Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

“The first stage is finally done.”

After a loud bang, Dream Clouds sighed on the roof of the building in the street across Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters, as if she had been released of a huge burden.

“Hall master, since we’re done here, let’s go back to the headquarters. Our headquarters is still being attacked right now.”

She looked away from the headquarters now that it had become a large pile of ruins. The Class One Hall members around her cast their gazes on her, and they waited for Dream Clouds’ next move.

When she heard this, Dream Clouds said faintly and cast a glance at the thousands of Wind Assault Tower members who were still stubbornly fighting against them in a circle formation. She sucked in a deep breath and said, “We don’t have to worry about the things over here for the time being. Monk, are the people from the twelve sects already in their positions? Right now, the entire Chinese server is waiting to watch me put on a good show for them. We can’t let them be disappointed.”

Monk With Thick Eyebrows had an obedient look on he answered calmly. His voice made him sound very level-headed. “We’ve already sent all of them out. They’re in their positions. Each of the people in charge of the sects are personally defending their positions. Nothing will go wrong.”

“That’s good.” Dream Clouds turned around in high spirits and pointed at Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters and gave her final order in a cold voice. “Don’t waste too much time with them. Have the people outside form an arrow formation. In one minute, I don’t want to see anyone remaining alive in Wind Assault Tower’s former headquarters.”

Once her subordinates sent her orders, Dream Clouds looked away. Her gaze sparkled for a while before she mumbled softly. “Beijing’s headquarters might affect Class One Hall’s reputation, we’re at a moment where our survival is about to be decided, we don’t have to care about our reputation anymore. If our headquarters is destroyed, we just have to rebuild it.

“The people from the twelve Beijing sects are in charge of sealing off the government-made roads outside Beijing. Within a short period of time, no one can provide reinforcements into Beijing. Right now, it’s time for us to get rid of the petty thieves in Beijing and make sure that those in Beijing won’t say anything about us anymore. If the four sects dare to make an uproar right now, we can get rid of them as well. Monk, send an order, have the members who are not part of the arrow formation come back. Surround Ji Feng and the other three people’s sects.”

“Understood!” Monk with Thick Eyebrows had his spirits lifted.

Dream Clouds turned her head around to order the two hundred or so top-class elites around her. “Others, form four groups and lay in ambush at the headquarters of the four sects. If you run into One Emperor, act according to the plan and make him run around.”

“Understood!” The group of elites quickly split into a few groups and ran into different directions in Beijing.

In an instant, Dream Clouds gave her orders. The one hundred thousand or so people who surrounded Wind Assault Tower’s headquarters split into several groups, and with an astonishing momentum, they headed to the four Beijing sects’ headquarters.

Once she gave her orders, Dream Clouds cast a final glance at Wind Assault Tower’s ruined former headquarters. She cast a glance at the thousands of Wind Assault Tower members who were stuck full of arrows and laid dead on the ground. She raised her head a little, and a terrifying, brutal look appeared on her cold face. “Phantasmal Shadow, once you made one mistake, you’ll just continue making mistakes. I can predict every single one of the steps you take. Even if you have One Emperor and Happy helping you, without a foundation and without a place for you to use them, how can you fight against me?”

Once she finished speaking, Dream Clouds turned around and left while she was surrounded by a group of Class One Hall elites.

*****

Over the other side of the ocean was a black chamber with no light.

One person was covered in a black cloak. He sat properly before a flat table, and in his hands he held a crystal ball that was about half a foot long. It was placed on a brocade cloth on the table.

Dim and murky light shone from the crystal ball, and it illuminated half of the mysterious cloaked person’s face.

A scene could be seen in the crystal ball.

If anyone were beside him, they would definitely notice to their shock that the scene in the crystal ball was a scene in Beijing in the Chinese server. The scene was currently being watched by countless people. In fact, it was being livestreamed at the official website—it was the scene of Wind Assault Tower’s former headquarters.

