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There were things you never thought were possible until they happened in front of your eyes. At least, that was the lesson Wang Jiexi learned from Tiny Herb's Christmas party this year. For the first time ever since he held Tiny Herb's captaincy, he wasn't the one who arranged their Christmas party. Also, for the first time, the party wasn't celebrated in a formal manner. A lot of things happened; Wang Jiexi was trapped in his room, Gao Yingjie burnt the kitchen with his baking skills, Liu Xiaobie brought back a lot of stray kittens—nevertheless, it was a great Christmas Eve. Wang Jiexi truly enjoyed it.
But the night was creeping in and drowsiness eventually swayed each Tiny Herb member, including their captain. As Wang Jiexi hid a yawn, he bid farewell to his teammates, reminding them not to stay up too late.
After arriving at his room, Wang Jiexi quickly clasped his hands and rubbed them gently. It was warm inside but he needed to readjust his body's temperature before he could get comfortable. Wang Jiexi then changed his clothes to a warmer attire. He was ready to tuck himself into his bed when he noticed his phone was ringing endlessly. He grabbed his phone lazily only to be greeted by a familiar name.
Fang Shiqian.
It was his old partner. After he retired from the pro-scene, he still kept in touch with Wang Jiexi. Fang Shiqian had sent a lot of messages—too many, one might as well call it spam. Hastily opening his chat log, Wang Jiexi noticed the endless messages he received actually contained only one single line.
“Help me snatch a Christmas BOSS.”
Wang Jiexi replied curtly. “Why?"
The reply came immediately. “Why not? Do you have anything else to do right now?"
Wang Jiexi looked at the clock in his room. It was past midnight. Yup, he definitely has something to do right now.
“Except sleep, no, I do not.”
"Very funny. It's a holiday anyway, you can compensate for your loss of sleep later!"
Wang Jiexi shuffled his body to face his private computer. Actually, he was very sleepy, but Fang Shiqian's invitation was too intriguing. Fang Shiqian rarely asked for Wang Jiexi's help with anything related to in-game. Not only because it wasn't appropriate, but Fang Shiqian was also not the type to ask for help unless it was absolutely necessary. After a short debate between sleeping and playing, Wang Jiexi finally gave in.
“Alright, I’ll help you.”
Fang Shiqian replied with an excited emoticon, but he immediately followed it up with a warning.
“Don’t use a Witch.”
Wang Jiexi couldn’t help being curious. “Why not?”
“Someone might notice you.”
A mild headache flashed through Wang Jiexi's head. He had an ominous feeling about this BOSS snatching activity.
“Are you… trying to snatch a BOSS from Ye Xiu?”
Only a few players could identify which characters were controlled by whom—Ye Xiu was one of them. If it was really him, then snatching this BOSS wouldn't be an easy task.
Fang Shiqian elaborated his suspicions. “I’m not sure if he is Ye Xiu or not, but this Knight is definitely pulling aggro from left and right. Also, he is making fun of my Cleric-centred guild."
Upon returning in-game, Fang Shiqian created a guild full of Healer experts who didn't have any aspirations or wishes to go pro. Sometimes, his guild would offer their services as expert Healers. Working with a big guild to provide assistance during the spawn of wild BOSS-es was the most common job. Since this year’s Christmas event involved a special BOSS, they were also recruited by the big guild.
Wang Jiexi probed further. "Was he in a party?”
“Yeah.”
“What are the classes?”
“Assassin, Thief, Warlock, and Brawler.”
Thief; it might be Fang Rui. Wei Chen might be there too since there was a Warlock. Brawler was surely Bao Rongxing. Wang Jiexi had no idea who might be playing the Assassin. The ninja controller, Mo Fan? Or perhaps, Qiao Yifan? There was also a summoner in Happy, Luo Ji. Or maybe this Assassin was just a casual player from Happy. It didn’t matter, he’ll figure it out later.
Wang Jiexi pulled out a pack of Glory accounts from his drawer. He chose one card randomly and then logged in to the game. Fang Shiqian sent him a set of coordinates. It took Wang Jiexi a while to arrive at his destination which was at the top of a land depression. A vast barren land lay below with a lot of players surrounding a giant NPC in red clothing. Wang Jiexi noticed a group of Clerics not so far from his character and approached them.
“What the—? A Battle Mage?”
Fang Shiqian was baffled. There were 23 classes Wang Jiexi could have chosen but Battle Mage? Well, Fang Shiqian had no problems with Battle Mage as a class—it was just the most vivid imagery he has associated with Battle Mage was coincidentally from the person who had been giving him a headache for the last few hours.
Wang Jiexi’s Battle Mage wore a set of simple yet refined azure armor. The edge of his equipment was embroidered in silver. His long braided blond hair fluttered alongside the wind. On his right hand was a pure white spear. The tip of his spear breathed a cold air. None of Wang Jiexi’s equipment was Silver tier—they were either Orange or Purple tier, level 70 or 75 at best—but it was very breathtaking, as if Wang Jiexi spent a considerable amount of time to mix-and-match his equipment. He didn’t, of course. It was just the work of his luck and Glory’s design.
