Chapter 120 Cry

The infiltration of the intelligence network was like injecting a potent clarity-enhancer into ‘Abyss’. Through Marcus’s secret channel, Aiden was able to glimpse the ‘blood’ and ‘nerve signals’ that flowed through the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s massive body daily. He was not in a hurry to use this information to launch a fatal blow; instead, like the most patient hunter, he began to draw a detailed map of the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s ‘daily routine,’ looking for the most vulnerable and valuable nodes within it.

A few days later, through information passed on by Marcus—a summary of an internal report on the guild’s resource exploration department—combined with the chance discoveries of Ember Guild members active in the wild, an important coordinate was quickly locked and delivered to Aiden.

It was a valley located southeast of Ashford City, near the foothills of the ‘Howling Wind Mountains.’ According to the report’s analysis, there were signs of abnormal energy fluctuations and geological changes there, suspected to be a high-grade open-pit mine, possibly rich in ‘Mithril’ and a small amount of ‘Thorium,’ that had just ‘refreshed’ due to digitalization fusion. The exploration team had already confirmed its value, and the formal report and mining plan were in the works; it was expected that in two days, the Dragon Sovereign Guild would dispatch a garrison to establish an outpost and begin initial mining.

An open-pit rich mine! Mithril was a necessary material for rare gear upgrades and some intermediate Engineering and Alchemy, while Thorium was a common base metal for epic gear. At the current stage, whoever could master a stable, high-grade mine would be able to occupy a huge advantage in the gear race and high-end manufacturing field.

The Dragon Sovereign Guild clearly wanted to use it as a new strategic resource point to make up for the deficits caused by recent economic hits and combat consumption.

“We cannot let them take this mine point smoothly.” In the underground safe house, Aiden looked at the valley location marked on the holographic map, his tone flat but carrying unquestionable decisiveness.

“The Ember Guild just sent word as well,” Luna added. She was now able to skillfully assist Aiden in handling some intelligence gathering. “One of their peripheral squads was hunting wind-type monsters nearby and saw the metallic luster of the ore in the valley from afar, but they didn’t dare to approach because they discovered the traces of the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s exploration team.”

“Perfect.” Aiden tapped his finger on the map. “Notify Blazewind to assemble all available combatants from the Ember Guild, requiring them to be at least level 12, carrying the best equipment and sufficient supplies. Tell them this is a real battle and also a test of their loyalty. The objective: coordinate with us to seize this mine point before the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s garrison establishes a solid defense.”

“Yes!” Luna immediately contacted Blazewind via an encrypted channel.

Silas rubbed his hands, his heavy armor clanking: “Time to fight again! Just right to test the quality of my new class!”

Aiden looked at him, then at the glowing [Stormbringer Cloak] on Luna, and the blade in his own hand, which was becoming increasingly restrained and menacing. After this period of hunting and digesting, the three of them had stabilized at level 18, and their attributes, skill proficiency, and gear compatibility had reached a new height. Crushing a Dragon Sovereign Guild garrison head-on, while challenging, was by no means impossible.

“We will arrive half a day early and hide on the outskirts of the valley. The Ember Guild will approach from the other side, and we will attack simultaneously upon my signal.” Aiden quickly formulated the tactics. “The primary goal is to crush their effective strength and command system, and occupy the core area of the mine. We are not pursuing total annihilation, but we must strike with enough deterrence so that they cannot organize an effective counterattack in the short term.”

A day and a half later, on the edge of the Howling Wind Mountains, in an unnamed valley.

The valley was gourd-shaped, with a narrow entrance but quite open inside. On the exposed rock walls, silver-white and dark-blue metallic lusters shimmered in the sunlight—the typical characteristics of high-grade Mithril ore and a small amount of Thorium ore. The air was filled with the active aura of Earth and Metal elements.

At this moment, the battle flag of the Dragon Sovereign Guild had already been erected in the valley. A team of about fifty people was busy. They were an advance garrison, with levels between 12 and 14, led by a level 15 Shield Warrior captain, and paired with a standard lineup of warriors, mages, priests, thieves, and hunters. They were building simple defensive fortifications, setting up tents, and arranging alert magic arrays. In the distance, players with mining skills had already begun to clank away, attempting to mine.

They were moving fast, but their expressions were inevitably somewhat relaxed. After all, this was the edge of the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s sphere of influence, and the guild had just issued a kill order; they were riding high, so who would have thought that anyone would dare to snatch the prey from a tiger’s jaws? Moreover, they were here to “build,” not to fight.

What they did not know was that behind the dense trees and rugged rocks on both sides of the valley, the eyes of “Abyss” and the Ember Guild were watching their every move coldly.

