-chapter seventy-six-

THIRD PERSON

Alliances.

In the standard game, they're called guilds. In schools, they might be referred to as teams. Standard definition says that it's a unit or association formed for mutual benefit, and they share the same interests or qualities.

Rogue Wars Online currently has nine alliances in total: Blood Vanguard, Reaper's Oath, Immortal Silk, Death's Crows, Lone Wolves, Rogues of Revenge, Wakizashi, Guilty Raid and Moon Lagoon. Currently Marcella's Blood Vanguard is the leading alliance, with the highest amount of members that are still alive until now. They're the largest and strongest alliance in the game.

And in this city, they are given an advantage.

Territory Wars.

The game for the fifteenth city of Rogue Wars Online. It's pretty simple, actually. An alliance must make and protect its territory for forty-eight hours, using their respective alliance flags. The flags will then serve as markers for the territory the alliance now owns. Apat na flags ang ituturok sa bawat corner ng mapipiling teritoryo, at ang may pinakamalaking teritoryo pagkatapos ng nakatakdang oras ang siyang mananalo sa laro.

Sa kaso na malagay sa magkaparehas na posisyon ang magkakaibang alliance flags, or if the markers clash, a fight for the righteous owner shall commence. Mapupunta rin sa mananalo ang teritoryong akmang kukunin ng matatalo.

All territories are free for steal. The markers can be replaced with new alliance flags, indicating that the territory now belongs to them. Kaya naman kailangang mahigpit ang pagbantay ng alyansa sa kani-kanilang teritoryo, or they will be attacked and their territory will be stolen.

As such, having large numbers is an advantage. May maaasahang magguard ng territory habang mayroon ding gagalaw upang kumuha pa ng iba.

Simply put, the rules involve owning a land and guarding it from thieves.

Before the game proceeded, pumili ng nais na kulay ang bawat alyanse. This and the engraved initials of the alliance will form the flag. At ang may pinakamalaking teritoryo sa kasalukuyan ay ang Blood Vanguard, with their gold and red flags.

"Almost half of the South District are theirs already. Ang eww ng colors nila."

Finn looked at where Maki was pointing. The Blood Vanguard's flags stood proudly at the side entrance of the South District. Dalawang manlalaro ang kasalukuyang nagbabantay dito.

Nasa taas sila ng isang sirang gusali, hiding behind surviving walls. Mula dito ay tanaw ang South District, at gano'n na rin ang malawak na teritoryo ng Blood Vanguards. Maki wasn't exaggerating when he said they almost have the half of the South District.

The fifteenth city was ten square miles in size. Ito ang pinakamalaking syudad sa lahat ng napuntahan nila. It was divided into four districts, namely the Northern, Eastern, Western, and the Southern one. Ang pinakamalaki sa lahat ay ang North District, but while Southern is smaller, occupying half of it would be a threat.

"I can spot about ten of them. Pero wala akong makita na kilala ko talaga." Maki added.

Finn hummed. Kahit sa kaniya ay walang pamilyar na mga itsura. However, they could just be hiding in the shadows, waiting for an ambush.

Maki glanced at her. "So, what should we-"

Isang malaking pagsabog ang pumutol sa kaniyang sasabihin. Agad na napabaling si Finn sa pinagmulan - a certain building from the Eastern district was destroyed in a large explosion. Thick smoke filled the air that almost covered the whole district.

Finn narrowed her eyes. An explosion. The most obvious suspect is long gone but there are a couple of comparisons.

"Sa ganiyang kalaking explosion, are they imitating Depore's passion for showing off?"

Umiling si Finn sa tanong ni Maki. "Eura." tanging sagot niya.

Maki frowned. "Eura? Siya gumawa ng explosion? But... I mean, I know she uses flame, but is the power enough to really make that?"

"Not alone." sinulyapan ni Finn ang mga nagbabantay na manlalaro. "They're fighting."

Kailangan pang iproseso ni Maki ang limitadong words ni Finn for three minutes. Isang explosion ang nangyari sa East District, which is actually made by Eura. Assuming that her magic power isn't really enough to create such a large explosion, that means that she was engaged in a fight. Tumingin si Finn sa direksiyon ng Blood Vanguards, which means that they play a role in this situation. Since hindi lahat ng player ang nasa loob ng teritoryo, that must mean that some of them roamed the city to get more territories. At ang pinakamalapit na distrito mula sa kanila ay ang East District.

