Second World

On one of the multiple balconies at Dritzuut palace. Two players ducked while looking over the parapet.

"… She is so close," One of the players said. This player was David from the Dogs of War. Under John's request, he had sneaked through the capital and infiltrated the palace with his guildmates.

But even if John didn't give the request, he might still sneak over all by himself. He couldn't bear letting Jeanny remain in captivity now that she was within sight.

The player who was with David put a hand on his shoulder. "Be patient, David. Impatience will only ruin our chance of rescuing them."

The other player was Serpent Boss, Dogs of War's guild leader.

"The corridor to that balcony is heavily guarded. We will be found out once we make our move," Serpent Boss said. "For all we know, a field teleportation rune diagram might be under that cage. If they are moved before we break the cage, it will take some time to find them again. We wait until the Themisphere King arrives. He has the firepower to break that cage fast."

David nodded. He knew that was the right move. He just couldn't deny the uneasiness in his heart. He was a soldier. He knew letting his feelings dictate his actions would most likely lead to mistakes. He had been trained to disregard his feelings to avoid those mistakes, but it was still a difficult thing to do.

He bottled his feelings and forced himself to stand down. His other guild mates were getting into positions. Once Jack arrived, they would take action. He just had to endure until then. From the last news he received, Jack was already on his way. It shouldn't be long now.

He continued staring at the faraway balcony where the cage was located until he suddenly felt a strong pull from behind followed by the sound of a gunshot. He saw the parapet he was leaning on earlier had its stone chipped from a bullet. He looked up and saw Ronald standing on the roof above.

The one who pulled David back was Serpent Boss. Serpent Boss sensed Ronald's killing intent before he fired his revolver. Serpent Boss didn't have the time to be gentle. David tumbled back from the strong pull but he quickly backflipped to his feet. Meanwhile, Serpent Boss shot at Ronald using his skill, Spread Shot. Ronald was forced to take cover behind the roof.

"Grenade!" David exclaimed when he saw a round thing that dropped behind Serpent Boss. It came from a different direction from where Ronald was.

Serpent Boss registered the grenade after hearing David's warning. He spun back and accurately kicked the grenade that was still in the air. The grenade was sent away from the balcony and it exploded mid-air.

"Let me end you! You, sneaking rat!" A voice was heard as a large man dropped from the roof to the balcony they were at. It was Sizhad Ruust, the guild leader of the State of Galhana.

Sizhad fired his handgun using one hand at Serpent Boss from close range. His other hand slashed using a dagger. Serpent Boss didn't panic. He had no problem with close-quarter combat. Their arms flailed around deflecting the other's attack while also redirecting the guns' nozzles to make the shots miss.

"David, go!" Serpent Boss shouted.

David understood Serpent Boss' instructions. They had been found out. Stealth was no longer an option. He sent the message to his other guildmates hiding inside the palace to commence with the rescue mission. Sounds of gunshots and shouting were soon heard from the inside.

David ran past the two tussling soldiers and jumped from the parapet. With the super jump from his class, he had no problem reaching the next balcony. His eyes were on the faraway balcony where the cage was. He hoped the enemy didn't prepare the field teleportation rune diagram to teleport that cage away.

He heard gunshots again from the roof. He didn't forget about Ronald. He was sure that the gunslinger wouldn't let him reach the cage. He summoned his Shield Drone and placed it covering the angle where Ronald was seen earlier. He heard the sound of bullets hitting the drone behind him.

He rolled on the floor after landing on the next balcony before shooting at Ronald. He couldn't rely on the shield drone to continue protecting him. Ronald had the uncanny ability to do ricocheting shots.

While the two were firing at one another, Serpent Boss won the close-quarter combat by stealing a kick to Sizhad's knee when Sizhad was too focused on his arms. He then grabbed the big man and threw him to the floor. He didn't take this opportunity to finish Sizhad. He instead aimed upward and fired. The bullet that came out of his pistol was a large grenade.

This was the level 60 skill from his Soldier class, Grenade Launcher. The shot dealt AOE damage and also had a strong effect against structure.

Ronald saw Serpent Boss aimed at him and ducked behind the roof again, but he soon heard an explosion right under him and he lost his footing. Serpent Boss' grenade launcher destroyed the roof where Ronald was on. The gunslinger fell onto the balcony where Serpent Boss and Sizhad were on.

"Go…!" Serpent Boss exclaimed again.

David hurriedly got back on his feet. He saw Ronald's boom hound jumping over the balcony to get to him. David didn't bother to deal with that pet. He summoned his pet, the barghest, and let it deal with the boom hound. He again jumped to the next balcony with his drone shield covering his back.

While he was in the air, a couple of gunshots were heard. He heard the sound of bullets hitting the wall on his right, then he felt a strong impact to the right side of his body. They were Ronald's ricochet shots. Ronald could still steal a shot at him even when facing Serpent Boss.

Ronald's shots were no normal shots. They were done using a non-standard skill, Knockback Shot. Due to the knockback effect, David's body which almost reached the next balcony was sent a few meters away.

The next balcony was out of his reach and he fell.