Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 274 Legend (Part 1)

Heavenly Body guild.

“Leader, we’ve received information from a reliable source about the sightings of Gongzi You in the Sacred Snowy Mountain. She got into a fight with one of the parties there.”

“Oh.” The leader of Heavenly Body was none other than the top-player of the Northern Continent, Lethal Poison, who was also known as the No.1 Druid of Fate. He was a plump man who was always wearing a kind smile on his face. But if one mistook him for a pushover, they would be making a grave mistake. Despite his good nature, Lethal Poison could also be cruel in battle. He was more vicious and merciless than the top-players of the other continent, and those who dared stand in his way would find themselves suffering from his wrath.

And his methods were very creative.

Lethal Poison was currently studying the map of the abandoned fortress made by one of the Life Players in his guild.

The major guilds in the Northern Continent each had tricks up their sleeves to survive in their peculiar balance of power. Each of them maintained large numbers of sub-guilds, as well as untold numbers of Life Players that were not part of their guild as part of their logistics network.

The benefits of such a measure is self-evident. It could greatly reduce the spendings of a guild, and hide the true strength of a guild’s logistics from its rivals.

Heavenly Body would of course employ such a measure, as well as Sangharama Shrine, Rain of Blood, and the other major guilds of each continent.

Each guild knew that their rivals would do the same thing, but they could never have an accurate gauge of the extent of their rivals.

Lethal Poison’s maps were made by one such group of Life Players, who made the maps under the escort of one of the sub-guild’s Rogues under very dangerous circumstances. Even if they could not gain direct access to the fort, the players were still able to map out the staging area of the three guilds.

It could be said to be the best possible map to be made. If GPS existed in the game, it would achieve the same result.

Lethal Poison’s attention was focused fully on the maps. He did not appear to be paying attention to his subordinates, but those who were close to him knew full well that he was capable of multitasking. He was digesting the information given to him even as he was studying the map.

His subordinates waited patiently for his orders. They knew the way he handled things after working for him for a long time. He might appear to be absent-minded, but the cogs in his mind were churning.

Lethal Poison raised his head after a long while, “How many members were there in the party? Five of them?”

“Yes.”

“Were they all killed?”

“No, three of them were killed, one was crippled, and one managed to flee.” Lethal Poison’s subordinates were confused by his question, but they remained silent. They knew that even if his questions served a purpose even if they appeared to be illogical.

Lethal Poison blinked, and the smile returned to his face as he continued studying the map. Some of his subordinates were growing restless, “Leader, do we...”

“Go after Gongzi You?”

“Yes. She’s the top player of the Eastern Continent. Won’t there be a problem if we leave her be?” the guild members aid with a sigh, “Her presence in this place especially at a time like this is quite worrying.”

“Nangong, do you think that I’ve not thought about that?” Lethal Poison who was still staring at the map smiled at a Rogue standing before him clad in Purple-quality equipment. Despite the usually dark theme of a Rogue’s equipment, the faint patterns on his armor was a sign that it was of the best quality. The Rogue was Nangong Yunfei, the top Rogue of the Heavenly Body guild, and was one of Lethal Poison’s most trusted subordinates.

Nangong Yunfei was actually a player who was on par with a top-tier player. But due to his humble nature and his rare appearance in public, not many of the guild’s members knew about his true strength. Some of them did not even know of his existence. This trait was exactly what Lethal Poison needed. A nameless but skillful player who could lurk in the dark was more useful than a well-known player at times.

This was why Nangong Yunfei was deeply involved in intelligence gathering for the guild.

“I don’t quite get it.”

Nangong Yunfei and Lethal Poison shared a weird relationship. Their relationship was that of a subordinate and a boss, but they were also old friends who knew each other very well.

“I know how you like to play things safe, but I don’t Gongzi You is here because of the fort.” said Lethal Poison with a smile.

“I disagree. Are we going to ignore the fact that she might help one of our rivals out just because she’s a player from an opposing continent? If I’m not mistaken, she made a deal with Genesis last time.” Nangong Yunfei shook his head. He was worried about the presence of a top-tier player from an opposing continent.

Lethal Poison nodded at his words, “You’re not necessarily wrong, but I don’t think that’s the case.”

He looked away from the maps and at Nangong Yunfei, “If Gongzi You is here to help one of the guilds out, she would be scouting out the Mor Jiami plains instead of sneaking her way into the Sacred Snowy Mountain. That is proof that she did not wish to be caught in a fight against us. It’s obvious that her destination was the Sacred Snowy Mountain from the start. If my guess is correct, she was here for a very important mission. Besides, if she wouldn’t have been spotted by that party so easily if it was her intention to raise trouble for us.”

Nangong Yunfei was still worried despite Lethal Poison’s words, but he remained silent after noticing the certainty in his guild leader’s expression , “Alright then, I’ll send someone to spy on her.”

“By the way, find out what sort of mission she is up to if you can. She might be trying to explore a dungeon just like the one she did with Fleeting Time.” there was a hint of annoyance in Lethal Poison’s voice, “Goddamn it, those lucky bastards in Genesis! I bet they got a lot of items with two top players clearing a hidden dungeon for them.”