It was now in ruins.

As the people left, the Beijing headquarters of the once strongest sect in the Chinese server which had intimidated the people in the past was destroyed.

The mysterious cloaked person moved his long sleeves quietly.

Light flowed, and the scene in the crystal ball instantly changed from the empty ruins to a largely damaged ground.

The scene in the crystal ball stopped on a piece of earth.

Shick!

A large, black sword suddenly cut across the ground. Shattered stones flew out, and a terrifying trench was dug out the ground.

The mysterious person in the black cloak exerted some force in his hands with slight dissatisfaction. As he did this, the crystal ball’s image was strangely brought to the sky.

The image grew clearly.

Two people appeared in the scene.

Evil Emperor and Happy.

The background within the crystal ball was also revealed clearly. It was Class One Hall’s headquarters.

The mysterious cloaked person cast a glance at the situation inside the crystal ball before his movements came to a halt. A rather surprised gasp could finally be heard from the quiet and black chamber.

This was already the third time he switched the image in the crystal ball to watch over what was going on in the fight between Evil Emperor and Happy.

He originally thought that this normal top-class elite who had been instantly subjugated by Evil Emperor after he worked together with Flame Wolf and the rest would not be able to last for long. He did not expect that after more than ten minutes was gone, he would still be able to continue fighting against Evil Emperor, and he was showing no signs of defeat.

The mysterious cloaked person remained silent and did not move for a total of half a minute. Then, when he saw that the two people were fighting fiercely and showed no signs of stopping, he seemed to have grown bored of watching them. So he swung his sleeve, and the scene in the crystal ball changed once more.

This time, a few people appeared in the crystal ball.

One Emperor, Phantasmal Shadow, and around a dozen Wind Assault Tower elites.

The group stood in front of a grand foundation.

The mysterious cloaked person brought the angle up again, just like he did just now, so that it would be easy for him to observe what was happening nearby.

There was a dense wave of people surrounding the entire headquarters, but the people at the back were quickly running away.

The mysterious cloaked person stopped whatever he was doing, and he seemed to have snorted coldly and derisively.

*****

Nearly ten thousand people appeared outside Heavenly Heroes Sect’s headquarters, and they were ready for battle.

What caused them to be stunned was that Heavenly Heroes Sect, one of the eighteen major sects in Beijing, had no one left in the headquarters.

They had quietly decided to leave their headquarters unfortified, just like Class One Hall did with their headquarters!

When Phantasmal Shadow brought her people over to encircle the place, she did not have the chance to have their weapons draw blood. The worst was that the headquarters would have ten minutes where it remained invincible, and they could not even attack the foundation.

“All the headquarters of the twelve sects are empty. This is definitely Dream Clouds’ plan. She doesn’t intend to give us the chance to whittle down her strength!”

“This woman…”

Phantasmal Shadow and One Emperor looked at each other and put on solemn expressions.

They could not reduce Class One Hall’s forces. Dream Clouds must have expected them to launch a desperate counterattack after they pushed all the sects into a corner and force them to fight for their survival. If she did this, she must definitely have another step in her plan.

Just as they expected, a black messenger pigeon suddenly descended from the sky and landed on Ji Feng’s shoulder while he stood beside Phantasmal Shadow.

His expression changed.

Ji Feng was not the only one whose expression changed. The people around him suddenly heard loud sounds behind them, and it seemed as if something major had happened. They turned their heads around, and they sucked in sharp breaths at the same time.

Ji Feng was the one who personally led his people to surround Heavenly Heroes Sect’s headquarters. Their people were gathered there in a dense wave, but now, countless black messenger pigeons descended from the sky. Surprised cries rose and fell, and it was as if the apocalypse descended.

“I knew it. It’s here.” Phantasmal Shadow smiled bitterly and shook her head.

In truth, when she saw that Heavenly Heroes Sect was unfortified, she knew that there was something off.

