Chapter 574

【 GUILDMASTER! A LEGENDARY MOB HAS BEEN SPOTTED! 】

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Even though Athos had already heard countless strange rumors about these new generation of elves, he couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned when he saw this group of handsome, long-eared individuals charging toward him with twisted, excited expressions.

It couldn’t be helped. The scene was simply too shocking for any being familiar with the elves. After all, the traditional image of elves being elegant, beautiful, gentle, and peaceful had long been deeply ingrained in everyone’s mind.

Even though Athos had mentally prepared himself, he still found the sight of these bandit-like elves somewhat absurd.

Some of them even had paint smeared across their faces, and their gear was wrapped with vines resembling wild men from the remote mountains and forests.

Although Athos could guess that this bizarre attire was meant to help them blend more easily into the forest, once he considered that the real purpose was likely to carry out ambushes, he couldn’t help but give them another glance.

These guys…

They really do resemble human bandits!

The elves charged swiftly and with great coordination.

Leading the group were three heavily armored, Silver-ranked elven warriors who seemed to specialize in defense. Behind them were several elven hunters, dressed in ranger and assassin outfits, providing cover. Bringing up the rear were four or five spellcasters wielding staves, who, judging by their appearance, were likely druids and elven mages.

There were eighteen elves in total, all of them at the Silver-rank.

This formation was clearly no coincidence and Athos would never believe this wasn’t a premeditated ambush.

Despite the resurgence of mana in the realm of Seigües, Silver-ranked professionals were still far from common.

At least… for now.

From what was known, even though elves were growing stronger at an increasing pace, there weren’t that many Silver-rank individuals among them yet.

These individuals must have been tracking Athos and his companion ever since they left the outpost.

Most likely there had to be an informant inside the outpost…

Perhaps someone from one of the traders?

This thought flashed through Athos’s mind.

Of course, whether there truly was an elven informant in the outpost didn’t concern him much.

The adventurers there had nothing to do with him.

Survival of the fittest—that was the unchanging law of the world.

Conflict had always been the fate of sentient races, and as a devout follower of the God of War, Athos believed this more than anyone.

He remained calm, showing no concern whatsoever toward the charging elves.

Hercules, the orc known for his volatile temper, was a different story.

With a cold snort, he raised his crimson axe and swung it toward the oncoming elves.

The power of a Legendary-rank orc warrior was truly terrifying…

Even though Hercules hadn’t used his full strength, the devastating force of his strike still reduced the three heavily-armored, magically protected elven warriors instantly to a pulp.

Even their gear was obliterated beyond recognition.

“H-Holy crap!”

“Are you kidding me?!”

The remaining elves were instantly stunned.

“This guy’s way too strong! Switch to Plan B!” shouted an elven mage whose attire was noticeably more ornate than the others.

The moment he spoke, several elves immediately activated items in their hands—glowing, rune-etched magical stones appeared out of thin air and were quickly affixed to one of the elven warriors.

Then, the rest of the elves turned and fled, only stopping once they were far in the distance.

Hm?

Athos raised an eyebrow.

Although he was a demigod, he had never studied arcane magic, neither in his mortal life nor after becoming an Einherjar.

As such, he couldn’t immediately discern the nature of those magical stones.

Still, his heightened sensitivity to magical fluctuations, which was an innate trait common to demigods, triggered a sense of unease within him.

“Hercules, watch out for those stones,” he warned.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

Hercules had charged even faster.

By the time Athos gave his warning, he had already reached the elf covered in magical stones.

At that moment, Athos saw the elf—now fully rigged with magical stones—shouting, “Make sure you guys reimburse me for my gear!” as he charged at Hercules, screaming wildly.

Suddenly, the magic stones on his body lit up.

And then, in an instant they exploded.

With a deafening roar, a massive fireball erupted, its brilliant light engulfing everything.

Chaotic waves of magical energy radiated outward, slicing through the surrounding trees as though they were made of paper.

When the light finally faded, a massive crater lay where the explosion had occurred.

There was no trace left of the elf who self-destructed.

Only Hercules remained standing at the center of the crater.

His retainer looked rather disheveled, with his clothing nearly torn to shreds, and the already sparse hair on his head was now half-charred. His once-green face had been blackened by the blast.

His expression still carried a trace of confusion.

