Reign of the Hunters

Chapter 244 Scepter of Life (Part 1)

De’frei’s emotions stirred when he stared at the Goblin Compass, and his gripped on the device tightened, “Orthus is alive… Orthus is still alive…”

Ciel was enraged when he saw the interaction between De’frei and the duo, “What are you doing, De’frei? Are you befriending these lowly Elves? Do you know that it’s a serious crime? I’m ordering you to activate the Iron Warrior! Do it now!” he waved his scepter, and a bright glow emanated from the blue gem on top of the scepter, accompanied by the low crackling sound of electricity.

Ye Ci knew that time was of the essence, and that she had no time to waste.
She went straight to the point, “Orthus sent us.
Do you want to leave, or are you staying?” After all, it was hinted by the system that De’frei would be able to help with the BOSS.

“What? Orthus sent you? By the Gods… That poor child..
Doesn’t he know that how dangerous it is?” De’frei was surprised when he heard Ye Ci’s words, “Why must he take such a huge risk? I’m happy as long as he’s alive!”

Ye Ci could barely hold back the urge to roll her eyes.
We’re the ones who are risking ourselves here, not Orthus! Why would NPCs always credit themselves with everything good while pinning their misdeeds on the players? How shameless!

“So, Mr.De’frei, are you coming with us, or will you stay?” urged Ye Ci.
She could no longer remain calm.
Ciel was bound to act, but De’frei was still wasting their time with meaningless words.
She would die in the Western Continent if the situation continued to drag on, and the death penalty in a hostile continent was very high.

De’frei was at a loss, “Do I leave… Or do I stay… Do I leave… Or do I stay….” he muttered under his breath.

“Mr.De’frei, if you stay, you’ll be forced to do things that you hate.” Fleeting Time spoke up as well.

“But… But…” De’frei was apparently conflicted, “But Vo’sok is the home of the Goblins.”

“Vo’sok has already been wiped out from any known maps! It’s nothing but a pile of rubble infested with Undeads and Orcs.” said Fleeting Time, “It may be harsh, but this is the reality, Mr.De’frei! Ciel has become Naga’s henchman, and if you stay here, you’re no better than him.”

“Don’t forget that Orthus had always been waiting for you.” Ye Ci seized the opportunity to speak out the words that she knew would definitely entice De’frei.

De’frei’s expression immediately lit up when he heard Ye Ci’s words, “That’s right, Orthus is waiting for me! We still have a lot of things to do! A lot of projects to complete! I must leave this damn place! I must go to Orthus!”

“Do not try my patience, De’frei! You know what will happen if you incur my wrath! Activate the Iron Warrior now, and send these Elves into the oblivion!” one could tell from the bloodlust in Ciel’s eyes that the king had lost even the last shred of his rationality.

“Alright Elves, I’ve decided to lend you my aid.
Ciel is completely mad.
He cares about nothing but reviving his wive, the Drow Llaesnyffan.
He no longer cares about what happens to the Goblins.
I must leave this place.
Do you see that Iron Warrior? It is the greatest work of my life, but it is not complete.
Ciel forced me to build the Iron Warrior not for Vo’sok, but for Llaesnyffan’s soul.
The Dark Lord stole that Drow’s soul so that Ciel would build him the Iron Warrior, but…” De’frei sat up, and a solemn expression crept into his face.

“But what?”

“If the Iron Warrior is activate, it’ll wreak destruction upon the palace and Vo’sok as well.” De’frei stood up and faced the duo, “Are you still willing to rescue me despite the danger?”

“Of course, Mr.De’frei.
We Elves always stay true to our words.
You can trust in us.” Ye Ci bowed at De’frei.

“So be it.
My dear Elves, I will activate the Iron Warrior.
One of you must target the weak spot on its chest.
The Iron Warrior is not completed yet, it is still weak, but you have to remember that you only have an hour to destroy the Iron Warrior or we will never be able to leave this place.” said De’frei.

“So what will another of us do?” Ye Ci knew that it was important to pay attention to even the tiniest of details of an NPCs dialogue.
She knew that the little details contain could lead to either success or failure.

“Vo’sok is a land left behind by the Gods, and Ciel’s scepter was the pillar that kept this kingdom standing.
It was the most precious treasure of the Goblin Treasure.
The Gem of Life on that scepter was the reason behind Vo’sok’s prosperity.
To allow the incomplete Iron Warrior to function normally, Ciel will have to channel energy into the machine from his scepter.
One of you must take the scepter away from him to weaken the Iron Warrior.” said De’frei as he looked up at Ciel.

He then took a few steps forward and spoke to Ciel in a loud voice, “Your Majesty, are you sure that you want to activate the Iron Warrior?”

“Of course! Do I look like I’m joking? Enough of your nonsense, De’frei! Activate my strongest warrior now!” Ciel’s mood showed a slight improvement in comparison to his demeanor when De’frei was conversing with Ye Ci and Fleeting Time.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.
I shall fulfill your order as your loyal subject.” De’frei bowed at Ciel, made a signal with his eyes at the duo, and spoke in a harsh tone, “Prepare to meet your doom, you damned Elves!”

