Chapter 272: Thigh to the Rescue, Lightning-Quick Justice

By the shore of the Prismatic Mist coast.

Dusk hung like an oil painting washed out by water, the sun looking half-melted drooping at the edge of the firmament, dyeing the clouds a blend of pink and grape-purple.

Fine flakes of gold leaf drifted across the sea surface; every time a wave crested and rolled, phosphorescence streamed down from the wave's spine.

As if the seabed stars were pouring toward the surface with the rise and fall of the waves.

Within that breathtaking dusk scenery, a figure curled up, sitting on a half-moon-shaped giant clamshell in a knees-hugged posture.

Above her head floated a game ID visible only to players.

As the view drew closer, the player's shoulders trembled faintly, a few strands of pale-purple hair clinging to a face streaked with tears.

"Wuu wuu wuu, all gone, I worked so hard for so long."

"And I even got docked 10 points of Shou Shou Jili, you bastard."

Sorrow was like the surging tide beside her, ceaselessly battering her fragile inner world.

The more she had looked forward to it before, the more heartbroken she was now.

To clear the Death Space trial, she had prepared for three months.

Scouring forum guides, calculating the optimal use of Bliss Points for enhancement, learning how to coordinate team classes, waking at dawn every day to snatch Death Space slots… her early efforts had finally paid off.

She had successfully cleared the Death Space trial and become an outstanding graduate certified by the Lord of Welfare.

From that moment on, she began looking forward to the return rewards.

She had even planned out how to spend that massive Shou Shou Jili windfall once it came back.

First, buy experience pills to raise her Painful Painful Minghun level; then upgrade her weapons and mounts; design a better-looking template…

But now, all those beautiful plans had dissolved into bubbles.

The return rewards that should have been settled to her main account after the alt's death had been siphoned away by an assassin player.

She suddenly found she understood why the bully was always in a rage.

Having the fruits of hard labor snatched away by a beast was simply not a pain ordinary people could endure.

Remembering what had happened, the image of that veteran player lunging at her viciously, tears once again streamed down uncontrollably.

"F**k your bully's grandmother, how could you do this to me."

Those grueling days in Death Space, she felt her combat skills had grown by leaps and bounds.

But in front of a veteran player who wielded rule-level power, it was nothing.

He opened with a Soul-Seal trait, cutting off the elemental power she was trying to gather, then followed up with a heavy hammer strike to apply stun… one look at the technique and you could tell he was a professional assassin-style player.

After that whole combo, she hadn't even been able to twitch a muscle before being sent back to the little black room.

"Wuu wuu wuu, you dog."

Between sobs, Wen Han summoned the forum interface.

Now the only ones who could help her were the vast community of players on the forum.

Scrolling through the posts, Wen Han's emotions once again snapped.

The replying players all rallied to her defense, but at her miserable plight they couldn't help but burst out laughing "haha."

The sympathetic words barely concealed their laughter, making her feel like a clown.

Grief churned in her heart, tears like a volcano on the verge of eruption, brewing to blow.

The hope of recovering her alt's inheritance was probably gone.

As a near-lone-wolf type player, she did have friends in the game, but none were true inner-circle members, and they were all from small guilds with no ability to snipe that powerful assassin-style veteran.

The future had to go on; everything would probably have to start from scratch.

Just as Wen Han was sinking into utter despair over this, a notification popped up in her contacts list:

【Challenger Notice: Player "Divine King" has added you as a friend. Accept?】

Seeing the notice, Wen Han couldn't help but freeze, then decisively accepted.

Instantly a chat window popped up before her eyes:

Divine King: Hahaha, little sis, you're way too miserable, I watched the whole thing, laughed myself to death, but I have to complain that there are way too many kaomoji in the post, gave me a headache.

Seeing that Divine King had come specifically to tease her, Wen Han's eyes welled up.

Roast-the-Author: Big Brother Divine King, you looking for me because of the post I put up?

Divine King: That's right, I'm planning to stick up for you. Check your log info now, find that player's name and send it to me. I'll reach out to them first; if it can't be solved, then we go to war.

Seeing Divine King's reply, Wen Han's eyes immediately lit up.

If the Divine Hall Guild stepped in, getting her alt's inheritance back was as good as done.

At this stage, no guild had the strength to oppose the Divine Hall Guild founded by Divine King, nor the allied warband he managed.

They could absolutely camp the spawn point and farm that assassin veteran into despair.

