Outside the Storm Horn stronghold, several minotaur players ran for their lives, glancing back every so often as if some monstrous beast were chasing them.
"Can we reach the guildmaster from here? If we can't contact him soon, the guild really is finished."
"Still can't get through. I don't know what kind of item they used, but it seems like the entire snowfield's signal has been blocked."
"Stop wasting time. Let's find somewhere safe and contact the guildmaster there. That ninja-class guy is way too terrifying."
"He can appear without a sound and kill us in one hit. We don't even get a chance to run."
They crossed stretches of frozen ground blanketed in snow, fleeing farther and farther from the stronghold. The wind howled, but they didn't dare stop for even a moment.
What they didn't know was that the path ahead was already crisscrossed with countless invisible threads, waiting for them to walk right into a deadly trap.
They kept running, only to find themselves moving slower and slower. Yet their status panels showed no negative buffs.
Just as they realized they might have fallen into a trap, their bodies suddenly stopped obeying them. They felt something binding them in place, leaving them completely unable to move.
Then they seemed to notice something and jerked their heads up. The ninja who had been hunting them was standing in midair as if out of nowhere.
He kept one hand behind his back while the other made repeated hooking motions in front of him. At last, the light caught the threads, revealing them as transparent strands. Looking closely, they saw that the threads had descended from the sky and wound around their entire bodies.
"W-what the hell is this!?"
One of the minotaur players shouted in terror. The threads were wrapped tightly around his body, leaving him unable to move.
The other minotaur players struggled with all their might, but the harder they fought, the tighter their bindings seemed to become.
Nishikienrai clenched the hand that held the threads. Cuts appeared across the bodies of the players below, but injuries of this severity weren't enough to finish them off.
Nishikienrai's figure flickered, and four identical copies appeared beside him. He drew his weapon as his body gradually turned translucent.
As the players finally broke free, a spinning shuriken appeared above them. The five Nishikienrais attacked from different directions.
They tried to fight back, but their vision gradually turned red, until all they could see were blood-red shadows. The five Nishikienrais pierced straight through their bodies.
He flicked the blood off his weapon, and the minotaur players collapsed one after another. [Ninjutsu: Shadow Assassination Formation].
He silently picked up the players' dropped items, then turned and headed back toward the Storm Horn stronghold, reporting the results of his mission along the way.
"Momonga, Bukubukuchagama, I've dealt with most of the players who escaped. I couldn't find one of them. He might have an item that conceals his presence."
"That's all right. One escapee won't be a problem. Even if he can't get out, the people outside should have noticed that something's happened to their guild by now."
"Come back as soon as you can and help collect the other useful items. We're almost at the place where they keep the guild weapon."
Elsewhere on the snowfield, a minotaur player watched as his friends disconnected one by one. That meant he was the only one left alive in the entire guild.
He clutched a gray crystal in his hand, a special item that could make him temporarily invisible. It was thanks to this item that he had managed to escape.
His goal now was to get out of the blocked-off area as quickly as possible, find somewhere he could contact the outside world, and get the guild's elite players back to defend their home.
On the peaceful, beautiful elven land of Alfheim, a fierce battle was raging.
The once-lush forests and plains were now in utter disarray.
A group of creatures of all shapes and sizes, wielding weapons or casting spells, were relentlessly attacking a great golden bird in the sky.
This was Peroroncino, marked for pursuit. He darted through the air, nimbly dodging one deadly spell after another while staying alert for sudden attacks from those around him.
But no matter how skilled he was, he could hardly withstand being hunted for more than an hour.
Throughout that time, his nerves had been taut. He hadn't dared to let his guard down for even a moment.
Just as the battle reached its climax, a white minotaur player pushed to the front. He snorted and looked down on the others around him.
"With this many people, you still can't catch one guy? You're all useless. Move aside and let me handle it."
He shouted to those around him, then leaped into the air with a massive axe in hand, bringing it down on Peroroncino, who was surrounded above.
Peroroncino had just dodged a deadly spell when he saw the massive axe bearing down on him.
There was nowhere left to dodge, so he braced himself and raised the bow in his hands to meet the blow. The bow and axe collided with a deafening crash. Peroroncino barely managed to block the strike, but the tremendous force sent him flying.
"Cough, cough. When I get back, I'm definitely going to teach Mu Fengyu that bastard a lesson."
After landing, Peroroncino saw his HP dropping rapidly, but he had no time to rest. Everyone around him was closing in.
He scrambled to his feet and ran with all his strength toward the depths of the forest.
The white minotaur player sneered and followed at a leisurely pace. The hunt had gone on for too long. He couldn't let his prey escape again.
He swung his massive axe as he steadily closed in on Peroroncino.
Peroroncino raced through the forest, trying to use the trees and terrain to evade his pursuers.
But the white minotaur player was far faster and stronger than he was, and the distance between them quickly shrank.
Just as he was about to be caught, his eyes lit up. The cooldown on [Blessing of Aeolus] had finished. Delighted, he drew his longbow to full draw and fired into the sky.
With a whoosh, dazzling white light blocked the vision of most of the players nearby. Peroroncino used [Blessing of Aeolus] to turn invisible. He had to get away before his pursuers could react.
The white minotaur player was dazzled by the sudden flash. By the time he opened his eyes again, Peroroncino had vanished without a trace.
He angrily swung his axe and searched all around, trying to find the elusive prey.
But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find Peroroncino.
Before long, a companion beside him glanced at the eyeball in his hand and spoke.
"Guildmaster, that guy's already left the area."
"Hmph, the same thing again. Every time we're about to catch him, he gets away. Just how many items does he have?"
Just as he was about to continue the chase, someone came running up behind him and shouted.
"Guildmaster, get back, quick! Someone attacked our stronghold. Everyone's dead except for one who escaped."
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