Child of Destiny

Shin observed the huge corridor a little more as he found it like a place within a gigantic mansion meant for giant creatures or entities. Regardless, it was still a little small to fit the entire Legion of Chaotic Sun and the army of Ghost Soldiers and Vengeful Spirits of Chaotic Luck and Huahua, respectively.

“Let’s just hope that we will not encounter those with large-scale spells or skills from the opposing side,” mumbled Shin, truly hoping not to meet Flouree and Crimson, as those guys were the ones who could possibly counter their army, especially in such a ‘small’ and ‘tight’ corridor.

But given that Chaotic Luck was on their side, he doubted that their side would be that unlucky. The word ‘unlucky’ was never applicable to this guy, who they believed to be the ‘Mistress’ of the Goddess of Luck.

“We will be going with cross (+) formation. I’ll be taking the lead. Chaos and Little Hua will be walking on the left and right side, respectively, while Samael will be taking the rear,” he instructed, to which the three had immediately executed.

Huahua and Samael were still somewhat nervous. After all, this might be their biggest stage to date.

Fortunately, with Shin’s overwhelming confidence, they had gotten enough strength to conquer their fears.

After getting into position, Shin then made some arrangements to further reinforce their formation.

“Chaos, summon two golems and let them walk behind Samael to help him cover our rear. Then, sent out some skeleton soldiers to scout the path ahead. Send some of them behind us as well so that they can inform us if anyone is coming at us from that direction.”

“Make sure both sides to at least fifty to a hundred meters away from us so that we can prepare before we encounter any enemies.”

Chaotic Luck nodded his head as he seriously put all the instructions Shin had given him in his head, not daring to commit any mistake. But he could not help but pause in the process as he remembered something.

He turned to Shin as he asked. “I have some crawlers and flying-type undead as well. Should I send some of them out as well?”

Shin thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Let’s not use any flying skeletons for now, as they can make some sounds that can attract our opponents. But the skeleton crawlers will do. Let them scale the corridor wall and follow through the corners between the ceiling and the wall while moving.”

“Make sure to turn off their Solar Flames as well and move as discreetly as possible. We don’t want to get noticed by them as well.”

Chaotic Luck nodded as he followed Shin’s arrangements while the latter continued. “Little Hua, you can also send out some ghosts as well and let them roam around the corridor.”

He paused for a moment before explaining. “They can be our second scouts. You don’t have to remotely control them. Just letting them roam aimlessly will be more than enough. You can also let them have a corridor each whenever they come across an intersection.”

“Keep your connection with them and inform me as soon as they find anything strange,” he added, easing up the tenseness that the little shaman had.

After that, he turned to Samael and said. “Samael, just keep your senses sharp and focus on our rear. But you can’t be too tense either since we have some scouts at the back, who can help you with your job.”

After arranging everything, the group advanced, walking through the corridor with great caution.

Their main task right now was to regroup with the others as soon as they could. Unfortunately, they could not send each other’s coordinates within this map as it was one of its unique features.

Moreover, the Earners Mercenary Group was more familiar with the map compared to they, so they would have a much easier time meeting up with one another, further heightening their advantages in this match.

Shin now understood how the top teams played their cards when it came to home advantage. Aside from being familiar with the maps, they were also taking advantage of their features to the fullest.

Shin and the others could not fully utilize the features of the Starlight Valley in the previous match as they relied on their overwhelming power and combat prowess to fight their opponents head-on.

It was also their most familiar and effective method since they had not been fighting together for that long.

Aside from Shin, Leonard, and Cloe, the rest of the team still had some minor gaps in their teamwork, which prevented them from fully utilizing each other’s strengths.

Even if Cloe and Leonard were also familiar with some battle maps in professional competitions, they were not used to team competitions, as they mostly participated in Solo Competitions like Hegemon Cup and such.

Cloe also randomly teamed up with some of her friends, just like those from Silent Night, when participating in team competitions. But despite her rich experience, it was impossible to be familiar with all the virtual maps available for these competitions.

