Chapter 188 – The Calm Before the Storm
Translated by: xDh20, Ciel and GGP!
Edited by: Manvender, Seb, Zdog and Video!
This chapter was sponsored by Raleigh Barbee! Thanks!
The following day, at 10AM.
In the lush woods near the outskirts of Ba Huang City, [Valiant Bravery] members could be seen everywhere and with the arrival of Zhan Long’s group of 7, all the players were finally ready for the 100 VS 100 battle.
Standing underneath a pear tree, I crossed my arms, looked at General Li Mu and asked “Did you find out who [Flying Dragon] hired to join their guild?”
Li Mu nodded “Only players that have entered the guild for two hours should be able to participate in the Guild Prestige Battlefield. According to the spy I planted in [Flying Dragon], they hired 11 high level players that are all on the CBN network’s top 1000 players ranking . They also invited 21 players from Fan Shu City, who are all at least level 50 top tier players and the rest are from Ba Huang City.
I gave a cold stare “Who in Ba Huang City would help [Flying Dragon]?”
Li Mu bitterly said: “[Vanguard] did. 13 core players from [Vanguard] joined [Flying Dragon] as mercenaries. All of them belong to heavy armor type classes.”
“13 players?”
“Yes!” General Li Mu gripped his sword handle and said “Xiao Yao, these 13 players are also on CBN’s top 1000 players and are veteran gamers from Jian Feng Han’s forces. They are [Vanguard]’s elite squad and are nicknamed [Vanguard]’s 13 Eagles. Their leader is Fallen Wolf, who you have previously sparred against!
I clenched my fist “Che, the situation looks grim; it is not in our favor.”
Li Mu nodded “Yeah, their average level is 2-3 levels above ours’. Since [Flying Dragon] hired 50% of their fighting force, they have an advantage in both level and equipment. They are really determined to win!”
Alongside me, Matcha said “So much hired help might not be a good thing, they are not as organized as we are. If we can use the geographical location to our advantage, we could stand a chance.”
I asked “When will the map for the Guild Prestige Battlefield be released?”
“30 minutes before the battle, we will wait here right now since the time is so short.”
“Yeah…..”
…..
Li Mu sat down on the grass by the pear trees and used both of his hands to hold up up his head while his arms were resting in his lap. Frowning, he whispered “Xiao Yao, can you tell me what I should do? [Valiant Bravery] is my and my brothers’ dream. It is our expedition in this world of virtual reality, so why do we keep on hitting these roadblocks such as, [Flying Dragon] and [Vanguard]?
I patted his shoulders, smiling “Don’t pressure yourself too much, and don’t worry about it alone, you have us with you. Even if we lose, there should not be one bit of regret. However, we might not lose!”
Li Mu nodded.
Off to the side, General Lian Po sighed. Holding his crossbow, he laughed “We in the General family are called madmen by the players of Ba Huang City; it seems like they were right. We are not afraid of picking fights with others because we think of everyone as equals, not only that, but we all share a love for the Generals of the Warring States Period, to the extent that we have used different names as our ID’s. As you can tell Xiao Yao, Li Mu’s original name was Li Xin, Wang Jian’s original name is Wang Teng, Bai Qi was originally Bai Ying, and I changed my name from Sun Hong to Lian Po. And now you have it, a complete meal…”
TL: He means that the whole General Family is named completely after famous generals of the Warring Kingdoms time.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter and said “Yeah, that’s exactly the reason why, we are the type of people that care for one another. Life is a long and lonely journey, but it is filled with our friends and dreams that accompany us. Without them, what’s the difference between life and death?”
Li Mu stood up, laughing “Yes, Xiao Yao is right, [Valiant Bravery] is our dream, so we can’t let the despicable people from [Flying Dragon] vanquish it!”
I replied: “Let’s check our battle preparations to make sure that everything is in order. The battle will begin in one and a half hours. We need to obtain the information on the map of the battleground and decide on a strategy in the 30 minutes before the the battle starts. If we don’t come up with a strategy, and rush in recklessly, we will not have even a 20% chance of victory!”
Li Mu nodded in agreement “Sure!”
……
Time passed by slowly; for some of [Valiant Bravery]’s players it was a type of torture, while for others it was exhilarating. Knowing that they would have to face off against elite players coming from all three of the large cities, who are definitely stronger than them, increased their heart rate in both cases.
“Brother Xiao Yao….” Little Wolf silently held the dagger next to the pear tree and asked “Will we win? I can’t help but worry that we might not win….”
I forced a smile while pointing at the [Valiant Bravery]’s logo on my shoulder and said “Today, we are warriors of [Valiant Bravery] and with that we must fight without any regrets!”
Matcha nodded cutely, “Yes, what boss says is right…..”
Old K held his battle axe while grinning: “Let’s not talk about winning or losing, we haven’t even fought yet. I’m more interested in fighting [Vanguard]’s 13 Eagles and seeing if they are as good as rumors say.”
…..
