Chapter 1 The Tide Turns

The two-in-one thief and archer speed pursuit team of Duijiu Dange was utterly routed, scattered across the hills by Gu Fei's onslaught. Those like Yong Sheng, who had initially focused solely on retreating into the flower bushes, now stood their ground, turning back to witness the unbelievable scene. At this moment, they were immensely grateful to have speed-oriented characters like Mang Mang in their ranks, for had they been moving any faster, they might have missed this spectacle altogether.

"Freak... utterly freakish..." everyone muttered to themselves, each uttering the same sentiment.

They knew this wasn't the entirety of Duijiu Dange's forces, but even if it was just two or three hundred people, to be routed like this by a single individual was simply astonishing.

"Can an online game really be won by one against many?" A group of people looked at each other, their minds unable to comprehend Gu Fei's power, a concept far beyond the grasp of any normal gamer.

Gu Fei, electrifying the hillside, was careful to manage his mana. In this situation, where he completely controlled the initiative, he had killed so many that his mana had not decreased but increased, and was now completely full. Following Nilu Ershang's command, everyone seemed to find their direction, turning and running towards the main force. Gu Fei didn't let them go, continuing to chase them while unleashing lightning. Thunder rumbled, and Nilu Ershang's face was like a stormy sky, flashing with alternating light and shadow.

"Magic formation!!!" Nilu Ershang stepped forward, roaring.

Duijiu Dange's magic formation was personally led by him, the guild leader, and was their signature dish for group battles. Once someone stepped into the formation's range, they had no way to escape. As their coordination became more proficient, the formation's attack range had reached its maximum. The positions unreachable by their magic formation weren't due to their lack of skill but were a limitation of the game: mages' spell control could only reach so far.

The thief and archer team returned to the main group, looking disheveled, each with their head lowered, afraid to speak. In their hearts, they felt utterly humiliated, even too embarrassed to ask the priests for healing.

The main force didn't pay them any attention. Mages, listening to Nilu Ershang's call, moved to the front ranks. Everyone raised their staffs, waiting for Gu Fei to come closer, then they would stew him in a sea of fire. However, when Gu Fei chased to a spot thirty meters away from them, he stopped.

The mages' hands, gripping their staffs, were slick with sweat. They stared intently at Gu Fei, but... that's right, Gu Fei didn't take another step forward.

Thirty meters, that was outside the mages' attack range! The opponent was indeed a mage and understood this data well. All the mages were holding back their energy, waiting to erupt! But Gu Fei stopped just as they were about to unleash their spells, and everyone was holding it back, resulting in internal injuries.

Nilu Ershang, worthy of being a prominent figure as the guild leader, remained composed while the numerous mages were on the verge of vomiting blood. He shot a string of fireballs into the sky, sending a message: "Advance!!!"

The mages began to advance.

If the enemy doesn't advance, I will! Everyone thought. And so, the enemy retreated.

"Damn it!!!" Nilu Ershang finally couldn't help but curse. With Gu Fei's speed, by the time they advanced one step, he would retreat three. Trying to close the distance with Gu Fei like this was simply a pipe dream.

The only ones who could close the distance were the agile thief and archer team, but Nilu Ershang looked back at them. Those thieves and archers were currently like withered flowers, heads lowered, completely unreliable...

According to the pursuit team leader, Shanzi Ling's, understanding, if they had had priests healing them, they wouldn't have been routed so badly. But the problem was that they didn't, and Qianli Yizui's movements were elusive and unpredictable, and he also had sharp eyes. Everyone tried to take turns eating bread, but he would attack whoever was eating bread, so they really couldn't manage.

Nilu Ershang finally understood that a team without priests couldn't suppress Qianli Yizui; while a team with priests couldn't catch up to Qianli Yizui... This was a dead end!! Nilu Ershang looked at his own team and asked a question: "Are there any priests who have added agility?"

The guild fell silent. All discerning people realized the problem at this point: to suppress Qianli Yizui, they had to match his speed. From this perspective, while it seemed that their thousand-member guild was fighting against Qianli Yizui, in reality, only about three hundred people were actually in the fight. These short-legged warriors, mages, and priests simply had no chance to engage him. Even if some occasionally added some agility, how could those classes go to such an extreme as to put all their points into agility? Without that speed as a guarantee, they couldn't even get a glimpse of Qianli Yizui.

