Kira pointed to an arrow embedded in her own shoulder. "Brother, deal with the one behind me before you start complimenting people."

Crim spun, grabbed the attacker behind Kira, launched him into the air, and split him in half with a downward axe swing. "Go home and drink your milk."

Their surprise attack had briefly reversed the momentum. But only briefly. The Adventure Club players who had been eliminated respawned in Ghost Wolf Village and immediately rejoined the fight.

Reincarnation was equally decisive, pulling their remaining members together. A small brawl had escalated into a genuine small-scale battle. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

For a while, the wild wolves outside Vellari Village were remarkably content. Nobody was hunting them anymore. They sprawled in the grass, basking in the afternoon sun, watching the players fight each other with detached curiosity.

The names of Reincarnation’s core players and all four Extraordinary Studio trainees had turned red. Don had been picking off white-named players from behind in quick succession, and his fame timer had climbed to seven hours. His level had just hit 31 after a full morning of grinding, if he died now, he’d drop back to 17. A very harmonious number, as he bitterly thought.

Crimson Reaper was having the time of his life. His red-name timer had reached ten hours. If he died now, he might as well go back to the wilderness and kill wolves from scratch.

Then the pressure got worse.

A series of silver lights erupted from the Vellari Village teleporter. Don looked closer, and felt his last remaining hope drain away. Every single nameplate above the new arrivals carried the same prefix.

Gon.

He checked the map and confirmed what he’d already suspected. Wolf Canyon was essentially flat terrain, low shrubs and gray-yellow grass, with no meaningful cover anywhere. No hiding spots. No escape routes.

He remembered something the player known as Star used to say: ’What is destined to be yours will be yours. What isn’t, you cannot force.’

Today, apparently, was not going to be his day.

The entire Gon Alliance had mobilized. All four of their most notorious troublemakers were present. Nolan Hart had reached Level 27, his equipment blazing with visible light, a sharp cyan longsword in hand. The moment his eyes found Don, they lit up with fanatical bloodlust. "You extraordinary idiot! Your name is red! Today I’m going to blast your ass wide open!"

A whoosh. An arrow shot from a bow, carrying a powerful vortex, and struck Nolan Hart’s chest. Blood sprayed.

[1,859!]

Not far away, a pair of beautiful eyes fixed on him with fierce contempt. "Shut your mouth."

Nolan Hart pulled the arrow out of his chest with casual indifference. "Lily, listen up. I’ve been tolerating you because you’re a girl. But that tolerance ends today. If you get involved in this, what happens to you next won’t be ordinary."

Lily nocked another arrow without a word. But a loyal knight player had already positioned himself in front of Nolan, blocking the shot with his shield.

Gareth Zane couldn’t hold himself back any longer and charged forward, shouting. "Brother Nolly, I can’t stand it anymore! Kill this woman!"

The Gon Alliance players scattered immediately. Mages and archers formed a neat arc and began unleashing their skills in coordinated volleys.

Don raised his arm and shouted. "Everyone, fall back! Further back!"

He was too late. Crimson Reaper was deep in the middle of a brawl and couldn’t hear a thing.

Several ice arrows slammed into him one after another. His metal armor, extraordinarily high in physical defense but almost useless against magic, showed its weakness plainly. Crim’s thick health bar plummeted like a burst pipe.

At that critical moment, it was the brothers who came through. Dust and Cappuccino, along with several warrior players, roared and charged at the ranged formation. But the Gon Alliance players were far more tactically aware than the Adventure Club had been. Their own warriors moved instantly to intercept, forcing Dust’s group to split up and engage in messy one-on-one exchanges.

For one terrible moment, Don thought Crim was already lost.

Then several silvery-white beams of light descended on Crim’s position, instantly restoring his health. Don looked toward the source and saw a sizable team of priests rushing to Crim’s aid, their IDs all sharing the same prefix.

Sword Song.

Before Nolan Hart could even react, he turned around and found that the entire village entrance was surrounded. Sword Song players had encircled the area completely.

From among the crowd, a handsome man and a beautiful woman stepped forward, a mage and a priest. Don checked his friends list. Diana was offline.

Sword Song Cloud Wind raised his voice. "Stop fighting if you don’t want to die!"

But the Adventure Club and Gon Alliance players were locked in too deep at this point. A few words weren’t going to stop anyone.

