While Quinlan and his team was mowing down groups of hopeless XP packs in the form of desperately begging, screaming humans, Cedric and Selene (AN: Two rich youngsters they met in chapter 151 when shopping for weapons) were busy organizing their uncoordinated alliance.
Cedric was the son of Leia, one of the most prominent members of the Divine Nectar faction, the group within the Consortium who were responsible for managing Black Fang’s drug empire in Braedon and its surroundings. Leia ‘The Serpent Queen’ Viperis was of the Eclipse Enforcer rank, the one below Shadow Vanguard. Shadow Vanguard itself was retained for the faction leaders most of the time, or the more outstanding combatants.
Meanwhile, Selene was the daughter of a prominent member of the mage’s faction in Braedon. Her father fed her a Wizard Potion when she was little, hence her enviable class.
Both of these youths were groomed by their parents to pass the Phenom Trials so that their families could further their agenda within the syndicate. The time finally came to participate in the event they’d been training for more than twenty years, but it was messy.
So. Incredibly. Messy.
Black Fang’s tendency to not care about things that didn’t interest an age-old person like her threw an ugly wrench into their plans: the mayhem started long before they could organize properly.
Their parents had drafted a group of followers who would also be participating, and who were willing to listen to their commands, effectively becoming their subordinates. At least, until it came to their own elimination from the Trials.
However, due to the eccentric woman’s antics, the event started after a few simple words of hers, not letting them get ready. They didn’t even know what to expect here, since their parents were too low rank to get an insight into the rounds they would have to pass but to think that it was a brutal, crude massacre…
All that is to say, half their supposed super-team was lost in the initial chaos as other participants murdered them. What’s more, most of the teams that managed to join the alliance lost a few members before even getting to them, ruining some of their supposed innate advantages that they should’ve gotten from the premade giant group.
This round should’ve been easy to pass due to their preparations, but instead, it turned into a nightmare.
They had no choice but to either accept not being made up of 100 Phenoms or recruit outsiders to their group. They decided to go with the latter, filling their ranks with no-name opportunists who they knew nothing about.
Anyone could participate as long as they managed to reach the outpost that was surrounded by forests infested with greenskins and passed the artifact-conducted examination, so some of their teammates ended up being random lowlife forest rangers who up until today hunted rabbits and deer but got bored of their lives, so their genius level 4 asses decided that it was time to take matters into their own hands and become renowned Phenoms.
What’s even worse was the existence of another alliance like theirs. Both Cedric and Selene were worried like never before as they imagined how their clash would be once both alliances had eliminated the smaller teams around themselves and turned their attention to each other.
“Boom, headshot! Kekekeke!” A crossbowman jeered as his bolt lodged itself into the back of a running enemy’s helmetless skull, forcing her to faceplant into the ground.
“That’s a kill steal, fuckface!” One of the low-level rangers growled since his arrow was loosed already but the crossbow’s bolt flew much faster.
“Come and get it, peasant.” The ‘kill stealer’ scoffed dismissively.
“You don’t think I will?”
“No.”
“Alright, that’s it!” The archer worded and then raised his bow at the crossbowman, his supposed ally. Before he could loose an arrow, a swordsman severed his arm, forcing him to drop the bow, before plunging the blade deep into his heart.
“Thanks, bro. Reloading this shit takes ages. Not that such a loser would’ve hit me, hahaha!” The crossbowman laughed mockingly while spitting the corpse’s way.
“Even I could hit your fat ass and I’ve never held a bow before…” The swordsman replied dryly. freewebnσvel.cm
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Meanwhile, Cedric and Selene who saw this display only got paler. Their alliance was in complete disarray with the newcomers causing internal issues like this.
“I’m getting lightheaded. This is horrible.” Cedric voiced in hushed tones into his fiance’s ears.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we will lose the clash with the other giant alliance.” Selene nodded.
“What should we do then?” Cedric was never the brightest tool in the shed, but he was a very talented sword user for his young age. Meanwhile, Selene was a very cunning woman and a Wizard to boot.
The two were a great pair who worked well together because they made up for each other’s shortcomings, so their parents arranged a marriage between them. Their ceremony will take place once they become Phenoms, but their relationship has already become close years ago.
“I say we betray these losers. When the clash with the other alliance happens even if we lose, we are bound to kill at least a few Phenoms on their side. We will turn our blades and spells on our allies in the midst of chaos and trim the numbers so that we are in the last 100 winners. It’s scummy, yes, but as they say; what happens in the Trials stays in the Trials…”
Cedric winced, clearly unhappy with her solution. “There’s no glory in that at all, Selene.”
“I know, my brave knight. Yet we must do this. Swallow your pride for me, if nothing else. Can you do that?” The crafty woman’s great manipulation skills were on full display as she made her guard dog obey without much thought.
She was ready to pull out the ‘I’m pregnant with your child’ card should he not listen- she wasn’t pregnant, but it would’ve made him do whatever she told him to for sure- but it wasn’t necessary.
Cedric frowned before sighing. “Alright. I will do as you say.”
