MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

— BOOM! BOOM! —

Explosions resounded in the distance.

"They've fallen for the bait! Send the next volley! FIRE!" Jack powerfully shouted at the people manning the catapults.

Building the siege weapons and capturing crabs had been such a pain, but it was all for this moment. It was time to use it all!

They loaded the last of their monster projectiles with an added surprise. — TWANG! — Time to go: Jack and a select few charged forward!

Who said civilian troops were bad? Many of them had been artisans. All they had needed was a̶l̶i̶t̶t̶l̶e̶ large push to turn their everyday skills into war ones.

— BAM! BAM! —

As Jack approached the nearby beach, he could already see a gigantic purple fog. They had an actor in their legion: this was all the result of scene special effect items!

Damage? None!

But who cared about that? Jack could already hear the cries of confusion of the people within. The colored fog messed with their senses while the crabs rampaged.

Why PVP when one can force to PVE and KS afterward!

Still, there was no way the players would lose their minds from such a simple trick. Many were already rushing out of the affected area….just in time to encounter Jack.

"Hello there! Good day for dying, ain't it!" He playfully welcomed them with a sword in their stomach.

He jumped straight into the cloud without hesitating, beginning a killing spree. — Slash! Pierce! Stab! — He was akin to a lion in a sheep's enclosure.

"Naked Fish Guy— ARGGG!" Their ends were as quick as their dying screams loud.

He killed his way toward their leader. He just needed to — WOOSH! — his assassination plans were suddenly disturbed by a gust of wind.

Wind ability?! This single skill had been enough to mess Jack's cover utterly. He was suddenly revealed for all to see, about 40 players next to him.

They all locked in on him, brimming with rage. Judging by their gear, they were all level 25 or higher. Compared to his level 36, it wasn't that high…but 1 v 40 was still too much!

"Any chance you'll believe I'm just passing by?" He awkwardly smiled, still speaking gibberish.

"Beat him up!" It seemed like the answer was a definite no!

His usual strategy was to dash in and use enemies as cover, but these guys were well organized. They had a few mages ready to insta-CC him as soon as he came near.

All it would take was one successful stun on their parts to reduce him to a handsome corpse. There was no way that he could solo them, right?

As for the men he had brought along, all had mysteriously disappeared earlier. As far as the enemies were concerned, they had never been there in the first place.

That's when Jack's relaxed aura utterly changed to a Last-Boss one. Many gulped as they witnessed his crazy intimating battle posture.

"Careful. He's getting ready for an ultimate move!" The enemy leader warned.

Jack then powerfully…ran away!

The players couldn't help but be taken aback. What kind of dastardly Boss was this?! He didn't even dare to face them!

"After him! Ranged, poke him!" The players didn't hesitate to send a flurry of projectiles his way. Their aim was perfect…until he'd suddenly move erratically.

Still, the many evasive movements he had to exploit slowly but surely slowed him down. Bad players would have gotten excited and uncoordinatedly charged melee range.

Not those guys! They were on the careful side, for they had heard many times about the sneaky swordplay of the Naked Sword Guy.

This left Jack in an unfortunate position. All he could do was keep the status quo until it was too late, and they'd all crash on him simultaneously.

"Just like that, we got him! Slow and steady!" The enemy kept urging.

After a full minute of chasing, Jack was finally cornered. The players gave ruthless grins, eager to avenge their fallen friends. They powerfully stepped toward him and…

— STAB! STAB! STAB! —

Out of nowhere, spears cut through the sand, landing in unsuspecting players' throats. What the fuck?! The attacks had come from the players' backs and were so damn sudden!

A second later, fish people covered in sand were urgently running away for their lives. They had been buried in it?! Since when?! How?!

The scouts in the raid were in complete disbelief. They had personally checked that area earlier, and it was utterly void of enemies!

The purple fog had created a blind spot that they had forgotten to reverify. This was all because they had been so focused on Jack!

But even then, only four players died out of the 40. This was such a pitiful death toll for an ambush with such great timing! Even with Jack's training, his troops still weren't soldiers…

The players quickly sighed in relief as they realized how ineffective that ambush had been. It wouldn't change anything to the situation— or so they thought.

They were SORELY mistaken.

Jack's goal had never been victims but to create an opening. Before they even realized what was happening, he was in their midst, killing once again.

Their colleagues' blood splashing over their faces brought them back to their senses. Many could barely register the situation that they were already dead!

But even then, there was a limit to what one guy could accomplish. In this case, it was 13 victims. 40 Angry Players —> 23 Very Angry Players

Anyone else would have been satisfied with such results, but not Jack. He gave a self-derisive smile. He really needed to grow stronger…

That's when the nearby enemies went for the kill. Countless freeze, charm, and knock-up abilities were used…AoE ones!

Multiple layers of attacks covered every possible escape route. Survival chance: 0%! There was no way anyone could possibly survive this, right?!

That's when Jack mumbled.

"Sorry little ones…."

That's when he took out something that utterly petrified the nearby enemies. They weren't terrified, only perplexed. What the heck was this?!

He threw something around….goldfishes?! Simple goldfishes?! They flopped in the air as if trying to splash their enemies. Still, there were so many of them!

Every single enemy spell managed to hit, but none landed on Jack! The goldfishes had body blocked it?! This had to be cheating, right?!

The enemies' crowd control skills on cooldown, Jack resumed his killing. The poor players despawned with indignant hearts. They had failed because of goldfishes, WTF?!

[Announcement! Goldfishes Disabled Until further Notice!]

[Quest Completed! Victoriously Led Troops in a Land Battle!]

[Report Back to the Mermaid Kingdom to Receive Your Rewards!]