IGNORED

Aildrin's necklace throbbed upon hearing the screech from the mountain. It was a weak pulse compared to his first experience, but it was enough to make him shudder.

"Papa Bear, we need to get out of here! Now!" Aildrin said. His instinct told him to flee, but Papa Bear was a tough case.

Storm Bolt! Blue electricity gathered on Papa Bear's war hammer. "Skulls! I'll smash your skulls!" He then pounced on Donma and Lustro with his weapon raised high.

Aildrin tightened his grip on his sword. "Trouble follows this orc wherever he goes," he thought. Three sword lights hummed around him. He then prepared to intercept Elerion.

Papa Bear's clash with the two gave Aildrin a rough guess. "The gap in strength between level one and ten should not be that wide," he thought.

Sword Wave! Elerion's broad sword shimmered in red. He then executed a diagonal slash, and a crescent wave of red energy roared out of his weapon. It headed towards the direction of Papa Bear, who was in midair.

But Aildrin was there to block the attack. His sword lights shuddered while taming the sword energy. It was the same experience he had when he tried to block his clones' attack during the God's Trial.

"Not good!" Aildrin thought. With Elerion charging towards him, he gave up the idea of weathering the sword wave. He then rolled to the side just in time when his defensive blades shattered.

The sword wave caught Papa Bear before he could land his attack. It sent him crashing to the mountain's base. By then, Lustro had already recovered, but Donma was still at a loss.

Elerion grinned. The tip of his sword scraped the ground while he strolled towards Aildrin. "Have you learned your lesson, Rook? You don't—"

A shadow swept from above and snatched Elerion. His broadsword dropped with a thud on the ground, ownerless.

Rabor laughed; the contents of his flagon spilled. "I told you, folks! I told you! Now run for your lives before the King returns!"

"This game is crazy!" Aildrin thought. It all happened in a blur. He rushed to the pile of rubbles without paying attention to the other two.

Without their leader, Lustro rushed out of the camp and left Donma to fend for himself.

Rocks rolled when Papa Bear bursted out of the rubble. "Skulls! Who attacked me without warning?"

Aildrin finally conceded to the fact that Papa Bear's logic was on a different spectrum. But he was amazed by the quality of the orc's armor and weapon. They must be the reason why he could contest against the higher-level players. He reminded himself to inquire about the equipment.

Donma started to recover, but when he saw Papa Bear, he scrambled for his life. "Beast! Stay away from me!" Then the shadow swooped again with a blur, and an ownerless scream was all that lingered from Donma's previous spot.

"Hey, you skull! No fair! No kill stealing!" Papa Bear said.

Aildrin could only slap his forehead. He gazed at the tipsy dwarf and said, "What was that? Is there a way to defeat this King of the Valley?"

"Ah, finally, a sensible man. Goooood question!" Rabor said before burping. "That was the Ranzac! Why do you think was this valley called as such? And don't dream about fighting it! Now run to the trees! It's the only place where the Ranzac could not touch you!"

Only then did Aildrin started to pay attention to the trees ahead. Multiple bodies littered outside of them. Surviving players could no longer be seen aside from Lustro.

Five figures, the ones in blue, then came out of the mini-forest. And they were heading back to Aildrin's direction.

"Change of plans, we're waiting here! Let's just hope that they won't engage in friendly fire," Aildrin said. He then kept an eye for any movements from above, making sure to stay near Rabor.

Aildrin then watched Lustro from afar. But the group killed the ranger without warning. His death immediately extinguished Aildrin's hope for some sensible teammates.

And the screech came again.

"Come you, Ranzac! Face me man to man!" Papa Bear said.

Aildrin kept an eye on both the Ranzac and the supposed ally heading towards them. Either way, he and Papa Bear were staring at death.

After a few seconds, the five-person team arrived back at the encampment, their armor covered in blood.

Meanwhile, Papa Bear kept on taunting the Ranzac, calling the beast with naughty names.

Aildrin gripped his flamberge with both hands. "I won't go down without a fight! Come!"

The tallest of the group laughed. He was clad in a breastplate of white and blue and wielded a pair of kite shields.

[Pilades, Level 10, Rookie Rank—Tier I, Divine Vanguard (Member of Burning Orient).]

"Skulls! Are you friends or foes?" Papa Bear said. He walked straight towards Pilades and examined him. An inch separated their faces from each other.

The three rangers behind immediately nocked their bows.

"It's coming!" the one in a blue penguin coat said. His hair was the color of the deep blue sky. "Don't mind these two. Prepare to receive the aggro of the Ranzac!"

[Zaito, Level 10, Rookie Rank—Tier I, Divine Magician (Unit Captain of Burning Orient).]

"Hmmm, I could no longer hear the distant sound of battle," Rabor said. "Your group must have eliminated almost everyone, and now you want to hunt the Ranzac? This must be interesting than watching Rancor beg for mercy!" He then laughed before drowning himself with another drink.

"That Goblin is just one push away from death. We'll deal with him later," Zaito said. "Pilades, now!"

Pilades sent Papa Bear flying to the sideline with his shield. He then moved away from his team and waited for an attack from above.

His kite shields glowed in red—a taunt skill.

Another screech came, and the clouds above parted. The beast finally came into view. It was a giant bat with four pairs of bulbous red eyes and long hairy legs like those of a tarantula.

[Ranzac, Level 30, Silver-Rank Beast.]

The Ranzac opened its mouth and shot web-like spittles towards Pilades. But Zaito appeared in a blink between them. He held a golden wand with a blue crystal tip.

"Salamance!" Zaito said. He conjured a white flame in the shape of a dragon's head. It swallowed the projectiles and then charged towards the beast.

Meanwhile, Ilidran's eyes glowed red, and blue electricity crackled from Papa Bear's body. Those two won't just stand watching from the sideline.