Child of Destiny

Chapter 2310: Extracurricular (Part 3)

...

"Battle God Sickarius..."

The moment those words left Crimson Soul’s mouth, everyone on the opposing side immediately became tense.

Some even began to panic since they were fully aware of just how terrifying this particular player was.

Even Heartless Dream, who was notorious for his terrible temper and battle-hungry personality, remained unusually quiet.

He understood that the people standing before them were not opponents they could casually provoke.

No matter how confident he was in his own strength, the consequences of antagonizing such a group of monsters were not something their Ultra Guilds could easily bear.

"So that’s the case..." Fleeting Dream muttered, seemingly piecing together the final part of the puzzle.

He had finally figured out what had been giving Khavin the confidence to act so boldly.

"No wonder that bastard dared to provoke us..." he continued, narrowing his eyes. "It turns out they’ve managed to secure the backing of the Empyrean Talons."

Black Soul, however, remained relatively calm.

"But isn’t that still a problem for them?" he asked. "What happens after their partnership ends?"

"Those guys will surely leave the kingdom once they’ve finished whatever they’re doing here. When that happens, we’ll be free to teach the Desert Bandits a lesson."

"Without the Empyrean Talons backing them, what can they do against us?" he added with a bit of confusion.

Fleeting Dream immediately fell silent upon hearing this.

Black Soul did have a point. Even if the Desert Bandits had secured temporary protection from the Empyrean Talons, that protection might not last forever.

However, Crimson Soul was the one who answered their concern.

"That can only mean one of two things," he said calmly. "Either they’ve signed a long-term partnership that will continue protecting them..."

"...or they’ve obtained another form of compensation capable of offsetting all the risks they’re taking."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Either way, whatever deal they’ve secured must be tempting enough for Khavin—that sly fox—to ignore the consequences of provoking both our guilds and the coalition."

After discussing among themselves through their private communication channels, Crimson Soul finally raised his head and looked directly at Shin.

"So, it’s the Battle God." His tone remained polite, but there was an unmistakable hint of displeasure beneath his words. "I wonder what kind of business could require someone of your stature to personally come all the way here."

Shin immediately understood what he was implying, so he merely smirked beneath his mask. "Do I need to report our activities to you?"

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Or do you own this place and require your permission before we can explore it?"

Crimson Soul couldn’t help but pause.

Shin was right.

They neither needed permission to enter the area nor had any obligation to report their actions to the Mirage Soul Guild.

Seeing that no one immediately responded, Shin’s smile widened. "So~! What’s the plan now?"

"Are we going to fight or are you guys just going to leave?" he casually asked, seemingly telling the opposing side to decide what they wanted as soon as possible.

Their side had only recently finished a major battle, so they were far from being in their best condition.

They had already used some of their strongest trump cards against Donato, and several of them had yet to fully recover.

However, that didn’t mean they would turn down an opportunity to fight against other god-level experts.

Black Soul and Fleeting Dream didn’t interest Shin very much.

The two were talented rising stars of the Green Marbly Kingdom, but they were still far from the level of opponents he was currently interested in fighting.

Crimson Soul and Heartless Dream, however, were different.

They were both established Godlike Players with powerful reputations built across multiple games.

More importantly, their current strength was at a level that could finally provide Shin and the others with the kind of battle they had been looking for.

Crimson Soul wore a heavy expression after hearing those somewhat provoking words. However, he forced himself to remain calm and refused to take the bait.

He had already sent a message to his superiors, requesting permission to engage or waiting for an order to retreat.

If they were ordered to fight, then they would have to prepare for an all-out war against the Empyrean Talons.

It was a war Crimson Soul would rather avoid.

After all, the price they would have to pay for such a conflict was not something their guilds could easily bear.

Once they were wounded, the hounds already eyeing their position would most likely pounce on them and devour whatever remained of their weakened forces.

Heartless Dream was also waiting for orders, but the aura emanating from his body made it clear that he was ready to jump into the fight the moment the situation called for it.

The tension between the two sides immediately grew heavier as they silently gauged one another’s strength.

