Crownslayer was an intelligence operator. She rarely took part in frontline combat. Most of the time, she moved through shadows and darkness, gathering information before disappearing without a trace. Although her combat abilities had been evaluated and tested, she had very few chances to actually fight.
She had originally planned to delay the advance of Tomorrow's Development and Rhodes Island in Chernobog, only to be grievously wounded by a single strike from Felix.
After barely escaping Chernobog and making her way to Lungmen, what awaited her was even more humiliating. Before she could conduct any reconnaissance or make a move, she was forced into surrender by Hellagur.
It was failure piled upon failure. Crownslayer found herself deeply dejected. Ever since entering Chernobog, every mission she had taken on had ended in defeat, to the point where she genuinely began to feel useless.
Compared to that, her gaze drifted to FrostNova beside her, who maintained a calm and distant expression. Crownslayer had interacted with the Yeti Squad on more than a few occasions. When the squad was withdrawn and placed in cold storage at the rear, she often served as Talulah's messenger. Before entering Chernobog, she had even carried out reconnaissance missions alongside them.
Seeing that FrostNova remained silent, Crownslayer understood her temperament well and did not speak rashly. Still, FrostNova's presence among Tomorrow's Development made one thing clear. She had defected.
Crownslayer was not ignorant of Reunion's current state, nor did she fail to understand FrostNova's distaste. She offered no judgment. She was simply Crownslayer.
Along the way, they once again encountered groups of wandering Infected children. Their pitiful condition made the operators grit their teeth in anger. Some of the children had long since deteriorated beyond saving due to the lack of timely treatment. Hellagur did not order the operators to intervene. Even if they were brought back to the camp, they would only become cold corpses, and those corpses would soon disintegrate into dust due to Originium degradation, endangering the entire camp.
Crownslayer sensed hateful gazes directed at her. She merely lowered her head, offering prayers and blessings for the children.
She had witnessed firsthand how Talulah transformed from a leader into a tyrant. She knew the crimes Reunion had committed in Chernobog and Kursk. She could not defend herself. She, too, was a member of Reunion.
"Ah… the New Year is almost here."
Someone spoke softly. The group lifted their heads as fine snowflakes began to fall once more. The operators exhaled misty breaths.
"Without realizing it, today is already the last day of 1096."
"There'll be a grand celebration in the camp tonight," Hellagur said with a smile. "Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals and the Guards Bureau will also be attending. It'll be a good opportunity to interact."
"But before rewards come duty," he continued gently, his eyes sweeping the streets for any overlooked details.
As the operators began chatting cheerfully about how lively the evening would be, a sudden explosion sounded in the distance.
Hellagur's gaze sharpened. His hand closed around his sword hilt. "Action Team, with me. Yeti Squad, your patrol ends here. Take the wounded and the children back to camp."
"Yes," FrostNova replied, straightening her posture.
She did not argue to stay and fight. Although the Yeti Squad's caster formation was formidable, Felix had already made it clear that this mission was reconnaissance, not security enforcement. Their objective had been completed. Moreover, given her condition, treatment and rest were the priority, not expending strength on the battlefield.
Several members of the Yeti Squad were unwilling. Having just joined Tomorrow's Development, they had hoped to prove themselves. Missing the most critical combat opportunity left them frustrated. But since FrostNova accepted the order, they had nothing to say.
Watching the Action Team depart at a brisk pace, FrostNova glanced at her squadmates and nodded. Then she turned her gaze to Crownslayer.
"Why are you looking at me?" Crownslayer asked.
"You can try to run now," FrostNova said coolly. "With my Originium Arts, with our Arts, we might severely injure you, but you could still escape. However, your body likely wouldn't hold out. Without medicine, an injured Infected has only one ending. Their Oripathy worsens."
Her eyes shifted to the hand Crownslayer had moved toward the dagger at her waist. The Yeti Squad members also turned hostile gazes on her, hands reaching for their Originium staves. They had been ordered not to join the Action Team's battle, but no one had said they could not act if a prisoner tried to flee.
