Meanwhile.
Deep within the mountain range, atop the first towering peak.
The thick fog seemed to have solidified here, yet not a wisp lingered over a level stretch at the summit.
An enormous, timeworn mountain stronghold stood there.
Sharp barbs covered its towering wooden walls, and a heavy ballista was mounted every ten meters along the parapets, gleaming with a chilling light.
Figures moved through the stronghold on patrol.
Had Su Ye been there, he would have been astonished to discover that every one of them was human.
Inside a spacious assembly hall at the center of the stronghold, two young men in samurai attire sat facing each other, a pot of warm sake set between them.
"Nakamura, I never expected us to be assigned straight to this special Tier Three road section."
A young man with a buzz cut raised his cup and said, "The players of this Fivefold Race really are freaks. Someone has already reached the Tier Three Road Section."
The young man seated opposite him, addressed as Nakamura, had a sinister face and wore a long, narrow katana at his waist. He was Nakamura No.
"Suzuki, the Fivefold Race has indeed produced a freak of a player."
"But he didn't reach the Tier Three Road Section this quickly through his own normal progress. The Golden Race put him there," Nakamura No said, shaking his head.
"Oh? Then what I heard before was true?"
Suzuki Yama's eyes widened in surprise. "A player really killed a One-Star Echo of the Golden Race, angering them enough to throw him into this Tier Three Road Section ahead of time?"
"It's true."
Nakamura No took a sip of sake. "If they weren't worried about this Fivefold Race player continuing to build up his resources in the Tier Two Road Section and