Chapter 415: Taking the Guild Creation Token

Shadowfall_Two swept his gaze across the area, his expression tense beneath the calm mask he was trying so hard to maintain. If this were anything other than the final Guild Creation Token their guild needed to establish a top-ten guild in the game, and if there had been any other players nearby to witness this humiliation, the Shadowfall assassins never would have suggested a compromise in the first place.

"Friend, what do you say? Better to make friends than enemies. Let’s put the past behind us. Just give a nod, and we at Shadowfall will treat you like a brother."

For the sake of the Guild Creation Token, Shadowfall_Two forced himself to lower his head. His smile looked natural enough on the surface, but behind it, his teeth were practically grinding themselves apart.

"Shadowfall has been a major guild in several previous games," Shadowfall_Four added from the side, quickly backing him up. "We’ve got real influence. If you ever need help with anything, we won’t refuse."

Marcus let out a quiet laugh.

One played the villain while the other played the peacemaker. Threats on one side, goodwill on the other. A simple carrot-and-stick routine, and honestly, they coordinated it pretty well. On top of that, they kept subtly throwing around Shadowfall’s reputation, trying to pressure him into backing down.

’Yeah. Terrifying.’

Guess he should give Shadowfall some face after all.

"Sure, better to make friends than enemies," Marcus said with a nod. "In that case, I’ll take this Guild Creation Token, and we can consider all past conflicts settled."

After saying that, he shamelessly remained standing exactly where he was, calmly waiting for the item’s protection timer to expire so he could pick it up himself.

"You...!"

Shadowfall_Four immediately lost control of his temper.

Anyone with eyes could see Marcus had no intention of reconciling. Even Shadowfall_Two’s expression darkened for a moment, though he forcibly suppressed it for the Token’s sake.

"Brother," he said stiffly, "the Guild Creation Token is extremely important to us. If you’re willing to return it, name your price. Equipment, gold, materials, anything."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Marcus pretended to think about it before speaking in a generous tone. "Well, your brother here happens to be short on money lately. The Token’s useless to me anyway, so let’s keep things simple. Give me one billion gold coins, and it’s yours."

Did they really think he was stupid?

Shadowfall_Two might have hidden his hostility well, but Marcus had played enough games to know better. A major guild swallowing this much humiliation after he’d just killed their members? Impossible. If they were acting this friendly, then they either wanted to scam the Token back from him or rope him into working for them after seeing his strength.

Marcus had been through five or six major VRMMOs over the years. If he still couldn’t see through something this obvious, he might as well quit gaming entirely.

Besides, he still hadn’t forgotten their earlier ambush.

"A billion gold coins..." Shadowfall_Two stared at Marcus guarding the Token and finally understood something. Even if Shadowfall truly wanted peace, this Rabbit Knight had no intention of accepting it.

This guy was exactly like them. The type who always settled his grudges.

Shadowfall_Two tightened his grip on his weapon. Winning was impossible, he already knew that much, but for the Guild Creation Token, he had no choice except to risk everything.

"There’s still a chance," he thought.

He didn’t need to defeat Marcus. He only needed to stall him long enough for Shadowfall_Four to enter the Token’s pickup range.

"So you’re really determined to go against Shadowfall?" Shadowfall_Two asked one final time.

Marcus sighed heavily and shook his head with exaggerated disappointment. "Are you stupid? You still can’t tell I’ve been going against you this entire time?"

"Damn it!"

The last bit of patience inside Shadowfall_Two finally snapped.

"Kid, we tried to be reasonable with you!"

Just remembering how he’d humbled himself moments ago made his blood boil. Fortunately, there were no outsiders here to witness it.

Marcus smirked. "Save it. I definitely don’t want your goodwill, but in about a minute, I do want that Token."

The mocking tone made Shadowfall_Two even angrier, but he was an experienced player and quickly forced himself to calm down. He shot Shadowfall_Four a subtle signal.

"Got it."

The archer immediately moved into position, circling behind Marcus while keeping his footsteps light. Their plan was obvious. They would rush from opposite directions and force Marcus to choose one side.

The protection timer was almost over. Neither of them dared waste another second.

"Earth Scroll!"

