...…
Immortal led the members of Silent Night and Earners toward the center of the Frozen City right after they heard the commotion the moment when they step through the city gates.
They didn't know what was happening in that place, the loud sounds of explosions and crumbling structures were more than enough for them to know that a fight was going on.
And since they could only think of a single reason why there was a commotion in that place – the Empyrean Talons and the rest of their group were currently fighting in that place.
While heading over to the center of the city, Immortal immediately noticed the 'gazes' directed at them. And since he was very familiar with those kinds of gazes, he was able to quickly locate their sources as the group advanced forward.
He then instructed the assassins in their group to make quick work of the skeleton soldiers monitoring their movements. And with his accurate directions, the group was able to quickly eliminate the spying skeletons.
Immortal also gave a series of instructions while they were moving. He originally wanted to divide their team into three different groups to surround their opponents in three different directions. But after remembering the individual strength of the opposing side, he immediately disregarded that thought and solidified their formation, instead.
Moreover, the opposing group was already aware of their presence, so dividing their forces would only do them more harm if the other side decided to ambush one of the smaller groups before facing them.
With the number of Godlike Players from the opposing side, eliminating the groups would be an easy job, especially when players like Zero, Faker, Lawless, Simba, and Sickarius were on that side.
He already learned the lesson after hearing from Flouree what happened to their group. There were only three people who fought them at that time, yet they almost lost their members if not for them using their trump cards.
Immortal was also aware of how vulnerable the current Earners were after learning that Flouree was currently in a weakened state. It was not because they were weak overall, but it was due to their leader being a fatal weakness of the group when the fight broke out.
Her commanding skills were still going to be very helpful in the battle later, but she would still be prone to attacks from the opposing side now that she didn't have the ability to properly protect herself.
Naturally, there were some evil plots that flashed through Immortal's head. But he knew that Flouree would not be foolish enough to let her guard down, especially when she was very familiar with his habits of backstabbing the people around him when the opportunity presented itself.
Moreover, the success of his plans would be a great risk if discord suddenly arose from their ranks. They would only be presenting their necks at Shin and the others if it really were to happen.
While Immortal was trying to organize their formation, a sudden sense of danger assaulted the whole group.
"Ambushed!" shouted Justin right after sensing the danger looming in the air.
The others didn't need to hear his reminder as they were also aware of the danger. They quickly halted their steps and maintained their formation while sweeping their gaze at the surrounding.
They kept their high alert as they knew how troublesome their opponents could be.
They first thought that they would be the ones who would launch an ambush on the opposing side. After all, the series of explosions could still be heard from the center of the city, which meant that an intense battle was still happening in that place.
They were still a little confused why the opposing side chose to ambush them when they were still fighting such an intense battle.
In order to do that, Immortal and the rest of his group thought that their opponents would need to divide their force in order to hold both forts.
Dividing their forces when they were already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers would only weaken their overall strength even further.
But after thinking deeper into it, they thought that it was also quite understandable. After all, their group would be causing trouble to the opposing side while those people were dealing with whatever they were fighting on that side.
Dividing their forces would indeed be a good decision when the group looked at it that way. Though, it would still be a bad choice if it was really the case.
While the entire group was thinking that way, there were two people who were looking at it differently, Immortal and Flouree.
They were still confused by the decision of their opponents, but they were sure that there was a deeper meaning to it. Based on their past experiences, they knew that they couldn't look at the opposing side at a superficial level.
…
While Immortal and his gang were still thinking about the seemingly foolish decision of their opponents, the other party was already making their moves.
Faker, one of the best, if not the best, assassins in the entire gaming world was already in the middle of their ranks without them knowing.
He used a series of cloaking skills to enhance his stealth skill as he walk through the opposing side fearlessly.
With the help of one of his family's foot techniques, the Shadowless Footwork, he was able to silently sneak past everyone like a ghost.
