Adventure World Online (AWO) Chapter 240 240: Changes

Chang Long could not see anything in the oppressive darkness, so she closed her eyes, which activated her Mind's Eye skill automatically. A level 48 Long-furred Cave Ape Beast was hurling another large rock at her. She quickly dodged, causing the rock to strike another ape that had been sneaking up on her from behind. The hit landed squarely, and the injured beast let out a loud, painful cry. As she continued to dodge the attacks of the Long-furred Cave Apes, Chang Long recalled the events leading up to her automatic logout from the ga.

She rembered being trapped in Wu Ming's Secret Training Ground, a sealed and perpetually dark cave. No matter how much light she conjured, she could only see herself. Within this area, many of her skills were restricted, and none of her pets or bound spirits could be unsealed to assist her in battle.

With the Mind's Eye skill active, Chang Long could perceive her surroundings as faint, shadowy outlines. Although the images were not particularly clear—her skill level was only at one—it was enough for her to anticipate enemy attacks. The skill also eliminated blind spots, allowing her to view the world in 360 degrees.

Once she had recollected her situation, Chang Long began to counterattack. After being on the defensive for so long, she slashed her Sovereign Sword at a large rock hurled by one of the apes. The blade effortlessly split the rock in two, along with the ape's body.

Though she was alone in the darkness, it was not entirely a bad thing. It provided her with a chance to train and push her abilities to the next level. The mory of her nightmare—where she was utterly incapable of defending herself against the other Pirate King heirs—strengthened her resolve. She was determined to endure her ti in this place to train herself.

.....

The Dark Horse Guild

Aswa, the guild leader, and several of his close subordinates had mysteriously vanished from the guild before the new patch update. This left the guild in an unusually quiet state while the city of Longshan was bustling with excitent. Independent players and guild-affiliated players alike marveled at the special territory fortress standing tall in the Gobi Desert. The Dark Horse Guild mbers were eager to participate in the special territory war, but their leader issued no commands other than to wait.

The fortress in the Gobi Desert was under attack by three daring guilds. The battle was intense, with skirmishes occurring both between players and the AI guards and among players from different guilds. The AI defenders, responsible for guarding the city emblem, were so formidable that two or three players were required to take on a single AI guard. Facing high-ranking AI officers required even larger groups.

The attackers suffered significant losses. Within an hour, the players who stord the special territory in Gobi fled in disarray. Those who failed to escape were overwheld and killed inside the fortress. No one managed to reach the second floor of the tower.

This incident served as a harsh lesson for smaller guilds with limited mbership, forcing them to reconsider their approach. Inter-guild negotiations increased, with so smaller guilds even rging into larger ones. These developnts caused unease within the Dark Horse Guild, despite its standing as the second-largest guild in the ga.

"Having the guild leader disappearing like this from the start is really bad,"

one mber of the Dark Horse Guild grumbled worriedly to his friend.

"Yeah, but we have to trust him. He's probably off searching for the Pirate King's treasure. Once he's back, I bet all the special territories around here will be ours,"

the second guild mber replied confidently.

"I hope so. If a major guild like ours doesn't secure a special territory, it'll be embarrassing compared to the other big guilds. Besides, we don't even know how many special territories are up for grabs on each island. If we keep dragging our feet like this, other guilds might snatch them all first."

"We can always take them back. As far as I know, once a player claims special territory, the system announces a Challenge Day. Other players can then challenge the current holder for control of the area."

"Even so…"

"Hey, you two. There's a ssage from the guild leader. He said he's found the Joker symbol and is heading to the location of the Pirate King's secret tomb. It won't be long before we hear the good news—he's bound to claim the treasure!"

A guild mber ca running over with good news for the two players who were talking grimly. The runner quickly spread the news to other mbers of the Dark Horse Guild.

"See? There's nothing to worry about. Our guild will reclaim its glory in no ti!"

The second guild mber said, patting his friend on the shoulder with pride.

"Yeah, our guild will rise again!"

.....

Europa Island, the Doom Star Guild had mobilized nearly its entire force in a full-scale attack on a special territory fortress near the Agaz Mountains. Although their infamous guild leader, Demos, was absent, the gap was filled by Phobos, the deputy guild leader. While Phobos' skills did not yet rival those of Demos—now recognized as one of the Pirate King's heirs—he was still considered a top-tier player, often ranked highly by the Journalists and Writers Association.

The Doom Star Guild's large mbership allowed them to launch a coordinated assault from all sides, and the result was quite satisfactory. They effectively pressured the AI soldiers defending the fortress. The lower-level AI soldiers were quickly overwheld, but the ones stationed higher up on the fortress were worriso. These AIs were archers, their arrows could easily pierce low to mid-level armor.

The battle for the fortress was chaotic but sowhat organized. The players held a slight advantage. Phobos himself was locked in combat with the AI commander of the fortress. Around the AI commander's neck hung the city emblem, a plain gold dallion about the size of a palm. Its design would remain featureless until a player successfully claid the area and nad the special territory.

The two combatants stared each other down for a long mont until Phobos initiated the attack. He thrust his jagged headed spear at the AI commander with lightning speed. However, the AI deftly dodged the attack and countered with a sweeping strike of his glaive. Phobos narrowly avoided the glaive's blade, but the commander did not stop there—he spun and delivered a powerful kick.

Thud!

Phobos staggered back, his arm going numb from absorbing the kick's impact. When he glanced at his arm, he saw that his high-quality bracer now bore a slight dent from the blow. Despite their clash lasting less than five minutes, Phobos was beginning to realize the true strength of his opponent.

