While Everyone Panicked, I Upgraded My Raft

Chapter 140: Chapter 131: First Kill

Rowan Rhodes had a much clearer understanding of this than Oscar Oswald. At this point, she absolutely wouldn’t let him off. After having Seabird One adjust its pursuit trajectory, she completely cut off Oscar Oswald’s escape routes from all directions.

Meanwhile, Oscar Oswald had already begun his desperate attempts to save himself. Grabbing his hoarded water, he frantically splashed it onto the source of the fire. But a fire fueled by oil and gunpowder—how could it be extinguished so easily? The Speed at which the raft could be repaired couldn’t possibly keep up with the Speed of its destruction.

Oscar Oswald fell into despair.

”Oscar Oswald: Save me.”

”The fire is too big, we can’t save you!”

”This is terrifying!”

”How exactly did Rowan Rhodes get these fires to burn like this and make them so hard to put out?”

”Rowan Rhodes’s strength is truly extraordinary!”

”@Oscar Oswald, I think you might as well take Rowan Rhodes down with you. Steer your raft and ram it straight into her.”

”@Oscar Oswald, exactly! Since you can’t escape, don’t let her have it easy either.”

”...”

It was safe to say that the rest of the players were straight-up fanning the flames. They would be more than happy to see Oscar Oswald and Rowan Rhodes take each other down. Although it currently looked like a one-sided slaughter against Oscar Oswald, if he put his life on the line, he should be able to inflict at least a tiny bit of damage on Rowan Rhodes, right?

It had to be said that Oscar Oswald’s current desolate situation struck a bit of fear into the surrounding circle of players. They knew before coming that Rowan Rhodes was not to be trifled with, but they certainly hadn’t realized she was *this* formidable. Most of them actually felt a slight urge to retreat, but greed still prevailed. They could see that Rowan Rhodes’s chosen tactic was to divide and conquer, proving she wasn’t prepared to take on a hundred enemies at once.

Under these circumstances, if they employed assembly-line tactics, they stood a good chance of knocking her off her high horse. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. They were gambling that they wouldn’t be targeted by her too early. Meanwhile, some of the more timid ones—especially those caught in the middle, between a rock and a hard place—were already brimming with thoughts of retreat.

[You have initiated an attack on player Rowan Rhodes and are designated as the challenger. If you wish to leave, you must forfeit half of your net worth. Do you agree?]

”Yes.”

Under these conditions, several players successfully left Rowan Rhodes’s sea area at the cost of half their assets. When they left, Rowan Rhodes also received the notifications. This situation wasn’t a loss for her. However, she made sure to commit their names to memory.

[Server-Wide Announcement: Player Liam Stone has abandoned the attack on player Rowan Rhodes and has left the opposing sea area.]

[Server-Wide Announcement: Player Harrison Sinclair has abandoned the attack on player Rowan Rhodes and has left the opposing sea area.]

[...]

While Rowan Rhodes was remembering their names, many players following the battle also took notice. Come to think of it, this was the first time they had seen anyone leave midway. What did this mean? It meant that Rowan Rhodes still held the upper hand in this battle.

Many players in the regional chat immediately began discussing it.

”Can you just leave with a Positioning Card whenever you want?”

”If so, wouldn’t attacking other players’ rafts carry no consequences?”

”Who says there are no consequences? You have to give up half your net worth!”

”Really?”

”Yes. I have a Positioning Card, so I looked into it.”

”Then these players only have half their resources left. Wouldn’t they be much weaker than usual?”

”This is the perfect opportunity to kick them while they’re down!”

”...”

Amidst the heated discussions of the regional players, this specific group of retreating players didn’t even make it to the day Rowan Rhodes would exact her revenge. They were already being targeted one by one.

[Server-Wide Notification: Player Anne Shawcross has used a Positioning Card to enter player Liam Stone’s sea area.]

[Server-Wide Notification: Player Zelda Parrish has used a Positioning Card to enter player Harrison Sinclair’s sea area.]

[...]

True to her Nature, Rowan Rhodes also caught sight of this server-wide notification. Seeing a familiar figure on the screen, the corners of her mouth curled up. It seemed she wouldn’t have to pull the weeds out by the roots herself.

And within this brief period, after finding no one to answer his cries for help and failing to save himself, Oscar Oswald vanished into the sea of flames along with his raft. As for the resources, Equipment, blueprints, and other items in his possession, they all fell completely into Rowan Rhodes’s hands.

[Server-Wide Notification: Player Oscar Oswald’s attack on player Rowan Rhodes has failed. He is now dead.]

The cold notification once again filled the screens of countless players. Oscar Oswald, who had originally ranked second, simply disappeared from the leaderboard as if he had never existed.

”Oscar Oswald is dead?”

”He was ranked second on the leaderboard, yet he still died this fast.”

”Rowan Rhodes must have killed him herself!”

”Rowan Rhodes is too badass!”

”How did she do it?”

”With pure strength.”

”I think every single player who covets Boss Rhodes’s wealth is going to die.”

”Serves them right! Choosing to attack someone while they’re at their peak is just asking for it.”

”I’m wondering, when is Rowan Rhodes ever *not* at her peak?”

”Haha, good question! Rowan Rhodes has been at the top of her game since the very first day.”

”...”

The players continued to shower Rowan Rhodes with praise, their tone carrying a sense of vicarious pride. Seeing this, some players felt sour in their hearts. Rowan Rhodes’s situation truly provoked envy, jealousy, and resentment. Just looking at it threw their mental state off balance. Comparison truly was the thief of joy!

But jealousy aside, they knew clearly just how difficult it was for Rowan Rhodes to achieve all this. Naturally, they were also a little curious about exactly how she had pulled it off. It was just a pity that information wasn’t shared across different regional zones, so no one knew the specifics. They could only glean the status of the battle from the server-wide announcements.

Of course, while watching the drama unfold, they hadn’t forgotten to deal with the mutated marine creatures in their own sea areas. At the same time, they were still in desperate need of Antidote and Eira Grass Seeds.

Thinking of this, they suddenly remembered something. That was the fact that most of the Antidote and Eira Grass Seeds on the market were supplied by Rowan Rhodes. If she was in the middle of a battle, where would their Antidote and Eira Grass Seeds come from?!

For a moment, the crowd became highly agitated.

”Is Rowan Rhodes still going to sell Antidote and Eira Grass Seeds later?”

”That’s uncertain now.”

”I just realized this.”

”They want to deal with Rowan Rhodes, but why should it affect us?!”

”Rowan Rhodes absolutely has to win! We still have another day to go! What are we going to do without Eira Grass Seeds and Antidote?”

”It probably won’t affect anything, right?”

”Is Rowan Rhodes really badass enough to sell Antidote while facing a siege of over a hundred people?”

”I have faith in her.”

”Mainly because she’s filthy rich! With so many resources and so many Trading Coins, she doesn’t have to fear their siege.”

”So I think she’ll definitely still sell them.”

”...”

Amidst the discussion, many players were filled with confidence in Rowan Rhodes.