MMORPG: The Elementalist

In the depths of Devil’s Swamp.

In order to deal with the disturbances caused by the Citadel members that kept coming from all directions, the number for the members of Order of the Eight Gods Clan had increased to more than a thousand much earlier on! With more than a thousand Tier 4 players, their combined strengths were enough to take down a Tier 4 Overlord. They might even be powerful enough to take on the legendary Ultimate…

That day… would be a mark on in history for Order of the Eight Gods. A day where the Clan had ordered an all-out war against an enemy and lost ever so miserably.

No one expected for their plan that was purportedly laid out perfectly to end up failing in such a pathetic manner akin to a mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

More than a thousand players were completely helpless against the disruption tactic used by over two hundred rookie players. They were so preoccupied with the attack and had failed to focus on attacking the Gargantuan Demoncroc. Right at the moment the battle had started, over two hundred opponents gave up on their plan to slay the Gargantuan Demoncroc and instead, they broke formation and focused on hindering their enemies. Their actions caused the offensive forces of Order of Eight Gods to crumble several times over.

Eight Gods was no longer able to tolerate the situation as they summoned even more of their men. Even after they sent out their Hunters, the other players spread the news of Gargantuan Demoncroc’s spawn throughout Blacktown. This drew in many players that even assembled small and intermediate size parties to begin their expedition into Devil’s Swamp.

Although many remained unmatched against the Order of the Eight Gods Clan even if they combined their forces together, their presence on the battlefield could effectively reduce the Eight Gods Hunters’ arrogance. At the very least they would not dare to openly kill players in front of others. Additionally, quite a number of Hunters from Eight Gods Clan were being hunted by those newly formed parties.

These outsiders that had other objectives would naturally not mind pouring a bucket of oil into an ongoing battle that was blazing like wildfire. They could then seize the opportunity to gain from the battle. That was the reason why every time the party members that joined the fray died, there would be ‘good’ samaritans who would take the initiative to order their Radiant Priests in their own parties to resurrect those fallen players. Some of them even helped them to the end as they even restored the players they resurrected fully. This was a bitter pill for the members of Eight Gods Clan to swallow.

Over a thousand players were hindered by over two hundred players just like that.

Order of the Eight Gods Clan were put in a situation where they could never grumble about. Truthfully, most of their strengths individually were only average or below average. They had to be extremely cautious against an Overlord! However, each time they regrouped to surround the Boss, they had to endure the assaults from the Boss, monster horde, and also players.

The most infuriating thing was that those players who were causing havoc within the vicinity came in batches as they would not send all their manpower in one go into the battlefield. Even though the people from Eight Gods Clan could slaughter an batch of those players, they would be resurrected quickly on the spot. (They are merely causing trouble—not killing anyone on the battlefield)

Although it was a very typical tactic to prolong a battle, it was undeniably effective!

However…

Along with the passing time, more and more Citadel players lost more and more of their precious equipment. The reinforcements that swiftly arrived from Blacktown were also restrained by the Hunters of Eight Gods Clan. The remaining players that survived the onslaught of the Hunters had become lesser of a threat to the Eight Gods Clan.

***

Order of the Eight Gods Clan did not miss that opportunity!

Many Eight Gods Clan parties which were scattered all over Devil’s Swamp began rushing toward the outer area of the Gargantuan Demoncroc’s spawn location. Their sudden call-to-action was so surprising that their enemies started to panic.

Including the remaining Citadel members that were less than a hundred!

In the depths of Devil’s Swamp, more and more people from Eight Gods Clan gathered around as they were beginning to form into several large-scale parties.

Each party was well-organized and could be of both offensive and defensive. On one hand, the pincer formation of the party was to resist the attacks from the Devilcrocs in the surroundings. On the other hand, they were consistently facing the Gargantuan Demoncroc which was currently about a hundred meters away…

Instantly, the tense atmosphere in the air before a war filled the swamp!

Finally, the battle was about to begin!

After launching their attacks over and over again, Eight Gods Clan was ready to fire their deadliest final assault upon the boss!

Almost a thousand members of Order of the Eight Gods Clan strode into the battlefield, divided into ten parties. Each party possessed both powerful offensive and defensive abilities. Under those circumstances, the scattered Citadel members of intermediate-scale and small-scale parties had worried and uncomfortable looks.

At the moment, there were only less than a hundred of them standing their ground firmly at Devil’s Swamp. Some of the players among them had even lost a few pieces of their valuable equipment, causing their combat power to weaken drastically.

Those that were not with the Eight Gods were feeling an irrational fear. The sudden movement of the Eight Gods and the appearance of many players that cramped the battlefield were all planned strategies. The best outcome was those that were not with the Eight Gods would be in a tight situation. The worst was they would perish.

Especially the Clan Leader of Order of the Eight Gods—”Eight Gods”!

His face was dark as his cold eyes glowered with a light that could send chills up one’s spine. It was so terrifying that a number of members did not dare to talk to him…

It was reasonable that he was in a bad mood. Merely two hundred rookie players had pushed their Clan to the edge, forcing them to mobilize about a thousand members just to take on a Tier 3 Overlord…

That was a humiliation that was unbearable to anyone!

