MMORPG: The Elementalist

Half an hour later, a total of twenty-seven players arrived to rendezvous with Qin Ruo for the operation to kill Rakoff, the Dark Knight Commander—they had two additional members more than what Majestic Hero expected.

There were two more hours before the Eye of Hades started its patrol. Time was ticking…

Before everyone arrived, Qin Ruo discussed their plan with Majestic Hero, Black God, and Violet Orchid.

Street battles!

Qin Ruo, Fateless, and Majestic Hero had the same thing in mind.

However, Qin Ruo and Majestic Hero had a more detailed plan. After all, baiting the twelve crimson Dark Knights and the Dark Knight Commander into the streets, dividing and defeating them separately was an impossible feat.

Fateless had never seen Majestic Hero’s skill Black Hole. Therefore, even if he had a good idea of decreasing the difficulty of the operation, his plan was quite incomplete without Majestic Hero’s input.

Qin Ruo and Majestic Hero knew each other well. They also knew each other’s men well.

That was how the two of them were able to come up with the same identical plan.

***

“Get rid of the mobs!”

Twenty-seven champions grouped up together and headed toward the east side of the plaza. Then they split into two rows and inched toward the plaza. This spooked the Dark Knights. They immediately marched toward the humans like a tide of black metallic stream flooding east. And as they got closer, the players, all twenty-seven of them, blasted them with all their available long-ranged attacks, holding them off.

The Dark Knights were repeatedly rushing into the range of Qin Ruo’s crew’s attacks, like an eclipse of moths flocking to the fire.

Nineteen Elementalists combined their efforts to hurl waves of AoE magic attacks at the incoming hordes of Dark Knights, blasting them into oblivion. Subjugator, Judge, and Slayer’s Heart were the tanks, holding off the enemies at the frontline while Vibrant Blizzard and Dinosaurcerer were sniping at the enemy forces at the back, offering the tanks cover-fires. The Dark Knights, though powerful and persistence in their advances, were not able to break through the bottleneck that Qin Ruo and his crew had created.

Fateless, being the agile Bandit that he was, leaped from one roof to another in the plaza to help his peers to conduct reconnaissance.

In just a few minutes, all the Dark Knights on the east side of the block were decimated by the twenty-six Tier 5 Champions.

As for the other knights in the plaza, they were still standing there, like before—seemingly unaware of what was happening outside, except for their mounts. The Knights’ Metallic Steeds were howling and growling restlessly.

It was only after they were within fifty meters of the plaza and cleared all the Dark Knights on the east side that the other knights then raised their spears and charged at them.

In a uniformed movement, the Dark Knights marched their steeds like an actual army in the real world from all directions toward the east block—lining up into twelve troops.

Thud!

Then, in a loud united gallops from their steeds, the twelve crimson Dark Knights suddenly moved.

The crimson Dark Knights, riding their fierce monstrous steeds, rode toward the twelve troops while waving their spears in the air.

“Charge!”

The Dark Knights, seeing the twelve red crimson knights, also raised their spears high and let out a deafening battle cry. Qin Ruo and his crew, who were inching closer to the knights, could not help but stop advancing after hearing the loud battle cry.

“Be careful!”

“The Boss is about to strike! Everyone, take heed!”

“Shades, watch the rear!”

“Little Qin, summon Poochie!”

“Fateless… How’s Dark Knight Commander doing? Is he moving?”

As the commander, Majestic Hero was calm even when faced with such an intimidating army. He immediately took control of the situation and barked out a few orders for every person in the team.

Shades, leading two other Elementalists and a Warrior from Hall of Heroes, turned and headed right toward the rear of the team and held their ground at the streets behind them.

As Qin Ruo nodded with approval, Fateless’ voice sounded in the party chat, “He is still calm.”

“Good! Fateless, keep watching. If Black Knight Commander starts to move, send the warning at once! We’ll handle the Dark Knights… Remember the plan! Man your post to your last breath!”

As soon as Majestic Warrior finished his words, the battle began!

The first wave of Dark Knights charged at them with a thundering pace, fuming with scents of death from the plaza! Like a troop of metallic armor galloping into the streets in unison…

“Coming at us one at a time? Hng! That’s exactly what we needed!”