Having a lot of people didn't necessarily mean having great strength. Having a lot of useful people, that was real strength! It was already too late when Nilu Ershang realized this. Their three hundred or so useful people were simply no match for Gu Fei alone. In Shanzi Ling's report, he not only pointed out that Gu Fei definitely had mana recovery methods but also suspected that Gu Fei even had equipment for life recovery. In addition, the person's reactions were agile, and he would dodge more than 95% of their attacks, making him practically immortal. In the battle just now, Shanzi Ling felt that the greatest damage Gu Fei received was probably when he rushed into his own Fire Tree Thousand Heavy Flames.

At the end of the report, Shanzi Ling earnestly pointed out to Nilu Ershang: with Qianli Yizui's awareness and skill, he was capable of wearing them down. Shanzi Ling reminded Nilu Ershang that they didn't lose levels in the city war, so they could afford to wait, but Qianli Yizui could afford it even more, because he was just one person, with no mission and no burden. If he was determined to cause trouble for Duijiu Dange, he could completely throw caution to the wind. Each assault would at least take away hundreds of Duijiu Dange's members. Dying and coming back, and then taking hundreds more, over and over again, would they even be able to fight in the city war?

The ultimate scenario described by Shanzi Ling sent a chill down Nilu Ershang's spine. But he was already in a difficult position. A thousand people had been mobilized with great fanfare, and then they would retreat silently with their tails between their legs? What kind of statement would that be? At this moment, did he want to save face, or did he want to consider their future? Nilu Ershang was once again facing a painful choice, and he deeply hated Shanzi Ling for being so annoying. If you analyzed things so thoroughly, why didn't you say it publicly on the guild channel so everyone could understand? Why did you have to send a private message, a private message that gave me a headache...? Even if everyone understood after I relayed this logic to the guild members, it would be the same as admitting defeat to Qianli Yizui. I was the one who ordered the attack, and now I'm the one taking the initiative to admit defeat. How can I continue being the guild leader?

Nilu Ershang was now feeling like giving up, surrounded by people, watching as Gu Fei pulled away from them and then stopped to observe them. So, they started watching Nilu Ershang, waiting for the guild leader to make a decision.

Nilu Ershang looked up at the hillside. Gu Fei also seemed to be looking down at the hillside. How Nilu Ershang wished he could communicate with Gu Fei through a private message, but the system had deprived them of that right. Even if they wanted to retreat now, what would they do if Qianli Yizui didn't give up and chased after them? Oh! If that happened, the mages could use a magic formation to trap him perfectly. If he didn't chase, then they could just brazenly treat it as a failed strategy and have Shanzi Ling take a few people to pretend to scout out Qianli Yizui's whereabouts, making this big issue a small issue, and the small issue disappear...

Nilu Ershang had an idea and quickly began to implement it. He issued instructions in the guild, the meaning of which was naturally that if Qianli Yizui didn't come forward, the magic formation couldn't be used. They would feign a retreat, and he would surely come forward. The mages would hide at the rear of the team, and as soon as he entered the range, they would unleash the magic formation.

Everyone listened and thought that it was a good solution, since they really couldn't catch up to Qianli Yizui, and they could only try to lure him over themselves. At this moment, Shanzi Ling sent Nilu Ershang another private message: "Have you thought it through clearly? Once Qianli Yizui retaliates..."

Nilu Ershang closed the message and blocked Shanzi Ling. This guy would just send private messages, private messages, private messages. Private messages your MB!!! Nilu Ershang was annoyed to death. Shanzi Ling sent another message after this one disappeared without a reply. The system prompted that the message had been rejected, and he knew he had been blocked, and he felt inexplicably puzzled. Did I say something wrong? Shanzi Ling wondered.

Duijiu Dange began to squirm again, packing up their team and retreating. The mages were originally standing in the front row, so now that the team was reversed, they naturally retreated to the rear. If Qianli Yizui approached, they would suddenly spread out, and then the magic formation... it was indeed very promising. Everyone thought...

