The Grand Duelist

A system notification appeared in front of Joseph. 

He opened it and saw a message from Jun Santos which made him frown in seriousness.

"So that is their plan..." Joseph closed the message and deeply sighed. Taking a sidelong glance at the peacefully sleeping Alice.

He couldn't help but think that it was really blissful to be ignorant.

Alice could only remain like this due to the fact that she didn't know about what was happening in the world outside of her dreams.

"I do hope that I could sleep as peacefully as her in the future..." Joseph thought to himself.

Ever since his parents vanished from this world, he couldn't remember when was the last time that he had a good night's sleep.

The daunting debt that he had and the looming threat of homelessness made him unable to catch a decent sleep back then.

Although he already managed on paying his debt, the scars that they left would forever remain in his heart, and they always haunted him from time to time, sending shivers down his spine whenever they reminded him of the what-ifs.

What if I didn't manage to win at the Festival of Battles? 

What if I didn't have enough money to buy a Gaming Capsule?

What if I didn't convince those bastards to give me some time before they repossess the house?

These what-ifs terrified Joseph from time to time. Thankfully, he had paid all of his debts already. 

But Joseph swore that after he paid Lily. He would never take on any debt again. 

"Sigh... Let's just focus on the task at hand." Joseph shrugged and emerged from his contemplation.

Taking his Rapier of Grandeur and Beauty. He stood there and protected the boxes of supplies that Jun Santos tasked him to protect.

The ongoing massacre on the battlefield was chaotic.

The Pro-NPC Alliance moved without faltering, avoiding attacks that they could avoid.

However, due to the sheer number of attacks flying towards them.

Some attacks managed on slipping through their evasive measures, dealing damage onto them.

"Heartbeat of Nature." Rexie, the Priestess of the team placed both of her palms together and a divine light spread from her location which covered each and every teammate around her.

The skill, Heartbeat of Nature gave percentage-based healing that automatically healed anyone affected by it every three seconds.

It was a powerful healing skill.

It shouldn't be wasted, yet Rexie didn't hesitate on using it this early in the fight. 

Why?

Well, it was because her support was necessary so that the team could approach the enemies without incurring heavy losses towards their Health Bars.

And also...

Even though her comrades were decent at dodging, they weren't omnipotent and it was impossible for them to dodge every single attack.

"Stop them!" Vladimir cried out.

The mages responded and they all tried to predict the movements of the Pro-NPC Alliance, but unexpectedly...

The Pro-NPC Alliance changed their movements...

They separated into three squads that went on their way for the sake of their own objectives.

Squad Alpha went straight and met their enemies, Squad Bravo turned right, while Squad Charlie turned left... Towards the direction of the healers, bringing their thick killing intent with them.

"Lilium! Intercept those bastards that dare harm our healers!" Vladimir saw what was happening and a smile appeared on his lips.

The 3-3-3 strategy that he employed was a strategy that could easily be countered due to everyone's familiarity with it.

But using such a common strategy also meant that Vladimir could predict the actions of his enemies, and right now. He did manage on predicting the actions of the Pro-NPC Alliance.

And of course, he had prepared his own plan against their plans. 

"Emily! Guard the healers with Lilium!" Vladimir made a sidelong glance at a particularly petite young woman clad in a one-piece dress with matching knee socks. 

"Yes, sir."

Emily replied, and she then proceeded to aide the healers who were now under the attacks of Xueyue, whose class specialized in close-quarter combats and assassination.

For Xueyue, killing these squishy healers was considered as a piece of cake.

"Stinger of the Night." Xueyue coldly spat, her figure briefly vanished before reappearing right beside a healer who didn't even manage to scream before he died. 

She then swept her gaze in the area, and when she found that the healers were trying their best on scattering.

She turned to look at Laica and said: "Laica, don't let them escape." 

Laica chuckled: "You didn't have to tell me that, Yue." She raised her hand and pointed her staff at the center of the scattering healers and said, "Mystical Mist."

A magic circle appeared in the midst of all the healers. 

"Interrupt her!" The healers turned to look at Laica and started chanting.

They stopped their escape for they knew that once Laica completed the necessary chant for the activation of the Mystical Mist. It was impossible for them to escape anyway. Due to that, the highest priority for them right now was to interrupt her chanting. 

"Like I'd let you!" A burly man descended from the skies.

He was Braum, the brother-figure of the Pro-NPC Alliance.

His imposing half-naked figure astounded everyone.

A solemn expression was plastered on his face as he raised both of his hands, placed them on the side of his head and then... 

He started dancing...

"What the fuck?! What is he doing? Holy shit those movements!" Everyone in the area coughed a mouthful of blood when they saw Braum's mysterious and strangely amorous movements.

Some healers who liked to experiment couldn't help but blush when their eyes landed on Braum's sturdy pecks and excellent rack of abs.

But the bonafide men had their doubts.

"What the fuck is his class?! A macho dancer?! Look at those movements!" They angrily screamed and hurled their prepared attacks towards Braum.

But before those attacks could even land...

A hand sticking out from the ground intercepted those attacks and protected Braum.