Judge immediately dashed forward, ignoring the leading crimson Dark Knights’ intimidation and the thundering advances of their underling knights, and threw himself at the impending army of death.

‘Berserk!’

In a matter of seconds, a huge golden shield appeared in Judge’s hand.

Basking in flashes of golden rays, Judge butted into the huge black metallic streams of armies and clashed with its bloody crimson leader like a moth charging into a surge of fire…

This was, after all, a Tier 5 Megaboss—a Dark Knight. The advances of the Dark Knight army were unstoppable. Yet, as a warrior, he tossed himself into this powerful wave of impregnable metallic army. It was impossible for him to break their momentum even if he threw in every might he had in his muscles. Impossible!

Clank!

The spears of the Dark Knights pierced in unison, like black ebony lightning, at Judge who was entering their attack range. Deciding to forgo evasion completely, Judge tanked on the Dark Knights’ Windblades. Several dozens of Windblades cut through the air and at Judge’s body… yet, all of these attacks landed just outside of his body, like they were slashing at a pool of water.

One layer after another, the Water Elemental barriers that Qin Ruo had blanketed Judge earlier were shredded to pieces.

However, that was enough.

The attacks of these Dark Knights hardly made Judge flinch—his Defense was already quite strong and while holding his Dark Gold giant shield, the Spellbreaker Shield (which had a Physical Defense of 80 points, Magic Defense of 30 points, an increase in Resistance to Negative Status by 20%, a decrease in the time of effects of Magic Attack by 50%, and an extra skill “Spell Break”: when activated, all negative statuses would be nullified within three seconds) his physical and magic defenses were so high that even Tier 6 monsters’ attacks would have had very little effects on him.

As the Dark Knights’ attacks were all absorbed, Judge leered mockingly and glanced at one of the rooftops on his right.

As the knights were about to dish out another round of attacks, a flood of black eerie Explosive Venomspiders dropped from the roof and onto the Dark Knights.

Boom!! Boom! Boom!!

In an instant, the formidable impregnable Dark Knight army was blasted to oblivion by the exploding spiders.

The Explosive Venomspiders’ explosions had over 50 points of raw AoE damage, ignoring the opponents’ defense. As they landed on the knights, they did not only deal tremendous damage on the riders but also the mounts beneath them. Therefore, as the explosions were sent across the waves of anguish moans and growls, the black streams of the metallic army were shattered in mere minutes.

As the frontline of the leading knights got decimated, the ones in the back started rocking around in confusion and unrest. At the same time, the crimson leader was also now a sole monster charging at Qin Ruo’s crew after losing all of its knight brethren from the explosion.

What was left was just a Tier 5 Megaboss.

“Ha!”

Judge blocked the knight’s attack with his shield with a loud roar.

The crimson Dark Knight, knowing that he had stepped right into the humans’ trap, barked out to the knights at the back to rally around him. In the meantime, he raised and pointed his huge dark spear at Judge.

“Charge.”

Judge, with an unthinkable speed, lent the momentum of the attack skill and evaded the Dark Knight’s attack. As he did that, he zoomed right next to the knight.

Swoosh!

A golden ray of lightning.

As the Dark Knight was about to dish out another attack with his spear, suddenly a splinter of golden lightning shot down from a roof.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

In an instant, it split and formed into four identical lightning! And then struck at the poor crimson Dark Knight.

Clone Shadowstrike!

“Shit!”

“We only have three seconds left! Everyone, make haste!”

As Qin Ruo confirmed Poochie had landed its attack, everyone marched forward.

Even though Poochie could only buy them three seconds via its stun attack, it was more than enough to everyone in the team.

The Dark Knights that were merely ten meters away were still distracted by the countless explosions by Explosive Venomspiders while their reinforcements were held off on the other side of the street by Shades.

The crimson Dark Knight had no one to rely on but himself. In other words, Qin Ruo and his crew needed only to worry about the one lone knight right in front of them.

Clank!

As Judge kept away his shield, his heavy broadsword cut through the flesh of the stunned Dark Knight, sending it limping a few steps to the side.

Boom!

Poochie rammed the knight from behind and sent it straight back toward Qin Ruo and his gang.

In the meantime, Black God’s Dark Vajra rushed forward to help.

Showered by everyone’s attacks, the poor lonely crimson Dark Knight was pulled into the depth of the streets—the streets of his despair.