Chapter 146 – All-Out War (Part 2)

During the map refresh interval, the leaders of the two familiar squads engaged in a warm and friendly exchange—

[Arena] Mad Lad: Running into you guys here feels like we’ve time-traveled back to the Summit Server, haha.

[Arena] Mad Lad: How’s the journey been so far?

[Arena] Water Phantom: Smooth sailing.

Up to the previous match, TAT.

Though pessimistic, as the team leader, Water Phantom still encouraged everyone in YY: “What affects team battles isn’t just strength, but also tactics and opportunities. Who knows where the map will spawn us? So, who wins and who loses is still up in the air.”

Fire Cloud Evil God: “Healer, to be honest, I genuinely don’t think they have an overwhelming advantage over us in objective combat power. Even if Thousand Mountains is worth two, making it 6v5, how much difference can that really make?”

Bodhi Patriarch: “But if sneakiness is also a combat parameter…”

Sorrel: “We’d definitely die very thoroughly.”

Seven Injuries Fist: “What if they’re strong? What if they’re sneaky? Whether it’s Thousand Mountains or Mad Lad and 2B, I don’t even care!”

Water Phantom: “Fist, you’re amazing!”

Seven Injuries Fist: “But Everything Breaks is my Legion Commander…”

Amidst this devastating blow, the map slowly came into focus—Alien Battlefield!

Well, only the name was clear. Each participating player could only see their own tiny patch of land and its name. As for what the entire map actually looked like and what each area was called, only the spectators in Spectator Mode could see the full picture.

[Ghost Server YY — MadB’s Private Shack]

Mad Lad: “I’m in Nova Plains. What about you guys?”

2B: “Quarantine Zone.”

Thousand Mountains: “Forest Combat Zone.”

Everything Breaks: “Desert.”

Passing Master: “Underwater World.”

“…”

Mad Lad: “Let’s just report coordinates.”

After reporting their coordinates, the squad realized they were unusually scattered. The map was huge, with X and Y coordinates ranging from 0 to 900. Among them, Everything Breaks was in the desert, and 2B was in the Quarantine Zone, both in the middle with Y-coordinates of 500. However, one was in the south (200, 500) and the other in the north (800, 500). The distance between X-coordinates 200 and 800 wasn’t just a matter of space—it was also blocked by mountains and rivers. The others were even more spread out.

In short, for the squad to regroup under these spawn conditions, the difficulty was high, and the unknown risks were even higher. Because they were familiar with each other, they understood that this opponent was different from the previous ones—they needed to tread carefully. And right now, they still didn’t know how the enemies had spawned.

So the five of them quickly decided on a general direction: head northeast toward Nova Plains, where the open terrain would make it easier to observe and locate teammates. Additionally, if a guild war broke out there, their side—with superior raw combat power—would have the highest chance of winning, as there was almost no terrain to exploit tactically.

Once the plan was set, the YY channel gradually quieted down. Each of them was in their own zone, carefully observing, quietly lying in wait, or moving covertly.

Seven Injuries Fist had already been walking through the desert for two minutes. If not for the map’s coordinates, he was sure he’d be lost here. His teammates had spawned in pairs, while he was the only one alone in this godforsaken wasteland. The captain’s instructions were to stay hidden, move quietly, and regroup safely. The endless desert had almost nowhere to hide, with only a few scarce sand dunes. Fortunately, Assassins had a 90-second Stealth skill outside of combat, which came in handy.

By the time he reached the fourth sand dune, his Stealth wore off, and the cooldown was a full minute. Seven Injuries Fist could only crouch behind the dune, hiding in its shadow, and start planning his next move…

[Local] Everything Breaks: Hi.

This soft greeting was like a bolt from the blue. Seven Injuries Fist jolted and immediately adjusted his camera angle, scanning up, down, left, right, land, sea, and air—but there wasn’t a single soul in sight. Yet the message was clearly in Local chat!

[Local] Everything Breaks: You’re sitting on me.

Seven Injuries Fist sprang up from the ground, his hands reacting faster than his brain. He clicked his mouse, and his character bolted outward like a yo-yo just released, desperate to get away from the sand dune.

