Driven away

A heated discussion broke out among the players. Everyone had their own ambitions. It took more than twenty minutes until an agreement could be reached.

However, it wasn't really detailed. The different groups only agreed not to interfere with each other. Whoever lands the last hit gets everything.

Just before Earthquake was finally ready to lead the charge, Star Gazer interrupted again:

"Everyone, there is one point left to address."

"Stop talking!", yelled Earthquake in annoyance.

"I'm sorry Earthquake, but this is important. We agreed that whoever lands the last hit gets the loot but can this really be fair?"

"What do you want to say?", questioned Knight of Honor.

"Well, there are some people among us who have quite the advantage. They might be somewhat over leveled."

"You!"

Silver Blade exclaimed angrily as all eyes fell on her party.

"What? I'm only saying the truth. You are already level 17. Your damage against the world boss is way higher than everyone else's."

"How is this our mistake?"

"Yes, just because you are too b… mhhm."

Balm quickly shut Cyclone's mouth before the latter could insult everyone present.

Phoenix Feather and Earthquake looked awkward, but they held themselves back. After all no one wanted to see Liam's party get another achievement.

Only Knight of Honor looked at Star Gazer with an unfriendly gaze.

"How dishonorable, rallying everyone against a few."

"But my words are true. Look around. You'll only find agreement."

Knight of Honor turned around, finding many conflicting opinions. Some players agreed with Star Gazer while others admired Liam's party, not wanting to exclude them.

"Why not do it like this: Whoever thinks Hotpot should be excluded can separate a small team to hold them off? What do you think?"

Liam and his friends observed the situation with cold eyes.

"So, you don't dare to compete with us? Cowards. Hm, we will go leveling. Let's go, guys!"

Liam's condescending voice echoed through the valley. Earthquake and Phoenix Feather frowned as his words hit their sore spots.

However, both of them were leaders of guilds and didn't act impulsively.

Meanwhile Liam turned around leading his party away.

[Cyclone: @Mirage, are we really leaving?]

[Bleary Mirage: Of course not. We will retreat temporarily.]

[Silver Blade: Are you planning to steal the kill?]

[Bleary Mirage: Naturally.]

[Radiant Shield: They won't let us approach.]

[Bleary Mirage: They underestimate us too much. We will fight our way through.]

Silver Blade furrowed her brows as she read the party chat. However, looking at Liam she was somewhat surprised.

There was a hint of excitement on his face…

"Do you think you can escape this easily?"

Suddenly Star Gazer's mocking voice came from behind. As if on cue a dozen players separated from each of the guilds. They directly chased after Liam's party.

"B*stard!"

Silver Blade couldn't help but curse. The casual players hadn't even reacted yet when attacks chased after the party.

"Ignore them! Just run!"

Liam quickly yelled an order, prompting his friends to directly escape.

A few blackhearted players couldn't help but laugh looking at their miserable state.

Cyclone felt a surge of anger in her heart.

[Cyclone: Damn it! Let's turn around and trash them! Look at Silver Blade's HP, she doesn't even take damage!]

[Bleary Mirage: No. Stay calm. Let them underestimate us!]

[Silent Acacia: I understand your logic but… it's really too disgraceful!]

[Bleary Mirage: Just look forward to our name in the achievement.]

[Quickstep: I want to see Star Gazer's stupid face when we take the kill…]

The party members couldn't help but feel indignant as they escaped like beaten dogs.

Luckily the others didn't chase for long. The group of guild players threw a few mocking insults before positioning themselves outside of the valley.

One of the warriors felt a strange sensation, though. As if stared at by a greedy beast.

He looked around in confusion and spotted some of the players around Knight of Honor gazing at him with undisguised intentions.

The warrior sneered:

"He! You see my red name and want some loot?! Come here, come here, daddy is waiting!"

"Quite arrogant!"

"You think you can take us on?"

"You mixed lot? Anytime!"

An argument threatened to erupt at any moment. Star Gazer snorted unhappily.

"Shut up! We have more important things to do!"

"… yes, boss."