Wang Jiexi didn't bother to explain how he chose a Battle Mage. He, instead, complained to Fang Shiqian. “How come I can’t play as a Witch but you can play as a Cleric?”
“I still have a Paladin, if that’s what you want.”
Wang Jiexi sighed. "Tell me again why did you try to snatch a Christmas BOSS tonight."
Fang Shiqian was very eager to explain. "Look, ever since that shameless guy brought back the tradition of pro-players helping with the in-game matters, the battle of wild BOSS-es in Heavenly Domain has gone up to eleven. But, today’s supposed to be different. Pro-players have responsibilities, right? They should have a Christmas party with their sponsors or something—they can’t play the game right now.”
Wang Jiexi knitted his eyebrows. “Aren’t I here?”
Fang Shiqian rolled his eyes. "You wouldn’t be if I didn’t ask you, right? Anyway, because of such reasons, today is the perfect time to snatch the Christmas BOSS fair and square. All of the guilds have been going all-out since this morning; keeping their eyes open for every Christmas BOSS spawn. But since a few hours ago, Happy has been capturing Christmas BOSS-es from all over the place.”
Wang Jiexi tapped at his keyboard. “Actually, you should explain this Christmas event first. What’s with the Christmas BOSS?”
“Oh, right, I forgot! See that red BOSS over there?” Fang Shiqian pointed at the giant NPC. “That’s Santa Claus. He is the Christmas BOSS. This year’s Christmas event is a BOSS hunt. The BOSS-es come with different levels and difficulties but the one you should know about is the most difficult one, which is coincidentally the one we’ll be stealing in a moment.”
Fang Shiqian moved his Cleric forward. With his cross, he made a circular shape enveloping the area beneath them. "There's a set area where the event occurs. The width of the area would depend on the BOSS type—the harder the BOSS, the wider the area. The most important thing is that there'll always be two factions inside the area fighting for the BOSS aggro and it isn't limited to only two guilds or two parties.”
“What do you mean?”
Fang Shiqian pointed to a certain character on his left. “Look at that player from Happy. Do you see there’s another icon beside their guild name? It’s the Faction A icon. Now, look at another player over there with Tyrannical Ambition’s guild tag. He’s also in Faction A because their guild made a temporary alliance during the event."
"Temporary alliance?" This year’s Christmas event sure had an unusual setting. "What does that mean? How do you create a temporary alliance?"
Fang Shiqian answered promptly. "It will be randomly assigned when you arrive at the BOSS aggro area. If your guild has been assigned first before your arrival, you’ll be considered as a part of whatever faction they have been assigned to."
“Your guild is in Faction B?” Wang Jiexi assumed since Happy was in Faction A.
“Yeah, Herb Garden, Samsara, and Blue Brook Guild are also in Faction B. Did you join any guild?”
Wang Jiexi's character has indeed joined a guild.
“Herb Garden.”
“Great! That makes things a lot easier.” Fang Shiqian continued his explanation. "The main guilds in Faction A are Happy and Tyrannical Ambition. There are small parties and guilds too, but you can ignore them for now."
Wang Jiexi paused a moment. He inquired a bit more. "What's the faction’s purpose?"
Fang Shiqian grinned. “That’s a good question. It actually has something to do with BOSS aggro. It’ll be easier if we entered the BOSS aggro area.”
Fang Shiqian slowly descended to the ground. Wang Jiexi followed suit. Not long after that, the system notified him, stating that he has joined the Christmas BOSS event and belonged to Faction B. In addition, Wang Jiexi noticed there was an unfamiliar bar on his bottom left screen. The bar was filled with two gauges, moving volatilely as if trying to dominate each other. Faction A was represented by the red gauge and Faction B by the blue gauge. Currently, the gauges were even at 50-50.
Wang Jiexi clicked on it. “Influence bar?”
“Correct. You can see the faction’s gauge, yes? It’s one of two methods to shift the BOSS aggro. If your faction didn’t have the aggro but manage to establish 70-30 dominance, the BOSS aggro will shift into your faction. Dominance is a little complicated to explain, but mainly it’s about the death-rate of each faction.”
Wang Jiexi digested the information. The dominance looked simple but it actually involved complicated commands to systematically obliterate the other faction. Sadly, he didn’t have the entire night.
“What is the second method?”
Fang Shiqian’s face beamed. Obviously, he was more in favor with the second method. “Kill whoever initiates the first contact with the BOSS in the other faction.”
It was obvious who held the BOSS aggro now.
“...It’s the Happy’s Knight you mentioned before, I assume?”
Fang Shiqian nodded his head vigorously. He oriented Wang Jiexi's attention to the said Knight. When Wang Jiexi found the Knight, he was lost at words. This Knight’s name was extremely embarrassing: Unrivaled Super Hottie. Alts they may be, but didn't Ye Xiu have any sense to name his character properly? Then again, common sense didn't apply to Ye Xiu.