Moreover, she was a healer as well, so she was not that good at fully utilizing the advantages of these unique maps.

This was where the experience of their current opponent lay.

Shin and the Empyrean Talons were now experiencing that disadvantage. He was not learning an important lesson that they could use later.

…

While Shin’s group was still moving cautiously through the corridor that they were in, an intense battle had already broken out in another part of the map.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

The strike team of the Empyrean Talons had already engaged in an intense battle with one of the small groups of the Earners Mercenary Group.

They did not know it was by chance or intentional, but this coincidence had already pulled this group into a very intense and chaotic battle.

Godly Sniper Aiming, Divine Exorcist Calix, Void Swordman Morris, Knight King Gernard – these were the guys that Leonard’s group had encountered. One was a Godlike Player and among the top marksmen of the virtual world, while the rest were well-known Maverick Gods due to their fame from the games that they previously played.

The most eye-catching sight from this battle was the showdown between Alucard and Aiming, who were constantly executing a series of gunfighting techniques while firing against one another and assisting their allies.

Aiming seemed to possess a special class that branched out from the Gunslinger Class. But unlike the Cannon Master and Artillery Classes, which focus more on destructiveness and strong firepower, his class seemed to focus more on accuracy and fast firing rate, along with his rifles and pistols.

“It looks like our vampire friend is quite active this time,” commented Leonard after seeing how aggressive Alucard was with his attacks.

He was not just covering his teammates this time. He was more active on his offense, making his attempts look more like an attempt to snipe down their opponents in every shot, forcing them to either dodge or take cover behind the statue at the side of the corridor.

On top of that, he also had plenty of time to have a direct showdown with Aiming, who was also doing the same.

“Of course, he is. His current opponent is among the top marksmen of the virtual world! If he wants to prove that he belongs to that class, then he must showcase his true capabilities,” said Akailu as he glanced at Alucard before adding. “Can’t you see? He is neither using his Blood Power Manipulation nor his swordsmanship. He is eager to show everyone who is the better marksman in this battle.”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Not wanting to be outshone by the two, the others had also picked up their pace and started increasing the intensity of their attacks.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Leonard and Gernard clashed against one another, producing a series of shockwaves with every collision.

Leonard was forced to take a couple of steps back, trying to stabilize his footing. He raised his head and looked at his opponent before saying. “Tsk! Tsk! Don’t get too impatient, Senior Gernard. There’s plenty of time yet.”

“You’ve changed, Simba. You’ve become more talkative,” said Gernard as he also stabilized his footing after a series of heavy steps.

“Or are you Siegfried in disguise?” he added with a slight mocking tone.

…

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

On another part of the corridor, two silhouettes were dashing and clashing against one another at extreme speed.

It was Diablo and Morris who were showing everyone what a peak battle was when it came to speed. One of them possessed the pinnacle of speed while the other relied on teleportation to keep up with the former.

Their clashes were silent and deadly, only revealing themselves when their weapons collided against one another.

Roar!

In the meantime, Akailu was trying his best to hold his ground against his opponent.

Divine Exorcist Calix; Akailu was aware of this person. The fame of this veteran was quite resounding within the gaming community as he was one of the top experts of the gaming community during the peak of his time, along with the old veterans like the Wizard King and the Sky King.

Among all the matchups on this side, he was the only one struggling to survive at this stage.

He could not help but clench his fist when he thought about this, especially when he could see that he would most likely drag the team down if this continued.

His race had yet to fully awaken and evolve, unlike Owen, who unlocked the full capabilities of his Ascended Class and became a true Ascended Being.

If he did not want to drag his teammates down, then he must fully understand his Ascended Class and have evolved into an Ascended Being through it.

Having this resolve, he urged all the strength within his body while also summoning all his most powerful pet monsters at the same time. “If I can’t improve in this battle, then I will write my name backwards.”

……