gun

Chapter 317: Dead?

SLASH

THUD

Before anyone could realize what happened, a black figure suddenly appeared and then disappeared right in front of everyone's eyes.

And the next instant, the person whom Alex was just now talking to, suddenly fell down to the ground, limp and still.

"Hey! Hey!" Alex stared at the person incredulously, her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

Other people in the group as well looked confused, but they were all utterly exhausted so they did not act in a hurry to see what happened.

They themselves were only barely holding on so they tiredly moved and did not seem to be in any sort of panic.

"Hmmm?" Observing all this from the distance, Liam stopped moving and also did not cancel his stealth.

The others including Alex had clearly not realized what just happened. Perhaps they were too tired. Perhaps they thought that the person had only fainted.

But Liam knew that was not the case. He had seen the whole thing go down. He knew that the person on the ground was in fact dead.

And also…

He knew that the dark elf was here!

His actions were so fast and agile but they were not enough to escape Liam's gaze.

But the thing Liam was confused about was… just what the hell was he doing? Was he purposefully toying with them?

This was a strong enemy and perhaps even stronger than the other dark elf generals, so Liam did not act hastily.

He could see that the elf was enjoying, giving himself pleasure by toying with these people.

If that was the case… then perhaps he would target someone like Alex at the end.

Well even if not, this was a chance he was willing to take. He did not plan to risk his life just because hers was in danger.

Liam silently watched as the group fumbled and groaned and finally realized that something was wrong with the person who had fallen down.

It was Alex in fact who noticed it first when she repeatedly tried talking to the person and there was no response.

"Hey…" She bent down and then suddenly shrieked, falling back on her ass. "Blood. Blood. He is dead."

"What? How could that be possible?"

"No way…"

Everyone else looked equally shocked. One person stepped forward and hesitantly pushed aside the corpse.

That too they did not move the body but kicked the body unceremoniously.

This particular behavior was completely different from the rest of their reactions.

It was almost as if they were avoiding touching the person or his blood maybe.

"Hmmm…" Liam shook his head. He had a feeling that he was missing something obvious. It took him a second, but he finally saw it.

"He is just dead, right? Why are they all acting like this?" Instantly, his face darkened as he realized something else too.

The person on the ground who had fallen down dead was still not disappearing! That means he had also not resurrected!

"What the hell? Wait, perhaps he is an NPC?" Liam pondered.

That seemed to be the most logical explanation but he had a nagging feeling at the back of his head that things were not so simple.

It was because of the reactions of the people in front of him, including Alex.

They all looked as if they were currently being hunted down by a serial killer, which was actually not that far from the truth.

Liam steadied his posture making sure to not give away his presence and continued observing.

However, there was no more appearance of the dark elf and only the remaining members of the group were discussing amongst themselves.

"How did this happen

How did he die suddenly?"

"We were right here weren't we? How the hell did he die?"

"He must have been too exhausted." Someone suggested and everyone seemed to agree, at least until Alex pointed out the obvious.

After remaining silent for all this time, she opened her mouth and said. "No, he did not die from exhaustion. See, his throat is slit open."

Hearing her words, the others looked dumbfounded. The full reality dawned on them and the entire group looked crestfallen.

"That means… that means…"

"Yes, he is still here," Alex confirmed the group's worst nightmare.

They had struggled and come all this way, but the cruel reality was that… they were still within the grasp of that person!

"Why? Why are you torturing us like this? Why don't you just kill me and get over with it!" Someone shouted in agony.

"No, Laila. No!" Alex hurriedly tried to stop her from saying anything but it was too late.

The black figure appeared once again and also disappeared just like before.

And the next instant, the girl whom Alex had called out… fell down limp and lifeless.

1 second passed. 2 seconds passed.

But everyone stood absolutely still and frozen. They were afraid to even take another reath.

Another person had died just like that!

And no one was able to do anything. They could all only stand by and watch like goats who were next in line to be slaughtered.

Why? How? Were they all just going to die? Just like this?

This was the question in everyone's mind and every single person who was still alive was afraid to know the answer.

Liam as well had an equally shocked reaction. Something was definitely wrong here. He could feel it.

