A blue-eyed man opened his eyes and saw a gray visor covering his vision.
He took off the headset, placed it beside him on the bed, and then closed his eyes, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
“Damn, damn, damn!” Jaeger smashed his fist against the bed in frustration.
He sat up on the edge of the bed and grabbed a bottle of water from the bedside table before downing it down his throat.
His drunkenness had vanished like a fleeting cloud.
This was another perks of Martial Online—if he got drunk there, it wouldn’t transfer to his real life body.
He could indulge without consequence. Also, he had to take good care of his real body as he still participated in Martial Arts Competitions.
Especially since his real life strength transferred to his avatar. He figured that out in just a few days after playing.
So far, it hadn’t been common knowledge, but it was somewhat of an open secret by now.
“How could I have died to him twice!?” Jaeger clutched his head. “The first time, he caught me by surprise, but in the next one, I fought him head-on, yet I lost!
“Were his words correct? Am I simply too scared to die?”
Buzz, buzz—a phone lit up on the table. It showed that he had received several messages.
He picked it up and checked who sent the messages. It came from Death Blade’s group chat.
Jaeger opened the chat and saw the logs. Everyone was incredibly enraged after dying twice; the second death was because of their foolishness.
They already wanted to log back in and get their revenge.
However, after getting reminded by Jock, they remembered they were sent straight back to Amaterasu.
They decided to wait for their leader to come and tell them what happened and what they should do next.
Jaeger began writing a message.
[Jaeger: Does anyone have their spawn left in Tonshen?]
He saw that the chat had died off. It was very busy just a moment ago, but now no one dared to write a message.
They remembered their drunken selves and wanted to hit themselves in the head.
If they weren’t intoxicated, they believed they would have killed the cloaked figure.
Jaeger sighed, the silence gave him the answer he expected. Everyone was sent back to Amaterasu.
[Jaeger: I found out who the attacker was—it is Ambrose, the one Zahhak is after]
After sending the message, the bustling atmosphere returned to the chat.
[Jock: That scoundrel! Once we find him again, we will make him suffer!]
[Miguel: Does it mean we can get the bounty?]
[Jock: Right, the bounty! Wait, what about our silvers? We left it all in Tonshen in case any of us died so we wouldn’t lose it because we needed money and decided to put all our money together to rebuild the village. What happened to them??????]
Jaeger frowned and scratched his head.
[Jaeger: I doubt he can find the silver. He knows I’ve found his identity. I doubt he stays in one place for too long and has probably left by now]
[Morris: He said to me and Welma that he planned to stay there for a few more days!]
Jaeger narrowed his eyes and scoffed. “Fool!”
[Jaeger: He would be an idiot to do that, and he ain’t an idiot. He’s smart enough to know when is time to leave]
[Jock: What should we do now? Inform Zahhak about his whereabouts?]
[Jaeger: Yes. Everyone, log back in, and let’s regroup in Market Square. I am going to send a message to Redheart in the meantime]
Everyone agreed, and the chat died down.
Jaeger pulled out the forums and sent a quick message to Redheart.
They already knew each other in Ember Online, even though they weren’t very close. He hoped she would respond soon.
As he was about to pocket his phone and return to the game, the phone again vibrated. He checked the message, and it was from Redheart.
[Redheart: I’ve sent you a friend request. Let’s chat in there]
Jaeger nodded, pocketed his phone, and laid back down. He returned to the game without further ado.
…
Jaeger opened his eyes to see the vast city of Amaterasu with its night sky, sparkling stars, and crimson moon.
The streets were empty, with oil gas lamps illuminating the path, which he took that led to Market Square.
Meanwhile, he accepted the friend request from Redheart and waited for any messages from her.
It took him only a few minutes of walking to reach Market Square. There were already a few of his friends waiting for him, but more than half were still missing. 𝑜𝒱xt.𝒞𝑚
They greeted their leader but didn’t say anything else. They also realized from the context of the messages that their undefeated leader, Jaeger, had lost to Ambrose!
It brought a great shock to them, as they were aware of their leader’s strength.
Thus, Ambrose rose in their minds as a true powerhouse.
Jaeger took a seat on a bench and saw that he had received a message from Redheart. She asked the location of Ambrose.
He gave it to her without hesitation.
After giving the location, she gave off the impression that she had nothing more to say and was about to stop chatting.
However, he then bit his lip and wrote another message.
[Jaeger: Ambrose also told me to give a message to Cerberus. “The rewards were very nice.”]