This particular movement technique was not the fastest footwork. In fact, it was way too slow to be considered a movement technique. Compare to the other techniques, the Shadowless Footwork could be considered a turtle movement.
But in exchange for the slow movement, each of his steps became soundless. It was so soft and silent that no target would be able to notice him approaching them.
And to further enhanced this particular movement technique and let sneak past any kind of defensive measure, Faker was also using a type of 'Turtle Breathing' technique unique to his family.
It was a type of breathing technique that could further erase already unnoticeable presence. And due to it, he was able to walk past the awareness of his opponents even though he just brushed past them a meter distance away from their position.
Faker could not use such a pair of techniques in any games that he had played previously. But due to the help of the 'Reality Manifestation' mechanic of this game, such a thing was possible.
He was able to sneak into the ranks of their enemies without being noticed. And since he was the type of assassin that could totally hide their killing intent, he was able to reach his target silently as if he was the manifestation of Death itself.
…
Flouree, who was keeping a sharp eye on her surroundings couldn't find any sign of their hiding opponents. And as the more time passed, the greater unease she felt while standing in her position.
She couldn't help but cursed her current state. If only she was not weakened, then she would be able to use her 'Magic Sense' to scan their surroundings. And with the help of that skill, they would be so passive like this.
While she was thinking about that, she suddenly felt that there was something amiss. And without any hint of hesitation, she quickly cast a series of defensive skills on herself such as 'Mana Shield', 'Ice Shield', and 'Mana Mirror'.
And due to her decisive actions, she was able to save herself at the most critical moment.
A dagger silently cut through the air!
Swoosh!
The power behind this silent dagger was so strong that it instantly broke the shields Flouree had summoned in quick succession.
Fortunately, those shields slowed down the dagger considerably, giving her enough time to use 'Blink' and escape her current predicament.
After barely escaping the clutches of death, Flouree quickly looked at her assailant and spoke gravely. "It is not going to be the same as the last time."
She and the group already suffered an ambush from Faker earlier and the losses that they suffered were considerably big, so she made sure that she would always be prepared for such things to not let it happen ever again.
The people surrounding her were greatly caught off-guard. They were not expecting Faker to silently appear right in the middle of their ranks without them knowing.
They were keeping a close watch on their surroundings and even maintain a solid formation that could prevent any assassin from sneaking past them, but from the looked of it, all of the preparations were useless in front of this God of Death.
After being surprised for a moment, the rest of the group quickly responded to the current situation and immediately attack Faker.
Mirage was the person who was most depressed in the current situation. As the Archer of the group, it was supposedly his job to keep an eye on any possible sneaked attacks of an assassin. But not only he failed to notice their opponent entering their ranks, he even let it happen more than twice in a row now.
Recollecting himself, Mirage quickly picked up his bow and aimed at Faker with its already-nocked arrow, pouring all of his frustrations into it.
At the same time, he also cast 'Hunting Decree' to Faker to fully mark him. It was a mark that would stay on him even though he entered stealth. It would only be removed once the duration ended or once the caster died.
Due to his pent-up emotions, Mirage's awareness slipped for a moment, making him fail to sense his surroundings in that instant.
It might be momentarily short, but it was more than enough for him to pay a fatal prize.
Click!
That was also the moment when a subtle clicking sound rang silently near him.
It was then followed by a flash of light that cut through the space, passing through his neck and drawing a thin line in the air.
Mirage's body suddenly tensed for a moment before freezing completely. He was still confused at what just happened as his vision slowly turned dark.
The terror of death suddenly assaulted his mind as he released what happened. Unfortunately, he didn't know what actually killed him as he could no longer see his surroundings.
He wanted to warn his colleagues about the danger. Unfortunately, no sound came out of his mouth no matter how hard he opened them.
Aside from the soft sound of a silent sheathing of a sword behind him, nothing else could be heard.
A manifestation of death different from Faker silently approached the battlefield.
...
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