Children were the best at distinguishing good from evil. Those who helped them were good people, and the opposite of good people were enemies. Now, the children and wounded alike stared at Crownslayer with hostility.
Crownslayer hesitated for a moment, then stopped her movement.
"I surrender," she said, raising both hands.
FrostNova said nothing. She led the Yeti Squad forward, while Crownslayer maintained the same distance from them as before, moving in step.
On the way back, FrostNova deliberately took a longer route, continuing to search for children who might be hiding in the slums. The Yeti Squad members nodded in agreement. It was something they should do.
Elsewhere, Hellagur led the Action Team toward the source of the explosion at full speed. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the excited expression on Neon's face and could not help but sigh. He did not want his adopted daughter to experience such danger, but the future ultimately belonged to the young. He knew it was long past time for him to let go.
"You're… the Action Team!"
They quickly reached the site of the explosion. The one who spoke to them was a pink-haired female medical operator, or perhaps an adventurer, panting heavily. She sized Hellagur up, then, after finishing her scan and seeing his name and question-mark level, she checked his stance once more. Yes, one of their own.
"What happened?" Hellagur asked.
"We found the Laughing Coffin..." she replied, then corrected herself. "The main hideout where Reunion adventurers were gathering. We were ambushed the moment we entered this area."
As Yui spoke, she continued treating the wounded ahead of her. "The two sides have already engaged on the front line, but the Reunion adventurers may withdraw again at any moment."
Hellagur's sharp eyes swept across the battlefield. It was a street fight. Friend and foe were easy to distinguish. Those properly equipped were Tomorrow's Development adventurers, while those barely clothed were Reunion adventurers. The two sides were locked in brutal close combat in the narrow alleys.
Suddenly, one of the Reunion adventurers shouted something. A familiar explosion followed.
Hellagur's face darkened. Where the man had been standing moments ago was now a scorched crater, Originium particles scattered all around. Fortunately, a quick-reacting light shield had blocked the blast. Otherwise, it was impossible to know how much damage that self-detonation would have caused to nearby adventurers and operators.
"Leave the fighting here to us," Yui said. "The Reunion adventurers have imprisoned many children from Chernobog and Kursk. They're using them as hostages, which makes it hard for us to act freely."
"Children?" Hellagur repeated.
Yui nodded. In just a few short days, she had come to see this world far more clearly, and far more distantly, than before. The crying Infected children, their joy at being rescued, their struggle before death, and the depths of human cruelty had all forced her to grow.
Hellagur was furious. His original hatred for Reunion came from their indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, turning them into the Infected. What these Reunion adventurers were doing now crossed his bottom line.
Hellagur liked children. Seeing those he had saved gave him peace of mind. Seeing those left waiting for death tore at his heart. Even after all he had endured, all the life and death he had witnessed, he still carried a deep tenderness for Terra's new lives.
"Where is their stronghold?" he asked, his voice stripped of its usual warmth.
Yui pointed toward the pitch-black entrance of the slums. "There are still some adventurers inside guarding the children. Wait, what are you—"
Hellagur shot forward like a drawn blade. His excessively long sword left its scabbard and claimed the lives of two enemy players in an instant.
"Fuxk! What the hell is that thing?"
The Reunion players barely had time to react. All they saw was a man with an icy expression and faintly glowing red eyes, his blade carving through their formation. He cut them down like vegetables, players falling like harvested wheat. They could not even see the speed of his strikes.
Kumori and Huangtian Houtu stared in disbelief. Where did this monster come from? How could someone slaughter like this? These Reunion players were not livestock. How did they have no ability to fight back at all?
No, perhaps they did, but the gap in weapons and equipment was simply too great. Anyone brave enough to charge in was split in two along with their weapon.
"They're running. Chase them!" Kumori shouted, leading her squad after the Laughing Coffin players who fled at the first sign of disaster.
