Zoe and Mara continued with their meeting, discussing the terms and such of their partnership. At the moment, they were only forming an alliance so they could work together to deal with a common enemy that was planting spies in their guilds. Zoe explained most of the information she knew about the one behind all of this.

"So, we're after a dark elf?" Mara mused, processing the information she received.

Zoe nodded. "That's right. According to what we learned, his name is Dolk. A dark elf from the Greyvolk tribe."

"Wasn't the Greyvolk tribe one of the founding tribes in the Great Forest of Mier?"

"They are. Of course, that's all I know about their past."

"Same here," Mara irritably scratched her head. "The residents in the Mier forest are very private about their lives. Especially when it comes to outsiders."

The Great Forest of Mier was located at the top of the Triumis Continent. The Ruinvia empire wasn't connected to the territory in any way due to them being located at the bottom of the continent. In fact, the Briarhart Kingdom was the one that was placed next to the great forest of Mier. Sadly, even with them bordering their territory, the residents of Mier rarely do business or converse with the Briarhart Kingdom, which was why they were known for being secretive and autonomous.

Neither Zoe nor Mara knew much about the Great Forest except a few facts, like many species resided there, like Elves, Dark Elves, High Elves, Dryads, and the like. They also knew that there were founding tribes that ruled over the nation, like the Aetheron Tribe, which was the founding High Elves clan, or the Mapleash Tribe, which was the founding Elven Tribes, or even the Greyvolk Trib, which was the founding Dark Elves.

Anything other than that, then they knew nothing. They didn't know their cultures, customs, or anything like that. And the residents of Mier were very keen on keeping outsiders out. The Great Forest was strictly for residents who were born within that territory. This also meant that no humans were not allowed in as well. There were times when they entered the forest for certain reasons, but they always had to go through the leaders of Mier to get their permission first.

They considered humans outsiders or outlanders. Basically, people who didn't belong. And knowing that there have been conflicts between humans and the many species of the great forest of Mier, neither former knights of their respective kingdoms could fault the residents of Mier for keeping the humans out of their land.

It was due to the strained relationship that the residents of Mier hardly allowed humans to enter their homeland or converse with them. Of course, it was for good reason due to the various conflicts/wars that occurred between them.

And due to how private the residents of Mier were, Zoe and Mara knew next to nothing about them.

"So, how exactly do we find this dark elf?" Mara questioned.

Zoe hesitated to answer before choosing her words carefully. "One of our chances in doing this is getting the information out of Dolk's companion, who is currently at our base. The person I mentioned before is already trying to get the information needed."

What she said wasn't wrong. This was just one of their options to try and find Dolk so they could take him down. However, there was another option. And that was the plan that Hazel told her, Kane, and Anais about, which was letting Dolk ambush them so he could come to them. Knowing that two powerful guild leaders were meeting one another, there was no way the dark elf would lose this opportunity.

And Zoe planned to exploit that dark elf's ambitious actions by letting him think he had the upper hand in this whole ordeal. When in reality, he was falling right into their trap. Like prey caught in a snare. And she had no intentions of letting him go.

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"I see," The black knight mulled over Zoe's answer. "And how long do you think until-?!"

Mara's question was immediately interrupted when the sound of a loud explosion was heard, followed by the entire floor they stood on shaking from the aftershock. Zoe and the other players took defensive formations, drawing out their weapons and preparing for battle.

"What the hell was that?!" Mara shouted while scanning her surroundings, looking for the source of the noise.

"I'm not sure..." Zoe said, pretending to look around as well. "The sound seemed to have come from outside. We need to check it out." She turned to her allies. "Kane, Anais, take a look over at the window and see what's happening."

The two players gave their leader a firm nod before heading over to the window. Nick seemingly followed along, likely curious to know what was happening as well.

Meanwhile, Mara, the Black knight of Ruinvia, glared at Zoe. "This better not be your doing, Callahan."

Zoe glared back, clearly offended by her accusation. "You of all people should know that a member of the Callahan family would never resort to such tactics. If I wanted to attack you, I would've done so properly by requesting a duel. That is how my family operates, and not even the damn apocalypse will change that."

Zoe's family was a noble and honorable sect. They believed grudges and such should be handled through honor and proper procedures, like requesting duels or officially declaring war on a family that irked them. And Mara's family knew this well since their families had clashed against one another from time to time, so she knew how the Callahan family operated the most.

Mara glared at Zoe for a few more moments before closing her hands and letting out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, you're right. You Callahans are extremely strict with your rules and code of honor. Even with the apocalypse currently taking over our lives, the one thing that would always stay the same would be your noble nature. Though I find that persistent sense of tradition extremely annoying."

Just before Zoe could add a retort, Kane suddenly approached them with a slightly bated breath and a concerned expression on his face.

"We got trouble!" He told them.

"What's wrong?" Mara questioned before Zoe could even open her mouth.

"There's a large number of players attacking the building. Several have already entered and seemed to be either climbing the walls or the stairs, and the others are currently attacking us from a distance, shooting powerful spells and arrows at us."

Upon hearing this, Zoe knew what was happening. The dark elf named Dolk had finally made his move and was currently attacking the hospital just as she was told he would.

"Damn," Mara cursed with a frown on her face. "I didn't expect some kind of ambush." She turned to Zoe with a scrutinizing gaze. "Just to be sure, I assume that you're not behind this?"

Zoe shook her head. "I have nothing to do with this. But I believe I might know who's behind it."

The black knight arched her brow curiously. "And who would that be?"

"Who else? It's like Dolk, the dark elf, who was trying to take down both of our guilds along with the other ones around Portland. He likely found out about our meeting through one of the spies he planted in our guilds."

Mara's eyes widened before they narrowed irritably. "Shit, so he planned this ambush from the start, huh?"

She had no idea. Zoe wondered what would happen if the black knight found out that she knew about the ambush and said nothing. Would she be angry and maybe even attack her and call off the partnership? Although she was curious, she knew better than to risk such a scenario. Especially with the Black Knight of Ruinvia of all people.

"If Dolk is here, then we can likely use this to our advantage," Zoe suggested.

"What do you mean by that?" Mara questioned. "That bastard has us currently surrounded and has player swarming us as we speak. How exactly can we use this to our ad-?"

She was immediately interrupted by the sound of glass breaking and distant shouting. Just then, unknown players suddenly emerged from a hallway and charged at the group. He wielded a sword and raised it in the air.

Just when he was about to attack one of them, Mara stepped in and leaped toward the enemy. She pulled her sword out and swung it down in a single motion, instantly cutting down the player before he could do anything to them. His body was split in half, with blood and viscera spilling out as a result.

As his two halves collapsed on the floor, the tiles were soon stained crimson as the scent of rich yet putrid iron filled the air around them. The black knight stood there for a moment, taking a deep breath before turning to face Zoe and the others.

"Let's focus on dealing with these bastards as fast as possible while trying to find a way out. If that dark elf bastard is here, then I'll deal with him myself for pulling such a stunt like this on me."

Upon declaring this, more glass could be heard breaking, followed by distant shouts getting closer and closer as they waited. Zoe and the rest of the group pulled out their weapons and readied themselves for a fight. The ambush at the Hospital had now begun.

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