Reign of the Hunters

The battle started in an instant.

When the players from both sides placed their quest items under the cover of their allies at the appointed location, one of the most game-changing patches of Fate, The Showdown began.

The patch was introduced while the game was still operating. Players were not forced to lock out. It seemed that the new questline would only begin when the Dark Players placed their quest items at the spot. 

Naga’s voice boomed in the sky, “What is ten thousand years of wait when I can finally have my sweet, sweet revenge? Let our crusade begin once more!” 

A progress bar appeared in the UI of the players present. There were emblems representing the Light and the Darkness. They noticed that the progress bar was immediately dyed black when Naga’s voice rang out. This meant that Light was being suppressed by Darkness.

The mainstream players were starting to panic. They haven’t managed to place all the quest items yet. No Heroes of Light could be summoned to fight Naga. With the Dark Players outnumbered in the battle, it was a humiliation that the mainstream players were unable to complete the deployment of their quest items sooner. 

While their commanders were still keeping order and trying to salvage the situation, it was obvious that morale among the mainstream players was low. 

Breeze immediately gave the order, “Don’t let our initial success get to your head. We’re still far from winning this. Concentrate all your fire on the spot where they need to place their quest items. Delay them for as long as you can.” his voice could be heard by all the Dark Players, “Charge! Charge!” 

Despite being an NPC, Naga’s presence on the battlefield was a great boost to morale while also bringing buffs to players from his faction. The Dark Players received an increased Physical Defence, Magical Resist, as well as a boost in their attacks. 

These buffs were not much, but they still made an impact. They were able to almost overrun the numerically superior mainstream in several occasions. 

But the person taking command on the side of the mainstream players was no pushover. He was able to hold back the onslaught and successfully placed the quest items down. 

“Naga! As long as we stand, no matter how many years it takes, you will fail.” several voices shouted out in unison. 

This brought change to the progress bar as gold representing the world of Light pushed the black away and filled half the bar. The players on the side of the Light were showered with blessings. And with the BOSS of both sides finally successfully summoned, the showdown between good and evil began. 

Players from both sides were locked in combat, showering each other with a multitude of spells and long range attacks. It was an impressive sight for someone looking from a distance. 

Ye Ci rode into battle on her pet dinosaur, taking out large swaths of enemy players with her powerful AOE attacks. She dismounted and drew two short swords as she approached melee range, and proceeded to carve a patch through the ranks of the mainstream players. 

“With me here, Little Gongzi, you shall advance no further.” a silvery sword whistled through the air towards Ye Ci, which she blocked with one of her swords. The weapons met in the air with a dull clang. The force of the collision sent jolts down Ye Ci’s arm. 

The ghost of a smile appeared on her lips as she looked at the smiling face in front of her before retaliating with an attack of her own. 

Fleeting Time stepped back as Ye Ci’s weapon arced gracefully through the air. He leaned backwards as Ye Ci followed up with an attack that grazed his cheek. His silvery hair, however, was not as lucky. The attack had cut off a small chunk of his hair. 

“We’ll see about that.” said Ye Ci as she pressed her attack. 

“We know how this will end. As long as I’m here, you shall not pass.” Fleeting Time bounded forward. His movements were beautiful yet deadly. Ye Ci jumped backwards, evading the blow that would have been fatal. But the Fleeting Time’s attack did not stop. Arrows flew through the air towards Ye Ci but she managed to dodge. 

She raised an eyebrow at her opponent. It seems that I’ll have to get serious. She swapped out her swords in the favor of two daggers, and charged at Fleeting Time, agile as a squirrel. 

Fleeting Time could barely react in time by stepping aside. But just as he thought that Ye Ci would miss her mark, she leaned slightly forward to the side. And as she passed Fleeting Time, left a gashing wound on his arm. 

He immediately turned around and was able to grab hold of her arm and pulled. 

Ye Ci was jolted by the sudden force tugging her backwards. She lost her balance and felt herself being tossed into the air. She landed on the ground with a dull thud. 

Fleeting Time did not allow her the time to recover. He immediately bounded after her with his sword pointed right at her neck, “Heh, you’re so mean Little Gongzi. Do you want to become a widow even before your wedding?” 

“It’s not like you’ll actually die.” Ye Ci deflected the attack with her dagger. 

“You’re not wrong. I won’t die before marrying the girl of my dreams.” Fleeting Time answered matter of factly. 

Ye Ci rolled her eyes at Fleeting Time. The ferocity of her attacks intensified. But Fleeting Time was able to avoid her attacks that would have been fatal had they landed time and time again. 

The air around them was filled with the sound of weapons clashing together. Ye Ci’s attention was focused wholly on Fleeting Time. At that moment, the content of the new quest line no longer mattered to her. The battlefield faded away. It was as if they were the only ones left in the world. 

Just then, Ye Ci could sense a searing heat approaching, but it took her quite a while to register the incoming threat. 

She was already tumbling onto the ground before she even realized it. The person who was shielding her from the fall was none other than Fleeting Time. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” she pushed him aside. 

“Ahh.. I did it out of habit.” Fleeting Time realized the mistake of his action as well, “I saw a mage shooting  a fireball at you and reacted instinctively.” 

Ye Ci rolled her eyes at him. But deep down in her heart, she was happy. She wiggled out from Fleeting Time’s embrace and sighed, “Whatever, my mood is spoiled.” 

She summoned Ol’ Six and shot up into the sky. 

Had she been alone, she would present a small target that was hard to hit. But due to the sheer size of Ol’ Six, hitting her was not an issue. 

Attacks rained on Ol’ Six the moment he was summoned. Because of the Mithril equipment that had become very common among the playerbase, most of the damage was negated. And due to the sheer amount of Ol’ Six’s HP, it was barely a scratch. 

Even then, Ye Ci did not like the feeling of being used for target practice.

Ol’ Six circled around the battlefield on the ground, showering the players with his Dragon Breath, before climbing up into the sky to join the raging aerial battle.