"What's the matter? Not attacking anymore?"

the AI commander asked casually. Phobos glared at him and readied himself again, fully aware that his chances of victory were just about equal to the chances of losing.

Taking a deep breath, Phobos tightened his grip on his spear and lunged at the commander with blinding speed. This ti, his attacks flowed seamlessly, a mix of strikes and evasions. Yet, he had to admit that the commander's skill far surpassed his own. As Phobos poured every ounce of his strength into his assault, the AI commander dodged effortlessly, countering with ease.

Ti wore on, and the Doom Star Guild began to lose its advantage. Phobos had yet to defeat the commander, and the longer the battle dragged on, the more the players began to falter. Guild mbers started show signs of accumulating exhaustion, even with distributed stamina-restoring candies, they were failing to reverse the situation. Low-level mbers below level 40 fell in alarming numbers, and Phobos himself was on the brink of collapse. anwhile, the AI commander, though covered in wounds, still appeared as strong as ever.

"Tch, almost two hours already? If this keeps up, our guild is going to lose,"

Phobos muttered to himself in frustration. He could barely muster the strength to lift his spear anymore. When he looked up at his opponent, he froze in shock. The commander's glaive was racing toward him with frightening speed, an impossible feat for soone in such a battered state.

Phobos shut his eyes, bracing for the fatal blow, his chest filled with bitterness. He thought of Demos, his guild leader and close friend. If Demos were here, this siege would not have dragged on this long. But no one had been able to contact Demos since the ga had reopened, even though Orion had adamantly claid that Demos had logged in at the sa ti as him.

Shunk!

Warm crimson blood splattered across Phobos' face, startling him. Despite the profuse amount, he felt no pain. Slowly, he opened his eyes, bewildered. The sharp glaive of the AI commander hung just centiters from his face, but beyond it stood a figure whose back he thought he knew all too well. The sharp, clawed hand of this man pierced deep into the chest of the AI commander, and his claws had also left a gaping wound in the AI's stomach. Blood gushed from the wound like a stream. The AI commander's face turned ghostly pale as his glaive clattered to the ground with a resounding thud. His body began disintegrating into white light, but even in his final monts, his wide eyes remained fixed on Demos in utter disbelief.

"D... Demos!"

Phobos called out weakly, a surge of relief washing over him.

"You're utterly hopeless without . Honestly, Phobos, you need to train harder."

Demos did not even turn to look at him as he bent down and picked up the city emblem, a golden coin as large as his palm.

"W... what are you, a cop? Showing up this late!"

Phobos snapped as he struggled to stand, his voice tinged with mock anger.

"Cop? What nonsense is that? If anything, I'm the bad guy here. Look, I've massacred a whole army of soldiers,"

Demos replied, frowning in confusion.

"You... you've never watched TV dramas, have you? Thai cops always show up at the end."

Phobos' retort left Demos montarily stunned. They had known each other for years, but Demos never expected a gaming fanatic like Phobos would get hooked on soap operas, right down to the trope of cops arresting the villain at the last mont.

"You know my mom's obsessed with them..."

Phobos muttered, rolling his eyes, knowing Demos was already picturing sothing ridiculous again.

"The Doom Star Guild has successfully conquered the special territory at the base of the Akaz Mountains. For the next month, this special territory will remain under their control before the system opens it for contention again."

.....

The system announcent echoed across all the islands in Adventure World Online, ensuring every player could hear it. The reactions were mixed—so were shocked, so nodded as if they had expected it, and others felt an unexplainable irritation, especially one broke player traveling on the Afric Island.

"Demos, that bastard..."

Aswa growled, clenching his teeth in frustration. Once again, his nesis had taken a major leap ahead of him. But it would not stay that way for long. Aswa would soon return to his forr wealth and glory.

The Joker symbol Aswa had found was located in a spot well-known to players on the Afric Island—a place referred to as the Abandoned Theater. The structure had a large, brick-built tower-like structure, resembling a gymnasium in Ro. However, this theater was sealed tightly. It was also one of the more intriguing dungeons for players seeking equipnt with special attributes for their pets, items unavailable in the system's shops.

Inside the abandoned theater, the air was dark, damp, and eerily oppressive. The circular amphitheater surrounded the stage, elevated about fifty centiters in the center. The empty spaces around the stage were cluttered with cages of various sizes, all of which seed to have succumbed to the ravages of ti. Multicolored fabrics that once adorned the space hung faded and torn, partially obscuring visibility and adding to the peril of the place. The constant risk of ambushes by lurking beasts made the abandoned theater a life-threatening challenge.

The creatures inhabiting this theater were mainly clowns, acrobats, magicians, animal trainers, and beastly creatures such as tigers, lions, bears, and elephants. Their levels ranged moderately between 40 and 60, but their combat skills and ability to use certain techniques made them formidable foes.

"Well, it looks like we're in the right place—clowns everywhere,"

Aswa said in a deadpan tone, trying to suppress laughter after being unexpectedly hit by one clown's Tickle Technique.

"Ha-ha-ha... I... I... I think so too. Chortle,"

replied one of his subordinates, also affected by the Tickle Technique. Despite trying his best to stifle his laughter, he could not stop himself, and the more he laughed, the more his defense points dropped.

"Hmph..."

Aswa gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to succumb to the laughter. Resisting helped reduce the loss of defense points to so extent, but he too had been affected. Though his defense dropped less than those who burst into full laughter, it still did. The more they laughed, the faster their defense points drained.

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