Fang Shiqian gave his final explanation. "One last thing about the BOSS. If you want to pull aggro, don't wait until red blood. The BOSS would summon its sleigh and try to run away, although the summoning would take some time. We’d better kill the BOSS before its sleigh arrives because it's very difficult to chase after the BOSS."
Wang Jiexi more or less understood the situation. He asked to be added to Fang Shiqian’s party.
“What plans do you have in mind?” Fang Shiqian asked.
“Well,” Wang Jiexi spinned his spear. He pointed at the Knight in a distance. “I’m going with the simplest method.”
Wang Jiexi’s Battle Mage rushed into the battle scene as he typed his strategy to Fang Shiqian, with Fang Shiqian following close behind. A rush of excitement filled Fang Shiqian’s body. It felt like the old days, when he was still a pro-player. No time for nostalgia, though, since he was here to steal a BOSS!
Wang Jiexi instructed the other players in his party to support him and prevent the other players from Faction A from hindering his actions. Wang Jiexi's first priority was to keep Happy’s Knight as far as possible from the other Faction A players and then kill him off swiftly. He wasted no time in executing it.
Shattering the Lands!
All the players within the skill’s effect scattered all over places. Wang Jiexi paid no mind to the other players as he was continuing his combo on Unrivaled Super Hottie. The Knight responded effortlessly, as if he wasn’t surprised at all with Wang Jiexi’s sudden attack. Wang Jiexi’s relentless attacks slowly drove Unrivaled Super Hottie away from the BOSS.
Ye Xiu’s choice of actions was clearly restricted because of Wang Jiexi’s Battle Mage, but it didn’t matter much to him. He could still give commands through the chat feature. Actually, Ye Xiu was more fascinated with this random yet familiar Battle Mage. He spent over ten years studying this class but the line of thoughts of this Battle Mage’s controller sometimes caught him off-guard. They were sensible actions—if one thought about them for a while—but they were clearly unconventional. Not only that, the Battle Mage’s playstyle was amusingly ancient; though with his unexpected playstyle, it became very effective. The Battle Mage unleashed a sudden Dragon Tooth which Ye Xiu managed to avoid.
"Oh, nice one!" Ye Xiu praised. "Your playstyle is very old but you’re able to pull it off well. Not bad, not bad."
If Wang Jiexi was a regular Glory player, he would immediately ascend to Heaven after being complimented by the Battle God. Alas, Wang Jiexi was a pro-player and also a God himself. Ye Xiu's words didn't affect Wang Jiexi much. In fact, Wang Jiexi increased the intensity of his attacks.
Ye Xiu responded appropriately. The fight was going to-and-fro for a while but Ye Xiu finally found an opening. He quickly seized it by activating Holy Punishment. Wang Jiexi was under pressure but he didn’t yield. He was ready to counter when Unrivaled Super Hottie blasted through him without warning.
Charge!
"I'm sorry, big-eyed Wang! I have no time to play with you!"
Although Ye Xiu didn’t immediately recognize Wang Jiexi, it was easy for him to deduce after exchanging a few blows. The fact the Battle Mage was from Herb Garden solidified his conjecture. Even if Ye Xiu was wrong, he didn't really care. He just wanted to quickly end their skirmish so that he could finish off the BOSS. He had to admit, this year’s Christmas event was really bothersome and he didn't want to chase an escaping Christmas BOSS again. Once was enough. Thus, he forced his way to the BOSS.
"Shiqian, cut his escape route."
"Got it."
Fang Shiqian, along with his guild's members, encircled Unrivaled Super Hottie. Ye Xiu taunted him.
"Old Fang, just give up this BOSS and find another one!"
Fang Shiqian gritted his teeth. He ignored Ye Xiu’s trash talk and then retaliated with an attack formation. He wanted to end this guy; right here, right now. But who was Ye Xiu? The undisputable Glory Number One. Whatever class he played, if there were obstacles, no doubt he could escape any predicaments—and he really almost broke through Fang Shiqian's encirclement if not for a sudden Moonlight Slash and Full Moonlight Slash halting Unrivaled Super Hottie’s advance.
Unrivaled Super Hottie was blown away, though he immediately followed up with a Quick Recover. Wang Jiexi took a quick glance at his reinforcement. It wasn't from Fang Shiqian's guild but Herb Garden. Wang Jiexi sent his gratitude to the Ghostblade as he charged toward Unrivaled Super Hottie.
"Watch out! Here comes my Brick!"
Wang Jiexi swung his spear to the left. Ye Xiu's reinforcement has finally come. Wang Jiexi's guess from earlier was correct. The Brawler alt from Happy was Bao Rongxing—or Baozi. His signature Brick move was very distinctive. Wang Jiexi, unwittingly, was being harassed by Baozi. No matter how many times Wang Jiexi watched Baozi's playstyle, his assessment from the very first time he met him didn't change much. Of course, his technique was improving—but the randomness was still as bizarre as ever. Luckily, it didn't last long. Herb Garden sent more reinforcements to help. This time, they were a Spellblade and an Exorcist.