Why would everyone react in this manner? Why did Alex look so miserable? What if the two who had died were actually not NPCs?

What if they were players? They had died but their bodies had still not disappeared or resurrected. What did that mean?

And why was everyone so tense and scared?

They were all acting as if their very lives depended on the next few seconds.

Taking all of this into account, there was one and only one possibility that Liam could think of.

This obvious possibility was glaring at his face but it was too frightening to think about.

The dark elf… could somehow… permanently kill his target?

Chapter 318: Stalking and baiting the assassin

"The dark elf can permanently kill? In a single hit?" Liam clenched his fist, both in nervousness and excitement.

Wasn't this a bit too unfair? Over-powered? Ridiculous?

He did not think that such a method existed. He wouldn't have even believed that such a method existed, but now he was seeing this with his very own eyes.

"I need to be very careful." Liam doubled back on his efforts to remain unseen and in stealth.

This enemy in front of him was probably the most powerful he had seen so far. The ability to permanently kill was nothing short of terrifying.

He had half a mind to just return back without engaging with this person. However… something like this was also an opportunity that he couldn't miss.

"Hmmm…" Liam was conflicted.

He was not a betting person and even if he was, he would never go all-in on any single play, at least not until he was sure of the results and 100% confident.

And against this elf… he would definitely be risking things…

He had the level advantage, he was stronger than him, and not to mention he had a mysterious ability that could end his life once and for all.

Neither Alex nor Mia was worth taking this risk.

He should be running in the other direction right about now, not wanting to face this game-breaking elite and die a horrible death.

It was their misfortune that they had managed to cross paths with a monster like this. Maybe it was even fate's way of correcting things.

It did not matter. Liam knew that he absolutely should not engage with this monster, not for the women, not for obtaining the technique.

It was not worth it.

However, he still stood rooted to the spot, watching the scene, waiting and observing everything.

This was because…

The dark elf was an assassin!

If he was a hunter or a mage or a warlock, Liam would have left by now but the overpowered opponent in front of him was an assassin.

And thanks to his recent utter and humiliating defeat against another person using invisibility potions, he already had a counter prepared for this particular situation.

This was something he had done to take care of Kouske or the other three in case they tried something similar again, but it would help him perfectly right now.

And this was the only reason why he was still hanging around, waiting and watching for a chance to appear.

Liam continued to observe the group as they all slowly and silently recovered from their shock.

A couple of them cried but most seemed to be simply frozen, not having the energy or the brain capacity to react further. Only a sad silence hung on their lips.

Finally, after a couple of minutes, it was Alex who spoke up. "We need to keep moving. There is no point in just standing here."

She let out a small sigh and then started walking again, her feet dragging and limping on the ground.

The others looked at her as if she was crazy. What was even the point in doing so? Wasn't that guy just going to kill them all?

At first, no one followed her but a couple of minutes later, one by one slowly peeled away from the ground and also started walking.

Mostly because they did not know what else to do. They were utterly despondent at the moment.

Liam saw this and couldn't help but smile. With just a few words, Alex had made the others move and follow her.

Even with all her other flaws, this woman had a relentless spirit. She still hadn't given up!

He had to admit that such a quality was impressive. Now he was more than sure that the assassin was probably going to target Alex last.

But the question was who was he going to target next?

Liam already had a plan in mind and he only needed one more chance to act but before that…

Seeing the group move out of his sight, he could tell that the dark elf also probably followed them.

The man wanted to enjoy their misery so he wouldn't have let them out of his sight. That meant that he was free to examine the corpse in front of him.

Was he really a player who was permanently killed and unable to be resurrected? Or perhaps he was overthinking things?

Considering that the assassin had plenty of time to deal with these guys and torture them, chances were that they could have also been fed with a rare herb or a pill or some other curse or spell.

The guy could have even killed these people several times and then allowed them to escape, only dealing the final blow now. There were truly several possibilities.

It also did not necessarily have to be a skill that he is activating with the dagger. Or maybe it was poison smeared on the dagger?

Liam squatted down on the ground, touching the blood that had seeped out of the person's neck.

He was careful not to touch the corpse itself as that would break his [Stealth] and just touched the blood that had leaked out.

