Chapter 560: Plan Successful?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 560: Plan Successful?
"Damn those witches! Tricking us into a slaughter... Do they really think we from the Abyssal Demon Academy are easy targets?!"
"Boss, we really can't beat them..."
"Shut up! How dare they frame us like this..."
"Which brain-dead moron was it that stole the Heart of the Cold Wave anyway?!"
"Boss... should we give it back?"
"Give it back my ass! It’s already in my hands. They want us to spit it out now? Then we would’ve taken this beating for nothing!"
"Then what do we do now?"
"Split up and run... First... first, we get out of Magic City. This place is the witches' turf!"
As the members of the Abyssal Demon Academy fled in a frenzy, a massive swarm of people from other Transcendent Academies followed hot on their heels. The sheer scale of the pursuit was breathtaking.
This high-speed chase across the skies of Magic City caused a massive stir. Countless ordinary citizens looked up to see the Transcendents flaunting their powers so openly, and many couldn't resist pulling out their phones to record this rare spectacle.
With a little "help" from certain interested parties, information began to spread across the internet: Abyssal Demons had stolen items from the Transcendent Auction, causing massive social harm in Magic City.
The reputation of the Abyssal Demons, which was already teetering on the brink, took another devastating hit.
Though... their reputation had arguably already hit rock bottom with nowhere left to fall.
According to the estimates of the various Transcendent Academy representatives, even by conservative measures, it would take a few days for this news to fully circulate. They expected the Players wouldn't be much slower in picking up the trail.
By keeping these Abyssal Demons trapped within Magic City and then leaking the information about the Heart of the Cold Wave, they stood a high chance of drawing the Players into the city.
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario—the one where they had zero direct contact with the Players.
In all likelihood, those Players already had people inside Magic City. After all, the Players had caused quite a stir here once before.
While the crowd continued their pursuit, intending to corner the Abyssal Demons in a location suitable for a standoff to stall for time, Xing Anlei—who was among the pursuers—received a communication.
"What? They appeared? Why there?"
As Xing Anlei’s voice rang out, many looked at her with suspicion, wondering what had happened.
"What’s going on, Xing Anlei?"
"The Players have shown themselves, but they're at the hotel, not here," Xing Anlei said, her gaze fixed on the figures still fleeing in the distance.
"What?"
"Then do we keep chasing these guys?"
"Of course we do! They still have the Heart of the Cold Wave! You can't just let them get away!"
"So how do we handle this?"
"Split into two teams. One team keeps a close tail on those demons—don't lose them. The rest of us head back to provide backup. We must capture those Players alive!"
"Understood." The group nodded, finding no fault with the arrangement.
The Heart of the Cold Wave had merely changed hands temporarily. Magic City was vast, and before the plan began, they had already blockaded the exit routes. As long as they confirmed a location, they could share the information instantly.
The teams in place could intercept them and prevent them from using any transportation. If the demons were forced to flee on foot, it would take them a long time to leave the city, giving the Academies plenty of time to react.
Of course... an even better way would be to secretly capture these fellows and then have the news continue to report on it until the Players showed themselves.
But the plan was going unexpectedly smoothly. The Players had appeared just as the operation began.
It seemed they had underestimated the Players' penetration into this world's Transcendent domain. Their information gathering was so fast that perhaps such elaborate schemes weren't even necessary.
Then again, it made sense. If one assumed they were world invaders, they would naturally be interested in the local Transcendent powers. They wouldn't make any major moves until they understood the world's ultimate trump cards.
Looking back at the previous major incidents, they all seemed to have specific triggers: contacting Transcendent groups, discovering a Child of Destiny, or... learning about [Transcendent Knowledge].
Conversely, the Players' behavior was one of the few ways the locals could understand them.
However, the way back was quite long. They could only contact the people still at the hotel and tell them to stall the Players as much as possible. Even if they couldn't hold them, they had to confirm their positions and not lose the trail.
This was the first time the students from the various Transcendent Academies had cooperated against the Players. They hadn't expected the Players to appear in such an unexpected location. The Players hadn't even tried to snatch the Heart of the Cold Wave they had identified; instead, they had appeared at the hotel. Could their information really be that lagged?
