Chapter 409: Old Debts on a Bloody Battlefield

Marcus took one look at the battlefield and immediately understood what kind of mess he’d walked into.

Two groups of players were locked in a brutal fight in the middle of the boar fields, weapons flashing, spells exploding across the clearing as curses and battle cries echoed through the area. And at the center of it all stood the cause of the chaos itself: a massive level thirty-five boar with yellow tusks and a faint golden glow shimmering across its hide.

The Yellow-Tusk Boar King.

"Trouble follows that thing around like a curse," Marcus muttered under his breath.

Some people met and became friends. Others crossed paths once and turned into lifelong enemies. Boss monsters had a strange talent for speeding both of those things up.

Still, he had to admit there was something weirdly impressive about it. One oversized pig had managed to drag dozens of players into a full-blown war. Love it or hate it, that kind of influence was almost admirable.

And honestly, if everyone involved was having the time of their lives, then who was he to judge? If tearing the place apart made people remember your name, then maybe that counted as skill too.

Marcus stood off to the side and quietly watched the fight unfold. Between the shouting, the formations, and the way both sides moved, it didn’t take long for him to piece together the situation.

This area belonged to the level thirty-five Yellow-Tusk Boars. Since it was so far from the city, very few players came all the way out here to grind. Earlier today, a mercenary group called Savage Tribe had arrived with around thirty members and discovered that the Yellow-Tusk Boar King had just spawned.

Naturally, they had been ecstatic.

An intermediate Silver boss wasn’t something you stumbled across every day, and there was always a chance it could drop a Guild Creation Token. Savage Tribe had immediately started clearing the surrounding monsters and preparing for the fight.

Then Shadowfall showed up.

More than forty players came charging into the area almost at once, and from the look of things, the two groups already hated each other long before today. With a boss standing right between them, the tension exploded instantly.

From what Marcus could tell, Shadowfall had absolutely started this mess. They’d caught Savage Tribe while they were already occupied with the boss fight, and with superior numbers on their side, there was no reason for them to hold back.

Especially once they confirmed what kind of boss it was.

Marcus shook his head slowly.

"All this over a level thirty-five Silver boss?"

Players were dying left and right, and every death came with penalties. Experience loss. Equipment durability. Potential item drops. To him, the whole thing looked ridiculous.

And after today, there was no way these two groups would ever coexist peacefully again.

What Marcus didn’t realize was that the situation looked very different to players around level forty. To them, a Silver boss wasn’t beneath notice at all. It was the perfect target.

More importantly, Dominion’s ninth guild had just been established.

That meant only one slot remained in the top ten.

The tenth guild carried weight. Reputation. Prestige. Visibility across the entire server. Competition for that final position had become fierce overnight, almost as intense as the race for the very first guild establishment back in the early days.

Since yesterday, every major mercenary group that still hadn’t founded a guild had gone nearly mad searching for Guild Creation Tokens.

Savage Tribe wanted one, Shadowfall wanted one too. And neither side intended to back down.

But Marcus was already level forty-nine. To him, low-level grinding zones and Silver bosses barely registered as worthwhile anymore. He simply couldn’t relate to the desperation of players still struggling for position in the midgame.

So after watching for a while, he lost interest.

"Time to head back."

He had seen enough. Nothing here involved him, and he had no habit of interfering in other players’ business.

Marcus never stole bosses from other groups, and he definitely wasn’t interested in creating trouble over a low-level Silver boss. Keeping a low profile had always suited him better.

Sure, Shadowfall was clearly bullying Savage Tribe with numbers, but Marcus wasn’t some self-righteous hero eager to jump in and save strangers. As far as he was concerned, other people’s grudges had nothing to do with him.

Honestly, his ideal outcome would’ve been both sides weakening each other until they collapsed, then letting him clean up afterward. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen. Shadowfall clearly held the advantage.

"Shadowfall..."

The name tugged at something in his memory. Marcus narrowed his eyes and looked more carefully through the crowd of players.

Then he paused.

"...Ah."

He lowered the Town Portal Scroll he had just taken out.

"It’s them."

Two familiar figures stood among the Shadowfall players.

Marcus slowly tucked the scroll back into his inventory and stared at them a little longer to make sure he wasn’t mistaken.

At that moment, Savage Tribe was finally collapsing under the combined pressure of the boss and Shadowfall’s attacks.

"Shadowfall_Two, you shameless piece of trash!" SavageBear roared furiously as several of his members dropped one after another. "Ganging up on us wasn’t enough for you? You had to ambush us during the boss fight too?!"

"Heh heh..."

A sneering laugh came from behind the front line.

Shadowfall_Four stepped forward with a smug grin plastered across his face.

"Come on now, big bear. Your Savage Tribe’s been causing problems for us forever. Today we just happened to meet out here. It would’ve been rude not to leave you a little present."

As he spoke, Shadowfall’s attacks became even more aggressive.

"Move faster!" he shouted excitedly toward his guildmates. "Finish these idiots off already!"

Marcus’s gaze swept across the battlefield again, eventually landing on a familiar Sorcerer standing farther back among the casters.

Shadowfall_Three.

Marcus smiled faintly.

"Well, what a coincidence."

Shadowfall_Two, the Knight. Shadowfall_Three, the Sorcerer. Shadowfall_Four, the Archer.

The same three idiots from Stone Carving Forest. The same idiots who had tried to kill him and FreshwindElara so they could steal the boss for themselves.

And the same idiots Marcus had humiliated afterward.

’What a small world.’

His heartbeat slowed instead of quickening, the calmness in his chest becoming sharper and colder.

Marcus usually avoided attention whenever possible. Fame meant trouble, and trouble meant people watching you.

But there was one principle he never compromised on.

Debts had to be repaid. The good ones and the bad ones alike.

After what happened with Snow, that belief had become absolute. Back then, weakness and hesitation had cost him dearly. He had no intention of repeating the same mistake again.

And besides, even if he chose to ignore them, those three would never forget what happened in Stone Carving Forest. Eventually, they would come looking for him anyway.

If that was unavoidable, then striking first was the smarter option.

Marcus quietly studied the battlefield while switching into his Corpse Demon equipment set, patiently searching for the right opportunity to move.

Shadowfall was winning, but not cleanly. Savage Tribe had fought back viciously before collapsing, and nearly half of Shadowfall’s members were already dead or heavily injured.

After a moment of thought, Marcus changed equipment once more and switched back into the level thirty Cabaro set.

No need to attract unnecessary attention. Overkill had its place, but this wasn’t it.