Volume 3 Containment Operation Chapter 17: The Birth of a Young Phoenix
"This news was first passed on by the leader of the Longteng Mercenary Group, Long Xingtianxia. What he meant was that unity makes strength. If our Tongxin Alliance decides to participate in the mission, it would be best if we can act together so that the chances of success will be greater. And according to him, the two mercenaries, the Never-Setting Sun and the Blue Falun, and several other forces have begun to mobilize urgently and dispatched personnel to the location where the young phoenix was born to assemble. Even Hua Mantian has suspended the ongoing task of forming a mercenary group and is cooperating with the Yamato Spirit to prepare for an all-out attack. Once a melee occurs, those with greater power may take advantage of the chaos to eliminate dissidents and eliminate future competitors first. Once those who are alone and powerless take action to participate in the struggle, they will probably be the first to be killed. So unless everyone is determined to give up interfering in the mission, if you want to go to the scene to see it for yourself, it is better to act collectively." Seeing that everyone was hesitant and undecided, Xue Wuxia expressed his opinion first.
In my opinion, the main purpose of her words is to persuade the new members. Although they have no voting rights and cannot decide the results, they account for the majority. After all, the beneficiaries of collective actions are mainly the core members. If they are forced to participate, it will affect the unity of the Tongxin League. Any power combination is certainly emotional, but everyone has selfishness. The factor that holds everyone together firmly must also be counted as interests. Especially for our newly established small group, when it comes to the issue of interest distribution, we should be more cautious to avoid internal conflicts.
"I also think that it is better for us to participate collectively in the name of the United League. Firstly, as the leader said, cooperation with the Longteng Mercenary Group can increase our chances of winning. Secondly, we belong to a whole. Absent from such an important occasion where all forces appear on stage to demonstrate their strength, it will inevitably cause gossip and people will think that we are weak and timid. It will also make the United League appear to lack cohesion. In fact, I think the purpose of participation is not whether we can obtain the Phoenix Feather, but an opportunity to expand our influence and promote ourselves. The cause of the United League has just begun. If we develop well and every member works together, I believe everyone will have equal opportunities." Perhaps feeling that Xue Wuxia's words were a bit too blunt, Yun Wuying made a timely supplement, giving collective action a deeper meaning.
Xue Wuxia seemed to realize something as well, and was slightly stunned. From my angle, I just caught a glimpse of her giving Yun Wuying a look. There seemed to be some deeper meaning in her eyes, but it was gone in an instant before I could delve into it. Her expression returned to normal, and she faced everyone with a frank smile.
After some discussion and fully listening to everyone's opinions, the core members finally unanimously approved a plan of collective action. Except for a few life professions, all combat professions participated in the action and acted together with the Longteng Mercenary Group. If they were lucky enough to obtain a phoenix feather, the ownership of the spoils would be determined according to the role played by both parties. The party that obtained the phoenix feather would give the other party appropriate material compensation.
After the meeting, they took a short break and then headed to the place where the phoenix was born to meet Long Xing Tianxia and the others to get familiar with the environment there. It seemed that there were quite a few players who thought they were capable and dared to take on this mission. Players could be seen everywhere along the way, at least in groups of three or five, or even dozens of people. Few acted alone. The Howling Plains was more lively than ever before. After all, usually only a very small number of people with connections could use the teleportation array of the four major mercenary groups to travel quickly to and from the Howling Plains. Most players could only risk crossing the Dark Forest with their strength and luck. If it weren't for the temptation of the "Phoenix Feather" mission, it would be difficult to see such a lively scene.
