It was a fierce battle of biblical importances.

The broadsword was in her guts, and I'm blinded on one eye with my left shoulder joint dislocated backwards.

She stood right above me, while I lay on rock.

The smell of charred wood and blood mixed was something indescribable… And that sour stink of spilled wine and smoke riled me up even more.

I blinked through the haze, half-buried under what used to be the floorboards. My head throbbed, and I felt as if my ribs were shattered, my armor practically was sinking into my flesh. When I finally looked up through the splintered hole above, there was Lady_Valerie.

She crawled herself out of the sinkhole, both hands gripping on the broken edges as her cloak half burned away.

The wound I left on her stomach deep enough that the cloak couldn't hide it, an ugly gash right through her stomach that had blood dripped down her leg, leaving little red smears on her toes which dripped as she climbed… If I wasn't too tired, I'd probably positioned myself with mouth open for that.

Valerie finally got her foot on the wood again, she was breathing hard, hands on her stomach, the other grabbing onto her red-stained broadsword.

Then she turned her head just enough that I caught the gleam of her eyes under the hood.

"...You won,"

Lady_Valerie said, as she limped away.

I used a quick ten seconds to rest… Because for the sake of me, I couldn't move. My body wasn't in my control; it was a pile of meat with staggering VR connection, I could feel it sore, and there's a lump of wood in my right hip if I feel it correctly.

My ears rang so loud I thought I'd gone deaf, but when I tried to inhale, it hurt, and when I tried to exhale, it hurt worse.

"I won, huh?" I rasped out, voice cracking like the wood above me. "Yeah… sure."

Everything from my spine to my fingertips was screaming bloody murder, every breath rattled, like my lungs were full of dust.

My shoulder was popped out of its socket, as per mentioned, and so my left arm was trembling so bad I thought I'd drop dead if I tried to stand.

But I couldn't stay here. Not while the others were still fighting up there. Not while that smug piece of mercenary profanity thought she'd can leave me here without a kiss.

I finally got up with a strong push of my lower half, grabbing the edge of a broken beam I pulled my body weight up. Literal shivers and trembles shot up my arm, it started vibrating quicker than my happy ending. My hand slipped on blood, whether mine or hers, who knows, though I kept pulling.

I clawed my way up, using my knees, elbows, teeth if I had to. By the time I got to my feet, my body was back in my control, and for once, I appreciate the human's innate ability to control their posable thumbs.

I, still, had to plant a hand on the wall to steady myself. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I looked around to see the chaos dying down when both sides realize they're losing too much without achieving their goals and started fighting from a moderate range instead.

"...Guess I'm still alive," I muttered even when I didn't feel like it.

Something clattered nearby which startled me, yet it was merely a blade, cheap and ugly, half buried under debris.

I kicked the junk aside and picked it up after failing to detect my scythe in the vicinity. It was heavier than I expected, probably because I was half-dead, but whatever. A sword's a sword when all you need to do is swing.

"Good enough," I said under my breath.

I limped toward moonlight whilst the tavern floor creaked under my boots, steel warped and blackened from the fire. I glanced at tables that were flipped over, chairs splintered, glass and blood and wine mixing into one sticky, red mess.

When I finally reached the entrance, there were two guys waiting for me.

Both were standing guard like idiots who hadn't gotten the memo that the fight was over… But I believe they have their duties to be fulfilled as members of the mercenary group.

The first one was tall and skinny, all elbows and nerves, with a cheap vest that was setting-appropriate. The other one was built like a barrel, wearing an iron helmet so oversized it made his head look like a child's toy.

They stood on a mount of blood and flesh, obviously guarding this entrance well enough for no one to interfere the fight; and I could see the fresh blood trail, of Lady_Valerie who just left.

Then they turned their gaze towards me, just a wreck of a woman dragging a blade through blood and ash, armor soaked in oil and soot.

I straightened up my posture, audibly popping my joints as an intimidation tactic. And with the perk of being painless, I snapped my shoulder, cracking its joint back into place with a sickening and crispy sound similar to how chefs dissect chicken thigh.

My head tilted until my neck gave another satisfying crack, and I could feel the corner of my mouth twitching upward.

