037 Crushing Defeat

Totem summoned a massive earth wall around the three of them; now the only way they could be attacked from is from above. Mercury waited for Blaise to make his move.

Sure enough all ten assassins approached from above to attack from the sky. James summoned a large fireball that was just smaller than the radius of the cylinder of earth that Totem created.

The fireball was launched, as if it was fired from a cannon, into the sky above. Rather than panicking over the fact that they were trapped in the air the assassins paired up. Each pair pushed off of each other and avoided the fireball. They landed on the ground outside of the cylinder wall of earth.

Both James and Totem fell to the ground in order to avoid Mercury's attack. Her polearm transformed to an axe and she held it parallel to the ground; she held the handle as close to the pommel as she could and swung the axe in a full circle around her. The axe smashed into the earth wall and sent chunks of earth, stones, and rocks flying out as debris.

This time, the assassins actually caught off guard. Most of them were hit by various incoming rocks. The ones who were struck by the larger debris were knocked backwards.

The assassins quickly recovered and entered back into stealth. The trio was on high alert waiting for them to make a move. James was carefully keeping track of the assassin's positions with his Magical Eyes.

[- Blaise: Reaper, throw your axe behind you at 7 o'clock. There is an assassin in front of the tree; try to pin him down with the axe's handle. -]

Mercury didn't hesitate to hurl her axe in the direction that James told her to.

* Thunk *

The axe's blade hit the far right side of the thick tree. The handle was nearly touching the bark of the tree. The only thing stopping it? An assassin who was now pinned to the tree. The axe weighed so much and was wedged so deep into the tree that he could not move the axe to free himself.

Blaise quickly spun around. A ball of fire appeared above his hand. Void saw the fireball and threw a throwing knife between James and the pinned assassin thinking that James was going to shoot a fireball.

Rather than shooting a fireball at the trapped assassin James blew on the fireball above his hand. A large cone of fire roared out in a constant stream. The flow of fire washed over the pinned assassin. He was engulfed in flames and the tree quickly caught on fire.

The assassins were momentarily startled. They have not seen magic as advanced as James's, it was still early in the game's progression. Once they snapped out of their stupor the remaining 9 assassins all converged onto James's position. Their goal was to attack James so that he would stop casting his spell.

While his subordinates were attacking James Void prepared to help free the trapped assassin.

James sent a message in their private group chat to warn about the attack. Both Mercury and Totem went into motion. The first assassin that popped out of stealth was punched backwards into another assassin by Mercury. While Totem summoned another earth wall on the far side of James.

Rather than stopping his spell, James redirected it; he turned his body so that the flamethrower moved through the air. It hit several other assassins before he stopped casting. He needed to drink a mana potion.

During the skirmish Void approached the tree just as James downed a mana potion. When he approached the tree he noticed that the circumference of the trunk had shrunk considerably; the edges of the tree's trunk were burnt into charcoal. The surface was crackly, soot-black and gave off a nearly unbearable heat. Mercury's axe was glowing bright red from being heated up by James's fire. There was visible discomfort on the poor assassin's face.

Void had a hard time trying to free his friend. First, his face and skin felt like it was burning from the heat radiating from the tree and axe. Second, even when he managed to grab ahold of the trapped assassin he would barely budge. Void was forced to push on the axe's handle to free his comrade. When he did his hands burned and he took some damage.

Since he had received damage Void's stealth broke. To his surprise no one attacked him; he took a look at the newly freed assassin. His armor was nearly broken and had smoke wafting from his body. His health was critically low.

Just when he was about to put out a health potion to help him recover he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

A small girl had appeared from the shadows beside them, just within attacking distance. She swung her dagger towards them with a reverse grip, he knew the attack all too well. It was a rare skill that was practically a requirement for all good rogues, "Fatal Strike". It had a 100% critical rate when used from stealth. It's primary use was to finish off weak targets.

The dagger landed directly in the back of the man he was holding. The energy of the impact from the attack rippled through the target's body right into his own. By the time the kinetic energy reached his own body it was almost unnoticeable, but to him it felt like a truck hit him. His negligence just cost the life of one of his men.

Anger welled up inside of him. He lashed out blindly due to his negative emotions. He had hit the air; the little girl had thrown a smoke bomb as she entered back into stealth.