Which means, with that powerful battle that was enough to destroy a building, the Reaper's Oath and Blood Vanguard were fighting.

'Grabe', Maki clutched his head at the quick analysis, mukhang nae-exercise ang braincells niya sa pag-intindi kay Finn. He must be getting smarter!

From below Finn's feet, a number of shadows crawled out. It made Maki step back in surprise. Mabilis namang umalis ang mga anino, creeping in the walls and blending in with the darkness. May mga matang pumalibot kay Finn at parang nakikita ng babae ang dinadaanan ng mga anino niya.

"Ten." Finn reported. "Can steal a flag."

Napangisi si Maki sa narinig. He stood up, stretching his arms and legs. Finally, makakapagpalabas na rin siya ng stress.

"Tigdalawa tayo?"

"Mm."

"Nice." he excitedly took the blue and white flags from the ground. "Let's make the first steal, Finn."

Tumango lamang ang babae sa kaniyang sinabi. Then, in an instant he was gone. Finn watched as a wave of air cut through the sky before falling into one of the nearest flags. The players who were guarding the marker were thrown aback and reacted late at Maki's unforgiving attacks.

The boy complains about people showing off, when he's a show-off himself. Napailing na lamang si Finn at hinayaan ang mga anino na dalhin siya sa mas malayong flags.

She stepped into a dark alley. Mula dito ay naririnig niya ang pag-uusap ng tatlong nagbabantay. They're one of Marcella's promising soldiers. Maganda din ang laban nila noong sa Magus Arena, if Finn remembers. However, she doubts if they will be too much to handle.

Tahimik niyang nilabas ang isang kunai. Finn was forming a plan in her head when a blade suddenly appeared near her neck, stopping her from moving forward.

Nang i-angat niya ang tingin ay nakita niya ang nakakainis na mukha ni Amnesia.

"Well, look who's here. The girl who has been pissing me off since day one." he hatefully stated, pressing the blade closer to my neck. "And you even have the audacity to point your blade at me, you bitch."

Pointing daw, eh malapit na ngang putulin ni Finn ang dila niya.

"Alam naming may pupunta talaga dito kaya ito't naglagay kami ng countermeasure-"

"What a weak countermeasure." Finn cut in, impossibly angering Amnesia more.

Mas lalong inilapit ng lalaki ang kutsilyo sa leeg ni Finn, cutting the skin and drawing out blood. The female rogue flinched at the abrupt pain but still her face remained blank. She was not about to express some sort of weakness to this man.

"Napaka-arogante mo talaga." Amnesia hissed. "Pakialam ko kung ikaw ang sparrow na 'yan. You're still just a little girl."

"A little girl who managed to beat you?"

Natigilan si Amnesia sa narinig. His heart and mind were synonymous when it comes to killing the emotionless girl in front of him. It was really such a pity, he thinks, to have a pretty face but a deadly monster inside.

"It must really be such a shame." Finn continued. "To have a strong player like you be knocked out by a little girl like me. Guess it just shows who the strong one really is."

Amnesia gritted his teeth. When the fury inside him couldn't be kept anymore, he moved to press the knife, aiming to slice Finn's neck. Ngunit napigilan ito ng throwdagger ni Finn. Nanlaki ang mata ni Amnesia nang kayang ipaatras ni Finn ang hawak niyang kutsilyo.

"You fucking-"

"Didn't you understand?" Finn cut him off. "Between us, I am a predator. You-" Finn's kunai slapped the blade away. "-are a mere prey."

"You bitch!"

Amnesia pulled out another blade and slashed it towards Finn's direction. However, before she could defend against it, a double-bladed dagger cut through between them. It hit Amnesia's knife to another direction and sliced through his palm.

"Sino 'yan?!" Amnesia shouted, clutching his wounded hand.

Kahit si Finn ay napatingin sa pinanggalingan ng atake. She can already guess who the person is from the weapon itself. But she doesn't exactly know what he's doing here.

Hindi ba dapat ay nakikipaglaban siya sa East District?

"I was wondering why the loyal dog wasn't near it's master." The leader of Reaper's Oath, Kairo, stepped out with a sly smirk. "So he was here trying to get himself killed."

"I-Ikaw!" Amnesia suddenly pointed a blade towards Kairo. "Anong ginagawa mo dito?"

"What else? I'm trying to steal your territory, of course." he glanced at Finn. "Though, mukhang may nakauna na sa'kin."

