MMORPG: The Elementalist

The rate at which the Hall of the Exalted League was losing its members had slowed down that day. More than forty thousand members stood their ground, determined to engage in extended warfare with the Five Great Leagues and other Clans in the Underworld.

Some even took to the official website to lambast the actions of the Five Great Leagues.

Evidently, the Hall of the Exalted still had its own diehard fan base who expected great things from Qin Ruo and company, even in such a dire situation.

But for the Hall of the Exalted members…

They had made great sacrifices!

If they chose to leave now, majority of the people would not be content with their decision!

Besides, the League War in Moonrise City and the destruction of Camp Kennedy had made them the center of attention in the whole H&G community. Even the Demon Faction was closely following them to see how the situation would unfold…

Many expressed their curiosity over the Hall of the Exalted League’s fate. How would the Five Great Leagues deal with them?

Would the Five Great Leagues leave them alone after pinning them down for several days? Or, would they leave no survivor, trap every Hall of the Exalted League member in the Underworld until the League’s total collapse?

If it was the former, the Angel Faction would pay for it in the future. Judging by how the Hall of the Exalted League rolled, undoubtedly they would not let it slide. Once they recover their strength, they would seek revenge on each and every Clan that participated in the assault!

If it was the latter…

Then it would merely be a matter of time. Other than that, when would the Hall of the Exalted League be obliterated? How long would the battle in the Underworld last? And what would the effects of extended warfare on the development of the Angel Faction be? These were all sensitive issues.

However…

At that key moment when the war between the two sides ended in a stalemate, a post made by an anonymous player caused a dramatic turn of events!

***

The post was obviously regarding the analysis of the most trending topic—the Hall of the Exalted League versus the Five Great Leagues—in the Underworld.

The poster was very frank, straight to the point from the beginning.

In the poster’s opinion…

The Hall of the Exalted’s annihilation by the Five Great Leagues was a piece of cake. It could be achieved in a short span of time without much loss in return.

The way to achieve it was very simple…

It was to seal their escape routes in relay.

They just had to make sure the conditions were met…

Assign some people to guard each campsite and make sure that there was a sufficient number of Summoners; that way, everyone else would be free to engage in other activities.

The Undead would not appear within five hundred meters of the campsite anyway…

Those Hall of the Exalted League members who were trapped would not dare to leave the safety of their campsite due to the presence of Summoners who were ready to summon backup at any time.

The teams tasked to give chase could also be adjusted in rotation.

So to summarize…

The Five Great Leagues and Clans could force all the Hall of the Exalted members to stay in the safe zone just by mobilizing minimal manpower.

In case they decided to leave their campsite…

Even better!

Direct confrontation!

This would not only cause their opponents to level down, but it would also make it possible for them to lose their gears, further weakening their opponents. It would be killing three birds with one stone!

In addition, the poster stated that the siege would not last too long…

Those who had been wooed by the Hall of the Exalted League would certainly not be able to hold out for long because as time passed, the Five Great Leagues could utilize the resources in the Underworld to level up to Tier 6.

This was especially so for those in the Fallen Angels like the Winter Demon, Qin Ruo, Homme Fatale, and experienced Champions who were already close to reaching Level 58 and Level 59 respectively. They were all set to become Demigod Champions in just a few days.

Once the Tier 6 phase began…

The Hall of the Exalted League members would be relegated from the strongest Tier 5 players to ordinary Tier 5 players, or worse, weaklings… They would no longer pose a threat to the Five Great Leagues.

When that happens, remove the blockade…

The Hall of the Exalted League would be nothing but memories!

The top players who had chosen to side with the Hall of the Exalted had their time. Their spots at the top of the food chain would be succeeded by the rising stars.

The plan was truly evil…

But!

What struck a chill in their hearts was that in less than half an hour, the Five Great Leagues had started to adopt the strategy suggested by the anonymous player. It appeared that they were hell-bent on fighting the Hall of the Exalted.

***

The post on the forum that spelled doom for the Hall of the Exalted quickly gathered views and reprimands!

When many discovered that the Five Great Leagues had adopted a new strategy courtesy of the anonymous player, it became the last straw to break the camel’s back. The forum became an avenue for them to vent their frustrations!

All of a sudden, the anger the masses had for the Fallen Angels and Five Great Leagues paled in comparison to their anger for the unknown smartass military adviser who posted the strategy.

Some even declared, “If the anonymous player responsible for making this post ever dares to reveal his in-game ID, I’ll personally give himhell till he quits!”

“Till the last drop of blood!”

***

While the forum was overflowing with expletives and angry comments, someone was cuddling the real culprit—a gorgeous and endearing hottie—on bed.

“Oh, my clever girl, I knew it was you the moment I saw that post.”

Xiaoxiao stuck her tongue out. She turned to her masculine lover, her face filled with curiosity. They were so intimate that she could feel his breath. “How did you know what it was me? I stayed anonymous the whole time.”

“It wasn’t that hard to guess. Remember that I was the one who proposed this idea yesterday?Only a handful of people know this. You were the first to object, worrying that the Hall of the Exalted League may not take it easily…”

Qin Ruo touched the tip of her round nose with an affectionate smile. “You were right. There’s really no point inciting more hatred and anger among them at a time like this since they’re going down anyway.