He roared with anger, "Find her! I will have her head!"

Destiny had been successful in finding an opening like James asked her too. She was able to get in and out safely because James had used Leach Agility on both Void and the man he was holding. Their retreating speed fell while her movements got faster. In fact the only reason that Void's attack missed was because his attack speed was slower than normal thanks to James's spell. Void was too distracted to notice anything had happened.

She quickly made her way to a safe distance; she followed James directions as he posted them in the group chat. Thanks to James there were no assassins closer to her. It would give her time to breathe.

* Whoosh *

James shot a fireball at the tree that Mercury's axe was still stuck in. The explosion hit Void and knocked him off balance while simultaneously dislodging Mercury's axe. She was already in position to catch it. Once it was in her hands she used Crushing Assault while targeting Void.

If it was not for his vice commander Void would have died right then and there. The vice commander had caught Void as he was falling and retreated as Mercury lifted her axe into the air.

* Smash *

Mercury's large axe made contact with the ground and carved a long cut into the ground where Void was just at. Void and the rest of the assassins felt the pressure grow. They had kicked a hard plate this time. They all entered stealth once again; this time they backed away into a safe distance so that they could lick their wounds.

[- Blaise: Great job Destiny, your brother would be proud of you. -]

[- Totem: Did they leave? -]

[- Mercury: Did you see the look their leader gave once that assassin died, they aren't leaving until they have their revenge. -]

[- Blaise: She is right. Destiny be careful from now on, they will be more careful from this point on. -]

Talon and Karma were not blind to the group chat; they had made it quite far due to the terrain changing to a downhill path. It was harder returning to the group so it took longer. They didn't want to interfere with the fight by distracting them with chat messages.

[- Talon: Keep them busy; Karma and I are having issues getting back. The terrain is harder to navigate now that we are coming back. -]

[- Karma: Hold on a bit longer! -]

[- Blaise: Totem, next time they come in for attack use the Trapping Vines. If anyone gets trapped no one is to attack them. I don't think surprise attacks will work for much longer. -]

** Assassin's Chat **

[- Hinge: That b**** killed Jolly! -]

[- Void: I'm as mad as you are. We are not leaving until he is avenged. -]

He was still annoyed. [- Void: How did we miss her presence? At least two of you have higher Perception than I do; did you not notice her either? -]

[- Zen: No, something is interfering with mine. It feels like we are in a fog. -]

[- Mule: I feel the same, something is blocking our senses here. -]

During the whole fight James was constantly supplying the Runes planted around the battlefield with mana so that they would not go inactive. While doing so James had unknowingly disrupted their ability to sense over people in stealth. The assassins couldn't see through his roaming mana.

James didn't want to wait around anymore.

[- Blaise: If they are not going to come to us willingly I will force them to. -]

* Boom *

* Boom *

* Boom *

Three Runes were activated and several explosions rang out inside the woods. All of which were at the backs of the grouped up assassins. All ten of them were knocked out of stealth and took a significant amount of damage.

They were caught off guard and didn't know what happened.

"Who is there?!" Mule was annoyed. "Cowards! Reveal yourselves!"

"Funny coming from an assassin who hide in the shadows." Mercury tried to provoke them.

Several of the assassins readied themself for an attack. Void gave the command and they all started their attack. Only once they were in stealth were they brave enough to approach James's group.

[- Blaise: 4 on the left. 5 on the right. The leader is behind us. -]

[- Totem: Should we target the leader? -]

[- Blaise: No, his minions would do everything they can to protect him. Focus on the larger groups. If we can control their movements it will be easier for us to go all out. -]

Totem went on the move, he didn't know the exact position of the larger group of assassins but it wouldn't matter; the vines would figure it out. The ground started to shake ever so slightly; 6 tall vines sprouted from the ground! Three assassins avoided the creeping vines but two were not so lucky.

One assassin was trapped by a single vine while the other was trapped by two. They felt powerless.

The single vine started at the foot of the first assassin and quickly coiled it's way around his body. It trapped his arms close to his body. But it didn't stop there, it continued up to his neck and wrapped firmly around it.

At the same time the second assassin had it worse. The first vine completely encased his legs all the way up to his chest. All the while the second vines tightened around his torso locking his arms in place. The two vines had competed for control so he was lifted a meter into the air.