Xing Anlei grumbled to herself. Any deviation from the plan required an extra contingency to correct.
The plan had been put together on short notice. Although they had prepared many scenarios, reality was proving to be even more unpredictable.
Suddenly, a thought struck Xing Anlei. Could the Players at the hotel be a decoy? Could their ultimate goal actually be the Abyssal Demons running off with the Heart of the Cold Wave?
Cold sweat broke out on her back at the possibility. She immediately contacted the hotel.
"Hey, what's the situation over there? How many Players appeared exactly? Have they fled yet?"
"Two. Two Players appeared outside the hotel. They're coordinating perfectly and have already caused massive damage to the infrastructure. There are already numerous civilian casualties..."
"Did they flee? I'm asking if they look like they're about to cut their losses and run!" Xing Anlei pressed. The person on the other end clearly didn't understand the crux of her question.
It would take them a while to get back. They had been chasing for some time; even if returning in a straight line was faster than the zigzagging chase, they wouldn't be able to stop the Players if they were determined to escape!
If those Players vanished into a crowd of ordinary people, how would they find them?
They had no way to distinguish a Player's identity, because a Player's identity was that of an ordinary person.
They were, for all intents and purposes, just another person in this world!
Anyone could be a Player. They had no idea how the Players achieved such a feat.
"Tell them reinforcements are teleporting in immediately! See if they try to bolt!" Xing Anlei commanded.
Her movements drew the attention of the other Transcendent students.
"What's the situation?"
"What exactly is happening?"
"I suspect the Players at the hotel are trying to lure us back to weaken the pursuit force here, so they can swoop in and steal the Heart of the Cold Wave," Xing Anlei explained. "I'm verifying that now."
A moment later, news came from the other side. The Players indeed showed signs of wanting to retreat.
"Turn back! Everyone, stop! The Players at the hotel are a decoy! Go back and support the front line!"
"Go back? Why go back again? The Players are already there! What if you're wrong? If we go back to the hotel now, at least we can help them."
"The Players have a plan too! The moment they heard we were coming back, they prepared to run. If that's not a decoy, what is? Why would they bother making a scene at the hotel for no reason?"
As they argued, a series of explosions erupted in the distance, stunning them into silence.
To cause such a massive explosion regardless of the situation in Magic City—this was definitely not something their own pursuit force would do!
There was only one possibility: the Players!
* * *
The sudden explosions startled both the Abyssal Demons and their pursuers!
The blast caused an office building to deform violently. Its foundation shattered, the entire structure tilted and then collapsed uncontrollably toward the main road.
The catastrophic destruction sent pedestrians and vehicles into a panicked frenzy, everyone scrambling for a sliver of a chance to survive.
The collapse of the building completely blocked their path forward.
Several figures floated in the sky. The weapon platforms they had deployed were massive, blotting out the midday sun.
"Damn it, it's the Players!"
"We fell for it! There's only a few of us, we can't beat them..."
Facing this scene, the few people responsible for the pursuit realized the situation immediately. When they said they "couldn't beat them," they meant they couldn't cut loose in such a densely populated area like Magic City—but the Players had no such qualms!
They immediately contacted the group that had headed back, begging for immediate reinforcement!
While they were frantically calling for help and dodging attacks from the Players' weapon platforms, the Players had already subdued the demons who had split up.
No matter how famous the Abyssal Demon Academy was, it couldn't hide the fact that they were essentially a collection of third-rate schools. While their seniors were strong, their overall strength was severely lacking compared to top-tier combatants. Combined with their own mutations and other issues, the only reason they hadn't been caught earlier was that the pursuers were holding back.
After all, the other Transcendent Academies needed to maximize the impact of the incident.
"This is the Heart of the Cold Wave?"
"I really don't know how you trash managed to steal this from those guys. Heh~ I guess it just means those guys are even bigger trash!"
The Player who had recovered the crystal from the Abyssal Demons laughed, his voice dripping with mockery.
However, the moment his right hand touched the ice crystal, a layer of frost began to spread over his skin. Startled, he quickly shoved it into a specialized container.
Then, without a shred of mercy, he crushed the heads of the Abyssal Demons... To the Players, these creatures were hideous eyesores. Just looking at them was an insult to the eyes, so he killed them outright to eliminate any future trouble.
