Child of Destiny

...…

Bloody Edge was having a hard time recognizing the members of the opposing side due to the thick fog surrounding the area. But given that they were currently fighting a King Class Monster Boss with just a few of them, it was pretty obvious to him that they were not ordinary players.

A few moments later, Soulless suddenly appeared beside him and quickly asked. "How is it? You still can't identify them?"

Hearing that, the corner of Bloody Edge's mouth suddenly twitched before answering. "Do you think it is easy to spy on them? With this distance, it is impossible to identify them. But if I try to get nearer, then there is a definite risk that they are going to discover me given their skills."

  "Heh! That is actually the reason why Cruelty sends me here, it is to prevent you from doing anything reckless," said Soulless sneeringly.

The frown that Bloody Edge was wearing turned even deeper when he heard those words before asking. "Do I really look like an idiot who would pick a fight with that group alone?"

"Can't you see their skills? They need to be at least a Peak Titled Ranker and a Godlike Player to fight against a King Class Monster Boss with their numbers," he added while pointing at the opposing side.

Bloody Edge was about to say more when he saw that one of the names of his subordinates turned grey all of a sudden. "Huh?"

At first, he thought that saw it wrong since that particular name immediately lit up after a couple of seconds. But he immediately realized that he was right when the other names started to grey out as well.

"Huh? What's happening," he muttered to himself while wearing a deep frown.

It didn't take long for him to receive an answer from his subordinates who somehow survive the sudden ambush of their opponents. "We are under attack, Sir! It looks like we have been discovered already!"

"D*mn it!" cursed Bloody Edge right after he saw the message. And he was about to warn Soulless who was crouching beside him when they suddenly felt a killing intent directed on them.

"Sh*t!" cursed the two at the same time while jumping away from the current positions.

But contrary to what they were expecting, no one attacked them yet nor the place where they were previously hiding.

A few moments later, they heard an unhurried footstep coming towards them. And when they turned their heads to the direction of the sound, they saw a silhouette walking out from the thick fog.

They waited for a couple of seconds for them to clearly see who was the person walking towards them. And when they did, they couldn't help but open their eyes wide while staring blankly at him.

"The Nameless Swordsman! No, he is known as the Battle God Sickarius now," muttered Soulless solemnly, calling Shin with his old alias.

"It has a while, 'old friends' from HeadHunter Guild," said Shin with a sarcastic tone while also looking at his opponents with a huge grin.

But he immediately took back what he just said when he realized that it was wrong. "Wait, I think it is not right. We never meet each other personally, so I don't think I can say those words."

The two didn't say anything despite hearing the mockery from Shin's words. Instead, they simultaneously took out their respective weapons and got ready for battle.

'If this guy is here, then that means the party that is facing that King Class Monster Boss is-… that so-called Empyrean Talons adventurer team,' said Bloody Edge inside his head when he realized that they were now in deep trouble.

'No wonder they are able to explore this place without researching it. They will surely slaughter any monster that will block their way given the lineup that they have,' thought Soulless before turning his head to Bloody Edge.

They need to inform their Cruelty about this matter! Or else, the consequence was going to be really dire for them.

Seeing that the two of them were exchanging eye signals, Shin immediately knew that they were informing the other members of their group. But he didn't care since taking all of them down was his original plan.

"Before, you guys tried to bully me with your rank and status. So, how about we do it properly this time? After all, we are now standing on the same level," said Shin smirkingly while putting his hand on the hilt of his katana.

"Did your fame get over your head? Do you honestly believe that you can take on both of us alone?" said Bloody Edge with a deep frown while glaring at Shin.

Hearing those words, Shin suddenly curved his mouth to a mocking grin before saying. "Well, I took down both Lich God Immortal and Demon God Justin, so I doubt that I will get intimidated when facing the likes of you."

The expression on both Soulless and Bloody Edge's faces suddenly turned sour the moment they heard those mocking words. Unfortunately for them, they would not be able to refute those words since they were fully aware that their names were not big enough to compare to those two gods that Shin had mentioned.

And as if rubbing salt on their wounds, Shin suddenly added. "Or are you guys thinking that you are scarier than Dragon God Siegfried and War God Simba?"

