Virtual World: Close Combat Mage

Eternal Dominion had the ability to take on many at once, so there was usually no need for him to cooperate with anyone. Even if they engaged in group battles, most of his comrades were mainly Fighters, so he essentially had no experience when it came to coordinating with other job classes.

When Southern Lone Blade and the other five dashed out of the wall of flames, Eternal Dominion actually had no idea that this was the result of him tossing Fire Singed Clothes to his death.

Now that Southern Lone Blade was able to get past that wall of flames, he hurtled straight towards Gu Fei. Their escape had already been cordoned off by the Electric Wall, so what other choice did he have, other than dashing forward?

Southern Lone Blade Charged, as Blackwater gripped his dagger tightly and circled around to Gu Fei’s flank. Glue continued to pepper Gu Fei with his arrows to hamper the Mage from making any moves, while the Knight continuously bestowed blessings, casting his Blessing of Spirit on his squadmates that were engaging in combat, increasing their Magic Defense even as Paddy Scent Pastures and the other Priest kept their Heals up on the rest of them, no matter if they had suffered any damage or otherwise.

The six had no idea how many times they had drilled this formation, taking down countless of experts various MMOs under their encirclement.

Even Gu Fei could not afford to be careless as the three players that were attacking him coordinating flawlessly with one another. Unfortunately, it was Blackwater, who was attempting to ambush him on the left, that seemed to be just a beat slower.

It was such a pity! Had the Thief been quicker by that bit, I might really have no way to escape this formation, Gu Fei thought to himself as he darted over to his left.

Almost at the same time, Southern Lone Blade forcefully halted his steps, cancelling his Charge.The shield on his left hand reached out and shot towards Gu Fei’s face, as the sword on his right came slashing in as well. Blackwater had also arrived, but his positioning was off so he could not use Backstab or Bludgeon. All he could do was a basic attack.

It was still a stabbing attack, but Gu Fei did not have any trouble resolving it. The attackers had all positioned their attacks high, so all he needed to do was stoop low and unleash his Twin Incineration… Just as Gu Fei was thinking this, he suddenly heard a loud cry from Eternal Dominion, “Incoming arrow!”

Gu Fei was surprised to hear this, hurriedly twisting his body to the side as he heard the sound of rushing air that an arrow produced come flying from under Southern Lone Blade’s shield, clipping the very corner of Gu Fei’s clothes.

That was close!

Gu Fei broke out into cold sweat at this. He would have never expected that the flaw in this three-pronged assault of theirs had actually turned out to be a trap that they had rehearsed. After stepping into position, Southern Lone Blade had immediately punched his shield out in such a way that it blocked Gu Fei’s line of sight. Neither Blackwater nor Southern Lone Blade were the ones that were meant to deal the killing blow, that role had actually been relegated to Glue. The two melee players had been nothing but a diversion to cover up this ploy of theirs.

Had it not been for the warning from an onlooker, Gu Fei had no doubt he would have eaten that arrow in its entirety.

But while Gu Fei may have managed to dodge this attack, he was now placed in a vulnerable position as this twist of his body sent him perfectly into Blackwater’s attack. This allowed the Thief to ruthlessly stab Gu Fei with his dagger, but thankfully it was just a basic attack, so the damage was nothing too alarming. When Gu Fei saw Southern Lone Blade raise his shield once more to cover his own face, he instantly realized how futile it would be to get entangled here and hurriedly retreated several steps in response.

Gu Fei could see Eternal Dominion was already racing over to Glue in an attempt to offer some sort of assistance. But the enemy they were facing were very strategic when it came to their tactical coordination; the Knight had recklessly came forward in an attempt to block Eternal Dominion, and even though that man was soundly thrown out in two or three moves, it was the intent that counted. Had they not been facing this two immensely formidable kung fu duo, there was probably no chance Southern Lone Blade and his men would have lost here.

After flinging that Knight out of his way, Eternal Dominion rushed up to take on Glue, but of course the Archer was not foolish enough to take on Eternal Dominion in melee. He held the clear advantage when it came to movement speed compared to the Fighter, so he immediately turned and ran. At the same time, Gu Fei’s Electric Wall had finally ended, which opened up room for Glue to dash ahead.

