Thief Hood Family

Invader, a word that has been given a new meaning by the Zane Dungeon.

Now, when these three words are mentioned, people in and around Bede City probably think of colorful spirits, despicable weapons, and all sorts of hoods.

Yes, a head covering.

It seems that since the appearance of the "Mysterious Hooded Man," hoods have gained tremendous attention among intrusion and anti-intrusion groups.

Whether it's an active intrusion or a counter-intrusion, everyone will actively choose a headgear that suits them. Any style is fine, whether it's exquisite or tattered, serious or quirky. The most popular one is naturally the "Slave Headscarf"—or, more accurately, the Thief Hood.

As soon as an adventurer sees that the intruder is wearing Thief Hood, he knows he's in deep trouble!

Because those who wear this thing are either masters or novices, while those whose skill level is neither high nor low have a sense of awe towards the headgear and dare not wear it casually.

Nowadays, the hood has become a kind of spiritual symbol. Sometimes when adventurers have a conflict, if both of them have the Thief's Hood, they can immediately forgive and forget each other by showing it off.

Of course, the most important function of the hood is to conceal one's identity. The intruder's true face must never be discovered, absolutely not. This is an important thing that must be said every day.

Every day, there are cases of intruders being brutally beaten after their hoods are pulled off, exposing their identities. This stark reality forces us to advocate for hood safety.

So, the Zane Dungeon also released Thief Hood that would never fall off, which became a huge hit.

However, once their disguise is revealed, they will be exposed to the real person, which speaks volumes about the reputation of intruders.

But why do so many people still enjoy hacking?

It's because it's easier to earn souls, and you can also get invasion rewards to exchange for oath rewards at the Soul Eater Altar.

Previously, souls could only be used for leveling up, but since the Lake Liurnia region opened, souls have suddenly become much more useful.

Not only can you buy supplies from the merchant Ka Lie and the Rogue Lobster Bro, and forge weapons and buy basic Forging Stone from the blacksmith Andre, but you also need a soul to learn magic in some classrooms of the magic academy, and some random events in the Underground Labyrinth also require a soul.

As a result, after the lake area was opened, more and more people became enthusiastic about the invasion gameplay.

Gradually, the invaders got to know each other and eventually formed a loose "Invasion Guild," occasionally accepting commissions to invade bounty targets.

Although the Invasion Guild is still in its early stages and is in the planning stages, its reputation is already no less than that of the infamous Necromancer Association, Thieves' Guild and other underground organizations.

That's why the Bede Family didn't release any Invaders series merchandise; those things would only bring criticism, and the last batch of Soul Eater statues were affected and didn't sell well.

As a product of the gray area, the existence of the Invasion Guild was quickly learned by the Light Eagle Legion, since mercenaries are best at finding out such things.

They placed the order with the aim of "hindering the Skyrim Strategy Team's exploration progress".

And then, it evolved into the situation we see now.

"Why are you back so soon? Still haven't found your target?"

Near the middle level of the Catacombs of Carthus, Aston, the logistics captain of the Light Eagle Legion, looked at the returning "I Don't Like Rosemary" and asked.

Depending on the progress of the exploration, the Catacombs of Carthus are currently marked as having three levels: upper, middle, and lower. This does not mean that there are only three levels, but is a general description.

They are currently trying to figure out the upper level, explore the middle level, and open up the lower level, but in reality, every team that goes deep into the lower level dies and comes back quickly, which shows how dangerous it is down there.

Incidentally, they were unaware of Elsa's exploration progress.

To speed things up, the Light Eagle Legion selected more than a dozen teams, each at full strength and equipped with professional dungeon explorers. In addition, there were a few scattered mercenaries who entered the dungeons to try their luck. Since they didn't have any war missions at the moment, exploring the dungeons was a good pastime for them.

Anyway, the cost of Teleportation Crystal can be reimbursed.

However, Aston was not at the forefront of the exploration at this time, but instead took on a special task.

The dozen or so people who came down with him were all intruders!

Everyone is trying to hack in again and again, hoping to find the Skyrim Strategy Team. This method is slow, but there is no better way, is there?

"Found them, but we couldn't beat them. They're too strong." I Don't Like Rosemary, so I shook my head and headed straight for the path leading out of the dungeon.

"What are you going to do?" Aston asked, puzzled.

"I quit. There's no need to fight an opponent I can't beat. I'll refund your wages in a bit." He waved his hand casually and winked at the other intruders.

"I'm quitting too. I've wasted a whole day and still haven't found it. It must be that the gods aren't protecting me on this job."

"I'm leaving too."

Several intruders left in the blink of an eye, leaving Aston bewildered. He couldn't help but wonder: Are these people all so casual about their work?

If he looked closely, he would have noticed that the intruders who left were all experienced "veterans," while those who remained were greenhorns who had no idea what was going to happen next.

The elderly people were too lazy to give them any pointers, since everyone enjoys watching the fun.

"They have no sense of contractual responsibility; adventurers are just unprofessional."

Aston didn't want to waste his time trying to keep them. In his view, hiring invaders was just a side effect; the real key to winning the game was the actual skill – namely, the exploration progress of the dungeon.

According to the Light Eagle Legion's intelligence, the public has only discovered the most prominent route next to the bonfire in the Grave Chamber. The Skyrim Strategy Team is also exploring that area, which we will tentatively call Route 1.

This news was very helpful to them because they discovered Route 2, which was some distance from the bonfire in the Grave Chamber and was winding, but it did lead to the lower level.

