Scarlet Barbarian Warrior

The Condor circled above their heads while keeping a watchful eye on their movements. The morning mist had all but evaporated. They could faintly see a fiery red figure moving toward them through the openings between the trees.

The relaxed expressions of the other members made Xiao Ling relax as well.

"These Scarlet Barbarian Warriors are leaders of the Alterac Valley. They often patrol these parts. We've killed a few before this," said Tian Kuang.

Xiao Ling was hit with a sudden realization. No wonder they appeared so relaxed.

Lin Fei appeared well at ease. She walked up to the cluster of trees and hid herself from the Condor's view with the canopy.

Stealth!

Lin Fei turned invisible as she waited silently for the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's arrival. Tian Kuang, Tian Fei, and Tian Xin remained where they were. They stood there casually. Since they were not worried, Xiao Ling thought he would not have to be too worked up about this. After all, he was not the main character here.

The Condor gave another call. It seemed to be reporting their whereabouts to the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior.

When the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior saw Xiao Ling and the others standing there, it moved closer with more caution.

"Ready?" Tian Kuang asked.

Tian Xin nodded. He gripped his azure staff. Xiao Ling glanced at Tian Kuang, and then at Tian Xin. He had no idea what they had planned.

The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior stopped. It sensed dangerous auras coming from Tian Kuang, Tian Xin, and the others. It could also sense the auras of its now-dead comrades.

Berserk!

The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior seemed to swell up. Its skin was now the color of blood. The bloodlust it exuded was almost tangible, and its eyes showed a passionate intent for battle. It stared at the four of them.

At this moment, Lin Fei moved in. She moved by pushing herself forward with the tips of her toes. Her movements were nimble and agile. Her blinding speed made her appear like a blur which shot past. The taps of her toes seemed to have some unique rhythm to them. The blue dagger in her hand found its way to the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's head.

There was a flash of cold light and a spray of blood. The dagger cut open the soft flesh of the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's neck effortlessly. The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's bright red burning gaze lost focus gradually. It was now stunned.

Lin Fei's movements were fluid without any pauses. The dagger made no sound as it moved through the air. Xiao Ling could not help but cheer. He was amazed. He had been wrong. Lin Fei was not gentle and meek as he'd thought. Her skills were not inferior to any other Rogue[1. Author called her a Thief at first, but now it's been "Rogue" for a while. It's possible that one is a subclass of the other, or just a mistake.]. Her feats did not concede to that of men.

Corruption!

Tian Kuang's, Tian Xin's, and Tian Fei's spells drew perfect arcs in the air while they sailed toward the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior. However, Xiao Ling's magic had already hit the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior. Tian Kuang, Tian Xin, and Tian Fei noticed that their spell dealt much more damage to the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior than they normally would have.

Tian Kuang exclaimed inwardly. This was an Affliction Warlock's skill, Corruption! When he heard Xiao Ling said that he knew Force Blast, Tian Kuang had thought that Xiao Ling was a Destruction Warlock. He did not expect Xiao Ling to know an Affliction Warlock's Corruption as well. Tian Kuang realized that he would have to reassess Xiao Ling's worth. Also, Xiao Ling had cast his curse before any of them did. This showed that he had good reflexes and operation skills.

He wondered what Xiao Ling's class was. He should be a warlock. There was much potential to be discovered in Xiao Ling. 

He wondered if Xiao Ling was willing to be a permanent member of a team. The guild had initially intended to assign some players to the four of them to form a permanent party, but Tian Kuang rejected the offer. He knew that players assigned by the guild could never forge genuine relationships with them. They were the eyes and ears of the guild.

It was not without reason that Tian Kuang and the others enjoyed such a good reception after joining the guild. They had signed an agreement with the guild. While they were allowed to use the guild's public equipment, they were required to shoulder certain responsibilities. If they wanted to leave the guild, they would have to pay a penalty depending on their personal progress and contributions to the guild. Said penalty would not just be a sum of 10,000 to 20,000 gold coins—it was a much larger sum. Hence, most contracted players would not leave the guild.

Tian Kuang's party was a special case. They had better skills and were awarded a certain degree of freedom by the guild. They were allowed to move about freely, and would not be assigned other players for a permanent party.

Tian Kuang and the others had their own plans. They were searching for suitable players with good operation skills to join them as a permanent member. Xiao Ling had undoubtedly made it into that list.

While they were fighting the monster, Tian Kuang spent much of his attention on Xiao Ling. Although there was no operation or skills involved in dealing damage, he noticed that Xiao Ling could manage aggro well.

While fighting a Boss, one of the key things for a Warlock was to control aggro. Balancing the monsters' aggression between oneself and the main melee player was something an accomplished Warlock had to do. If the Boss shifted its attention away from the main melee player, the Warlock would put himself and his entire team in grave danger. The worst-case scenario was that they would be wiped.

Tian Kuang smiled. He said to Tian Fei and Tian Xin, "A level 13 Boss, let's work hard to wrap this up in two minutes."

"Roger." Tian Fei and Tian Xin increased their damage output at the same time.

Tian Fei conjured up a black fireball in his hand. The black hellfire burned brightly.

Dark Pyroblast!

The black fireball shot from his hand. The fireball was so black that it sent a chill down Xiao Ling's spine. He was overwhelmed by just how rich they were. They even had Dark Pyroblast! It should be known that Dark Pyroblast was a single-target spell with the highest base damage for a Destruction Warlock before his second class advancement.

'Maybe it's sponsored by their guild too,' Xiao Ling mused. He knew that it was useless to envy them. Xiao Ling organized his feelings and concentrated on damage output. Tian Fei did not stop after he cast the Dark Pyroblast. He kept shooting spells at his target.

'Wait, isn't he worried about controlling the aggro?'

Xiao Ling had a bad feeling about this.

He was dealing way too much damage. It would be a wonder if the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior did not take its eyes off the main melee player. 

As expected, the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior ignored Lin Fei when it snapped out of its stupor, and charged toward Tian Fei.

Tian Fei's damage output was so high that the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior made him its new target. However, Lin Fei did not appear surprised. Instead, she continued landing attacks from the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's back. Deep gashes where its bones were visible were slit open on the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's back.