Seeing Hercules in this state, Athos couldn’t help but show a strange look.

The magical stones that had just exploded carried destructive power equivalent to a 7th circle spell comparable to an attack of a low Golden-rank expert.

Hence, for someone to take such an explosion head-on, any ordinary Gold-rank expert would have been gravely injured, if not outright killed.

Of course, Hercules was a Legendary-rank warrior. Although such magic wasn’t enough to injure him, it certainly left him in a sorry state.

Athos glanced again at the retreating elves.

A group of Silver-ranked individuals able to produce magical tools of such potency, capable of catching even a Legendary expert off guard—this was truly beyond his expectations.

He recalled what the mercenary named Hans had once mentioned to him—that a Legendary-rank expert had been seriously wounded by these elves. At the time, Athos had assumed that the elves must have had someone who had transcended mortal ranks.

But now… perhaps that wasn’t the case.

If they possessed a large enough stockpile of such magic stones, and if a Legendary expert underestimated them, then it was entirely possible for these elves to ambush and overwhelm even newly advanced Legendary-rank individuals.

They wouldn’t die, but they’d certainly be humiliated.

And when Hercules discovered that his favorite battle robe was nearly in tatters, and that what little hair he had left had burned off—half of it coming off in his hand when he touched it—he instantly flew into a rage:

“Damn you all! You all deserve to die!”

With a furious roar, he raised his axe and once again charged toward the remaining elves.

Their expressions shifted dramatically:

“Fuck! He’s still fine?!”

“We’re screwed! R-Run!”

“This guy is definitely not a Goldie! He’s a Legendary!”

“Another Legendary?! Well, we’ve found another big boss!”

“Notify Brother Tomato!”

Without hesitation, they turned and fled even faster than when they had charged in.

“Die!!”

Hercules bellowed as he gave chase, hacking them down one by one.

The entire process was like slicing through vegetables, quick, clean, and merciless.

Athos made no move to stop him.

Even though their original goal had been to seek an audience with the Goddess of Life, the Supreme God of War divine mandate had said nothing about harming these elves.

From Athos’s perspective, allowing these elves to suffer a little was a fitting way to send a message to the Goddess of Life.

After all, he hadn’t come bearing goodwill.

Aside from urging the Goddess of Life to report to the Pantheon promptly, he also intended to reclaim the Crown of Nature and Uller’s divinity.

Besides, if the rumors about these elves being able to resurrect were true, then killing them wasn’t such a big deal.

Of course, Athos had no intention of meeting the true form of the Goddess of Life in person.

He knew full well he was not a welcome guest. And for someone capable of slaying even true gods, the Goddess of Life was someone not to be taken lightly. As a mere demigod, Athos had to consider his own safety.

That was why he had chosen to head to Winterhold.

There, at most, he would face an incarnation of the goddess. And if anything went wrong, he would still have time to escape.

It was a contradictory situation with him being both wary of the goddess and bound to uphold the pride of their faction.

Hercules moved quickly.

Within moments, all the remaining elves had been slain in his furious pursuit.

Athos observed that the elves’ corpses quickly vanished.

After thinking for a moment, he concluded that their bodies must have been enchanted with a teleportation spell which likely transported them back somewhere.

When Hercules returned to Athos, his face was still full of unresolved fury.

“Those damned long-ears! My favorite robe is ruined!”

“Don’t be angry,” Athos said calmly. “When we return, I’ll report your achievements to His Majesty. I’ll request that He bestow upon you a new suit of divine armor.”

Hercules’ expression immediately brightened.

“Thank you, Lord Athos!”

Athos gave a small smile.

“So long as we serve with devotion, all for the glory of the Supreme War God.”

“All for the glory of the Supreme War God!”

Hercules placed his right hand over his chest and declared with firm conviction.

Then, taking a spare set of clothes from his storage ring, he changed and followed Athos as they resumed their journey toward Winterhold.

༺⟐༻

Meanwhile, at Winterhold — Headquarters of the First Legion

As the most combat-oriented guild in the entire server, First Legion had always placed battle experience above all else.

Compared to other guilds, their territory development was rather crude. Even so, among the tens of thousands of players in the guild, there were always a few with exceptional talent. Thanks to their designs, the First Legion’s headquarters still managed to appear quite grand and imposing.