But Everything Breaks was the one in control. The moment Seven Injuries Fist lifted his left foot, Everything Breaks had already sprung up like lightning and delivered a One Cut Kill!

Seven Injuries Fist was lucky—the skill effect didn’t trigger, and his HP only dropped by the base physical damage. It was only then that he saw clearly: Everything Breaks had dyed his hair and gear a sandy yellow and had been lying leisurely on the ground behind the dune. And Seven Injuries Fist had just sat right on his Legion Commander!

But dyeing yourself this color in this place was clearly a trap, dammit!

“Keep good men company, and you shall be of the number.” Their once upright and forthright Legion Commander had turned bad TAT.

In terms of speed, Assassins were faster than Berserkers. But in this vast desert, where could he run? Knowing the gap in their strength, Seven Injuries Fist stopped fleeing and decided to try a diplomatic approach, betting everything on a last-ditch effort—

[Local] Seven Injuries Fist: Legion Commander, it’s me!!!

[Local] Seven Injuries Fist: It’s Fist, the cutest in the legion!!!

The Berserker actually stopped attacking. A few seconds later, two words appeared—

[Local] Everything Breaks: I know.

Seven Injuries Fist’s heart settled, but a faint sense of grievance remained—

[Local] Seven Injuries Fist: You knew and still hit me so hard? One Cut Kill? [cries]

[Local] Everything Breaks: It didn’t trigger.

[Local] Seven Injuries Fist: You knew it wouldn’t trigger before using it?

[Local] Everything Breaks: Of course not. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have used it.

[Local] Seven Injuries Fist: …

[Local] Everything Breaks: Anything else you want to say?

Seven Injuries Fist realized his Legion Commander wasn’t sparing him out of camaraderie—he was just giving him a chance to speak his last words out of respect for their shared legion history =_=

[Local] Seven Injuries Fist: Legion Commander, to be honest, as a legion member, I feel heartbroken TAT

[Local] Everything Breaks: Fist, to be honest, as a Legion Commander, I’m disappointed.

[Local] Everything Breaks: Do you know why Huaxia Dominion fell apart after Xuanyuan left, declining to what it is today? It’s because when Xuanyuan was around, everyone thought they could rely on the Legion Commander, that they could act tough under his banner. A legion is like an ocean—everyone should be a drop of water in it, not ships floating on the surface. When the water’s gone, the ships run aground.

[Local] Everything Breaks: So how do you transform from a ship into water? I’ll just mention two points here. First, have a sense of ownership—the legion is mine, and I am the legion’s. The two complement each other and progress together. Second, improve your skills. What others can do, I can do; what others can’t do, I can still do. When a new dungeon comes out, it’s not the legion that gets the First Kill—it’s you. The legion isn’t glorious because of you—it’s glorious because you’re in it.

[Local] Everything Breaks: For each of these two main points, there are five sub-points…

[Local] Seven Injuries Fist: Legion Commander, I was wrong! Just use One Cut Kill on me again, and whenever it triggers, it triggers! Please just put me out of my misery, I beg you!!! TAT

Everything Breaks granted his request.

But Seven Injuries Fist changed his mind. While taking hits, he chugged potions and fled south clinging to his last bit of HP, eventually reaching the Olive River near the center. By then, he had no more HP potions left, and with the enemy still chasing him, his only way out was to jump into the river!

But no one could say for sure whether this river was like those in regular servers—non-lethal, just with a Breath Timer—or if diving in meant instant death.

As Everything Breaks closed in, Seven Injuries Fist gritted his teeth in front of his computer. Before he could jump, a head suddenly popped out of the river!

Seven Injuries Fist almost threw his mouse. A damn water ghost?! But the next second, he realized this wasn’t a teammate. Not a teammate? Then an enemy. His luck was so bad he swore the RNG God had abandoned him!

Everything Breaks, who had just caught up, also recognized Passing Master in the water. And if he wasn’t mistaken, Passing Master had already started casting!

