Child of Destiny

...

At the end of the Sky Deceiving Valley, at the towering wall of ice.

David was currently sitting in a lotus position with his eyes closed. He seemed to be meditating despite being inside the game.

Behind him was the portal that would lead to the other side of the ice wall, the land of the fallen Dragon Worshippers, now known as the Frozen Kingdom.

A few distances away from him were the other members of the Empyrean Talons, S.Tigris' party, and Laweless' group.

Morgan and Raven were constantly roaming the area, making sure that there were no members of the Corrupted Cult in the vicinity.

Akailu was also ordering his beast summons to scout the surroundings, creating another layer of the perimeter that they control.

Archimedes was sitting on a branch of the highest tree, looking at the distance. The Sky Deceiving Valley might be covered by a thick fog that extended as high as the trees. But after staying in this place for a long time, Archimedes already developed immunity to the effects of that fog.

He did not only receive a powerful battle capability after inheriting the combat skills from Garuda and the other tribe leaders of the Wingman Race, but he also gained a variety of ocular skills. And each of them had a unique ability.

One of those ocular skills, was the 'Eye that can see through Storm', a sub-ability of 'Eagle's Eye Skill'.

It was said that eagles loved to dive in the storms, unlike most birds. They were using the wind of the storm to rise higher in a matter of seconds. They could use the pressure of the storm to glide higher without expending their own energy.

Due to that, eagles could also possess the ability to see through the storms to navigate their way through them.

As the inheritor of the peak of the Wingman Race, it was natural for Archimedes also to possess such an ability.

He trained this particular ocular skill in the harsh environment of the Sky Deceiving Valley and was able to master it after a long time. He was one of the main reasons why the group was able to spot all of the scouts of the Corrupted Cult hiding in the dark.

His sharp eyes could spot their opponents in an instant, making it easy for Raven, Morgan, and Akailu to take them down.

Because of those four, the rest didn't have the time to showcase their skills. They just stood in front of the portal, waiting if they were some opponents who would somehow reach them.

But with David guarding it, it looked like they would not have a chance to showcase their strengths.

…

A few moments later, David suddenly opened his eyes and looked at his head. His sight seemed to be able to pierce through the thick fog and able to see much farther than Archimedes.

He squinted his eyes and muttered. "They've brought quite a lot of their friends, huh?"

His voice was a little quiet but the others were able to hear his words. Then they quickly picked up their weapons and get in positing, getting ready for battle.

They were not sure how David was able to see their opponents before Archimedes could even spot them. But none of them questioned his words as they knew how strong this person was.

As they were organizing themselves, David suddenly frowned and thought to himself. 'These guys are pretty skilled but why I can't see any powerful opponents among them?'

'Not even a single Godlike Player is present. Am I being underestimated? Or those guys are plotting something,' he added and thought that the latter was most likely the case.

He stroked his chin a couple of times and muttered. "Then, are they planning to send a bunch of cannon fodders first to exhaust us? Or are these guys just a misdirection?"

"Hmm… maybe I should leave these guys to you guys first and observe a little more," said David enough for the others to hear as continued to sit on the ground.

Hearing those words, the rest of the group quickly became spirited as they finally have something to do.

They were already getting tired of sitting here and doing nothing. It was a good thing that they could stretch their bodies a little.

The Guardians of the group, Ringgo, and Hayden, quickly picked up their shields and charged ahead, leaving the portal to David. They were veteran players, so they naturally knew what the former number-one player could do. They fully trust him that he could defend the portal alone.

Morgan, Ithilien, and Archimedes, on the other hand, looked for a good vantage point where they could snipe down their enemies.

Daulla was the sole mage of this group, so she would have a hard time if the assassins of the opposing side targeted her. But she confidently moved ahead despite not having the protection of their Guardian Knights.

She and Archimedes were already used to fighting in this kind of situation since they were always being hunted down by some powerful guilds during their time in their previous kingdom. She had already developed a method to fight an unknown enemy hiding in the dark.

