MMORPG: The Elementalist

The vicious Undead Horde from the Underworld had launched an unexpected ambush on Mythical Continent. This happened to provide Netherspirit’s Claw, who had just suffered a demoralizing defeat at the Death Valley, room to breathe.

Although Snowmelt, Dark Dragon, and the other thirteen Champions had fallen at the valley together with Netherspirit’s Claw’s reputation, they had not died in vain. At the very least, they had revealed what the Fallen Angels had plotted through this defeat.

The Winter Demon Qin Ruo must had long discovered the way to enter and exit the Underworld at will. He had commandeered his clan from behind the scenes all this while. Netherclaw reckoned Qin Ruo must have most probably returned to the Mythical Continent as early before the incident at Savis Town took place.

In other words, Fallen Angels had never been left out after all. They were still among the elite league competitors in the Angel Faction and they were perhaps the fiercest opponents Netherspirit’s Claw had ever faced so far.

Though this might have been bad news to Netherclaw and his league, it’s was sure better than plain ignorance. The consequences would only be more severe if they were to be stunned by Qin Ruo at the very last minute while slicing a foolish figure and thinking that Netherspirit’s Claw had safely secured the top spot in the Angel Faction.

Besides…

The Undead Horde that currently stomped past the Mythical Continent had a demolishing force, which was the primary concern of more than hundreds of millions of players across the H&G world at the moment. Thus, even the story of Netherspirit’s Claw being humiliated by Fallen Angel was now up in the forum and had received substantial response; as the degree of damage done to the former could still be considered minimal if compared to other days.

After all, Netherspirit’s Claw could defend themselves, using the sudden appearance of Winter Demon at Death Valley as an excuse. They could blame their defeat on the unusual circumstances shaped deliberately by the sneaky Fallen Angels.

Apart from that, Lich and many other rewarding Bosses had also appeared together with the Undead Horde in most of the locations, be it a small town or a large city. The Mission of Honor that was once considered limited had now mushroomed everywhere. Any capable player, regardless of Tier 4 or Tier 5, would trigger Mission of Honor on the spot anytime they encountered an Undead Boss.

According to Netherclaw’s perspective, he saw this as a golden opportunity for the hundreds of millions of H&G players to amass an insane amount of Honor Points, instead of thinking that the Undead Horde was threatening the Mythical Continent.

Indeed, the number of Honor Points that Fallen Angels had accumulated so far was 50,000 more than that of Netherspirit’s Claw. But a League was made up of five Clans instead of one. When everything had been summed up, Netherclaw was confident that the points advantage built up by Fallen Angels will be nullified.

This timely opportunity, coupled by Qin Ruo’s blown cover, had provided Netherspirit’s Claw with a lifeline.

Netherclaw considered himself fortunate as he figured that the biggest roadblock of his clan’s path to crown the Angel Faction’s throne this early was actually Fallen Angels and not Hall of Heroes.

“Inform the four main Clan leaders! Tell them to order all online Leagues members, Tier 4 and Tier 5 alike, to locate an Undead Boss in their respective areas and gather as much Honor Points as possible.”

“Dark Dragon, Snowmelt, you two should get going as well. Send our Tier 5 comrades in groups out to the major cities, and be quick.”

Dark Dragon asked gloomily, “How about the embarrassment we suffered at Death Valley?” His mood was complicated and at its worst. Just a few days ago, he was publicly beaten by the “Pet-less” Netherclaw Mischief although he was clearly the favorite then. Today, once again, amidst the chaos, he was killed by Qin Ruo in less than thirty seconds. He had mixed emotions of anger, shame, and also awe of his opponent. This drove him a little bonkers.

“Don’t you worry. I will not forget what he had brought us today,” Netherclaw swore grimly, “Qin Ruo’s sudden emergence is indeed shocking. Even I was caught unaware. But this defeat was solely due to the element of surprise and the fact that we are outnumbered. We will have them pay a hefty price in the future for humiliating us!” Netherclaw gritted his teeth. Rage could be clearly seen through his fierce stares.

“The most important thing now is the Mission of Honor and how are we going to outdo them. Dark Dragon, Snowmelt, waste no time more. Immediately lead our Clan party out to hunt down the Lich. Also, summon our comrades with high Honor Points or who are in danger back to the base using warp portal as quickly as possible.”

“Understood,” replied Dark Dragon dejectedly.

At the end of the day, Netherclaw still refused to declare war against Fallen Angels, even after Qin Ruo had shown such apparent hostility. Even after the Winter Demon killed him, Snowmelt, and thirteen of their mates and even after Netherclaw was forced out from the Death Valley in such a hurried fashion, the Clan Leader still did not plan to openly confront Fallen Angels.

However, Dark Dragon could understand why Netherclaw was being so careful with this.

The appearance of Qin Ruo had greatly shaken the status of Netherspirit’s Claw as the potential first League in Angel Faction. Declaring war against Fallen Angels at such a fragile time was going to be destructive for both Clans. When shepherds quarrel, the wolf has a winning game. A clash between them will only benefit other major competitors like Hall of Heroes, Black Jail, and Scarlet Dynasty.

Moreover, Majestic Hero and Black God are clearly Qin Ruo’s buddies. Scarlet Bauhinia had also remained in touch with the current Bauhinia Clan. It will be unwise to publicly go against Fallen Angels now, even though Netherspirit’s Claw obviously had the upper hand.

Hence, the humiliation at Death Valley could only be swallowed in and endured for the time being…

***

Netherclaw’s concern was justifiable.

