Chapter 1 A Desperate Dash

In a small, densely wooded path within Silent Gorge, Fei Xin led a large group of Black Cloud Legion members on a frantic dash. Completely disregarding their physical exhaustion, they kept their confrontations with suddenly appearing monsters to a bare minimum, not daring to linger.

"Faster!"

"We have to hurry!"

Fei Xin watched the time displayed on her system, her expression growing increasingly grim.

The scheduled ambush time had already passed by five minutes, meaning that Xuan Yuan San Sha on the other route had likely already started heading their way.

Although they had broken through the blockade set up by Desert Wild Tiger, and had been riding their mounts at full speed ever since, they still encountered several checkpoints along the way. This significantly reduced their speed. Not to mention being overtaken by Xuan Yuan San Sha, even Desert Wild Tiger, who was hot on their heels, could catch up to them.

"Vice Guild Leader, a checkpoint has been discovered ahead, with an estimated two to three thousand people," a Tier 2 Ranger suddenly reported to Fei Xin.

"Two to three thousand people?" Fei Xin's face darkened upon hearing this.

This was undoubtedly bad news for them.

Blockades usually involve multiple checkpoints. She hadn't expected Desert Wild Tiger to place so many people at other checkpoints, in addition to the large number at the initial blockade.

This might be beneficial for larger raiding teams, as it would reduce the number of breakthroughs required, saving more time. But it was different for them.

In order to break through the initial blockade set up by Desert Wild Tiger, they had already sacrificed over four hundred people. Now their team numbered less than six hundred. Breaking through a checkpoint guarded by two to three thousand people, especially in this dense forest terrain, would definitely come at a considerable cost and take a lot of time.

"There's no choice, use the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll! After tearing through the defense, everyone, break through at one point immediately!" Fei Xin gritted her teeth and ordered.

This time, in order to rescue Creek Moon Town, she had prepared not only Blood Source Potions, but also some other trump cards to help Creek Moon Town hold out until the main force of Hundred Flowers Palace arrived. One of these was a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll.

Originally, she planned to use it in Creek Moon Town, but now, in order to break through as quickly as possible and prevent the two blockades from converging, she had no choice but to use it here.

"Yes!" Several Tier 2 Summoners behind Fei Xin nodded.

Before long, Fei Xin and the others arrived at a checkpoint on the road where hundreds of MTs (Main Tanks) were blocking the way. In the trees on both sides of the road, a large number of Rangers and Elementalist were hidden, waiting for Fei Xin and the others to enter their attack range before launching their fiercest attacks.

However, just as the two sides were less than a hundred yards apart, the four Summoners riding their mounts suddenly chanted spells and unfurled the magic scrolls in their hands.

Instantly, four Grand Lords with levels as high as 75 appeared before everyone's eyes, charging directly towards the defensive network set up by Star Ring.

"Attack!"

"Full power attack!"

The members of Star Ring Guild were surprised by the sudden appearance of the Level 75 Grand Lords, but as elites of Star Ring Guild, they immediately launched a counterattack.

Tier 2 magic and skills bombarded the Grand Lords, causing damage numbers in the thousands and tens of thousands to appear above their heads. The leading Tier 2 MTs activated life-saving skills to stand in the front, while the healers in the back frantically healed. Even Level 75 Grand Lords couldn't easily break through for a time.

Although Star Ring Guild reacted quickly, the four Grand Lords attracted a lot of damage for Fei Xin and the others, easily allowing Fei Xin and the others to appear in front of the front-row MTs.

These Tier 2 MTs were already struggling to cope with the Level 75 Grand Lords. Faced with the concentrated attacks of Fei Xin and the others, the front-row MTs were almost instantly killed, tearing open a large gap. Although other MTs wanted to stop them, Fei Xin didn't give them a chance, rushing forward and unleashing a series of thrusts, directly knocking back even Tier 2 MTs.

She quickly widened the gap. Even though the ranged classes on both sides attacked frantically, Fei Xin easily dodged their attacks using the Grand Lords' massive bodies. She carved a path, allowing the members of the Black Cloud Legion to follow her and escape together.

However, this checkpoint still cost Fei Xin's Black Cloud Legion over fifty people.

"Vice Guild Leader, the people from Star Ring are catching up," the Tier 2 Ranger suddenly reported nervously, just seconds after Fei Xin and the others broke through.

"So fast?" Fei Xin's expression turned ugly upon hearing this. "How far away are they?"

"About seven hundred yards away," the Tier 2 Ranger said.

"Leave two Grand Lords to hold them back, and use the other two to clear the way!" Fei Xin thought for a moment and immediately gave the order.

Seven hundred yards was a short distance for ordinary players, let alone those riding mounts. If they were attacked from both sides, the current strength of the Black Cloud Legion would be a dead end.

The only plan now was to delay as much as possible and increase the distance.

The members of the Black Cloud Legion then began to move.