He scooped the clotted mass in his hand and rubbed it with his fingers. "It's very coarse. It definitely feels like a pill residue or some sort of powder."

"I have never heard of a pill with this effect before? Just how is he killing these people? Should I do this or not?"

"The chances of a one-hit kill is very less. I think I should be fine."

He stood up, made sure that his [Stealth] was still holding, and continued following the group. He already made his decision.

If he got his chance then he was going to take it.

As he continued following the group, he started slowly moving closer and closer to them. To be more specific, he moved closer to a particular person.

A slightly mature-looking man who was probably in his thirties or forties.

After observing every member of the group, Liam hypothesized that this man had to be the dark elf's next target.

He was the next weakest and he looked the most anxious and nervous.

The sadistic dark elf would probably kill this person to get the maximum enjoyment and thrill out of it.

At least this was his theory.

And if he was correct, then his best chance would also be when this event happened.

Sweat trickled down Liam's forehead and his pulse raced like a batmobile. He was taking an insane amount of risk. He needed this to pay off.

Seconds dragged on like hours as everyone continued in silence, including those in stealth and those not in stealth and soon the moment arrived.

Just like Liam predicted, the black figure of the dark elf appeared once again and he appeared right behind the same guy Liam had guessed!

SLASH

THUD

A dagger flashed under the moonlight and the person clutched his neck as blood spurted everywhere.

His anxious eyes turned lifeless the next second and he dropped dead on the ground, still staring with dread and unwillingness.

The dark elf sneered enjoying this response. This time he had particularly slowed down a bit more to savor the taste.

And at the exact same moment…

BOOM!

Something exploded in the air, covering everyone present in that area with a black and sticky liquid.

Alex, her group, and also the dark elf assassin!

Every single member of the team was covered in the thick wet sticky liquid.

And before the dark elf could figure out just what the hell this was and what was happening, something else flashed in the moonlight and a dozen attacks bombarded him.

"How do you like my tar bomb?" Liam grinned as he used every bit of mana he had to deal the maximum burst damage that he could.

Chapter 319: Leave! Run away!

Everyone, including the dark elf, was utterly shocked when Liam appeared out of nowhere.

In this remote area, no one had expected another person to be present along with them. This was too much of a coincidence.

Not just that. This person also had timed everything perfectly and executed an impossible task.

This meant that he was actually following the assassin for quite a while to know the elf's moves and skills.

If the dark elf, who was toying around with everyone, was cunning and manipulative, then this person had somehow managed to manipulate the manipulator, hunt the hunter.

Just who was this person, and how did he suddenly appear here? No one knew except for one single woman.

Alex dumbfoundedly stared at Liam.

Sure, she had dreamt about this exact moment for the past several hours which might as well have been several years.

She had hoped that someone would come, her sister would come, and even hoped that her arch-enemy, her nemesis, this hateful person would come.

But unfortunately, all of that had changed when she saw how the dark elf was using some strange means to kill players permanently.

At first, he was simply torturing them by testing some weird purple-colored poisons on them.

However, all of this changed when a loud horn sounded.

The dark elf started shouting something in anger and annoyance, breaking the things in the room.

He then started killing randomly, only to stop and storm out of the building banging the door shut.

Alex knew instantly that this was their only chance to escape. In his hurry, he had not bothered to chain them back correctly.

A couple of them were left freely, even though these two were twitching in pain, lying on the ground.

Alex did not know why the dark elf had overlooked this. Perhaps he thought that the two on the floor were already dead?

Nevertheless, this was the only chance they had.

She slowly coaxed these two to bear with the pain and release everyone by breaking the shackles.

This took a while, not to mention they soon ran into another roadblock.

The players whom the dark elf killed were not resurrecting. They simply laid in a pool of their own blood, forever to rot.

Realizing this, everyone stood frozen in shock. This sight was simply too terrifying!

Real people were being killed inside the game and the thought that a similar fate probably awaited her and even Rey terrified her even more.

She did not even fully understand how she got herself entangled with someone powerful like this in the first place.

She was hoping that Mia would come and rescue her before but now she no longer wished for that to happen.

If she came here, then perhaps not just her but the two of them would perish together in the cruelest of fashion.

