"Run! Run! Run!"
Ye Xiu shouted, hurrying everyone up. They didn't even bother checking the drops since the big guilds were chasing after them. The boss was already stolen—if they let Lord Grim and his gang get away, it would double the shame. They had to at least pay them back!
No one stayed idle either. They split up and decided to meet again later when it was safe. Since their main focus was solely on Lord Grim, there wasn't much pressure—even for Ron. They overlooked the fact that he was independent. Seeing three noobs following Ye Xiu's orders, they assumed he was just good because of Lord Grim—a big mistake on their part.
Run, walk, jog... In *Glory*, each character has stamina. Running consumes it the fastest and recovers the least, while walking consumes the least and recovers the fastest. While others simply ran until their stamina drained, the two didn't do the same. Instead, they kept switching between running, walking, and jogging. Not only did they preserve stamina, but they also widened the distance from their pursuers.
Ron was just behind Ye Xiu. Currently, three Battle Mages were chasing them with active Chasers. As they knew, Neutral Chaser boosted movement speed for 30 seconds, so despite their efficient movement, the Battle Mages were bound to catch up.
"At this rate, they're going to catch up. Should we kill them? " Ron asked. He was actually ready to engage in a death match.
"Not that we have a choice," Ye Xiu replied.
The two turned around to face the chasers. Ye Xiu extended his spear and performed a 180-degree horizontal swing, hitting two Battle Mages. The other successfully avoided the attack by rolling backward, but Ron was already on his tail. He was about to use Sky Rend to knock him up, but before the attack connected, the Battle Mage used Quick Recover and jumped away.
This skill forcefully fixes a character's stance as long as they aren't under a stun effect. Even in midair, Quick Recover can be used to land. Additionally, in combination with other skills. Take Falling Light Blade, for example—players can use its animation to move their character in the direction of the attack. During the animation, the skill can be canceled, but the effect remains. Quick Recover then resets their character's position.
In this case, the Battle Mage rolled to avoid Ye Xiu's swing, canceled the skill, and activated Quick Recover. Although the skill was canceled, its limited animation movement still took effect.
This kind of fine control was called *micro*. Only skilled players with high APM could execute it.
Too bad for him—it was a 2v1. When Ron's Sky Rend failed, Ye Xiu used Dragon Tooth to stun the Battle Mage, followed by Falling Flower Palm to push him away.
Ron wasn't idle either. During that short period, the two knocked-down players on the ground had already used Quick Recover, though slower than the earlier one. They weren't capable of fighting properly. Ron didn't have much mana left, but he had enough to take one of them down. He activated the Assassin skill Heart Pierce, taking a huge chunk of HP, then followed up with nonstop basic attacks. Similar to Aerial Fire, where users use recoil to float their character, the Assassin's normal attacks cause small knockbacks. But if spammed, the crowd control lasts longer.
Horizontal slash! Vertical slash! Thrust! Cutthroat! Ron attacked the Battle Mage relentlessly until his HP dropped to half before retreating. Ye Xiu subbed in, pushing the enemy toward another Battle Mage using Rapid Fire.
This skill also caused a knock-up effect, though its effectiveness depended on the user. Ye Xiu kept firing until he sent the Battle Mage flying into his teammate. This type of combo was the origin of the Delivery Gun technique. Any Gunner—Sharpshooter, Spitfire, or Launcher—could use it; it just varied by skill type.
Then, Ye Xiu used his remaining mana on the last guy. With Sky Strike, he knocked him up and followed with another 180-degree swing. This required a basic attack combined with precise and fast mouse movement. The last Battle Mage also fell right beside his friend. They gathered like a rag.
Everyone in the café laughed at the miserable state of those three. But some didn't laugh—they knew those chasers were skilled. The two were just on a different level.
Lord Grim crouched his character in front of them, followed by Ron. He stood still behind Ye Xiu, looking down at them.
"Keep on chasing, and we won't be nice anymore! " Ye Xiu said, making Lord Grim run off again.
Everyone in the café waited for what would happen next. Lord Grim had no mana left and was bluffing his way through. No one knew if they were still being chased since Lord Grim didn't look back—but seeing how relaxed he was, it looked like they had given up.
Chen Guo finally sighed in relief. She had been tense the whole time because Ye Xiu was being chased by three great guilds. These weren't random nobodies—they were top experts.
Seeing Lord Grim escape successfully satisfied everyone's curiosity, and the crowd eventually dispersed.
Now that they were safe, Chen Guo tapped Ye Xiu's shoulder. He immediately turned around and asked, "Do you need something, boss? "
"You…" Chen Guo wanted to ask something about the chase, but seeing his annoying face, her concern disappeared. "…Never mind. What were the drops? "
Seeing it wasn't important, Ye Xiu just glanced back at his computer and kept playing. "Hmm… I don't know yet. Right now, we're going to distribute them."
The group met up at the leveling area. There weren't many people there. Seeing the two arrive safely, everyone was full of enthusiasm.
"So how do we distribute the drops? "Someone asked. It came from *Steam Bun Party*—a Striker named Bandage Fist.
There were two different parties here: *Steam Bun Invasion* (Bandage Fist and Hidden Cloak) and Ye Xiu's party (Ron, Sleeping Moon, Immersed Jade, Seven Fields, Sunset Clouds, and Drifting Water).
However, there were only three noobs among them—Steam Bun Invasion, Hidden Cloak, and Immersed Jade. As for Bandage Fist, he knew what he was doing.
"Since there are so many of us and only a few items, not everyone can get something. Let's prioritize those who contributed the most and let them roll for it," he suggested. It seemed like a reasonable approach, but it clearly put the noobs and Ye Xiu's party at a disadvantage.
"Seems reasonable," Ye Xiu said.
They all knew his real intention, but since Ye Xiu didn't say anything, they kept quiet too. They just hoped Ye Xiu could get the item he needed.
So far, the only ones rolling were Steam Bun Invasion, Hidden Cloak, Bandage Fist, Ye Xiu, and Ron.
Ron had intrusive thoughts about killing Bandage Fist, but after thinking about it, it didn't seem worth it. They were only going to roll for major drops anyway, while the rest would be distributed among the others.
The first item was what Ye Xiu needed—the *Blood Rifle*. Ye Xiu rolled first and got the highest number: 100. Seeing their brother get what he wanted, Seven Fields and the others sighed in relief.
Then it was Ron's turn. He simply refused to roll, knowing Ye Xiu already got what he needed. He also said there was nothing here he wanted. Ron gave up his spot, letting Seven Fields roll for the belt instead.
The noobs didn't get rare materials, but they got weapon drops—which wasn't bad. Everyone was satisfied with their loot except for Ron, who didn't get anything, and Bandage Fist, who was a little lost. He had the worst luck and only got a green item—usable at low levels and pretty much worthless.
*I guess that's karma for taking advantage of noobs and being selfish,* Seven Fields and the others thought. They didn't say it out loud, but they mocked him privately in chat.
"Let's part ways! Goodbye, everyone, and be careful! " Ye Xiu said before they split up. Except for Bandage Fist, everyone befriended each other. Once again, Ye Xiu reminded them—after all, they had provoked top guilds. Who knew what those guilds were planning next?