As soon as they learned about the appearance of Qin Ruo at Death Valley through their respective Clan channels, Black God and Majestic Hero contacted Qin Ruo instantaneously. The former was feeling guilty all along for causing Qin Ruo to be trapped inside the Underworld. Now that he personally received confirmation from Qin Ruo, he was extremely delighted!

“Damn you! What a lack of courtesy. Why didn’t you say a word after so many days? You know that I have not been eating and sleeping well these few days. I almost went into the Underworld to look for you myself. I would never have imagined that you were able to get back up here all by yourself.”

“Sorry about that. I needed to lay low and wait for Netherspirit’s Claw to show their true colors. By the way, I owe you two a big thank you. If not for the two of you, I think that Netherclaw bastard would have already assaulted Fallen Angels the next day itself after I went into the Underworld.”

“That’s the least we can do.” Majestic Hero had calmed down following the initial astonishment. Black God however still could not hold back his excitement. “What bullshit! It would be inhuman of me I turned a blind eye after what you have done for me and my comrades. It’s good that you are back now. I have been kept on the edge, worrying that those bastards from Netherspirit’s Claw might snatch the No.1 spot away. With you now back, they stand no chance. The top spot belongs only to Fallen Angels.” Black God’s exaggerated yet candid speech touched Qin Ruo.

He took a jab at him, “Hehe, saying such words in front of Brother Hero, you are clearly not showing Hall of Heroes any respect.”

“F*ck! Hall of Heroes?! Forget it. They are trailing Netherspirit’s Claw by 30,00 points and are about 90,000 behind Fallen Angels. They should have given up by now.” This was Black God—a straightforward person who always spoke the truth and never beats around the bush in front of his close friends.

Luckily Majestic Hero was an open-minded person and was used to Black Jail’s frankness. So, naturally, he was not offended. Instead, he followed up Black God’s point, “That’s true. Netherclaw is pushing really hard recently. I think only Fallen Angels could compete with them now. But your League still has two spots left, right?”

Majestic Hero was uninformed that the Executors and Ascendant Saber Clan had already agreed to form a League under Fallen Angels. He elaborated, “Netherspirit’s Claw members are rather powerful and have quite a number of Honor Points. If the Fallen Angels fail to get some powerful allies, it would be very likely that Netherspirit’s Claw will catch up.”

“True…” Qin Ruo nodded. That was exactly why he kept his return to the Mythical Continent a secret. He had wished to exclude Fallen Angels from the top competitors and silently overturn the tables without being noticed by Netherclaw.

That plan did not come to pass though, as the chain of events in the Death Valley had forced him out from the concealment.

So from now onward, Netherspirit’s Claw would definitely go full throttle and have all its members relentlessly garner Honor Points.

Judging by the superiority of the five Clans under Netherspirit’s Claw League, it was highly possible that they would overtake Fallen Angels in no time.

***

Frankly speaking, being the No.1 or No. 2 League was just an abstract honor. There was no actual reward given to the first League.

Thus, it was not really important to Qin Ruo whether Fallen Angels would be recognized or not as the No. 1 League.

However, at the same time, he did not wish to see Netherclaw fulfill what he wished for. He couldn’t care less if the No. 1 League title would have fallen to Hall of Heroes, Scarlet Dynasty, Black Jail or any other Clan. As long as they did not carry the name of Netherspirit’s Claw!

“Brother Jail, Brother Hero, don’t you guys worry. I have already found the remaining two Clans. The accumulated sum of our Honor Points is just slightly above that of Netherspirit’s Claw. But do not fear, for I will do my best to gather as many points as possible from here on out. I will bet my life on not letting Netherspirit’s Claw become the No.1 League in Angel Faction.” promised Qin Ruo solemnly.

“The Executors and Ascendant Saber Clan?” It was from Majestic Hero. “The Executors are a great choice. Your growing influence is on full display here, being able to recruit Remorseless Warrior to your side. On the other hand, I don’t think Ascendant Saber has adequate Honor Points to even the field. They only have around 100,000 Honor Points. Add all of it up and the five Clans under you only possess about 873,000, while Netherspirit’s Claw owns roughly 869,000. The gap is simply too small.”

“I have no choice. The other Clans that have higher Honor Point than Ascendant Saber simply do not fit our criteria.”

“That’s true. They are just a bunch of slickers and slackers. I wouldn’t want them to be in my League too. But you better hurry. To be honest, Netherspirit’s Claw has more Tier 5 than Fallen Angels. Their overall strength is slightly better than yours too. Knowing that you are back, I think they will only push harder now to outlast Fallen Angels.”

Qin Ruo was silent. Majestic Hero was right. This was exactly his concern right now. He had no other viable option than keep his comrades with high Honor Points safe, hunt down more Lich, and race Netherspirit’s Claw to the million Honor Points finish line toe to toe.

“Actually, Little Qin…” Majestic Hero suddenly spoke in a strange tone, “There is a way that can guarantee Netherspirit’s Claw defeat and allow Fallen Angels to form the first League.”

“What?” Qin Ruo was stunned and immediately heard Black God grumbling, “You know some short-cut? F*ck! Why don’t you spit it out earlier?”

“A rather simple method, I would say. It’s more like cheating. You take some from here and fill it there…”

Qin Ruo was getting more and more confused. “Er… What do you mean?”

“Fuck! How come you don’t understand Little Qin. Even I get what he is trying to say. Darn it, you always strike me as the clever one. Why have you suddenly become so dumb now? And you, Majestic Hero. Who would have guessed that a decent gentleman like you would have plotted such a sly scheme, huh?”

“But this is indeed a brilliant idea… I can’t wait to see the pathetic look on Netherclaw’s face. Hehe…” Black God grinned evilly.