Several figures emerged from the shadows of the forest - two berserkers, two rogues, and three mages!
My heart sank as I recognized them instantly. It was the Arrogant Clan, led by their boss, Arrogant Madman.
Arrogant Madman's face darkened as he spotted me and Violet. "Well, well. It's a small world after all," he sneered.
Violet coldly replied, "Save your breath! There was no feud between Arrogant Clan and Sword Fire until you started bullying others!"
Arrogant Madman raised his voice, "Sword Fire? Hah! We weren't prepared yesterday, but today, let's see what tricks you two can pull!"
He turned to the three mages and ordered, "As soon as we engage, take out that cleric first. I'll personally chop up this upstart myself!"
I sized up our opponents. Arrogant Madman was well-equipped with a glowing axe, likely bronze-tier, and four pieces of stat-boosting armor, at least iron-tier. The three mages also had decent gear, marking them as mid to high-level players.
Violet gripped her staff and whispered, "Looks like we're in trouble, Scholar. You should teleport back to town while I buy some time."
I chuckled, "No need. If anyone's staying behind, it should be me. How could I face Dragon Soul and Titan if I ran away?"
Violet smiled wryly and nodded, "Then let's go down together..."
I grinned, "That's not necessarily the case."
"Oh?" Violet looked puzzled.
But I was already moving. I charged forward, my Rippling Dagger unsheathed and aimed straight at Arrogant Madman's chest!
Caught off guard by my aggressive move, Arrogant Madman shouted, "Kill him, now!"
However, I stopped just short of striking him, avoiding going hostile.
"Whoosh!"
Fireballs flew at me, slamming into my chest.
I had to admit, these mages packed quite a punch. Each fireball took nearly 150 HP, but with my monstrous 920 HP pool, I wasn't going down easily.
I quickly downed a health potion and darted diagonally towards their backline, my intent clear.
Arrogant Madman still thinking I was a rogue, roared "Earth Splitter!" as he swung his battle axe.
"Boom!"
A fiery slash erupted, but only 45 damage popped up above my head.
I grinned. The Crimson Flame set truly lived up to its reputation as level 25 bronze-tier gear, able to withstand even a high-attack berserker like Arrogant Madman.
While Arrogant Madman stood dumbfounded, I swiftly equipped my Golden Bow. A Fire Arrow whistled through the air, exploding on the chest of their level 21 mage.
"Bang!"
The Fire Arrow tore through him, instantly killing the mage.
Before the Arrogant Clan members could react, my second Ice Arrow was already flying, leaving the level 20 mage no time to dodge.
Another flash of white light, and a second mage fell.
But I didn't stop moving. Those mages had to die to ensure Violet's safety.
As I passed the last mage, I swapped back to my Rippling Dagger in a flash. The dagger sliced across his throat, blood spraying as another white light signaled his death.
In mere seconds, the battlefield had dramatically shifted. Arrogant Clan's three mages were dead, leaving only two berserkers and two rogues.
After dispatching the three, I flashed to face Arrogant Madman, laughing, "Arrogant Madman, your arrogance needs to be backed up by skill. Did you think you could take me down with this ragtag group? If you want my loot, come and get it!"
Under their stunned gazes, I activated all my gear effects. The forest lit up with dazzling light - my Golden Bow radiating brilliance, while my Crimson Flame set pulsed with an eerie red glow, like hellfire dancing around me.
Not only were Arrogant Madman and his crew struck speechless, but even Violet behind me was too shocked to utter a word, her mouth agape.
After a few seconds, Arrogant Madman snarled venomously, "Damn you! Don't think good gear makes you invincible. I'm going to destroy you today!"
As they say, desperation breeds courage. Arrogant Madman seemed to fit that mold. He exchanged some words with Blood Thirst, and then they both started to move.
Raging Bull's axe flashed as it came at me again, while Blood Thirst's dagger, glowing faintly red, aimed for my back.
Their strategy was clear - use the heavily armored berserker as bait while the high-damage rogue went for the kill.
I retreated several steps, my Golden Bow flashing as I loosed an Ice Arrow. It struck one of the rogues square in the chest, sending him back to town in a burst of white light before he knew what hit him.
In our brief clash, I had deliberately drawn their attacks. Now gray-named, they had no choice but to fight back or be sitting ducks against my obvious damage output.
Arrogant Madman landed another heavy blow on my chest, taking 100 HP this time. Still not enough to pose a real threat - only those mages could have, but they were already back in the newbie village.
"Whoosh!"
Another arrow flew, catching the approaching Bloodlust off guard. The Fire Arrow sent him packing back to town - a rogue's meager HP pool was no match for my attacks.
Now, only two berserkers remained.
Arrogant Madman roared in anger, "Fourth, with me!"
The one called Fourth nodded and charged forward with his battle axe. But he had barely covered half the distance when I let loose an Armor-Piercing Arrow. The milky white projectile traced a straight line through the air before exploding on Fourth's chest.
"1240!"
The shocking number nearly made Arrogant Madman despair. A high-defense berserker taking over a thousand damage from an archer? How could tanks survive in this world?
Fourth vanished in a flash of white light, respawning back in town. Arrogant Madman's face turned ashen as he glared at me, bellowing, "Bastard! I'll make you regret pissing me off!"
"Bang!"
I answered with another Armor-Piercing Arrow. Arrogant Madman's HP plummeted by 1069, leaving him with just a sliver of health.
As I was about to finish him off, Violet laughed, "Let me! Let me!"
She raised her delicate hand, and a purple Smite ability descended on Arrogant Madman's head.
With a soft "whoosh," Arrogant Madman fell to the cleric's Smite, a look of utter humiliation on his face.
"Thud!"
An armor helmet dropped to the ground. I burst out laughing - Arrogant Madman's helmet had been looted!