Chapter Ninety-Four: Victory Secured Before the Battle Begins

The Cloud and Wind Guild split into three forces, each guarding a battle banner. The thieves scattered into the woods on both sides to check for wild monsters. At the same time, they served as sentries to prevent the Sea-Spanning Guild from circling around for a rear ambush.

The remaining thirty-odd members stayed behind Wind and Cloud World, acting as a mobile reserve ready to support any front at a moment’s notice.

Zhang Shan followed Wind and Cloud World to defend the center lane. Once the horn sounded, the fifty of them sprinted toward the banner.

Before long, they reached its location.

A towering stone dais stood in the middle of the road, and on it a battle banner fluttered in the wind. The word “Cloud and Wind” was written across the fabric.

The banner’s attributes could be inspected.

Guild Banner of the Cloud and Wind Guild: Level 2. Health 5,000,000. Defense 2,000. Increases guild members’ attributes by twenty percent. Effective radius: 100 yards.

Zhang Shan checked his own attributes. Sure enough, with the banner effect and the Taoist priest’s attack blessing added on, his attack power had reached six thousand.

His health, boosted by twenty percent, had also climbed beyond twenty thousand.

Defending beneath the banner, so long as the enemy did not possess some absurdly explosive skill, Zhang Shan dared to trade blows with dozens of opponents as long as he had even two support players beside him.

“Heh heh, a twenty percent bonus to all attributes really is refreshing. Attack, defense, and health all rise at once.”

“Have you noticed the banner has defense too? It’s not just that its health is high; its defense is two thousand as well. With defense this strong, ordinary attacks probably won’t do much damage.”

“Yeah, most people would probably only deal one or two hundred damage.”

“Then aren’t we basically winning by lying down? Even if we don’t defend the banner, it’d be hard for them to chop down all three before time runs out, right?”

“Seems that way. We’re the challenged side, so as long as there’s still a banner standing when the battle ends, we count as the winners. I’m not misunderstanding that, am I?”

“Probably not. If the Sea-Spanning Guild’s banner defense is this high too, then it’d be hard for us to chop down all three of theirs either. There can’t be a draw, can there?”

“Exactly. The announcement made it very clear: once the time is up, if the challenged side still has a banner standing, the challenge fails. If they fail, then naturally we win.”

“Damn, boss, do we even need to keep trying? How about we just lie here until time runs out?”

“Fine. Then we’ll start by defending. Same for the two side lanes, don’t rush forward. Wait for them to come attack.”

“Heh heh, when East Sea Dragon King sees our banner’s health and defense, I wonder if he’ll break down.”

“Guaranteed he will. As long as we make a little disturbance, they won’t be able to cut down all three banners within an hour.”

In fact, East Sea Dragon King did not need to wait for the Cloud and Wind Guild’s banner to appear before he had already begun wishing for a regret pill.

From the information on their own banner, he could infer the Cloud and Wind Guild’s banner attributes.

The banner of the Sea-Spanning Guild had one million health and one thousand defense.

The Cloud and Wind Guild had raised their guild level to Level 2 in the afternoon, and he had already received the news.

He did not even need to ask around. After the Cloud and Wind Guild leveled up, they had been openly recruiting members. It was obvious their guild level had increased, allowing them to accommodate more people.

Right at this critical moment, the Cloud and Wind Guild had advanced to Level 2, and East Sea Dragon King was already miserable.

Originally, he had wanted to rely on two scrolls to wipe out the Cloud and Wind Guild’s defenders in one stroke, then cut the banner together.

A Level 1 banner could be smashed apart with ease. Even a Level 2 banner, with five million health...

Although he might not be able to chop the banner down before the Cloud and Wind Guild’s revived players arrived, there had at least been some hope.

Now, seeing that their own banner had one thousand defense, and thinking of the Cloud and Wind Guild’s Level 2 banner...

Its defense would surely be even higher than theirs. That was a little troubling. He had acted too impulsively. If he had known, he should have kept a lower profile and developed for a while longer.

“Boss, what do we do now? Are we still going to cut down their banner?”

The members of the Sea-Spanning Guild were all dispirited. A battle doomed to fail from the very beginning was truly enough to inspire despair.

“Cut it down. Why wouldn’t we cut it down? Even if we can’t knock their banner over, we’ll at least kill the Six-Tube Bodhisattva a few times.”

East Sea Dragon King said viciously.

His resentment toward Zhang Shan had no limit. After building his guild, he had originally wanted to make a name for himself overnight. Who could have imagined he would run into a freak like Zhang Shan?

His face had been slapped again and again. It was simply unbearable. If not for the fact that even if he went back to Sunlight City he still could not beat him, he would have already led men over to cut Zhang Shan down.

Although dying in the guild challenge map would not drop experience, he still wanted to bring Zhang Shan down a few times first, just to vent his anger.

“The boss is right. We have to cut down that bastard Six-Tube Bodhisattva. He’s way too damn vile, leading so many of us straight into the monster swarm.”

“Exactly. We have to kill him.”

“Go. Concentrate our strength and push the center lane. Ignore the other two lanes. I’ll use the scroll first to clear all their people back, then occupy the area around the banner so that even after they revive, they still won’t be able to add to the banner’s attributes.”

With more than a hundred men at his side, East Sea Dragon King charged grandly toward the center-lane banner that Zhang Shan’s group was defending.

Before long, the thieves from the Cloud and Wind Guild spotted them.

“East Sea Dragon King has been spotted. More than a hundred of them are charging toward our center lane.”

“This East Sea Dragon King sure is stubborn. Boss, what do we do?”

“Tanks in front. Everyone else spread out as much as possible. Keep an eye on East Sea Dragon King. I’m guessing the scrolls are all in his hands, so don’t get wiped out all at once. The side lanes should try to cut their banners.”

Zhang Shan did not care much. His resurrection skill had already cooled down, so he was not especially worried about East Sea Dragon King’s scrolls.

No matter how powerful a scroll was, it could not possibly kill him twice, could it?

At worst, he would just give up one life.

Get up again ten seconds later and keep fighting.

Not long after, East Sea Dragon King brought his people to their front.

Upon seeing him, Wind and Cloud World spoke first.

“Brother Dragon King, we have never offended you before, have we?”

“Brother World, you’re joking. It’s only a game. Otherwise, how would I dare provoke you? One word from your family’s old master, and the rest of us would be left drinking northwest wind.”

“That’s good. I know your guild is making a big push into the New World and urgently needs to build your reputation, so let’s each rely on our own ability.”

“Brother World, we’ve accepted defeat this time. I know there’s no way we can win, no matter what. But I’d like to cut the Six-Tube Bodhisattva down a few times. I wonder if Brother World could make allowances?”

“That’s impossible. Everyone who joined the Cloud and Wind Guild is my brother. Even if I can’t look after every one of them perfectly, I can’t let anyone cut down one of my brothers right in front of me.”

“Then so be it. I know what kind of man Brother World is. We’ll just have to see his fortune. I am definitely going to bring him down once.”

Damn it. Zhang Shan stood not far away and heard that East Sea Dragon King was actually giving up the guild challenge outright, all just to cut him down once.

Did he really hold that much of a grudge? It was only a couple of kills and the loss of an axe.

Were these big shots that vindictive?

He had better be careful.

Zhang Shan quietly moved toward the rear.

So you say you have powerful scrolls? Fine, maybe they’re devastating, but there is no way they can wipe out the entire map. I’ll just step back, won’t I? Let Wind and Cloud World and the others take the front.

In an instant, Zhang Shan transformed into a sly little rat, sneaking quietly backward.