"Wait, what? He's a Necromancer? Then why is he dancing?!"

"No, you're mistaken! He's not a Necromancer! He's summoning the spirits of the dead! He's a Spirit Dancer!"

"Fuck, he's a Spirit Dancer? Attack him!" 

The players who knew how vital support roles were such as a Spirit Dancer in a battlefield understood that they had to interrupt whatever Braum was doing.

[You are starting to question your sexual orientation upon seeing the weirdly sexy dance of a male Spirit Dancer.]

[Your stats are drastically reduced for the duration of the Spirit Dancer's Dance.]

When the healers saw these system notifications. They threw all caution to the wind and didn't care about Laica anymore. Of course, some of them still made interrupting Laica's chanting as their priority.

But most of them turned to look at Braum with angry expressions on their faces.

"Stop dancing, you piece of shit!" 

[You feel warm and encouraged upon seeing the sincere dance of a Spirit Dancer.]

[Your stats are drastically increased for the duration of the Spirit Dancer's Dance.]

Xueyue glanced at the system notifications that appeared right in front of her as she rushed towards Braum's side. Her daggers repeatedly blinked in front of Braum and sliced all of the incoming attacks that dared to interrupt Braum's sexy dance.

"Mystical Mist!" Laica was finally finished with her chanting, and the magic circle underneath the healers erupted in a brilliant light.

The light made everyone squint their eyes and when that happened...

A shadow approached Laica and Braum.

Xueyue, whose senses were sharp noticed this abnormality and she made a split-second decision.

She moved to protect Braum who was the nearest to her, while she abandoned Laica who just had completed the preparation for her Mystical Mist.

Why? 

Well, it was because Xueyue knew that they couldn't afford to lose the support of a Spirit Dancer.

Although Laica possessed strong zoning abilities due to her CCs.

Their enemies were squishy healers anyway, so right now. ..

Helping Braum was the highest priority so that Xueyue could silence these healers as fast as possible.

"Stinger of the Night." Xueyue chose to employ a skill that enabled her to move instantaneously. 

She reappeared behind Braum and directly intercepted the incoming attack of the young woman known as the Bloodstained Lilium.

Clang!

Sparks flew as Xueyue's dagger intercepted the dagger that Lilium held in her hand.

But when Lilium noticed that her attack was sure to be interrupted...

She prepared a pistol in advance.

When her enemy appeared right in front of her and stopped her attack. She discreetly pointed her pistol at a blind-spot and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet flew, but miraculously... Braum swung his butt and gracefully avoided the bullet.

"Oh? You avoided that?" Lilium looked amused.

She brandished her dagger and blocked an attack from Xueyue's twin daggers.

"Let's see if you can still avoid getting hit from this!" Lilium hurled a Hand Grenade towards Braum. 

"Naive!" Xueyue moved in front of that Hand Grenade and slammed it flying back towards Lilium, but to her astonishment...

Lilium had vanished from her sight.

"Acrobat's Dance!" A cry of excitement rang from behind Xueyue.

"Braum! On your six!"

She swiftly turned around and cried out as a warning for Braum.

"It's too late!" Lilium rushed from Braum's back and pointed a pistol right at his head. 

But just as she was about to pull the trigger...

Peng!

A fierce sound of a bullet crashing against metal rang out and Lilium's eyes widened in shock when she realized that her pistol was blown out of her hand and was directly crushed into smithereens. 

"A sniper?!" Lilium hurriedly moved away from Braum.

"You're trying to escape?" Xueyue noticed her movements and she rushed to prevent her from escaping.

"It's a foolish move for you to chase after a Gunner!" Lilium cried out.

She took another pistol and pointed it at the approaching Xueyue, keeping her at bay while she retreated and moved towards a nearby obstacle so that she could stay away from the sniper's line of sight. 

"I can't have you forget about me!"

Mervin revealed a smile as he stared right at the direction of the retreating Lilium. 

From her movements, Mervin predicted that Lilium planned on taking cover behind a nearby tree.

"You're still as predictable as ever, Lilium!" Mervin mumbled to himself before he took a deep breath, stabilized his aim and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A deafening sound rang out as the tungsten-tipped bullet of his AX-50 flew out of the barrel and tore through the air itself as it flew towards Lilium's direction.

"Shit!" Lilium noticed the incoming bullet and she changed her movements at the last moment.

"AHHH!"

A scream of pain and anger escaped Lilium's lips as her right arm was torn from her shoulders.

However, her scream lasted only for a short while...

Her experience in battles like these gave her enough courage to press on and roll behind a nearby tree. 

Finally, she was now safe from the eyes of that terrifying sniper of the Pro-NPC Alliance, Mervin.

Although Mervin looked like a malnourished young man at first impression...

The truth was that, not only he was smart.

He was also the third strongest Sniper within the world of Victory. 

But how did he achieve such a feat?

Well...

It was because of his deduction capabilities. 

His ability to predict each and every movement of his enemies made his enemies feel like his bullets were following them.

Such a terrifying Sniper shouldn't really exist in this world.