Thinking of this, she decisively sent the name of the assassin-style player who had killed her—"Night Hunt"—to Divine King, along with a screenshot of the log info panel, and updated that screenshot in her forum post as well.

Roast-the-Author: Good man! I don't know how to thank you, you've saved a child on the verge of shattering, you're the god in my heart, my lifelong goal from now on is to join the Divine Hall Guild!

Divine King: Hahaha, it's nothing big, I'll go reach out first, I'll get back to you in a bit.

Meanwhile.

Closing the chat window, Divine King pulled up his contacts list and sent a friend request to "Night Hunt."

Stepping in to handle this matter, besides being unable to stomach it, was also out of consideration for the Divine Hall Guild's future development.

He had once discussed the guild's development with Visitor No. 1 and consulted him on some issues.

One of those was the building of the guild's public image.

Although the Divine Hall Guild was already the number-one guild among player factions, a great many new guilds were rising fast.

If the Divine Hall Guild wanted to keep its leading position, it had to keep absorbing fresh blood.

This "Bliss Alt-Hack Incident" currently generating huge buzz on the forum—if the Divine Hall Guild could step forward and uphold justice, it would undoubtedly massively boost the guild's external reputation and image.

Secondly, there was also consideration for the development issues of the player faction.

Tourist Number One explained to him in detail the importance of an internal harmonious atmosphere in the development of the player faction under the racial war mode.

Because the players' enemies are not internal, but external.

If the Divine Hall Guild wants to carve out a territory in the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range, it must rely on the overall development of the player faction.

The stronger the player faction as a whole, the more the Divine Hall Guild can benefit from it.

Therefore, all events that disrupt internal stability must be eliminated.

The "account theft incident" that occurred this time undoubtedly harmed the interests of other players in our own faction.

The impact brought about cannot be underestimated.

Killing a player from our own faction who graduated from the Death Space can bring over a hundred thousand Shou Shou Jili in revenue, which is an irresistible temptation for the vast majority of players.

If this incident is not properly resolved and the assassin player who backstabbed a fellow countryman receives no punishment.

It may encourage the trend of backstabbing players from our own faction.

This behavior essentially harms the harmonious development of our own faction.

Di Nian Bully's growth speed is very fast; the next lunar phase switch will likely bring another epic-level buff.

By then, he will have to face the Di Nian Bully's frantic counterattack.

Although the Divine Hall Guild under his leadership has the ability to engage the Di Nian Bully, it has always been at a disadvantage, able only to conduct continuous harassment through the method of respawning and fighting again.

To turn the tables, the good overall development of the faction is especially important; internal fighting will only bring about internal losses.

Secondly, he also considered the feelings of those players following the dungeon-crawling route.

Months of struggle in the Death Space wiped out in an instant; anyone would be depressed for a long time.

Among this group of dungeon-crawling players, there are several members of the Divine Hall Guild who have not yet returned to the guild.

If he does not step in to handle this matter, players in his own guild in the future will also be affected and may become targets hunted and killed by players from our own faction.

As the guild leader, he must stand up and speak for them at this time.

Considering the interests of guild development, personal values, and Deng Duo Zhong factors, he felt he must step in to help.

This is also the reason why, after reading the post, he proactively contacted the player who posted it.

After waiting for a long time, the friend request from Night Hunter was never accepted.

Sending the request again, he discovered the other party had already enabled the Ping Bi Gong function.

Perhaps the other party felt too many players had sent friend requests recently, so they simply enabled the block to avoid continuous harassment.

Or perhaps they simply did not want to deal with him at all.

"Looks like I have to use special means!"

Before launching the operation, the God King decided to post a final warning, while also making his stance clear.

Not long after, the God King's post refreshed on the forum, and its popularity kept rising.

【Announcement from the Divine Hall Guild regarding the player "Night Hunter" looting incident】:

Poster: God King

Content:

Comrades of Monster World:

Recently, our Divine Hall Guild received a request for help from player "Dui Zuozhe," whose alternate character "Jile" was maliciously ambushed and killed in the Di Ku Shi Jie dungeon by player "Night Hunter," and all the respawn rewards dropped were completely looted.

Upon verification, the battle log records clearly prove the occurrence of the ambush.

Our Divine Hall Guild does not intend to stand on the moral high ground to judge the gaming behavior of different players, after all, every player has the right to seek fun in the game.

But this incident is extremely vicious and has already affected the construction and development of the player faction.