Moreover, Akailu and his summoned beast monsters were already scanning their surroundings thoroughly. With their formation and their bestial senses, it was impossible for an assassin to sneak past them.

It didn't take long for the group to spot their enemies and immediately engaged in a fight with them.

In the meantime, David continued to sit on his spot, completely unmoved. He even closed his eyes once again and resumed his meditation, seemingly unaffected by what was happening around him.

He was confident that the rest was more than enough to deal with these small fries.

He was waiting patiently for the opposing side to reveal their final card before making his move. And when that time came, he would immediately figure out their plans.

...

Hiding deeper within the woods, the head of the Necromancers and Corrupted Assassin attacking the group was observing the battle through a spying stone.

He later noticed that David didn't make his move and let the others fight their forces.

"Tsk! As expected of Khing, he really is not going to make his move until he sees through us," he muttered after observing for a while.

"His presence alone was more than enough to intimidate our forces. And after learning that he slaughtered our Elders alongside the undead horde backing them, none of us want to charge at him blindly."

"Fortunately, we are only a distraction," he muttered as he continued to observe the battle and gave an appropriate order from time to time.

He then turned to the side and looked at the hooded player leaning on a tree not far away from him and added. "What's more, we also have this monster to match him."

...

In the meantime, Immortal lead a group of players to another side of the Sky Deceiving Valley, avoiding all of the scouts that the Hand of Midas and Assassin Union stationed in the region.

The aura of each member of this group was terrifying enough to scare the ordinary players of the game. Their presence alone was more than enough to suffocate someone by only standing beside them.

The ones who had the scariest aura were naturally Immortal and the two players following closely behind him.

Those two were a knight with a pitch-black set of armor that was continuously emitting black smoke and a mage completely hidden by her cloak as she held a two-meter scepter with one hand.

The knight didn't bother to hide his appearance and just turned off the visibility of his helmet. He was wearing a solemn expression on his face as he seriously followed Immortal.

Seeing that expression, the mage beside him couldn't help but laugh softly and tease him. "What's with that look? It clearly shows that you want to kill someone."

The knight gave her a sidelong glance before ignoring her. And when the mage saw that, she continued. "Oh~! mighty Demon God Justin, it looks like you are eager to get your revenge."

"Tsk! Well, I can't say that I don't understand what you are feeling. Getting crushed by emerging talent in front of everyone sure is embarrassing," she added with a provoking tone.

That was right, the knight with dark armor was Justin, the guy who got his *ss kicked by Shin during their battle.

Even though he already regained his strength and even got a hidden class much stronger than the previous one that he had before, he still couldn't wash away the shame that he suffered after that last defeat. Especially when it looked like he was spared by Shin when his level was not taken away from him.

What was even more humiliating about it was when all of it happened in front of Cloe.

Justin couldn't help but clenched his fist when he recalled what happened. He then glared at the mage and warned her. "Don't try to provoke me, Flouree. Even if we are working together right now, it doesn't mean that I can't deal with you."

Flouree, the current leader of the Earners Mercenary Group, giggled when she saw his angry face and tried to provoke him even more. "Do you think that I will be scared? Especially when the threat comes from a loser such as yourself?"

Bang! Bang!

Then both of them released an even more powerful aura than what they already emitting.

But not long after, they quickly retrieved those auras as Immortal stopped them from fighting. "I don't care if you fight each other, but do it when everything is already over."

He turned his head, looked over his shoulder, and reminded them why they were there. "Justin, we know that you want your revenge, but you can't vent your anger to your current partners."

"Miss Flouree, please refrain from provoking him. I am aware that you want to fight strong opponents but you must remember that your position is no longer the same as before. You are now a hired mercenary and you must follow the contract."

Hearing those words, Justin ignored the mage and resumed his steps.

Flouree, on the other hand, clicked her tongue but didn't refute those words. "Tsk!"

...