Is this really a Game?!

"We managed to get 2 monster territories on our side, one being about 60km away from Doncaster, and the other some 40km away from Wilkashere, the rest of the monster bases around the two cities have been mostly destroyed, with only 3 left, including the one Laura went to," Reign told the others as they met up in the meeting hall once again.

"They have at the very least 3 Tier V combatants, and I do believe that there are more hidden deeper inside their territory, the ones I faced were all low-grade Tier Vs, and from how they were barely able to work together and were seemingly following orders, there has to be a more powerful monster deeper inside." 

Laura's words made the others all nod in agreement. The Blightspawn were a weird but dangerous bunch of monsters, and thanks to their close proximity to Wilkashere, they had to make sure they were eliminated, otherwise, there was a good chance that they would start hunting the weaker players that came close to their territory.

The monster territories were appearing at many places, but luckily, most of them were not that strong and Reign and the rest decided to simply ignore those that had no Tier V monsters present.

Only the territories that had one or more Tier Vs were worth the trouble, as for the others, they were left for the other players to deal with as they could not only gain quite some exp from clearing them but also a lot of items.

Of course, if some players managed to form a connection and persuade the monsters to ally with them, Reign and the others would not say no. In fact, the players were told that they would be rewarded if they managed to do so.

That was done because Reign knew that people could be quite selfish at times. If the players were powerful enough to destroy the territory, why would they stop and get the monsters to ally with Doncaster when that meant losing the exp and items?

Yeah, the system would give them a reward for doing so, but the reward was still below what they would get from destroying the monsters, which was why Reign had made sure they knew that they would get rewards from him and the others as well, balancing things out.

"What about the other two territories?" Reign asked, upon which Wolf sighed as he pointed at the two monster territories.

"This one is home to a race similar to elves, Aelrinder had gone there with the royal guards, but had to leave since the enemies were hostile and would not listen to reason."

"We still don't know their names, but they have red skin and there are bones that stick out from their bodies, giving them extra defense, as well as more options when attacking.

They also have some weird tattoos on their skin, and Aelrinder had noticed that during some spells or attacks, the tattoos would shine, giving them more power, as for their strength, Aelrinder was attacked by 2 mid-grade Tier Vs when he arrived with his royal guards, and one low-grade Tier V joined later, forcing them to retreat and call Tank for help, luckily, he was close and arrived quickly, after which the enemies left."

Reign furrowed his brows slightly.

Two mid-grade Tier Vs attacked right away, something that was not expected.

"As for the last territory, we have no idea who the monsters there are, the entire territory is covered in dense fog, and the players that had gone there together with Elijah and a couple of other Tier Vs were unable to see anything that was further away than 3 meters."

"Elijah and the other Tier Vs could see up to 5 meters, and if they focused and poured mana into their eyes, they were able to see up to 7 meters ahead."

"They were attacked multiple times during their time there, but the enemies were akin to ghosts, they were unable to see their figures, only their shadows, in the end, 3 high-grade Tier IVs died during the exploration, including one of Elijah's original team members."

"It could be said that this is one of the worst casualties we have had in the last couple of weeks."

Reign's eyes constricted as he stared at the region. For a team that had multiple Tier Vs and Tier IVs to actually end up in such a miserable state, even losing some players was completely unexpected.

"They don't know the number of enemies, their strength?"

"No, they managed to get no information at all," Wolf said, which made Reign sigh before staring at the location.

"Well, with the other territories, we at least know what we are getting ourselves into and what manner of enemies there are, which means that this one is definitely the one we need to explore and eliminate by ourselves." Reign said as he glanced at the people around him.

"We will go by ourselves, the 9 of us should be enough, if things go south, we will retreat and then come back with all the Tier Vs that we have."

"As for the other two territories, we can let Elijah and M'azgara's monsters go there."

"From what we know, the Blightspawn are the weakest, their powers are weird and annoying, but in sheer strength, the red elves should be more dangerous, so I prefer letting M'azgara's Tier Vs go there while Elijah and the others attack the Blightspawns."

The rest nodded, agreeing with Reign's words, except for one thing.

"Is it really a good idea to let Elijah go with them, I mean, he did lose a friend that had been in his team for months now, maybe we should-"

"You're right, Shadow, we should let him join us and go to the territory, we'll let the Blightspawn be dealt with later, half of their team should join us, and half should join M'azgara's team."

Wolf smirked, as did Shadow, but Beast, as well as some others furrowed their brows slightly.

"If any of us were to die in battle, what would you guys wish to do the most?" Reign suddenly asked them before smiling dangerously.

"Because I know that I would do my very best to slaughter the ones responsible for it, and if we simply let Elijah, as well as the Tier Vs with him that also lost someone simply rest and pity themselves while also being angry that they couldn't save that person, there's a chance that they will change."

"By letting them come with us and take revenge right away, we can speed up their recovery, at least that's what I'm hoping for."

"Alright, notify the others, we will leave in 1 hour."

The alliance quickly mobilized, spreading the word about the upcoming mission to the dense fog-covered territory. Elijah, his eyes reflecting a mix of grief and determination, joined the group. Reign's team, consisting of nine formidable members, assembled at the outskirts of the foggy region before Elijah and three more people arrived to join them.

The fog in front of them was as thick as Elijah remembered. Reign stared at it with curiosity as he smirked. There truly was something wrong with the fog.

He was a bit confused as to how none of the members of the previous group had managed to sense the monsters, but it was because the fog didn't only block their sight, but also interfered with mana as well.

The dense fog enveloped them as they entered the mysterious territory. The visibility was limited to a few meters, and eerie shadows danced within the thick mist. The air was heavy with otherworldly energy that sent shivers down the spines of even the most seasoned warriors.

Reign, leading the way with his two swords in hand, focused on the shadows around them. The group moved cautiously, each member alert to any sign of an impending attack. Elijah, fueled by a desire for vengeance, gripped his weapons tightly.

As they delved deeper into the fog, the whispers of unseen entities echoed around them. The shadows seemed to writhe and twist, creating an unsettling atmosphere. The monsters in this territory were unlike any they had encountered before, utilizing the fog as both a cloak and a weapon.

Even Reign was a bit surprised as he failed to sense them with his soul power. Beast tried smelling them but was unsuccessful, only his sense of hearing was able to help them. With his hearing boosted thanks to his powers, he was able to hear the monsters, albeit barely.

They didn't walk, instead, the monster levitated, the only sound they made was their whispers, as well as the sound of them moving through the air.

The first encounter was sudden. Shadowy figures materialized from the mist, launching a surprise attack. The Tier V team, however, swiftly responded. Beast's arrows, guided by his keen senses, pierced through the shadows, revealing the forms of the elusive assailants. The group fought together, quickly getting ready and clashing against the monsters.