Moments later, a “Ding” sound could be heard as the Guild Prestige Battlefield map revealed itself. It was a 10,000 x 10,000 field that was not too large nor too small, in the center of the map was a plateau with lush forest that was surrounded by shrubs. The players spawned on opposite ends of the map. Once the battle started, the players would start fighting, the penalties for dying here are as usual; if you die, you will lose a level and drop some equipment.
“Hua….”
Deep within the forest, Li Mu waved his hand and the Guild Prestige Battlefield map appeared, he browsed the map and said “Everyone has seen the battlefield, if you have any suggestions, let’s hear them now since everybody here is trustworthy!”
Wang Jian said in a low tone “The map has large bushes and deep ditches that can hide Mages, Archers, Musketeers to use in an ambush. “
General Bai Qi laughed “Hehe, within our 100 combatants, we have 44 heavy armor players that can be used on the plain to charge forward at them in the most effective way. We can clash against them head on!”
I shook my head “No, that is what we must not do…..”
Li Mu lifted his head and looking at me, he asked “Xiao Yao, where do you think is a crucial location?”
My finger pointed on the map: “The crucial location is the center of the map, the plateau. Using the elevated land will help raise the potential of the heavy armor players as well as increase effectiveness of ranged attacks. Controlling the plateau will control the battlefield, so a battle for the plateau will be inevitable.”
Matcha chuckled “Haha, only boss can see it clearly; the battle for plateau is inevitable, and we must occupy it. It will then become easy to attack and retreat to defend. If we secure this location, we can control the pace of the battle.”
Li Mu nodded “Good, then it is decided, we shall develop our tactics so that we can capture the plateau!”
Lian Po smiled slightly “Yup, then let’s do that. I am afraid of disorganized fighting which usually ends up in losses. Our main strength lies with you guys: Xiao Yao, Li Mu, and Wang Jian. The strength of others can’t compare to them, so to win, we must stick together.”
“Let’s discuss specific tactics now!” Li Mu took a deep breath and continued “we don’t have much time left.”
Within the crowd, Fox coughed and asked “General Li Mu, how many Musketeers do we have for this battle?”
Li Mu was surprised “A total of 8, why….”
Fox stood up and said “Everyone knows that the firepower of Musketeers is not as strong as Archers nor Mages when it comes to ranged attacks. In teamfights, Musketeers shooting against heavy armor players is like tickling them, so I suggest that we gather all 8 of the Musketeers and concentrate our attacks solely on their Archers, Musketeers, Healers and other cloth armor players in [Flying Dragon]. Overlapping our [Bombardment] 8 times can insta-kill unsuspecting players. What do you think?”
Li Mu couldn’t contain his laughter and nodded in approval “Good! Then the other 7 Musketeers will be under your responsibility, Fox!”
“Okay, I will organize the ambush, we will make them realize that we, Musketeers, although unpopular, are a force to be reckoned with! They will fear us Musketeers!”
“Okay!”
……
Simple instructions were given to the remaining players. Our tactics were simple; the important thing was to occupy the plateau while the smaller details were only vaguely discussed since the time of the battle was drawing near!
“Ding!”
System Notification: You are one of the selected participants to enter the Guild Prestige Battlefield between the two guilds; the battle will start in 5 minutes. However, you can enter the battlefield now, do you wish to be teleported?
Confirm!
“Swoosh!”
My character’s body decomposed and with a flash of light recomposed at one end of the Guild Prestige Battlefield. When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was within the lush green forest and surrounded by fragmented broken swords, decaying human bodies, and the bloodied bodies of defeated orcs. These were the remnants of a battle that had taken place long ago. The plateau towered over us, over 50 meters tall, and there was an invisible border that would only allow us to enter the battlefield once the battle began.
……
“Gu Dong!”
Li Mu drily swallowed, his expression nervous yet excited. He was also a battle maniac, and even though this battle was one to determine the life and death of [Valiant Bravery], his blood would still boil at the beginning of a battle. Of course, he was not the only one looking forward to battle, Bai Qi and Old K both loved the rush of battle.
“How do we charge to occupy the plateau?” Matcha said slowly “Preparations must be done in advance…..”
I nodded and said to Li Mu “You take 20 heavy armor players and charge from the right side, I’ll take Zhan Long and charge in from the left side. Whoever gets to the top first will start covering fire for others to help them get onto the high ground. The fight for the high ground is a must. Fox, you can lead your squadron of 8 musketeers. I’ll send you some coordinates and be ready to ambush the players there! We must become famous from this war, dissolve [Flying Dragon], and teach Soaring Dragon a lesson!”
Li Mu and Fox both nodded “Ok, no problem!”
……
After waiting for five excruciating minutes, finally, before our eyes, the curtain began to slowly disappear, bit by bit. The system began the countdown for the event
3!
2!
1!
The moment everyone has been waiting for has arrived. The battle has begun!
Carrying my Frost Rain Sword, I was the first player to charge forward. Following close behind me was Old K, Dong Cheng Lei and Matcha. Then it was Wolf, Fox, Darling Duck and the rest. Meanwhile, General Li Mu led the other group to charge from the right. We kept pace with each other and were no further than 100 meters apart so that we could hear each others call.