In reality, Alex was at least able to maintain her sanity somewhat because she already knew some secrets about this game.

But the others were simply too shocked. This was the first time they were encountering something like this.

Apparently, the dark elf had plucked them randomly from the outer towns and villages while they were doing quests or picking herbs and brought them here one by one.

However, these people's treatment was completely different from the one Alex received.

She did not know who was lucky and who was unlucky.

The dark elf was killing these guys left and right without holding back while he treated her like a treasured specimen and took his time to torture her more.

At least for this, she did not have to wonder why because he openly declared that it was because of her S-rank divine affinity.

But she had no doubts that the same future waited for her also. All of them needed to escape now. Otherwise, they were all going to end up dead.

She again summoned her burnt-out willpower and tried to make everyone listen to her.

She snapped them out of their trance and made sure they understood the reality. They needed to leave now!

The dark elf had underestimated them, and this was their only chance!

Without wasting another second, the group started to run and flee from the building where they had been held captive for so long.

But unfortunately, things were not as they seemed. In the end, it turned out that the dark elf had never overlooked them.

Everything he did was on purpose, and before they realized two more people had died…

At this point, there was nothing that anyone could do. It was obvious what lay ahead of them and the fact was that no one could change this.

But now suddenly Liam was standing in front of her?

She couldn't believe her eyes. This was the last person she thought would come to her rescue.

What was he doing here? Did he already know the risks? Or perhaps he did not?

If he knew that he could possibly die from this, why would he still remain standing here?

In that case, should she warn him? Alex stared at the man and at his steady back in disbelief.

"I should warn him…" She mumbled with her bleeding lips parted.

Despite how much she hated him and wanted to punch his face out, she knew that he was here right now for her sake, to help her.

Even if Mia was the one who made him come here, it didn't change the fact that he listened to her request and was here.

She did not want to make her suffer. She was going to die here. At least Mia needed someone by her side.

"LIAM! LEAVE! RUN away! He can kill you! PERMANENTLY!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. This was the best that she could do.

More than this, even she did not have any explanation and she also did not have any strength to assist him in the battle.

She could not even open her interface for some reason or activate any of her skills for that matter.

"LEAVE LIAM! He is using some sort of poison! Watch out for his dagger."

She looked at him and shouted one last time as her voice cracked on seeing the dark elf throwing a furious glance at her.

He looked extremely serious, his mere gaze making her shiver.

However, the man she was trying to warn looked very casual. Liam grinned and tossed a bunch of health potions at her without saying anything else.

He then continued slashing at the dark elf, his movements smooth and flowing, without any interruption.

Alex had already seen him fight several times, but he somehow seemed to have improved even further every time she looked at him again.

Or perhaps she had never seen him properly. With her mouth open, she unblinkingly stared at the fight in front of her.

This was not a fight on her level. She didn't think that Liam could be this monster's opponent, yet he was bursting forth with strength and power.

Would this fight just end like this? Would Liam really manage to kill this monster without ever giving him a chance to fight back?

She gulped, watching the man's movements in a trance.Chapter 320: So what?

"Graaa!"

The dark elf struggled, the veins on his forehead popping in anger.

In reality, he wasn't all that much bothered about the black slimy pungent tar sludge sticking on his body.

But to think that someone had planned, strategized, and toyed with him like how he had toyed with his prey made him livid.

Such a thing was extremely humiliating to anyone, not to mention someone like him.

However, unfortunately, it was just the beginning.

The dark elf soon found that the tar dripping on his body was equally irritating.

The sludge prevented him from entering stealth again and vanishing from the vision of the opponent.

This was the dark elf's favorite method of attacking.

He liked to terrorize his enemy and give them the maximum mental pressure before swooping in to enjoy the kill.

But now, he was not able to do that.

"Graaa! Seniko drettty!"

The dark elf shouted furiously and dashed towards Liam who had already put considerable distance between himself and the elf.

Only a fool would fight in close combat with an assassin, that too of a higher level.

But from the way the dark elf was acting, it looked like no matter how much distance Liam placed in between them, it would never be enough.

He rushed towards him as if he meant to slice and dice him into a million pieces.

