THE ELEVENTH AND THE TWELFTH

Aildrin should have left Papa Bear, but he did not. There was something deep within him that told him to stay by the orc's side or else he would miss something that he would soon regret.

And so their paths converged. The eleventh and the twelfth—Zaito and Aildrin.

Fate had its unfathomable way of orchestrating things in secret. It slowly weaved and weaved until the fabric of life formed a new image. And Zaito and Aildrin's thread of destiny was heading for the same spot in the grand scheme of things—to be the best player in the World of Wargrounds.

But only one may pass.

Although Aildrin would not admit it, the God's Trial rekindled a dying fire within him.

The thirst to push one's limit and compete against the best of the best could not be quenched by denial. One must soar towards the peak and bathe in its glory to satisfy the parched soul.

Aildrin did not fear Zaito's team when they arrived. He had fought many five versus one back then.

But they made a grave mistake. They ignored him. And it tingled not only his ears but also the combustible materials within him. Only a spark was needed to summon the fire, but their subtle insult called forth for a bomb.

Aildrin's desire to prove and redeem himself roared like raging flames. And his pent-up frustrations finally exploded.

The Ranzac screeched when Zaito's Salamance connected. However, the white flames quickly dissipated upon contact. It did not burn the beast, nor was there a visible wound in its body. The beast wanted to hunt in the shadows, but Pilades' taunt was irresistible for its eight eyes.

"Arrows!" Zaito said. The rangers immediately fired at will. But their attacks only bounced off against the wings of the Ranzac. The beast then dived towards Zaito, who was still in midair.

And then Aildrin and Papa Bear came in.

Zaito felt a primordial thirst rushing towards him, but it did not come from the Ranzac. The beast was not capable of instilling such fear and heaviness with its presence.

It was Ilidran.

When Zaito glanced at the source of the murderous intent, a flamberge coated in crimson aura was already a few inches away from him.

"Riffle Shuffle!" Zaito's body disintegrated into a rain of cards when the slash connected.

Meanwhile, Pilades could not move, or else the taunt's effect would wane, and he might lose the beast's aggro. He could only grit his teeth when Aildrin attacked Zaito.

"We should have killed them!" Pilades mused. He hated having variables beyond his control on the battlefield.

Back then, Burning Orient's five-man team had wiped out the enemies in the forest. Although a few of the newbies who fought with them survived, the fight against Rancor—the Goblin Berserker—killed the survivors.

Zaito did not finish the Goblin off or else the match would have ended. They needed the equipment set that secret bosses dropped on every map, especially the silver-tier from the Ranzac.

Along the way, they met Lustro, and with Pilades' suggestion, the rangers engaged in friendly fire and riddled the man's body with arrows. But Zaito disapproved of such action and did not listen to Pilades' suggestion anymore when they returned to the encampment.

"Rodeo Drive!"

Pilades' peripheral vision caught a crackle of blue electricity surging towards him. Papa Bear sent him flying to the mountain's base before he could react. His shields stopped glowing, and the Ranzac recovered from its dazed condition, but the beast could no longer stop the momentum of its charge towards Aildrin.

Zaito reappeared behind the Ranzac with a deck of red cards in his hand. "Deck Slicer!"

Glowing red cards bombarded the Ranzac from behind. They swallowed the beast in an explosion before it could reach Aildrin.

Black smoke billowed and interfered with everyone's vision. But the three rangers did not hesitate. They kept firing arrows in the area where the beast landed.

After a few seconds, the smoke dissipated. Zaito, who floated in the air, surveyed the aftermath. He was expecting Aildrin and the beast dead, but something felt off.

Aildrin sprawled on the ground, and so did the Ranzac.

Yellow blood spilled around the beast's body. And numerous red cards and arrows pierced its back. Its eight legs were cleanly cut off, and the hilt of a flamberge protruded from its head.

Mead showered out of Rabor's mouth when he saw the Ranzac's body. "Beardless bat! What kind of sorcery is this?"

"Who is this guy?" Zaito said to himself. He dived straight to the Ranzac's body. "Deck Slicer!" Another deck of red cards appeared in his hand and bombarded the ground.

But Aildrin disappeared in a blur, and so did the flamberge.

"I am the sword," a deep voice said behind Zaito. But he no longer had the mana to pull off a movement skill.

Zaito did not panic. He still had the secret skill he had unlocked during the God's Trial.

"Twisted Fate!" Zaito closed his eyes and quickly fished out a card from his coat.

But blood showered. Aildrin's slash connected.

Zaito's head landed on the ground with a thump, lifeless, and a few meters away from its body. In his hand was a card with the image of a grave.

Meanwhile, Papa Bear and Pilades were busy battling each other—war hammer against shields.

The three rangers gulped when Aildrin's gaze swept past them. The Ranzac paled in terms of ferocity.

The rangers knew that in the virtual world, a cut to the neck was a deadly attack regardless of the level gap. Unless one had a sturdy collar armor or thick skin and strong neck-muscles, death was just a knock away for those who were slow to defend themselves.

Ilidran's new details confirmed the rangers' suspicion when they checked his character.

[Ilidran, Level 15, Rookie Rank—Tier V, Human Swordsman.]

Although in an unconscious state when he activated his secret skill—Soul of Blades—Aildrin experienced the surge of warmth in his body. After planting the flamberge on the Ranzac's head, the hair on the back of his neck stood, and his strength increased by a significant margin. It felt like he had just received an upgraded body—lighter, but with more power.

Both Aildrin and Zaito dealt significant damage to the Ranzac, but it was Aildrin who delivered the finishing blow. And with a sudden five-level advantage, Zaito dropped dead from Aildrin's back attack.

Aildrin did not mind the three rangers. Like an experienced player, his palm opened. It glowed and sucked the corpse of the Ranzac.

Wargrounds' player inventory system stored items in a dimensional space. Players just had to will the collection of the materials once a notification to loot appeared on their screen. Or they may just turn on the auto-collect option.

And although one could pillage armors and weapons from players during matches in the War Room, their use was only limited to that match. Players could not store them in their inventory. But the Open World was a different story.