"Those two aren’t bad~!" Owen commented as he observed Crimson Soul and Heartless Dream. "Are you interested in taking them on?"

"Are you interested?" Shin asked in return before adding, "If you are... then I can step aside and let you have the fun."

"That’s a deal, then!" Owen immediately agreed, excitement flashing in his eyes. "I’ve been meaning to fight Heartless Dream ever since I encountered him in my previous games!"

"Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong enough to challenge him back then," he added as he recalled his past.

At that time, he had only been a Ranker aspiring to become a true Godlike Player.

Now, however, the situation was completely different.

His strength was already more than enough to challenge god-level experts despite officially being recognized as a Peak Titled Ranker.

He had already fought against multiple Godlike Players and Maverick Gods in this game, and those battles had pushed his strength to its current level.

That experience had also proven that he had long since stepped into the ranks of god-level experts himself.

However, getting the chance to fight someone he had wanted to challenge for so long was an opportunity Owen would never willingly give up.

His gaze shifted toward Heartless Dream, particularly the strange tattoos covering his body.

"Moreover..." He paused before grinning. "I’m quite interested in those tattoos."

"My gamer instincts are telling me that they might lead me to something that can further improve my strength."

Hearing this, Shin immediately thought of the Thunderbird Divine Tattoo covering Owen’s body—the unique Ascended Ability of his Ascended Race, the Sacred Neanderthal.

"Oh~! You think he might hold a clue about your own tattoos?" Shin asked.

Owen casually shrugged. "I’m not sure, but I have a feeling I’ll get some useful clues from him."

After conversing with Owen, Shin turned toward the twins beside him. "How about you two? Are you interested in challenging them? This is a rare opportunity to face such powerful experts, you know?"

Felix was just about to volunteer when Felicia suddenly beat him to it.

"You’ve already had your fill after fighting that Grand Marshal earlier. It’s my turn to have some fun now," she said, silencing Felix before he could even voice his complaint.

Shin merely shrugged before directing his gaze back toward the opposing side.

He could tell that they were hesitant to fight. However, this confrontation was inevitable.

He refused to believe that the pride of a Powerhouse Guild would allow them to simply leave after being challenged so openly.

They would certainly try to avoid an all-out war, but they also wouldn’t be willing to back down and lose face in front of so many people.

’They’ll definitely find a way to challenge us without risking the worst-case scenario. They’ll want to preserve their face while avoiding unnecessary losses.’

Shin narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly able to read their thoughts.

...

Sure enough, Shin was right.

Crimson Soul had just received an order not to openly antagonize the Empyrean Talons unless absolutely necessary.

This was especially true after they learned from their secret channels that the Hand of Midas was considering establishing a branch in the Green Marbly Kingdom.

"So that’s how it is..." he muttered, seemingly understanding why Khavin had accepted the commission and dared to provoke both their Ultra Guilds and the Desert Sun Coalition.

"They must have struck a long-term deal," he mumbled, feeling that Khavin was quite lucky.

"So, what’s the plan now?" Heartless Dream asked quietly, seemingly somewhat troubled by the situation.

Crimson Soul frowned before answering. "We’re not going to antagonize them, but we still have to preserve our guild’s reputation. We can’t simply leave like this."

"Then what do you plan to do?" Heartless Dream asked.

Crimson Soul paused for a moment before answering. "We’ll propose a friendly duel."

"A friendly duel?" Heartless Dream repeated before raising a concern. "Do you really think they’ll accept that so easily?"

"Of course not." Crimson Soul shook his head. "But we’ll present them with something that will make it much harder for them to refuse."

"What thing?" Heartless Dream asked, slightly confused.

Crimson Soul looked at him with a mysterious smile. "Do you remember that thing we brought back with us after our mission?"

"We’ll offer it to them in exchange for establishing a connection with the Hand of Midas."

He then turned toward Khavin, who was currently wearing a somewhat smug expression. "If that sly fox can strike a deal with them..."

Crimson Soul’s smile deepened. "Then why can’t our guilds do the same?"

......