Stranger of Three Lifetimes had only taken a few steps before she suddenly whirled around and said, "Hmmm, which class would hurt assassins the most in a forest battle? What classes should I dispatch to kill them?"

"Ke, ke!" Hot and Sour Noodles coughed.

I waved my hands and said, "Use archers, they are also an Agility-based class and their Shock Arrows and Spiraling Arrow Blades are an assassin’s nightmare. You should also bring a few mages with you. Get them to cast Fire Rain and Ice Rain repeatedly to lay down suppressive fire. This will stop any assassins from sneaking up on you. Make sure that you place your archers in a proper formation. If you do, you’ll kill as many assassins as they can throw at you. I guarantee it."

"Haha, thank you!" Stranger of Three Lifetimes said with a laugh.

Warsky and October Rain spent some time discussing their strategy going forward before they left with Laughing At The Heavens and Hundred Battler. The borders of the Windy Trail was their territory, and they had to kill as many enemy players as they could, even if they couldn’t hold on to the area. If they didn’t, there was no way that Warsky Alliance or Blazing Hot Lips could lift their heads high in Dawn City.

……

Shortly afterward, most of the archers and mages from Blazing Hot Lips turned to the left and started to lay down a pattern of suppressive fire. Fire Rain and Ice Rain spells kept pelting the forested hills, and Stranger of Three Lifetimes had even assigned two groups of warriors to form a defensive line inside the area which they were bombarding. Right now, everyone was in the Nation War setting, so their attacks would only hurt players from enemy servers.

Flames erupted all over both sides of the mountain range as the Northern Alliance started their attack as well. Players kept squeezing themselves into the Windy Trail as the sounds of battle filled the air and Chinese players were buried by a tidal wave of invaders. After that, they immediately started skirmishes all over the defensive line set up by Blazing Hot Lips and Warsky Alliance.

A large number of archers and assassins appeared in the forests as they launched flanking attacks against the two defending guilds. The assassins on Blazing Hot Lips’ flank tried to go into stealth, but the rain of suppressive fire she had laid down stifled their best efforts.

All of the sudden, a striking-looking assassin appeared among the enemy forces. He was Level 157 and there was a blood-red flag strapped to his back. It was yet another one of those Heroic Bannermen. He looked like he was wearing quite a few pieces of Earth-grade equipment, and assassins who wore this sort of gear were all quite terrifying. He was an American player who hailed from Titan City, so we definitely couldn’t underestimate him.

Fairytale Killer LV-157 Great Earth Hitman

City: Titan City

Nation: USA

Guild: League of Assassins

Position: Leader

……

Fairytale Killer stared at the rain of suppressive fire as he yelled, "Use Ambush to stun their warriors! Roll through this sea of fire and use your fluorescent powder to hide. After that, rip through their defenses! These Chinese players are taking us way too lightly if they think that they can use these petty tricks to stop Titan City’s advance!"

The appearance of a Heroic Bannerman instantly boosted the morale of the Northern Alliance players. A huge number of Northern Alliance assassins suddenly appeared all around Blazing Hot Lips’ first defensive alliance. Daggers which gleamed with cold light slashed across the necks of those warriors. They had actually managed to catch Blazing Hot Lips unawares and hit them with Ambush, a skill that could stun a player for up to three seconds!

Pccht, pccht, pccht...

Fresh blood sprayed in the air. This group of assassins were all players from League of Assassins, so their levels were all very high. Their chance to stun was also shockingly high and it seemed as if all of the warriors who made up Blazing Hot Lips’ first line of defense had been stunned instantly. Fairytale Killer was leading the charge. His dagger flashed in the air as he stunned the leading magic knight. After that, he leapt into the air and landed on the head of one of the mounts. He used the head as a springboard to leap into the sea of fire. His dagger was flickering left and right as he deflected the flaming projectiles that were raining down on his head. He even managed to deflect the Spiraling Arrow Blades that had been shot at him as he dashed about a dozen steps forward.

Wooosh!

Fluorescent powder twinkled in the air as Fairytale Killer forcefully reentered stealth at 75% HP. His actions were smooth and fluid, and he practically seemed to flow from one movement to the next. Even we had no choice but to praise his mechanical skills as an assassin, because there weren’t more than five assassins in China who could match those moves!

"Did they use their fluorescent powder already?"

