Lily hugged Don for about half a minute before she felt the pressure building in her chest and seemed to realize she had lost her composure. She pushed him away, her face flushed.

Don’s own face had gone as red as if he’d caught a fever. Over the years he had always considered himself a fairly honest guy. He had his share of perverted thoughts like anyone else, but he’d always been timid around girls, especially pretty ones. He had no idea how to handle this.

Elias Finch condescended to lead his team uphill. "Don, judging by your accent, you’re from Liverpool, aren’t you?"

"Yes. Scouser, born and bred."

"Oh, that makes things easier. I’ll talk to Nolly later and try to smooth things over between you two. Both Scousers, better to resolve conflicts than let them fester."

Don understood Finch’s meaning perfectly. He was being told to know when to stop. If he saw Gon Alliance members again, it would be best to avoid them, or pretend not to notice. Don didn’t want to push too hard either, he had little money in Liverpool, and he couldn’t compete financially with these rich young masters who had struck it big.

"Brother Finch, I understand what you mean."

Elias Finch glanced toward the small tents bulging on the mountaintop above. "There really are bosses up there. Whatever experience, drops, or quest items come out of them, they’re all yours. I can make that call. But honestly, with your current abilities, you probably can’t handle those two bosses alone. How about this, Snow Fox, take Ming Yi and Bei Ge and heal Don from outside the team. Lily, you seem to get along with him, so you two go up there and soak up the experience."

Don suddenly felt a small surge of respect for Elias Finch. As the leader of a top war team, the man was genuinely responsible.

War Fire Snow Fox nodded. "Healer team, with me."

Lily was overjoyed, her voice sweet as toffee. "Thank you, Brother Finch! You’re the best!"

"Cut the nonsense. I’m letting you tag along because you nag me constantly, and now it turns out you’ve got such a handsome boyfriend. No wonder you’ve been so happy lately."

Don felt a chill crawl down his spine. ’Brother Finch, please, stop. A girl this beautiful and this unruly is bad for my health.’

"Brother Finch, you’re so annoying. Don and I are just ordinary good friends." Seeing his awkward look, Lily stepped in to deflect at exactly the right moment.

"Alright, alright. Come on, friend, let’s go up and see what these bosses look like."

Elias Finch had already taken the lead.

And he absolutely had the ability to lead. Don had just checked the equipment rankings earlier, Finch already held the top-ranked weapon in the American region, a silver-grade Maple Forest Sword. On the armor rankings, three silver-grade pieces bore his name as well. It quickly dawned on Don just how terrifying Elias Finch really was.

The moment the main force of the war team reached the mountain pass, the two Level 19 Brugg Scouts standing guard reacted instantly, shouting in some guttural language as they charged toward Finch. Their shouts stirred up a commotion, and Bruggs began pouring out of the tents behind them one after another, every last one looking Level 18 or higher.

Elias Finch smiled faintly, drew his longsword, and charged forward to meet them.

With a single flick of his sharp blade, sword energy erupted outward, and a straightforward horizontal slash carved across the chest of the short Brugg Scout.

The poor creature froze on the spot. After a damage number of 3,920 flashed above its head, its body split cleanly in two along the cut. The upper half flew into the grass in a bloody arc.

That sword strike had been nothing more than a basic horizontal slash.

Without giving Don time to be shocked, Finch struck again. Another normal slash, almost the exact same motion, taking the life of a second Brugg Scout.

Then, facing the large group of monsters pouring in from behind, Elias Finch advanced smoothly, his longsword held horizontally, and with a flick of his wrist unleashed Sweeping Strike.

In an instant, blood erupted in small fountains all around him, and a series of astonishingly high damage numbers appeared over a dozen heads at once.

[1,889!]

[1,999!]

[1,985!]

[1,885!]

[2,208!]

[2,108!]

[Critical, 4,902!]

[2,297!]

Logically, Sweeping Strike should have been a signature move of human mercenaries wielding spears or halberds, slow-windup weapons with long reach and high attack power, ideal for hitting groups. But Elias Finch’s casual Sweeping Strike was absurdly powerful. Two bursts of damage and the entire swarm around him was wiped out.

What chilled Don even more was that while the remaining monsters on the periphery continued to shriek and swing their weapons, their attacks struck Finch like ants trying to shake a tree, landing only a single point of damage each. That was obviously the system forcibly deducting HP out of compassion for poor creatures unable to penetrate the enemy’s defense.

But Finch was really good at reading the room. After showing off a bit, he waved his hand and laughed. "Brothers, it’s your turn!"

Behind him, the warrior players roared and charged forward, brandishing their cold, gleaming weapons and cutting into the horde. Immediately after, the warriors of the unit divided neatly into several small squads, like Roman mercenaries, and began methodically slaughtering the elite monsters scattered through the base camp.

Meanwhile, on the perimeter, the Debtborn raised his staff and shouted, "Class, time to add some fuel to the fire!"

A torrent of flame, a forest of ice spikes, and a hail of arrows rained down in perfect synchronization. The HP bars of the elite monsters plummeted at an alarming rate, making them look no different from common mobs. Don was stunned. This kind of aura was exactly like the top guilds of old, Family World, Overlord of America. The resemblance was uncanny.

And the unit obeyed orders without question. The forward troops led by Elias Finch pressed straight into the Brugg headquarters, ignoring the debris crunching beneath their feet. Only after they were fully inside did the follow-up sweepers begin clearing behind them.

Don couldn’t help noticing that the sweeping team was composed entirely of female players, each with a generous figure and flamboyant attire. Alluring, in a calculated way.

He sighed inwardly. ’If showing off is an art, Elias Finch deserves to be at the very forefront of that world. Look at how polished this performance is.’