Child of Destiny

While Shin was making arrangements for the cleanup duty, he couldn’t help but feel that he was forgetting about something.

Right on cue...

Ding!

A notification suddenly appeared from his contact list.

Whoosh!

The moment he opened it, he immediately remembered what he had been forgetting.

Khavin: Esteemed Battle God... are you still not done with the task on your side?

Khavin: I don’t think we’ll be able to hold out for much longer...

Khavin: Those bastards brought quite a few Bigshots with them this time.

After skimming through Khavin’s messages, Shin immediately realized that the opposing side must have taken drastic measures to force their way into the Desert Bandits’ territory.

”Bigshots, huh? I wonder if they’re from the higher echelons of those Powerhouse Guilds,” Shin muttered before pursing his lips beneath his mask.

He paused for a moment. ”...Or maybe some of their top god-level experts?”

The thought immediately piqued his curiosity. ”If that’s really the case, then this could be a little more interesting.”

He turned toward the others and said, ”It looks like our friends from the Desert Bandits are having some trouble.”

He paused briefly before a smirk appeared beneath his mask. ”How about we pay them a quick visit and lend them a hand?”

Shin had commissioned those guys, so he could not just let them get beaten up too badly by shielding them, especially when they were basically done with the situation on their side.

The others immediately became interested, clearly sensing that another entertaining event might be waiting for them.

Unfortunately for Diablo and Alucard, Shin ruthlessly excluded them from the activity.

”You two can continue with the cleanup duty. The rest of us should be enough.” He laughed before abruptly sprinting out of the fortress.

Afraid that Shin would hog all the fun, Owen immediately chased after him while dragging Samael along.

The twins, on the other hand, gave the two unfortunate men sympathetic looks before chasing after the other three.

Felix even patted their shoulders as he passed, seemingly telling them that he understood their suffering.

After all, Felicia had left almost everything to him whenever he was managing their guild before it was disbanded.

He truly sympathized with them.

Helpless, Alucard and Diablo could only watch as the others disappeared beyond the fortress gates.

***

While the situation at the fortress was gradually slowing down and entering its concluding phase, the members of the Desert Bandits were currently facing one of the most challenging situations they had encountered since joining the game.

”It looks like you’ve truly lost your mind, Khavin...” Fleeting Dream said as he stood at the forefront of the forces he had brought for this operation.

The surrounding sand danced around him, forming countless tendrils that twisted and writhed with the wind.

”To think you’d actually dare bare your fangs at us...” He smirked before slamming his magic staff into the ground. ”It makes me wonder who gave you the confidence to stand against us.”

Khavin merely smirked as he rested his massive saber over his shoulder. ”Stop being so conceited. Do you really think a little threat like that will work against us?”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In response to his words, the members of the Desert Bandits stomped their feet against the ground, creating an intimidating atmosphere that spread throughout the canyon.

Black Soul, who had been watching everything from the shadows, was just about to make his move and launch an ambush against Khavin when he suddenly noticed the tip of a black spear pointed directly at his face.

”Desert Spider Black Soul...” Serv, Khavin’s right-hand man, said calmly before continuing. ”I’ve been meaning to meet you.”

Black Soul couldn’t help but raise his brows, unable to hide his surprise.

He knew that Serv was highly skilled and was even rumored to possess enough strength to rival god-level experts.

However, he had never expected Serv to detect him so easily.

Black Soul was extremely confident in his stealth abilities, especially in desert environments that perfectly complemented his unique class.

Moreover, he was notorious throughout the Sandspine Waste, where he had built both his reputation and his strength over the years.

”Black Spear Serv...” Black Soul muttered in a low voice, his expression becoming heavier. ”It seems your reputation doesn’t do your strength justice.”

He could tell that Serv was far stronger than his reputation suggested.

Realizing that infiltrating the opposing ranks would be nearly impossible with Serv watching over them, Black Soul had no choice but to retreat to Fleeting Dream’s side.

”Tsk! Those guys are much trickier to deal with than we expected,” Black Soul whispered after returning.