This time, the Soulless and Bloody Edge became even more unpleasant as Shin continued to wound their pride. Just like Rankers had different ranks, Godlike Players obviously had one too. And that was the reason why the Godlike Ranking List existed.

Moreover, all of the names that Shin had mentioned were the biggest names even among all of the Godlike Players like them.

"Go!" shouted Soulless before charging at Shin. He was no longer interested in arguing with the latter since they were clearly at a disadvantage. They surely lose their temper if they let Shin continue talking.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Soulless leaped forward while swinging his greatsword at Shin during his descent. On the other hand, Bloody Edge suddenly appeared behind Shin while striking with both of his daggers.

Seeing their coordinated attacks, Shin couldn't help but grin even wider as he was finally going to fight some of the most elite players of the game on an equal foot.

First, Shin used the 'Void Steps' to appear behind Soulless before quickly unsheathing his sword and swinging it to his opponent.

Shing!

'Class Fighting Style: (Modified) Quickly Draw'

Bang!

Soulless managed to redirect his swing towards Shin by adjusting his position in the air while also spinning his body around.

Swoosh!

But despite him blocking the strike successfully, the so-called 'Savage God' was sent flying towards the ground where Bloody Edge was currently standing. And since the latter was already in the middle of his attack, Soulless' body was pierced by the daggers that were supposedly directed to Shin's back.

-673 581!

But Shin was not done yet.

Right after he sent Soulless away, he suddenly spun in the air before forcing his body to fall towards the two while also swinging his sword downwards during his descent.

Shing!

'Extra Skill: (Modified) Falling Lightblade'

Swoosh!

Seeing the incoming strike, Soulless quickly forced his body to stand up properly before pushing Bloody Edge back and holding his greatsword above his head, planning to block Shin's descending sword with it.

He channeled his mana on that sword and steadied his footing to brace himself for the incoming impact.

Unfortunately for him, his preparations were futile since Shin disappeared above him all of a sudden before reappearing above Bloody Edge who was currently in the middle of regaining his footing.

'Basic Combat Technique: Second Drive'

'Phantom Swordsman Skill: Phantom Steps'

Swoosh!

"D*mn it!" cursed the two at the same time when they saw what just happened. Moreover, they both knew that it was impossible to escape the current predicament since the attack came out of nowhere.

Soulless was not in a position to assist Bloody Edge since he was preparing to block the attack that was supposedly directed to him. On the other hand, the latter didn't have the right footing to execute any movement skills which was why he could only watch helplessly at the sword that was descending at him.

Swoosh!

But before Shin could even hit the Mad God with his sword, a formless force suddenly pulled Bloody Edge from his current position and made Shin's attack miss.

"Two veteran Godlike Players being toyed by a single player who just got his godlike title? You guys should feel ashamed of yourselves," said Helena as she walked out from the thick fog and joined her colleagues. She also waved her hand and pointed at Soulless, restoring his HP bar back to full. 

Not long after, Cruelty suddenly appeared from the side opposite to where Helena came from before saying. "No wonder nothing was left behind when we got here. So, it turns out the Empyrean Talons are the ones who beat us on exploring this place."

In the blink of an eye, Shin was surrounded from all sides by his opponents. He slightly knitted his eyebrows before sweeping his gaze on the four Godlike Players surrounding him. "Tsk!"

The moment Shin started clicking his tongue, Arthur suddenly revealed himself sitting on a tree branch by saying. "Heh! See? I told you! You are still a hundred years too early to fight all of them alone. Don't get too ahead of yourself."

At the same time, Leonard suddenly walked from behind that tree before giving his own remark. "Give him some slack. He is still not used to his new equipment set. He still needs some time to properly familiarize himself with his upgraded stats."

Seeing those two, the expressions on the faces of the four Godlike Players from the HeadHunter Guild immediately turned sour. But at the same time, their urge for battle also became stronger since they all knew that they were currently in a do-or-die situation.

Running away from these three was going to be impossible, so the only choice that was left for them was to stay and fight for their survival.

How ironic it was? The so-called headhunters of the virtual world suddenly became the hunted instead.

....