Soon, all two hundred-plus players used their town portals to leave.
Having been in combat for two days straight, they hadn't had the time to use their town portals, so the 24-hour cooldown had long since passed.
Only Chu Tian and the other four remained by the pool.
He looked at the four of them, each with a different expression.
Jian Zhi Cang Tian was full of excitement, clearly thrilled by Chu Tian's declaration that the five of them were enough for this battle. Chu Tian knew he was the type of spirited youth who could be ignited by a single sentence.
Heng Dao was expressionless, his thoughts unreadable, as if nothing could move his rock-solid heart.
Sheng Guang Hu You Zhe Ni looked worried, clearly doubting the feasibility of five people fighting over fifteen hundred.
Yi Zhi Rou Rou, this young boy, had eyes filled with both excitement and fear. He was understandably a little scared, but also a little thrilled that Chu Tian had kept him.
Chu Tian smiled at him. This kid was a Warlock. The general impression of Warlocks was tall and thin, with equipment that tended towards black and red, often featuring a large hood, giving them an aura of mystery and fear. After all, being associated with demons might make them less approachable. Warlock trainers were dressed and carried themselves this way, and Warlock players liked to imitate them.
This boy, however, was plump and fair-skinned, and he wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses without lenses, which he'd acquired from somewhere. His gear had been transmogged, making him appear utterly harmless. It seemed he was from a wealthy family, already dabbling in the transmogrification system. Transmogrification allowed one to change the appearance of gear to whatever they desired, provided they had the template equipment. These template items were akin to fashion sets in older games and were sold in the item shops in Tiandao. The prices were beyond the reach of ordinary people. Chu Tian could describe the boy in seven words: "Black-rimmed glasses, pale and plump."
With a slight smile, Chu Tian said, "Alright, it's just the five of us left. Prepare to get to work."
"How do we do it, boss? You call the shots!" Jian Zhi Cang Tian said, rubbing his hands together.
Chu Tian glanced at him, "Let's be clear, everyone follows my command." He said this specifically to Jian Zhi Cang Tian, as Chu Tian knew him too well; the kid’s head would get hot in a fight, and he’d charge headfirst into danger.
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Jian Zhi Cang Tian nodded repeatedly.
"We'll definitely turn into red names this time, and we won't be able to go back to town for a long time…"
"No worries, no worries! We'll just call the brothers to help send supplies. It won't affect us not going back to town," Jian Zhi Cang Tian interrupted Chu Tian before he could finish.
Chu Tian ignored him and said to the expressionless Heng Dao, "Heng Dao, if Jian Zhi says one more word, tomorrow I'll have your sister come find him and have some fun with him."
"Understood!" Heng Dao nodded.
"Ugh…" Jian Zhi Cang Tian clearly wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.
Seeing Jian Zhi's subdued reaction, Chu Tian smiled. "Alright, no need to be nervous. Rou Rou, you're responsible for casting 'Underwater Breathing' buffs on the three of them. Heng Dao, you're in charge of healing and dispelling any harmful debuffs, especially slows and stuns. As for you two," he gestured to himself and Jian Zhi, "just stick close to me. You know how to chop people, right?"
Upon hearing Chu Tian's arrangements, everyone mostly understood, except they were still puzzled about the purpose of the Warlock's 'Underwater Breathing.' However, Yi Zhi Rou Rou immediately cast Underwater Breathing on everyone. When he went to cast it on Chu Tian, Chu Tian waved him off, indicating he didn't need it. Chu Tian then jumped into the nearby pool first, shouting, "Follow me into the water!"
The others were confused. What was this about? Weren't they going to fight? Why were they going for a swim? However, seeing Chu Tian already sinking to the bottom, they quickly followed.
[Underwater Breathing: Allows breathing underwater. Swimming speed increased by 20%. Duration: 5 minutes.]
As they also dove into the water, they couldn't find Chu Tian. Instead, they saw a seal circling them.
"Follow me," Chu Tian said in the party chat.
It was then that they realized this seal was Chu Tian. When Chu Tian reached level 20, his [Transform: Giant Deer Form] skill automatically upgraded to [Transform: Travel Form].
[Transform: Travel Form: On land, transforms into Giant Deer Form, capable of carrying one person, with a 200% increase in movement speed. In water, transforms into Seal Form, with swimming speed not lower than personal movement speed. In areas where flight is permitted, transforms into Giant Eagle Form, with a 500% flight speed.]
Travel Form was likely a Druid perk. Before the system enabled the mount system, having the Giant Deer Form allowed one to achieve the speed of someone riding a mount. While others needed to learn riding skills and spend money on mounts, this free skill allowed them to gallop freely, even carrying another person. Moreover, it was an all-terrain, all-elemental form – land, sea, and air.
When players entered the water and switched to swimming stance, their movement speed was only 40%. With the Underwater Breathing buff, it increased to 60%. Chu Tian's movement speed, however, was 110%, so he had to stop frequently to wait for Jian Zhi Cang Tian and the others.
After diving to about thirty meters underwater, Chu Tian stopped next to a cave. Jian Zhi Cang Tian and the others gradually caught up. Chu Tian sent a message in the party chat, "Go in, follow me!"
They entered the underwater cave and proceeded along a path that only one person could pass at a time. Along the way, they encountered countless forks. Each time, Chu Tian would scout ahead first and then return to lead them down the correct path. Finally, after about ten minutes, they emerged from a cave entrance into another pool of water.
Chu Tian signaled them to wait there while he floated up to scout ahead. About three meters from the water's surface, Chu Tian cast [Transform: Cheetah Form] and then entered stealth, continuing to ascend. Just as he broke out of Cheetah Form, the system's breath countdown progress bar reached halfway, and he successfully surfaced.
As soon as his head broke the surface, he saw a small camp by the water's edge, with about fifty people sitting there.
"After all this time, it's been nearly half an hour. Where have those Reverse God Alliance guys gone?" one person asked another.
"How the hell should I know?" another player replied.
"I bet they've all gone back to town. They've been out of combat for over twenty minutes. If it were me, I'd use my town portal immediately," said one of the few players with a bit of sense.
"Exactly. The guild leader doesn't know what he's thinking, telling us to retreat and go kill low-level alts. Much more fun," another player complained.
Chu Tian observed them carefully. He noticed that the camp was predominantly occupied by Priests, with only a few DPS players serving as guards. Priest players had slower movement speeds and couldn't form mobile units. Their presence here was likely to await orders to provide support.
Around the camp, Chu Tian eliminated several lurking Rogues, including two Druids in cat form. Their stealth was as good as useless against Chu Tian. Not only did Chu Tian have several pieces of equipment that increased stealth detection, but even without them, their level was a full seven levels below his. Due to the level suppression, Chu Tian could see their semi-transparent forms within five meters.
During this time, Jian Zhi Cang Tian and the others had floated to within ten centimeters of the water's surface, waiting by the edge of the pool for Chu Tian's command. Even Yi Zhi Rou Rou had summoned his Felguard, ready to command it to charge out at any moment.
After ensuring all sentries were eliminated, Chu Tian sent a single word in the party chat.
"Kill!"