Chapter 1568 1568. Public Brawl
John frowned after hearing that. "What do you mean?"
Master didn't answer. He just continued grinning.
"Are you telling me that you have a secondary objective for this convention?" John continued to pry.
Master chuckled. "Rallying the players IS the secondary objective."
"What are you saying…?"
Master took a look at the surroundings. The players that gathered here had reshuffled into three clear camps. The World Maker's side, the Everlasting Heavenly Legend's side, and those who were still confused.
"Dead man needs no explanation," Master said as he pointed his magic staff at John.
John was surprised but prepared. He erected a Magic Shield just as Master's Force Impact slammed into him. He was sent to the ground with a bang.
With that first strike, the crowd erupted. Both sides went for each other. Those who were still undecided quickly moved away to not get caught in the brawl.
Master floated higher into the air. His magic staff was lifted high. Runes started forming one by one. Those who could identify the spell formation knew that the spell was the Meteor Fall spell. When the spell formation almost completed its eighth rune, it suddenly fizzled.
Not only that, Master lost his ability to fly. His body fell from a great height. He didn't panic, though. He landed hard on his two legs, losing a tiny bit of HP that was meaningless for his unnaturally high HP pool.
"Hehe, do you think I come without preparation?" John said. He didn't lose much HP from Master's Force Impact. Despite Master's abnormal intelligence stat, John's magic shield was empowered by mana manipulation.
"What did you do?" Master asked.
"Hehe, you didn't answer my question. Why should I answer yours?" John said. "But to be honest, even if I have made preparations, I admit I'm still surprised that you started a fight here. This will just cause you to lose additional support."
"I don't need those who are half-hearted," Master returned. He was looking around the place. Everyone was unable to use their skills. He tried sending a message. He could not.
"Hex of Power Restraint," Master came to a realization.
Master was not wrong. The Hex of Power Restraint was a unique-grade artifact that was originally owned by Death Associates. Everlasting Heavenly Legends gained this artifact after they raided Death Associates' headquarters. The artifact could strip everyone or every monster within its very large AOE of their abilities to use skills, spells, and tools.
"The Hex needs one hour to start up…," Master said.
"Yeah, I've already asked people to start it up before you start speaking," John said. "Lucky for us, it came into activation on time."
John had instructed one of his guild members to look for a secluded place within this basin and hide the artifact there. The enemies wouldn't be able to find it easily. He also had a garrison to secure that place. His original plan was to start the artifact up halfway into the convention. But his initial talk with his mother gave him a bad feeling. Hence, he had his members start the artifact early. A little bit before the three-hour mark Master gave prior to starting the convention. This turned out to be a correct decision.
"Without your spells, you are nobody but a thug with high attributes," John said with a grin. "You should have taken up martial arts lessons from Wong."
The Everlasting Heavenly Legends' members charged up the stage while the World Maker members came forward to protect Master. The two sides went into a full brawl without any skills and spells.
Everlasting Heavenly Legends' sides had slightly more numbers. Additionally, Everlasting Heavenly Legends' members were all martial artists. Even if the regular members had slightly inferior equipment than World Maker's members, their martial arts bridged the gap. As for Everlasting Heavenly Legends' core members, they completely trumped the enemy. Their equipment didn't lose to the enemy and their martial arts were top-notch.
Without the ability to use skills, the Everlasting Heavenly Legends' side held the advantage.
"This is our chance to take Master down! Don't let him flee!" John shouted. He was unable to send messages due to the hex, so he had to shout the order.
He had previously positioned members to slip into the enemy's back during the convention. These members were now fighting behind the enemy's line while paying attention to not letting Master escape.
The fight went on for some time. As expected, Master had many followers protecting him. It was expected. John focused most of his members to target Master. The side where Master was located had most players crowding. Without the ability to use skills, it was only a matter of time until they peeled the defensive force and got to Master.
As the fight continued, John started to find the situation to be strange. He didn't spot any of Master's heavenly enforcers except for Linda. Master also didn't seem to be in a hurry to retreat even when his force seemed to be failing.
John took a look around. Normally, it would be difficult to see the battlefield situation from ground level with all the chaotic fights, but John was not normal. It took some time, but he could make a rough estimation after several glimpses.
There were fights all over the place, but he noticed a peculiar arrangement in World Maker's forces. Aside from where Master was located, the enemies were heavily concentrated in three other areas.
*
When the battle started, everyone tried to penetrate through the enemy's force to get to Master. Everyone knew this was the perfect chance to kill Master. Jeanny led the charge at the front line, her spears stabbed non-stop. Behind her were Jet, Paytowin, Grace, and their other guild members.
Although it was the best chance to kill Master, it was a pity the hex didn't stop passive skills. Master's Immortal Soul would still come into play if he was killed. Even so, killing him would be a great morale boost to their side and a great demoralizing boost to their enemies.
Wilted was there with Jeanny. She was eager to get to Master as well. The group she brought fought with her. Too bad she couldn't use her tool which forced Master to rebirth at the same place he died.
As they tried pushing forward, they found that they were unable to. There were too many enemies!
Jeanny found the situation weird. They should have more numbers than the enemies, but she didn't think too much about it. Her spear stabbed with lightning speed. Without having to worry about the enemy's skills or spells, she could focus fully on her spear art. Many barred her way, but none was able to stop her spear until another spear came in her way.
"Hello, beauty!" Spring Crown greeted.
"Scram!" Jeanny's Seven Spears Assaulting Heaven stabbed at Spring Crown.
"Whoa! So fierce…!" Spring Crown moved away before the first stab hit. His fast reaction and inhuman reading speed informed him of the danger of that first stab. Without the initial stab, Jeanny's spear art was unable to exhibit its true power.
At the same time, Jeanny found herself surrounded by several World Maker members. These members all had special classes and wore the best equipment. Jeanny looked back and saw her friends had somehow been pushed away by the enemy's sheer number. She had been isolated.