However, his comrades were still locked in battle at the moment, so obviously he was not going to flee entirely. But if he was able to lure Eternal Dominion away and allow the rest of his squadmates to focus on Gu Fei alone, they just might have a chance to actually kill their target. Hence, he ran on and continued to fire his arrows at Eternal Dominion in an effort to provoke the man.

Sadly, Eternal Dominion was resolute and firm. His only thought was to kill Southern Lone Blade and earn money, so he did not even bother when he saw Glue run away. More importantly, Glue’s arrows were essentially no threat to him, so all he had to do was casually twist and weave to dodge the projectiles sailing towards him.

Gu Fei was not even in the least bit disadvantaged even though he was facing two opponents at once, but he only had enough mana for a single Twin Incineration, so he had no desire to waste it and was searching for the perfect opportunity.

Eternal Dominion had came over to grant him aid, while Paddy Scent Pastures and the other Priest risked their lives trying to obstruct him, which only resulted in Eternal Dominion casually sending them to eat dirt with a simple punch and kick.

But one of the Priests was persistent. He did not give up despite falling on the ground like that, his hands deftly shot out to grab onto Eternal Dominion’s calves as he shouted at Glue, “QUICK SHOOT HIM!”

Plenty of players argued about this method of PvPing: withstanding all the damage dealt while attempting to restrict the motion of the enemy. Real experts would not attempt to use such a method, but Southern Lone Blade’s seven-man squad had no qualms about it. They did not care what method was used to obtain what they wanted, since the result was all that mattered.

This was yet another huge oversight on Eternal Dominion’s end as well. He had not expected that the enemy would be so lacking in character that they would use such a method to hold him down. Glue had already heard the cry and sent two arrows towards him. His Snipe was currently on cooldown, so the skill he used this time was a Double Shot.

That Priest had no intentions of letting Eternal Dominion go, either. While he had been previously holding onto a single calf, he had already taken the opportunity to envelope both of Eternal Dominion’s legs in a bear hug. Eternal Dominion did not bother to struggle, and in that moment when Glue’s Double shot arrived before him, his hands suddenly shot out one following the other, his hands closing as he caught both arrows in mid-flight.

“Twin Dragons Clutching Pearl! Wondrous!” Gu Fei commended him from his end. Twin Dragons Clutching Pearl was not a technique that could be used to snare hidden weapons, but Eternal Dominion had managed to adapt it for arrows in this scenario, which Gu Fei had seen through it easily.

This one cry from Gu Fei made Southern Lone Blade and the others feel a cool breeze in their hearts. This was especially true for that Priest still hugging onto Eternal Dominion’s legs. The man had originally thought that he would be able to earn some reprieve for the team through his reckless actions, yet seeing that their opponents still had the time to leisurely survey the situation meant that even the concerted efforts of Blackwater and Southern Lone Blade were no threat to the Video Mage either, which really meant his act of trying to hold Eternal Dominion back by hugging his legs was pointless as well.

Southern Lone Blade could immediately tell that defeat was almost a guarantee from the current situation they were in. They had no way to flee, since aside Blackwater and Glue, the other four simply did not have the movement speed to successfully get away. But having the two of them remain to sacrifice their lives with the rest was equally meaningless as well, so Southern Lone Blade made eye contact with Blackwater and signaled him to leave. Blackwater understood what Southern Lone Blade meant and did not hesitate for even a second as he turned to flee, waving towards Glue, who still wanted to fire another shot at Eternal Dominion, as he did so.

Glue grit his teeth, casually releasing that nocked arrow before turning to run, fleeing as if they were preserving the flames of revolution they now represented.

Southern Lone Blade was still worried that Gu Fei would attempt to stop Blackwater from fleeing, and had made the preparations necessary to obstruct him, yet he apparently had no interest in Blackwater’s departure. Southern Lone Blade had already felt that the two of them seem to be picking on him in particular, but he had no idea how accurate he was. It seemed like they only intended to kill him off and were not intending to trouble anyone else.

Southern Lone Blade glanced behind him and saw that Eternal Dominion had already gotten away from the Priest. Realizing that the man was also ignoring the other players as he dashed right towards him, he made eye contact with the others and signaled them to retreat as well. Southern Lone Blade decided he would persevere for a bit longer so as to increase the chances of survival for the rest of his brothers.