“Understood.” Nangong Yunfei knew that Lethal Poison was not happy with the exploration of Vosok by Gongzi You and Fleeting Time. After all, the number of dungeons in each continent were balanced. But ever since Vosok was explored by Fleeting Time and Gongzi You, Genesis was able to monopolize on unique high quality items acquired from the dungeon. Some of the lower end items even made their way to the Northern Continent. This earned them the envy of Lethal Poison.

There was nothing that he could do to change the situation, but the vice leader of Genesis was able to earn quite a considerable sum of money from Heavenly Body. Nobody would enjoy having a huge chunk of flesh torn out of their side, which was why Lethal Poison immediately directed his subordinates to search for hidden dungeons in the Northern Continent.

“Is Spotless Autumn in the Northern Continent as well?” a sudden thought entered Lethal Poison’s mind. Due to his immense workload, his only source of information was from Nangong Yunfei. He had completely forgotten about the presence of Spotless Autumn until the name Gongzi You was brought up.

“Yes.”

“And he got into a fight with the Sangharama Shrine?” as he was busy preparing for the coming battle, Lethal Poison had no energy to spare on mere gossip, which was why he immediately took the chance when he had the time.

Nangong Yunfei began explaining the circumstances surrounding the confrontation to Lethal Poison once again, “According to my intelligence, the Sangharama Shrine had recently acquired a Purple-quality hoe with very good stats....”

Lethal Poison bursted into laughter after listening to the explanation, “I told you. Sangharama’s Grace is good at everything but the management of his subordinate’s family members. Why would they allow a complete trash like Kiss Me Babe to handle the hoe? That is just outright stupid.” and he rubbed his chin, “And Kiss Me Babe was killed by a Hunter?”

“Yes.”

A smile appeared on Lethal Poison’s face, “Oh, I see....”

“What is it?” Nangong Yunfei was curious, “You seem to be thinking about something funny.”

“I’m wondering... What will happen if Spotless Autumn finds out that he became a scapegoat of Gongzi You? Will they end up fighting?” the regret was clear in Lethal Poison’s expression, “What a shame. If only I can witness their fight in person...” and he let out a long sigh, “Get some men to shadow the both of them. Do not interfere with whatever they’re doing, and don’t let them know that we’re watching them.”

The task of shadowing two top-tier players was not an easy one. They were the top players of their continent for many reasons. Their skill level would undoubtedly be high, and their equipment and gaming sense was also something that should be taken into account. Locating these players would also be a very daunting task. Nangong Yunfei, however, was excited. He was always happy to receive a high difficulty mission.

Lethal Poison stared out at the azure sky outside his window when Nangong Yunfei left. He could not help the grimace that appeared on his face. Ahh... I really want to go meet them both. Not as a guild leader, but as a player.

...

But as a guild leader, he was without the freedom to act as he pleased.

There was no way for Lethal Poison to escape the crushing responsibility of a guild leader. The guild was like a churning machine that crushed his dreams of freedom as a player. He once again let out a long sigh and refocused his attention on the map.

Whatever. I might as well concentrate on what I have to do.

Rain of Blood guild.

The news of Gongzi You’s arrival in the Northern Continent was spreading like wildfire in the guild encampment.

Dried Bones, the leader of Rain of Blood was rubbing his forehead with a pained expression, “How are the two other guilds handling this situation?”

“They’ve sent people to watch over the two, but they don’t seem to have the intention to interfere with their business.” the person speaking to the guild leader was also wearing a pained expression. It was someone who knew Gongzi You very well. He was none other than Melodious Flute, the man who died to Gongzi You every single time, and the only one to have a feeling of dread when he received the news. He had a feeling that Gongzi You was the bringer of his bad luck.

Every confrontation against Gongzi You was a failure.

“Alright, I guess we should send someone from our side to see what they’re up to as well. Don’t get too close, or she might be forced into a situation where she must fight our people. Even if a fight does break out, we’ll let the bastards from Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body to take the brunt of the damage. Do not reveal yourselves.”

There was of course more than one abandoned fort in the Northern Continent, but both the Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body guilds had their eyes set on the fort. It was in a strategic location, and it would be the first ever fort to be conquered by Northern Continent players. This was why the two major guilds did not hesitate to commit their forces to the map, and why Rain of Blood was willing to enter the fray.

Dried Bone’s objective was simple.

If he was hoping to capture the fort when Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body were tearing at each other’s throat. Even if his guild was not able to capture the fort, there was still much to gain by scavenging the battlefield. The equipment that were dropped during the battle could be used to arm the new recruits of Rain of Blood.

Melodious Flute could feel a shiver crawling down his spine as he stared at Dried Bone, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Eh? Have I not made it clear enough for you? You’re the one who is in charge of this mission.” Dried Bone shrugged.

“Hey, hey, hey! Haven’t I told you that I’m always getting my ass handed to me whenever I run into her?” Melodious Flute shook his head.

“But you’re the only one in our guild who had experience in fighting against her. You should be used to it by now. It’s only logical to assign this mission to you...” Dried Bone saw nothing wrong in his arrangement. It was something that any guild leader would do for the benefit of his or her guild.

Melodious Flute was at a loss for words. He knew that he could not escape the dark fate that awaited him, but it was worth trying. After all, nobody would want to go up against that walking disaster, “What about the things here? Are there any problems?”

“Nope.” Dried Bone shook his head despite the worries that were written all over his face, “I’m just trying to make a quick fortune out of this fight. I wonder if Sangharama Shrine and Heavenly Body will give me the opportunity to do so.”