Aiden hid behind a huge weathered rock; the effect of his [Shadow Cloak] made him almost blend into the environment. He whispered orders through the team channel: “Is the Ember Guild in position?”

“Already in position! Mr. Reaper, we can see them. Fifty-three people in total, the defensive fortifications are about one-third complete, and there are two lookouts in the southeast corner.” Blazewind’s voice came through with repressed excitement and tension.

“Very good. Listen to my instructions. Silas, after the battle starts, you will [Charge] directly at their command core, that Shield Warrior captain and the mage and priest beside him. Luna, in the first round, cover the construction area with the maximum range of [Frost Nova] to disrupt their formation, then coordinate with Silas to prioritize clearing the healers and ranged units. Ember Guild, your task is to cut in from the flank, split their rear-line casters and ranged professions, and create chaos. You don’t need to fight hard, just tie them up.”

“Understood!” came the response from all sides.

Aiden took a deep breath, his eyes locked on the Shield Warrior captain who was directing the setup of the anti-cavalry stakes. He slowly raised the blade, and the dark red patterns on the dark-gold edge suddenly flared with a bright crimson color!

“Move!”

The moment his voice fell—

“ROAR!!!”

A heaven-shaking war cry exploded from the direction of the valley entrance! Silas’s figure, like a heavy siege hammer, carrying the hot blood of [Berserker Overlord] and an unstoppable momentum, launched a [Charge]! The target was aimed straight at the core of the garrison! His huge tower shield was in front, like a moving wall, knocking the two warriors who tried to block his path stumbling back directly!

Almost at the same time, on the high point on the other side of the valley, Luna waved her staff. A red ‘Great Luck’ die phantom flashed and vanished, and chilling ice energy mixed with the favor of destiny surged out! [Frost Nova · Enhanced]! The range was nearly a quarter larger than usual! The bone-chilling ice ring swept across most of the camp under construction at an astonishing speed!

Crack, crack, crack!

The ground was instantly covered with a thick, slippery layer of ice. Seven or eight players who were carrying wood or setting up magic arrays slipped and fell to the ground. Several priests and mages who were chanting auxiliary skills were caught off guard; their spells were interrupted, and they were afflicted with a bone-chilling slow effect. The entire formation of the garrison was thrown into chaos!

“Enemy attack! It’s ‘Abyss’! Form up! Defend!” The Shield Warrior captain did not react slowly; he immediately let out a roar and raised his shield, attempting to organize resistance.

But Silas’s Charge had already arrived! He completely ignored the attacks of others, his eyes fixed only on the captain and the two key supports beside him! His huge tower shield, carrying the remaining momentum of the Charge, slammed heavily onto the captain’s shield!

CLANG!!!

A deafening roar! The Shield Warrior captain was shaken back three steps, his arm numb, and a look of horror appeared on his face. Such strong power!

Before he could adjust, Silas swung his spare warhammer with his other hand, already smashing toward the priest next to him who was trying to dispel the slow effect! -288! (Critical!)

The priest screamed, his shield shattered, and his health points hit rock bottom!

Another mage was so frightened that he quickly flashed back to retreat, but the [Berserker Overlord] battle intent erupting from Silas was like invisible chains, making him feel a heavy pressure, and his spellcasting speed was slowed by half a beat.

And just at this moment, shouts of battle rose from the flank! Blazewind led the way, his crimson spear like a poisonous dragon emerging from a cave, and with more than thirty elite members of the Ember Guild, he cut fiercely into the rear of the Dragon Sovereign garrison, which was already in chaos due to [Frost Nova]! Their goal was clear: those fragile mages, hunters, and healers!

“It’s the Ember Guild! These traitors!” Someone in the garrison recognized Blazewind, shocked and furious.

“Stop them!” The thieves and hunters in the rear fought back in a hurry, but their formation was already broken, and they were caught off guard by the Ember Guild, immediately falling into a bitter battle.

Just as Silas was charging the front with bravery and the Ember Guild was disrupting the rear, a ghost-like figure appeared silently in the shadows on the flank of the battlefield. It was Aiden!

He did not choose to join the frontal melee, but like a top-tier assassin, he was looking for an opportunity for a one-hit kill. His gaze locked onto the mage who had just flashed away to create distance and was nervously re-chanting [Fireball], as well as a veteran priest beside the mage who was trying hard to heal the captain and was positioned relatively far back.

[Heaven-Binding Roots · Shadow Mutation]! Pitch-black thorns broke through the ground, instantly binding the priest’s feet! The priest was greatly alarmed, and his healing spell was interrupted instantly.

