“No, I didn’t see him at all…”

“Xiao Wu! Where’s your boss?!”

“How should I know? I wasn’t with him.”

“…”

Just before Li Wei sent out that message in the guild channel, Steve was still at the base.

A lot of players had seen him there.

Then, in a flash, he was gone, as if he’d vanished into thin air.

Even those closest to him, like Xiao Wu, had no clue where he’d gone.

“Everyone, search for him! And suit up with the best gear you have!”

“Same as before—wall repairers, archers, builders, split into groups! Get ready for battle!”

With Steve gone, all command had shifted to Xiao Po.

But Xiao Po wasn’t exactly a strategist, so all he could do was copy Steve’s previous formations.

———

Right now, Steve was hiding inside the trunk of a tall jungle tree just outside the base, surveying the area below.

“Finally, the day has come…”

After seeing Li Wei’s message, Steve instantly knew: the White-Eyed Monster was coming to finish them off.

So he’d quietly slipped away from the base.

He was nestled within one of the jungle trees he’d previously suggested Xiao Po plant.

There weren’t any trees like this around the base before, but Steve had recommended they add some for variety. Xiao Po didn’t think much of it and agreed.

Now, this towering tree was the perfect spot for a live broadcast.

He had a clear view of everything happening at the base below.

Sure, he felt bad for the players in Triumph Guild. But this was the only thing he could do now.

Even if he stayed there to lead the battle, it wouldn’t change anything.

Better to broadcast the fight and let everyone see, firsthand, that they were no match for the White-Eyed Monster.

Once players understood this, maybe they’d stop throwing themselves at the monster.

Without clueless players to target, the monster wouldn’t be able to hunt them so easily.

That way, with some time to grow stronger, maybe they’d have a real shot at taking him down one day.

Watching the monster horde closing in below, Steve’s heart started pounding.

“So… this is his real strength…”

It had only been a few days since the last time, but the monster’s power had grown astronomically.

If nothing else, the sheer number of creatures he controlled told the whole story.

Last time, the monster had only brought a hundred or so creatures.

This time, there were thousands.

There were only two possibilities.

Either the White-Eyed Monster had held back his true power last time…

Or his strength had grown explosively in just these few days.

Steve leaned towards the first option—the monster had likely hidden his strength on purpose.

Everything he’d done before had all been part of a setup for today’s massacre.

Seeing the swarm getting closer, Steve sent a message to Xiao Wu.

“Start the stream.”

Steve had cleverly placed Xiao Wu inside the base to stream what was happening up close.

Meanwhile, Steve would broadcast the bird’s-eye view of the battle.

Once Xiao Wu confirmed, Steve linked his stream as a side channel and went live.

The title was blunt: “He’s Here!”

With Steve’s well-known reputation, the stream shot straight to the top.

Players seeing the title immediately thought of the White-Eyed Monster.

They hadn’t heard much about him lately, but they hadn’t forgotten either.

As players entered the stream and saw the feed, chills ran down their spines.

“Holy—?! All those red dots… they’re all monsters?!”

“Whoa! My phobia is kicking in!”

“Are… are all these creatures under that White-Eyed Monster’s control?!”

“Wait… how did he go from controlling 100 creatures to this?!”

“So, Triumph Guild is actually fighting the White-Eyed Monster?!”

Since the White-Eyed Monster had been chased off last time, no one had heard from him.

Steve’s streams of that field had stopped too.

The White-Eyed Monster had just… vanished.

And after Xiao Po and the others formed their guild, they never brought him up again.

Players had almost started to forget he existed.

But Steve’s new stream yanked that terrifying memory right back into focus.

Now, watching the monster horde closing in on the base walls, players felt the pressure even from afar.

This time was different—the monsters were coming from all directions, forming a perfect encirclement.

“Did the White-Eyed Monster… get smarter? A four-way ambush?!”

“I thought Triumph Guild had a no-damage farming trick, though, right? This should be fine?”

“No-damage farming only works on regular creatures. These ones are under the monster’s control; they won’t just stand there and get slaughtered!”

“Yeah, the White-Eyed Monster can control their movements. Last time, he had them freeze when he fought Brother Mang.”

“Then they’ll have to go after the leader. Isn’t the monster afraid of wolves?”

“Whoa! Check the side stream! Triumph Guild’s gear is insane!”

—

Since the main and side streams were in the same section, some players hadn’t noticed the side feed until someone pointed it out.

Then, they all tuned in.

The side stream showed Triumph Guild’s players gearing up for battle.

Each one was fully equipped.

Around 500 of them were in full iron armor.

These were the elite of Triumph Guild.

Most of the other players had at least one or two iron items.

In terms of gear, Triumph Guild was already pretty impressive.

Full iron armor was hard to come by this early on.

Players didn’t fully know how to mine yet, and mineral resources in the game were limited.

So if someone had even one or two iron items, they were considered well-equipped.

But here, every member of Triumph Guild had at least some iron gear, with over 500 in full sets.

All thanks to their dedication and practice.

Watching, players in the stream couldn’t hide their envy.

“Whoa… they’ve got that much iron armor?!”

“Man, they must really know how to farm mobs safely…”

“Looks like they’re all set for a real fight!”

“True, I did a quick count. That monster army is probably around 4-5 thousand? Triumph Guild’s maxed out at two thousand members, right? At least they have numbers!”

“I’m jealous! They’re gonna loot a ton from this battle, maybe even take down the monster!”

———

As the viewers chatted, the main stream’s camera angle shifted.

The feed showed row after row of wolves, each with a different colored collar, all sitting obediently in place.

The sight had the audience in awe.

“Whoa! So many wolves!”

“Looks like they’re fully prepared for this! That’s gotta be a few hundred wolves, right?”

“More than that! I’m thinking over a thousand!”

“The White-Eyed Monster’s gonna freak when he sees this!”

“Hahaha, he’s in for a shock!”

Seeing Triumph Guild’s inside view, everyone felt sure the guild had the upper hand.

They had the numbers and the gear advantage.

Plus, they knew the monster’s weakness—he feared wolves.

Triumph Guild had prepared hundreds of wolves just for this battle.

If they could hold off the White-Eyed Monster, the rest of the horde would be easy pickings.

Just the wolves alone might be enough to secure victory.

———

Watching the scene, Steve chuckled to himself.

“So naive…”

No one knew better than Steve that these wolves would do nothing against the White-Eyed Monster.

Everything before was an act, staged by the monster himself.

Very soon, the players were in for a rude awakening.

Steve let them dream for now. No need to shatter the illusion.

The truth would reveal itself soon enough.

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