Four figures sprang into action instantly. Skyblade led the charge, closing the distance to the group gathered by the shore in the blink of an eye.
With a shield bash, he floored one of the players in the crowd, following up with a flurry of attacks: Heroic Strike, Death Blow, and Colossus Smash.
Each hit landed cleanly, carving away half the warrior's health in re seconds.
The group had been laughing and exchanging gists, blissfully unaware of the storm about to descend on them.
"Whoa, look at DumbAce getting pounded!" soone jeered.
"Serves him right. He probably hit on another guildie's girlfriend!" another chid in, their tone laced with mockery.
But as Skyblade's relentless assault reduced DumbAce's health to dangerous levels, one of them finally noticed sothing was off.
"Wait a second... That's Skyblade from Renegade Alliance!"
The na alone was enough to shake them out of their stupor. They imdiately drew their weapons in a panic, but it was too late.
Skyblade stomped his foot with a thundering roar, unleashing Thunder Stomp, which shook the ground. Lightning crackled outward, immobilizing everyone nearby with a three-second stun.
And then it appeared, a towering Demonic Guardian wielding dual greatswords. With an inhuman roar, it charged into the stunned crowd, its devastating Blade Storm sweeping through them.
The Demonic Guardian spun in place, its blades carving through flesh and armor with terrifying precision. Players caught within its four-ter reach could only watch helplessly as their health bars plumted.
"Damn it!" Skyblade spat, landing an execution skill on DumbAce that instantly reduced him to zero health. He dropped to the ground, crouching just in ti to avoid the spinning blades, the Demonic Guardian's whirlwind attack slicing through the air above him.
Cold sweat ran down Skyblade's back. If he had hesitated even for a mont, he would have been shredded like minced at.
Not far off, SeraphWarrior had paused mid-charge. Turning to glance behind him, he shouted, "atball! Get that damn demon under control before it wipes us all out!"
On the shoreline, atball, true to his na, bore the appearance of a bloated chicken as he replied through the team chat, "I can't! I can only command it to attack or retreat. The rest depends on its AI, it's above my control level! You've got to get out of there yourself!"
"You…" Skyblade began, but before he could finish, SeraphWarrior had already plunged into the fray on the opposite side of the field.
Shockwave. Judgent. Leaping Strike.
One enemy fell, then another, as SeraphWarrior's massive greatsword delivered rciless justice.
Skyblade gritted his teeth, rembering their earlier wager about who would rack up the most kills. He quickly crawled out of the Demonic Guardian's Blade Storm range, intent on reclaiming his lead.
But just as he prepared to charge, he realized that atball's demon had already stolen six kills in its opening strike.
He cursed under his breath. "I'm the vice-leader! How the hell am I being overshadowed by that oversized kid?"
anwhile, SeraphWarrior had already downed three more enemies, and even Slashblade had managed to snipe one with a combination of Smite and Curse of Agony.
Skyblade's patience snapped.
He lunged forward with a Charge, following up with Heroic Strike as he barreled into the lee. His sword glinted with a savage red light as he cleaved through a mage, sending the unfortunate caster flying backward.
Without missing a beat, Skyblade chased after the mage's crumpling form. Death Blow activated, his one-handed sword glowing fiercely as it struck the target mid-air.
The mage collapsed on impact, their body dissolving into light.
Skyblade turned toward his next victim, his eyes blazing with ruthless determination.
Gone was the carefree, joking player they all knew.
Skyblade tore through six, seven enemies in quick succession. His skill rotation was seamless, not a single interruption breaking the flow. He didn't even bother with basic attacks; every move was calculated to perfection, his cooldown managent a masterclass in efficiency.
SeraphWarrior was no slouch either. With Crusader Strike, Shockwave, Judgent, and his signature Executioner's Cleave, he carved through the enemy ranks like a hot knife through butter.
Executioner's Cleave had been his favorite move since their first raid on Zone 1370, where he fell in love with its brutal finality. By chaining the stagger effects of Shockwave and Judgent, each lasting only fractions of a second, he created an opening to land decapitating blows on his enemies.
Granted, this trick worked best against poorly equipped opponents. Most of the players here were cloth-wearing classes, easy prey for his blade. Once players started donning full armor sets later in the ga, this flashy move would lose its effectiveness.
But for now, against newbie players in starter gear? Executioner's Cleave was a guaranteed one-shot kill.
Spells rained down around them, explosions of fire and lightning erupting in bursts of chaos. Yet neither Skyblade nor SeraphWarrior flinched.
With their guild's number one healer, Slashblade, watching their backs, they had nothing to fear.
As guild officers, their gear was among the best Renegade Alliance had to offer. Even atball, the Warlock, sported high-tier gear thanks to his habit of donating money in exchange for contribution points.
Against this weak rabble of Blade Syndicate who were mostly priests, it was a massacre.
In monts, over twenty Syndicate players were downed, their bodies scattered across the battlefield.
Panic erupted among the survivors. The few priests who hadn't been killed outright turned and ran, shouting warnings as they fled.
"Enemies!"
"It's Renegade Alliance! We can't win this—RUN!"
The camp descended into chaos.
At first, Blade Syndicate had fought back, landing enough hits to chip away at the attackers' health. But with Slashblade's healing keeping their team alive, and the Syndicate players too busy scrambling to defend themselves, the resistance quickly fell apart.
Now, most of them were focused solely on running.
Ethan, having shifted into Panther Form, darted around the camp like a predator herding prey. Moving at blinding speed, he intercepted anyone trying to escape, killing them with a single Savage Bite.
The sight of one of their own being instantly killed caused even more chaos among the fleeing players. Those in the back had no idea what was happening up front, leading to panicked shoving and collisions.
Skyblade and the rest of the team beca wolves among a flock of panicked sheep, cutting down anyone in their path.
By the end of the battle, Blade Syndicate's players were completely annihilated. Not a single one dared attempt a corpse revival, too afraid that Renegade Alliance would camp their bodies. Instead, they respawned at the graveyard, enduring the experience reduction penalty as they waited for the killers to leave.
It had taken less than three minutes for fifty-seven Syndicate players to be wiped out.
The five victors regrouped, their nas glowing bright red from the Sin Value they'd accumulated. The bloodthirst in their eyes betrayed how much they'd enjoyed the fight.
"Slashblade, did you record it?" Skyblade asked, glancing at the priest, who had stayed back to maintain a full view of the battlefield.
"Yeah, I got the whole thing… But…" Slashblade trailed off, throwing a sheepish look at Skyblade.
Skyblade cut in quickly. "Uh… Boss, when you post the video, could you maybe… blur the part where I was crawling on the ground? Just, you know, for…em, image sake."
The group burst into laughter. Everyone knew Ethan planned to post the video online. Skyblade, knowing he couldn't stop him, could only plead for so dignity.
"Sure, no problem," Ethan replied with a grin. "Slashblade, send the video."
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