sensing that threat, both men sighed. They rethought their strategy and decided to not split up just yet, not with the beast having both physical and magical abilities.
At the front of that giant group battle, Kims fought alongside Ssildro against one of the regents. The match was in Kims' and Ssildro's favor thanks to Ssildro's frighteningly fast strikes, which Kims mimicked thanks to the pact. The duo had managed to catch that regent off guard, setting them up for a successful fight.
'Kims, are you still at the back?'
Hearing that in his head, Kims replied telepathically, 'Yes, we're holding off the invaders who rushed past Dragov.'
'Hurry here and switch with me.'
'Tralon, I can't just--'
'If not, you won't get your revenge on Thyron,' added Tralon. 'Now will be your only chance. And You'll fare better than I.'
'... I'm on my way!'
Neither man said a word more, not wanting to waste their time and focus.
Kims inhaled and stared at the on guard regent before him. Then, the one-armed swordsman closed his eyes. He let a pause hang in the air uncomfortably long.
Seeing that, the regent was confused. Not only had his opponent closed his eyes but he didn't attack or take a defensive stance. Obviously, the one-armed swordsman was up to something but the regent was utterly clueless as to what it could be. And the strangely long pause only added to the tension.
A few seconds passed in silence. Neither opponent moved, nor did Ssildro who was coiled up behind Kims.
Finally, the regent flinched, stepping toward Kims with his greataxe.
Kims then moved but kept his eyes closed. He took in another breath. Just as the axe came down, Kims sidestepped and lunged forward, agile as a snake while ducking the attack and piercing the regent through the heart.
Opening his eyes, Kims kicked the fresh corpse from his blade and started to run off. He shouted, "I'm switching with Tralon, he'll be here momentarily!"
With that encouragement, the army of guild members stood strong. They awaited the arrival of the vice guild master to support their defensive line.
*****
At the front of the guild, many smaller battles were taking place. Cranes and beholders were holding their own against the invaders, some even double-teaming a syndicate member and gaining an advantage.
As for the three regents that were contained at the front, each was facing off with their one opponent.
The fight between Kaldor and the regent before him was close. Neither man budged or showed a single misstep in battle. They left no openings for their opponents, each focusing on brute strength.
Hurmot was facing a powerful sorceress. Though Hurmot was the oldest and most experienced of the three auction house owners, the battle was slowly tipping in the sorceress's favor.
As for Argyle, his battle was a heated battle of swordsmanship. However, unlike Argyle's brief exchange with a regent during the Federal City attack, Argyle's opponent wielded a legendary weapon as he was chosen to fight Argyle from the get-go. And with that boost in quality, Argyle's mythic-tier sword's weapon-breaking properties were greatly weakened.
Those two exchanged blow after blow. It was a bit surprising for the regent, though. He was lv. 73 while Argyle was lv. 71. He had assumed that over time the benefits of his higher level would prevail. But Argyle proved just as resilient and Argyle's mana was keeping up with his own.
"Hmm… You're interesting. How are you able to keep up with me perfectly while you're two levels lower? Tell me," the regent asked Argyle.
Scoffing, Argyle replied while attacking, "Let's just say that fighting against the Leisure Guild was the worst decision of your life. Nothing is ever as it seems."
"Oh? Why's…"
Spoke while parrying Argyle's attack, but the moment the regent touched his opponent's sword his opponent disappeared. That's when he spotted Argyle out of the corner of his eye, almost flanking the regent swordsman.
Grunting, the regent rushed his blade to the side. He barely managed to block the attack with a slight loss of footing.
All of a sudden, the regent saw a second image of Argyle emerging from the first. Each launched a different attack from a different side. The regent was forced to act quickly and decide which was true and which was false like before.
To help his defense, the swordsman stepped left and blocked left to avoid the right side entirely.
In the end, the regent failed to discern which attack was real but he did manage to avoid the well-hidden attack. However, the regent also understood that he would be on the defensive until he could figure out that strange copying ability.