“The other day, you talked to Sister Violet about this matter privately into the wee hours… And the tone of your post… Your deep knowledge of the Fallen Angels… If I fail to piece these clues together, how can I be the League Master of the Fallen Angels?” he continued.

However, Qin Ruo had to admit that he was impressed by Xiaoxiao. “You gals did well too. I didn’t expect you to come up with the idea of using an anonymous ID to divert the Hall of the Exalted’s attention fromanger to raise their morale. That’s brilliant! Only my girl can come up with an idea like that.”

As Xiaoxiao listened to his praises, her eyes became watery.

Qin Ruo was stumped. He did not know what to do. He did not expect Xiaoxiao to react that way. Recognizing Qin Ruo’s awkward facial expression, Xiaoxiao’s beautiful eyes formed a rather adorable crescent moon shape. She asked with a mesmerizing gaze, “I did you a great favor. Respected League Master, don’t you think I should be rewarded?”

“Rewarded?”

Qin Ruo was shocked by Xiaoxiao’s request. But he could not turn her down when he looked at her hopeful eyes. Again, Qin Ruo turned silent.

“Of course! I racked my brain to come up with this idea. I’ve done you a great favor and made thousands of players leave the Hall of the Exalted… Is a reward too much to ask for?”

“About that…”

“You’re the League Master, you wouldn’t be that stingy, right?”

Xiaoxiao made fun of Qin Ruo.

“Ah.”

Qin Ruo deliberately let out a deep and long sigh.

“I didn’t expect my baby to be so hard to please. Fine! For the interest of all, I shall sacrifice myself and do it once more!”

Upon saying that, Qin Ruo lifted the blanket and jumped onto the bed.

A squeak filled with shyness could be heard coming from the bed.

***

Two hours after the anonymous post had been uploaded, the Hall of the Exalted League’s membership finally dropped below the benchmark of forty thousand. This was like the once five-Clan strong Hall of the Exalted losing one of its Clans.

Plus, the Hall of the Exalted’s ranking in the League Honor Point Leaderboard had plummeted from number two to number five, merely outranking Netherspirit’s Claw…

However!

That was not the Hall of the Exalted’s ultimate fate.

More and more people jumped on the bandwagon…

Some quit individually; some quit in a group.

This showed that camp by camp, supporters started to lose faith in the Hall of the Exalted’s future when they learned that the Five Great Leagues had adopted a new strategy!

It was a League that the Five Great Leagues were determined to suppress for a long term…

It was a League that found it impossible to be successful in the Underworld… impossible to claim any territory again…

It was a League that had no foreseeable future! Even if there were many pay-to-win players, it would not change anything.

Those players would be trapped in the Underworld campsite just like them. They were out of tricks, out of ideas.

While those pay-to-win players could spend money to equip themselves with the best loadout from the market and hire others to help them level up, ordinary players could not enjoy such benefits…

Ordinary players spent countless hours and made tremendous effort to achieve what they had. They could not just stand and watch large groups of players surpass them while they were stuck. That was unacceptable!

Falling in the rankings and being unable to progress…

With every passing minute, their influence in the game shrank and their value depreciated.

They were worried that the predictions in the post were right.

But…

As long as they were sporting the Hall of the Exalted’s insignia, as long as they were a member of the Hall of the Exalted, as long as they kept fighting the League War, they were heading toward the end as predicted in the post which they did not want to face.

Must abandon the Hall of the Exalted!

***

When more and more people realized this, the trend in quitting Hall of the Exalted League reached its peak!

Especially when they saw their brothers leaving campsite safely into the Underworld under the watchful eyes and silent consent from the Five Great Leagues after they quit Hall of the Exalted…

Having stood their ground for one day and two nights, most Hall of the Exalted League members finally put down their mental burden and gave in…

Although there were still some protesting voices in the League Channel.

Some were cursing those “traitors”, urging the remaining players to not be deceived, and stressing the importance of unity if they were to leave the Underworld safely. However, their pleas fell on deaf ears as more and more players decided to withdraw from Hall of the Exalted.

At long last…

As the alarm sound of Honor Point dropping below the benchmark of one million and the periodical reminder to Hall of the Exalted stalwart supporters filled the League Channel, such voices were no more to be heard.

It seemed that…

Even they could not live in denial anymore.

***

“Hall of the Exalted…is over.”

“Yup… It’s over.”

In an unknown campsite, Snowmelt and Dark Dragon were gazing at the gray sky of the Underworld ironically through a transparent Barrier with their backs facing each other. They appeared to be absorbed in desolate thought.

As if…

The sky of the Underworld was even more despairing.

The silence of Hall of the Exalted core members…

With the Five Great Clans membership withdrawal spree in the picture, they had no doubt about Hall of the Exalted League’s future.

Game over…

Not just for Hall of the Exalted.

Including them!

On the road of life, they simply made a wrong turn. But this minor mistake led them into a hopeless dead end.

Without Netherspirit’s Claw and Hall of the Exalted… Which direction would they go?What lies ahead of them?