Dream Clouds was currently very strong, and she should not be this cautious, but she had emptied Class One Hall’s headquarters. Now, all the people in the twelve sects had already left their headquarters, causing Phantasmal Shadow to be unable to fight in a war of attrition.

Right now, she sent people to attack Ji Feng’s sect. It was clear that Dream Clouds did not intend to be forgiving after she gained the upper hand, and she did not want to give them even the slightest of seizing the upper hand from her. She continued to advance cautiously and use her tactics to suppress and reduce Wind Assault Tower’s allies. As long as she could destroy the people from the four sects, the other sects would not dare to challenge Class One Hall.

“We’re late by one step again.”

As Phantasmal Shadow expected, Ji Feng turned his head around and wrapped his fist in his hand decisively to ask for permission to leave.

Ji Feng looked ashamed. Even so, he spoke urgently, “Tower Master Shadow, One Emperor, I’m truly sorry. I cannot help you in this major event anymore. My headquarters has been surrounded, and the one thousand or so members I left behind to protect the place cannot possibly stop Class One Hall’s advance, and I must bring my people back.”

At this moment, Phantasmal Shadow looked at Ji Feng and suddenly said something that was completely irrelevant.

“Sect Master Ji, do you know why you were unable to make a bigger name for yourself after you became famous in the game one and a half years ago?”

He was stunned.

Phantasmal Shadow smiled. “When World of Martial Arts was just launched, you had grand ambitions, but as various factions rose to power, your territory slowly grew smaller. Now, you only have this small territory in Beijing left. That’s why you can never achieve anything big. If you are willing to be like Dream Clouds and give up on your headquarters by asking all the people in the headquarters leave as well as retaining all your members outside here instead of going back, you will be able to produce another outcome. If you go back now, you won’t be able to save anyone. Instead, you might end up dying.”

“Since Dream Clouds’ people have already gone to Ji Feng’s side, should we rush over now?” One Emperor did not quite understand Phantasmal Shadow’s words. He cast a glance at Ji Feng while he thought about this with a frown, and he could not help but butt in.

“It’s useless.” Phantasmal Shadow sucked in a deep breath and shook her head in resignation. “Dream Clouds has already seized the initiative. I believe that the other three Beijing sects have been surrounded by Class One Hall as well, and they are going back to provide reinforcements. Even if we go back right now, we can’t do anything to change things. Dream Clouds has already occupied the dominant position in this war. Aside from you, no one can fight their way inside. We can save one sect, but we cannot save the other three. The things we can do are limited.”

When she said this, Phantasmal Shadow looked deeply into Ji Feng’s eyes. “This is all I can say. I hope that you can think about this carefully, Sect Master Ji. If you go back now, you will die. It’s better if you lose your headquarters instead of your lives.”

Ji Feng said nothing. He was not an idiot. He originally wanted to spur One Emperor and Phantasmal Shadow into helping him defend his headquarters, but now, Phantasmal Shadow had already said those words, and when he thought deeper into things, he knew that there was no meaning behind him going back.

“Then, what should we do now?”

“We’ll retreat and wait!”

Phantasmal Shadow knew that Ji Feng had already made his decision. Once she said those words, she quickly wrote a letter to each of the three sect masters.

When she turned her head around, she saw One Emperor and Ji Feng’s puzzled expressions, and she explained, “If we retreat now, we can wait for the factions of power outside Beijing to provide reinforcements to us. By then, we will have the power to fight head-on against Class One Hall!”

Right when she finished speaking, a messenger pigeon suddenly descended from the sky.

Phantasmal Shadow quickly took the letter, and right after she skimmed through the contents, her expression turned pale, and she wayed.

The players who rushed over from outside Beijing were ambushed one after another at various places outside Beijing. They suffered grave casualties.

The war was progressing uncontrollably in the direction that Phantasmal Shadow did not want to see the most.