Their guild headquarters had been constructed in the form of a castle—not from stone, but from living, enchanted wood. It resembled a massive tree that had grown into the shape of a fortress, lending it an unmistakably fantastical aura.

Inside the guildmaster’s office at headquarters, Tomato Stir-Fry was studying a map of the northern region of the Elven Forest hanging on the wall, while discussing strategy with several other high-ranking guild members.

“The new outpost established by the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group is nearly ripe for harvesting. In a few days, we should be able to launch a raid and collect a substantial amount of resources and gold coins,” one player reported.

Tomato Stir-Fry nodded.

“Yes, the timing is about right. But make sure to notify all Amway informats to quietly pull out in advance. I don’t want to end up owing that punk Demacia a favor.”

As the group continued planning their operation to attack the new outpost, Tomato Stir-Fry suddenly frowned slightly.

“What is it?”

The others in the room turned to ask.

“Porcupine and the others just sent a message… Looks like there’s been another big catch at the adventurers’ outpost. Another Legendary-rank mob boss,” Tomato Stir-Fry said.

“A Legendary mob boss?!”

The others’ eyes lit up in excitement.

Just like in many MMORPGs, in Elven Kingdom, the stronger the monster, the better the loot.

To players, adventurers were no different from monsters.

That’s why players from First Legion frequently targeted Silver-ranked adventurers, and occasionally even Gold-ranked ones. Although not every attempt succeeded, whenever they did, the rewards they got in return were bountiful.

And now another Legendary adventurer had appeared. The loot from that alone was bound to be extraordinary!

Previously, they had ambushed a Legendary adventurer using a “Divine Bomb” made from the holy statue of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows. Though they hadn’t killed the target—and had suffered significant losses themselves—they did manage to snatch the adventurer’s storage ring in the chaos.

And it was loaded with treasures which was enough to instantly recoup their losses and even yield a sizable profit.

And now… another Legendary mob had wandered into their sights!

“What type is it?” one of the players asked.

“It’s an orc, probably a warrior. His gear wasn’t great—got blown to pieces by a magic stone bomb—but he’s carrying a crimson axe that looks powerful. It might even be a divine weapon,” Tomato Stir-Fry replied, reading from the chat log.

“A divine weapon?!”

The players’ eyes lit up again.

“Should we go for it?”

They turned toward Tomato Stir-Fry, filled with eager anticipation.

After a moment of thought, he grinned.

“Let’s do it.”

“But this time, we need to learn from last time’s mistakes. The Divine Bomb made of the Lord of Darkness and Shadows is becoming less effective. For this, we’ll use the secret weapon we got a few days ago!”

“The secret weapon…?”

The senior members were momentarily stunned, then their expressions changed.

“Guildmaster… are you sure? Won’t using that bring trouble?”

Tomato Stir-Fry chuckled.

“Relax. It’s not one of those major artifacts from the temple. It shouldn’t trigger a disaster like last time. But it will be enough to deal with a Legendary.”

“Send out the notice—gather more people. Also, bring extra magic stone bombs as cover. We’re heading out to take on this Legendary mob boss!”

“Oh, and notify members near the marked location to stall the target. At the very least, they should try to delay him. Any players who die will be reimbursed with contribution points to buy Resurrection Coins.”

༺⟐༻

Athos was finally beginning to understand why those older adventurers that operates in this area had always advised against getting too entangled with these elves.

They were simply too persistent.

It was like stirring up a hornet’s nest. After Hercules had wiped out the first group of over a dozen elves, more and more began emerging in waves, charging at them with shrill cries.

But after a few failed assaults, the elves grew smarter.

They stopped directly attacking and instead began trailing behind at a distance.

Athos didn’t mind as he simply ignored them.

But for Hercules, the orc berserker, this tailing behavior was infuriating.

So, naturally, he grabbed his axe and went after them again.

Another wave, another round of slaughter.

Yet even after Hercules cleaved through wave after wave, the elves refused to give up.

Later waves were mostly composed of low-level elves. Many of them weren’t even wearing clothes…

Athos was left dumbfounded at the sight of these naked elves.

Had these long-ears completely lost their sense of shame?

He genuinely couldn’t understand what madness had overtaken them.

That is—until the two of them encountered a group of over eighty Silver-ranked elves.

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