But it was an irrefutable fact that he existed...

He's definitely a force to be reckoned with in battles, and should never be ignored.

"Vladimir! The third-ranked Sniper of the Sniper Class Rankings is at the hill ahead of us!"

Lilium reported before she closed her HUD and slowly planned on how she could aide Emily who was now in the middle of a battle against Xueyue, the terrifying Assassin known as the Keeper of the Night.

Xueyue was likewise, within the top five of the Assassin Rankings.

Her high ranking made it obvious that she was incredibly strong.

But of course, Lilium wasn't afraid of her...

What she was afraid of was Mervin.

"Damn, with that Sniper protecting these bastards... This will be troublesome..." Lilium shook her head and sighed. 

Even though she knew that it was difficult to contend against these high-ranking players within the Universal Rankings.

It has to be known that she was also within the Universal Rankings.

In fact, she was also at the top fifty.

Lilium wasn't afraid to face enemies that were as strong as her.

In contrast, she was even excited. Albeit, somewhat frustrated due to the existence of Mervin.

"Hey, Vladimir! Tell all of our Gunners to concentrate their artillery attacks on that bastard, Mervin, on top of the hill! I don't think that he'll be able to do anything if dozens of Gunners simultaneously attacked him!" Lilium swiftly typed and sent a message to Vladimir.

"Oh? Does she plan on moving now?"

Mervin who now had a different position from earlier lifted a small smile on his lips.

Seeing Lilium's movements, it was obvious that she planned on rushing towards the healers to protect them.

And when that happened...

Mervin's bullet would definitely be faster than her movements.

Before she could even arrive and protect the healers of the Crimson Guild. Mervin was confident that her head would've already exploded like a watermelon squashed by a sledgehammer if she dared to take that single step.

"Come out, come out, come out, wherever you are..." Mervin lightly mumbled, even whistling as if he was enjoying what was happening.

But astonishment soon flashed on his face when he realized that dozens of Sniper Rifles were now pointed at his direction.

The brilliance of their optic glints became like a beacon amidst the darkness, incredibly clear and vivid for Mervin who couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile as he hurled a Smoke Grenade in front of him and retreated.

"Fucking hell, these bastards really are crazy! Even if I'm the third-ranked Sniper within the Sniper Rankings. There's no way that I can contend against dozens of Snipers at once, you know?!" Mervin loudly complained before reporting to his leader, Jun Santos.

"Assassin of the Night, reporting. Multiple tangoes ff on me, rtb to resupply."

Mervin then rushed towards the direction of the carriage, all while making sure that he was completely hidden from the eyes of the Snipers from the Crimson Guild. 

Lilium's eyes glittered with excitement when she saw Mervin moving towards the carriage.

Although Mervin moved in a way that hid him from the eyes of the other Snipers.

There was no way that she could hide from the eyes of Lilium when Lilium was at a location directly perpendicular from the carriage unless Mervin was already behind the carriage.

"I can't let him hide behind that carriage..." Lilium decided.

She proceeded to take out her Marksman Rifle, Kar98k and aimed at Mervin.

"Heh... The Third-Ranked player of the Sniper Rankings? You're dead."

Lilium swiftly pulled the trigger.

Her bullet successfully flew, but she was shocked when she realized that she couldn't move.

[You are currently under the effects of Suppression.]

[You cannot resist.]

"You really gave me a hard time... I was trying to find you since the start, you know?!"

A masculine voice echoed right behind her and she found herself embraced by a young man with a perverted look on his face.

"Oh? Holding you like this really makes me realize that the so-called Bloodstained Lilium's also a woman..." The one embracing her was the well-known Knight of the Pro-NPC Alliance, Michael.

"You... Aren't you the Main Tank? Why are you flanking..." Lilium looked wronged when she said these words.

She really didn't expect that the Main Tank of the Pro-NPC Alliance that should be in the front lines was right behind them all this while.

"Main Tank? That is indeed my job... But do you really think we need a Main Tank to deal with a measly Crimson Guild of the Kingdom of Nether? You really are naive." Michael shook his head before staring lecherously at Lilium's body.

"You're really sexy..."

"Of course, you can't compare to my wife."

"But with your beauty..."

"It would be a shame if..." Michael raised his arm and formed a fist with his hand.

"Someone pummeled you to death!"

He screamed and proceeded to rain down punches on Lilium's face. 

"HAHAHA! I may be a Knight, but I'm not a Knight in shining armor. I'm a knight that supports equal rights!" Michael wildly laughed. His attacks towards Lilium never stopped for even a second.

A Gunner who excelled in medium to long-range combat cannot possibly hold a candle against a Knight that was not only sturdy...

But also possessed decent DPS capabilities comparable to that of a Level 100 Mercenary.

Even though Michael's DPS couldn't compare to the firepower of Gunners, he had far higher Health than her, and when Lilium finally died...

Michael only lost about twenty percent of his Health which he quickly recovered through the use of Health Potions.

Afterwards, he then laid on the ground and slowly crawled his way shamelessly towards his next victim.

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