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‘As expected?’

There was no time to think further. The moment the guardian spirit fully took shape, its gaze locked onto them, and a violent gale began to howl as it gathered in the spirit’s hands, swirling endlessly with sharp, cutting force.

With a flick of its pale green hand, a crescent-shaped wind blade shot straight toward Treka, slicing through the air with deadly intent.

This clearly seemed to be the boss’ basic attack, though whether Zane could withstand a single strike from an attack power exceeding 3,000 was still uncertain.

The Light Elf showed no fear at all. As if she had experienced this kind of battle countless times before, she calmly lowered her head at the precise moment.

The wind blade skimmed past her hair by the narrowest margin, the violent gust scattering her locks in its wake. The timing was unbelievably tight.

Treka’s expression remained resolute, without the slightest hint of panic. At some point, she had already drawn her emerald-green longbow into a full arc. With a sharp whistling release, she loosed the arrow.

A faint white glow clung to the arrowhead as it burst forward at high speed.

The guardian spirit failed to evade the shot, or rather, it showed no intention of dodging at all. It merely continued to stiffly unleash wind blades, one after another.

No matter when the attack came, Treka always slipped past it by a hair’s breadth, as if she could see the enemy’s attack trajectory in advance.

…

In just over ten seconds, the two sides exchanged multiple volleys, yet every single attack from the guardian spirit ended in a miss.

How should it be described? The battle was pleasing to the eye. Her positioning was impeccable, her movements perfectly measured, with not a single unnecessary action.

The elf’s motions repeated in an unbroken cycle: nock, draw, release. Again and again. Her attack speed was pushed to its absolute limit, turning walk-and-shoot into something close to perfection.

Zane did not make a move. Since Treka had dared to bring them here, it meant she had confidence in her abilities. Moreover, he still did not know how Vacuum Wave functioned. Recklessly joining the fight and disrupting aggro now would only invite trouble.

He had no confidence in dodging a barrage of wind blades himself, and there was another detail that bothered him. The guardian spirit’s attacks seemed far too monotonous.

A wind blade whistled past again, brushing the bow-wielding elf’s hair as it tore through the air.

The first strike came from above. Less than two seconds later, the next attack followed, this time aimed straight down the center. Treka twisted her waist and narrowly avoided it.

Actually, it only looked dangerous to outsiders. In reality, that movement was the most efficient evasive maneuver possible.

The subsequent attack directions followed a clear pattern: left, right, above, center, left…

There was no mistake. This boss only knew how to use this single, repetitive attack. And once the attack trajectory was understood, avoiding it required only a bit of attention. Even ordinary players could manage such predictions.

But an elf who could maintain flawless dodges for this long could no longer be described as merely having fast reflexes. She was practically no different from a monster herself.

How had Starry ever managed to fight her to a standstill back then? While the thought crossed his mind, Treka had already shaved 200,000 HP off the guardian spirit.

The boss suddenly stopped attacking. It seemed to be some kind of signal. The Wind Guardian Spirit’s expression remained blank as it ceased condensing wind blades altogether.

In the next instant, it spread its palm and aimed it directly at the elf before it.

**Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!**

The wind elements within the space grew violently restless, dragging everything in front of the guardian spirit toward it. Even Zane felt a terrifying pulling force wrenching at his body, forcing him to grip the ground just to keep from being dragged away.

Yet the suction only grew stronger with every passing moment. One more second, and he truly would not be able to hold on.

This was no longer a time to spectate. He had to act.

**Boom—boom!**
**Boom—boom—bang!!!**

Something completely unexpected happened. A series of terrifying explosions erupted from behind them, and Vacuum Wave abruptly lost its power. Zane’s body, which had been suspended in midair, crashed heavily back onto the ground.

He turned around to look. A gray arrow was embedded in the guardian spirit’s palm, lingering there without dispersing.

It was Meteor Arrow. There was no mistaking it. The tremendous impact force had directly interrupted the Wind Guardian Spirit’s casting. But… under those circumstances, how had she even managed to aim? Could it be that she had… predicted it in advance?

***

Flowerdance City—no, it should now be called Silent Night City—had already fallen and become territory of the Dark Faction.

As the primary executor of the siege, Shadow Overlord naturally claimed everything within Silent Night City. At least… on the surface, it all belonged to him.

Toppling Flowerdance City was equivalent to planting a bomb deep within the Human faction’s defensive line, one that could explode at any moment. Yet the man shrouded entirely in darkness felt no satisfaction with this outcome.

“Damn that Drunken Sword…” He sensed the countless wounds covering his body. The lingering sword energy refused to dissipate, disrupting his body’s natural recovery and even interfering with his ability to maintain his duplicates.

Who could have imagined that, while the frontline cities were under full-scale assault, that madman would dare to take such a twisted path and storm straight into the Dark Fortress?

If he had not been in the middle of casting a spell, he would never have been injured so severely.

And his subordinates? A bunch of useless trash. They had been held back by nothing more than a single woman.

What angered him even more was that those people… not a single one of them had shown themselves or intervened.

The Shadow Overlord knew full well that they had people watching his every move. He did not dare tear away all pretenses, because those figures above him were not ones a mere lord could afford to offend.

That’s right. Even someone as powerful as the Shadow Overlord, capable of launching a full-scale siege, was nothing more than a disposable pawn within the Dark Faction.

Why had the Light Faction been able to stand against the Dark Faction for hundreds of years? Because the enemy was constantly tearing itself apart from within. In their eyes, the Light Faction was nothing more than a joke.

A joke or not, nearly every sovereign of the Dark Faction coveted foreign territory. Yet… before such lands were even fully conquered, they would already be fighting among themselves over ownership.

Perhaps it sounded absurd, but that was the truth. If any single sovereign were to act personally, the Light Faction would have no chance of resisting.

“My lord, I have returned.” Hearing that voice, the Shadow Overlord immediately resumed his aloof and inscrutable demeanor, speaking slowly. “DuskUnbroken… you have done well.”

“It was only possible thanks to my lord’s assistance.”

“Hmph. You are too modest. Go to the treasury. The overseer there will grant you the reward you deserve.”

“I understand.” DuskUnbroken nodded, yet did not take a single step.

“Oh?”

“My lord, please forgive my boldness, but I wish to know… in the upcoming competition, who will you support?”

The moment those words left his mouth, DuskUnbroken could clearly feel the surrounding elemental flow accelerate. He braced himself and stood his ground, waiting.

“A bold newcomer. Very well. If…” The Shadow Overlord paused, stepping out from the darkness. The wounds covering his body were a horrific sight. “If you can help me accomplish something.”

“…”

***

The guidance hall in Wynwater City stood empty and deserted.

Many newcomers could only wander about on their own, asking around for information on class mentors and searching through guides to locate them.

Some speculated that the NPCs were already dead. But that seemed unlikely. After version updates, all functional NPC roles would always be reassigned and restored.

Aside from the guidance hall, the alchemy workshop had also ceased operations, causing no small amount of suffering among the players.

At that moment, Sylvia paced back and forth beside the bed, her face filled with worry.

“Stop walking around… you’re making my head spin.”

“Ah—oh, okay…” Sylvia obediently came to a halt.

One second later.

“Ahh!! Ser Sheen, you’re awake!?”