The mercenary captain's long, red hair billowed despite the absence of wind, a handsome sight if it wasn't for his face painted with hardship.
He grabbed his sabre with two hands as flames sparked to life. With a powerful swing an arc of flames separated aiming for Silver Blade.
"Watch out!"
Hearing the tank's unhurried voice Watchful Eye, who stood close to Silver Blade, within the range of the flames, dodged with ease.
An idea came to his mind. Qi circulated through his body, surging into his staff as the monk activated his skill [Qi push]. With a flick of his wrist Watchful Eye's staff slammed into one of the mercenary's waists.
"Ah!"
With a startled shout the man was caught in an explosion of Qi. A powerful force grabbed him, throwing him in front of his own captain.
[-418!]
[-644!]
[-364!]
Flames washed over the mercenary, searing his body, the impact causing them to scatter.
"Damn, what a move!"
"Watchful Eye, that was crazy!"
"So smart!"
Being praised from all sides the man didn't show much emotion only nodding in thanks as he explained himself:
"I was just guessing because the captain seemed to avoid the other mercenaries."
"My friend, you do your name justice!", exclaimed Radiant Shield with a joyful laugh.
Silver Blade felt a hint of pride. After all those years Watchful Eye was more than just a bodyguard, resembling an elder brother. She was glad witnessing him getting the attention he deserved.
After this brief interlude everyone had to focus back on the fight. The enemies didn't stop their assault.
Silver Blade blocked the guard captain, reflecting his weighty sabre with her shield while the rest of the party worked hard to defeat the common enemies.
Yet the biggest threat came from the bowmen. Silent Acacia had just evaded another arrow when his stance finally ran out. Less than two seconds later an arrow finally hit his shoulder.
[-1924!]
The hunter opened his eyes in shock as a glance at his status revealed the loss of almost half of his HP.
>>> <<<
Name: Silent Acacia
Level: 29
Race: Original Nephilim
Class: Beast Hunter
Primary Attributes:
STR: 28
INT: 1
AGI: 91
HP: 4759/6701
Fury: 73/128
(show more)
>>> <<<
Frowning, the hunter tried to come up with a way to defend himself. He was just about to use the [Shared Fate] skill attached to his new bow when he noticed something else.
Silent Acacia quickly sprinted across the battlefield, entering the watchtower.
Watching from outside the rest of the party noticed that one of the bowmen froze for a moment, having lost his target, before turning around, about to walk down the stairs.
Zorn, apparently noticing her master's predicament, let out a snarl. She opened her maw wide. A ball of condensed water brimming with magic formed in her maw before shooting towards the top. The bowmen had the illusion as if a cannonball aimed to tear down their tower.
[-724!]
Water exploded at the back of the enemy, taking his last bit of HP. Simultaneously another bow-wielder succumbed to the attack of Fortune while one melee fighter died as well, leaving only the captain with one subordinate.
The party had taken full control of the fight. The one mercenary didn't pose a big threat to Radiant Shield, allowing Balm to focus on Silver Blade.
Despite being under pressure due to the elite's occasional flaming attack, Silver Blade stood her ground fearlessly. Soon the captain was the only one left. But under the concentrated assault of all party members, he shared the fate of his comrades.
Cyclone took a deep breath. In this fight she felt quite stifled being targeted by a ranged enemy, having to dodge all the time. Even her casts were interrupted twice.
"Those guys were quite fierce!"
"Indeed. However, they were aided by their levels and this tower. Otherwise, my blade would have erased these bowmen early!", said Bloody Edge playing with his dagger.
The sharp blade danced between his fingers. Suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder. Bloody Edge's arm shook. The dagger escaped his hand, drawing an arc, colliding with the watchtower. The thief jerked his head around, staring at Radiant Shield in annoyance.
"You did this on purpose!"
"I don't understand the meaning of your words."
The friends chuckled. Fortune captured a few scenes of the surroundings while Cyclone went ahead to loot the bodies.