Stranger of Three Lifetimes quickly swept her eyes across the area as her staff danced in the air. After that, she shouted, "Bombard this area with fire! Force that rat out of his hidey-hole! Ptooey! How dare he act so brazen in this woman’s territory!?"

Countless Volleys and Fire Rains instantly rained down from the sky, but this cavalcade of attacks still wasn’t enough to pin down the shadow of this Heroic Bannerman. This caused Stranger of Three Lifetimes to grow even more cautious and wary. As she lightly tapped her foot with the ground, a Magic Shield immediately coalesced into existence and covered every inch of her voluptuous body. Her mage robes fluttered in the wind as Stranger of Three Lifetimes swept her eyes across the area and shouted a command, "Don’t let that Heroic Bannerman mess up our formation. Continue to lay down suppressive fire and block all the other enemies from advancing."

Once Fairytale Killer had broken through our lines, many of the assassins in his guild had aped their guild leader’s movements, and slipped past Blazing Hot Lips’ warriors one after the other. Of course, more than 50% of the assassins who made the attempt never got past that rain of spells and arrows. Blazing Hot Lips’ contingent of long-range players was extremely strong, and their spells and arrows put a serious dent in these enemy assassins.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH…"

A bunch of assassins let out agonized wails as they collapsed in the sea of fire and ice. Some of them managed to use fluorescent powder to forcefully reenter stealth, but the Spiraling Arrow Blades of Blazing Hot Lips’ archers knocked them right back out. Some of them were directly skewered by the hail of arrows.

Nevertheless, a dozen assassins had gotten past Blazing Hot Lips’ defensive line. A sinister grin curled up on their leader’s face as he brandished his dagger and shouted, "Activate Swift Dash and go for that female guild leader. Tsk, this little girl really is quite the looker, but don’t let me catch any of you going easy on her because of that!"

The assassins immediately activated Swift Dash and split off in different directions. They flew toward Stranger of Three Lifetimes from all directions as they quickly encircled her.

However, Stranger of Three Lifetimes was far from intimidated. Her eyes sparkled and a faint smile appeared on her face as she raised her staff and shouted, "It looks like these idiots want to die! Bring it on, dumbasses! I haven’t had the chance to earn any Nation War points yet!"

Waves of cold started to emanate from her magic staff as it danced in the air. Stranger of Three Lifetimes’ robes flared up in the next instant as frost started to swirl all around her. A miniature icy-blue storm appeared on the tip of her staff before she hurled it out and yelled, "Icy Storm!"

Boom!

Countless shards of ice swirled within that rapidly-expanding storm as it engulfed the area all around her. By the time the storm subsided, the only things that were left around her were the corpses of those twelve assassins and the items they had dropped. The jaws of a group of Titan City assassins hit the ground as they stared at the bodies of their comrades in shocked awe. No one had thought that this Chinese girl knew such violent and damaging spells. Her overwhelming Magic Attack was strong enough to send shudders down their spines.

Stranger of Three Lifetimes’ face was still cool and calm even after she had one-shot those twelve assassins. However, she quickly jerked her head around as if she had spotted something. "Hmm? There seems to be…"

Before Stranger of Three Lifetimes could even finish her sentence, a blood-red blade had appeared out of thin air and swiftly snaked toward her! It was Fairytale Killer’s blade! The assassin leader soon appeared as well, as he seemed to step out of the void to appear in front of our imperiled mage.

Crack!

Stranger of Three Lifetimes backpedaled furiously, but the assassin still managed to strike a telling blow against her Magic Shield, shaving off a huge chunk of its durability!

"You’re looking to die!"

Stranger of Three Lifetimes’ staff weaved and bobbed in the air. She was furiously casting a spell even as she was attempting to put some distance between herself and Fairytale Killer!

Bang!

Countless shards of ice erupted from the ground as she used Frost Explosion! The skill would seal Fairytale Killer’s movements if he was caught in it. The layer of ice it formed was very thick, and if Fairytale Killer was shackled by it, he would pay with his life.

A group of Blazing Hot Lips players were about to launch an attack on Fairytale Killer when they saw his body get locked up by the ice. However, this assassin was dreadfully calm. He simply turned a ring on his finger, and the ice that was trapping his body simply fell away. After that, he smoothly dipped into a forward roll as his dagger flashed up toward Stranger of Three Lifetimes yet again!

Pchht!

