'Why didn't my radar detect them?' Jack asked in his mind. He then noticed the strange device next to Spring Crown's feet. He had seen the same device before. It was the jamming device that Gridhacker once used. That device blocked his radar detection.
Jack was in unknown disguise, so they shouldn't know that he had a God-eye monocle, but Peniel mentioned that the device's proper usage was to block detection skills. Since the World Makers didn't know the two ghosts, Jack figured they used that device in case the ghosts had detection skills to detect that an ambush was waiting in the back exit.
"I can't send a message to you," Arthur said to Jack. The device also blocked players' messaging systems. "What should we do? Should we fight them?"
Arthur had no problem in a fight. But about what to do during wartime, and where to go, he mostly listened to Jack's instructions.
"Old man, what else can you do aside from fighting us?" Spring Crown asked. He then turned to Ronald, "Go ahead and deal with them."
"Didn't you say you were bored? Why do you even want to be here if you are not joining the fight?" Ronald returned.
"Watching you fight is entertainment itself. I did say I will support you from afar, didn't I? I will give you lots of cheers."
Ronald decided to not bother with Spring Crown anymore. He gave the signal for the native soldiers to attack. He also threw something that created a line of fire in the sky, some sort of a flare. Jack did not doubt that was to call the players who were blocking the cave's front entrance.
"Don't let them escape!" Ronald exclaimed before starting to open fire. The mage knight beside him jumped down while using Spectral Discharge, turning himself into a ranged attacker. He started shooting and cast Spectral Blade at the same time.
"Fight the soldiers! I will deal with this lot," Jack yelled to Arthur.
Arthur dashed to the side at the incoming native soldiers. His katana came out of its sheath with a blinding flash of light. His iaido struck multiple soldiers at the same time and sent them stumbling back.
Jack, who was the target of Ronald and the mage knight's shooting, used Shooting Dash. His sudden burst of speed caused Ronald's accurate shooting to miss. He also arrived in front of the mage knight in an instant.
Two extra pairs of arms sprouted from Jack's back. Jack's six swords sliced at the startled mage knight before his spectral blade even had the chance to attack.
Jack's slashes were powered by mana manipulation. The mage knight had no chance of surviving.
Jack then jumped to the cave wall and ran upward to where Ronald and Spring Crown were. Ronald shot at Jack, but all his bullets were deflected by Jack's slashes. This shocked the two heavenly enforcers. They knew this game world gave players superhuman speed and reaction, but they had never met anyone who could deflect speeding bullets using swords, until now.
At such a close range, Jack wouldn't have been able to pull such a feat. He was able to do so because he used Dragon Eye when he jumped. Slowing his perception to allow him to slightly see the incoming bullets.
Ronald jumped back. He knew he shouldn't allow such a terrifying swordsman to come into his melee range.
While retreating, he also activated a vision skill, Focus Sight. He used Rapid Shot while seeing everything in slow motion.
Jack continued advancing while slashing the bullets that came at him. But suddenly, he felt some bullets hitting him from the side. He was flabbergasted. He didn't see any gunners from that direction. He realized then that Ronald had used the same trick when he won the final in the world tournament. Ronald shot his own bullets and caused them to ricochet.
But a few hits were nothing for Jack's high defense and HP. He was wearing the disguised unique grade royal outfit and Cloak of Shadow. Hence, neither Ronald nor Spring Crown could use Inspect on him.
They could gauge Jack's HP from his HP bar, though, which reduced very little from those hits. This astonished the two even further.
Ronald used Wraith Phase when he couldn't escape Jack's speed. But Jack's mana sense informed him of where Ronald was going. Jack's incredible speed allowed him to keep up. Forcing Ronald to use all three phases of his skill consecutively.
Ronald used Roll once his Wraith Phase ended, but Jack used Charge, sticking to Ronald like glue. Ronald was baffled. He didn't expect he was forced into a corner like this by an unknown player.
When Jack was finally about to land a hit, a glowing spear powered by Ki-weapon came in between. Sword and spear collided. The spear was repelled, but this interruption gave Ronald a chance to jump away.
"I thought you are just watching?" Jack asked Spring Crown.
"That was my intention before knowing you are so powerful. I will get an earful if I just stand back and let this dude get slain," Spring Crown answered.
"Who gets slain?" Ronald uttered and used his smoke grenade. The smoke covered him from the opponent's vision and also erased his dot from Jack's radar.
"They have mana sense. What the f*ck is that smoke good for?" Spring Crown cursed.
"Just keep him busy!" Ronald replied from inside the smoke. He moved from his initial position under the cover. He then crouched and used Shooting Stance.
Spring Crown and Jack never stopped moving while talking. Spring Crown used Weapons Festival, summoning an array of melee weapons that he controlled with deadly precision. Jack only had six swords, but his speed let him deal with the nine weapons.
Jack's mana sense continued to lock onto Ronald. He was ready to send the gunslinger a ranged attack when he suddenly lost track of the gunner.
'How...?'
*BANG!*BANG!*
A series of gunshots were heard. Jack's superhuman reflex allowed him to move his head away the instant he heard the gunshot. This saved him from a headshot, but a bullet hit his torso.
What Ronald did was similar to mana concealment. He erased his presence and become one with the environment. He wasn't able to manipulate mana, so this was not an ability he achieved from training mana concealment. It was instead something that become his second nature after going through countless battlefields as a hidden marksman, killing the enemies without the enemy even knowing what had happened.