Since the opening of Monster World, the harmonious development of the faction is especially important.

Everyone calling other players "fellow countrymen" is a good proof of this.

Virtual games have developed to this point, and for the first time, players of all races have achieved unified external solidarity in a single game.

Our guild deeply understands that with great power comes great responsibility; since the establishment of our Divine Hall Guild, we have been deeply trusted by players and naturally take maintaining the interests of the faction as our duty.

The incident of Jile's alternate character being looted is no longer a simple personal grudge, but a major issue concerning the development ecosystem of the entire player faction.

Our Divine Hall Guild hereby declares:

We demand that "Night Hunter" contact me or management personnel within 24 hours to return all looted revenue.

If you remain obstinate, the Divine Hall will unite with allies such as Divine Wing, Fan Zui Tuan, and other guilds to implement the following sanctions against player "Night Hunter":

1. Pursue and kill across all map scenes, guard respawn points in rotation, until the revenue is returned.

2. Issue a bounty warrant; anyone providing their coordinates will receive a bounty of 100 points of Shou Shou Jili.

Final statement:

The Divine Hall Guild will not interfere in the grudges and conflicts between players; disputes over interests in the game are normal.

In this incident, the treasure-hunting revenue Night Hunter gained in the Di Ku Shi Jie will not be pursued; the struggle for external resources is one of the funs of the game, and the capable shall possess it.

The Divine Hall Guild will not interfere in fair competition between players in the name of morality.

This pursuit of revenue is limited only to the death drops of the alternate character Jile.

This was the effort of player "Dui Zuozhe" struggling in the Death Space for several months; we hope it can be returned in full.

@Night Hunter.

Comments section:

Little Hand: This is what we call vision; no moral kidnapping, yet maintaining the basic order of the player faction.

Earth's Famous Tripe: Thank the God King for upholding justice for us dungeon-crawling players. When I first read the post, my heart went cold, feeling that us dungeon players would be targeted by evil forces in the future; if months of hard work and rewards were wiped out in an instant, I would probably cry for a long time too.

Radish Geng: Support. Discovering rare resources outside and fighting over them is naturally a feature of the game, but the struggle must have a bottom line, and an evil trend must not be formed. What kind of thing is treating our own dungeon-crawling players as high-yield wild monsters to be killed? It is simply disgusting.

Zhang Ga Steals Dogs: We are all fellow countrymen; let's keep things harmonious internally. Our players are strong due to the mechanics now, but there aren't many forces outside we can stand against; strong enemies are everywhere. We must take faction development as the core direction, eliminate internal friction, and support the decision of the Divine Hall Guild.

Xiu'er Xiu: This idea is good; returning the loot from the small account while not pursuing the treasure-hunting gains gives the Fu Ben Shi Jie players a way out and gives players who enjoy wild PvP hope to continue having fun.

After the God King posted, he began waiting for Ye Shou to contact him proactively.

But even after 24 hours, he had not received the other party's friend request.

Regarding this, the God King was not angry.

He had seen many headstrong players in his life; back in other games, he had sanctioned a few troublemakers when the Shen Tang Guild was far smaller than it is now.

Although he could not ask for guidance to obtain other players' coordinates, he had plenty of methods.

He immediately issued an action notice in the United Warband's group chat: all players would not fight bullies today; instead, they would activate the search mode.

He then posted to collect information on Ye Shou's activities and locked onto the Di Ku Shi Jie Fu Ben Shi Jie.

The 130,000 elite members of the United Guild poured out in full force, beginning to explore the Di Ku Shi Jie and hunt down Ye Shou's location.

Next, they only needed to kill Ye Shou back to the village; after that, an infinite loop of respawn-and-stalk mode would begin.

Just as the United Warband launched its operation,

in the Di Ku Shi Jie.

Dim red lava flowed slowly through the gullies, reflecting the jagged stalactites into shapes like blood-stained teeth.

In this maze woven with scorching heat, a tall figure leaned against a sulfur crystal pillar, idly tossing a dark purple dagger.

The figure playing with the dagger was none other than one of the focal points of this forum: Ye Shou.

At this moment, he squinted, a faint, barely-there cold smirk on his lips; he wore a sleeveless black leather armor, and dark golden rune resonance chains wrapped around his exposed pale arms, emitting a faint metallic clinking sound with every movement.

His gaze was fixed on the magma pool not far away, his body tensed like a viper poised to strike.

