Chapter 196: A-Rankers

The virtual gaming community was in uproar. Just a few months ago, the first player hinted at the possible world event due to the immense activity of the demons and monsters for the past months.

It turned out he was right; the first world event finally arrived.

The first world event in Apocalypse Online was highly anticipated, with social media platforms and the news media covering the topic.

Kylie herself received numerous calls from various organizations, desiring to interview Max, but she patiently informed them that the first player was busy in preparation for the first world event.

At the same time, she was marveled by the offers from the organizations for the interviews, leaving her helpless and astonished by Max’s firm decision.

Reject every invitation for an interview before and during the first world event no matter the offers.

Coincidentally, the Eclipse Immersion Pod was finally about to be produced, and Max would receive it on the exact day the first world event commenced.

Though, the coincidence was too much for Kylie.

At the moment, she was busy studying and preparing for Max’s schedule, while the latter himself was busy with his significant Guild members in the Guild Council Chambers, located in the Central Administrative District.

He finally met the five A-rankers who joined his Guild.

The former Commander of Mirefall Province, the old man Gareth Ironwood, with the Indomitable Guardian A-Class from the Shieldbearer’s class sequence, bore the position of Deputy Commander of Field Operations.

He was Lancelot’s second-in-command.

His specialty focused on defensive warfare and large-scale demon extermination, perfect for Lancelot as his shield.

Rose Khan was the Head of the Scout Division, possessing an A-Class Shadow Sovereign in the Scout class sequence.

The Shadow Sovereign was shared by the scout and assassin class sequences, and their overall combat depended on their foundational class.

Even then, they possessed almost similar abilities, as scouts at this level could assassinate others as well, causing the Shadow Sovereign to be possessed by both of these class sequences.

Rose Khan was recommended by the Imperial Army after retiring, not out of age but because of her injuries.

Her skin suffered from the Hellfire from the Demon Lord of Ruins.

Some of her flesh was absolutely destroyed, that not even the High Pontiff could heal her completely unless she accepted a skin substitute.

When she heard that the skin she would carry came from the deceased, she rejected the idea and carried the trauma with her to this day.

At present, she was covered from head to toe. The skin surrounding her eyes was absolutely destroyed, that her mangled flesh was exposed by that thin gap.

Max tried his best not to be disgusted after his first interaction with Rose.

Although she was injured, she still exuded a similar aura as the other A-ranker.

At the same time, Max could barely perceive her presence—if she wanted to, she could truly disappear from his sight.

Furthermore, Rose’s usefulness was not her personal strength but her ability to lead the Scout Division.

The members of the Scout Division were responsible for tracking demon nests and gathering crucial information that created higher chances for the demon hunters to successfully raid the nests.

From the settlements’ failure to reclaim a piece of territory to the demon hunters’ successful attempt, it seemed the Imperial Army had slacked off for some time.

The third A-ranker was Maurice Bullock, the Commander of the Demon Hunter Expeditionary Corps.

He was the Guild’s highest-ranking field commander beneath Lancelot.

Unlike Lancelot, who served as the overall Executive Commander and coordinated the entire Guild, Maurice commanded large-scale expeditions.

His responsibilities included coordinating 20 to 100+ hunters, planning large demon extermination campaigns, commanding assaults against demon nests, and establishing temporary forward bases.

He also coordinated with Imperial armies, taking command when multiple Guild branches participated in a single operation, and trained B-Rank combat commanders.

At the moment, every province already had a branch of the Demon Hunters Guild, causing Maurice’s responsibility to spread far and wide to every different province.

He was also a former member of the Imperial Army but personally resigned just to join the Demon Hunters Guild.

The life of the high-ranking military officials in the Imperial Army had been too peaceful, as they barely made any moves in the last decades.

The Demon Hunters Guild ignited his passion as a War Lord.

The fourth A-ranker was Matilda Harvey, the Director of Strategic Intelligence.

She became the Guild’s highest-ranking intelligence specialist.

She worked extremely closely with the Imperial National Rift Monitoring Network, as Louie’s Rift Detection Beacon and Guild Communication Network had not been produced to rival the Imperial National Rift Monitoring Network.

Like Maurice, she resigned from her previous Imperial Government position just to join the Demon Hunters Guild.

Since the Imperial Family encouraged her decision, she did not regret it at all, even though she worked in a fairly new environment.

The last A-ranker was Angelo Ward, the Grand Magister of the Demon Hunters Guild.

He was the Guild’s highest-ranking pure combat mage.

He was also the head of the Arcane Combat Division, attracting the attention of other mages.

Angelo Ward was the patriarch of the Ward House in Aurelion Prime.

As the only House that produced an Arcane Overlord, Angelo Ward was naturally an asset for the Empire.

However, when he came to learn about the Demon Hunters Guild’s ambition, he immediately relinquished his position as the patriarch, bestowing such a position to his heir, and left the House to establish the Arcane Combat Division of the Demon Hunters Guild.

He also established the Guild’s formal Arcane Combat Doctrine, which primarily taught the elite mages how to fight demons as part of a large-scale hunting formation.

Max’s conversation with Angelo was surprising for him.

He learned that the Ward Family was established by their Ancestor, who was also the first Arcane Caster.

His Ancestor particularly hated demons to the point that the Arcane Overlord Class was established.

In his Ancestor’s prime, he fought toe to toe with the Demon Lord of Blood for three straight days...

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