Blaise came up with another idea to ensure they would stay trapped.

[- Blaise: Totem! Create an Earth Wall around at least one of them! -]

Totem enjoyed the idea, not only was the assassin unable to move but the Earth Wall would hinder the other assassins from cutting them free.

In a short period of time an Earth Wall formed around the assassin who was trapped on the ground. The Wall tapered as it grew higher so that the top of the Wall was a mere inch from the assassin's neck line. The assassin hanging in the air was too high to encase.

Two assassins launched an attack at James. The first went for his legs; he wanted to cripple him with Tendon Cutter. The second went for his back, he wanted to land a critical blow with Hidden Strike.

Totem was too busy to help James, Destiny was too far to help, and Mercury felt helpless since he was battling three assassins at once. She was pinned down and dreaded the fact that she was pinned down. The assassins had launched an excellent attack this time.

James's head quickly turned backwards to view the incoming attack. He gave a smile; he was waiting for this to happen.

From his back 8 small flames appeared. These flames grew into 8 vines that were engulfed in fire. They ensnared both of his attackers in an instant.

Each assassin hung in the air while being trapped by three vines each. The remaining two vines gently waved around just waiting for more targets.

Horror appeared in the trapped assassin's eyes. Not only were they trapped like their two comrades but they were also taking damage! Since each of them had three vines around them they were taking 3 times the damage! 15 damage a second was nothing to scoff at.

The smile on James's face grew bigger; to the assassins it looked more sinister than before.

A warm aura of fire swept out with James at its center. Small aspects of fire filled the air in a 12 meter radius around James. It easily broke every assassin's stealth since they were now taking 40 damage a second. This included the trapped assassin's. They were now taking 18 damage a second from the vines (20% increased damage from the Aura of Pure Fire) and 40 points of damage from his Aura!

Since they were now taking 58 points of damage a second their health quickly depleted. Without the ability to resist they felt hopeless as they turned to cinders and died.

Right after the two assassins died James deactivated his Aura, he wanted to give the assassins a false sense of security. He wanted them to think it was a trump card, only usable after a long cooldown timer.

The assassins who were once trapped by Totem's vines were freed due to taking damage from James's Aura. The 7 remaining assassins quickly retreated; they were frustrated and angry. They just lost two more of their brothers.

Void stood at the center of his group and stared down James. He was disturbed at what he saw, it was as if he was looking at a monster. A single man just took down two of his best men, he did so with a calm and cool face. Even right now he was not phased at the fact that his group was still outnumbered almost 2 to 1.

James gave Void the feeling he was looking at a deity of fire. James's robe was slightly fluttering in the wind. He has a ball of fire playfully floating above his right hand, which was positioned just in front of his chest. The two vines on James's back made it look as if he had wings that could cover the sky. In the distance behind James were fires that had broken out from the battle. Smoke drifted through the air and a heavy smell of sulfur and soot hung in the air. It made it almost suffocating.

Before he realised it, Void was breathing heavily. How long had it been since he felt like this? A creeping sense of dread mixed with a small amount of fear. But most importantly, he felt such an intense urge for battle that he had not felt for ages.

Void looked around at his brothers, he could tell they felt the same way. They were itching for battle, a feeling they were missing for years. All of their previous assignments felt boring to them, they needed something to entice them once again. They finally found it, Broken Chains rekindled their spirits. No, more specifically it was James.

** Blaise's Group Chat **

[- Talon: We are a few minutes out, how are you doing? -]

[- Mercury: Three of the eleven are down, Blaise just took out two of them. Something has changed within them though. -]

[- Totem: Changed? -]

[- Mercury: There is determination and a yearning for battle. Something changed their mindset. Things will be more difficult from now one. -]

[- Blaise: Let's give them the fight they are looking for. Talon we have a straggler positioned 30 meters behind their group. I don't believe it is one of them. Mind escorting them away before you join us for the battle? -]

[- Talon: Roger that. -]

** Void's Group Chat **

[- Void: Men, I believe you are feeling it too. Time is time to shake off the rust. -]

[- Zen: I haven't felt this feeling since we removed the dictator of County-Y from power. -]

[- Horizon: His defenses were well hidden; a secret blade hidden from the world. We lost a sixth of our men that day. -]

[- Null: I can feel my dagger thrusting for blood. -]

[- Void: Then let's cure its thrust, no survivors! -]

The 7 assassins vanished from the sights of Mercury, Totem, and Destiny. James was able to follow them with his Magical Eyes. He really was the bane of stealth classes.