He then thought he would receive another message from Redheart. However, he didn’t.
“Boss!” Jock and the rest of the Death Blade members arrived at the meeting point.
They were excited to rent a wagon and return to Tonshen to reclaim what was theirs.
“Are we returning to Tonshen? Isn’t Zahhak also coming there?” Jock asked in excitement. “We will finally meet them!”
“Yes, but first, we lack the silver to rent a wagon, so we need to go kill play—” As Jaeger was explaining their next course of action, suddenly loud metallic footsteps echoed from the streets..
The Death Blade members looked around the streets with concerned expressions, wondering where the sound was coming from.
Several metal-armored men and women had completely surrounded the market place.
They wore shiny metal armor with the insignia of a large eye on their chestplates. They all looked powerful and intimidating, their presence sending a wave of unease through everyone.
“Group known as Death Blade, drop your weapons and surrender!” A commanding voice boomed through the air.
It belonged to a two-meter tall man with a scarred face and a gaze that could pierce through steel.
“A-aren’t they?” Jock’s voice trembled.
“The Watchmen of Amaterasu!” Jaeger gulped with a pale face and sweat trickling down his forehead.
He touched his waist, thinking there was his one-handed axe, but then he remembered that it was currently burning on Tonshen.
Instead, he raised his arms and told his friends to do the same.
They all dropped their weapons and surrendered.
“For the hideous deed of massacring the Tonshen people, you all have been sentenced to imprisonment.” The scarred man approached Jaeger with an enraged gaze. “Prepare to rot in your cells for the rest of your miserable lives.”
“B-boss.” Jock turned to their leader in hopes that he had a solution for this problem. However, to his shock, Jaeger was crying.
“S-shit…”
…
A wagon, pulled by two horses, was silently standing next to a dirt road.
Several players were standing outside while discussing something.
The driver was smoking a pipe while boringly looking at the shooting stars.
Then a figure walked out of the wagon. He had deep green eyes, a handsome face, a wide forehead with slick eyebrows, and one sword-shaped earring on his left ear.
He was athletic and tall, with long hair tied in a ponytail.
“Welcome back, boss.” Mizuchi and Bluecore welcomed their leader, Cerberus, who had returned to reality after a small bathroom break.
“Mm.” Cerberus nodded and crossed his arms as he looked at the crimson moon. Then he heard the rustling of leaves as a red-haired woman walked out of the forest.
She was Redheart, and she currently looked very angry.
“Redheart, what is the reason for the sour look?” Mizuchi asked with a laugh.
“Shut up; your children hate you.” Redheart said coldly and approached Cerberus. “We need to talk.”
“T-they don’t hate me…” Mizuchi said with a shocked expression. He suddenly became self-conscious. “There’s no way my baby girl hates me…”
“What is it?” Cerberus glanced at Redheart with a raised eyebrow.
“Ambrose has been found.” Redheart said coldly, and suddenly a silence fell on the world.
Mizuchi’s and Bluecore’s expressions turned cold. They knew that this was it—the beginning of the hunt.
The driver of the wagon glanced at the figures at the back of the wagon and shrugged his shoulders before turning to his pipe. “This Ambrose person sure has made them angry. I only remember them cursing his name. I wonder what he did to them.”
“Where.” Cerberus asked with a relatively calm demeanor.
“Tonshen Village. It’s a small village that is currently occupied by the Death Blade, led by Jaeger. It is around thirty hours away.” Redheart said.
Cerberus nodded. “Then we know our destination.”
“You heard that, old man?” Mizuchi shouted.
“Yeah, yeah.” The driver of the wagon waved his hand and rubbed his eyes. “This is going to be a long night. Yawn, I only got two hours of sleep last night. Are they planning to slave me till they find that person…”
“Everyone should return soon. Let’s travel through the night because Ambrose is currently feeling safe and is probably already sleeping soundly in his bed. If we push now, we might find him sooner than expected.” Cerberus said.
“Wait, there is more.” Redheart grabbed Cerberus by his sleeve and said. “Ambrose left you a message.”
“What is it?” Cerberus asked.
“He said—the rewards were very nice.” Redheart said with coldness and anger.
Cerberus looked silently at her before turning around and entering the wagon in silence. The atmosphere was heavy with tension.
‘Yep, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this angry before.’ Redheart thought to herself. ‘He is going to explode if he doesn’t find him soon. I hope, for the sake of all players and NPCs, that he finds Ambrose soon.
‘Or all hell will break loose.’