Before charging, Shadowfall_Two suddenly pulled a golden scroll from his inventory. It was an Earth Scroll he’d obtained from an Earth-element monster earlier, a rare consumable that boosted defense by twenty percent for a single battle.

This was his trump card.

A yellow glow wrapped around his body as fragments of stone spiraled around his armor, hardening his defenses.

"Let’s do this!"

With a roar, Shadowfall_Two charged straight at Marcus.

At the same time, Shadowfall_Four sprinted toward the Guild Creation Token lying several meters behind Marcus. For an archer, his speed was honestly impressive.

Marcus had to admit that much.

"Let’s see how you stop both of us," Shadowfall_Two thought confidently.

Marcus needed to remain within two meters of the Token to secure it once the protection expired. But if he stayed there, Shadowfall_Four could rush in from behind and snatch it first. On the other hand, if Marcus moved to stop the archer, Shadowfall_Two could lock him down from the front.

From Shadowfall_Two’s perspective, no ordinary player could possibly handle both sides at once.

Unfortunately for them, Marcus wasn’t ordinary.

In fact, he’d deliberately kept the two alive this entire time because he wanted them to struggle for the Token. Watching them desperately grasp at hope before crushing it completely was far more satisfying.

Technically, he could have summoned Pebble to block Shadowfall_Four, but he had no intention of exposing another hidden card here.

He was done playing around.

As Shadowfall_Four entered his attack range, Marcus suddenly spun around.

"Desperate Strike!"

The Bat Dragon Cloud Sword shot through the air like a black flash.

Bang!

A heavy impact echoed through the forest. Even without triggering a critical hit, the fivefold damage multiplier instantly erased Shadowfall_Four’s health bar, and a massive five-digit damage number burst above his head.

The skill’s knockback effect activated immediately.

The sword pierced straight through Shadowfall_Four’s chest and carried his body backward before violently pinning him against a massive tree trunk behind him.

Bang!

The entire tree shook from the impact.

At almost the same moment, a golden bow slipped from the corpse’s hand and clattered onto the ground.

Marcus shrugged. "Amen."

Honestly, the guy had known Marcus possessed ranged attacks and still chose to charge anyway. But with the Guild Creation Token on the line, Shadowfall_Four really hadn’t had another choice.

"Ah!"

Shadowfall_Two cried out in shock.

He had originally planned to tie Marcus down long enough for Shadowfall_Four to succeed, but before he could even reach him, Marcus had already turned around and erased the archer instantly.

A bitter taste filled Shadowfall_Two’s mouth. For a split second, he genuinely didn’t know what to do anymore.

Unfortunately, Marcus gave him no time to think. After killing Shadowfall_Four, he turned back just in time to see Shadowfall_Two less than a meter away.

"Forward."

Flame Charger stepped ahead obediently as Marcus swapped weapons, pulling out the Corpse Demon Dark Soul Sword from his inventory. The moment he closed the distance, he unleashed Triple Surge.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

-1000

-900

-900

Three consecutive slashes crashed down like a tidal wave, each strike heavier than the last. Before Shadowfall_Two could even react properly, over half his health had vanished.

As a heavily defensive knight strengthened by the Earth Scroll, he barely survived the combo.

But his luck ran out immediately afterward. Triple Surge triggered its stun effect. Shadowfall_Two froze in place on the spot, completely unable to move.

"Not bad defense, Two," Marcus commented casually.

Then he followed up with two normal attacks. That was enough.

Thud. Thud.

Shadowfall_Two’s body collapsed heavily onto the ground, and a piece of armor dropped beside the corpse.

"Nice."

Marcus bent down, picked up the equipment, and checked the stats briefly. Blue-grade gear with decent defense. It would sell for a good amount later.

After that, he calmly began collecting the rest of the loot scattered across the battlefield.

"Guild Creation Token, here I come."

He guided Flame Charger toward the Token lying nearby.

Ding!

[Stonehaven, this item does not belong to you. You cannot pick it up.]

Marcus wasn’t surprised at all. Even though he had dealt the killing blow to the Yellow-Tusk Boar King, the loot rights still belonged to Shadowfall for the moment.

’No problem.’

There was less than a minute left before the protection expired and the Token became public loot anyway.

Until then, he could take his time collecting everything else first. After all, the Shadowfall players he’d counterattacked had dropped quite a lot of equipment.