Three assassins took out 8 throwing knives from their side pouches. With four knives in each hand they crossed their arms. The four other assassins positioned themselves to the left and right of James's group.

The first three assassins jumped into the air and threw their knives through the air towards James's team. They all cried out the name of the skill, Fan of Blades. Each set of 8 knives flew through the air in a shape that resembled an open fan, due to there being three sources the barrage of knives crossed one another's trajectories and made a tight spread. It didn't give James's group many options.

The assassins at their sides were ready to attack anyone who would attempt to flee backwards. They were crouched down and looked like a sprinter ready to take off in a race.

Totem could not raise an Earth Wall that would cover the whole group in time, since the spawning time of the Earth Wall was directly proportional to its size. At most he would only be able to partially protect himself.

With limited options the trio did what they could.

Mercury smashed the ground in front of her hoping that the debris would stop as many knives as possible. It worked to a point; the larger debris deflected the knives that hit them but the smaller debris were shattered and the knives continued forward.

Totem raised a small wall in front of himself but it was too thin and the knives shattered it with ease.

James was the only successful one. He blew on his fireball and a flamethrower shot forward. Rather than shooting it directly in front of him he aimed it at the ground a few feet in front of him. It caused the flamethrower to cause a wall of fire to form. The knives that entered the wall disappeared.

Mercury was hit by two knives and Totem was hit with 8 knives. The damage Mercury received was minimal at best but Totem took a fourth of his health points in damage. What was worse? The knives were poisoned. Both Mercury and Totem received the same notification.

* Ding, you have been poisoned, taking 10 points of severe poison damage per second for 60 seconds. *

James noticed their poisoned status in the party indicator. "Don't panic for now. We will find an opening for you to drink one of the anti-poisons I gave you before we left town."

Totem and Mercury nodded their heads, they didn't have time to talk. They had to keep focused.

Two of the assassins at their sides disappeared; they were no longer where they last were. They moved behind Totem wanting to take the opportunity to strike when the iron was hot.

Two assassins slowly became visible once again; both directly behind Totem. One of them was closer than the other. He didn't have his dagger ready to strike, instead he had other plans. He had appeared close to the ground, completely unnoticed by Totem. The assassin swept Totem's legs causing him to fall to the ground.

All the while, the second assassin used the shoulders of the first one to get airborne. His dagger was held above his head with both hands. The dager glowed a sinister dark blue and created a blue arc as it swung downward towards Totem, Hidden Strike.

Totem didn't have much time to think so he acted on instinct. A pillar of earth appeared directly below himself. It shot him into the air.

* Crash *

The Hidden Strike the second assassin attacked with had smashed into the pillar that Totem summoned and destroyed it.

Seeing that Totem was suspended in the air the first assassin used the second as a springboard. He leapt into the air and landed an axe kick on Totem. Rather than landing the kick on the down stroke like a traditional axe kick, the assassin landed the kick as he swung his leg upwards. Totem was launched higher in the air as a result.

By doing so the assassin primed Totem for follow up attacks.Void and Mule seized the moment and threw more daggers at Totem. Even though they were basic attacks they did considerable damage.

James couldn't take it anymore and used his Engulfing Vines at the feet of the two assassins that attacked Totem. One assassin was trapped but was quickly freed when his teammate cut the vine holding him.

Mercury took the opportunity and rushed the assassins in front. Using her Maddening Strength and Agility alone with her Crushing Assault skill made the group scatter. It gave James and Totem time to breathe.

When Mercury's axe crashed into the ground a small ravine was formed and uprooted a tree. The tree was falling towards the falling Totem. James launched a fireball towards the tree and simultaneously redirected the tree towards a pair of assassins and sped up Totems decent.

Destiny positioned herself near the location that Totem was going to land. She was going to defend any incoming attacks he may receive, that was until… Two assassins appeared a small distance away as Totem landed on the ground. They threw dirt and sand at Totem trying to blind him. Instead of landing on Totem's face it landed on Destiny thus revealing her location.

