Leading the charge were still the four kingpins of the Gon Alliance, Nolan Hart, Sun Ji, Damon Teague, and Talia Stormsister.

Nolan Hart’s level wasn’t high, only Level 17, and the others hovered around Level 16 or 17. They clearly hadn’t recovered from the ten-level beatdown Don had inflicted on them last time. Their underlings were in roughly the same range. None had broken Level 20.

This grove was the only path to the Forest of Strange Sounds. With them blocking the entrance, Dust certainly wasn’t getting out.

But the cowards didn’t dare go inside. They stood around the intersection, shouting and cursing at each other to bolster their courage.

A layer of firelight enveloped Damon Teague’s staff as he turned to Nolan Hart with venomous eyes. "Brother Nolly, this GRD Dust killed three of our brothers. If we rush in and finish him now, we can knock him down six levels. His gear looks pretty good, I’ll give the loot to you."

Nolan Hart wasn’t pleased by the flattery. On the contrary, his face went ashen. He licked his lips. "My God, you saw this kid’s strength. He killed Chops in a single shot. Chops was a thief with over 2,000 HP. Dead instantly."

"But we outnumber them! What is there to be afraid of?" Gareth Zane drew his dagger with a sharp ring.

After thinking for a moment, Nolan Hart said, "Here’s what we do. Talia, take a few brothers and keep watch outside. Be wary of those GRDs from Reincarnation coming to help. I’ll go in with Gareth and the others to catch Dust. This time we strip this kid naked."

Without further discussion, Nolan Hart led the way inside.

Lily got anxious and asked Don in a low voice, "What should we do, Don?"

He smiled faintly. "Lily, stay invisible with me. Don’t act too quickly. When I do, target Nolan Hart. Give him a headshot."

Lily was laughing too, but her laughter was cunning. "This troublemaker wants to steal someone else’s equipment? Doesn’t he even realize how popular his name is?"

The level advantage combined with stealth allowed them to slip easily into the woods right under the noses of Talia Stormsister and her watch group. The Gon Alliance players, hesitant to take large steps, weren’t much faster than two invisible figures, so Don and Lily caught up to them quickly.

As they closed in on Dust’s coordinates, Don used telepathy to speak in team chat. "Dust, how long is your red-name status?"

"Only an hour left. I used a trick and killed two pink-names earlier."

Lily chuckled. "Those idiots can’t even do math. They actually thought Brother Dust would drop six levels if he died."

"Figures. Those guys from the Gon Alliance have always been idiots." Bernita said resentfully, "Brother Don, don’t act rashly. I don’t want you getting banned."

"Yeah. I’ll only lose two more levels at most. I’m fine. I can handle it."

Don didn’t reply. His stealth had only fifteen seconds left, and so did Lily’s. As a Scout-class skill at this level, invisibility couldn’t last long.

He decided to move. He stepped quickly behind Nolan Hart, a bottle of low-grade alchemical blood potion already dangling from his mouth. That little treasure restored HP extremely fast, perfect for saving lives in critical moments.

His dagger hovered behind Nolan Hart’s back, ready to strike him dead at any moment.

But just then, Nolan Hart suddenly spun around, his face changing drastically. "Damn it, we’ve fallen for their trap!"

The words had barely left his mouth when shouts of battle erupted from the entrance to the woods. Two Gon Alliance players stumbled in, dragging slivers of HP behind them. Before one of the swordsmen could even speak, an icy blue arrow of light struck him from behind, piercing his chest and pinning him to the spot.

[1,808!]

Don couldn’t help but feel a chill. For Ice Arrow to deal that kind of damage, the player who cast it must have considerable level and equipment.

The next second, with the appearance of the attacker, his guess was confirmed.

A handsome young man, barely 1.8 meters tall and dressed in an ice-colored robe, stepped into Don’s view. Thanks to the Dark Elf’s skin texture, his complexion carried a grayish-brown tone, making him look every bit the part of a mage.

Another assassin from the Gon Alliance didn’t have time to escape either. A fierce sea breeze swept in and sent him flying.

A moment later, a pretty young woman with a bob haircut and fair, rosy skin appeared beside him.

Nolan Hart was dumbfounded, muttering to himself, "Sword Song Cloud Wind, Sword Song Ice Condensation..."

Sword Song Ice Condensation smiled disdainfully. "At least you’ve got some sense of what’s what. You bunch of thugs had better run, or I’ll send you all back to the safe zone."

Before Nolan Hart could answer, nearly a hundred heavily armed Sword Song players appeared behind the handsome man and beautiful woman, their armor gleaming. They glared with undisguised hostility, making Nolan Hart and his companions feel their hair stand on end.

Gareth Zane couldn’t help cursing. "What the hell are you Sword Song people doing? What did we ever do to you? Why are you killing our brothers?"

Cloud Wind and Ice Condensation exchanged a helpless glance. Cloud Wind said, "Is this kid brain-dead? Doesn’t he know what our relationship with the Gon Alliance is?"

A layer of cold sweat already clung to Nolan Hart’s face. He lowered his voice. "Gareth, you joined late, you don’t know how things stand. We’re allies of War Fire. And War Fire and Sword Song are mortal enemies..."

Gareth, still posturing, said, "Brother Nolly, let’s not be afraid of them. What’s so great about them? They just outnumber us a little."

Nolan Hart remained silent.

Damon Teague cursed under his breath. "Idiot. They’re ranked second in the American region, second only to Zord Kane. Do you think we can afford to provoke them? Stop embarrassing yourself and let’s get out of here."

It was clear that Damon Teague did have some brains.

Even while retreating, Nolan Hart still put on a show of arrogance. "The mountains and rivers remain unchanged. We’ll meet again."