Rustle, rustle...
A large group of players emerged from the brush. Taking a precise headcount, Ye Kong found that there were six in total.
The group was double the size of the last one he'd taken out.
"Be on your guard. That guy should be somewhere close." The Berserker, who was taking the lead, said with a serious expression, "Even though we have numbers on our side, Big Bro pomelo and Big Bro smiling died at his hands. Our strength doesn't match theirs, so caution is paramount here!"
"That's right!" Another of his companions said. "If he dares to show himself, we just need to buy time. The other small teams aren't far from us, and they can come to our aid in around 10 seconds!"
Currently, the Yokai Legion Guild had small teams out sweeping the whole area.
If any of the teams found a trace of "lacuna," all the other squads would ensnare him like a fishing net, surrounding him and killing him wherever he was!
At the same time, so as not to repeat past mistakes, each team was grouped closely together so they wouldn't be picked off one by one, like how goldenpomelo and smilingtwinblades were killed.
At this time, the guild members were demonstrating their ability to perfectly execute their orders.
The Berserker kept a tight grip on his heavy mace, prepared to block any sneak attacks from lacuna, and restrict his opponent's movements with his "Hamstring" skill.
If he was able to block a sneak attack from an opponent, he could apply a "Slow" effect on them (Hamstring was a skill that applied a slow effect). When that happened, that lacuna would be unable to finish him off. He also wouldn't be able to escape the battlefield, and would soon be ground to dust under the weight of their sheer numbers!
"Come on, then. Let me see what you've got..."
The Berserker was feeling pumped up. The sense of accomplishment he felt during a hunt, especially if the target was a master, was thrilling beyond words!
"Brother dust, there's a piece of equipment over there!" his companion said, interrupting his train of thought. Looking in the direction his companion was pointing, he saw that there really was a piece of equipment there, just lying on the grass in front of him.
"Is this a trap?"
This possibility crossed the Berserker's mind, but he took a closer look at the equipment, which shone with a glossy black luster. It was a pair of Black Iron shoes. At once, his eyes lit up with a glimmer of recognition—
"Is that sleeplessnight's (the Ranger) Black Iron shoes?
"That's cute. Our opponent set a trap and thinks we'll get 'careless.'"
The Berserker shook his head, saying with a voice full of contempt, "This guy is really underestimating the guild's ability to execute its missions."
Saying this, the Berserker signaled to his companions with a wave—
"Everybody, maintain formation. We'll approach the area slowly!"
With the Berserker taking the lead, the entire team stayed in formation, coming closer to the Black Iron equipment on the ground with every slow step. They did all this in an orderly fashion, without leaving a single opening that could be exploited.
All of the players remained on high alert. As long as the opponent tried to break up their formation from any direction, the Berserker would be able to counterattack immediately, giving the opponent a taste of his "Hamstring" skill.
"That lacuna thinks he can 'entrap' us? Hehe, then I'll gladly take the bait right in front of him!"
The Berserker became even more excited. It was the most wonderful feeling to deliberately take the bait and humiliate his opponent, and he couldn't help but have a spring in his step.
Still, the Berserker didn't let his guard down, and the other players were also fully alert.
The sky had gotten dark, as it was now nighttime in the world of Demon Realm (occurring between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. in real-world time), so everyone's vision range was cut in half.
It was especially bad for the Berserker, who had the worst starting vision range, and couldn't see anything in the distance. Thankfully, the Black Iron equipment wasn't that far away, or he wouldn't have been able to see it.
Very soon, the team approached the Black Iron equipment. The Berserker scanned his surroundings, but all he saw was the same blackness around him. There was no sign of lacuna.
"Hmph, playing these unnecessary mind games."
The Berserker sneered as he crouched down and reached out a hand. Just as he was about to touch the pair of Black Iron shoes—
Whoosh!
There was the sound of a gust of wind, and it came from directly overhead!
"What?!"
Fully alert, all the players raised their heads and looked up. The Berserker was even more shocked, and turned to look up above him—
"That lacuna's plan was to launch an attack from above?
"Does he have a death wish?!"
One should know that when a player "floated" in mid-air, they lost all their maneuverability, and were basically a sitting duck. And now, in this situation, there was a group of enemies gathered right below Ye Kong!
He was charging alone straight into an enemy encirclement. Was this not a suicidal move?!
At that moment, the Berserker almost laughed out loud. This was the reason he hadn't paid attention to the space above them!
He didn't expect that in the end, lacuna's brain would malfunction, and he would actually choose to attack from above!
"He really is an idi-..."
The Berserker had his mace raised, ready to receive his opponent's attack, when suddenly, something lit up in his field of vision—
A flash of lightning!
Boom!!!
Like a thunderbolt, Ye Kong came crashing into the ground with a roar!
Kaboom!!!
With his landing point as the center, the flashes of lightning spread out wildly in a circle around him, latching on to the bodies of all the players!
-65,-68,-62,-59,-71...
A huge string of scarlet numbers burst out of the tops of the players' heads. The numbers ranged from as little as 60 to as high as 70!
Bang, bang, bang!!!
The three Intelligence-type and Dexterity-type players in the team were instantly killed, their HP dropping to zero, and they disintegrated into sparkling dust!
The surviving three players, including the Berserker, had fallen into a Dazed state!
This was the special effect of "Ground Slam"!
Ground Slam caused 130% skill damage to enemies within a radius of four yards. If the skill was activated in mid-air, not only was its damage output increased to 200%, but it also inflicted enemies with two seconds of the Dazed status!
The special effect of "Ground Slam" was ordinarily hard to pull off, and it also had a very long cooldown time. This was why Ye Kong rarely ever used the skill. Even when he was cleaning up the Skeletal Soldiers, he didn't use it, in case of any unforeseen circumstances.
But now, it was finally the time for "Ground Slam" to shine—
Dishing out its terrifying skill damage!
In a flash, the three squishy enemies were instantly slain, and the remaining bulkier enemies were dropped to a critically low HP!
Swish!
Ye Kong wasn't going to show mercy. He turned his wrist, swinging the blade of his sword toward his defenseless foes—
Bang! Bang!
The two enemies were Dazed, and had low HP, so Ye Kong easily took care of them. Then, Ye Kong's right hand twitched, and he slashed toward his final remaining target—
"Damn it!"
The Berserker's eyes were stretched open so wide that his eyelids felt close to tearing, but he couldn't lift a single finger. Under the Dazed state, it was almost like his soul had left his body, and he could only watch helplessly as a long sword covered in thorns cut through his body—
The Berserker exploded into a cloud of sparkling dust.
All this happened in the span of a few seconds. By the time Ye Kong stopped moving, there was nobody left alive on the scene.
"It's finished."
Ye Kong didn't tarry. He immediately picked up all the items dropped on the ground and ran into the shade of the trees. Activating "Ghost Walk," he fled the scene.
Ten seconds later, the closest Yokai Legion Guild team came hurrying over.
Unfortunately, the scene that greeted them was just an empty, dark forest...
........
At the same time...
The entire Yokai Legion Guild's private communications channel had burst into an uproar—
"Boss aotabo, we're back in town after that guy killed us!"
"What's the location of your corpse? Report now!"
"The Dark Mist Forest, at coordinates: 248, -164, 49."
"We're not far from that location. We'll head there immediately!"
Several minutes later—
"Crap! We're back after getting killed too!"