Just then, the magma pool suddenly burst, and a Molten Beast, its entire body streaming with scorching magma, roared out; the lava dripping from its fangs scorched the nearby ground, producing hissing white smoke.

Ye Shou moved immediately after.

With a flick of his fingertip, the dark purple dagger spinning downward in midair suddenly halted, its blade reflecting the Molten Beast's dark red single eye.

The next second, his figure vanished like black smoke, then split into three flowing shadow clones that darted off in different directions simultaneously.

The Molten Beast's sharp claws tore apart the leftmost phantom, but the real body on the right had already somersaulted through the air to land atop its back; the true form and the shadow swapped places in an instant, and Ye Shou's real body suddenly appeared directly in front of the Molten Beast, his arm wrapped in dark golden runes whipping the chain forward.

Clang!

The dagger at the chain's end pierced like a venomous dragon through the throat, stabbing up from the Molten Beast's lower jaw and bursting through its skull.

The Spirit-Sealing trait activated, instantly interrupting the fire-element ability the Molten Beast had been accumulating within its body and was about to unleash.

Before the monster's rage-filled roar could escape, Ye Shou swapped places with his clone again; the chain snapped tight, yanking the dagger back into his palm and dragging up a spray of scalding blood.

As he landed, the tip of his boot lightly tapped the magma surface; the ripples that spread reflected his three newly split clones.

The rain of molten lava and fire erupted from the dying Molten Beast and descended over the scene, but the clones spun in unison, forming a dark golden net woven from interlaced chains.

The dagger ricocheted and refracted within the chain shadows; each flash precisely severed the flying magma projectiles, and as it passed through the Molten Beast's body, it stamped the Jin Ren Yin mark.

When the last scorching fragment of rock was split in two, the three afterimages suddenly merged, and Ye Shou's true form appeared on the dry land not far away.

"Done."

With a sharp tug on the chain, the dagger traced a beautiful flourish in midair before sheathing itself at his thigh.

Ye Shou snapped his fingers without turning his head.

The Molten Beast's massive body, now stacked to full capacity with the Jin Ren Yin trait, collapsed with a boom; sparks flew everywhere, and it finally dissolved into mist, following Ye Shou's departing figure.

It transformed into a Challenger notification echoing in Ye Shou's mind.

With the battle ended, Ye Shou continued searching for new hunting targets.

Of course, he had seen the hotly debated posts on the forum.

But so what?

He played games; he didn't need anyone to teach him.

What the hell is this Shen Tang Guild? Purely meddling in others' business.

As for handing over Shou Shou Jili gains? Not happening.

He didn't believe the God King truly had the power to sanction him; the Di Ku Shi Jie was such a vast scene that finding him would not be easy.

Even if he were found, with the support of the Twilight Shadow and Extreme Speed traits, he could escape quickly.

If he truly wanted to run, no one could stop him.

As for returning to the village, it seemed there was no pressure.

Although, once discovered upon returning to the village, there was indeed the possibility of being ambushed.

But he had plenty of ways to deal with it.

He had already devised a series of escape plans.

First, he disabled the display of his game name; second, if he had a chance to return to the village, he would quickly change his equipment module and switch to a different outfit.

In other games, he had been sanctioned before.

But methods always outnumber difficulties.

In short, he was taking this Shou Shou Jili; no one but Beneath Di Zhao, brother, could take it from him.

Before long, Ye Shou found another prey in the scene.

After the Twilight Shadow trait activated, his figure became like a phantom as he approached.

The instant he threw the dagger, its tip conjured a flowing shadow clone; after a star-shift swap, the real body gripped the dagger tightly and instantly pierced the monster's neck.

Then came a series of dazzling shadow-killing combos; the monster couldn't even manage to counterattack before it was toyed with and slain.

But just as Ye Shou prepared to head to the next location, he suddenly looked up toward the distance.

He saw three figures approaching at extreme speed.

His pupils suddenly contracted; his vision zoomed in, and he clearly saw the three approaching figures.

Judging by the intensity of the dissipating blood and qi.

All three were melee-type players; the leader should be a Stone Statue flow player.

Judging by the player names above their heads, these three were not famous players on the leaderboard, yet their costumes (armaments) bore the mark of the Divine Hall Guild.

Players who can enter the Divine Hall Guild must be elites.

He decisively abandoned the idea of a frontal confrontation and decided to temporarily avoid their sharpness.

His figure stepped back one pace, vanished into the shadows, then activated the Extreme Speed trait and fled toward the rear.

