Black Online

Chapter 261: Arrival at the Colony

Tower of the Black, 6th floor, Glorious Beach.

The beautiful blue ocean stretched out endlessly. The water inched bit by bit into the shore, creating tiny ripples in the sand.

Thump~ thump~!

Footprints appeared on the sand with a soft thump. A woman with a long dark ponytail walked along the shore.

She was wearing a bikini that one could purchase from any street vendor near the Glorious Beach.

"Whistle~!"

In that moment, she walked past a couple players lounging on their beach chairs, and they eyed the beautiful woman.

They whistled at her.

Her curves were visible. The bikini bra was a bright shade of red that contrasted perfectly with her sun-kissed skin.

It was still showing her side breasts, and the bikini panties were a matching red color that hugged her hips perfectly.

A truly stunning sight!

"Why don’t you come sit with us?"

One of the players shouted at her. They were slightly tipsy. There were a couple of martini drinks in front of them on the table.

"Maybe once I turn blind and deaf."

The woman quipped back, flipped them off with a middle finger, and kept walking along the sand, shaking her hips as she went.

"Feisty!"

One of the players laughed.

They didn’t plan on running after the girl, as they were only joking around, but they wouldn’t have minded if she joined them.

"Gotta admit, this floor is the best. I am from Smog Region, and you’d be lucky to get a glimpse of the sun in that shithole!"

A player said with a smirk and sipped on the martini with the help of a long straw, and he let out a contented sigh.

"I am from Cold Region. This feels like a paradise. I don’t even want to log off!"

His friend, whom he befriended in the Black Online, said with a smile.

"Imagine that someone, right now, is freezing their balls off in some freezing forest while we are here, enjoying the sun and the sight of beautiful ladies!"

"Haha, poor them, haha!"

...

6th floor, the Freezing Winter Forest.

"It’s so... fucking... cold!"

A player crumbled angrily as he and fifty other players trekked through the snow-covered forest.

The snowstorm was hellish. At one moment, it was raining snow straight down, and then the next moment, cold winds came that cut through their clothing like knives.

"Whoo... Whoo... Whoo..."

Fang Raon breathed cold air and looked behind him at the players and noticed that their conviction was beginning to falter.

When they decided to join the mission, they didn’t think about having to walk through a freezing cold forest!

Ice Goblin colony wasn’t far away from the Winter Village, but it felt like an eternity away, as they couldn’t move much faster.

The snowstorm was adding more and more snow onto the ground, making the journey even more treacherous.

’I cannot use Fireball to give us light and help us warm up. It’ll be very noticeable, and the Ice Goblins might notice it.

’We need to sneak into the cave undetected so we don’t have to fight thousands of them right away.’

He thought.

"...Alright, I am done. It’s too cold!"

At that moment, a player grudgingly said, and he summoned his grimoire, and flames came forth from one of the pages.

The flames scared away the nearby darkness. The coldness also started to disappear. All the players immediately felt better.

"Don’t! We might get discovered by the Ice Goblins!"

Fang Raon shouted.

"We’re nowhere near the cave yet... I think. It’ll be fine. Just let us warm up for ten minutes or so, and then we’ll continue!"

The player said.

Some of the players nodded in agreement. They thought it was fine. It was hard to think straight since they were cold to the bone.

"I checked the map five minutes ago. We are around a five- to ten-minute hike away from the cave. In this darkness, this flame is as noticeable as a lighthouse in the sea!"

Fang Raon said with a dark look.

The players quieted down. Now that they were warm again, they could think properly again. Some of them thought that maybe this wasn’t the smartest idea.

In that moment.

"Freeze Spell!"

Cold icy magic enveloped the flame. It froze the flame into a solid block of ice. The light and the warmth disappeared.

Everyone was back to shivering in the cold.

"...Hmm?"

Fang Raon looked at who did that spell just now and, at that moment, noticed a blue-robed magician at the back.

She was hiding her face under her hood, but she was definitely a young woman, based on the long hair, which was light, icy blue.

"Thanks."

Fang Raon said to her.

She just meekly nodded her head and stayed at the back, as if she didn’t want anyone to pay attention to her.