Wang Jiexi didn’t forget to send his regards as he refocused himself on Unrivaled Super Hottie. Fang Shiqian and the Herb Garden’s Ghostblade did a really thorough job to withhold Ye Xiu before Wang Jiexi joined the fray. His Battle Mage and Herb Garden’s Ghostblade coordinated flawlessly. Everything was natural, as if they had been partners for years.
"Beautiful!"
Wang Jiexi shouted at the Ghostblade. The Ghostblade was taken aback and stopped moving for a second. Almost immediately, he regained his composure and continued attacking Unrivaled Super Hottie.
The Ghostblade’s reaction didn’t escape Wang Jiexi’s sharp eyes—and then it hit him. Although Ghostblade’s playstyle was different from Witch’s playstyle, Wang Jiexi couldn’t shake off the similarity of this Ghostblade with a certain Witch he has watched closely for a few years. Wang Jiexi paid further attention to the accompanying Spellblade and Exorcist which were currently still dealing with Baozi. It was a long-shot, but Wang Jiexi made up his mind. He added the three players from Herb Garden and proceeded to contact them individually.
"Yingjie."
"Liu Xiaobie."
"Xu Bin."
Wang Jiexi received a uniform reply.
"Captain…"
His guesses were correct. The Ghostblade was Gao Yingjie, the Spellblade was Liu Xiaobie, and the Exorcist was Xu Bin. They were supposed to be sleeping right now but Wang Jiexi found them playing Glory at an ungodly hour. Unfortunately, Wang Jiexi didn't have the right to reprimand them. He was staying up late too after all!
"Why are you all here?"
Wang Jiexi inquired them. Gao Yingjie came clean instantaneously.
"We were betting who can steal Christmas BOSS-es the most without using their main classes..."
Wang Jiexi didn’t reply any further. It was because a silver spear passed through Wang Jiexi's screen. Wang Jiexi evaded it but the follow-up attack came swiftly. The attacks came in waves—direct and fierce, akin to lightning that struck the sky endlessly. A certain name popped in Wang Jiexi's head but Ye Xiu's next comment completely refuted Wang Jiexi's expectation.
"Thanks for the help, Old Han."
Indeed, the guild name above the character was Tyrannical Ambition. The Battle Mage who was enshrouded in black and scarlet armor was being controlled by Han Wenqing.
Han Wenqing didn’t reply. His focus was entirely on Wang Jiexi. Wang Jiexi’s head throbbed. He said yes to steal the BOSS since he thought only Ye Xiu would be his biggest obstacle. Unfortunately, the King of Fighting himself had lent his hand to the Battle God. Though Han Wenqing didn’t use his main class for an unknown reason, one shouldn’t doubt the depth of Han Wenqing’s knowledge of the Battle Mage class.
Wang Jiexi took a deep breath and recollected his focus. Despite the fact that facing two Gods was very troublesome, unbeknownst to him, his lips formed a small smile. Perhaps, this Christmas event wasn’t so bad after all.
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle, Faction A chipped down the BOSS’s health while also protecting themselves from Faction B’s offense. Happy’s control of the BOSS was very tight and they didn’t let themselves be too preoccupied taking care of Faction B’s harassment.
“Who is playing that Warlock in Happy?! Kill him off quickly!”
“Fuck, someone take care that Assassin first!”
“Shit, there are traps here!!”
Faction B was having a very hard time. For starters, the head of everything was the Happy’s Warlock. Even a fool could recognize he was the main commander of Faction A. With his crowd control and thorough commands, Faction B was barely able to tip down Faction A’s influence. Not far from the Warlock, an Assassin carefully took care of each player who dared to approach them. The Assassin’s movement was quite unusual. Since the area of the event was on a land depression, there weren’t any objects the players could use to hide. Not for this Assassin, though. Whenever he tried to evade the enemy’s attacks, he would shamelessly use another player as his meat shield—though he still had the decency to only use his enemy as his shield. Aside from the Assassin, there was also a Thief who was roaming around, if one observed carefully. His presence was hardly noticeable, which was great to Faction A and a disaster to Faction B because that meant the Thief could place his traps easily.
This trio had to be eliminated if Faction B wanted to steal the BOSS!
A Berserker suddenly sliced through the players towards Happy’s Warlock. It was a player from Samsara. The Berserker fearlessly attacked as if he was invincible—and perhaps he was. After all, not far from the Berserker, there was a Cleric who healed the Berserker timely and efficiently.
"Damn! That Berserker from Samsara! Get him!"
"Holy fuck kill Samsara's Cleric first!”
Now it was Faction A’s turn to receive a headache. The Berserker in golden armor mercilessly slayed whoever stood in his way. The blood spurting from the players and his swords, falling like a rainfall during mid-summer, bathed the Berserker in crimson. The Cleric in viridescent robes also got a share of the splattering blood.