Night Hunter's actions also made the three Divine Hall Guild players rushing from afar realize they had found the target.

They shared the coordinates of Night Hunter's location in the guild chat and continued the pursuit.

"Get ready, we're boosting speed!"

The leading Stone Statue flow player took a "Speed Potion" from his spatial bag, drank it, and crimson qi flows appeared on his legs.

"Here they come!"

The Stone Statue flow player let out a low roar, clashed his fists together, and a ring of pale cyan light exploded from beneath his feet.

The amplification halo released by the Break Wind Painful Painful Minghun was generated.

Boom!

Amidst the churning air waves, the two teammates following behind were also enveloped by spiral cyan qi flows; three figures simultaneously blurred, and their running speed suddenly surged.

Night Hunter, who had been constantly observing the rear, was instantly startled.

The Break Wind Painful Painful Minghun was not unfamiliar to him.

This was the only halo-type trait in the existing Painful Painful Minghun library; once activated, it increased movement speed for everyone within its range, friend or foe.

This Painful Painful Minghun was very niche among ordinary player groups.

Only top-tier guilds possessing Stone Statue flow charge squads would equip it.

Under the halo's blessing, the sudden acceleration was actually faster than the shadow-escape speed he achieved when activating his Twilight Shadow form.

Sensing something was wrong, his figure swayed, instantly splitting into three clones that lunged toward the three pursuers behind him.

His true body made a sharp turn forward; after throwing his dagger and embedding it in the rock wall above, he used the taut chain to swing himself toward a narrow lava tunnel.

"I've got him!"

An assassin player in the pursuing squad suddenly accelerated, crossed his dual blades into a whirlwind, and sliced through the three clone afterimages at the waist, shattering them.

"Chase!" the leading Stone Statue flow player roared, his figure cleaving through the lingering black mist.

The three charged into the tunnel without hesitation.

The Break Wind halo was even more effective in the narrow space; the air surged, and their pursuit speed did not diminish in the slightest.

On the other side, Night Hunter raced through the tunnel, the howling wind in his ears and the footsteps behind him growing ever closer.

His eyes darkened, and he suddenly whipped his hand backward.

Swish!

The dagger, dragging its chain, shot toward the fragile stalactite cluster above like a venomous snake; the blade light flashed, and dozens of sharp stone spikes crashed down with a boom!

But such interference was meaningless before a Stone Statue flow player.

The Stone Statue flow player let out a roar, crossed his arms before his chest, and withstood the falling stones with his bare body; amidst the flying debris, his speed remained unaffected.

The other two players slowed briefly before catching up again.

Night Hunter's heart tightened.

He suddenly somersaulted sideways, rolling into a side passage, and flung three smoke bombs purchased from the Arms Dealer Guild out of his spatial bag.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thick black smoke instantly filled the tunnel, completely obscuring vision; as the cave trembled, loose stones continued to fall from above.

While racing, Night Hunter suddenly spun around, weaving his chain and dagger into a net to deflect the falling stones.

Just as he burst out of the falling-stone zone, he heard the deafening roar of the rock wall collapsing behind him.

Damn it!

Looking down, he saw a crimson chain had, at some point, locked around his waist and abdomen.

Immense force suddenly struck; Night Hunter's eyes bulged with rage, but his reaction was extremely fast. He threw his dagger forward, activated a trait with his rune weapon, and conjured a clone in front of him.

In the instant his body was flung backward, Night Hunter activated the Star Shift trait and swapped places with the clone.

Turning his head, he saw the clone had been immobilized by the Taunt Painful Painful Minghun, and then its neck was instantly pierced by a dagger.

It was off by just one second; he almost died.

These guys have too much synergy!

Night Hunter's heart pounded wildly.

They say players who can enter the Divine Hall Guild are the elite among elites; this was the first time he had intuitively felt the oppression brought by top-tier players.

Whether in coordination or the use of traits and abilities, they were incomparable to the ordinary players he had encountered before.

If he were caught, he would be finished.

He dared not hold anything back and decisively took a strengthening potion from his spatial bag and drank it.

The potion burned through his veins, causing his running speed to surge once again.

The scenery of the rock cave stretched into blurred color bands in his vision; his chain-dagger repeatedly embedded itself in the rock walls, helping him dart and turn like lightning through the complex terrain.

But the oppressive pressure behind him followed like a shadow.

"He used a speed potion!"