Unfortunately, that fantasy of his was nothing but a mirage. Who could even survive a single attack, now that Gu Fei and Eternal Dominion were working together?

Blocking the sword in front of him with his shield exposed his back to Eternal Dominion, which allowed the Fighter to close in and get a hold on Southern Lone Blade and execute his Seismic Toss swiftly. Southern Lone Blade was depressed: Just kill me then, but why must you do it in the same manner?

Gu Fei was about to step forward and lash out with his Twin Incineration when his ears suddenly picked up the sound of a number of arrows sailing through the air. He did not even spare the time to turn back and look as he quickly retreated from where he stood. Eternal Dominion had also twisted and twirled his body to evade the incoming projectiles. Turning his head to the side, Gu Fei saw a whole bunch of players standing by the street entrance pointing at him as they roared, “OVER HERE!”

At the same time, Homing Projectiles from the Archers came soaring through the sky like rain. Wheels of Flames filled the sky as Blazing Trees of Inferno began to erupt from the ground.

Gu Fei flurried his sword to bat the arrows away, even as he ducked and evaded spells coming for them; Eternal Dominion did the same as well, except he was far more debonair, leaping to climb the wall as he used the flat surface to elevate himself before making it up to the roof with a Swallow Dropkick.

Southern Lone Blade had also raised his shield up above his head as well, even as he cursed in his heart, “These guys are truly unrelenting when they strike!”

He recognized some of these players. He had hoped to use these guys to increase Gu Fei’s PK Value back over in the Warriors’ Encampment, but they ended up backing out in cowardice. Upon realizing the prowess the Mage and Fighter duo possessed, they did not act reckless. Instead, they gathered more of their men before they attacked in earnest, finally locating Gu Fei at this crucial moment.

Their appearance had essentially saved Southern Lone Blade, but he was not in the least bit thankful. These guys had tossed out their AoE attacks indiscriminately where Gu Fei stood, completely disregarding the fact that Southern Lone Blade was going to be caught in the crosshairs as well if all their spells connected.

The Knight and the two Priests were originally prepared to beat a retreat, but this sudden change stopped the three men in their tracks once more, hurrying to come to Southern Lone Blade’s aid. The Knight tossed out his Holy Healing, while the Heals from the two Priests swathed their leader.

Southern Lone Blade was slow to react, but with the help from his comrades, he managed to survive and step out from that raging firestorm with his shield held above his head. Before he could even heave a sigh of relief, a fiery glow came upon him once more. Why would Gu Fei let his target off so easily like this? Since the man had escaped in the same direction as he did and was just a mere step away right now, Gu Fei saw no reason not to let his Twin Incineration flash out fearsomely.

Southern Lone Blade subconsciously wielded his shield and blocked the strike. Had this been under normal circumstances, Gu Fei could have easily modified his attack to thread his blade past the shield and activated his spell after, but he was not given the chance to change it as the newcomers in that street entrance had continued to close in and kept up their attacks, which were all targeting Gu Fei. Gu Fei was not so heroic as to sacrifice his own life just to kill Southern Lone Blade like this, so the moment his sword came slashing at Southern Lone Blade’s shield, he shouted out the word “Incinerate” and activated his spell.

Seeing that Southern Lone Blade had stepped out from the firestorm, Gu Fei had hoped that his HP were not enough to survive this blow of his. But unfortunately for him, that hope of his was not fulfilled, as the skills of Southern Lone Blade’s comrades were the real deal. The combined healing managed to ensure Southern Lone Blade hung on to his life, while he continued to advance after taking Gu Fei’s sword with his shield. Meanwhile, Gu Fei had instead been caught in that wave of arrows and spells coming his way.

“ETERNAL!” Gu Fei cried out. He had his hands full just dealing with what he had on his plate, so he could only hope Eternal Dominion would be able to take down Southern Lone Blade by himself.

However, it was apparent that Eternal Dominion simply had not faced enough large scale battles. At the moment, he was safely standing up on the roof, yet he had no idea whether he should help by first dealing with the horde of enemies that had appeared, or continue their hunt for Southern Lone Blade. Hearing Gu Fei shout his name, he quickly shouted back his reply, “WHAT?”

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