The Berserker and Cleric duo didn't advance by themselves. Blue Brook Guild provided cover from the rear. Their main damage reinforcement came from a Spitfire and an Elementalist. The Spitfire clad in blue and white clothes would throw grenades here and there; masking the Berserker to go wild and free. As the smoke dissipated, the Elementalist's magic came to increase the harm even more. Their moves and coordination was very smooth, as if they were programmed together, not as separate moves that had been executed at the perfect time sequentially.
As if the chaos was not enough, the other battle led by Wang Jiexi and Ye Xiu was slowly approaching the BOSS battle. It was far from Wang Jiexi’s initial intention but he couldn’t stop it from happening. Thankfully, he was used to changing battle tactics midway. A pro player should be flexible, after all. His goal hadn’t changed though. It was still possible for him to end Unrivaled Super Hottie.
Wang Jiexi was finally able to breakthrough Han Wenqing’s suppression, leaving Gao Yingjie and Liu Xiaobie to deal with the fierce Battle Mage. Xu Bin and Fang Shiqian were busy dealing with Baozi. Both of them found it was pointless to continue fighting with this noob-or-pro-no-in-between Brawler but they couldn’t break free.
As Wang Jiexi tried to stop Unrivaled Super Hottie from reconvening with the other Happy players, a whirlwind coming from a Witch's broom covered Wang Jiexi's sight. He readjusted his character to gain a better view but then he was immediately thrown back by a Back Throw from an unknown Grappler.
The mysterious Witch and Grappler were from Tyrannical Ambition. The Grappler engaged a close combat with Wang Jiexi and the Witch provided assistance with Dispersed Powder. Wang Jiexi didn’t get flustered even after being ambushed. He executed Tyrant’s Destruction to sweep off the Grappler and tossed Falling Flower Palm to the Witch. The Tyranny’s Witch avoided the blast of magic and then casted Frost Powder on his broom. He traded places with the Grappler to attack Wang Jiexi’s Battle Mage. Unfortunately to the Tyranny’s Witch, Wang Jiexi understood the Witch class the best—a fact that neither the Witch nor the Grappler would know.
"Your Witch isn't bad." Wang Jiexi praised out of nowhere. "But it’s way too dazzling, like your Spitfire."
Tyranny’s Witch was stunned. He didn’t stop his attack but he missed his opportunity to parry Wang Jiexi’s Battle Mage.
“Wang Jiexi?? Wait, how did you know it’s me??”
Zhang Jiale was sure his cover wouldn’t blow up so easily. The Tyranny’s players borrowed the idea of switching classes from Happy. By changing classes, there were low chances for the other casual players to recognize them. It would save them the hassle of taking care of the large force specially designed to hold them off. Thus he chose the Witch class, Han Wenqing picked the Battle Mage, and Song Qiying settled with the Grappler. Who knew Wang Jiexi would also copy their idea? Of course, Wang Jiexi’s reason to switch class was different from Zhang Jiale, although Zhang Jiale would have no means of knowing it.
The reinforcement Wang Jiexi patiently awaited finally arrived. The Blue Brook Guild’s Elementalist sent Blizzard to both the Tyranny’s Witch and the Grappler. Wang Jiexi retreated as he approached the Elementalist in lavender cloth.
“What’s your plan to steal the BOSS from Faction A?” Wang Jiexi asked the Elementalist.
While every player would recognize Faction A was led by Happy’s Warlock, it was also obvious the head of Faction B’s operation was this Blue Brook Guild’s Elementalist. The Elementalist tilted his head to Wang Jiexi’s Battle Mage. Although the characters showed no expression, Wang Jiexi could feel a thin smile coming from the Elementalist.
“Where is your Witch?”
Wang Jiexi was very familiar with this voice. He replied in the same manner.
"Where is your Warlock?”
Yu Wenzhou chuckled. “At Blue Rain’s Christmas party this evening, we played Truth or Dare. I chose Dare and have to play Elementalist for the rest of the day. Shaotian is also here.”
Yu Wenzhou gestured his wand to the Spitfire who was still rampaging in the battlefield with Samsara’s Berserker.
Wang Jiexi felt something was off. There’s no trash-talk from the chatterbox of the Alliance? On stage, it’s still possible because there’s no voice chat; even so, Huang Shaotian still managed to find his way to trash talk through the public chat. Off stage, there’s no such restriction. Huang Shaotian’s trash talk’s true power could only be witnessed in-game.
“It’s amazing I don’t hear any trash talk from him.”
Yu Wenzhou laughed. “That’s actually his Dare. He was challenged not to speak at all while in the process of capturing the Christmas BOSS. He just changed his class to match my Dare, although he really doesn’t have any reason to do so.”
“That explains it.”
“Back to your question earlier, I believe expanding our influence is the best option now.”
