Chapter 90. Ambushing the ambushers

"So you have enemies already? You've been busy, eh? We just arrived in this world five days ago," John commented.

"We made enemies with them during our tutorial period in Bay city," Jack said.

"Bay city? Don't you mean Windmill city?" The Man said.

"Hm? What do you mean? You didn't come to this world from Bay city?" Jack asked.

The Man shook his head.

"I was from Star city," John said. "It appears that not all players that were transported here came from the same city. But we can talk about this later; let's resolve our current issue first. Who are these enemies of yours?"

"One is Weary Wolf gang, but it shouldn't be them. The guards should still be detaining them," Jack answered. "So the ones in front should be Death Associates."

"Death Associates?" The Man blurted out. "Isn't that one of the famous guilds with many experts?"

"You made an enemy of Death Associates?" John asked with a frown.

Jack nodded. "If you guys don't want to get dragged into the confrontation, I will understand."

The Man laughed, "Hahaha! Only a real man dares to go against stronger opponents. I know our boss is not simple. What of Death Associates? We are not afraid of them! Count us in!"

John looked at him with disdain, "There is bliss in being simple-minded people."

"Are you looking for a fight?!" The Man roared at him, "if you are afraid, then get the hell out of here!"

"Your daddy here is never afraid of anyone," John replied.

"Can we stop fighting before the actual fighting starts?" Jack told them. "So who will join? And who will leave? I don't mind either way; we will still be friends. I don't like involving you guys in my fight anyway."

"Heh, don't say that. The enemy of our boss is our enemy too. Right, guys?" He looked at his teammates.

"Of course!" His men shouted without hesitation.

Jack was surprised. He knew The Man was the type that values relationships, but he didn't expect all his men to think the same way. There was probably a reason why they called themselves Men of Solidarity.

Jack turned to John and Pointy Tip, "Are you in?"

"Heh, I don't like to get into unnecessary trouble. But it's not like I have anything better thing to do. Messing with Death Associates seems like fun. What about you?" He said to Tip.

Pointy Tip looked at him with a helpless expression, "Only you can say it's fun to mess with a big guild with a straight face… I would rather not get involved, but I also don't think it's safe for me to go back to the city by myself, so I will just tag along."

"That's okay, you can just stay at the back," Jack said. "It is still not certain that they are Death Associates people targeting us anyway. If it is and a fight breaks out, you can retreat and stay out of the conflict."

"Grow a pair, will you?" John said to Tip, "with so many people in action and you being insignificant; I doubt the enemies will even remember you after the fight is over. So there is no need for you to be afraid of that large guild's retaliation."

"When you say it like that, I do feel safer and feel bad about myself at the same time…."

Jack ignored them and looked at the others, "So you all ready?"

The Men of Solidarity, Bowler, and Flame nodded.

On the other hand, John looked at him with dismay, "don't tell me you are going to just waltz in like that?"

"Why? Do you have a plan?" Jack asked.

"Of course, I have a plan! We already know their position. It would be a waste not to take advantage of that. We hit them first while they are not yet aware."

"I'm not sure that's a good plan. What if our assumption is wrong and these players are not Death Associates and are not even targeting us?"

"It is always better to make a wrong kill than get killed ourselves," John said.

"What kind of depraved saying is that?" Bowler protested.

"Yeah, it's not good to act so impetuously; it will just make us look like a bunch of bullying bandits," The Man agreed.

"You talk as if you have never bullied anyone," John said to The Man with disdain.

"Only if the person deserved it," The Man retorted.

"What plan do you propose exactly?" Jack asked John.

John looked at the upslope in front of them; he then squatted down to make some additional markings on Jack's drawing. He said, "Looking at the landscape and their positions, they won't be able to see us until we come up that upslope, which is strange actually. If I were the one planning the ambush, I would at least post one person before the upslope to notify the others of our arrival."

"Maybe they are afraid we will notice them if they do it that way?" Bowler mentioned.

"Maybe, or the planner is simply dumber than me. Anyway, I think they are hiding behind rocks and trees on both sides of the main road to the capital." John drew further markings to indicate the rocks and trees.

"You still remember the positions of rocks and trees beside the main road?" Bowler asked.

"I walked past this road when I headed to Siren Hill. Why? Were you using a different road?"

"No, but I don't remember every tree and rock along the way."

"Well, of course. How can you compare my brilliant brain with that junk you have inside your head?"

Bowler was about to cast Mana Bullet on the guy before Jack stopped him.

"I told you I have a photographic memory already, right?" John said. Then he drew a few additional markings.

"Back to the plan. We can separate into two teams and circle around to both their flanks; then, we can take them by surprise. There are fifteen of them if Jack's detecting tool is accurate. If we follow this plan, we can ambush them first and take out ten of them in our first strike, cutting their numbers by more than half. We will outnumber them for the rest of the fight; it should be a piece of cake by then."

Jack thought for a bit, then he said, "all right, we will do that, except for me. I will stay and walk on the main road."

"Why?" Bowler asked.

"To make sure that these players have ill intent towards us. If they don't, then we can walk past, no need for conflict. If they plan to ambush us, then they will be focusing on me. That will give you all an easier time striking them from the back."

"You are a bit too cautious; why worry about killing one or two innocents?" John said. "But that distraction part works; let's do it as you say then."

"Okay, you guys go to the positions indicated by John," Jack said. "Wait for my signal in Party chat. Once I give it, you all attack at the same time. No need to worry about those that come towards me; I will hold out until you all finish your opponents."

No one doubted Jack's ability to hold out, so everyone nodded and moved away to take their positions.

"Let me know when you all are in position," Jack said in chat. "Proceed slowly to avoid alerting those people in front. I will start walking towards them after you all reach your places."

Jack waited as he observed his radar. The nine green dots split into two groups; Men of Solidarity on the right, and Flame, Bowler, John, and Tip to the left. They slowly made their way forward, leaving green dots behind the blue dots closest to the outer perimeter.

  Jack's radar showed him when they were close to their positions, so he started to stroll along the main road to the capital.

"I'm in place."

"I'm ready."

"Good to go here."

Not long after, message upon message arrived as his allies reached the positions marked by John. And as Jack continued to monitor his radar, the blue dots didn't move at all. The unknown players hiding seemed none the wiser that someone was stalking them.

"Waiting for your cue," John was the last to send a message as he arrived at his position.