Long Xing Tianxia had already received the news, and came to greet us from afar with the two deputy leaders Bai Yunjian and Bajiugaoge, giving us enough face. After seeing this, some members who had some doubts and worried that Long Teng would use his power to bully others became more confident in the cooperation and looked much more cheerful.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Long Xing Tianxia introduced the situation. "The scope given in the mission is rather vague. It is a ten-mile radius, and any place is possible. It is difficult to predict the exact location. We can only find a place to stay outside and make plans based on the situation. There are still seven hours before the Phoenix is born. Thousands of players have gathered here. Many people started to act as soon as they got the news, and the number of players is still increasing. Most of the players belong to various forces, big and small. Among them, the Sun Never Sets Mercenary Group and Hua Mantian's coalition are the largest, with more than 400 members now. It seems that Yi Their peripheral forces have also been recruited. The Blue Falun Mercenary Group of the Ganges War God has also gathered more than 200 people. Several Korean expert players such as the Goryeo Warriors, the Korean Orthodox and the Golden Sunflower have also appeared, but their people can only rush here through the Dark Forest. There are not many people who have arrived now, only 50 or 60 people. We only have 89 official members of Longteng, and the strength of the peripheral members is a little worse. It is estimated that the Holy Beast Phoenix is not something we can deal with with the human wave tactics at this stage, so there is no need to dispatch them to die. With the cooperation of more than 50 people in your Tongxin League, the chance of success is no less than those mixed combinations. "
"How do you plan to attack?" As the deputy commander in charge of combat matters, Afeng is most concerned about tactical issues.
I immediately focused my attention and couldn't help but move forward. In the past, I always took the lead, but this time it was a joint battle and we were facing the powerful sacred beast Phoenix, which those weak zombies could not resist at all. They shouldn't let me charge in the front again.
"This is the first time that the sacred beast Phoenix has appeared in Tianxia, so there is no ready-made experience to draw on. We have referred to the settings of the Phoenix in other games. If we fight it in close combat, the losses will be great. Our initial plan is to focus on long-range attacks as much as possible, using bows and magic to attack it. In addition, all the knights should be gathered together and follow the Phoenix closely. Don't easily participate in the attack. Once a feather is found falling, immediately charge to snatch it. Other melee professions will be responsible for protecting the archers and magicians. By then, the scene will be very chaotic, and there is no guarantee that someone will not take advantage of the fire to eliminate dissidents. Our enemy is not only the Phoenix that has been born, but also other player forces. Especially when a phoenix feather falls, we must guard against sneak attacks from behind." We must always be on guard against others, and Long Xing Tianxia's words confirmed this point.
This was similar to the tactics we had discussed, so we immediately gathered our forces together, a total of 141 members, and deployed them uniformly. Among them, there were 46 knights, two-thirds of whom were affiliated with Longteng, and were commanded by Long Xingtianxia and Afeng. Among them, only Long Xingtianxia was promoted to a high-level magic knight, and the other 36 people, including Afeng, were intermediate knights; there were 27 archers, most of whom were from our Tongxin League, all of whom were third-level professions, commanded by Yun Wuying and Tianya Langzi; there were 24 magicians, with Longteng slightly in the majority, led by Xue Wuxia and Bai Yunjian, the only high-level magician. As a high-level undead wizard, I do not belong to any group because of my special skills, so I can act according to circumstances; the remaining 43 swordsmen, axe warriors, thieves and other professionals were led by the high-level berserker Bajiugaoge, who was responsible for protection and message delivery.
After allocating their respective duties, some people were left behind, and then they began to observe the environment. The knights kept galloping around to familiarize themselves with the terrain. It seems that the temptation of growing weapons is too great. More and more players are gathering, and they are likely to occupy this place completely. Although they can take the lead in attacking near the place where the phoenix is born, they will also face the counterattack of the phoenix first. At such a close distance, it is probably difficult for players to escape. If it were me, I would never dare to get so close to an unknown bomb. This is also the reason why Long Xing Tianxia did not dare to station his team there. If the phoenix was born near the archer and magician cluster, who knows what would happen? The sacred beast cannot be insulted. What if the young phoenix is so powerful and is attacked by the enemy at close range, the consequences will be disastrous. Even several larger forces such as the Sun Never Sets and the Blue Wheel have deployed their main forces in the peripheral areas. It seems that they are also on guard against being attacked by the phoenix and becoming victims of the first wave of attacks.
As time passed, more and more players gathered here. A rough estimate is that there are more than 10,000 players. And since they can successfully cross the dark forest full of dangers, they should all be masters. Fortunately, they all belong to forces of different sizes. Even the largest coalition of Yamato Spirit and Hua Mantian has only more than 600 people. No force can have an absolute advantage.