Wang Jiexi nodded. “You’re right, I thought eliminating Ye Xiu would be the less troublesome option but turns out I was wrong.”
“Influence is based on the faction’s death rate, eliminating many players in one go will surely fuel our influence.”
“Considering the BOSS health and how chaotic the battlefield is, we need a major upset to flip the situation.”
Yu Wenzhou agreed. “Actually, there’s another method to increase our influence.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Fang Shiqian’s explanation was a short summary, it didn’t cover the details of the event. Wang Jiexi thought this detail might turn the situation around.
Yu Wenzhou explained carefully. “Not every player on the battlefield has the same value.”
Wang Jiexi was fast on the uptake. “You mean if we kill someone important from Faction A, there’ll be a major shift in the influence?”
“Correct.”
“And how do we know who is this important player?”
“Look at the icon.” Yu Wenzhou pointed at the top of his head. “Do you see anything between mine and yours?”
The difference was very subtle, but it couldn’t be unseen once one has seen it. Wang Jiexi looked for a certain Warlock amidst the battlefield. His intuition was on-point. Happy’s Warlock also had the same distinctive mark in his icon like Yu Wenzhou. So, they were not commanders in an informal manner, but actually were the real deal?
“If that’s the case, then we should take out Happy’s Warlock.” Wang Jiexi concluded.
“Yes, you’re right. Here’s my plan...”
As Yu Wenzhou explained his plan to Wang Jiexi, he also provided cover for Huang Shaotian and Samsara’s Berserker. Wang Jiexi listened attentively while also protecting Yu Wenzhou from players that tried to interrupt Yu Wenzhou’s spell casting. After Wang Jiexi gave his own inputs, a quiet voice suddenly chimed in from behind.
"Good idea."
Wang Jiexi turned around. The Samsara’s Cleric was standing behind him nonchalantly. Wang Jiexi didn’t notice him at all. But that wasn’t what surprised Wang Jiexi the most. It was the player’s voice.
"...Zhou Zekai?"
The Cleric slowly turned his head and then nodded. “Yeah?”
Yu Wenzhou was stunned as well though he didn’t show it explicitly. He posed a question to Zhou Zekai. “And that Berserker is Sun Xiang?”
Zhou Zekai, again, nodded his head. Both of the Samsara players have deliberately chosen their non-main class, but it wasn’t to deceive the other casual players or because of a game. It’s just one of Samsara’s past-time traditions. But Zhou Zekai has no obligations to explain their reason to both of them, thus he stayed quiet.
“No wonder that Berserker seems familiar.” Yu Wenzhou muttered.
Sun Xiang’s playstyle during his debut year couldn’t be compared to his current playstyle, but one can still notice the peculiarity of his Berserker. To be honest, both Yu Wenzhou and Wang Jiexi was rather perplexed they didn’t realize it until now.
Well, no time to be mesmerized with Sun Xiang’s playstyle. The BOSS’s health was slowly but surely dropping and Yu Wenzhou knew it wasn’t a good idea to let the BOSS enter the Red Blood state. It’s now or never for Faction B to reestablish their influence!
“Return to your parties, we’ll start our counter-attack.”
Wang Jiexi and Zhou Zekai did as Yu Wenzhou instructed.
By now, the battle between Tyrannical Ambition and Herb Garden has already merged with the battle between two factions as a whole. Both parties did their best to whittle down each other’s health points, but Faction A didn’t forget about the Christmas BOSS. Faction B was also wary of the Christmas BOSS’ attacks. The skills the BOSS casted sided with no-one, treating both factions as the same hostile party.
Fang Shiqian led his guild to maintain Faction B’s players overall health. Inadvertently, Zhou Zekai obeyed Fang Shiqian’s command. It was efficient and effective, there’s no reason for him not to obey. Fang Shiqian was amazed with the Samsara Cleric’s healing skill. He fired a message to Wang Jiexi.
“Damn, who is that Cleric from Samsara? Do you have any ideas? Can I poach him to my guild?”
Wang Jiexi was speechless. It took him a while to type an answer.
“...It’s Zhou Zekai.”
Fang Shiqian replied almost immediately. “Fuck me, the saying there’s nothing that guy can’t do but heal is water under the bridge now?!”
“Shiqian, focus…”
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry—woah, what the—?!”
A black shadow suddenly formed at their feet. Actually, there wasn’t one shadow, but many! Wang Jiexi lifted his head. Hundreds of box-shape objects were falling from the sky. The sound of ringing bells came from somewhere, as if mocking the players to say: “Here are your gifts!”
It was one of the BOSS skills: Raining Gifts!
Thus, as the name implied, there was a sudden rain of presents. Boxes wrapped in red and green paper, tied with golden and silver ribbons; it was the most delightful sight for children and adults alike—not for these players, though. At first, the falling was acceptable. The damage from being hit by the gifts wasn’t too upsetting and it wasn’t particularly hard to avoid them. But because of the characteristics of the terrain, as the gifts hit the land one by one, the dust from the soil was scattered around, hindering the visibility of the players.
