Infinite Realm

A few hundred metres away from the basin, was a different team of players. From the direction and path they were taking, it seemed that they were heading towards the basin where Sato and the rest were.

Despite seemingly walking erratically, everyone in the team had positioned themselves at certain points that would help them coordinate properly and retaliate against the enemy in case they suffer an ambush. From this alone, it showed that this team of players weren't your average rookies but pro-gamers who have a lot of experience, and were experts in dungeon raids and field battles. Even their gear wasn't average as every one of them had at least one Upper-tier Mortal rank equipment and the worst of them had a top-tier Mid-tier Mortal rank equipment.

However, something was strange about this. They all seemed gloomy but at the same time, exuded a hint of murderous intent. It was as if they had suffered a loss that left them resentful.

"ETA?"[1]

A middle-aged man who seemed to be the one in command asked without a change in expression. However, if one were to maintain their senses on him, a fierce killing intent would be discovered. The only reason it wasn't that perceptible was because the man was suppressing it.

"With our current pace...10 minutes, captain." The [Ranger] who led the way with a somewhat downcast tone.

The middle-aged man's chiseled face displayed a frown but he held in his dissatisfaction. A gleam of light reflected on his face, highlighting his facial features.

Surprisingly, it turned out to be Black Tempest of Emperor's Might. This discovery further meant that this team was the vanguard squad of Emperor's Might. As for the reason for Black Tempest's frown as well as the doleful atmosphere in the group, it was quite a surprise.

The vanguard team, who had departed ahead of the main squad earlier on, had surprisingly suffered an ambush 5 minutes ago in a stalagmite forest. What was surprising about it was the fact that the ambushers had dared to contend against a super guild's team. If that wasn't daring enough, the ambushers had gone as far as tossing insults and mocking the players when they had attacked. One of them had even called Black Tempest's mother a s**t.

With the event having gone that far, the team didn't hold back anything against the assaulters and managed to force them back, sending 3 of them to the grave. However, the Black Tempest was still displeased with the results because one of them had fallen at the hands of the enemy. This was technically unavoidable as that player was one of the targets in the ambush and Black Tempest was another.

The player was one of the top Experts of the guild who was assigned to Black Tempest's team to help balance out the power distribution. However, he had now died and this dropped the overall strength of the team by quite a few figures.

The respawn point for most players was set to Riverdale town as that was the safest location to respawn. The same was also said for this player but the team couldn't possibly wait for him to return, so, they had to move ahead with their numbers down by one. This was the source of the team's anger and despondence.

What was even more annoying was that they weren't aware of the identity of their opponents as all of the players in the ambushing team had worn black cloaks. That, together with the dim lighting made it difficult to identify anyone even based on their fighting style.

After the ambush, Black Tempest had rearranged the squad's formation to prevent such from happening but as the die has already been cast, there was nothing they could do about the previous event.

"Damn it. Those guys better pray that I don't find them." Black Tempest gritted his teeth in rage.

The [Ranger], who acted as the deputy of the team, kept a low head.

As a [Ranger], he was also tasked with looking out for the team alongside the squad's [Assassin] player. However, it was the [Assassin] that was the target of the ambush and he had failed to notice that. Even though this could be attributed to the fact that the stalagmite forest was a complex terrain that was not only difficult to navigate through but was a perfect ambush zone, he still couldn't be considered innocent.

"Are you sure they aren't guild squads?" Black Tempest faced the [Ranger].

After the ambush, the team had begun racking their heads, trying to figure out the identity of their attackers. The [Ranger], Blue Sky, believed that the attackers weren't players from any guild. He based this on two reasons.

Most guilds had sent their elite forces to Black Grill's Cave and while that sounds like the ambushers could be one of them, it wasn't.

The goal of the elite forces was the Kobold King and since no one was truly aware of its full power, they wouldn't do something as foolish as attacking each other. The first reason was that they would need the other to test the BOSS' strength and the other was that they could potentially team up with the other guilds and face the monster. If they were to attack one another, they could potentially harm themselves in the process and lose their members and at the same time, weaken the strength of potential partners and this wasn't a good idea.

Also, if the guild gets discovered, they would suffer the retribution of the other and in this case, it would come from a super guild. No one in their right mind would want to offend a super guild unless there was an already existing feud between the two parties.

But there was a simple solution to all of this. Just in case those guilds desperately wanted to eliminate competition, they could simply hire other players. It has to be known that guild players weren't the only ones with access into Black Grill's Cave. Solo players, gaming associations and clubs, and even small parties could join in on the fun. Naturally, as the strength of these teams was weaker than most guilds, they wouldn't set their sights on the Kobold King but would simply battle the monsters in the Outer region.

However, what if a guild were to offer them benefits to ambush another guild? If the remuneration was worth it, these guys could do so. As they were mostly random players without any permanent residence or desire to rule an area like the guilds, they wouldn't mind attacking anybody, even a Super guild, for the right pay.

Therefore, the chances of the attackers being non-guild players were quite high but there was no confirmation that they weren't guild players either.

"Hehe. It seems like Emperor's Might has been too lenient these days. Hehe. They should wait for me to get back. I will make sure the town sees blood." Black Tempest displayed a creepy grin on his face.

Everyone beside him suddenly felt the temperature plunge down and a ghastly chill crept up on them. Black Tempest had released his suppression on his killing intent and this had caused a change in the ambience of the place and every player there felt it.

Black Tempest and Blue Sky had both tacitly ignored the fact that there was a spy in their team. This was something unavoidable as the most trusted players were with Azure Dragon and Chesces. Black Tempest's team was mostly made up of players that were there to fill the ranks and iso the chances that a spy might have mingled in between them was quite high. This incident proved it but there was nothing he could do to flush out that individual, yet.

"Captain." A player from behind spoke up.

"What is it?" Black Tempest turned around with a glare.

"Uh...I just sensed something ahead of us." The player hesitated before speaking.

"I think there are a few players ahead."