Chapter 995: TEAM YUNYUE'S FIRST QUALIFYING MATChapter (IV)

THE two team members of team Valor, who were assigned to look for the bandit leader, finally found a lead. Although they were a bit disheartened by the consecutive announcement of team Yunyue capturing three of the four watchtowers, they did not stop and continued to persevere. Because they didn't want to let down the Captain.????????.???

And sure enough, their hard work paid-off. They found tracks that led them to the possible hideout of the bandits inside the village. And since it's the hideout, the bandit leader would definitely be there. With that thought in mind, they carefully followed the track, trying their best not to be seen by the other bandits.

Because their trying to be careful, it took quite a while before they arrived in front of what seemed to be the village's butcher shop. The two looked at each other.

"Is this really the place?" one whispered.

"This is where the tracks and the traces we found along the way led us," the other whispered back.

It's natural to feel doubtful. After all, why would a bandit leader choose the butcher shop as a hideout when they could have used the village's chief's house? It was actually the first place the two checked after entering the village. But just like the other houses in the village, it was almost destroyed. And after that, the tracks they found led them here.

"Anyway, it's better to check first to be sure. I'll go inside. You stay here and guard."

The one who just spoke was an Assassin. The skill he was most proud of was his stealth skill – Ghost Walk.

It's a stealth skill that allowed the user to move silently and unseen, as if they were a ghost. When activated, the user became almost intangible, seamlessly blending into their surroundings and leaving no trace of their presence. They could pass through obstacles and navigate through the environment without triggering any alarms or detection systems. This skill was ideal for infiltrating high-security areas or maneuvering through dangerous territories without being noticed.

He wasn't too great at PvP matches. But he could stealthily defeat his enemies as long as he had this skill. He knew the moment he got this skill that it could his edge against other players. That's why he carefully nurtured it, searching for ways to shorten its cooldown and increased its time of use.

Now, he could only use it for three minutes before it entered a one hour cooldown. But considering how he could only use it for 30 seconds when he first got it last year, this was already a huge upgrade.

Using [Ghost Walk], he entered the butcher's shop. True to its name, there were animal carcasses hanging in place. The smell inside assaulted his senses. He had to force himself not to gag. Because even though [Ghost Walk] could mostly erase his presence, a loud gagging noise could still attract attention.

He continued on and was starting to doubt whether they were in the right place or not. Because he hadn't seen a single bandit yet. He was starting to worry when he suddenly felt like the ground was shaking.

When he looked up, his eyes shook when he saw was a huge man that almost looked like a troll. It was not only his big body but also because of his appearance. The squared jaw, the bushy brows, thick lips, and bulbous nose, the only thing missing were protruding teeth.

After a few seconds, he quickly returned to his senses. This was no time to stare blankly at the enemy. This huge troll-like man couldn't possibly be just a normal bandit. He was 99% sure that this was the bandit leader.

The first thing he did was to contact his captain.

[Captain, we found the bandit leader!]

The other had a special teleportation scroll that would immediately bring him and the other two team members to his location. After sending that message, he turned his gaze back to the bandit leader. Judging by the other's steps, he was about to go out of the butcher's shop.

With this NPC's size, it was not hard for anyone to notice him. Which meant that the opposing team would quickly find the other's location and discovered that the other was the bandit leader. That's why it's important that the rest of their team gathered here as soon as possible to deal with the other. With their combined efforts, they would surely be able to defeat the bandit leader before team Yunyue could make their move.

He also sent a message to the team mate waiting outside to get ready. As he watched the bandit leader getting closer and closer to leaving the butcher's shop, he started to get nervous. Because he hadn't received a reply from the captain yet.

After a while, a notification appeared in front of him. It was the kind that players from the same team could only see.

[The Captain is eliminated! The remaining team members, please work hard.]

The Assassin's eyes shook when he read that.

What? Their captain was eliminated? He began to panic and a lot of thoughts crossed his mind in a span of a few seconds. But ultimately, he reached the conclusion that he couldn't just let things spiral downward even further.

He glanced at the bandit leader with determination in his eyes. The only way for their team to win this game now was to quickly defeat this bandit leader. Once he finally made up his mind, he messaged the other team member outside and then rushed towards the bandit leader.

His plan was simple. He would activate a bomb that's strong enough to deplete most of the bandit leader's HP. But since he had to be in close proximity to activate the bomb, he would surely be eliminated the moment it went off because it's that kind of item that wouldn't allow the one who activated it to protect themselves.

That's why he sent a message to his other team mate outside to quickly finish off the bandit leader the moment the explosion happened.

Why didn't he use the bomb immediately, you ask? Well, it's because it's a rare item that should only be used as a last resort. And this just happened to be a 'last resort' kind of situation.

So, the Assassin, full of brimming courage, attached himself to the bandit leader's back and activated the bomb. A huge explosion completely blew away the whole butcher shop. Just as the Assassin predicted, his HP quickly turned to zero and his avatar scattered into light particles.

The other team member who saw this was already prepared. He raised the bow in his hand and aimed at the huge bandit leader, whose body was now burnt because of the bomb. Even though the other was shouting in agony, he still remained standing. Which meant that the bandit leader still had HP left.

Just as the team member was about to let go of the arrow, someone hit him from behind, causing his aim to go off course. His arrow didn't hit the bandit leader. And then he saw a shadow running past him and rushing towards the other.

In that shadow, all he saw was flowing white hair.