“Is this part of your plan?” Wang Jiexi asked Yu Wenzhou. Yu Wenzhou’s overall plan was very simple. Create havoc inside Faction A’s formation and then kill Happy’s Warlock along the way. With their visibility being reduced, it wasn’t hard to create such scenario.
Yu Wenzhou was an honest person, though. This BOSS skill wasn’t in his repertoire since he hadn’t had many battles with the Christmas BOSS. Thus, he told Wang Jiexi the truth.
“No… but we should seize this chance!”
Truly words from the captain of the most opportunistic team.
---
The situation on Huang Shaotian’s side wasn’t going too well. The Samsara’s Berserker was caught up with Tyranny’s Battle Mage and Witch, leaving Huang Shaotian alone to deal with Happy’s Assassin and Thief. Ye Xiu was still being preoccupied with Herb Garden players. Baozi has left the individual battle, trying his best to avoid the gifts’ rainfall.
Unfortunately for Huang Shaotian, the dust created by the raining gifts had become an advantage to his opponents. Obscured view of the enemy, wasn’t this the perfect state for Night Walker? Hence, Huang Shaotian found himself being ‘bullied’ by Happy’s Thief and Assassin. Amidst thick dust, Huang Shaotian’s Spitfire was caught by a Shadow Trap. Happy’s Thief appeared before his eyes and started attacking him with a barrage of attacks. Not far from them, Happy’s Assassin silently closed in.
“That was beautiful! I knew Thief would suit you!” Happy’s Assassin praised loudly as he pierced Blue Brook Guild’s Spitfire with his daggers.
Huang Shaotian cursed silently. This Assassin was actually being played by Fang Rui?! Then who was this Thief? Huang Shaotian had no idea but he certainly wouldn’t let him have his way!
Huang Shaotian reloaded his gun and threw a grenade toward Happy’s Thief. The grenade didn’t immediately explode.
Timed Grenade!
Happy’s Thief jumped away to dodge the grenade’s impact but then his movement suddenly slowed. CC effect? How? Happy’s Thief looked at the ground. An Ice Boundary had been placed. Since when?
“Mo Fan, behind you!”
Happy’s Warlock shouted from afar. Mo Fan, the controller of Happy’s Thief, rolled his character to the left. If he turned his head first, he’d receive whatever attack the enemy had placed upon him. Mo Fan’s judgement was correct. The Battle Mage’s spear barely missed his head. Mo Fan checked his surroundings. Beside the Battle Mage, there was indeed a Ghostblade not so far from them. Mo Fan didn’t spend his time to bother with the Battle Mage. He moved his character away from the Ice Boundary’s area of effect, only to be caught by another boundary.
Plague Boundary!
Mo Fan cursed. This thick dust rendered his vision useless!
It was Huang Shaotian’s turn to be delighted. Finally, a chance! His happiness didn’t last long though. Fang Rui was ready behind him, piercing his dagger as he activated level 75 skill: Rend. Huang Shaotian recognized this skill. If Fang Rui managed to land the rest of the four skills, he would be a dead meat. Thus, he threw another grenade and shot his bullets at the Assassin.
“A little help over here, please!”
Huang Shaotian has already abandoned his challenge. Total silence was a stupid Dare, he would just choose Truth next time. Actually, Huang Shaotian didn’t have to break his silence, since this Battle Mage’s controller was Wang Jiexi and he already knew Huang Shaotian’s situation—though there’s no way Huang Shaotian would know unless Yu Wenzhou told him. Nevertheless, Wang Jiexi lent a hand, while Gao Yingjie’s Ghostblade kept Mo Fan busy.
Slowly, the dust started to thin out. Wang Jiexi was finally able to locate Happy’s Warlock, who uncannily looked like a fine replication of Swoksaar. His scepter was waving towards Wang Jiexi, ready to cast a who-knows-what spell to assist his teammates. Wang Jiexi rushed over to Happy’s Warlock. Fang Rui didn’t let him get away easily. He used Shining Cut to overrun Wang Jiexi. Wang Jiexi responded with charging his spear forward.
Dragon Breaks the Ranks!
Alas, when the skill almost hit the Happy’s Warlock, a figure rushed from behind Wang Jiexi, letting himself being struck by the white spear.
This chatterbox--!
“FUCK!”
Huang Shaotian cursed at his reflex. He forgot right now his captain was playing an Elementalist, not a Warlock!
Wang Jiexi wanted to cry. “Why did you protect your own enemy?!”
“I swear it’s just my reflex—huh?! Wang Jiexi?? Why are you here? Where’s your Witch? Fuck fuck fuck have you no mercy?!”
Huang Shaotian cursed at the Warlock. Since Wang Jiexi and Huang Shaotian were from the same faction, Huang Shaotian suffered no damage from Wang Jiexi’s skill but as a result, Happy’s Warlock found a very large opening to land an attack on Huang Shaotian. After all, the meal served himself in front of the tiger’s den. What’s the reason not to eat it?