They will split their Exploration Team into two groups, exploring both routes simultaneously. With their numerical advantage, their exploration speed may not be slower than that of the Skyrim Strategy Team!

Hehe, he really couldn't wait to see the Skyrim Strategy Team's expressions when they revealed the unknown Route 2 information. It must be incredibly tempting!

"You guys better work hard and don't be like those guys who left without any sense of contract. I'm giving you a raise."

This naturally earned cheers from the invaders, and Aston puffed out his chest. The Light Eagle Legion, aside from anything else, certainly had a lot of money.

[Invaded by the intruder "I Like Eating Rosemary"!]

"Um?"

The smile on his face vanished instantly. What was going on? How could someone so blind dare to invade their territory?

[This site has been hacked by an intruder who seems to be saying, "I'll be hacking for life, okay?"]

[The game has been invaded by the invading force "Invincible Bede War God"!]

In an instant, three Dark Spirit appeared in front of Aston and refreshed his face!

Aston grinned maliciously, drew his iron hammer from his waist, and prepared to give these invaders the most horrific death, to show them what cruelty truly meant.

However, he did not notice that when the three powerful figures appeared, those he had hired, who were busy with the invasion, froze in place, not daring to move. Some even quickly opened their intrusion weapons and fled to avoid danger.

That's strange, why is that?

"So you're Aston?" Invincible Bede War God pointed at Aston, drawing his Backhand Sword from his waist. The battle ash attached to it was called [Blind Spot Strike].

"Just wait until Shit goes west." He licked the dagger in his hand, thinking about how he'd be good at invading for the rest of his life. However, his true signature moves were the miracle called [The Force] and the prayer called [Rejection].

"Click-clack." I Like Eating Rosemary. Silently, I loaded two Repeating Crossbow, the various crossbow bolts on my back gleaming.

The Thief Hood were gleaming.

"I'm not afraid of punks like you!"

Aston shouted, "Attack together!" and was the first to draw his weapon and smash it, cracking the ground with each blow.

Why was the ground smashed? Because he didn't hit anyone at all.

"Hehe, Blind Spot Strike!" The intruder crouched low, his figure moving like a ghost. Aston quickly raised his weapon to block.

However, the intruder suddenly appeared behind him and pierced his kidney with a single blow!

"Ah!"

Aston was shocked by the injury. What a strange Weapon Skill! Why did it appear in a blind spot that he couldn't defend against?

The next second, crossbow bolts came like a storm. He spun his weapon to block them, but a smoke grenade exploded at his feet, and thick smoke immediately rose up.

Not good!

"Your butt is mine now."

A lewd voice suddenly came from behind him, and the miracle [Force] exploded behind him, sending him flying with a powerful shockwave.

"Oops, I used too much force and accidentally pushed him out of the fog."

Aston fell to the ground in a sorry state, clutching his bleeding kidney and glaring at the bystanders, yelling, "What are you doing? Why didn't you help me?!"

"Boss, it's not that we don't want to, but..." the man stammered.

"Anyone who dares to use these strange nicknames must be a powerful figure; we can't afford to offend them!"

What kind of strange unspoken rule is this?!

Aston nearly vomited blood, deeply regretting not bringing his brothers from the Light Eagle Legion down with him this time.

At that moment, the intruders caught up with him, cacophoning cackling laughter. He could only glare at the bystanders before grabbing his weapon and running away.

Various crossbow bolts came from behind him in a continuous stream. Even though he tried his best to dodge, he could not avoid being wounded. Sometimes he would feel sleepy after being hit by an arrow, sometimes he would bleed profusely, and sometimes he would be subjected to negative effects such as burning, paralysis, or freezing.

He finally managed to launch a surprise attack, risking his life to kill an intruder, but—

[Intruders have entered the area.]

Immediately, new people came to invade.

It's unimaginable how many intruders are lining up to stab him in the back right now, and they are all amazing old men whose strength is no less than that of elite adventurers!

Looking at the endless stream of invaders, Aston felt a despair even deeper than when Master Kent fell into dementia.

Did I blaspheme the gods today? Why are all the invaders coming to me?

No, actually not all the intruders came to him.

Throughout the day, everyone who was in the Catacombs of Carthus reported the same thing: the number of intrusions had increased dramatically.

However, many intruders just glanced at the place and left without attacking anyone, which is very strange.

Because they all went to fight the Light Eagle Legion, the mercenaries faced unprecedented targeting.

Even though their specialty is killing people, for some reason, when facing intruders, they feel like they are the ones who are the challengers.

The enemy's skills and combat abilities are actually superior to those of these mercenaries!?

What a joke! Why would our proud mercenary profession be inferior to invaders?

And why are these guys targeting us?!

They can only blame themselves for provoking the adventurers. After all, the most prominent characteristic of adventurers is that they stick together for mutual support, even notorious invaders.

The first Gwangju... no, I mean the Sion Unrestricted Invasion Tournament has begun, and the victims are all mercenaries.

Under the torture of the Dark Spirit General, the Light Eagle Legion's exploration speed was greatly reduced, their progress was repeatedly delayed, and their medical expenses and other costs increased significantly.

When the mercenaries, numb from being tortured, became familiar with the invaders' tactics and began to counter them in a planned and effective manner, they gradually gained the upper hand over the invaders.

The deadline set for the competition has arrived.

Although the initial plan was that whoever defeated the leader first would win, that would take too long, so another condition was added in the end.

The one that explores the deepest point before the designated date wins!