...

"What? You want to ditch me out again?" said Shin while knitting his brows. He had been asked to run away once again. And the feeling that he get was not that good at all.

"Listen here, brother. This upcoming battle is going to involve some powers that you can't contend. Event us is not sure if we can get out of this alive so it is better if make some assurance, especially since we can't protect you this time," said Lawless as he tried to reason out Shin.

And before Shin managed to raise anymore complain, Miracle Dragon already opened his mouth. "I respect you wit and planning ability, but in this fight, strength is all what we need. We are about to fight some players that are standing at the peak of the gaming world."

"What's more, our enemies outnumbered us too much, so we can't spare some more manpower to protect you. And if we need to put some effort just to protect you, then it is just going to burden us even further and it might cause the failure of this quest."

"You are smart, so I'm sure that you can clearly understand the gravity of this situation. Sometimes, you need to take a step back to win a battle. And even if lose this battle, at least, we can still win this war by keeping you alive."

At this point, Shin tried to say something. "Then how can you guys teleport out of the battlefield if I'm not with you."

This time, Monroe was the one that replied at Shin. "About that plan, we decided to abandon it. As you can remember, those guys from the HeadHunter and Hydra Guilds have already prepared something to prevent your Elemental Companion from using his Teleportation ability. What's more, we are still unsure about the external factors that might happen during the fight so it is better to forget about that plan than to gamble our safeties to some risky plan."

Shin is still knitting his brows under the mask after hearing that, but he can't do anything about it for now. And he can't rebut what they have said since it is true that he is too weak for now, so he doesn't have any other choice but to accept it.

He released a helpless sigh and just nodded his head before asking. "So when are you heading out?"

Miracle Dragon smirked at him and said. "Now, of course! Since they are the ones that always making the opening move, then I guess it is time for us to take the initiative, but it should be in the form of some guerrilla-tactics. They outnumbered us too much after all."

"But we still need to be careful. Cruelty and Soulless, Helena didn't make their appearance yet. Those guys are not easy to deal with. As for the three Heads of Hydra Guild, you can leave them to the three of us."

Then Lawless said after. "Then you can leave Cruelty and Soulless to me and Faker."

"I will take care of Helena then," chimed Charlotte in.

"But that still leaves the other side with 9 more Godlike Players and some powerful Titled Rankers, and what about the army of Rankers? You guys are still not enough. Are you sure that you can handle them?" said Shin.

Lawless just laughed at what Shin had said. "Don't worry, even if we are outnumbered, our combined strengths are still not to be trifled with, either. And Amber and Ravier are already on their way here. Their strengths are as strong as mine or Faker's if they fight together. Morgan, Hayden and Stephanie, on the other hand, can hold off a Godlike Player if they team up."

"As for the remaining 7 more Godlike Players, some Titled Rankers, and army of Rankers, our reinforcements are more than enough to handle those guys. What's more, these friends of ours from the Dragon Pavilion are going to send some Titled Rankers and group of Rankers form their ranks."

This time, Shin further knitted his brows and said. "I'm really curious about these so-called reinforcements of yours. I wonder who they are. Most of the Powerhouses on the Holy City are on other side."

"Almost but not all," said Lawless suddenly.

Shin was still knitting his brows after hearing that as he was still confused. Then he suddenly remembered the two Powerhouses that were stationed at his Calderock Town. "AH! You mean!?-...."

But before Shin managed to say something more, Lawless was already urging him to move. "Alright, Alright, whatever it is, you need to go to the fourth place. We can handle the things on this side. All you have to do is hide yourself properly while waiting for this quest to end. If you ever get bored, just watch out upcoming battle at the video that I'm going to send to you."

Shin sighed and summoned Hanzo, and asked the Old Spirit to create a Teleportation Gate for him. And when he was about to take a step on it two words popped up inside his head. 'Quest? External factors? That is right!'

Now, Shin finally got where the uneasy feeling was coming from. This special event was their quest from the start and some kind of event. As for the external factors? That was already a given from the very beginning.

"F*ck! Wait!" Shin wanted to say something more, unfortunately for him, Lawless had already pushed him towards the Teleportation Gate, sending him on the other side of it. And when Shin entered the gate, Hanzo immediately followed after him before closing it.

And when Lawless saw that, he nodded his with satisfied expression on his face before turning his head to the others and said. "Alright, shall we proceed to the main part of this hunting game?" and started walking toward a certain direction.

The others nodded their heads and followed after him.

…..

Somewhere in the Shunkai Forest.

There are some hooded figures that kept hopping from a tree branch to another. The cloaks that they were wearing were pitch-black with some golden feathers embroidered on its surface. And after some time, the group landed on an area with dense brushes before checking the surroundings.

