At the border between the Azure Star Sea Area and the Ascension Sea Area.
An isolated island that had once been desolate, inhabited only by seabirds, was now bustling with people.
Players had gathered in droves, and all kinds of vehicles moored in the shallows had packed the already small island until it was jammed tight.
The air was thick with excitement and greed.
In the regional channel, messages flooded the screen like a waterfall:
"Professional last-hit-stealing squad recruiting three players with a combined Monster Soul level of 85+ who play Assassin Stream. No freeloaders. Follow the leader's positioning the whole time. Idiots need not apply."
"Gold-Grabbing Squad, four of five spots filled. Looking for one Assassin Stream player with the Dusk Shadow trait. We specialize in stealing the last hit in battle and guarantee fair distribution."
"Buff Squad here. We provide all kinds of buffs throughout the run, doubling your combat power and making your last-hit-stealing trip twice as enjoyable. Fair prices. Squads and teams in need, contact us now and head to the battlefield in peak condition!"
Everyone who had come here was, without exception, a vulture-like player drawn by the three-way war at sea.
Their teams were too small, and their individual strength too limited, to take part in the three-way war head-on.
But they had developed countless "last-hit-stealing" techniques, repeatedly grabbing a share of the spoils amid the clashes between the three major powers.
Their Astral Veins setups revolved around four core Monster Souls.
The first was Dusk Shadow, used to accelerate stealth.
The second was Extreme Speed, used to improve mobility.
The third was Star Shift, used to switch places at a critical moment and close in on a low-health target in an instant.
The fourth was Oath Space, the core of a tactic known