Child of Destiny

...…

The three observed Shin closely as they reached him. Even though they were strong themselves and quite confident with their abilities, they could still feel an immense threat coming from the latter.

He was just standing there, yet they could already feel the dread just by sensing the air around him.

He was not releasing that much threat compared to the other apex experts that they had met. He more like merged with nature itself because they could not feel his presence, which made the three of them sweat profusely. They even felt that he could kill them without their notice if they got ambushed by him in the wilderness.

He was like a sheathed blade that was hiding its sharpness, which could only be revealed once it was fully unsheathed.

Even if the three of them were Peak Titled Rankers, who could hold themselves against Godlike Players and Maverick Gods, they were still not confident that they would be able to defeat Shin even if they worked together.

Unless they used their most powerful cards, which had serious consequences, they would not dare fight him.

"Here to train?" asked Exheart after assessing the gap between them just based on their presence alone.

"To hunt as well," replied Shin mysteriously, seemingly trying to imply something.

Hearing those words, the trio could not help but recall the most recent incident in the maps surrounding the Divinity City.

They had heard that quite a few top guilds and other organizations worked together, trying to suppress the Empyrean Talons. They had even plotted a very huge scheme that involved a couple of Godlike Players and Maverick Gods.

But despite all their preparations, they were still unable to do anything against their target. They even became the hunted in the end.

Understanding the hidden implications of Shin's words, Exheart said. "Is that so? Do you want to team up? We happen to be looking for something interesting to do."

Shin looked at him in surprise before asking. "You are not worried about being targeted by those superpowers?"

Exheart chuckled as he asked jokingly. "If so, how about taking us under your wing? Is there any available room in your adventurer team?"

Shin did not take those words seriously as he could tell that Exheart was not that serious. Even if there was some hint of hope in his tone, he could still that the latter did not have that much expectation.

"We are currently not lacking any members," answered Shin in the same joking tone.

"Tsk! Too bad," Exheart faked a disappointment before laughing. "We are actually with the Gold Mountain now, so we are basically on the same side."

Shin raised his brows in surprise as he looked at them. He was silent for a moment before turning to Bryan.

Understanding the meaning of that gaze, Bryan said. "I have some brothers that I have to take care of in the real world, so we have created a brotherhood in the game, which later became the Black Hounds Mercenary Group."

He knew that Shin was talking about his Mercenary Group. If they tried to join Shin in hunting those members from the top guilds, who targeted the Empyrean Talons, his mercenary group would most likely become targeted when those superpowers retaliated.

"They are currently garrisoned in the Golden City and Calderock Port, treating it as their main base. So, there is nothing to worry about as we are one family," added Exheart while patting Bryan's shoulder.

Bryan glared at Exheart as he added. "It just happened."

Shin briefly nodded while thinking that he had yet to get any update from Shiella about the progress of the Gold Mountain, his dukedom.

When he thought about that, he could not help but feel a little guilty. It was his territory, yet he never had properly managed it and just left everything to his big sister.

But he was not that guilty either as he kept on giving her more pile of tasks after having some ideas. He just trusted her that she could handle everything.

After throwing that thought at the back of his head, he then turned to the three and asked. "By the way, how are the three of you together?"

"From what I can remember, the three of you don't get along that well. It is quite odd to see you in the same group," this somewhat confused and made him quite interested.

Bryan refused to answer as he did not want to admit it.

HellBan, on the other hand, remained quiet, which was somewhat different from what Shin remembered. This was not the first impression that he had gotten from this guy during their first encounter.

Meanwhile, Exheart smiled as he answered. "After you have defeated us at that time, we come back to the Divine Colosseum to get a better Battle Physique."

"We can't settle for anything worse than the top-notch physique, right? After all, it is the main foundation for the players at Tier 2 Class," he added with a smile.

"Then we fight for a couple of more rounds until we have gotten our desired Battle Physiques. After all, we regularly spar with each other until we got used to being at each other's company, so we decided to form a team while hunting and leveling in the wild."

Shin nodded before turning toward the Plagued Monster that was about to break free from the bone cage. "Let's chat while hunting then."

These three piqued his interest. Since they were 'citizens' of his territory, he wanted to build a decent relationship with them.

"Alright," nodded Exheart as he pulled the spear hanging on his back.

Swoosh!

Bryan, on the other hand, swiftly dashed forward. He was already itching to fight since earlier, so he impatiently took the initiative to attack.

Seeing that, Exheart repeatedly shook his head and quickly followed. With the crimson spear resting on his shoulders, he sprinted toward the Plagued Monster.

HellBan then waved his hand, taking the initiative to cancel his Tier 3 Spell that trapped the monster and clearing the bone spikes to avoid any obstruction blocking their path.

Swoosh!

Bryan held his huge saber with both of his hands and swung it diagonally at the monster as he leaped forward.

Shing!

A streak of light quickly cut through the air and passed through the body of the Plagued Monster, which just regained its freedom.

(-123,232)

Roar!

The Plagued Monster roared as it received serious damage from a single strike from its enemy.

It was about to turn and pouch at Bryan, who was still hovering in the air after that attack. But before the monster could even fully adjust its body, another attack swiftly followed the previous one.

Whoosh!

Sensing the danger, the Plagued Monster attempted to jump sideways, trying to dodge. But a crimson light already caught it and pierced a portion of its belly.

(-200,112)

A chunk of rotten flesh could be seen flying in the air as Exheart brushed past the monster after striking.

There was a black miasma coming out from those pieces of shredded flesh, and attempting to attach themselves to Exheart's body, who was the nearest living lifeform around them.

But the talisman that Exheart had in his possession, quickly released a warm light and shrouded his body. It protected him from the black miasma as he swiftly retreated.

Seeing their damage, Shin slightly raised his brows and commented. "Not bad."

Those attacks were not performed with their respective skills and only executed by combat techniques alone, yet their damage was decent enough to seriously hurt a Common Rank Monster of Awakened Continent.

Shin could tell that these two had focused more on honing their techniques rather than relying on their powerful skills.

They did not even enter their respective combat state when executing those attacks, which meant that their mana manipulation techniques were trained to the highest level.

If Tier 2 players were classified based on their Battle Physiques and Mana Manipulation Methods, then players in Tier 3 Classes were defenestrated by their Combat States, which determine the level of their fighting styles.

But those single attacks performed by Bryan and Exheart showed Shin that their battle techniques were thoroughly polished and fully matured. It was enough to put them on the same level as some Godlike Players of the game.

Shin felt that they only needed an opportunity to prove themselves and reveal their strengths at an official event to gain such standing.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Find your next read on empire

At the same time, he saw HellBan slammed his bone scepter on the ground, sending a silent ripple on the ground.

Bang!

Not long after, another cage trapped the Plagued monster, preventing it from moving.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Not long after, a barrage of bone spikes shot out from the ground and pierced the body of the monster, hurting it further.

(-15,236), (-15,661), (-15, 892), …

The individual damage might not be as strong as what the two had dealt earlier, but the accumulated damage when added together was equal to theirs.

Shin whistled after seeing their seamless coordination. He had to admit that they had built quite a decent tacit understanding of one another.

He nodded in acknowledgment before swiftly making his move to join them.

...…

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