Jack's party came out of the Fairy Garden entry gate, their surroundings bathed in blue light, welcomed by the peaceful air of the forest… or not?!
Shouts echoed in the distance and were getting closer and closer:
"Run for your fucking lives!"
"How the hell is this boss so strong?!"
"Please God, have mercy upon us: it's charging again!!!"
An instant later, an impossibly loud crash resounded, along with a shattering sound. Suddenly a tree flew right before their eyes, crashing in the background.
What. The. Hell?!
Terrified players ran in the clearing, jerking in shock as they saw Jack's party but not stopping. They ran so fast they'd be out of sight in a few seconds.
Right on their heels was a nightmarish creature. Huge teeth capable of impaling a horse, a sharp bony protrusion, a near-impenetrable fur armor, and covered in gore.
< Mad Fluffy Bunny of Doom Lv 22 🍃☠>
Yep, it was one gigantic horned rabbit. Had it been smaller, it would have looked cute and cuddly, but this one was an abomination.
"Woo?!" (Disbelief!)
Moon Moon stared at the Boss in shock. How could it be so big and powerful? But more importantly: how much meat did this fellow contain?!
Jack glanced at the creature's white coat. It seemed as if it had been through a long fight as it was full of projectiles, burn marks, and wounds of various sizes.
The dozen or so running players was only the start. An army quickly appeared, trailing a few seconds behind the Boss.
"Don't let it escape! We've been fighting for so long. We'll kill it even if it takes an eternity!" The man at the front thundered.
That's when their eyes met.
He was the guy in charge of that forsaken guild, the one that had paid him 100 gold to have their people released from the farm. The man's face twisted in unease as he gazed at him.
Had it been any other time, he wouldn't have hesitated and would have ordered his troops to fight him, but right now was a delicate timing.
Was he here to KS the Boss?
Was he here to hunt them?
He had to be here to cause chaos, right?
Jack inwardly chuckled as he saw the man's reaction. Even the men behind him were all on edge. They stopped for a second, ready in case a fight broke out.
"What do you want?" The man barked.
"Oh, you know…just taking a carefree walk." Jack playfully replied. His timing was 100% a coincidence, but they didn't need to know.
They were all pressed for time, but he wasn't. At this moment, he did have the luxury to play around. The Boss would kill their advanced party and reset if they fought here, wasting all their efforts.
"Cut to the chase. What will it take for you to stand down?" The man grumbled.
Oh? Quite direct! Jack was simply having a bit of fun, but he wouldn't say no to free benefits.
"How about 50 gold?" He proposed.
"Are you crazy?! We literally—" He sternly declined, only for a mighty roar to echo in the distance.
This was the Boss entering a berserker phase. There was no more time to waste! His face cramped as he whispered a few words toward one of their members before agreeing.
"Fine! He'll give you the gold once you're out of here! Everyone, with me!" The man shouted as they all hurried after the Boss.
Before they knew it, everyone was gone. There remained only Jack's party and that one Forsaken mediator.
"I gotta hang out near Field Bosses more! Alright, back to the farm it is…." Jack chuckled with the forsaken member facepalming. How much longer would they give in to this bastard?!
The way back was as dull as uneventful.
Once they reached the farm's entrance, the man begrudgingly handed him the funds. Jack couldn't help but give him a praising look.
"You're honoring your leader's word? You know it's too late for me to rush back to the fight, right?" He playfully questioned.
"Tch— What would we be without our word? We'll still destroy you the next time you stand against us." He grumbled and snorted as he left.
Jack happily waved him goodbye as he couldn't help but find the forsaken guys more pleasing to the eye. Maybe he could s̶c̶a̶m̶ do business with them in the future?
After all, they were:
1. Rich
2. Easy to trick
3. Honoring their word
Oh well, this would be a thought for later. For now, he brought the fairy that had been hiding in his pocket out, placing her on his shoulder.
"Look at this beauty!" He gestured at the entire farm. "This will be your new home from now on." He warmly welcomed.
The little thing was staring at it all in wonder, her clear eyes full of curiosity. The carved Pumpkins especially attracted her attention.
That's when the door opened, revealing a fiery-haired goddess….
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
Back in the Greenwood Forest, the army had finally managed to corner the Boss.
Even now, their leader wasn't sure if paying the bastard had been a sound choice. No one had ever defeated this Field Boss as far as he knew.
They had been lucky even to find it, and this one was definitely special. Summoning it required interacting with a small rabbit statue located in a hidden hollowed tree.
He couldn't wait to see what kind of rewards they would be getting! Heck, maybe they'd get some OP catalyst for that Mana Engulfing technique they had just found out about.
He had agreed to buy peace with the Demon King only because this kill was so crucial. He didn't want any variable at all to interfere with this historical moment!
They were all pressing the assault, their hearts beating with expectation.
"It's about to go down!" He announced, everyone cheering.
He opened his messages one last time to be safe.
– Forsaken Hero: Any possible enemy sighting?
– Forsaken Bard: None, Sir!
– Forsaken Your Ass: All clear on my side!
– Dual-Chainsaw Wielder: The Demon King is still at his farm. All OK!
Great! He sighed in relief, knowing no one could fool all their scouts at once. The creature pitifully wailed under their combined attacks, but they would show no mercy.
It was over for—
Suddenly something happened. Their members started dying out of nowhere, their corpses flying through the air! They would then collide with other guild members, sending them tumbling.
"What?!"
"Where's the enemy?!
"How many casualties?!"
Panic instantly spread on the battlefield. Some kept targeting the rabbit, only to get eviscerated out of nowhere. Others seemed mad as they attacked empty air.
"Report, what's happening! Does anyone know?! Calm down and come to me!" He tried to bring back order, but it was futile.
In a matter of seconds, their entire raid had collapsed. The incredible army they had amassed had all been for naught.
The forest turned red with blood while the screams died down one by one. The bunny even used the opportunity to get up and run.
Then suddenly he heard it and felt it: something was charging at him?! He tried to get out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough.
He felt his body being pierced by what appeared to be antlers. Just as death took hold of him, he saw a name tag float in the air.
<Macabre Savage Invisible Deer Lv 22 🍃☠>
Macabre: he knew this all too well. As the humans all perished, an aggrieved dying howl echoed:
"Fuck you, Demon King!"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
━━━ YOU DIED! ━━━
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