They finally found the little girl! Time for revenge! The two incoming assassins completely ignored Totem and went for Destiny. One used Tendon Cutter while the other used Veiled Strike.

Mercury threw her axe towards the assassin using Veiled Strike and interrupted his attack. He took a direct hit from her axe and lost a fourth of his remaining health points. Unfortunately Destiny was still hit with the Tendon Cutter. She suffered from the Crippled Status Effect and was unable to move.

A flash of anger appeared in the eyes behind the assassin who crippled Destiny. A dagger appeared from the shadows while glowing a deep red. Karma appeared behind the two assassins and lashed out. He kicked the assassin he hated the most to the ground, he did not let his anger get the better of him. He knew that he needed to focus on the weaker target.

Karma's Fatal Strike landed on the neck of the assassin who was hit by Mercury's axe. While it didn't finish him off it left the assassin with only 10% of his health remaining. An arrow struck the assassin directly between the eyes. Talon had followed up Karma's attack. The assassin died with a confused look on his face.

One more assassin was down and two people finally rejoined James's group. The numbers were now even.

The addition of two people, while surprising, didn't discourage the assassins at all.

[- Blaise: I take it you took care of the straggler? -]

[- Talon: Yeah, Karma helped out. He had an emblem from Oblivion. Scarlet must have sent him to follow you. -]

[- Mercury: Hmm, I bet it isn't a coincidence that Harbingers of Death found us and the spy from Oblivion was following behind them. Are Oblivion and Solemn Sword working together? -]

[- Blaise: Perhaps but now isn't the time to figure it out. -]

The battle continued even though the numbers were now equal. The assassins just got more riled up!

Karma and Destiny started to really shine; their team work was flawless. It was to be expected since they have been with one another since birth. They did everything they could to survive together for as long as they could remember.

The two of them took on three assassins themselves. Five figures were flashing in and out of sight. One person would attack and disappear followed by another one over and over again. Combination attacks and teamwork between both sides were promiate. Just when one side got the advantage the other would take it back.

Destiny had landed a kick on Null and launched him into the air. Karma followed her up with an axe kick and knocked him back to the ground. Before Destiny could continue the combo Vert, one of the three assassins they were fighting, appeared with a Hidden Strike ready. Karma had to throw one of his daggers to interrupt his attack. The fight raged on like that for a while. Combos were made on both sides resulting in the health points of all five of them being critically low. Each side was searching for an opportunity to land a killing blow.

Totem, Mercury, Talon, and Blaise needed to keep the pressure on the remaining four assassins to keep them from interfering with the twins' fight. Their fight was so close any help from the otherside could be a disaster.

Mercury fought Void head one, Talon focused on Horizon, Totem Focused on Lee, and James focused on Mule. James did his best to use his Leeching spells during the fight; when he saw that someone was struggling he would move the buffs to them.

Void was a strong opponent for Mercury. Both Void and herself were enjoying the fight. The two exchanged blow after blow. Void's attacks were fast and accurate and Mercury's were heavy and destructive. Everywhere they went the environment changed.

Everytime Mercury's axe collided with Void's daggers a small shockwave flew out. The sheer weight of her axe was enough to knock Void backwards some. He knew that he had to fight dirty to have the upper hand. Not only was Mercury just as fast as him somehow but her strength was greater. He would throw knives when possible from a distance so he could create an opening to exploit. He knew that she would take more and more damage from his poisoned weapon as long as he prevented her from using her potions.

Mercury noticed his plan and frowned. She would be really upset if she died from poison and not a blade. She was aware that he would not pause his attacks so she needed to vary hers.

Luckily, her weapon was able to transform from an axe to a polearm and back again. Her axe was slow by heavy while the polearm was fast and agile. Using that to her advantage she would use her polearm to get into an attacking position before changing it to her axe for the attack. She was able to increase her attack speed but maintain her damage output.

Void had to change from offense to defense. This time Mercury was the one preventing the other from catching their breath. Void was constantly retreating as Mercury advanced. Any time her axe made contact with anything that item would be destroyed.

Trees were either uprooted or chopped down with a single wave of her axe. He challenged her from time to time but quickly realized that it was a downhill battle. While he could rival her attacks with his class abilities, he saw that each time their weapons made contact his weapon's durability would drop. At this rate his dagger would break.