Stranger of Three Lifetimes got hit one more time! This assassin’s fleeting attacks and slippery movements were spinning her around in circles.

"Ice!"

Stranger of Three Lifetimes wasn’t foolish enough to cast any spells which required a long channeling time while she was dueling this deadly assassin. A spear of ice shot out of her hand and smashed into Fairytale Killer’s chest with a loud thud, dealing 12090 damage to him! His eyes instantly widened in shock when his HP bar sharply dropped! This simple spell had been strong enough to knock off 25% of his total health!

"Hah!" Fairytale Killer let out a yell as he activated Swift Dash. He dove toward Stranger of Three Lifetimes like a bolt of red lightning as his dagger flashed in the air. A long line of light appeared in the air before a wave of energy shot out of it! He had used an AoE skill!

Deadly Blade Sweep!

Stranger of Three Lifetimes’ Magic Shield finally fizzled out with a loud pop. A look of consternation crossed her beautiful face, but she raised her staff and thrust out her left arm. Her snow-white fingers were spread wide as violent flames erupted from them! The flames soon coalesced into a flaming dragon which soared out and clamped its jaws around Fairytale Killer’s head. A huge damage number popped up above him after that—24828!

Alarm bells started ringing in Fairytale Killer’s head! He only had about 25% of his HP left, but he hadn’t even put a scratch on his opponent yet! Stranger of Three Lifetimes had clearly proved herself to be a super mage in her own right, and he knew that he would have to pay a terrible price to kill her.

Even though he was dancing on the edge between life and death, Fairytale Killer continued to dart toward Stranger of Three Lifetimes. He kicked off against the rocky ground, his body shooting toward the mage like a spinning arrow. His blade seemed to bend in from impossible angles as it flickered out at her three times. All three strikes came from different angles and everyone winced as they expected the inevitable to happen. After all, all three of these attacks would definitely hit a mage without their Magic Shield.

However, Stranger of Three Lifetimes soon pulled off a move that stunned everyone present!

She clenched her teeth as she grasped her magic staff with both hands. After that, she started to twirl it like a monk’s staff.

Two loud clangs soon rang out in the air. Stranger of Three Lifetimes had actually managed to deflect two of those attacks with her magic staff!

"Fuck, look at the way she’s parrying those attacks. How is this a mage…" Laughing At The Heavens gasped as his jaw dropped open.

Blue Sky Scar and Little Piglet were equally astounded by her skill. From this moment onward, all doubts over Blazing Hot Lips’ guild ranking disappeared. No one would question how they made it into the Top 10 any longer, because the mechanical skill of their guild leader was absolutely world-class!

……

Unfortunately for Stranger of Three Lifetimes, she had been able to block the first two blows, but there was no way she would be blocking the third. Fairytale Killer’s attacks were simply too swift and he finally succeeded in hitting her with his third blow, his blade sinking into her chest!

Pchht!

Blood sprayed in the air as a huge damage number popped up above her head—26165!

Heaven was definitely on her side today, because Stranger of Three Lifetimes actually still had a sliver of health left after taking that deadly blow. Her equipment was as excellent as I had suspected it was, and her total HP neared 30000!

……

"That’s enough!" Stranger of Three Lifetimes let out a furious yell as she thrust her magic staff into the air. Ice exploded out from under her feet as a wave of ice shot toward Fairytale Killer!

"Huh!?" Fairytale Killer gasped in shock. He hurriedly backpedaled as he threw a fistful of fluorescent powder into the air, his figure soon disappearing amid the billowing frost.

The heart-stopping battle had finally come to a close. As the leader of Blazing Hot Lips, Stranger of Three Lifetimes had actually chosen to surrender the inherent advantages her class had over assassins in this duel! She had just taken a super expert head-on, and they had even fought to a draw despite it practically being a melee duel!

"Bombard the area! I want you to ferret out that rat!"

A few of the male archers from Blazing Hot Lips instantly fired off their arrows in anger, but none of them managed to pin down that slippery assassin. Fairytale Killer was far too quick and elusive for these attacks to expose his position.

Stranger of Three Lifetimes was healed up by her priests as she stared into the distance with a worried look on her face. Large squads of archers and mages had appeared on the horizon, and each of these squads consisted of at least 5000 players. Their assassins had failed to penetrate the enemy lines even after they launched an all-or-nothing attack, so the Northern Alliance had finally activated one of their elite guilds to bombard China’s defensive line.