"He's moving!!!" On the guild channel, the scouts responsible for monitoring Qianli Yizui sent a message. Everyone was excited. Was he hooked? Nilu Ershang was in tears. In fact, he hoped that Qianli Yizui wouldn't chase anymore, and that this matter would be resolved by turning a big issue into a small issue, and then letting it disappear! Who knew that Qianli Yizui would insist on falling into his trap... How could Nilu Ershang not know that this might very well invite Qianli Yizui's endless retaliation? That was what he was afraid of, so he blocked Shanzi Ling to vent his anger just now. But he had no choice. He had to give himself a way out. He couldn't openly announce to the guild members that Qianli Yizui couldn't be dealt with, so they should retreat. Nilu Ershang couldn't bring himself to lose that face...

"Here he comes, mages get ready!" This time, everyone didn't need Nilu Ershang to command them. They were actively preparing for battle, especially those thieves and archers who had been bullied by Gu Fei. They were constantly urging them on the channel, hoping that the mages would avenge them for this electric revenge, so anxious that Nilu Ershang wanted to strangle them... In this guild, can't anyone reasonable come out and say something? Nilu Ershang forgot that there were reasonable people, but they were just sending him private messages, which he was very unhappy with.

"Almost there, a few more steps forward, and he'll be in range." The mages said to each other.

"We need to go a few more steps, or else we won't be able to cover the area."

"That's right."

"But what do we do now? Pretend we don't know he's behind us? Seems very fake?"

"We can speed up a bit and pretend to be running away?"

"I don't think we need to act afraid, because there's no need to be afraid in the first place. We just normally can't reach him, so we're leaving. Numb him, and after he lowers his guard, we can take a few more steps forward, and we'll launch a surprise attack!" Someone said.

Everyone was discussing how to lure Qianli Yizui into the trap, and their enthusiasm was unprecedentedly high. Nilu Ershang wanted to die.

"We should be able to hit him from here!!" A mage at the very end, closest to Gu Fei in a straight line, reported.

"Relax, numb him, lure him into the trap, oh my god!!!" As the person was giving instructions, a thunderbolt flashed from the sky, and the mage closest to Gu Fei was struck until he was crispy inside.

"He's attacked!!" Everyone shouted, and they reflexively turned around to counterattack. But Gu Fei retreated, and they couldn't catch up with his speed. Gu Fei was still outside their spell range, and the mages stared blankly.

"What's going on?" As everyone was stunned, Gu Fei suddenly approached, and with a *pa*, another lightning strike hit the same person.

"Priest, priest!!!" The person was about to explode from being hit one more time and shouted for help. There were quite a few priests in the main force, and they quickly came over to heal him. As the mages didn't know what to do, they suddenly felt a heat in their eyes...

"Fire Tree Thousand Heavy Flames!!! Run!!!" Everyone ran, but those who were a little slower were still burned. This distance of thirty meters, it was really hard to notice Gu Fei secretly casting spells. Those who were inflicted with fire damage were struck with another lightning by Gu Fei, and a mage actually died. The mages went crazy. At this distance, Gu Fei could hit them, and they could also hit Gu Fei, so they began to chant spells, but with so many of them moving, the target was really big. What's more, even though there were many people, they couldn't spread out the magic formation to cut off Gu Fei's retreat, because Gu Fei was moving along the mages' range line. At this moment, seeing the opponent's attack, he quickly retreated. When the area-of-effect spells ignited, the flames were so dense in the area where Gu Fei had been standing that it was somewhat unbelievable. It was unknown how many mages had cast their spells at this location. Gu Fei would have died if he had been hit, but the problem was that he couldn't be hit. At this moment, he circled around the edge of the flames and stealthily threw a Falling Firewheel. When the mages counterattacked, Gu Fei ran again...

"What's going on?"

"It seems like we're being kited..."

"This is a mage's playstyle. Does Qianli Yizui also play like this?"

"He just doesn't use it, doesn't mean he can't..."