Not too long ago, the news that came from the outer area reported several continuous casualties that were much heavier than they had anticipated…

Their “commander” Godslayer, a pro player with great abilities and high kill count was actually defeated by a Tier 3 Aquamancer. Not only was he stuck in the Underwater Prison, but he also dropped three pieces of decent equipment.

The second piece of news was a party of Hunters had been ambushed by a weak party while they were out on patrol. In the end however, eight Hunters were killed in action. This incident happened because they did not notice the Aquamancer who remained hiding in the dark corners of the area.

The final piece news just came in a while ago! The arrival of that news made Eight Gods so enraged that he almost lost all reasoning.

The five members Eight Gods Clan members who were tasked to find the Aquamancer responsible for the incidents had gathered with two groups of Hunters. After that, twenty-six of them began pursuing the party that they were trying to take down initially. In the end, the raid failed with the Hunters and all remaining members of Eight Gods Clan being wiped out…

Although the Hunters of this Clan were far less powerful than the Hunters of a League in terms of their strength and equipment, they were still a force to be reckoned with among regular Clans. Yet to find out that more than twenty Hunters were wiped out and that they lost without a clear explanation… At that moment, Eight Gods had a sudden impulse to do something.

After today, they had to reselect a new batch of Hunters with extraordinary abilities. Right now, the most important thing on hand was to take down the Gargantuan Demoncroc. Otherwise, the Order of the Eight Gods Clan would lose too much!

***

Eight Gods who was standing on the spot surrounded by the core players of his Clan was emanating a faint black aura that was extremely difficult for the naked eye to see. That faint black aura was rapidly spreading into the surroundings in all directions.

That was a Secret Skill that he coincidentally obtained from a hidden quest—a Tier 4 Skill that belonged to Shadowmancers (Elementalists that control the Dark Element)—Dark Mist…

It was a different skill compared to Qin Ruo’s Elemental Perception of Water but it had the same effect.

As long as the environment had poor lighting, the Shadowmancer would be able to cast his Dark Mist, allowing him to grasp everything that was happening within the mist as well as detecting all invisible units.

With the support of the Dark Mist, Eight Gods could grasp on the situation of several parties from his Clan.

“Are all relevant people here?” While he was in a bad mood, his tone sounded extraordinarily cold.

“Almost!” Someone responded to his question on the Clan’s channel.

“Remember what I told you before this… Move it, now!”

Along with a command, two raid groups immediately charged out from the jungle area of Devil’s Swamp as they charged right into the most perilous region of Devil’s Swamp, an area that was extremely wide that was not shaded by any trees.

In this ten-thousand-meter-square open swamp area, there were traps that could really take lives all over the place. There were also Devilcrocs lurking in the depths of the muddy marshes as they were waiting for the right moment to act.

On regular days, those Devilcrocs would never reveal their presence easily. They would only reveal themselves and attack the players the moment the players set foot within their attack range.

It was also for that reason that the place had become a deadly place that many players would not want to set foot upon…

However, it was different today!

Two raid groups would mean that there were more than two hundred Tier 4 Players charging left and right as they instantly slaughtered all Devilcrocs that were daring enough to stick their heads out from their hiding spots, leaving only approximately a hundred Tier 4 Devilcrocs remaining around the Gargantuan Demoncroc. Those Devilcrocs were swimming around around the Boss, revealing their wretchedly looking bodies as they stared at the players.

The Gargantuan Demoncroc was in fact a humongous crocodile of ten meters long and approximately two meters tall among the other Devilcrocs. With its huge appearance, it was extraordinary as it was scary.

When the two raid groups launched their ferocious attacks toward the boss at the same time, that gigantic crocodile Overlord also lifted its huge neck—opening its mouth wide instantly. It let out a bizarrely loud roar…

In the next moment!

More than a hundred Tier 4 Devilcrocs had also made the same move as they lifted their necks up and let out a raging roar! The simultaneous roars stunned every single player within the vicinity.

At that moment, a huge golden ray of light descended upon the ground from the sky—

*Grrrk!*

Stone Skin!

Hundreds of Devilcrocs had buffed themselves with an earth element defensive spell at the same time. Along with the orderly and spectacular scene, the monsters’ morales were boosted! Their number and their ferocity had put a hold on the momentum of Order of the Eight Gods Clan on the battlefield!

That skill the Gargantuan Demoncroc used was a signature move of Overlords. Meanwhile, this gave some of the players in the swamp the feeling of glee. The tougher the challenge Eight Gods Clan needed to face, the great the chance for other players to hinder them.

However, there were also some powerful players to frown quietly inwardly after they saw the powerful and dynamic force of those Tier 4 Devilcrocs. A Tier 3 Overlord would need its underlings to boost its aura and energy… it seemed that the Gargantuan Demoncroc had already run out of tricks!

However, Qin Ruo who rushed over from the outskirts of Devil’s Swamp looked worried as he saw the Gargantuan Demoncroc!