Finn took a small step back. Mahigpit ang hawak niya sa kunai na nasa magkabilang kamay. Amnesia's loud about getting her killed while Kairo has a high chance at doing so. Kaya naman wala siyang choice kung hindi ang bantayan ng mabuti ang sarili.

"Ha!" Amnesia scoffed, lowering his blade a little. "Well, this is good timing, Kairo! Hindi ba't siya ang pumatay sa fiancé ng kuya mo? Ngayon na ang pagkakataon para makapaghiganti ka!"

"Hmm." Kairo hummed, eyes still fixed at Finn. "That sure is tempting."

Amnesia laughed. "I'm even giving her to you! Aren't you excited to kill her? She ruined your brother's life!"

Sinulyapan ni Finn si Amnesia. Parang kuya naman nito ang pinatay niya kung makapagreact. He's not part of the problem but he has the loudest voice.

"Oh, I am excited." nakangiting sagot ni Kairo. But that sweet smile turned sinister when he turned to Amnesia. "To kill you."

Unti-unting naglaho ang masayang mukha ni Amnesia. His breathing turned heavy and he looked at Kairo with fear in his eyes. An awkward laugh left him as he staggered to step back.

"Ah-Ahaha, ba't ka tumitingin sa'kin?"

"Why else? You should never take your eyes off your target, that's rule number one."

"Pero hindi ako ang target mo." itinuro ni Amnesia si Finn. "Siya! Siya ang dapat mong patayin!"

Kairo spared a glance at the guarded Finn and smiled darkly. "Well, I do have my priorities. Sa ngayon, iyon ay ang makuha ang teritoryo niyo."

Kairo was instantly in front of Amnesia. Napatalon ang lalaki't agad na kinuha ang kutsilyong nahulog sa lupa. He started slashing it blindly to the air. Amnesia was completely panicking and losing his grip on anything, while Kairo was deadly calm.

Finn can't help but notice that Kairo's really an exceptional fighter. Siguro'y kahit sa real world ay may history siya sa martial arts. His kicks and punches were filled with powers and techniques. Alam niya ang mga kailangang tamaan na parte ng katawan at kaya niyang kumalma kahit na nasa gitna ng laban. In addition to his fox-like attitude, he's more of a monster than her.

The two male rogues exchanged blades, with Kairo on the lead. Dahil sa mga natatamong sugat ay mukhang mas naf-flustered si Amnesia at sumasablay lahat ng tama niya. At first glance, the fight looked like it'll end quickly. Kita naman kasi kung sino ang mas malakas at hindi.

But when Kairo has fun in fights, he likes to drag them out.

Isang kalabog ang kumuha sa atensiyon ni Finn. Mula sa naglalabang pares ay napatingin siya sa kabilang kalsada. She caught a glimpse of Maki's axe and someone chasing him. The red and black flag hanging from the other's belt signifies that it was from Kairo's alliance.

They're on the move. Finn needs to act now.

Habang abala ang dalawa ay umatras na si Finn sa eskinita. With the help of her shadows and stealth, she was unnoticed.

Hindi na siya nagdalawang-isip at agad na umatake. Tinapon ni Finn ang kunai sa likod ng tuhod ng dalawang manlalaro. Their knees buckled and a grunt left them as they hit the ground. This took the attention of the third guarding player who abruptly turned around.

"Hoy, anong nangyari sa inyo-"

Ngunit, kaagad siyang nasuntok ni Finn and he dropped to the ground.

The two other guards were also knocked down when Finn kicked the back of their heads.

It was an easy ambush.

Finn took a peek behind her, checking if Kairo and Amnesia finished their battle. Ngunit wala din siyang masyadong narinig at makita dahil sa madilim at tahimik ng paligid.

The Blood Vanguard's flag caught her eye and she pulled out Lone Wolves' own flag. Kinuha niya ang marker sa tinuturukan nito, replacing it with their own blue and white one. Agad namang nag-iba ang place ng Lone Wolves sa rankings na nasa taas.

From two territories, Blood Vanguard's fell down into the third place with only one. Reaper's Oath takes the lead with two territories and Lone Wolves is tied with them. Aside from the three, the other alliances were yet to acquire their own land.

And they have to.

As much as possible.

Dahil ang alyansa na walang teritoryo at nasa pinakahuling rank pagkatapos ng 48 hours ay makakatanggap ng matinding parusa.

-chapter end-