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Chapter 13: Vice-leader Marco

Liu Ye couldn't break into the heavily-guarded Bandit Camp through the main entrance, nor could he climb the wall. That didn't stress him out though. If Black Rose could find a way in, he could do so as well.

After roaming around the Bandit Camp and clearing another seven Masked Bandits, Liu Ye finally found a possible entry point. It was a small river that flowed out of the camp through a passage in the wooden wall.

Since he was only one kill away from Level 7, Liu Ye searched the periphery of the camp for one more target but he couldn't find any. Only ten scouts patrolled the Red Zone, and he had killed them all. Unless he left the Red Zone, his only option was to sneak inside the Bandit Camp.

How hard could one Bandit Camp be?

As a response to his thoughts, Liu Ye received a warning that added another penalty and raised his requirements.

[Bandit Camp - Warning]

[Player entered the Bandit Camp. Bandits are notorious thieves so be careful. All your treasures could be gone before you know it.]

[Recommended: Level 9-10, HP: 200, Five Abilities]

[Death Penalty: All your items will drop upon death.]

'I definitely didn't expect that to happen,' Liu Ye thought sarcastically, already used to the game messing with him.

Without hesitation, Liu Ye jumped into the small river and found it deeper than expected. He didn't have any intention of stopping and continued to swim underwater against the current.

He pulled himself forward using rocks from the bottom of the river to avoid the eyes of the bandits. Although his vision was distorted, he could see numerous wooden houses with straw roofs as soon as he passed the wooden wall.

The infiltration was proceeding smoothly but it turned out to be just an illusion.

-1

-1

-1

His health suddenly began to decrease after only thirty seconds underwater. In real life, he could dive for at least a minute, yet the game capped his skills.

Just as Liu Ye thought he could reach the center of the camp in time, he found the water current growing stronger and the damage he received suddenly multiplied, taking away 5 HP every second.

He resurfaced for only a moment to grab a quick breath of air when the whole sneaky operation collapsed.

"Intruder!" The Masked Bandit on the wall spotted him.

"Fuck," Liu Ye cursed as he jumped out from the water with three Water Whips following him. No matter what the situation was, Liu Ye would never give up without a fight.

From what he learned during his undercover missions, once your identity got exposed, the first seconds were the most important. One had to quickly calm down and assess the situation.

His immediate decision of leaving the waters turned out to be life-saving.

Swoosh!

Multiple Fireballs exploded on the surface of the river while Ice Spears pierced straight to the bottom. If Liu Ye had tried to escape through the river, he would look like swiss cheese with multiple holes in his body.

"Intruder in the camp! Catch him!" the bandits cried out again.

The obvious response was to get as far as possible from the walls where more than ten bandits could bombard him with fierce attacks due to their vantage point.

"He is running towards Building Number Two and Three!"

Before Liu Ye even entered the building area, his path was blocked by another bandit. This enemy didn't wear the familiar cloak and mask, but rather, leather armor with a matching black metal helmet.

[Berserker - Lvl. 9]

[HP: 500/500]

[MP: 150/150]

Seeing the new enemy's stats and level, Liu Ye finally understood the earlier system recommendation.

"Die!" the Berserker yelled as he took a deep breath and spat a sea of flames, covering the whole pathway with fire. Liu Ye had never backed away so fast in his life.

His water whips hovered over his back to protect himself from burns yet he was still struck.

-30

[Ding! Fire Stream applied burn. You will lose 10 HP every second for the next three seconds.]

The familiar burning straightened his back from pain but Liu Ye didn't have time to rest. The Masked Bandits on the walls welcomed him back with another wave of attacks.

How was someone supposed to survive such an onslaught?

Bang!

-20

-20

[HP: 60/160]

Fireballs exploded right above Liu Ye's head. His only way of dodging was collapsing on the ground, but the flames splashed against the wall of the house beside him and the residual flames still damaged him.

He already lost two-thirds of his health when the real battle was yet to even start!

-10

The burning applied again, lowering his health even more. Liu Ye produced another water whip while standing up but it was blown away by multiple fire jabs from the three Firebenders on the walls. He couldn't even find time to pull out a health potion as two more spears pierced through the air, forcing him to evade with a leap to the side.

One more hit and Liu Ye would die.

That thought struck his mind like a hammer. He couldn't die so easily after having such a perfect run.

"Stop!" Liu Ye cried out while pulling out a red crystal from his inventory. "One more move and I will crush your Fire Stone!"

That was the only idea that came to his mind, and luckily, it indeed bought him more time. The Masked Bandits on the wall froze in place, stopping themselves from throwing their Ice Spears.

"Fire Stone!" the Berserker repeated in shock as greed flashed in his eyes. "Give it to me!"

"Don't push me! Stand back or I will destroy it!" Liu Ye warned sternly, causing the Berserker to pause like the rest.

Liu Ye didn't hesitate and finally pulled out his medium potions to replenish both his MP and HP. His health had already plummeted to 30 HP so that was a close call.

"There is nowhere you can escape. Surrender the Fire Stone and we might let you live," the Berserker proposed as he looked around with a smile. "You are surrounded."

Liu Ye followed his gaze and it couldn't be closer to the truth. Not only were the walls filled with Masked Bandits, but the ground around him was also fully occupied. When he counted all of the enemies, his face turned grim.

25 Masked Bandits, 3 Berserkers, and 1 new visitor that just joined the encirclement.

[Vice-leader Marco - Lvl. 9]

[HP: 650/650]

[MP: 200/200]

A named NPC!

"What is going on?" Vice-leader Macro asked sternly, only to brighten at the sight of the Fire Stone in Liu Ye's hand. "My, my, what do we have here? Did someone decide to return what they stole from us?"

The middle-aged man walked in front of his men and brushed his greasy brown hair as he gave Liu Ye a look over. Liu Ye definitely didn't expect to meet a blue name inside the Bandit Camp.

"Everyone, calm down. It is best we recover the Fire Stone in one piece or else our leader will kill us all," Vice-leader Marco announced before questioning Liu Ye, "Young man, did you come here on your own or did someone send you?"

Liu Ye squinted his eyes. As long as Vice-leader Marco was blue-named, he was untouchable. It also meant that he wasn't hostile to him.

"Vice-leader, does it matter? Let's just kill him and take the Fire Stone away," the Berserker argued.

"Will you be the one responsible if something goes wrong? We can't risk losing the Fire Stone," Vice-Leader Marco scolded.

Even if the Vice-leader Marco wasn't an enemy, Liu Ye didn't like to depend on others. He looked around while the two bandits were arguing, searching for an escape route. All three sides were filled with Masked Bandits, only leaving his back open.

Huh?

Liu Ye glanced behind him and saw the wooden house was still burning. He could even see the furniture inside through a burned hole which gave him a sudden idea.

Bang!

A powerful kick caused the wall to partially collapse and Liu Ye dove inside the larger hole without hesitation.

[Ding! Fire applied burn. You will lose 10 HP every second for the next three seconds.]

He rolled on the bed with his back burning and spread the flames further.

"Quick! Catch him! Remember to use Fire only so nothing will happen to the Fire Stone!" Vice-leader Marco cried out from outside, creating a vision inside Liu Ye's mind.

Chaos and flames everywhere.