He then turned his gaze toward the people pinned down by their weapon platforms, his eyes filled with killing intent!
"Don't get bogged down! Their reinforcements are turning back. Execute the plan!" A commander's voice came through the Player's earring, cold and brooking no argument. Mission objectives and route planning flickered into his field of vision.
"I know! So annoying..."
The Player cursed under his breath and glanced at his teammate. Without a word, they activated their armor's propulsion systems, streaking across the sky of Magic City like black meteors.
Once the Players left, the weapon platforms reached their pre-set time and disintegrated into countless pixels. Even the shells and bullets that had been suppressing the area turned into pixels and vanished.
"Damn it... are those guys crazy?!"
Once the fire ceased, the group that had been suppressed finally dropped their defensive spells to survey the area.
All they saw was rubble and ruin, as if a war had just passed through. The half of the office building lying across the main road was shattered, a truly gruesome sight.
They rushed forward to check the situation, but the first thing they found were the corpses of the Abyssal Demons.
"Damn it... the Players took the Heart of the Cold Wave!" They searched the bodies and found no trace of the crystal. A student from the Witch Academy pulled out a tracking alchemy item and found that the mark for the Heart of the Cold Wave was already far away.
"This... what do we do?"
"Improvise! Tell the ones coming back not to bother—tell them to hunt the Players! We... we need to rescue the survivors first. This is the golden hour for rescue!"
"Rescue those people?"
"Even if we didn't cause this, we're indirectly responsible! Rescue them first... at least if we Transcendents step in, it'll be easier to shift the blame later!"
"Forget it... contact the Witch Academy directly. Have everyone at the school come out for emergency rescue operations..."
* * *
Meanwhile.
The Players were ecstatic after getting their hands on the tech core. They finally had what they wanted!
However, they now faced a choice: should the one holding the Heart of the Cold Wave return to the hotel to lure the Transcendents into a trap and wipe them out, or should they play it safe and just run?
After a brief discussion, they decided to keep up the act and return to the hotel.
They knew Magic City was the Witches' territory. They suspected the Witch Academy existed in a folded space within the city.
Trying to waltz out of Magic City with the Heart of the Cold Wave was far too dangerous. It was better to dive into the hotel, trigger their final trump card, and harvest everyone at once. They could plan how to get the crystal out of the city from within the absolute safety of a Dungeon.
Thus, the Transcendent students who were doubling back saw the Players heading in the opposite direction with the goods.
At this moment, the crowd felt like clowns being toyed with, constantly being led back and forth.
The situation was so urgent that they had no idea what the Players were up to.
It wasn't until they chased the Players back into the hotel that they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed these Players weren't that bright after all. The hotel was the Academies' home turf!
Their main forces were all right here!
"You won't escape!"
"Returning to the hotel... you really have a death wish."
"Heh... first time seeing one alive. What should we call you? 'Players'?"
The crowd completely surrounded the group of Players holding the Heart of the Cold Wave.
It felt like the net had finally closed. Everyone felt the joy of a successful hunt.
The plan had taken many twists and turns and caused a massive commotion, but in the end, they had won. Though the price paid... was a bit too high.
They could already foresee the news sweeping the world again, but fortunately, they could pin everything on these guys.
"Players... it seems you do know a bit about us. You look so sure of yourselves... heh..." The leading Player spoke up.
"Acting so fearless... do you really think you can get away?"
The students didn't hold back, but facing this scene, many felt a lingering sense of unease. They felt like they were overlooking something... but what?
"So arrogant... you Transcendents are far too green... too green! To be honest, I'm quite disappointed in you."
"Toying with you is like toying with children. You have zero sense of crisis. This peaceful world has ground away your edge. Everything you do is like a pathetic game of house..."
"Allow us to show you exactly what you're up against!"
"I have a bad feeling... Attack! Don't give them time to talk!" someone in the crowd shouted.
It didn't matter who said it. With that cry of "Attack!", everyone unleashed their techniques without hesitation.
But facing the onslaught of so many experts, the Players didn't panic. Instead, they wore triumphant smiles.
The leading Player spread his arms wide, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment!
"Welcome to... the Calamity Dungeon!"