He specifically glanced at the surrounding terrain, paying particular attention to the narrow canyon passage before continuing. ”They also know how to choose a battlefield that favors them.”

”As expected of ’bandits,’” he added before directing his gaze toward Khavin.

Fleeting Dream didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he glanced at the message panel sent to him by their ”friends” from the Desert Sun Coalition.

”It looks like even Silver Steve and Marlon are having some trouble. All five Captains of the Desert Bandits are keeping them occupied,” he said, informing Black Soul of the current situation.

”When are we going to make our move?” Fleeting Dream asked, a noticeable trace of impatience appearing in his eyes. ”Those guys are clearly buying time for some reason. If we wait any longer, we might be too late to act.”

Unfortunately, Black Soul stopped him from making a move. ”We have to wait for Big Brother.”

He paused for a moment before continuing. ”He said that he happened to be in the area when they were returning from their mission. They should be arriving at any moment now.”

”Your Big Brother?” Fleeting Dream raised his brows slightly. ”The Captain of the Soul Squad? Crimson Soul?”

He couldn’t help but pause after realizing that a true Bigshot was currently heading their way.

”If it’s him, then this should be much easier,” he said with a slight smile.

Then, he asked, ”Who’s with him?”

Black Soul thought for a moment before answering. ”He said that he would have his Vice Captains lead the rest of the squad back to headquarters and report in.”

”But I also heard that the Captain of your squad is coming as well,” he added.

Hearing this, Fleeting Dream couldn’t help but pause. ”Captain Heartless Dream?”

He suddenly realized that the situation might be far more troublesome than he had originally expected.

If it were only Crimson Soul, then things would have been relatively easy to handle. After all, Crimson Soul was known for being rational and relatively easy to reason with.

Heartless Dream, on the other hand, was a lunatic who did whatever he wanted.

”Let’s just hope this situation doesn’t become any more chaotic than it already is...” Fleeting Dream could only sigh.

He then opened his message panel and sent a report to someone even more powerful than his own Captain, informing them of the current situation.

...

At the same time, Khavin wore a heavy expression as he listened to the report Serv had just delivered.

”Are you sure about that?” Khavin immediately asked after seeing Serv return to his side.

”It should be accurate,” Serv replied with a nod before lowering his voice. ”More than one witness saw them rushing toward the Sandspine Waste. Those two should be heading this way.”

”Crimson Soul and Heartless Dream...” Khavin muttered, his expression growing heavier. ”Those two are more than just your run-of-the-mill experts.”

He was quite familiar with them, as they were among the top combatants of the Ultra Guilds under Dream Entertainment.

Not only had they already made a name for themselves in the previous games they played before being recruited by Dream Entertainment, but they had also become quite notorious within «Destiny’s Fate» Online.

Both were Godlike Players who had been making waves in every game they touched, long before «Destiny’s Fate» Online became as popular as it was now.

The reputation of those two were long established when compared to greenhorns like Black Soul and Fleeting Dream.

It was even rumored that Dream Entertainment had spent a huge fortune just to recruit the two of them.

Although they weren’t the strongest combatants within their respective Ultra Guilds, they were still among their leading figures.

Given their strength and talent, there was no way their current level could be underestimated.

While Khavin frowned deeply, Serv couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, ”Have you told the Big Boss about the situation?”

”Of course!” Khavin immediately replied.

”I may look like a madman, but I’m not crazy enough to try clashing with those two head-on,” he added grimly.

Khavin was confident in his own strength, but even he knew there were limits to that confidence.

Just as he had no intention of recklessly clashing with Shin and the others, he also had to acknowledge the strength of experts who stood far above his own level.

He refused to give much face to most of the leading figures of the Powerhouse Guilds within the Green Marbly Kingdom, with only a select few being exceptions.

Crimson Soul and Heartless Dream just happened to be among those exceptions.

”Let’s just hope the Big Bosses arrive before those two...” Khavin muttered helplessly while maintaining a strong front before their opponents.

......