Child of Destiny

...…

Somewhere within the Frozen Kingdom.

After creating enough distance away from the members of the Earners Mercenary Group, Zero, Faker, and Lawless decided to take a little break before continuing to move where Shin and the others were currently fighting.

They wanted to take out as many members of the Earners as possible but it seemed like they couldn't do it since Flouree hid such a powerful forbidden spell.

If not for that spell, then they could have taken down Flouree and the priest of the mercenary group at the very least. Or they might even wipe out that group before their colleagues could arrive.

The strength of her forbidden skill was so powerful that they couldn't afford to face it head-on. They were forced to retreat before they could even have the chance to take down any of the other members.

Fortunately, they could tell that she at least paid a heavy price for it given how powerful that forbidden spell was. It was their first time seeing such an insane spell cast by a player.

It was something that they could only see from the NPCs of the game or during the time when an Elemental Spirit showcased the true extent of their power.

Since Flouree used that kind of forbidden skill with the current tier of her class, three were confident that the price that she needed to pay was pretty heavy. If their suspicions were right, then she would most likely not be able to fight for the rest of their time in this place.

With her unable to participate in future battles, Shin and the others no longer needed to concern themselves about the Earners Mercenary Group. At least, they were not threatening enough to hinder the progress of their quest.

But despite that being the case, Zero and the other two couldn't feel happy about what happened. It was not because they were greedy or anything, but it was due to Seven still losing his special class in the end.

"I am sorry, young master! I still lost the special class that you've given me!" Seven was currently kneeling in front of Zero with a lowered head and full of dejection.

His defeat against Voltage was one thing, but being captured and losing the Blessing of the Vermillion Bird was another matter.

Zero was also disappointed. But it was not because of what happened to Seven. He was disappointed in himself. Despite being the player who currently stood at the peak of the Godlike Ranking List, he failed to protect his people and even let the others rob the special class that they worked hard to acquire.

He took a deep breath before gently patting Seven's shoulders. "It is fine. We don't know that the imprisonment prism that they had used had a special function that could strip your class."

"Let's just think of the positive side. It is at least better than losing your in-game avatar and current progress. It was way better than starting over from the beginning."

"What's more, we can always have our revenge after we are done with here," he said coldly as his eyes glinted with a sharp and dangerous light.

As someone who was at Zero's side most of the time, Seven could instantly tell that Zero was currently furious.

This was only the second time he saw Zero furious. And the last time that it happened was during the early stages of the game. It was when a guild leader of a powerful guild insulted his family. And even used their outside influence to bother the people around him in the real world.

Since Zero was the type who would not use the name of his family when it came to his personal matters, he took care of everything with his own hands.

That guild was an emerging force and also one of the potential powerhouses of the game. But because they touched the reversed scale of a sleeping dragon, their guild didn't survive the early stages of the game.

Zero actively hunted every member of that guild. He treated them like a common monsters that could be seen in the regular fields. He didn't stop until he wiped them out.

Naturally, those guys tried to fight back but their enemy was way too strong compared to them. They stood no chance against a monster like Zero.

The guild members blamed their guild leader and elders for proving such a scary player. And since none of the higher-ups listened to them, the members started leaving one after another until the guild disbanded altogether.

It didn't even end there. Since the opposing side tried to touch Zero in the real world, he paid them back in kind. He let them have a taste of their own medicine.

Zero found the real identity of the said guild leader and paid him a 'visit'. He didn't kill that person but he left the guy bedridden after a 'small' talk.

That guild leader was an heir of a corporation, so his parents would naturally want to take revenge for their son. But when they investigated the background of Zero, they couldn't help but curse their son for offending such a person.

They would be practically signing their death warrant if they tried to do anything to Zero. They should be thankful that their business and livelihood were left intact after proving the young master of such a mighty clan.

Seven knew that the current situation was entirely different compared to that time, but the fact that Zero was furious still remained. He could already see the Earners Mercenary Group suffering some heavy losses in the future.

The mercenary group might be a powerful force and a pretty famous one in their field. But as someone who mostly operates alone, Zero would never be afraid of them. He was someone who even dared to pursue every Dark Player of the game.

Whether they were a part of the Corrupted Cult and Demonic Church or one of the renowned organizations within the game, Zero would always face them fearlessly.

Seven could help but feel thankful to Zero after seeing his young master get furious with him. At the same time, he also felt that he needed to get stronger so that this incident would not happen again in the future.

Zero was right. He might have lost the Blessing of the Vermillion Bird, but his techniques and battle experience were still present. It might be a pity to lose such a strong and unique class, but he could always find another one if he worked harder.

There was also a chance that he could find a stronger class if he got a little lucky as well.

But that was for another matter in the future. For now, they needed to clear this Empire Quest that was already been dragged on for an extended period of time.

But it was not necessarily a bad thing since they gained quite a lot during their time in this place. They underwent significant growth after coming here. Even Seven could tell that he had grown way stronger compared to what he used to be.

He might still be far from being as strong as a Godlike Player, but he would surely be much stronger compared to most of the Titled Rankers.

"I understand, young master," nodded Seven as he slowly picked himself up from kneeling on the ground and stood up.

…

In the meantime, Faker was currently contacting Shin and asking them about their situation on their side. And after a few moments, he turned to Lawless. "Brother Shin said that they are able to hold themselves against the Fallen Dragon Knight Army. It is thanks to the Legion of Chaotic Sun."

"But he also said that the main commander of the army still hadn't revealed himself as well as the other two generals that are mentioned by Lycan earlier."

Lawless nodded his head and commented. "That is understandable. After all, bosses only reveal themselves at the final moments of such battles."

"Based on our previous experiences with the other armies, the strength of the grand marshal should be much stronger than the other generals since he was supposed to be the commanding general of the whole army."

"His presence alone is more than enough to change the tide of the battle once he revealed himself. Moreover, there are also the other two generals working under him. It is safe to say that they are as strong as those previous leading generals, if not stronger."

He then paused for a moment as he felt uneasy feeling about the upcoming fight against the grand marshal. "Let's go. We need to hurry over there and join them as soon as possible. I've got a feeling that this battle is going to be much messier than the other battles."

It was at that moment when Zero and Seven approached them.

"You're done? Then we can leave now," said Lawless in a nonchalant manner before preparing to leave.

The two didn't reply and silently followed after Lawless.

On the other hand, Faker stared at Zero for a couple of moments before shaking his head. There was no way to read what he was thinking. But based on the bitter smile that he had, it seemed like he was taking pity on something.

He then followed behind the three as his thoughts lingered around a certain event that happened in the past.

"The signs are faint but it seems like history is about to repeat itself," he muttered with a mystifying tone and pair of eyes full of mixed emotions.

...…