As the time of the Phoenix's birth in the announcement approached, the players became more and more nervous. Most of them summoned their pets early, ready to attack at any time. I did not summon the Undead Army. I did not know where the Phoenix would be born, and they were slow. It would be useless to summon them too early. I did not stay with the archer magicians Xue Wuxia and Yun Wuying. Instead, I summoned Taotao and mixed him in the knight's team. Although it was dangerous, there was no other way. Afeng was here, and I knew he would definitely try his best to stop Hua Mantian from getting the Phoenix feather. I couldn't just watch him die alone.
The time has finally come. Suddenly, there are a series of loud thunderclaps in the air and the ground begins to shake slightly. This should be the foreshadowing of the birth of the sacred beast. There is a commotion among the players and they all look around with wide eyes, searching for any trace of the phoenix.
"Boom!", a loud explosion sounded, and a large hole suddenly appeared in the middle of the crowd. A dozen players who happened to be gathered nearby were injured by the power of the explosion before they could understand what was happening. They turned into streaks of white light and became the first martyrs. Then thousands of red rays shot out from the hole, rushing straight into the sky, illuminating half of the sky red. In the blink of an eye, the red rays suddenly converged and quickly retracted. Then, accompanied by a loud and clear long cry, a red shadow jumped out of the ground.
The sacred beast Phoenix is indeed a beautiful creature, surrounded by a circle of red light, and it looks so clear and eye-catching even from a distance. At first glance, it looks like a giant eagle. Although it is just a newly born phoenix, it is more than two meters tall and its whole body is fiery red. When you look closely, each feather seems to be colorful, and there are faint golden lights. There is a colorful crown on its head, which reflects its identity as the king of all birds. It has a pair of emerald green eyes, two long tail feathers, and it spreads its wings and holds its head high, looking proudly, full of the style of a king who looks down on the world.
It was obvious that the newly born phoenix was excited, but unfortunately this excitement did not last long. The nearby players who had woken up did not have the leisure to appreciate its beauty and launched attacks with their most powerful skills.
The phoenix was enraged, and it raised its head and let out a long cry, kicking off the massacre. Without any warning, huge balls of fire suddenly exploded around it, and those who were directly hit were turned into charcoal, and those who were affected were also burned to a crisp. Before they had time to rejoice, its wings spread out, and several walls of fire swept over, leaving no survivors within a ten-meter radius.
Even though it was just a young phoenix, it showed the power of a sacred beast as soon as it came into contact. However, most of the players present were prepared to die. At most, they would have to face the wall for six hours. Compared with the huge temptation, what was that? No one was willing to retreat. Some charged forward, some fought, and launched a more fierce attack.
"Exploding Fireball" and "Flame Wall" are both advanced fire magic, but the Phoenix casts them with ease, as if it were throwing a small fireball. In addition, it can spit out "flame rays" from its mouth, sweeping randomly like a flamethrower, causing great damage to the player. Moreover, its defense seems to be very high, and many attacks do not seem to have much effect on it, which can only further anger it and attract more fierce counterattacks.
After the initial chaos, the players who participated in the attack gradually began to change their strategies and cooperated spontaneously. After seeing the terrifying killing power of the phoenix, the melee professions no longer dared to rush forward to die easily, and instead fought harassment to attract the attention of the phoenix, while the archers and magicians stepped up their attacks from a distance, hoping to shoot down a feather or two. Fortunately, the young phoenix's ability was limited. It could only jump around like , and could not fly. It was not fast, and the magic attack range was relatively short. Otherwise, even the archers and magicians would be affected, and there would be no time to attack.
We will temporarily stay put and watch the battle. In Long Xing Tian Xia's words, the initial attacks are mostly blind and the scene is too chaotic. It is difficult to take advantage of the small group to organize an effective attack. We can only eliminate the weak and retain the strong as the battle continues, and fight a decisive battle with the Phoenix in the middle and late stages. We can use this time to observe and become more familiar with its various attack methods. Anyway, there are so many feathers on the Phoenix, so we are not afraid of someone knocking down a few first. As long as we have the corresponding strength, we will get our share sooner or later. There is no need to fight for it too early. However, according to the information we have learned, several larger teams such as the Sun Never Sets, Blue Falun and Goryeo Warriors are also watching and waiting for the opportunity. At most, they have only sent a small group of people to try their luck. It seems that they have the same idea as us. When the time comes, each of us will use their own methods, and a fierce battle seems inevitable.