In the voice channel of the Divine Hall Guild squad behind, the assassin player spoke up to warn.

Upon hearing this, the leader, Pan Xie Yue, suddenly had patterns like molten lava appear on his skin:

"Running? Laozi will show you what a real charge looks like!"

After speaking, Pan Xie Yue took a deep breath, his chest emitting a roar like a furnace.

Once the gang qi characteristics were released, Pan Xie Yue's body was enveloped in crimson burning flames.

With the charge mode activated, the moment he exerted force beneath his feet, the earth's rock layers cracked apart.

Boom!

The rock cave trembled violently; Pan Xie Yue transformed into a burning meteor, instantly crushing the rock walls he passed.

As Ye Shou just heard the explosion from behind, the scorching heatwave had already sent him flying hard!

"Damn it!"

He barely adjusted his posture in mid-air, the dagger with its chain wrapping around a Shi Zhu to cushion his landing, only to see a ferocious figure rushing toward him at extreme speed, closing the distance.

Before the figure arrived, the heatwave hit his face.

Ye Shou's pupils suddenly contracted, reflecting in his eyes the burly figure in charge mode.

Along Pan Xie Yue's charge trajectory, the air was compressed into visible ripples, with molten lava-like hot currents carrying gravel, like the tail flame of a falling meteor.

Every step made the rock cave emit an unbearable roar.

Most terrifying was the unstoppable momentum radiating from his body.

At this moment, Ye Shou was completely awed by this momentum, as if facing a roaring avalanche or gazing up at a tsunami crashing down.

His nerves screamed, but his body was like an insect pinned in amber.

Pan Xie Yue's fist grew larger and larger before his eyes.

In that instant, he saw not a fist, but a collapsing cliff, an overturned mountain, an erupting volcano... The chain-dagger instinctively rose, attempting to block.

Crack!

The heavy fist smashed onto the dagger, the terrifying force pushing the dagger to continue smashing into his left chest.

The sound of bone cracking and the rock wall collapsing rang out simultaneously.

Ye Shou, like a rag doll, crashed through three layers of stalactite Shi Zhu, finally embedding himself in the rock wall.

Blood flowed from his temple; in his blurred vision, the figure shrouded in crimson flames was walking out of the dust.

Ye Shou gritted his teeth and threw the last three smoke bombs from his spatial bag, but the moment he acted, he saw the dual-blade-wielding assassin player wearing a cold sneer.

"I was prepared for this move of yours!"

The dual blades crossed, drawing a cross of cold light; the blade energy sliced the smoke bombs apart in mid-air.

Pan Xie Yue's giant palm reached out from the smoke, grabbing his ankle.

"Get over here and take a beating!"

As the world spun, Ye Shou, who still wanted to run, was slammed hard onto the ground.

Just as he intended to use a clone to swap positions and escape, he felt intense pain in his chest, and another heavy fist smashed hard into his chest area.

He suddenly raised his head as Pan Xie Yue's glowing red fist came down again.

Boom!

His body folded at the waist, his entire buttocks smashed into the ground.

With a "Wah," blood sprayed uncontrollably from his mouth.

After this punch, Ye Shou's health bar dropped by more than half, and he noticed a blue dagger at his neck, emitting a bone-chilling cold.

"Still running?" the assassin-style player holding the dagger to his neck grinned.

Ye Shou coughed blood and smiled bitterly; he finally understood why no one dared to provoke the Divine Hall.

These three pursuers, strong as monsters, were not even famous players within the Divine Hall guild.

Truly super elites forged in the battles of the newbie village battlefield; they were completely beyond the reach of lone-wolf players like him.

"I surrender, I admit defeat."

"Don't, you can struggle a bit more. If we send you back to the village, guild brothers will intercept you. Then, whether it's the Di Ku Shi Jie, the Di Zhai Village, the Colorful Mist Coast, the Winter Snow Plains, the Sen Luo Forest Realm, or the Land of Chasing the Sun, run wherever you like; if you can run 100 meters out of the village in any scenario, I'll call that impressive." The Divine Hall guild's assassin player continued to tease.

"Does running 100 meters count as me winning?"

"It counts as you winning, but we'll still send you back to the village and keep blocking you to kill you. You'll never get out in this lifetime."

"Is this necessary?" Ye Shou said, coughing blood again.

"You kid are brave, giving our boss no face at all. Do you think it's necessary? If we can't even subdue you, how can our boss continue to exist?" Pan Xie Yue squatted down at this moment, looking at Ye Shou and smiling.