Cloud Wind shook his head helplessly. "Archers, mages, machine-gun fire. Leave no one alive. Adventurers or gangsters, doesn’t matter."

Nolan Hart erupted. "To hell with Sword Song! I’ll be back!"

A wall of fireballs incinerated him.

Cloud Wind watched with exasperated amusement. "This idiot thinks he’s the Big Bad Wolf."

Within moments, the remaining Gon Alliance and Adventure Club players were scattering like stray dogs. They couldn’t enter the protected zone and couldn’t stand their ground in the open, and a pack of elite-level ferocious wolves was already prowling the surrounding area. Several players who fled too carelessly pulled the wolves and were torn apart.

But there was one exception. Mark hadn’t run. He was still fighting Don, and with everything he had.

Both had full health at the start of this round. Don was five levels higher, Mark had dropped to 26 after their earlier exchange. Neither the Sword Song players nor the Reincarnation team moved to intervene. Don’s eyes had already communicated what he wanted. This was one-on-one.

The kid’s skills were genuinely impressive. His footwork was agile, his attacks as fast as lightning. He never struck when the timing was wrong, he just dodged, waiting, conserving. His Agility was clearly very high, probably a full-Agility rogue build. Not one of Don’s combo attacks connected.

But his excessive caution became his undoing.

Don suddenly closed in, his feet moving in tight, rapid circular steps. He reversed his dagger grip, and the flat of the blade sliced cleanly against Mark’s wrist. Mark startled, stumbled back a few steps, and played directly into Don’s hands. Don drew the Larsel Bow in one smooth motion, nocked, and fired with explosive force.

The arrow traced an inelegant arc and struck Mark squarely in the shoulder.

[1,954!]

"Damn, that hits hard!" Mark’s body snaked as he charged forward. But Don had already changed direction and was firing again with a Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon shot.

Mark’s Evasion was on cooldown. He hadn’t expected Don to play ranged. The arrow caught him in the chest.

[1,740!]

Two horizontal shots brought his health to near zero. He didn’t die, but the bow’s hidden knockback attribute activated, a one-second stun locked him in place.

Don walked up to him calmly. The edge of his dagger rested against Mark’s throat.

Their eyes met. Don searched for fear in the other man’s gaze and found none.

Mark said quietly, "If I’m not good enough, then kill me."

"Oh?" Don’s expression shifted slightly. "You’re a real man. I respect that."

Mark said nothing more. He simply closed his eyes and stood straight.

Then, as if the timing had been scripted, Yates and Cappuccino dragged Adventure King into view. The man had taken advantage of the chaos to slip out of the safe zone and score two kills, turning his name slightly red in the process.

Dust was merciless. A kick dropped Adventure King to his knees. "Not so cocky now, are you?"

Sweat dripped down Adventure King’s face.

Don read him in an instant. An opportunist, the type who pushed when he sensed an advantage and folded the moment the ground shifted. Right now he was terrified of losing rank. Compared to Nolan Hart, this man was worse, at least Nolan Hart had conviction in his pettiness.

Seeing his boss kneeling in the dirt, Mark gritted his teeth. "You’ve pushed far enough. A man of principle can be killed but not humiliated."

Dust growled. "Who pushed whom first? Do the Adventurers think they can just plant a flag on any hunting ground they want?"

Mark went silent. He had nothing to say.

From his expression, Don could already tell, this player was reasonable, genuinely so. Completely different from Adventure King and Nolan Hart. It was a shame that good character had been paired with such poor company.

Don sheathed his dagger. "Mark, I respect what you are. I won’t kill you today. You can go."

Still trembling, Adventure King managed to put on a righteous facade. "Mark, go on! I can take four levels’ worth of a drop. Go. I’m just, a little afraid of pain."

Dust raised his halberd and brought it down hard.

Before it could connect, Mark stepped in front of his boss, arms spread wide, activating Evasion.

Don had seen loyalty like this before, in online games. It was rare, and he genuinely respected it. But this wasn’t the moment to let sentiment guide decisions, and he had no interest in exposing his team’s real intentions any further.

Sword Song Cloud Wind and Ice Condensation walked over. Ice Condensation shoved Don lightly to the side. "Step aside. Let me see which brat has the audacity."

Mark looked at Don with a faint, resigned smile. "So you’re just a little brother after all."

Don feigned helplessness and spread his hands. "Honestly, I was just a bystander who got dragged into your mess. Ladies, we should go. This truly is none of our business."