"Tsk, I missed."
Monkey King jumped back immediately once he realized that he had failed. He tried to get away, only for a bullet to get lodged in his arm.
His speed fell and that allowed Emperor to land a heavy blow on the Monkey King.
But even though he sustained so many wounds, Monkey King did not die and quickly managed to retreat.
"Should we go after him? He's injured and we can pick him off-"
Lilianna asked as she readied her gun to shoot once more. But Andrew stopped her from leaving.
"Let's not chase him around unnecessarily. Now that we have defeated two players from the opposite team, they will be in a pinch. It might make them reckless."
Andrew was not so sure about this, but he did not want to chase Monkey King and fall into a trap either.
"Clara, keep an ear out for our opponents. I will keep a barrier up at all times. So keep close to me."
He told everyone and both Lilianna and Clara nodded before they came close.
…
Meanwhile, Monkey King quickly ran back to his base with the bad news he had just witnessed. Two of his comrades were killed off far too easily and he would have lost his life had he not stepped back in time.
'This is different from what Thief told me. He said that if we follow his plan, then this will be an easy victory for us. So how did we lose?'
For the first time since he had met Thief, Monkey King started to have his doubts. But he did not want to confront Thief when that man had saved his life.
He quickly made his way back and Queen noticed him first.
"Monkey King, you are back? But there was no announcement about the game ending. Tsk, did you fail? And where are the other two?"
She asked, finally realizing that something had gone wrong.
"Both Mandraine and Slayer died in the crossfire. It's only you, me and Thief left now."
He told the female and she gasped.
"How did they both die? Just what were they doing? Never mind, those two were never good at following orders. I guess I will have to go and take care of this myself."
Queen confessed before she pushed herself to her feet. She was ready to head out when the Thief's voice stopped her.
"Don't go out right now. If you have a head-on fight, then there is no possibility for you to win. We need a plan if we want to win from here on."
Thief told her and Queen had a bewildered expression on her face once she heard what he had to say.
"Are you saying…that I won't win if I fight the other team? Do you not believe in me and my abilities? You told me that they were broken."
Queen asked with a betrayed expression on her face.
"Your abilities are broken, but it will still be 3-vs-4. You will be at a disadvantage if you go against both Mark Dawson as well as Emperor…the other two might be dangerous as well but we know nothing about them…"
"You and your stupid plans-! But fine. Since you sound so confident, I will stay back and listen to you."
Queen agreed and Monkey King muttered a barely audible 'simp' under his breath. But he quickly backed off as soon as it seemed like Queen had heard his words.
"That will be for the best, Queen. I doubt we would be found here anytime soon. We should plan our next move…"
The sudden loud noise shook Thief and Queen out of their safe space.
"What the-"
Monkey King muttered seconds before Queen blocked the attack heading her way. Her staff collided with Emperor's but she was easily overpowered and thrown back.
"Looks like that farm girl was right. This was where you insects are hiding. Now, it is time to say goodbye."
Emperor raised his sword, only for his feet to be frozen in place.
"Let's run now. I won't be able to hold him back for long."
Queen warned as she made a run for it. Their side dodged the bullets but fell victim to the small explosion. Luckily for them, Queen managed to make a shield of ice in time to block most of the impact and they ran away.
Emperor broke the ice off his feet but did not chase them outright.
"Hey, is this enough time for you to check whatever you wanted to?"
He asked and Andrew ran back into view.
"Yeah, that was enough. Thank you for holding back this time. I promise that you will get to do what you want to next time we clash."
Andrew promised as he came into view. Lilianna also put her gun back in her system and Clara opened her eyes as well.
"The plants are keeping an eye on them all. Tell me when you want me to guide you to their next destination."
Clara was practicing her powers and Lilianna was replenishing her body with energy with her skills. It was good practice for them.
But the real reason Andrew had wanted to delay killing the other side was because he wanted a good look at Queen's current stats.
[Player Name: Queen (level 15)
Title: Queen of Ice and Frost, Loyal Servant of Solitude
Skills: Ice Manipulation, Frost Resistance
Profession: Ice Mage
Strength: 5
Speed: 10
Intellect: 12
Luck: 4]
Her stat lineup was established and nicely distributed. And her skills were nicely distributed. Moreover, they were all ice-related which would give her an advantage on those stages.
Andrew did not necessarily want her skills in his future plans, but even he felt tempted after seeing that stat line-up.
'Hmm, but she looks like she is devoted to Thief and I don't think Thief would want to be one of my people. He seems too independent and has his own plan.'
So Andrew will give up on Queen as well for now until it seemed like he really needed her help.
"Alright, we all should eat something for now and rest. We will go hunt the other side after a while. A full day in here should be enough time to satisfy the system and get all our rewards."
Not that it was something they needed to do. But spending time in a game was not bad. Especially if it was this calm.
However, his real purpose behind this was something else. The game was bound to get boring soon, so he was sure the half-dragon would make her move as well. And that was what Andrew wanted as well.