Liam patiently waited and watched the big guild group as they planned their attack strategy. He looked like he was not in a hurry to intervene any time soon.
"Hmm… These guys are really strong."
During the time they waited for their backup, the Assasin guild members did not remain idle. They attempted to deal with the gnomes, again and again, sending a few players at a time.
After just a couple of tries, they already noticed the special attack pattern of the gnomes.
"No matter what… a big guild's base player strength and coordination are completely different from a smaller team's haphazard structure." Liam clicked his tongue in admiration.
Since he started playing the game this was the second time he was up against an entire guild. Funnily enough, both times, it was not him who had taken the initiative but the other party.
However, he was not a fool.
While he casually dealt with the former guild, crippling a dozen of its members, he did not act rashly when it came to the Assasin guild.
This was considering the fact that they had even gone as far as ruining his carefully planned and executed gnome deactivation, almost costing him his life.
Despite this Liam did not make a move yet.
Not that he was planning to let his opponent leave without paying the appropriate price, but because a top-tier guild had to be treated differently than a no-name random group of players.
The Assasin guild themselves might not be aware but Liam knew that in the future, they would inevitably become one of the strongest powers with a stable foothold on the new earth.
Of course, Liam had no qualms about this happening.
However, it would all depend on their actions today.
Friend or foe? The die was already cast and only the results were yet to be determined.
If they were willing to negotiate with him within reason, then he would cooperate with them.
If not… then even though it was a big headache, he would have no other choice but to add them to his 'to do' list.
But Liam was still not sure about one thing.
Who was it that went out of their way to add them to his list?
"Could it be her?" Liam pondered.
He had heard the guild name 'Heavenly Retribution' in their discussion and this was too much of a coincidence.
"Well. Maybe it is time to tie up a few loose ends." Liam nodded and continued observing the guild.
He could deal with the other issue at a later time, but for now, the people in front of him demanded his attention.
A couple of minutes later, another group of players arrived, making the previously deserted mountain range a very lively place.
Coincidentally, these people arrived at a spot that was extremely close to Liam who was in [Stealth] mode rather than their own guild group.
He instantly became alert and held his breath as he was only an inch away from the several players.
Thankfully, before anyone could detect him, the other guild members waved at them, pulling everyone's attention towards them.
"You guys sure took your sweet time. Do you know how much we are suffering here!"
"What? You are kidding, right? We had to scrap for the last few gold coins just to afford the fucking scroll. It was so damn expensive!"
While the group of players started chatting and exchanging words of greetings, Abraki alone remained unusually silent.
Elias saw this and walked over to stand next to him. "What are you thinking about?"
Hearing him, everyone else suddenly quieted down, all intently listening to their guild leader.
All of them have been playing together for several years so they had immense respect for their team captain.
They were all well aware of his outstanding abilities, both physical and mental.
They also wanted to know what this place was and why they had all assembled here after spending so much.
But surprisingly, Abraki did not talk about the mecha gnomes, rather he asked about something else.
"Answer me. Who activated the scroll?"
"Huh? You are asking about the special teleport scroll?" Elias immediately replied to clarify.
Hiding in the shadows, Liam as well heard this and he finally understood how this bunch of people had tracked him.
In the game, there were special inscription scrolls just like his cursed ring that could teleport someone or a group of people to their target.
These were officially called [Target Lock] scrolls and unofficially called 'Stalker' scrolls.
And the only requirement for using this inscription scroll was the name of the target and some sort of interaction.
The first condition was typically the most difficult one as the second condition could be easily fulfilled by sending him a friend request.
Even if he did not accept the friend request, the condition would irrespectively be fulfilled as this in itself was considered an interaction.
Liam quickly opened his friend's list and voila, just like he suspected, the latest friend requests he had received were all from the members of the Assasin Guild.
Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly realized something big, something very critical.
The second time around, this batch of players had assembled right in front of him, the him who was in [Stealth] mode.
Liam's heart raced as he looked over at Abraki, wondering if he had realized the same thing.
He did not want to underestimate his enemy and take any chances so he quickly moved away from the spot he was previously standing.
And right when he acted, Abraki's hand moved and a shower of hailstones assaulted the spot where Liam had been standing just a second ago.
What a close save!
This would have completely given away his location!
"Heh. These people are going to be a pain to deal with." Liam's lips curled upwards.
Meanwhile, the other guild members did not understand what had just happened. Even Elias had no idea why Abraki had activated a spell scroll.
These scrolls were very useful as they could be instantly activated, did not require any mana and the area they covered was wide.
At the same time, they were also hard to come by and were very expensive.
One of their guild members had done a rare quest because of which they currently had a small supply of scrolls and also managed to obtain certain special scrolls like the [Target Lock] scrolls.
But to waste it like this?
Seeing all their confused faces, Abraki sighed. "No one has answered me yet. Did you guys lock on to me or to Liam? Which target did you select when activating the scroll?"
His voice thundered in the silence that prevailed among the 60 or so guild members who stared back at him blankly, the weight of his words slowly sinking in.
What the guild leader was actually asking was… is there any chance that the person was right now near them?
Is that why their teleportation scroll had landed them all close to him?
Or had they all simply teleported right next to their guild leader and their guild group?
While the latter was more logical and plausible, what if the former was true?
Everyone turned to look in the direction where the hailstones had rained…
Even though the place was eerily empty, they could all sense that something was off.
Gulping nervously, the player who had activated the scroll finally spoke. "Leader, I am actually not sure. I was messaging you so I might have selected you?"
"Are you sure?" Abraki asked again. The way this guy was speaking looked like he himself did not have any faith in his words.
"I am sorry, leader. I was in a hurry. I really did not pay much attention to it."
Abraki narrowed his eyes looking at the person sternly for a few seconds. He then sighed and shook his head in disappointment.
"These kinds of mistakes are rookie mistakes. Next time be more careful."
"Sorry leader."
"Alright, we have other matters to deal with. Now about this area…"
Abraki did not dwell on that topic anymore and started explaining about the mecha gnomes.
Not too far away from them, Liam smiled bitterly.
This enemy was truly formidable…
Whatever he planned, everything needed to go perfectly, otherwise, the consequences might be worrisome.