"All clear!" said by one of the hooded figures. Then the others also started reporting one by one.

And when everyone was done reporting on of the group suddenly said to a tree not far from him. No, to be exact, he was talking to someone behind the tree. "Are you sure that we are going to do this, Young Miss? If the Union Head got a wind of this, then we are going to be in the disadvantage on the next annual meeting."

"So what? I don't like that guy from the very start. I'm just respecting him because that is what my big brother wants. But if he pushes me to my limits then I will leave the Guild no matter what they say," replied by the person behind the tree who was addressed as Young Miss.

The man that talked to her immediately reacted when he heard that. "No! You can't, Young Miss. If you do that, the family head will-…."

But before that guy managed to complete what he say, the girl behind the tree immediately said. "I don't care. That man didn't care about me and my big brother. He treats us as his political toys for reconciliation for the other families, so don't expect us to respect him. If not because of my big brother preventing me from running away from home, then I already did it a long time ago."

"But-…" The guy wants to say something more, but the young miss interrupted him once again. "Enough with that. This is my own private group, I nurtured this group by myself so I can use them however a want. And you can always free to leave my Shadow Raven Corps if you wanted to."

The young miss-girl turned silent for a moment before asking. "So what is the development?"

The guy thought for a moment before replying. "Ahm.. Both sides started making their moves. The enemies' allied forces divided their troops. The HeadHunter Guild, Golden Dawn and Credit Republic are moving in one group, with Cruelty, Soulless and Helena hiding in the ranks of the Titled Rankers. And from their movements, it looks like those guys are already aware of the position of the other group. What's more, those guys are planning to face the other side head-on."

"The people from the Hydra Guild and Blood Carnival, on the other hand, are going to circle around the group to do a pincer-attack for the latter. It looks like they are going to close the path of retreat of the other side."

The young miss-girl feel on the deep thought for a moment before saying. "Then Dragon Pavilion will surely wait for the Hydra Guild to appear before making their move. With that, bi-.… I mean, the former Commander and Vice-Commander of the 'Dark Hero' Adventurer Team will face the allied forces first. So it is optimal for us to help them at the first clash, while living our backs with the three Talons of the Dragon Pavilion."

"Ahm… I guess it is the best for use to show ourselves after the Hand of Midas' people made their appearance. They only sent a handful from their ranks after all," said by the subordinate guy.

The young miss-girl released a smirking sound after hearing that. Then she sneered at her subordinate. "At least, each of those guys is more enough to handle a Godlike Player by themselves while sister Snow White is a Godlike Player herself. With them, our work became even easier. Don't tell me that you are scared of facing a bunch of Titled Rankers?"

"If they are on the same level as the Dynamic Couple and other Peak-Titled Rankers then facing them are really troublesome. And speaking of which, I received a report that the 'Winter Demon' and 'Flame Witch' were sighted sneaking in the Shunkai Forest. It looks like they are going to help," said by the subordinate guy.

Then the young miss-girl gave out some orders. "Then everything is set in place. Alright! Tell the others to get ready; we are setting out any time now. And I'm going with your plan this once so sent a message to the Hand of Midas people that we are going the follow their lead."

"Understood!" replied the subordinate guy while bowing his head.

...…

Somewhere on the Shunkai Forest.

"Young Miss, the Assassin Union sent a message. They said that they are following our lead," said by a hooded girl to Shiella, who was also known as 'Snow White'.

Snow White nodded her head and said. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going now. It has been a while since we have this kind of action. So you guys better not to lose face for me alright? If you get beaten up badly, then don't announce that you are from my firm."

"Yes, Young Miss!" but the only one that replied at her was the hooded girl that kept reporting to her. The others, on the other hand are still doing their things.

The man with a huge hammer lifted it up and rested it on his shoulder. After that he turned his head at the squatting guy beside him and said. "Hey, are you still not done with it? We are about set out."

The guy squatting beside was currently fixing a mechanical item that looked like briefcase. After that he close his briefcase-like mechanical item before picking it up on the handle before standing up and said. "OK, I'm ready. Hehe… I now have a time to test this new creation of mine, the 'Mechanical Pandora's Box'."

The last hooded figure, on the other hand, was busy playing with her fingers while creating different kind of patterns and shape white the treads tied on her fingers. From the looked of it, she didn't pay much attention on what's happening on her surroundings.

There seemed to be some veins that popped on Snow White's forehead when she saw the actions of the three. Then she shouted at them after. "What the hell are you guys doing? At least replied at me, or at least respect me, your GUILD LEADER!!!"

...