All ranged classes have the potential to kite. The current common trick for mages is to use Ice Cyclone to slow down their opponents, and then gain an advantage in speed to kite them. There are also some mages who, to save trouble, sacrifice some intelligence and add some agility, and then get a pair of high-quality shoes to dominate those classes without agility. Gu Fei's current setup, analyzed from the perspective of a conventional mage, uses attribute points to gain an absolute advantage in movement speed, and then relies on equipment to maintain powerful spell damage. With equipment to maintain mana, in fact, not just Gu Fei, but also Yu Tian Shen Ming, Piaoliu, Jian Gui, and any other online game expert could do well with this setup, using conventional online game thinking to fight. Just like now, the enemy advances, I retreat; the enemy retreats, I harass, harassing this entire guild, they could all do the same. The only difference is that when the opponent's three hundred archers and thieves are dispatched, these people would definitely fail; while Gu Fei is even better at close combat and can make these three hundred people run all over the hills.

Nilu Ershang was fortunate enough to experience a Gu Fei with complete strength for the first time. Unbeatable in close combat, and returning to the mage role at range, Duijiu Dange wanted to cry but had no tears. Someone suggested that the thieves and archers detour to cut off his retreat, and then the large team would push forward to the mages to bombard him, but the thieves and archers shook their heads like rattles. Their reasoning was also realistic: if they could intercept him, they would have intercepted him already. Did they need you to teach them?

So, someone else suggested dividing the troops into several groups to form a large encirclement, and then slowly tighten it, but this was also rejected. This was a hillside, and Qianli Yizui was overlooking them from a high position. All their actions were visible to the opponent. How was there space to do such a big action? Would people just stupidly stay in place and wait for you to encircle them?

While everyone was discussing anxiously, Gu Fei continued to harass them. Lightning was guaranteed to hit, no one could dodge it, and the two area-of-effect spells were also quite torturous, making them move around like headless flies as soon as they saw Gu Fei approaching, ready to run at any time to avoid being roasted on the fire.

Gu Fei was having fun and had also thrown a Wall of Lightning once, but this thing was very passive when erected there. It caused no damage unless some idiot went up and touched it, so it could be considered a small touch of fun.

As they were being tortured in this way, Duijiu Dange was actually maintaining its retreating pace. They were about to reach the plains at the bottom of the hillside, and along the way, they had lost ten or so people. The losses weren't huge, but the problem was that they were completely helpless against Qianli Yizui. Nilu Ershang hoped for a sound, he hoped that someone would come out and make a compromise, but there was none...

To be honest, compromise was a thought that would only come from considering things from the perspective of the guild's interests. If they really thought about it calmly, they wouldn't lose levels if they died now, so there was nothing to be afraid of. So, even though they were being bullied so badly, they were still discussing how to deal with Qianli Yizui. Most ordinary players, unlike Nilu Ershang or Shanzi Ling, would consider that if they were entangled by this guy, they wouldn't be able to proceed smoothly in the upcoming city war. At this moment, they were already immersed in researching how to deal with the Boss, Qianli Yizui, and couldn't extricate themselves.

"How about having warriors and priests team up to attract aggro?" Someone suggested.

"Will he run?"

"He'll run while randomly throwing spells." The warriors and priests shook their heads.

"Don't we have any classes here that add agility?"

"We do, but we don't add as much as him. It's far from enough." Various classes with some agility added were worried.

"I think it's more reliable to have thieves stealthily circle behind him. You don't need to attack actively, just stand behind him. When our mages are moving forward, he'll retreat backwards. At this time, you can block him a little. As long as you have a few seconds, our mages can take a few more steps forward, and we can unleash the magic formation..."

"A few steps won't work, really."

"Why?"

"Instantaneous movement, six meters. In that instant, he can still jump out of the magic formation..."

"Damn, forgot he can do that..."

"That means, to hit him with the magic formation, we need to cover six more meters than we would for a normal person..."

"Considering his reaction and movement speed, I think we need ten meters..."

"Ten meters... We won't be able to gain that distance even if we all die." The thieves said.

"We are talking about the boundary line of the magic formation. Just the extra distance needed to trap him would require an additional ten meters. In reality, we would still need to take in an extra five meters, making it fifteen meters in total to be absolutely sure."

"Fifteen meters? Don't be silly. He basically roams around at a distance of thirty meters and hasn't stepped in at all. His positioning is extremely precise. Damn it, he really plays like a mage."

"Archers! Gather the archers for a volley!!" Suddenly someone suggested.

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I almost thought I wouldn't be able to finish writing today, but I unexpectedly finished quite early... The small universe, that's it, exploded!