It had to be said that the two Grand Lords were very effective in delaying them, increasing the distance between them and Star Ring's pursuers. With the Grand Lords clearing the way, the monsters along the road were not a problem at all, easily being swept aside.

Moreover, with the help of the Grand Lords, breaking through checkpoints guarded by one or two thousand people along the way became much easier.

"Vice Guild Leader, in less than ten minutes we'll reach Creek Moon Town," a Tier 2 Ranger said excitedly, looking at the map of Silent Gorge.

"Everyone prepare. Once we enter the town, I'm afraid there will be another bitter fight," Fei Xin said, sighing in relief.

Breaking through along the way had been too difficult. Even with the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll, the Black Cloud Legion now numbered less than two hundred. Fortunately, Creek Moon Town was not far away.

As long as she delivered the Blood Source Potions to the defending players of Creek Moon Town, it would be enough for Creek Moon Town to hold out until the arrival of the Hundred Flowers Palace's main force.

Just as Creek Moon Town came into view, hundreds of fire arrows suddenly rained down from the sky, catching Fei Xin and the others off guard. They all quickly dodged.

However, the falling arrows were extremely fast. Even the experts of the Black Cloud Legion couldn't dodge in time, and many were hit. Just two fire arrows were enough to turn an expert of the Black Cloud Legion into a white light and disappear, their power far exceeding that of magic used by players.

Just as Fei Xin and the others were in chaos, a huge magic array suddenly appeared in the sky, enveloping them.

"This is... a magic barrier!" Fei Xin's face darkened as she looked at the translucent barrier around her.

"That's right, this was specially prepared for you. Isn't it a little surprise?"

At this moment, a rough voice entered Fei Xin's ears, causing her and the others to turn to the source of the voice.

A large group of players appeared on the previously empty plain, and the one who spoke was a Level 61 Tier 2 Berserker.

"Desert Wild Tiger!" Fei Xin was shocked as she looked at the Tier 2 Berserker. "Why are you here?"

The first breakthrough had cost her Black Cloud Legion over four hundred people, more than a hundred of whom had been killed by Desert Wild Tiger. If it weren't for her subordinates fighting desperately, she would have been held back by Desert Wild Tiger and unable to escape the encirclement.

Desert Wild Tiger should have been left behind. How could he have reappeared?

"You don't think that mounts are the only means of transportation, do you?" Desert Wild Tiger smiled faintly at Fei Xin.

"Could it be a flying item?" Fei Xin suddenly thought of a possibility.

Teleportation was impossible in the sealed Silent Gorge. If there was anything faster than a mount, it would be a flying item. However, flying items were too precious. She had only heard of them, never seen one.

"Not bad, you're quite smart," Desert Wild Tiger nodded and chuckled. "So, what will it be? Will you surrender willingly, or will we have to do it ourselves?"

"Surrender?" Fei Xin glanced at Desert Wild Tiger and the others and said coldly, "That depends on whether you have the ability!"

Desert Wild Tiger only had a hundred-man team by his side, and the number of people maintaining the magic barrier was only a dozen or so. This meant that the magic barrier wasn't strong, and there was a good chance of breaking through.

"If that's the case, then let me see the skills of Hundred Flowers Palace," Desert Wild Tiger smiled faintly and waved his hand.

Instantly, dozens of people beside Desert Wild Tiger rushed into the magic barrier, attacking Fei Xin and the others.

The members of the Black Cloud Legion, who had originally thought they had the advantage in numbers, were dumbfounded the moment the fight started.

The combat strength of the two sides was simply not on the same level. One expert from Desert Wild Tiger's side could suppress two or three people from the Black Cloud Legion. In a one-on-one situation, it would take less than ten moves to determine the outcome.

Even the incredibly strong Fei Xin was forced to defend passively against the joint attacks of several experts.

"Micro control experts?" Fei Xin looked at the five people she was fighting and could clearly feel that their level was much higher than other experts. They definitely had micro control, and the overall level of the team was clearly much higher than the previous Star Ring team.

"You've seen the gap between us. It's such a waste for an expert like you to stay in Hundred Flowers Palace. How about coming to Star Ring? If you submit to me and I recommend you, you could become an elder of Star Ring. There's no need to die with Hundred Flowers Palace," Desert Wild Tiger looked at Fei Xin, who could only defend, and didn't rush to attack. Instead, he tried to persuade her. "If you're counting on the people on your other route to break through and enter Creek Moon Town, I advise you to give up. Those old guys aren't like me. They don't have the patience to play around."

"Just you?" Fei Xin said with disdain, a determined look appearing in her eyes as she prepared for a final struggle.

"If that's the case, then you can go to hell with Hundred Flowers Palace!" Desert Wild Tiger was enraged and charged forward.

Just as Desert Wild Tiger rushed into the magic barrier, a faint voice suddenly entered everyone's ears.

"Vice Guild Leader Fei Xin, sorry to keep you waiting."

With the appearance of the voice, everyone couldn't help but turn their attention to the source of the sound. They saw a dozen or so people walking over not far away, led by a young man in a black cloak.