However, after taking a few steps, the dark elf's face once again changed, becoming several shades darker and twisted.

He finally realized that his stealth wasn't the only thing affected. His speed was not as fast as it should be either!

For an assassin especially, the ability to vanish from eyesight and his speed, agility and reflexes were like his two legs.

But with one trick, Liam had cut down both of his legs and made him stumble and fall.

Now how would he be able to fight with his full abilities?

The dark elf howled in a maddened frenzy.

Liam also did not miss this chance and continued to barrage the dark elf with one fireball after another, sending in power-packed hits.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

The first two hits landed on the dark elf but he was not weak to take all of them lying down.

He snorted in contempt and started cleaving all the fireballs into two with just his dagger.

He sliced the mana attacks casually as if he was just slicing the air. His reddened eyes glared at Liam with visible hatred.

He was like a slumbering feral wolf woken up from his rest. He snarled at Liam and came for him with everything he had.

You took away my stealth and speed? So what?

He was not deterred by these handicaps and lunged at Liam, slashing his daggers.

His gaze challenged Liam to do the best that he could, and he did not do it without the adequate backing of talent.

Even with this speed nerfed, the dark elf still remained a force to be reckoned with!

He exuded a cruel and sinister killing intent and dashed towards him. The superiority of his footwork and stats showed their power at this moment.

Liam tried to kite him while simultaneously sending in a few attacks every now and then.

The dark elf also did not remain idle and shooted out several darts at Liam as he chased him, slowly closing the distance between the two of them.

"I cannot let these darts hit me." Liam slowed himself down further in order to evade the attacks.

The opponent he was facing this time was someone who dabbled in poison or possibly someone who could take away the soul in one hit.

So even taking a single hit head-on was ruled out. His only option was to sacrifice his speed to make sure he evaded everything.

Seeing this the dark elf snorted and sent in several more attacks.

At a certain point, Liam was no longer sure if he was just seeing things or if there were indeed these many darts.

Maybe some of them were just images or illusions?

Liam tossed another tar bomb and also simultaneously sent in a few frost balls.

The dark elf's eyes glinted on seeing the familiar bomb so he quickly avoided it. However, he failed to avoid all of the frost balls.

He ended up taking hits from two of them after evading two and slicing one with his dagger.

And bingo!

Liam grinned.

The frost ball burst open on the assassin's lean body taking away a chunk of his health while also reducing his speed some more.

And he did not stop there. He knew that this was the only chance he was going to get.

He was not that familiar with an assassin's high-leveled skills, and that too this guy seemed to have several mysterious tricks up his sleeve.

Liam knew he had to do something if he wished even to have a chance of winning. He had to do it now!

This tar bomb and this frost ball debuff were the maximum advantages he would get.

He needed to use it correctly and at least takeaway half or more than half of the man's health.

However, the dark elf was not giving him a chance.

And Liam as well was not ready to duck out just yet. He threw at the guy everything he had left.

Seeing this, everyone else was at the edge of their seats.

Their life and death depended on this stranger, and they were dumbly staring at the show.

No one had the strength left to help Liam. Alex tried to do something but she only failed again.

Moreover, everything in front of her was happening at lightning speed.

She could only dumbly stare and see the series of bright lights shining brightly in the darkness.

Letting out a long sigh, she weakly extended her hand forward to take the fallen health potion bottle and gulped it down.

"Come on."

"Come on." She muttered in a barely audible voice, willing her body to move or even to be able to do anything.

However, she was still unable to do anything.

She felt completely drained and her condition was only worsening by the second.

Meanwhile, Liam continued to overpower the assassin, utilizing the full extent of his abilities.

Even with that, the assassin was like a cockroach, and he did not go down quickly.

Because of the level difference, Liam's attacks were not 100% efficient.

He also had high physical resistance, the elf's body covered in numerous scars.

Liam knew that this fight was not going to be easy. He was fighting against an experienced veteran.

Nevertheless, he was already here and had initiated the fight.

So he continued grinding away the dark elf's health while simultaneously avoiding all of his attacks.

He was only able to do this because of the small window of opportunity, and he wanted to make use of the entire time of debuff.

But halfway through, the dark elf assassin growled, "ENOUGH!"