Chapter Fifty-Five: Every Shot Draws Blood

There is no perfect class in the world of Star Wars Online, not even among the various specializations. Each class comes with its own distinct strengths and equally obvious weaknesses. The advantage of the Controller class is its high attack power, but its flaw lies in its weak constitution.

Right now, Wu Hua occupies the highest vantage point, and the Controllers from the Brotherhood are too afraid to set the grass ablaze; if they did, the waist-high cover would be gone, leaving them completely exposed to enemy fire.

Maragobi’s outburst of rage only gave himself away. Wu Hua swung his gun toward a patch of grass below and fired seven or eight shots, relying entirely on intuition—shooting blind but drawing on his combat skill of locating by sound, something he’d recently grown adept at. One bullet skimmed Maragobi’s face, leaving a bloody mark:

Damage: “-123.”

At that, both sides fell silent.

Suddenly, three lightning orbs floated eerily out of the grass, and it seemed a warrior was charging forward, crouched low. A series of rapid crackles followed—Wu Hua and the others felt their scalps go numb from the electricity, but Wu Hua endured nearly 2,500 points of damage without flinching.

Then, four shots thudded into the chest of a warrior in the front line: “-2108, -2121, -2115, -2126.” Another beam of white light rose from the grass.

This was none other than KillbacktoAfghanistan. He had thought he could sneak up under the cover of the Controllers’ lightning orbs, but hadn’t counted on his opponent simply toughing it out. Back in the fourth level of the ancient tomb, there had been some excuse for his defeat, but this time, there was none. Why was Exploding Madman’s marksmanship so precise? How much HP did he truly have? Was he really a gunner?

The answers to these questions, perhaps, would only become clear when he finally did return to “Afghanistan.”

Now, only ten Controllers from the Brotherhood remained, nine of whom specialized in fire.

Wu Hua burst out laughing after his successful attack, “Damn it. You think you can outwit me?”

His taunting voice carried down the mountain. Maragobi, upon hearing it, was so furious he felt his lungs would explode. “Brothers, don’t be afraid! He only has a green AUG. If we all go up together, we’ll take him down. Whoever dies, I’ll give them ten thousand credits when we get back. Whoever kills Exploding Madman, I’ll give a hundred thousand!”

Maragobi, like a cornered beast, had lost all reason—his only rational thought was that Wu Hua’s gun was too monstrous, and every second he lingered on the mountainside brought him closer to death’s door.

Yet his desperate tactic was exactly what Wu Hua feared: if all ten Controllers, each over level twenty, rushed at once, not only Wu Hua but also his three companions would likely be instantly wiped out by their ultimate skills.

Maragobi seemed shrewd, but he was actually foolish—he didn’t understand the gunner class well enough. The gunner’s true strength wasn’t his weapon or his hands, but his eyes. If Maragobi had sent up a wall of fire, Wu Hua’s scope would have been so obscured he couldn’t aim.

Unfortunately, blinded by rage, Maragobi led his ten Controllers to charge like warriors, with predictable results—within three seconds, Wu Hua had already taken down three of them.

The AUG dealt about 2,300 damage per shot, a true instant kill to these Controllers. When Maragobi finally threw up a fire wall, Wu Hua’s previous position was already deserted—only a wide patch of scorched grass remained.

Several more shots rang out from the north, and this time four more white lights rose, leaving behind a field strewn with potions.

At last, Maragobi caught sight of Wu Hua’s real body—he had retreated to the suspension bridge, over a hundred meters away. Even if Maragobi was filled with righteous fury, his spells couldn’t reach that far. He hadn’t yet developed any long-range ultimates, and most of his group had already fallen.

He regretted only one thing now: not spending a fortune at the auction to buy the AUG. Now, it was being used against him, slicing his own flesh.

“Maragobi, there’s something I want to say to you,” Wu Hua shouted from the far side of the bridge.

Maragobi snapped back, “Exploding Madman, you scoundrel! You think I’ll surrender? Or make peace with you? You can go eat shit!”

Wu Hua laughed, “No, no, you misunderstand. What I want to say is—next time, bring more people.” With that, he squeezed the trigger mercilessly, unloading the remaining thirty bullets like a torrential downpour.

At the final moment, Maragobi threw up his shield, but Wu Hua was no longer the rookie who wielded a Mauser. The barrage left only two Controllers standing, and Maragobi’s shield shattered.

“Damn your boots!” Wu Hua drew his Desert Eagle and charged forward. Maragobi, desperate, sprinted onto the suspension bridge, knowing this was his last chance to defeat Wu Hua.

Bang—the Desert Eagle was faster. The shot struck Maragobi’s right hand, forcing him to drop his energy staff. His level 25 ultimate, “Explosive Fire Dragon,” was just one second from completion.

But a second was more than enough for a gunner.

Bang—the second shot. Maragobi’s mouth fell open wide enough to swallow an egg—not in shock, but because he couldn’t close it. The armor-piercing round struck him in the navel, his old weakness. He never thought Wu Hua would remember.

Surviving this long had been no easy feat, but dying was all too simple.

“You… monster…” Maragobi glared at Wu Hua as his body toppled from the bridge and dissolved into white light in midair.

Wu Hua blew the smoke from his Desert Eagle and laughed, “Damn, too bad your Flying Cloud Boots didn’t drop.”

“Brilliant!” Tu Tiao and the others emerged from the tunnel, clapping as they walked. “Madman, you really are insane—every shot draws blood! Even I have to admire your marksmanship.”

Wu Hua chuckled, “Good, another batch of enemies down. We were just worrying about supplies—let’s sweep the battlefield and see how much we can recover.”

“Are we still going for the boss?” asked Riwan, still unwilling to give up.

Wu Hua glanced at him. “What do you think?”

Riwan pondered and finally said, “I guess we should forget it.”

Wu Hua smiled, “You’re right. Even if another two or three hundred showed up, it wouldn’t matter—the terrain here is too restrictive. But don’t worry, I’ve thought of a good way to grind levels.”

“Oh?” Everyone leaned in. “What way?”

“We can lure the boss out,” Wu Hua said casually.

“How do we lure it?” they asked curiously.

Wu Hua glanced at Ling Ling. She pointed at herself in surprise. “You mean I should go?”

Tu Tiao’s eyes widened. “Lure it with charm?”

With a collective groan, everyone collapsed to the ground.