A Sudden Counterattack

[Team][Kuang Dao]: Fuck! Everyone, watch your distance. If you've broken away from the main group, get back here now.

Boss Dao was angry. Furious! The "good comrade" he had just sent out to hold the enemy down had already died a glorious death. Wasn't that a slap in his face in front of everyone?

Xinchang was frustrated. Thoroughly frustrated! Come on, Mr. Mage, can't you pick someone else to kill? I don't think I've done much to you, have I? Sure, we attacked first, but you haven't lost so much as a hair, have you? What's with killing me and Little Sword over and over? I'd really love to know!

Ye Fengxing had no time for those pointless questions. He had already picked out another target: Kuang Dao.

He had heard the man's name before. After all, Lan Xi and the others were old buddies of his, so he knew a little about that incident. Apparently, Kuang Dao was quite an arrogant bastard most of the time. Excellent! Ye Fengxing loved putting people like that in their place!

Ye Fengxing crouched behind a small rise, gauging the distance between them. Once Kuang Dao's group was close enough, he sent Kuang Dao into the air with Cyclone Bind, followed up with Chaotic Wind, then turned and ran.

The others shouted and chased after him. With Wind of Freedom active, Ye Fengxing left them far behind in just a few seconds. Once six seconds had passed, he left combat, activated Wind Veil, and vanished behind a tree.

The pack kept stupidly chasing him all the way to that tree before realizing they had lost him.

By then, Ye Fengxing had already used Blink and was sprinting back the way he had come, with Wind of Freedom still active...

War Hero Yi Yan was thoroughly frustrated. He had told Kuang Dao not to act rashly, and now look at the mess they were in. Their losses weren't particularly heavy, but this was wasting far too much time! Things weren't like before, when everyone had reached the level cap and was so bored they would go crazy without some PvP to keep them occupied...

Right now, the guild's orders were: level up fast! Claim first kills! Grab territory! Make money!

Time was money. They really couldn't afford to waste it!

Xiao Xiaoxian looked around several times, frowning slightly. He carefully went back over everything that had happened, his brow tightening more and more. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and cried, "Oh no, Yi Yan! We might have fallen for a trick!"

"What is it?" War Hero Yi Yan jumped at the sudden outburst and hurried to ask.

"If I'm right, that Mage must have a Stealth-type skill! I thought something was off earlier. Why couldn't any of us spot him before he attacked, every single time? And several of the Assassins said that once he ran far enough away, he was gone, like he'd vanished into thin air. They couldn't find him anywhere. So I started wondering whether Chronicles of the Sky had changed its rules and allowed Mages to learn Stealth-type skills too." Xiao Xiaoxian let out a long breath. Rattling off such a long explanation in one rush had certainly tested his lung capacity.

"All right, let's assume your guess is correct." War Hero Yi Yan nodded. "Then why do you say we've fallen for a trick?" Yi Yan was an experienced veteran indeed. Once he spotted a problem, he didn't waste time worrying about whether it made sense. Finding a solution came first.

Xiao Xiaoxian said, "If I remember correctly, Boss Dao got hit by two skills just now, and neither did damage. That cyclone that lifts people into the air is a hard crowd-control skill. It stops you from moving or using skills for eight seconds. That's the one that hit me earlier. I didn't pay much attention to the other skill, only glanced at it, but it looked like a slowing effect. Why would he bother adding that?"

"Maybe he wanted to keep Kuang Dao trapped a little longer?" War Hero Yi Yan suggested.

"But why would he want to keep Boss Dao trapped longer?" Xiao Xiaoxian shook his head. "Normally, choosing to control Boss Dao would mean Boss Dao wasn't his target. In that case, wouldn't adding a slow be redundant? My guess is that the most likely explanation is that he wanted to lure us away."

War Hero Yi Yan froze, then immediately sent a message to the team.

[Team][War Hero Yi Yan]: Squads one, two, and three, get back to Kuang Dao's position immediately! Hurry!

At a critical moment, the difference between an old raid leader and a green youngster became clear. Xiao Xiaoxian certainly had keen insight and excellent analytical skills, but the crucial point was... lad, whether your analysis was right or wrong, by the time you finished that whole rambling explanation, Kuang Dao might already be dead...

"Go on." War Hero Yi Yan tapped Xiao Xiaoxian's head, which had turned away, and smiled. "That was a very incisive analysis. I'd like to hear the rest."

Xiao Xiaoxian turned back and asked, "Raid Leader, aren't we going back to help Boss Dao?"

War Hero Yi Yan smiled. "If your theory holds up, Boss Dao is probably just about to knock on death's door by now."

A little embarrassed, Xiao Xiaoxian said, "It was only a theory. I wasn't sure that was really what was happening, so..."

"It's fine!" War Hero Yi Yan cut off the youngster's quiet muttering and patted his shoulder. "You're actually very capable. The problem is that you lack confidence! Next time something like this happens, don't be afraid. Make the call first. If anyone complains, tell them I authorized it."