"We’re almost there. Let’s focus now, guys. I know it is cold. I am freezing too. It’ll be all over soon, I promise."

Fang Raon said, and then he turned around and continued paving the path, dragging his feet through the snow.

Everyone followed in his footsteps—exactly the same—as he had already pushed the snow aside.

So it was just much easier to walk through the exact same path than also having to move the heavy snow themselves.

A few minutes later.

Fang Raon raised his arm. It acted as a stop sign for everyone. The players stopped in their tracks like a deer caught in headlights.

"We’ve reached the edge of this part of the forest..."

He said.

"Yeah, and...?"

A player behind him asked, as he didn’t know what that meant.

Fang Raon suddenly went prone and crawled silently towards the tree line that had slightly thinned out and opened up into a large clearing.

There was a small snow hill in front of him. He crawled up the hill. He peered over the edge and saw it.

Barricaded entrance of the cave. Wooden walls and wooden pikes. It looked to be abandoned.

But then...

Fang Raon was able to see some movement behind the barricade. A few shadows moving about.

"Okay..."

He whispered, then he turned around and crawled back to the players, who had also hunched down to the ground.

"We’ve arrived..."

He said.

The eyes of the players turned serious.

"Rangers, do you sense anyone nearby?"

Fang Raon asked.

A couple Rangers at the back used their Keen Sense to scan the nearby area, and they quickly shook their heads.

"I can’t sense anything."

’Their Keen Sense is probably just level 1, so they cannot sense powerful beings, but this is Ice Goblins we’re talking about.

’They should be able to sense them easily. So, Ice Goblins have only barricaded themselves inside the cave but didn’t leave any patrols outside.

’Not the smartest move, I think, but these Ice Goblins are a low-intelligence race, after all.’

Fang Raon thought.

"I can sense about three Ice Goblins over at the entrance of the cave. More inside, but I can’t tell how much."

A female Ranger said.

"Alright.... I need three Assassins."

Fang Raon said.

From the middle of the pack, a few Assassins crawled over, and they were dressed in all black, like they should.

"What do you need us for?"

"I am willing to lend you my blade. Just tell me who is the target!"

"..."

All three of these Assassins were quite different in personality. It was quite a funny contrast.

One was stoic and serious; another was a roleplayer who was taking her role as Assassin very seriously, and the last was simply quiet and mysterious.

"Kill the three Ice Goblins over at the entrance. Hide their bodies as well."

Fang Raon said.

The three Assassins nodded, and they suddenly used Stealth, and only their presence seemed to drop.

When they were looking straight at them, they could still see that they were there, but once they moved out of their view, it felt like they turned invisible.

A while later.

The three Ice Goblins dropped dead at the entrance. Got their throats cut. The three Assassins then carried their corpses to the forest and dropped them into a hidden ditch.

"Done!"

They came back and said with pride.

"...Good job guys!"

"...That went really well."

"...Very smooth."

Other players tapped them on the shoulders and gave them well-deserved praises for the swift and efficient execution of the task.

"Listen up, guys."

Fang Raon waved his finger around in circles—signaling everyone to gather up—and the players surrounded them.

He then grabbed a stick and started drawing on the snow. He made a long tunnel-like drawing on the snow.

A very simplistic one, but all the players understood what the drawing meant.

"When we are inside the cave, we need two scouts. One Ranger and one Assassin. The Assassin will stay hidden, and the Ranger will use their Keen Sense to find any hiding Ice Goblins.

"If you can, take care of them quietly, but if there are more than you can handle, return back to us.

"The main objective is to stay undetected for as long as possible. If we can reach the home of the Ice Goblins without being detected, we, the Mages, can cut off their numbers in one swift and strategic move.

"When we’ve entered the battle, the Helpers will mainly focus on helping the Warriors and Assassins, as they will be fighting on the front lines.

"Tanks will take care of the Helpers. Rangers will target the Ice Goblin Wizards. Mages will concentrate on large area attacks.

"Is everything understood?"

Fang Raon asked.

The players looked at him confidently. "Yes." They said without hesitation.