While he was dodging around he noticed that Horizon was seemingly on the offensive with his fight with Talon.

Talon appeared to be on the defensive. Unlike Void's fight with Mercury he was successfully able to enter stealth. It forced Talon to have to use up his AOE attacks to find him. If Talon waited too long it would have been possible for Horizon to slip away and interfere with another fight.

Horizon helpt close to Talon, who was at a disadvantage due to being an archer. Melee classes had the upper hand over classes that focused on fighting from afar. All they had to do was keep the fight close. Ability after ability was used against Talon. Talon had to defend by using his Bow as if it was a staff. From time to time Talon was able to kite Horizon by using Fleeing Shots. The attack would launch him backwards enough to follow up with his Shatter Shot AOE attack.

Horizon did take damage from Shatter Shot but it was small enough for him not to worry. Once every three or four direct confrontations with Talon could he land either a basic attack or an ability. Like Mercury, it was only a matter of time. Poison damage was slowly chipping away at Talon's health pool.

Totem was in the worst conditions. The bulk of his attacks were defensive or crowd control abilities since they were the specialty of the class. His Earth Walls were either bypassed or destroyed quickly. Earth Mages only had one offensive spell at the start of the game, Earth Ball. It was a slow firing projectile so it was easy to dodge.

Lee knew that he could simply play with Totem. Firstly Totem had the lowest health pool of the group. Second, he was already low in health. Thirdly all he had to do was keep Totem poisoned to passively kill him. His real goal was to help either Void or the three assassins currently fighting the twins.

However, everything wasn't going as smoothly as Lee wanted. The battle between the twins and his teammates was moving away from him as he was slowly inching his way over to them. On top of that Totem was using his Trapping Vines and Earth Walls not only to protect himself but hinder his movements. His slow approach to his brothers was thanks to Totems persistence.

Blaise was in full control in his fight with Mule. Mule felt something was off during his fight; he felt like he was a puppet being controlled by someone else. Every two steps he would take he would go backwards three. James would shoot a fireball in the direction he was attempting to move in forcing him into the other direction. James kept his defense up with the Engulfed Vines. They protected him from any of Mule's attacks and would often be used to block off any attempts of Mule's retreat. He felt helpless.

None of the assassins realized they were being corralled ever so slowly. The battles got closer and closer to one another. The tree's that Mercury cut down encircled the battle field and Totem's Earth Walls cut off the assassin's vision. Every action that James's group took was planned. Void's party had no clue they had fallen in a trap.

It was not long before the assassins were within a few meters of one another. When they noticed what happened it was far too late. Mercury, Talon, Totem, and the twins had retreated to a very safe distance. The only one left in the middle of the assassins was James.

The assassins were paralized when they saw that James had a devilish smile hanging on his face.

"Why are you so happy? Your friends abandoned you." Horizon was annoyed at James.

James was amused. "Oh? Did they?"

The ground rumbled below James, a pillar of earth lifted him into the air. Once he was 6 meters into the air the pillar retracted. James was now freefalling downwards.

"Fool, kill him!" Horizon commanded.

Every assassin below, even Void, had tunnel vision. They figured once they killed James that the fight would be easier.

Small embers started floating inside the air around the battlefield. The assassins started to take damage left and right. James had activated his Aura of Pure Fire. The assassins remembered that skill well and wanted to run away.

Before they could, James blew on the fire floating above his hand. A massive cone of fire quickly descended onto the grouped up assassins. They didn't have time to run before the fire swept over them. They barely managed to get out of the fire's range but noticed that there was a wall of trees blocking their escape.

Void squinted his eyes and looked closely at the trees. There were nearly a hundred sets of lines etched into the bark of every tree around them. He had a bad feeling; especially when they started to glow. James activated the Runes and explosions rang out. Players all the way in zone 15 heard the explosion that occurred.

The assassins were obliterated. There was no escape. Even before the explosions happened they were nearly dead; this was just overkill.

James stood among the wreckage of the explosion. Small wisps and embers of fire danced happily around him. Fires raged on and smoke bellowed into the air which could be seen from Glish.

The fight was over, the assassins had a crushing defeat.