Chapter 26

The twenty-six guild leaders were standing in the best viewing positions directly in front of the Clock Tower's main entrance. They had watched the entire process with meticulous attention. Yet, now, they were all speechless, unable to utter a word for a long while. It wasn't until the dust had completely settled and the healers who were positioned slightly further forward began to look back at their guild leaders with stunned expressions that the leaders finally snapped out of it.

"What the hell happened?" one of the guild leaders exclaimed, the first to break the silence. He had just received news that the warrior he sent had been killed! This leader hadn't held back; the warrior he dispatched was their guild's top-tier heavy armor, renowned for never knowing what "instant kill" meant. Yet, he had been buried under a pile of rubble, seemingly killed instantly.

"Was that man-made or...?" another guild leader wondered aloud.

"Are you kidding me? It must have been those guys," someone retorted.

"Does getting killed by those rocks count as PK (player kill) points?"

"Damn, I haven't tried it..."

The guild leaders had the best viewing angle, seeing everything clearly. However, the discussion wasn't limited to just the twenty-six of them. Everyone who saw or heard what happened was chattering. A buzzing sound filled the air around the Clock Tower. Before long, rumors spread that the Clock Tower was about to collapse, burying everyone in the plaza. Panic began to set in.

The guild leaders were busy trying to reassure their members in the guild chat, telling everyone that the brothers who went in to scout were ambushed. At the same time, they were urgently discussing the situation.

"People are dead, the tower is blocked, and they might be up there, but we can't get up."

"How many people can that Clock Tower hold?" someone asked, looking up.

Cloud City's Clock Tower was truly towering. It was said that standing on the top felt like standing among the clouds—an exaggeration, of course. However, the Clock Tower was so tall that it felt exceptionally close to the clouds. Although the game was a xuanhuan (fantasy) world, a town couldn't just have a Clock Tower that pierced the sky.

After visually estimating the height, the guild leaders agreed that the Clock Tower was very tall, too tall to estimate how many people it could hold.

"Let's go check those rocks," one of the guild leaders suggested.

"Could it be a trap?" Someone continued to stare upwards. All along the Clock Tower, there were windows that looked like they could be used to drop large rocks. If one really came tumbling down... The person turned to look at the crowded masses around him, and a shiver ran down his spine. That would truly be a tragedy!

"Better safe than sorry..." Considering how the four brothers who were buried alive and instantly killed weren't far from the best in the parallel world in terms of health and defense, and that was their fate. Wouldn't the squishy bodies of mages and thieves be instantly killed?

"These guys, could they be planning to just hold this place and wear us down?" Suddenly, a guild leader had a flash of insight.

"Damn, that seems a bit troublesome!" A guild leader walked around the Clock Tower. There was indeed only one entrance, and the lowest window was over ten meters high. They definitely couldn't get up there without tools. Even with tools, the windows would be easier to defend than the entrance. You just needed to push the ladder over.

"Regardless, let's send people to get some tools first. The others keep observing," the guild leaders decided after discussing it. But they weren't familiar with Cloud City. To climb the Clock Tower through the windows, they needed large tools like ladders. These couldn't be stored in pockets or sent by mail. They had to be acquired locally. So some people went to inquire about workshops in Cloud City, while others rushed to the outskirts of the city to chop wood and build ladders themselves.

The twenty-six guilds gathered here, filling the plaza and streets. Even Cloud City players who wanted to join the fun couldn't squeeze in. The studio bosses who had traveled from afar to watch the show were also in a tragic situation. They couldn't get close and had no idea what was happening inside.

"Guild leader, I'll go take a look!"

While the guild leaders were hesitating about the next step, many people in each guild volunteered. These were impatient types. They were waiting outside the city, then they waited inside the city. Unable to stand it anymore, they were prepared to go forward and take a look.

The guild leaders were just worried about the danger and didn't want to give the order. It was great that someone volunteered, so they immediately agreed. Then, after the word spread, several people agreed and dozens of people squeezed out from each guild.

"Not so many. If too many go up, one rock will kill a whole bunch. It's best to just have a few go up, so they have room to dodge," one of the guild leaders said quickly.

Everyone agreed. So this time, they didn't choose the strong ones, but the fast ones. As they were selecting, they suddenly had an idea. The entrance was blocked and the windows above were so high. No anti-stealth technique would have such a range. Wouldn't it be better to just have thieves go stealthily to investigate? Why were they still worrying about it?

So the final selection was four thieves. They all went into stealth mode and quietly approached the blocked entrance. They looked left and right, nodded in unison, and sent back the information: "It's rocks!"

"Duh, what else could it be, hidden weapons?" one of the guild leaders rolled his eyes.

"Touch them?" the four guys discussed among themselves.

"Touch them!" one said resolutely.