Since his teammate wanted to finish off this last fraction of his HP, Everything Breaks wouldn’t interfere. He stopped where he was, no longer advancing.

Cornered, Seven Injuries Fist stopped struggling and waited quietly for death.

Passing Master finished casting, but strangely, no skill effects appeared.

Everything Breaks was baffled. So was Seven Injuries Fist. He’d heard of damp firecrackers fizzling out, but never of skills misfiring. He was ready to die—why couldn’t they just give him a clean death? =_=

Passing Master was also confused. This time, he skipped the cast and went straight for an Insta Cast skill!

…

The clouds remained calm, the breeze gentle, the world peaceful—no skill effects, no sound.

It was the composed Huaxia Dominion leader who saw through the truth and spoke plainly—

[Local] Everything Breaks: Passing, check the ID. He’s not on our team. You can’t heal him.

…

Thousand Mountains was deeply dissatisfied with his spawn point. The Alien Battlefield’s original inhabitants and the new species were locked in chaotic combat, with NPCs brawling everywhere—great, but not a single enemy player in sight! What was the point?! Worst of all, this area was huge. He’d walked forever and still hadn’t gotten out. Frustrated, he slaughtered an NPC, but it didn’t drop anything and instead drew the aggro of nearby NPCs. Damn it, it took forever to shake them off!

The silver lining was that he finally reached the edge of the combat zone—Silverwater Pool.

Called a “pool,” it was actually a river extending from who-knows-where, blocked here by massive boulders. The river was originally several meters wide, but at this point, only a narrow gap—barely wide enough for one person—allowed water to pass through. The inflow outpaced the outflow, forming a pool here, while the trickle flowing down looked like a silver ribbon cascading along the steep cliff face.

Thousand Mountains hadn’t figured out what lay below yet, but if he wanted to leave this chaotic area and head toward the plains, following the cliff’s water flow wasn’t a bad idea. Of course, there was also the risk of falling to his death, but the team had a healer—what was there to fear?

The only downside was that, up to this point in the battle, he hadn’t encountered a single enemy. So frustrating!

After casting Silent Nourishment to top off his slightly depleted HP, Thousand Mountains jumped into the pool and carefully swam toward the outlet. The inflow current was too strong, nearly sweeping him away several times. He had to constantly hold the backpedal key to compensate, barely managing to inch forward…

Thud!

Thousand Mountains was wearing headphones, listening to both YY and in-game sounds. This noise reached his ears clearly, making him jolt. On his screen, a figure was swept into the pool by the rushing current, crashing straight into his healer. A little more force, and he would’ve been flung right out of the outlet!

“Damn it, are you blind?!” Without caring whether the other could hear him, Thousand Mountains cursed as he pleased.

But his four teammates in YY were completely confused. Just as they were about to ask, they heard Thousand Mountains suddenly soften his tone—

“No no no, you’re perfectly sighted! You came at just the right time, hahahaha~~~~~”

The four buddies shuddered in unison. Though they didn’t know who the “blind” one was, they silently lit a candle for them.

Seven Injuries Fist, who had escaped the clutches of Everything Breaks and Passing Master with great difficulty, never expected the river god to deliver him from the tiger’s den only to toss him into the wolf’s lair with its waves… and this wolf was starving!

Dude, he was almost dead—was Crimson Lotus Holy Fire really necessary?!

He was insta-killed!!!

And after killing him, the guy had the nerve to complain—

[Local] Thousand Mountains: You’re made of plastic! I only hit you once! Not happy!!!

Water Phantom and Fire Cloud Evil God had both spawned in Old Star Tribe. This tribe had only one exit, with the other end blocked by cliffs—a dead end. A thin stream flowed down from the cliffs above, running along dug-out trenches into the farmland of the original inhabitants.

The backdrop of the Alien Battlefield was essentially the conflict between the original inhabitants and the new species. By gathering intel on their teammates’ spawn points, they roughly understood the map’s layout: one-third was desert, located in the central-northern area, while the original inhabitants and the new species were based in Old Star Tribe to the west and Nova Plains to the east, respectively. The two were naturally separated by mountains and rivers, with an artificial Quarantine Zone in between. However, the new species had bypassed the Quarantine Zone via waterways and reached the western forest, turning it into a combat zone. But Old Star Tribe, below the forest, remained peaceful.

