Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 161

Although everyone was complaining, their excitement from taking down the first boss remained, not one of them were discouraged and quit. Even Mi Lu was paying full attention to the snow marten's movements, trying to figure out a pattern.

However, as long as the snow marten had not entered the special field, it would really run rampant. If it was lured too far away, it would immediately disengage from the battle, causing the party a lot of trouble.

As Ye Ci was facing a monster that was immune to physical damage, she would not allow her ammunition to be wasted. After firing a few arrows in the beginning of the battle, she fell to the back of the party to rest.

A long while later, Mi Lu breathed heavily as he ran to Ye Ci's side and sat down. His potions were almost depleted and yet he still saw no signs of a plausible strategy against this snow marten. It ran all over the place, indiscriminately biting and disengaging from battle, causing chaos amongst the party.

"Guild Leader, do you have any potions left?" Mi Lu was huffing and puffing. It was really astonishing to see the bloody marks on his face thanks to that snow marten when one looked closely.

Digging out a few large health potions and tossing them to Mi Lu, Ye Ci said, "I've only got health potions, I ran out of mana potions."

"You used up your mana potions? This boss wastes too many mana potions." Mi Lu did not know that Ye Ci did not require mana potions. Seeing Ye Ci sitting motionlessly on the ground, he thought to himself that his assumption was right.

Ye Ci did not answer his question, smiling in reply, "Are we going to continue?"

"I'd like to try again, I think I might be onto something and I need to go back and try it out again." Mi Lu mumbled incoherently with a pastry in his mouth as he gave the order for everyone to disengage from battle to rest.

Ye Ci did not refute his decision and nodded her head; it was a good thing to be willing to try out new things.

Afterwards, they tried again another two times. Although Mi Lu had noticed some clues, he was unable to make any headway. Furthermore, everyone was almost out of potions. Despite everyone's high spirits, without any potions, they had no choice but to leave it at that. They'd have to go back and think it through before attempting again.

Mi Lu recorded the guild's dungeon progress at the Meeting Stone located at the entrance before everyone in the party left the dungeon.

Ye Ci was right at the back. Before she even left the dungeon, she had received a private message from Remote Depths, "What's up with today?"

What do you mean 'What's up with today?" Ye Ci was confused.

"You'll know once you come out." Remote Depths had a mysterious tone in his reply, causing Ye Ci to feel extremely curious. Just what was Bai Mo playing at?

Ye Ci was desperate to exit the dungeon now thanks to Bai Mo's words. Unlike the dungeon's interior, the outside was full of flora and illuminated by bright sunlight. Although the atmosphere given off by the surroundings seemed slightly desolate, it was not lacking in either flora or fauna and was many times better when compared to what was inside the barren dungeon. Players who had just left the dungeon often required some time before they could acclimate to the stark contrast.

However, what made Ye Ci truly surprised was the unusually large number of players who had gathered outside the dungeon.

Usually, once everyone exited the dungeon, they would have already used their Town Return Stones and gone back to the city already. So why has everyone gathered in front of the dungeon entrance without moving with battle-ready expressions? "What are all of you doing? Aren't you all returning to the city? Do you think that we'll be rich by huddling here?"

"Gongzi, it's someone from Steel Blooded Battle Spear."

The players in front of her, as though linked by telepathy, made a path for her, allowing her to see what was going on at the opposite side.

It really was the guild members of Steel Blooded Battle Spear.

Thousand Sunsets was standing at the very front, while Dong Yin, Peacock Blue, Yi Cang and familiar as well as unfamiliar faces trailed behind them. However, she did not spot Zero Arsenic among them.

This seemed mildly suspicious.

Although the argument Thousand Sunsets, Dong Yin and the others had with Ye Ci was a private matter, Upwards Ho! was incensed over the fact that Steel Blooded Battle Spear had maligned Ye Ci on the forums and even accused Ye Ci of raiding their guild warehouse. This was understandable. After all, who would like it if others were to point at their leader and call her a criminal?

Which was why even if the management of Upwards Ho!, Ye Ci and Bai Mo in particular, did not say anything about the matter; everyone in Upwards Ho! had already treated Steel Blooded Battle Spear as their mortal enemies and couldn't wait to beat them into the ground.

The two guild encampments were situated in cities far apart from each other, which meant that they would hardly meet each other when they entered the dungeons. However, since Upwards Ho! had finished early, it caused the situation where the two guilds had inadvertently met with each other. When enemies met, the atmosphere was sure to become tense. If anyone from either side were to step out, the two parties would probably cause an all out war to break out.

Ever since Thousand Sunsets had noticed Ye Ci, his eyes had never left her. His gaze was cold and sharp, as though forming a keen edge that homed in on Ye Ci's heart. Ye Ci, on the other hand, did not even flinch; her eyebrows were raised and her expression calm, yet a hint of panic was sprouting in her heart. Upwards Ho!, in their current condition, was in no shape to start a guild war. The other party was well-armed and full on potions, while they already had none left. If they were to fight, Upwards Ho! was at a disadvantage.

As such, she averted her gaze and turned towards her party, paying no heed to Thousand Sunsets. "Everyone, return to the encampment. I believe Mi Lu will be holding a meeting to discuss today's dungeon attempt."

Everyone was somewhat dissatisfied. However, seeing that Ye Ci was being firm, they had no choice but to use their Town Return Stones. Ye Ci looked at Liu Chang, who was still standing there in a daze. Ye Ci knew that she must be feeling horrible inside and gave her a light prompt, "Clingy Wolf, is your Town Return Stone on cooldown?"

"N-no, I'm leaving." Liu Chang lowered her head and immediately rubbed her Town Return Stone, leaving behind a stream of white light before vanishing.

Bai Mo looked at Ye Ci, "You're still not leaving?"

"I'll leave soon." Ye Ci looked at the people on the other side with a faint, indiscernible smile and softly replied.

Thousand Sunsets noticed that most of the other party was leaving and let out a sigh in relief. To be honest, he was kind of worried about needing to fight with Upwards Ho! at the moment, since it would prove to be extremely disadvantageous for him.

"Guild Leader, only Gongzi You's left. Should we..." Most of Upwards Ho! had departed, leaving behind only Gongzi You. A player standing behind Thousand Sunsets had noticed and couldn't help but scheme.

"Cut the crap and enter the dungeon." Thousand Sunsets turned and glared at him before leading the party into the dungeon.

Ye Ci watched them from the side in silence. When Ye Ci's gaze fell upon Dong Yin, she saw an expressionless face, as though she never was in Dong Yin's line of sight in the first place. Ye Ci softly chuckled. That's right, that's the way. If you still had any emotions or guilt, it'll be harder for me to take action.

With the warm sunlight shining on top of Ye Ci's head, she instantly warmed up from head to toe.

"I've prepared a surprise for you, have you seen it yet?" Just then, Ye Ci had just received a private message from Green Hill's Moon.

A surprise? o_o