Touching was dangerous, because they would become visible. After reporting their willingness to make this brave move to their leaders, the leaders took it very seriously. They urgently mobilized archers, mages, and other ranged attackers, pointing them at the upper three windows at the entrance: "Keep a close eye on them. If there's any movement, attack immediately!"

"Understood!!" The attackers prepared to attack.

After receiving the order to touch, the four thieves counted to three together and reached out their hands.

The thieves became visible as their hands touched the rocks. Some ranged attackers, unable to restrain themselves, opened fire without waiting to see if there was any movement at the windows. Once someone took the lead, others immediately thought they hadn't seen the movement due to poor eyesight and quickly followed suit. In an instant, arrows rained down, and fire blazed. The attack was like a rainbow spanning toward the three windows. Everyone was momentarily confused; they couldn't see the windows at all because the attack was so dense it completely blocked their view.

The four thieves had safely touched the rocks and were now trying to move them. However, the rocks were stuck very tightly. Even with the combined effort of the four, they could only shake them a little. While the four were busy, they were also paying attention to what was above. After being busy for just a second, they saw that many of the arrows that had been shot were hitting the window frames and falling down. Along with them, sparks and fire from the mages' fire spells, as well as stray ice shards and lightning, were flying down. It was unclear whose unique spell skills they were.

Where would these fall? Right on top of the four brothers! Seeing how fierce the attack was, the four knew they would be buried by the arrows if they didn't run. So they quickly ran back, heads in their hands. As the arrows fell, they immediately covered the pile of rocks. The guild leaders looked at each other, feeling like things had gone a bit too far.

The guild leaders shouted for everyone to stop in the guild chat, and the attack gradually died down. The archers hadn't been stingy with their arrows at all. The ground beneath the Clock Tower was piled high with arrows.

"What's the situation?" the guild leaders were now questioning the four thieves.

"Nothing much. They're just ordinary rocks. They're piled up there now. It might take some effort to move them," the first thief reported.

"Moving them isn't the problem. The question is, will the people inside keep throwing them down after we move them?" the second thief said.

"How many rocks like that can this Clock Tower hold?" the third thief wondered.

Everyone looked up together. This question seemed a bit repetitive, but the subject had changed to rocks. The Clock Tower was so tall. No matter how many people or rocks it held, it was impossible to estimate! Everyone thought to themselves.

As they were discussing the next step, someone suddenly shouted, "Someone!" Before the guild leaders could even look up to see this legendary "someone," they saw the rainbow bridge being built again. But this time, it was even more intense than before. Last time, they attacked multiple windows. This time, they were concentrating on one spot...

"That window will be blocked up..." Everyone who saw this scene couldn't help but have this thought.

Looking at the thick and long wave of ranged attacks formed by everyone, the guild leaders couldn't help but tear up. Was this an attack? It was clearly just adding to the blockage! Look at the arrows falling down. The rocks blocked the Clock Tower entrance, and now the arrows were burying the pile of rocks.

The guild leaders shouted for everyone to stop again, repeatedly instructing: "Wait for the order before firing, don't be so eager."

The attack stopped once more. The window was silent. The legendary "someone" was still nowhere to be seen. They didn't know if they were dead, but based on the information gathered from all the guilds, it was clear that no one had gained any PK points.

"No attacking without orders!" All the guild leaders emphasized this instruction again. They wanted to see what the other side was trying to do by showing their face! The guild leaders had confirmed with the brother who shouted "Someone" earlier. He was sure he wasn't seeing things. He really had seen someone appear at the window.

"Here they come again!" Along with a shout, everyone looked up and saw a figure appear at a window, but this time at a different one. While the guild leaders were reminding everyone in the guild chat "Don't fire yet," they secretly wondered: Was this whack-a-mole or something? Were they going to keep popping up at different holes?

The windows of the Clock Tower were made of stone and had no window panes. The person stepped onto the windowsill, sticking out half his body, and looked around from above. He reached behind him and grabbed something, bringing it in front of him. The people below the Clock Tower were shocked, thinking it was some kind of deadly weapon. The archers' fingers twitched, almost releasing their arrows again.

At this moment, it showed that they were worthy of being guild leaders; they were calmer than ordinary people. They still bothered to look closely at what the guy took out. It was just a paper megaphone, but it was a bit exaggeratedly large. Then, they saw the person obliviously put it to his mouth and shouted at the crowd below the Clock Tower: "Everyone be quiet! Listen to me!"

It was just a paper megaphone. It could focus the sound, but it couldn't amplify it. Compared to the noise made by over twenty thousand people, it was weak, too weak. However, it had to be said that the guild leaders, seeing that the person had taken out this item, knew that he was going to speak and quickly told everyone to be quiet.

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On this breezy and chilly night, we welcome January 7, 2011, and an update! Applause!