"Yes, Raid Leader." Xiao Xiaoxian was deeply moved and, for a moment, didn't know what to say.

While he hesitated, Kuang Dao's health bar in the team panel suddenly dropped a few times, then turned gray.

"See? What did I tell you?" War Hero Yi Yan couldn't help smiling.

"I let Boss Dao down..." Xiao Xiaoxian stuck out his tongue, then continued, "The enemy probably added that slow to hold Boss Dao back a little longer, so he couldn't keep up with the main group. Only two of our people stayed with him. I doubt someone with that kind of skill would consider three people much of a threat."

War Hero Yi Yan nodded. "True. Looks like I wasn't wrong earlier. Slowing effects generally last much longer than hard crowd control. But his goal was to double back and strike. I overlooked that... Ah, am I getting worse with age? I didn't even guard against such a simple trick."

"You shouldn't say that, Division Chief," Xiao Xiaoxian said. "Who could have expected a Mage to have Stealth? The idea only came to me in a sudden flash of inspiration."

"You're a crafty little rascal." War Hero Yi Yan laughed and gave the youngster a light smack, then put an arm around his shoulders and started back. "Come on, let's go check on Boss Dao. I bet he's stamping his feet and cursing everyone out right now."

War Hero Yi Yan had guessed correctly. Kuang Dao had already been resurrected by his own teammates and was pointing in their faces, berating them. "What am I supposed to say about you lot? Huh? You knew I was under crowd control, but you couldn't leave a few more people behind? No, you all charged after him in a mob! And how did that work out? Did you catch him? You still lost him, didn't you? Can any of you grow a brain? You play this game with your heads, not by being a bunch of blockheads!"

The group stood there taking the dressing-down, all of them quietly seething...

If you're so capable, Kuang Dao, stop playing the expert after the fact. Give us a sound, well-reasoned analysis like Xiao Xiaoxian did, and we'll all respect you. The problem is that you didn't say a damn thing beforehand. Now you're jumping out here with all the answers, as if you'd known all along you were going to die...

Fine, you're brilliant, and we're all stupid. No brains, just a bunch of blockheads. Then please take the trouble to give us some guidance and teach us blockheads a thing or two. You say you were under hard crowd control and couldn't speak? Fine, then type! Surely you could still type? That Mage isn't a GM, no matter how strong he is. He couldn't stop you from typing, could he?

Of course, they could only say those things in their heads. In front of a superior, they couldn't let even a trace of anger show. After all, Kuang Dao was the deputy chief of the Ninth Division. He and Yi Yan managed more than two thousand people, and the money was in their hands.

Anyone who no longer wanted to work there could certainly enjoy himself by pointing straight in the bastard's face and cursing him right back, venting years of pent-up resentment!

For now, it seemed no one was willing to do anything as foolish as defy a superior. After all, the Ninth Division offered excellent benefits, and they might not find anything nearly as good elsewhere.

At a time like this, their superior's superior needed to step in... War Hero Yi Yan emerged unhurriedly from the woods. The Ninth Division elites, who had been thoroughly chewed out, all turned their heads and cast hopeful looks at the big boss.

Those burning gazes, that desperate longing... even Xiao Xiaoxian, walking beside War Hero Yi Yan, got caught in the crossfire. The youngster was so startled that he took a step back and glanced behind him, thinking the Mage might be right at his back.

When Yi Yan stepped in, the difference was obvious! Within this raid, Kuang Dao could ignore what anyone else thought or said because he had enough seniority. But he couldn't ignore War Hero Yi Yan's opinion. Yi Yan had even greater seniority, and he was the raid leader-the actual boss.

With just a few words, War Hero Yi Yan cooled Kuang Dao down. Listening beside them, Xiao Xiaoxian was utterly impressed... He knew his deputy division chief's temper. Once Kuang Dao dug his heels in, nine oxen couldn't drag him back. Yet the division chief could disarm him with a few words every time. Incredible. Absolutely incredible!

When will I ever learn to do that...? Xiao Xiaoxian stared at War Hero Yi Yan, momentarily lost in thought.

The raid leader and his deputy discussed matters and agreed that they couldn't keep wasting time like this. Since their opponent could turn invisible, flushing him out would be extremely difficult... His skill and equipment were plain for all to see. If he committed to killing one person and running each time, none of them could do anything about him.

There was another possibility: he might have been sent by another major guild specifically to cause trouble. That was very likely indeed!

Although he had only shown himself a few times, those few appearances had been enough for everyone to get a good look at him. The fellow had no guild, yet his equipment and skill were both incredible. Who would believe he wasn't part of a major guild?

The most direct evidence supporting that theory was his equipment. Where had he gotten an entire set of top-tier gear? By farming it solo? Was that supposed to be a joke?

In a game, you couldn't get by on your own. The old saying, "No brothers, no freedom," had some truth to it. Even someone like Ye Fengxing couldn't do without his buddies from the Beaconfire Team. Now that everyone had moved over to Cloudsoar, all they had to do was tweak that saying a little: no brothers, no Cloudsoar!