Gazing at this burly figure, Ye Shou asked while coughing:

"Brother, where do you rank in the Divine Hall guild's Tank Corps?"

Pan Xie Yue shook his head with a smile:

"Our guild's various corps don't have internal power rankings, but I'd estimate I'm in the middle range; there are many Tank-style brothers better than me."

"I'm convinced, they're all damn monsters." Ye Shou relaxed his body, lying flat on his back on the ground, completely giving up resistance:

"How do you plan to deal with me?"

"Add my boss as a friend now and talk to him directly; we are only responsible for completing our boss's mission."

"Fine." Having admitted defeat, Ye Shou didn't drag things out this time; he summoned his contact list and proactively sent a friend request to the God King.

Not long after, the friend request was accepted.

Ye Shou: God King boss, the Divine Hall guild lives up to its reputation; I can't deny it. I admit defeat; you decide how to handle me.

God King: Send me a screenshot of the kill log; I want to check the gains at that time. Then you must fully refund the gains obtained from killing the Jile alternate account. After that, post an apology on the forum, and this matter will be considered closed. We are all players on the same side; I won't take this too far. You can play however you want from now on, but you cannot touch the portion of benefits that rightfully belongs to other players.

Ye Shou: Fine, if you're straightforward, I'll be straightforward too; I'll give you a satisfactory resolution right now.

Saying this, Ye Shou opened the log, scrolled down to find the gain chart from when he killed the Jile player, sent the screenshot, and then sent a friend request to the killed player.

Facing the Divine Hall guild, Ye Shou knew clearly he was no match.

Stubbornly holding on would only make him lose face, unless he planned to live in the Di Zhai Village forever without leaving.

If he wanted to continue playing, he had to know when to back down.

Before long, the friend request was approved, and facing the incoming barrage of stickers, Ye Shou sent a red packet of 164,000 Shou Shou Jili.

After returning the earnings, he summoned the forum interface and began composing an apology.

After completing the return and apology as the Divine King required, he closed the forum interface and looked up at the three members of the Divine Hall Guild squatting beside him.

"Three big brothers, the seal should be lifted now. I've done everything the Divine King boss said."

"Hold on." The leader, Pan Xie Yue, nodded, then summoned his contacts list and glanced at the message the Divine King had sent.

After confirming he could be released, Pan Xie Yue stood up:

"Brothers, pack it up. The boss says we're gathering at the entrance of Imperial Tomb Village."

Noticing Pan Xie Yue and the others about to leave, Ye Shou forced himself up despite the pain of his broken bones and called out:

"Wait."

Hearing Ye Shou's call, Pan Xie Yue turned his head curiously:

"What is it?"

"How can I join your Divine Hall Guild?"

"Can't say for sure on that. You'd have to ask the management in the guild who handles recruitment. Farewell for now." Saying so, Pan Xie Yue summoned a vehicle and flew toward the cave exit with his two brothers.

Ye Shou leaned against the broken rock wall, watching the direction Pan Xie Yue and the others had left. The tail flames from their vehicles carved three brilliant trails through the dim cavern.

He glanced down at his sunken left chest and suddenly laughed.

There was a time when he believed going solo was the mark of a true powerhouse.

Raiding alone, coming and going like the wind, beholden to no one, and never bound by anyone.

He relished that feeling of controlling everything from the shadows, even savoring the panicked flight of other players when they saw his ID.

He thought he had long stood at the top of the food chain, until today, when three hunters from Divine Hall drove him into a corner like beasts being hunted.

The brutal slap in the face during the fight made him see clearly what true strength was.

Not harvesting the weak from the shadows, but crushing everything with absolute power.

Not the arrogance of fighting alone, but the invulnerability born of seamless coordination.

Those three Divine Hall Guild members hadn't even used their full strength, yet they made even escape a luxury for him.

This was what true peak-level strength looked like.

Ye Shou pulled a recovery potion from his spatial pack and drank it, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, a heat he had never felt before igniting in his eyes.

He had once mocked in his heart those players who joined guilds, thinking they were nothing more than a flock of sheep huddling together for warmth.

But now, for the first time, he felt the urge to become one of them.

Not for shelter, but to stand higher.

The warriors tempered on the Imperial Tomb Village battlefield were, just as forum players said, the pinnacle of the player faction.

"Divine Hall Guild, wait for me!"

(End of chapter)