"So…" I said, spreading my arms slightly, far enough to seem confident, but close enough to retract with appropriate speed when needed. "Which one of you mugshot-looking halfwit-seeming loser-sounding goon-worthin't god damn bastards wants their skull used as a mug and their backspine used as a pro-slavery whip first?"

The tall one blinked, and the short one turned to him .

"You? You?" I raised my cheap sword which already had a huge crack, "Come at me you pieces of shit!"

Yet… Just like that, they walked off.

"Duty's over."

They turned and walked down, off the mountain, possibly following Lady_Valerie.

I stood there for a second, turning around to see if anyone else was looking at me, but no, around 50 people were still shouting among each other, just more passive in their fighting this time after seeing a lot of their friends and comrade drop dead.

Stepping past the entrance and looking upwards to the top of the mountain, I glanced once more toward the direction Valerie had gone.

"Bullshit," I muttered. "You're the winner."

I started climbing up the mountain, still with my HP dangerously below average, and with my stats lowered due to dented armor and lack of an actual war scythe that I spent good-fucking money on.

Username: CJS69Real

Level: 42

Class: Squire

HP: 61/220

Attack: 56 [Previously 75]

Magic: 8

Defense: 31 [Previously 40]

Resistance: 29 [Previously 33]

Damage Reduction: 7% [Previously 8%]

The climb up the mountain was hell.

By the time I reached the ridge near the top, I could finally see the battlefield.

And god… Fucking damn it.

It wasn't some random mercenary ambush. The banner, their insignia flickering in the firelight.

The golden lion emblazoned across crimson flags, that same old boring ass design for the last 10 years.

Lion's Parade.

They weren't supposed to be here.

Hell, they weren't supposed to touch New Destiny! Big guilds ain't supposed to clash this suddenly without any incentive or good fighting reason. Right now, New Destiny and Lion's Parade are the two biggest guild, and they choose to wittle themselves down?

My eyes darted around, scanning faces in the chaos. I caught them one by one, people I recognized.

J97, clashing against Marc… They were quite similar in playstyle and combat choice (basic white male warrior with armor and longsword), only Marc seems a bit less intimidating, Jack got that leadership charisma.

DreamDream were on the battlefield this time, strangely enough… But I reckon she was the buff support, and she was being chased down by Olga.

Then there was LyraBell with the wristwatch, and that one guy I worked with during the first phase of Titan of Ashen Bark… Who is it? Fucking- Solstice something.

A fucking guild war.

And they bought mercenaries like Lady_Valerie, even though this was an ambush, and they have men on the inside.

Wait… So where the fuck is Jared?

I ignored that question for now as my pulse hammered in my ears.

Rina, Mei, Pearl, and Hailie were all there, running around, none of them even took a second to glance over at me… You know, if I were to sneak attack literally anyone right now, I'll get an easy kill… But I don't have beef with the Lion's Parade, infact… I technically sexually assaulted Lyra last we met, so… uh, I supposed I could sit and watch?

It was a fair fight, at least in number because it was roughly ten against ten… But it wasn't neat or cinematic.

It was pure chaos… Gosh, their footing was garbage, every few seconds, someone nearly slid off the mountain edge. Healers were exposed, casters were cornered, and melee fighters kept tripping over debris, tanks often have to turn around and peel their backline, leaving their back exposed for damage.

A constant unending struggle of unfamiliar terrain where ranged combat reigned.

I took another shaky breath, my hand tightening around the cheap sword I'd picked up. I could barely feel my fingers through the tremor, but it didn't matter.

"It's Hailie's friend!" someone shouted at me from up top, and it was Rina who noticed me first. "You're late!"

"Traffic!" I yelled back, half-joking, half-serious.

A shockwave hit nearby, rattling the stones under my feet. I barely managed to keep balance. Then, over all that noise—over the screaming and the clashing and the spells—came Pearl's voice.

"Keep them busy! I need time to reactivate the barrier!"

I looked up and saw it.

At the very sharp peak stood a structure I hadn't noticed before. A small crystal glowing red rested on a table-like surface. Its sharp tip shimmered faintly, holding a pulsating core of light inside, a barrier nexus, the heart of the hideout's defense system, set up by, presumably, Pearl himself.

With one hand holding onto a small ledge to hang himself, he had his other hand on the crystal, with golden light wrapping around him as he made an attempt to channel mana into the thing.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.