At the same time, Aiden’s figure moved! [Shadow Cloak] made his movement trajectory blurry, and his 51 points of Agility made him as fast as lightning! In the blink of an eye, he had crossed a distance of more than twenty meters and appeared at the side of that mage!

The mage only felt a flash of dark-gold cold light in the corner of his eye. He turned his head in horror, but what he saw was a pair of cold, merciless eyes.

[Sky-Splitting Slash]!

Aiden did not hold back. He swung the blade, and a crescent-shaped energy blade wave, with dark red lava and ice-blue cold air flowing along its edges, roared out! The distance was too close; the mage had no time to make any effective reaction at all!

-588! (Mixed damage! Critical! Rending!)

A terrifyingly high damage number floated up! Ice and fire energy exploded on the mage instantly, and he was slashed away like a broken ragdoll, turning into white light while still in mid-air!

The energy blade wave did not lose momentum, grazing another warlock nearby who was casting spells, taking away most of his health bar and adding a continuous ‘Rending’ bleeding effect!

One-shot! A shocking one-shot!

This strike not only completely disintegrated the resistance in this small area, but it was also like a basin of ice water poured over the hearts of all the members of the Dragon Sovereign garrison! Even an elite mage was one-shotted by a single slash?! What kind of monster attack power was this?!

Morale collapsed instantly!

The Shield Warrior captain was furious, but he was firmly tied down by Silas and could not save himself. The fifty-man garrison he brought was scattered in just a few minutes: the front was charged into a mess by the unmovable monster Silas, the flanks were turned upside down by the Ember Guild, and the key output and healers in the rear were precision-killed by the death-like presence of Aiden… How could this battle still be fought?

“Retreat! Retreat out of the valley! Send a signal for reinforcements!” The captain roared in despair, knowing that the mine could not be kept, and he could only try his best to preserve his effective strength.

However, it was easy to enter but difficult to leave. The valley entrance was blocked by Silas and some members of the Ember Guild. If they wanted to retreat, they had to break through their obstruction. And behind them, the pursuit of Aiden and Luna clung to them like a shadow they could not shake. Luna’s [Chain Lightning] jumped through the crowd, and with the critical hit bonus of the [Stormbringer Cloak], every strike took away a group of low-health enemies. [Enhanced Pyroblast] was like heavy artillery; wherever it landed, people were turned upside down.

The rout turned into a one-sided pursuit and slaughter.

Fifteen minutes later, the battle ended.

The valley was a mess, the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s battle flag was broken and thrown on the ground, and the simple fortifications were tilted. More than thirty ‘corpses’ whose white light had not yet completely dissipated were scattered everywhere, and the remaining fewer than twenty people fled the valley in a panic, disappearing into the mountains without looking back.

The Ember Guild also had five people killed and many injured, but everyone’s face was filled with excitement and thrill! They had actually defeated the Dragon Sovereign Guild’s garrison head-on! Although it mainly relied on the terrifying strength of the three big shots from ‘Abyss,’ they also played their part and were no longer just characters who could only be beaten passively!

Blazewind walked quickly to Aiden, injured but in high spirits, and bowed his head in salute: “Mr. Reaper! Mission accomplished! The mine point has been taken!”

Aiden nodded slightly: “Clean up the battlefield, collect the loot, and double the compensation for the fallen brothers. Arrange personnel immediately, rely on the terrain to establish defenses, and set up sentries and traps. The Dragon Sovereign Guild will not let this go, and the next wave of counterattacks will come soon.”

“Yes!” Blazewind responded loudly and immediately turned to make arrangements.

Aiden walked to the rock face with the richest ore and reached out to touch the cold, metallic-shimmering ore. The pure aura of Earth and Metal elements rushed toward him. With this mine point, the shortcomings of ‘Abyss’ and its affiliated forces in gear reinforcement and high-end manufacturing would be greatly compensated. More importantly, this action of crushing the Dragon Sovereign garrison head-on and seizing an important mine point would send a signal to the entire Ashford City that could not be clearer:

The authority of the Dragon Sovereign Guild is not unchallengeable.

They cannot even protect their own territory.

It is foreseeable how furious Damien will be when he hears this news. But what Aiden wants is his anger, his irrationality, and for him to throw his power into the futile siege of ‘Abyss’ again and again, thereby exposing more flaws.

He turned around and looked at the Ember Guild members busy building defensive lines in the valley, as well as the steady Silas and the bright-eyed Luna beside him.

From a lone wolf, to a small team, to having peripheral forces and stable resource points… The foundation of ‘Abyss’ was becoming solid bit by bit in this struggle full of blood and fire.

And the flame of revenge would also burn more fiercely under the nourishment of these resources.