“I’m sorry…”
The Warlock alt was given by Wei Chen to Qiao Yifan. It was one of Wei Chen’s jokes to deceive Blue Brook players by creating a Warlock who had a similar look to Swoksaar. Wei Chen himself was stealing another Christmas BOSS, leaving his creation to Qiao Yifan. Qiao Yifan couldn’t believe Wei Chen’s tricks actually worked—on Huang Shaotian, nonetheless. Qiao Yifan prayed his condolences as he casted the spell he had been chanting for a while: Death Door. While Wang Jiexi still had enough time to retreat, Huang Shaotian wasn’t as lucky. He was devoured by the Death Door. A rush of trash talk suddenly flew, like the good old Huang Shaotian we all knew.
You did this to yourself…
Wang Jiexi charged an attack to Happy’s Warlock but all of a sudden, an unknown shockwave blasted the whole area. Those who have fought with the BOSS before knew what this sign meant.
“Fuck, the BOSS is in red blood!”
Wang Jiexi received a message from Fang Shiqian. What should he do? Should he continue to eliminate this Happy’s Warlock to gain influence and thus shift the BOSS aggro? Or should he find Ye Xiu and kill him to regain the aggro?
Wang Jiexi didn’t have to think much. It was because Unrivaled Super Hottie sent himself to Wang Jiexi. The battle was way too chaotic from any angle you saw it from—Wang Jiexi didn’t know how Unrivaled Super Hottie wound up at him, but he didn’t ponder much about it and proceeded to stab Ye Xiu.
“Old Wang, would you cut it out already and give us the BOSS!” Ye Xiu demanded the impossible.
Wang Jiexi ignored him. “If we don’t get the BOSS, then none of us get the BOSS.”
“That’s too illogical!!”
The time was ticking as the murmuring sound of ringing bells could be heard from afar. All the players knew they should kill the BOSS immediately but with such disorganized army, finishing off the BOSS would be a pipe dream. In the end, the BOSS summoned its sleigh and rode off to escape. The tinkling sound from the bells no longer sounded mocking, but outright insulting.
Some of the players still had high spirits. They chased after the BOSS, rallying shouts as they marched out towards the BOSS. Not the pro-players, though. From all the pro-players Wang Jiexi had identified, none of them set out to pursue the BOSS. Wang Jiexi was puzzled.
“Why are none of you chasing after the BOSS?”
Didn’t Fang Shiqian say it was still possible to engage with the BOSS even after it had escaped? Was it because of the time limit?
“It’s not worth it.” Ye Xiu answered helplessly.
A system notification suddenly popped up in front of Wang Jiexi’s computer screen. A tabulation of point contribution was being displayed, but Wang Jiexi quickly clicked the close button. How many seconds had passed after the BOSS escaped? Was there even a minute?
“What’s up with this Christmas event? We can’t even finish the BOSS off after it has summoned its sleigh?”
Fang Shiqian arrived at Wang Jiexi’s side. “It’s not like we can’t; it’s just not worth the effort.”
“Sigh, if you weren’t so persistent, the BOSS should be dead by now.” Ye Xiu lamented.
Fang Shiqian fumed. He threw a spell at Ye Xiu but the man easily dodged it.
Ye Xiu laughed. “Why are none of you are playing with your main class, anyway? Is it a new tradition or something?”
“That’s none of your business! It’s your fault the BOSS managed to run away!”
Huang Shaotian appeared out of nowhere. Turns out he hasn’t been killed yet by Qiao Yifan.
Ye Xiu responded innocently. “How could it be my fault? Didn’t you guys get in my way to kill the BOSS?”
Huang Shaotian wished he could send this guy to the dumpster.
“Old Ye, I challenge you! PK PK PK PK PK!!!”
Wang Jiexi sighed as he turned his head to Fang Shiqian. “Too bad the BOSS managed to get away.”
Fang Shiqian waved his hand. “Nah, it’s okay. Thanks for the help. Were the Herb Garden players from before Tiny Herb’s players?”
Wang Jiexi nodded his head. “What do you think?”
“Very promising kids.”
Wang Jiexi chuckled. “They are.”
“Hey, big-eyed Wang, what do you think?” Ye Xiu called out suddenly.
“Think of what?”
“Arena!” Huang Shaotian answered. “Let’s settle this once and for all! You come too!” Huang Shaotian pointed at Happy’s Warlock.
“Me?”
Qiao Yifan didn’t understand why he was being dragged in.
“Yes, you! Come to the Arena!”
Wang Jiexi ignored Huang Shaotian’s bickering, as he threw a glance at Fang Shiqian. The cleric shrugged his shoulder. “Isn't it time for you to go to sleep?”
Wang Jiexi checked the time. It was far past his bedtime, but he didn’t feel sleepy one bit.
He smiled warmly. “Well, sometimes, it’s okay to indulge a little bit.”
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