However, Luo Wushang and the others had a great plan, but they didn’t anticipate how terrifying the level-one alert state of the Great Ape Gang would be.
Once the Great Ape Gang initiated the level-one alert state, any sighting of the enemy meant a fight to the death. If the enemy escaped, there would inevitably be a reckoning afterward, and the gang’s reckoning was far more terrifying than death.
In that moment, what would have taken only a minute for Luo Wushang and the others took five minutes, and they still hadn’t reached the outer wall. Instead, more and more members of the Great Ape Gang gathered to surround and slaughter them.
Even though Luo Wushang and the others killed wave after wave, the number of gang members surrounding them rose from an initial two hundred to over a thousand.
At this moment, even Luo Wushang and the other experienced masters from the Pilgrimage felt what it truly meant to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, like ants biting an elephant, completely different from other virtual games.
In other virtual games, levels and stats were everything. Slaying lower-level monsters and players was as easy as playing a game, where you didn’t even need to block or dodge their attacks; direct hits could be shrugged off.
However, in the Descent of High Martial, even attacks from lower-level enemies needed to be blocked and evaded, or else getting hit would certainly cause injury. Strikes to vital points could cause stiffness or instant death.
Fortunately, Luo Wushang and the others were experienced in combat, able to navigate through enemies to avoid the encirclement by many gang members, greatly reducing the number of simultaneous opponents, making things much easier to handle. Official source is NoveI(F)ire.net
Fang Zhen and others were used to group coordination in battles, assisting each other to effortlessly resolve crises and even launch counterattacks.
Solo experts like Smaller Circle of the Strategy Group also played their part by breaking through enemy lines with heavy attacks, knocking back charging foes and causing them to crash into the mass of enemies behind, preventing any chance of a sneak attack. Each powerful strike took down an enemy.
Everyone fought arduously, yet almost every second another life was taken from the Great Ape Gang, leaving piles of corpses strewn across the ground, turning the entire path into a river of blood.
Even the high-level commanders of the Great Ape Gang, directing the battle, were shocked by the scene.
"No wonder the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, with so few members, could be ranked forty-second by the Martial Artist Association. These dozen people from the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall could probably wipe out the top fifty large gangs if they were to face them." A prospective Martial Artist Elder of the Great Ape Gang, gazing at the remaining thirteen members of the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, expressed amazement.
A mere nineteen people, with the strongest being just Extreme Apprentices, would typically be dismissed or ignored by any high-ranking member of the Great Ape Gang.
Yet these nineteen from the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall showcase formidable combat power, having already slain over three hundred gang members amidst the siege of over a thousand, while only six of their own have fallen. Such a record cannot be found in the wilds of Chasing Light City.
"No matter what, they all must die today!" Glenta, whose arm was limp and immobile, glared at One Leaf Floating Cloud and Luo Wushang, leaving no room for doubt.
The six other approaching prospective Martial Artist Elders did not dispute this, merely observing the increasingly fatigued Luo Wushang and others.
Deputy Gang Leader Noko had treated Glenta like his own son. Now with Noko killed, Glenta was determined to seek vengeance. The Great Ape Gang could not afford to suffer such a loss, making it necessary to silence them.
"I feel like my hands can barely lift anymore. This game is almost too realistic," One Leaf Floating Cloud gasped heavily, surveying the piles of Ape Race corpses and the dismembered Outer Gunman. As new members of the Great Ape Gang charged forward, he said with some frustration, "I should have focused more on increasing stamina and blood qi. The B2-level weapon we just obtained is now at risk of being lost."
"Everyone hang in there a bit longer! We’re only a hundred meters from the wall."
After dodging an arrow, Fang Zhen pushed back three Advanced Apprentices of the Great Ape Gang with a spear strike, catching a glimpse of the wall not far away. His spirits lifted, and he encouraged the remaining twelve fighters.
The twelve struggling fighters, inspired by Fang Zhen’s words, squeezed out their last reserves of strength and quickly moved towards the wall.
"Kill! We absolutely can’t let them escape alive today!"
"The six elders, come with me!"
Seeing Luo Wushang and One Leaf Floating Cloud breaking towards the wall, Glenta charged forward first, joined by the six other prospective Martial Artist Elders of the Great Ape Gang, swiftly pursuing the nearly exhausted players.
The speed was such that a hundred-meter distance took less than three seconds.
"Not good, their leader is charging us, and we stand no chance against them." Zhao Hu, having just killed a Basic Apprentice from the Great Ape Gang with a palm strike, turned grim upon seeing the incoming Glenta, "With the wall ahead of us, we might not escape in time."
Among the thirteen of them, just standing was already difficult. Facing several peak-level prospective Martial Artists meant certain death.
"Forget it! What’s one death? I’ll stay behind to block them. Wushang, you take the B-level weapon and run!" Zhang Qingwei, upon seeing the five-meter-high wall less than ten meters away, ceased his retreat. Taking a deep breath, he brandished the A6-level Battle Saber he found, ready to lay down his life to take a Great Ape Gang Elder with him.
"Think you can leave? Not so easy!"
The charging Glenta flickered and appeared before Zhang Qingwei, swinging the B2-level One-Handed Axe directly down.
A Martial Artist Level martial arts move, Heaven-tearing, unleashed at triple strength, and with nearly four thousand kilograms of force, sent Zhang Qingwei flying into the wall. The Blow Wave Saber was nearly split in two.
"Die!"
Exploiting the potent assistance of the A6-level Battle Armor, Glenta immediately followed the airborne Zhang Qingwei with another axe, moving too swiftly for even Luo Wushang to intervene, the axe crashing down.
Boom!
Just as the over-meter-long One-Handed Axe was about to hit Zhang Qingwei’s head, the wall behind him shattered, and a blue arc lashed out, striking towards Glenta.
Thanks to the support of the A6-level Battle Armor, Glenta quickly twisted in the air, barely dodging the blue arc.
Until the blue arc vanished, everyone present drew a collective sharp breath.
Where the blue arc passed, a charred sword mark over ten meters long and more than a meter deep was left on the ground. An A5-level armored Advanced Apprentice of the Great Ape Gang and several Basic Apprentices were cleaved in two, blood splattering everywhere.
"You want to kill disciples of the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall? Have you asked my permission?"
As a deep, resonant voice echoed from beyond the wall, everyone looked over.
Before the collapsed wall stood a figure clad in a pitch-black martial robe, with eyes as dark as obsidian and sparkling like stars in the moonlight. The figure held a light cyan longsword with unknown blood-red runes etched upon it, electrical arcs swirling around it with a sizzling noise, appearing utterly otherworldly.
"Hall Master?"