Chapter 329 - Encircle and Charge!
Not many things were needed to create the mops, so after selecting the appropriate ‘materials’, plenty of players expressed their interest over the mop creation; some wanted to have a hand in it, while others merely wanted to watch.
Disregarding the human portion that was the mophead, sticks, ropes, and similar things were indispensible for this. Since they were deep inside the jungle, the players had no lack of sticks suitable for tying up the ‘mops’.
Gu Fei supplied them with three coils of rope for this operation. This caused many players to feel puzzled. Why was this man carrying so many ropes? The rope he had used before was still hanging limply on a tree. There was also that rope he had used to tie up Deep Waters. Adding the three he had just given away… This peak expert sure was quite the character!
While outsiders could only speculate about this, those who were acquainted with Gu Fei could directly ask him about it. As such, Royal God Call unhesitatingly asked him about the matter.
“The inventory system games provide sure is convenient.” Gu Fei sighed. “It’s so handy to store things, such as weapons, in the dimensional pocket unlike in reality.”
“Weapons?! You considered that a weapon?!” Royal God Call exclaimed.
“Of course.”
“Does that mean there are other weapons inside your dimensional pocket?” Royal God Call’s gaze was on Gu Fei’s dimensional pocket when he asked this.
“Yes, but most of them are not very handy,” Gu Fei said and took out a few for Royal God Call to see. Royal God Call had already seen Sacred Flames of Baptism many times before, including a similar-looking saber, which Gu Fei explained was for him to wield in tandem with the Chinese broadsword. There were a few small daggers, presumably for throwing, and a white-tier, larger dagger that Gu Fei got from the Werewolves. In addition, there was a slim, long wooden rod. Gu Fei held it perpendicular to the ground before his eyes as he explained to Royal God Call, “Look. This one is called a Qimei staff because its length is leveled with the user’s eyebrows.”
Before Gu Fei could pull out another weapon, Royal God Call cried out, “It’s sais! F*ck me! Twin sabers, sais, staff… I didn’t know you’re actually a Ninja Turtle!”
Gu Fei was not amused, yet he patiently explained, “It’s an iron ruler, actually. It only came to be known as ‘sais’ after its use became widespread in Japan. Karate practitioners often use this.”
“Are the Ninja Turtles trained in karate, then?” Royal God Call mumbled to himself.
Gu Fei tried to recollect his memories. “Hmm… They do seem to know a bit.”
“Let me see that.” Royal God Call reached his hand out. Although Gu Fei had called it an iron ruler, Royal God Call was certain no such equipment existed in Parallel World. The wooden rod Gu Fei had shown him looked to be self-made, yet this sais was obviously made of metal, so other than someone with the appropriate crafting profession, he could not think of anyone who could make it.
When Royal God Call finally got his hand on the weapon, he was brought into tears by what he saw on its description window. This so-called ‘iron ruler’ was actually a quest item called ‘Uncle Mori’s Lost Sais’.
“This belongs to a NPC! Are you not doing this quest since you have yet to return this to Uncle Mori?” Royal God Call inquired.
“I only took that quest to get this iron ruler!” Gu Fei said, regretfully adding, “Too bad I only got this one. I can make a pair if I find another one.”
“Just find a kind soul to do the quest and get another when we get back to Yunduan City,” Royal God Call said before leaning forward. “What else do you have in there?”
Gu Fei was about to pull out another item when War Without Wounds jogged over. “Hey! What are you guys still doing here? The mopping is about to begin.”
“Ohh!” Royal God Call rushed off. Evidently, his interest in seeing people being used as mops was far greater than looking at Gu Fei’s remaining items. Gu Fei shook his head regretfully; the decline in the interest toward kung fu was not without reason, after all, and Royal God Call was a prime example of this, with him choosing to check out the living mops instead of continuing to discuss kung fu with Gu Fei.
“Aren’t you going? I got myself a good spot in the front row!” War Without Wounds invited.
“Let’s go, then!” Gu Fei could only keep his precious weapons as he joined War Without Wounds to watch the minesweeping.
With an audience numbering a thousand and only ten performers, there were bound to be some who would pout in disappointment for being unable to watch the show. Among those were the players who had unfortunately been tasked by Youthful Reflection to be on the lookout for any potential enemy movement.
A majority of the players were cramped together in one spot, which proved just how important War Without Wounds’ ‘good spot in the front row’ was.
Ten men lay on the ground, as the chosen mop-maker, who held a rope in his left hand and a stick forming the rod in his right hand, smiled brightly like never before. A bunch of gambling aficionados had already finished calling their bets. They were all betting on which of the mops would be completed first. From here on, the gamblers who had placed their bets were not permitted to speak with the mop-maker to ward off cheating. Gambling was a very serious matter, after all.
