Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
The nature of the guild Blade Edge was mentioned in the previous chapter. They were affiliated with the government. All the members of the guild were selected from the police, military, or administrative branches of the government. The department that they were grouped in seemed to be an isolated extension of the internet police unit, but in reality, there was a big secret conspiracy behind it.
Some might question why a government body would group together a bunch of people to purposely infiltrate into a game by making accounts and even building a guild. What could possibly be the purpose behind this?
It was a very long story. As any clever readers must have noticed by now, in this web novel, there were many elements from ghosts and gods, including heaven and hell. Therefore, in this world’s official government, there would be a department responsible for dealing with such supernatural occurrences. The power scope of this mysterious department was immense, and they had the absolute power to do certain things. The power level of the guild Blade Edge aside… if it was necessary, the government could have built an organization that was stronger than any of the professional gaming studios currently existing in the game. But since the current leader of this mysterious department had a personal relationship with Woody, they had adopted this more relaxed way of intervening into the game. Basically, it was an attitude of ‘just observing but not doing anything.’ However, if anything serious popped up, this department would have to take down the headquarters of Dream Inc. in real life.
Of course, that was not the core subject of this web novel, so we shall abandon that part of the plot and return to the Battle of the Bug.
Seven Kills was known as the third character at Blade Edge, but in terms of pure fighting ability, he was the best member of the guild. This was because the first and second in command in Blade Edge were more like the team leader and commissar. We can call them the commander in chief and the strategist, and Seven Kills was their best general.
To be able to squeeze into the top twenty combat stat ranking, he was naturally good at the game. Even though he was only ranked 16th, that did not mean that he would surely lose to the fifteen who were placed before him. It did not necessarily mean that he would win when he ran into people who were lower than him in the ranking. If there was no wide gap between the power level of the two players, since there were many different elements that could come into play during duels, the result could be unpredictable.
Unfortunately, Xiao Tan was not in the same standard as Seven Kills.
“That guild logo…” Seven Kills mumbled when he saw the conspicuous guild logo of Underworld Frontline from very far away. “Hah…So I ran into people from the Underworld Frontline in my first match.” Well, it was impossible for him to not remember the name and the symbol of the guild in which Feng Bujue, the man who beat him at Gotham City, belonged to.
Before this fight even started, Seven Kills had already gotten quite pumped.
“Seven Kills… the Seven Kills from Blade Edge…” Xiao Tan would often spend time checking the many rankings, so he easily remembered this particular ID. It made an impression on him. He thought to himself. Hmm…My luck couldn’t get any worse. I just ran into a top twenty player for my first match. But then again, a fight with this kind of player will help me determine where I currently stand with my own power level.
Facing the powerful enemy, Xiao Tan did not feel any fear, but he was itching to give it a go. At that moment, the two were surrounded by a barren wasteland. The ground under their feet was fairly compact, and the surface was covered in a layer of dried grass and sand. Above their heads, the sun shone brightly, and there was no rain cloud in sight. One could look down the horizon easily. Since this was a scenario specifically made for the preliminary, there was no plot, and the map was relatively simple. Furthermore, the system was ‘kind’ enough to have the two players face each other at the very beginning. Once they entered the scenario, they would be greeted by their opponent.
There were probably more than a hundred meters between them. After standing still for several seconds, it was Seven Kills who first spoke. He raised his voice to say, “Friend, since this is a match, then I won’t be holding back.”
“I am sure I have much to gain from this battle. Thank you for giving me this chance to learn,” Xiao Tan said as he extended his arm, and the energy-storing San Leng Thorns appeared in his left arm. He pulled his right hand into a fist and the Meow-Meow Claw sprang forth.
Oh… this kid is far more polite than their guild leader, Seven Kills observed. He replied, “The same could be said for me.”
He was a pugilist and used boxing gloves of excellent quality. Therefore, he did not need to do any preparations and simply lunged forward.
“Jesus. He’s fast…” Xiao Tan mumbled as he looked at the shadow flitting across his sight. Suddenly, he felt the mounting pressure on his shoulders. With that one move, he knew he was facing someone incredibly powerful. With one motion, Xiao Tan understood that in terms of speed, Seven Kills was definitely not below him. At that moment, Xiao Tan started to move out of instinct. While he slid to the side, the shuriken from his left sleeves already shot out at high speed.
Using that to test my speed and reflexes? Seven Kills thought as he jumped over the shuriken with ease. He said with a low voice, “That’s a reasonable tactic, but it might not get you as much information as you might hope.”
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two had been shortened to less than ten meters. Of the five shurikens that Xiao Tan shot, none of them hit the target.
“Qie…” Seeing how fearless the man was charging at him from the front, there was something that fortified his determination. He scoffed coldly and said, “If you wish for us to meet in close-quarter combat, then I’ll surrender to your wish!”
Well, as ruthless as that proclamation sounded, the next thing that Xiao Tan did was to roll. The roll was so sudden, quick, and so unexpected.
As a player who focused solely on improving his close-quarter combat fighting skills, Seven Kills was not going to be afraid of anyone in a close-distance fight. Even when he faced enemies like Shiva or even Phantom Dawn, he believed that he would not be taken advantage of in close-quarter combat. For Xiao Tan, in terms of fighting experience and technique, he was far behind his opponent. The only skill he had that could rival Seven Kills was his speed.
Therefore, if he wanted to win, relying on regular fighting techniques was definitely not going to work.
Thus, Xiao Tan decided to go against the grain and used the element of surprise to hopefully gain some advantage over his opponent.
“Hmm?” This definitely took Seven Kills by surprise. The opponent had taken the stance and had shown the weapon, but he did not use any of them. He rolled around on the ground. Xiao Tan swiped with his left leg, aiming for Seven Kills’ ankle.
“Humph…Suddenly deciding to go for an underhanded tactic like this…Such naivete,” Seven Kills said as he raised his feet as fast as lighting, and he then stomped down heavily. While he avoided the attack, he already did his counter. To his surprise, the sweeping strike from Xiao Tan was just a bluff. Xiao Tan’s right leg arced behind him and stung forth like a scorpion’s tail at his opponent’s stomach. Seven Kills reacted half a second slower, but he was still fast enough to stop what he was doing. He chose to use his standing leg to kick against the ground, using the rebound to send himself flying backward.
Seeing this, Xiao Tan rolled up his sleeves and chased after his enemy with a cold steel glinting in his grasp. Even though this was another hidden weapon attack, it was as fast and as powerful as a loosened arrow. Seven Kills was in midair and only responded with a chilling smirk. He said, “Not bad. You were able to expose an opening, and you know how to make use of that small opening.” Before he finished that sentence, he used two fingers to fetch the shuriken that flew toward his throat. He plucked it right out from the air.
“You have to be kidding me,” Xiao Tan said in disbelief. He was already covered in a cold sweat. In such a short distance, Seven Kills was defenseless in midair. He was suspended in the air after making a forceful retreat, but he was able to pick out such a fast-flying hidden weapon with such ease.