Chapter 134: Breaking Through the Siege (Subscription Requested)

About five kilometers outside the palace of the Yadala insectoids, Liu Zong and his companions were drawing ever closer, mounted on their giant locusts. In the distance, they could see several fierce-looking players standing directly on the main road leading to the palace—they were the subordinates of Le Congyang. With Liu Gu providing cover, Le Congyang no longer worried about the penalties for PK-ing players within his own faction. He had stationed his men at the palace gate specifically to make it clear to Liu Zong and his team that they had nowhere left to run.

Seeing this from afar, Liu Zong turned to Reina and said, "Prepare to begin according to the plan. This is the first step."

Reina nodded. While steadying herself on the back of the giant locust, she opened the book in her hands and summoned a creature that looked like a white cloud. Once summoned, the creature flew beneath the locust, significantly increasing its flight altitude. Although it did not enhance the creature's movement speed, it was clear that the gliding locust could now potentially pass over the heads of their enemies.

[Cloud Beast]
[Race: Phantasm]
[Level: Lv0 (1-star)]
[Description: A mount-type auxiliary creature that allows a mount to fly higher and further, and makes it easier to turn.]

This maneuver caught the attention of those guarding the road, who immediately assumed Liu Zong intended to force his way through. One of the players spoke to the others, "It seems the intelligence is accurate. Notify the boss; I’m lighting the incense."

The other players drew their weapons and equipment. One player fired a signal into the sky, while the speaker stomped heavily on the ground. An incense burner appeared beside him, and he threw in a large quantity of sandalwood. As the incense ignited, a thick cloud of smoke billowed upward, coating everything within a five-mile radius with the ash drifting from the burner.

The giant locust was rushing toward the area covered by the incense ash at high speed. Once they entered and were coated in the ash, any player involved in combat—whether attacking or being attacked—would be flagged for PK.

Seeing the locust about to enter the zone, Le Congyang’s men prepared to force the creature to the ground. But just then, the white clouds drifting by the locust's feet transformed into dark, storm-like clouds. They forcibly changed the locust's trajectory, whipping the creature around and sending it back in the direction from which they had come. The locust didn't slow down during this U-turn; instead, its speed increased momentarily.

Seeing this, the leader of the players laughed, "Just as expected. Do you think you can escape? Give chase! Signal the others to block them from behind!"

Under his command, many players jumped out from their hiding spots nearby, weapons in hand, pursuing Liu Zong. Liu Zong observed everything, silently estimating the number of enemies. Finding that the count matched the intelligence he had received, he nodded to Reina.

Reina opened her book again to summon another creature—a beast resembling a massive elephant, though its trunk was shorter than that of a normal one. This time, she did not summon it near herself but threw the spell far ahead. Upon landing, the elephant inhaled deeply, its trunk rapidly inflating. Just as Liu Zong and his team were about to fly over its head, the elephant blew a gust of air toward them.

Countless bubbles enveloped them, and their trajectory shifted once more, aiming back toward the palace.

[Bubble-Spitting Elephant]
[Race: Phantasm]
[Level: Lv0 (9-star)]
[Description: A phantasmal elephant that can spit out a large number of bubbles to protect the summoner. Until the bubbles vanish, the summoner is immune to the effects of any skill-based attacks.]

This time, Liu Zong and his team did not hesitate. They produced a vial of potion and injected it into the giant locust. Reina then released a small, flame-like monkey that latched onto the locust's tail. As soon as it grabbed hold, the monkey bit down, causing the locust’s back to ignite. A trail of crimson flame erupted from its tail, increasing their speed by more than three times.

[Rainbow Monkey]
[Race: Phantasm]
[Level: Lv0 (1-star)]
[Description: A mount-type auxiliary creature that converts the mount's life force into a flame-boost, increasing movement speed by 300%.]

Meanwhile, Liu Zong and his team clutched the locust's back tightly, struggling not to be thrown off. The situation left Le Congyang’s men speechless. They had just emerged to pursue the targets, only to have Liu Zong suddenly turn around and charge directly at them.

However, they were veteran PK players and responded immediately, hurling various crowd-control skills at the locust as if they were worthless. These skills, mostly ice rings and vines, were designed to slow or stop their target entirely. But Liu Zong had anticipated this. The elephant was not summoned merely to change their direction; it was a "Bubble Elephant," a unique creature. Once hit by its bubbles, players were encased in a film that served as a shield against skills. As long as the bubbles remained, any skill-based attack hitting the player would be downgraded to a standard physical attack.

Naturally, crowd-control skills, which lacked inherent lethality, were the most disadvantaged. With their control effects nullified by the bubbles, the players only needed to endure the minor damage of the converted standard attacks. The number of such elephants was very low, and unless one was a specialized summoner, no one would expect such a creature.

Le Congyang’s men had never encountered this. They recklessly unleashed their control skills at Liu Zong. Half were dodged due to the locust's extreme speed, and the other half were rendered into standard attacks by the bubbles. In a blink, Liu Zong and his team broke through the encirclement and entered the range of the incense ash.

Liu Zong felt his vision turn red; everyone around him appeared to be highlighted in crimson. He knew he had entered PK status. He could not afford to attack recklessly; if he did, he would become a target for the Yadala insectoid guards, making even reaching the palace futile.

As their speed surged, the palace drew ever closer, and their chances of escaping the encirclement grew. After all, PK-ing in the game was one thing, but in the real world, no matter how much power one held, they could not easily target other players.

Just as Liu Zong was about to dash into the palace, Le Congyang stepped out slowly. Holding another incense burner, he raised it high above his head and smashed it heavily against the ground.