Ye Ci was shocked to see De’frei reappearing at the top of the Iron Warrior’s head almost instantaneously.
“Wow, he can Blink as well… If only I have a skill like that.” Fleeting Time let out a low whistle.
He made no attempts to conceal his envy at De’frei for having such an ability.
Despite the tough battle ahead, Fleeting Time was relaxed.
He even flashed a smile at Ye Ci, “Little Gongzi, I’ll keep the Iron Warrior busy, you go for the scepter.”

“Why is that?” Ye Ci cast a sideway glance at Fleeting Time, and at the Iron Warrior that was slowly beginning to activate.

“I’m a guy, and Ciel’s a guy as well, but you’re a girl.
As they say, opposite sexes attract.
Maybe he’ll go easy on you.” replied Fleeting Time.
By then, the Iron Warrior had already completed its activation and was slowly standing out.
The machine was way taller when it stood up, and weapons that appeared to be a rocket launcher was attached to its shoulders.
If the Iron Warrior fired its gigantic weapons, the entire palace would collapse.

“There’s not much time.
I’ll deal with the Iron Warrior while you go for the scepter.” said Fleeting Time before Ye Ci could even respond.
He was already measuring the distance between himself and the gigantic machine’s chest.

Ye Ci, of course, saw through Fleeting Time’s intention.
He knew that going after Ciel was a relatively safer task as the king of Goblins was a lvl60 monster while the Iron Warrior was a lvl65 enemy.
He was afraid that Ye Ci would be slain by the Iron Warrior, and made the decision to deal with the deadly foe himself while relegating the simpler and safer task to Ye Ci.
“Alright then.” responded Ye Ci despite knowing full well of Fleeting Time’s intention.
At that moment, time is of the essence.

The duo then began making preparations for the battle ahead.

“Behold, my strongest warrior! The mightiest of all my warriors!” Ciel was filled with excitement when the Iron Warrior began to move, “Go, my beauty, show me your strength before I present you to the Dark Lord! Kill these wretched Elves!”

The Iron Warrior was unsteady with its movements, and sparks can be seen from the joints of its knees.
The gigantic machine fell after standing on its unsteady feet for three mere seconds with a loud rumble.
Smoke immediately bellowed from the Iron Warrior, filling up the entire palace with a thick soot.

With the perfume still in effect, Ye Ci was remained unaffected by the thick soot.

“What is happening, De’frei? What happened to my precious warrior?” Ciel cried out in anger.

“Your Majesty, I’ve told you that the Iron Warrior is not complete, it still has a lot of flaws…” came the reply from De’frei.

“You imbecile! You’re the smartest of all Goblins! I think you’re lying!” roared Ciel as he waved his scepter, “I shall personally cheer my strongest warrior on!”

Ciel began a long stream of chant as the blue gem of his scepter glowed brighter and brighter.
A blinding white light then enveloped the Iron Warrior, and the huge machine rose slowly.
It then approached Ye Ci and Fleeting Time with steady steps.

Despite its sheer size and destructive potential, the Iron Warrior was slow and its movement was impeded in the confined space of the palace.
It was not easy for the gigantic machine to keep up with the tinier and significantly more agile Elves.
The robot, however, was able to make up for its lack of maneuverability with the sheer volume of firepower that it could bring to bear.
While its attacks were slow and required a long time to charge, they could deal tremendous damage to a very large area.

The duo started the fight by trying to evade the Iron Warrior’s attack in an attempt to throw off the machine’s aim.
Their goal was to create a window for Ye Ci to cast Feigned Death.
Ciel knew nothing about the duo’s plan, and his attention was focused solely on the battle between the Iron Warrior and the two Elves.
The duo knew that any direct attempt to scale the platform to get to Ciel would alarm the Goblin king.
They needed Ciel to lower his guard, and they could achieve such a thing through the skill Feigned Death.

“It’s channeling its next attack.” observed Ye Ci.

“Alright, I’ll grab its attention.
You be careful.” said Fleeting Time as he leapt to a side with the agility of a mountain cat.
He took aim at the special patterns on the Iron Warrior’s chest and fired off his arrows, dealing multiple critical hits to the gigantic machine.
Despite its immune to pain, the Iron Warrior was still annoyed by Fleeting Time’s attacks.
It immediately took aim at Fleeting Time with the rocket launcher attached to one of its shoulders.

Despite its range, the Iron Warrior had trouble with acquiring its target due to Fleeting Time’s small size.
The only option the gigantic machine had was to hit the ground near Fleeting Time in an attempt to catch the Elf in the blast.
Of course, the Iron Warrior’s method of attack was something that was predetermined by the game’s system, and it was something that Fleeting Time knew all too well.
This was why Fleeting Time paid close attention to the Iron Warrior as he sprinted, and leaped into the air as the machine fired its rocket.

Ye Ci could barely hold back the urge to applaud Fleeting Time’s jump.
His timing was completely perfect, as if his jump was assisted by a third-party software.