Water Phantom and Fire Cloud lurked in Old Star Tribe for a long time, secretly scouting around, hoping to ambush an isolated enemy or even a pair. Being hidden while the enemy was exposed gave them the upper hand. But in the end, they found no sign of the enemy and decided to leave for the No Man’s Land.

What they didn’t know was that the moment they left, a trio of enemies slid down the cliffs via the water flow.

These three were none other than Thousand Mountains, Everything Breaks, and Passing Master, who had chased Seven Injuries Fist to the forest and coincidentally regrouped with their teammates.

Water Phantom and Fire Cloud Evil God had no idea they’d narrowly escaped death’s grasp, because soon after, they reached the outskirts of No Man’s Land and saw the double-layered electric fences with glaring skull warnings. The warning signs weren’t just on Old Star’s side—about thirty meters ahead, on the opposite side, similar but more advanced-looking equipment marked the new species’ territory. In other words, there was a roughly thirty-meter-wide isolation belt between the original inhabitants and the new species, sealed off by electric fences on both sides, with only a small, door-shaped gap seemingly left for entry.

And right in the middle of the isolation belt stood a teammate Water Phantom and Fire Cloud knew well—

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: You can’t see me you can’t see me you can’t see me [chanting]

Fire Cloud and Water Phantom exchanged glances. Why did this guy radiate “please notice me please notice me” energy from the inside out? =_=

[Local] Fire Cloud Evil God: Stop struggling. Two against one, and I have a healer. You’re done for.

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: Don’t come over! This place is full of traps! Mines everywhere! You’ll die!

[Local] Fire Cloud Evil God: Though ‘all is fair in war,’ can’t you at least come up with something believable?!

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: I’m serious! Look into my sincere eyes ( ⊙ o ⊙ )!

[Local] Water Phantom: …

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: Fine, even if you don’t believe my eyes, you can see the skull signs, right? Super obvious!

[Local] Fire Cloud Evil God: We’d love to believe you, but if it’s so dangerous, why are you here unharmed? And how do you know there are mines underground?

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: Well, I can explain. Give me time, and I’ll deliver you a miracle!

The Ghost Server Legion’s cunning and sneakiness were world-famous. Water Phantom and Fire Cloud weren’t about to listen to his nonsense. They decisively entered through the door-shaped gap and charged straight at 2B—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

2B didn’t have sound effects turned on, so theoretically, he couldn’t hear the explosions. But he could see the visual effects and the billowing smoke. He also noticed that while the squishy Spirit Master, Fire Cloud, had died instantly, the healer hadn’t been fully obliterated—still clinging to one-fifth of his HP. So without hesitation, he used Wind-Splitting Slash + Lone Wolf Howl to send the healer to the afterlife.

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: Told you there were mines. I stepped on a bunch earlier. If not for my healing pills, how could I be standing here at full HP to welcome you~~

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: Told you to believe my sincere big eyes ( ⊙ o ⊙ )!

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: Good thing the mines respawn in the same spot a few minutes after exploding~\(≧▽≦)/~

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: You thought I was just standing here drinking the northwest wind? Joke’s on you—my positioning was carefully calculated! All mine explosions are within my attack range!

[Local] 2B Fighter Jet: But don’t worship me, baby. I’m just a legend~~ And only a legend would spawn in a minefield! Without major health potions, I’d be dead too! I wanna play Huaxia, not Minesweeper, dammit! [cries]

On Nova Plains, the Mad Lad captain, who had waited until the flowers wilted without seeing his teammates, finally met his tragic end under the blades of Sorrel and Bodhi Patriarch.

But the Mad Lad captain was calm, delivering the bad news to his comrades in YY with a soft song—

“Searching, searching for my teammates~~ Found two deadly foes instead~~ Fighting, fighting, headshot and dead~~ Come collect my corpse, I said~~~”