Everyone began yelling when Youthful Reflection gave the order to begin. This was the single most exciting moment the Yunduan City’s players had had since entering the jungle, so their cheers and laughter resounded endlessly. Meanwhile, Deep Waters’ comrades hiding in the jungle were utterly flummoxed over the enemies’ sudden elation.
“Should we strike again?” They planned their ambushes to have long intervals in between. While they might cause greater damage by attacking often, their constant exposure could potentially reveal to the enemies the flaw in their plan. Deep Waters’ men were skilled at such fights and knew very well that a war of attrition that slowly chipped away the enemies’ number was their surest path to victory. However, their enemies’ sudden excitement caused them to feel uneasy as it seemed to suggest that something was afoot.
Soon, disagreement abounded within their ranks. Some felt that such a time was when they needed to maintain vigilance and not act rashly, as doing otherwise could result in dire consequences. Others believed that the enemies located in the outer circle were starting to get restless, which meant that this was the best time to send forth another wave of assault!
As both sides continued to disagree over their course of action, another burst of cheers resounded on the side of the Yunduan City’s players with the birth of their ten-human mops.
“We are breaking through in the northwest direction! Archer formation, prepare to provide cover! Hunters and Thieves, bring up the rear!” While everyone was clamoring over the mop-making process, Youthful Reflection was making the necessary preparations to make their break through a success. Naturally, Berserkers with high Strength were required to operate the mops. As the primary leader of the expedition, Oathless Sword had no issue getting a spot and becoming in charge of the mopping team.
War Without Wounds, who was considered as a supreme Warrior in many MMOs and had allocated many points to Strength, won himself a spot. He was secretly delighted by this! How many chances could anyone get to do this job?
Besides them, Luo Luo managed to secure June’s Rain a position as well. Although June’s Rain’s equipment might not be extraordinary, finding a Warrior who had devoted all their stats to Strength like her was rare. Furthermore, after borrowing Svelte Dancer’s fire-resistant coat, June’s Rain gained a clear advantage from others.
A new quest always invigorated June’s Rain. As the mop she got danced in her hand with merriment and amid the prayers of those who personally knew her, the person acting as a mop did not make a peep. By the time June’s Rain finally stopped her movement and everyone took a look, the man was already passed out. Coincidentally, this was the same Priest whom June’s Rain had slapped before. Knowing full well of the lady brutish strength, when he learned that she had been assigned as his handler, the man immediately passed out from the anxiety.
The members of the team were very quickly chosen. Oathless Sword would normally say a few words at times like this, but he must be itching to play with the human mop he got as he simply waved his hand and said, “It’s finally time for us to make our assault, fellow comrades! Let’s go!”
The Yunduan City’s players who had been clustered all this while swiftly made a path out. With the Knights blessing the members of the minesweeping team, the ten Warriors pushed forward a mop each! A team of Priests closely followed the minesweepers and started bestowing steady Heal on them. It was imperative to preserve the lives of all the human mops.
Following them was the archer formation that Youthful Reflection personally led. Sharpshooters had their Eagle Eye peeled, so even the rustling of leaves ahead could not escape their sight. As for the Mages, they were in charge of guarding their flanks. Behind them were all the unassigned job classes. These players who were not assigned any particular roles in this assault would be the main force once the fighting began.
Taking up the rear was naturally a portion of the Thieves and the leftover Hunters. Sakurazaka Moony had his comrades set up traps in their wake in hopes of letting the enemies have a taste of their medicine. Finally, there were the majority of Thieves in Stealth. Once the enemies rushed out to attack, they would be in for quite an unpleasant surprise.
Gu Fei and Sword Demon were in this last group. Sword Demon was undoubtedly a true Thief. And owing to Gu Fei’s lethality, Youthful Reflection felt he would be most impactful bringing up the rear.
The effect these human mops had was very significant. The sound of the traps triggering seemed to come together to create a beautiful melody. Those from Linyin City were not prepared to deal with such an outrageous method that those from Yunduan City had come up with and were unable to come up with any means to stop them. When the mopping team cleared out all the traps, the players following them unleashed their attacks without discretion. The Mages generously cast AOE spells to their flanks, not caring whether there were players visible or not, since they were counting on the possibility of enemy Thieves in Stealth, Mages, and Hunters being in their immediate vicinity.
The players from Linyin City were left rattled in the face of this sudden and massive assault, scrambling for their lives now that the flaw of their setup was exposed here; since they were inferior in number for this fight, the encirclement they did only dispersed them even further.
Once the web of traps failed to hold the players of Yunduan City in, they no longer had any means to stop or prevent them from blitzing through their ranks.