Without expectations there was no disappointment, and Cyclone placed the unspectacular loot in the guild treasury. The party was just about to move on when Liam voiced a quick reminder:
"Aren't you interested in searching the watchtower?"
"What? Does it hold something good?"
While Balm was still asking, Cyclone had already hurried ahead. Looking around the first floor there were only some supplies, nothing of worth.
Cyclone didn't waste any time and advanced to the second floor.
"Two chests!"
The mage's joyful shout echoed through the tower, startling her friends. One by one they came to the second floor, crowding the small room. Fortune walked at the back, just in time to see Cyclone open the first chest.
"Eh, plants in a treasure chest?"
Cyclone was confused, finding a bunch of different herbs in her inventory.
"Plants? Let me see.", said Balm. Cyclone naturally didn't refuse, trading the herbs with her friend. Balm revealed a pondering look before speaking with an uncertain tone:
"I only recognize some of those. This one, Red-Leaved Souris, is part of my permanent strength potion recipe. It's rather rare and worth quite a lot. If all these herbs are of the same level, we made a windfall!"
"So valuable? I mean... I never expected anything less!", answered Cyclone with her chin raised high taking her luck for granted.
Unfortunately, Balm didn't answer her, rather looking towards Liam for explanations about the other herbs. The latter mulled over it for a moment before deciding to leave Balm to explore it herself.
It was part of being a qualified alchemist to learn about herbs. Only with a vast amount of knowledge could alchemists come up with their own recipes, which would really elevate them to the top, making their fame resound throughout Crunaboul.
Right now, profession players were still rather obscure, but this would change over time. Once their potions, weapons, and armours brought enough benefits everyone would seek out profession players with a fervour. Most guilds were conscience of this fact, investing early, just like Dream Avenue.
Luckily Balm understood Liam's considerations. She put the herbs away, eager to study them when she had the time.
Everyone turned their attention to the second treasure chest. Compared to the first one which had a shining golden exterior, the second chest appeared unremarkable, being of bronze quality.
No one was disappointed when Cyclone revealed two pieces of equipment, uncommon and magic, placing them in the guild treasury.
Dream Avenue's treasury was steadily being filled. Liam and his friends provided most of the high-level equipment but the bulk of items were gathered by the other members.
Sun's Knight had already begun sorting out some items. He found a designated assistant who paid attention to the auction house at all times, selling high and buying low. She did a good job increasing the average quality of the items in the treasury.
Thanks to the hard-working members the guild leaders could go on quests with the main team, enjoying the game. The friends climbed to the top of the tower, looking over the beautiful landscape.
They watched the beasts tamed by Donvin living among the undulating hills, sleeping and eating in peace.
"Such a gorgeous scenery. Why do those guys have to disturb it?", sighed Fortune with a look at the mercenaries guarding the land.
They were scattered throughout the area, the density of their numbers increasing towards a warehouse not far away from the party.
"You're right, Fortune. Let's get rid of them!", agreed Cyclone with a righteous tone.
Since the friends had seen enough, they were ready to turn their words into action. Naturally it was mainly because their target was the warehouse and not because the mercenaries disturbed the scenery. Those would respawn anyways.
Leaving the watchtower behind the party began to advance towards the warehouse, rolling over the mercenaries blocking their way.
The enemies were mostly of common strength. Without a tower to take cover the bowmen were easy prey for Bloody Edge while Radiant Shield and Silver Blade could concentrate all attention on themselves.
Even the occasional elite couldn't stop the players form advancing. Soon, they arrived in front of the warehouse.
As the last mercenary fell the party looked at the tall gate, big enough to allow passage for two humans on top of each other.
One could only imagine the mountains of food passing the gate every day. But since a while ago the warehouse hadn't seen any workers, only the guarding mercenaries.
"Are you prepared?", asked Radiant Shield with a stern voice, swiping his eyes over the party. Noticing everyone's nods, he stepped forward pushing against the gate.
His heels dug deep into the ground as the heavy gate opened with a grating sound.