Child of Destiny

...…

The Empyrean Talons spent all their free time training and evaluating their performance before calling it a day.

They had benefited a lot from this team training, especially when Shin had taught them quite a lot of new strategies and battle formations that they had never seen before.

Some of them were from what he had seen from the special units of the Military, but with little adjustments to match their team compositions, while the rest were what he had formulated after watching some matches of top teams.

"Alright, that should be all for now. Let's do this again in the next team training," said Shin as he wrapped up everything.

It was at this moment when Arthur suddenly raised his hand. "Wait! Before everyone leaves, I have something to ask first!"

The ones that were preparing to leave paused their actions and turned at him with a curious gaze, waiting for what he wanted to say.

"We are currently in the middle of doing a quest and we suspected that we would encounter the first team dungeon of the Awakened Continent. Is there anyone free to join us?" Arthur did not even beat around the bush and went straight to the main point.

"Is it the quest that you have mentioned to me previously?" asked Cloe before adding. "I can't. I am still in the middle of my quest with the Church of Light."

"Tsk! What a pity!" Arthur faked a disappointment before whispering to her. "But Shin is currently helping me with this-… too bad."

Cloe suddenly glared at him and opened her mouth, trying to say something. But no words came out from her and could only sigh helplessly.

Even if she wanted to join them, she could not since she was already at the most crucial part of her trial.

"I am trapped inside a special dimension where I am being tested by the elven elders for my current positions in the Elven Council. I think I will take quite a while before I can get out of it," said Alice as she told them her current situation.

"It is the same for me. I am still in the middle of the quest to get accepted by the NPC Organization that scouted me," said Diablo as he leaned on the wall with crossed arms.

"I also need to do some tasks before the Vampire Families of the Awakened Continent can accept me as a new member-… much less as a new family head. I can't join you guys as well," said Alucard as he checked on his magic rifle.

The rest, on the other hand, voiced out their willingness to join Arthur and the others. Even if the apex experts of their team would not be able to join them, the other members would be able to lend them a hand at the very least.

After all, exploring the deeper region of the map that they were in was becoming more and more challenging, so extra hands would be of great help.

…

"Alright! That should be everything. I will meet you guys later when we get back in the game," said Arthur after discussing how he would meet the rest later.

He also explained the challenges that they would be facing during their journey so that they would not be caught off guard and avoid any accidents.

After that, everyone was dismissed and went to log in to the game.

***

Atlas World, Dark Cloud Kingdom

The members of the Pandemonium Descendants were busy solidifying their defenses around the region where the Demon Gate Portal was located.

Right now, the huge portal was in a very stable state that it even released a dense demonic energy that was slowly corrupting the surroundings.

The current state of this region, which had already been demonized to a certain degree, clearly indicated that the Demon Army from the other side of the portal was already about to arrive.

Even if it was just the vanguard army of the Bug Tribe, it was still way powerful for the current players could take on. After all, even the larvae of their tribe were already so strong that it gave Shin and the others quite a lot of trouble.

Paimon was currently reading through the reports about the current state of the war when someone suddenly entered his office.

He did not need to look at who it was as there was only a single person who would enter his office without bothering to knock. "What are you doing here again, Belial? Aren't you supposedly harassing the Hand of Midas and the Golden City with the people that I have lent to you?"

Belial did not immediately reply as he sat on the nearby sofa, collapsing on it. Given his current state, it seemed like he was very exhausted.

Noticing this, Paimon frowned before pausing what he was doing. "What is it? Did you still encounter some trouble despite those from the Empyrean Talons being absent?"

Belial still did not reply as he repeatedly tapped his index finger on the armrest of the sofa. It took him quite a while before he was finally able to say something. "I guess we have underestimated Gold Mountain a little too much."

(Gold Mountain: Name of Shin's Territory)

Hearing that, Paimon further deepened his frown as he asked. "What do you mean? Are there more troublesome people aside from the Assassin Union and God's Paradise?"

He paused for a moment before adding. "Don't tell me Legolas and Aragorn are giving you trouble along with those who are kicked out from the Central Order? What are they called again? Brotherhood Mercenary Group?"

"Or are the Secret Society and Secret Recipe finally showing their backer being the Mystery Pavilion?"

"Or are those remnants of the Butcher Team also joining 'their' side?"

Paimon slightly knitted his brow as he continued. "We have already investigated everything about the powers supporting the Gold Mountain and are busy dealing with their respective business."

"The Assassin Union is facing an internal conflict to the power struggle within the main family that is managing it."

"The God's Paradise, on the other hand, is busy exploring the Frozen Kingdom and trying to rush to the Frost City as fast as they can."

"Aside from those two, I doubt that there is anyone who can give much trouble," he added, ending his assessment.

Belial did not deny any of those as he nodded. "You are right about everything. But that is not my point."

He paused briefly as he stopped tapping his index finger on the armrest of the sofa. "But I never said that they are the problem. Don't you hear me? I said that we have underestimated the 'Gold Mountain' itself."

Paimon suddenly raised his brows as he could sense some seriousness in the other party's tone. "What do you mean?"

Belial went silent for a moment before saying with a heavy tone. "Aside from the Hand of Midas and Empyrean Talons being the main powers owning the entire territory, there was also another mysterious power hiding in the dark."

"Our forces have clashed against them multiple times when we are attempting to sabotage most of the activities within the region, but we have always been obstructed by those people constantly."

"What's more, these guys seem to be highly trained in different areas. Whether it was guerrilla warfare, jungle warfare, stealth operations, naval battle, or even aerial battles – they covered everything."

"Not only they are rich in battle experience, but the units that are designated in certain areas possessed classes that perfectly fit their roles, which makes them very troublesome to deal with."

"In a sense, it is similar to what the Great Leader has envisioned, but also somewhat different at the same time."

Paimon further deepened his frown as he continued to listen. "Another mysterious power? And they possessed the capability to match our forces? It indeed quite troublesome."

"Have you discovered what they called?" he asked after a brief pause.

Belial thought for a moment before replying. "They all seem to be from the same guild as they are all wearing the same guild emblem on their chests."

"As for what they are called-… they seem to call themselves 'Deicide'," he added after recalling the name of the guild.

Paimon fell in silence as he tried to contemplate the meaning of that. "Deicide? God Slayer?"

"Are they related to God Slayer Tora and Death God Yami? Or should I say Lawless and Faker?" he asked, trying to make a connection.

But Belial shook his head and denied it. "That is also what I have suspected at first, but it shouldn't be the case."

"How you can be sure?" asked Paimon, not willing to give up.

"Just like I have said, it is also what I have suspected at first, but I later realize that it is nothing but a mere coincidence," said Belial with full seriousness before adding. "But I do have some suspicion about where they got that name."

He paused for a while before saying. "The God-Slaying Army-… It seems like someone has discovered it. And from the looks of it, they seem also to know how to get into it."

Hearing this, Paimon's eyes suddenly turned wide as he could not believe what he had just heard. "What!? How can it be!? That's impossible!"

Belial did not bother himself about Paimon's reaction as he was in a similar situation when he made this connection.

His face then grew solemn as he added. "Now-… don't you think I am telling the truth? That we have underestimated the Gold Mountain."

"What are you waiting for? Let's report this to the Great Leader as soon as possible!" urged Paimon as he knew the gravity of this piece of information.

"Deicide and the God-Slaying Army? This will greatly affect our plans!"

...…

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