Waiting along their escape route was a North American professional player group that hated them to the core. Their leader, Cosmic, sneered when he saw Butcher's face. "Guys, kill them first, then loot the bodies. Kill, loot, repeat. Kill them until their gear breaks, then throw them into prison!"
"Damn it, don't come over here!"
Gunfire and clashes echoed in the distance. Hellagur sheathed his blade and glanced briefly toward the far-off battlefield. The Action Team followed him in silence. Hellagur's display of strength had thoroughly conquered them. Neon puffed out her cheeks. Fine, she admitted it. That was genuinely impressive.
"Rescue the children," Hellagur said.
"Understood!"
The Action Team moved at once, with Hellagur following close behind to ensure nothing went wrong.
"Bro, you guys are taking this game way too seriously," Butcher said, speaking in a thick, almost comically pure West Coast accent. He grinned widely. "It's just a game, that's all. Isn't this a perfect otherworld? You're not the only ones who found a second life here. We did too."
The oversized cleaver slammed down onto the glowing light shield, sparks flying. Butcher kept laughing. "Honestly, I should thank the GM for the authority they gave me. Sure, touching NPCs for too long gets you a forced logout warning, but forcing them around with a knife? No warning at all. Hah. That's a loophole you guys didn't even know about."
"In this world, nothing you do is illegal. So why not live a little more freely, a little more happily?"
Bang.
Cosmic's fist punched straight through the man's chest. The Butcher let out two dry chuckles before collapsing onto the ground and entering the countdown.
Cosmic looked at him with undisguised disgust. The man had already crossed the very bottom line of humanity. There was nothing left to say. Arguing with someone that far gone would only drag his own standards down.
The remaining professional players swiftly finished off the rest of the enemies. From a distance, they exchanged nods with members of the European pro teams, then began preparing for the next step, collecting the bodies.
Kill them enough times, then throw them into prison. That was the punishment they deserved. As for whether they would quit the game afterward, that was no longer anyone else's concern.
Though these professional players lived and fought for profit, when faced with acts that cut straight into the core of human malice, anger came naturally to them.
Inside the Laughing Coffin camp, dozens of Infected children were discovered. After being threatened and intimidated for so long, they were hesitant to accept help from the Action Team, mistaking them for accomplices of Reunion as well. The reality of it made Hellagur sigh.
Kumori stepped forward to exchange a few words with Hellagur. They had met briefly before. During the players' withdrawal from Chernobog, they had encountered the Azazel group as well, who were also retreating, and chose to offer assistance.
Less than a month later, those people had joined Tomorrow's Development. Kumori silently nodded in approval at their choice. As expected of the King of Dawn. As expected of Tomorrow's Development. To draw in an NPC of such strength truly lived up to the name of forging the future.
At the camp, Mountain arrived with his operators. Along with them came large numbers of Infected children and wounded civilians, all Ursus. Some sat directly on the ground, others quietly talked among themselves. Catastrophe had not extinguished their will to live, but when it came to the future, confusion still lingered. Where would they go next?
Anthony found Felix and bowed. "Your Highness, Miss Loughshinny and the transport aircraft will arrive in Lungmen in two hours. At that time, some of the wounded will be transferred aboard the Venus for further treatment."
"Yes," Felix replied calmly. "After they recover, whether they choose to stay or leave is their own decision. We cannot force them to remain. I hope you understand that."
"Of course."
Anthony straightened his posture. "I simply believe Your Highness may have underestimated both yourself and the appeal of Tomorrow's Development."
"Oh?" Felix asked. "And why is that?"
"They all want to join Tomorrow's Development."
Anthony spoke softly, lowering his head in reverence and respect toward the king before him. "No one reaches out to the Infected. No one treats them unconditionally. No one fights for their sake… except you."
"I am proud of my identity as a member of Tomorrow's Development, Your Highness," he said quietly. "And I believe they feel the same."