The warrior shut his mouth but the condescending look in his eyes didn't change.

It was clear to see that there was no real unity among the gathered players.

The leaders didn't want any more arguments. They quickly came up with distractions, discussing the fighting arrangements.

A few minutes later everyone knew what to do. Earthquake didn't want to wait any longer, leading his people into the valley.

The others didn't dare to hesitate and followed right away.

On top of the large tree the Void-corrupted White-Striped Violent Hawk squinted its eyes as it watched more than a thousand players intruding into its territory.

It let out a thunderous screech before taking to the air.

"Get ready!"

"In position!"

"Prepare for the feather attack!"

The various leaders quickly bellowed orders. Varying degrees of discipline could be observed, giving hints about the prowess of the different guilds.

The players who arrived with Earthquake, Phoenix Feather, and Star Gazer were clearly the cream of the crop, proving their standing as first-tier guilds.

There were also a few smaller groups of similar level like the Sharpshooter Mercenary Group lead by Miss I never miss.

However the players gathered around Knight of Honor, who were used to playing casually, showed obvious difficulties when trying to get into formations. They could only make up for it in pure numbers.

Furthermore, there were a few scattered players who didn't belong to any of the large groups. Their presence was even somewhat disruptive, drawing the ire of others.

Thus, all the groups showed different reactions when two large violet zones were marked on the ground.

"Rember what we talked about! Stay calm!"

Callida stood close to Earthquake, scanning the surroundings. She was only surprised for a moment observing the zones doubled in number.

It must be because more players attacked.

Under her leadership no one showed any signs of panic, leaving the danger zone quickly and orderly.

The same couldn't be said about the players on the other side, though. The violet zone appeared in an unfavorable place, circling players from multiple teams.

Before those could coordinate, the hawk's attack already arrived. A storm carried ferocious, sharp feathers, seeking to slice the players into pieces.

"Don't push!"

"Turn around, turn around!"

The situation was chaotic. Some groups managed to escape but some involuntarily blocked each other, suffering copious amounts of damage.

A few players couldn't help it, cursing at those who stood in their way.

The agreed upon unity already seemed to crumble.

A few seconds later the hawk stopped its action. Just like before it swayed and landed on the ground, choosing an empty patch close to the tree.

The upcoming arguments faded as everyone looked at the landing bird with fervent eyes.

A fascinating scene played out. The variety of attacks landing on the hawk was eye-opening for all the players.

However, they were met with a problem. The area wasn't large enough for all the melee fighters to attack at the same time.

The various groups were forced to struggle for space, causing more disagreements.

Star Gazer watched coldly as a random player pushed away his tank.

[Spiked Pen: Boss, should we do something about it?]

Star gazer stayed silent for a few seconds.

[Star Gazer: Yes. Tell our melees to hold back. If others want to take the brunt, let them do it.]

[Spiked Pen: Understood.]

Subsequently it could be seen that a few warriors were pushed towards the back. Although they 'struggled hard' to remain in their positions, it was of no use.

The same happened on Phoenix Feather's side.

The only one to not give up even an inch was Earthquake. Swinging a large two-handed sword he personally led his followers to fearlessly attack.

Although Callida noticed what others were doing, she didn't even try to convince Earthquake. She knew that her husband wouldn't agree with such tactics.

But this was after all why so many skilled and battle-hungry players followed him. It was the foundation of their guild.

The hawk's HP dwindled slowly. Some level 10 players found it difficult to deal more than 20 points of damage and could only rely on their skills to feel useful.

A moment later the big bird recovered from its dizziness. It glared angrily at the players surrounding it.

The hawk's beak abruptly opened wide and pecked at the crowd. A warrior was too slow and got engulfed. He managed to survive with barely any HP left.

When the hawk drew back its head the warrior was frozen in place, slow to recover from the shock.

The world boss didn't care and immediately chose another victim. It pecked at the tall orc ruffling its beautiful feathers.

Earthquake only grunted unhappily. With a skillful maneuver he dodged the boss's attack by a hair's breadth. For a moment orc and hawk stared into each other's eyes.