"Blade Syndicate, I don't care who's backing you. If you want to play, let's play big."
Ethan opened the official Ethereal forums.
Normally, two guilds butting heads was nothing unusual. But this ti, things were different. The leader of Renegade Alliance, known as NotADruid, had been dominating the leaderboards since the ga's launch. First kills? He'd claid nearly all of them. And now, the newly crowned top guild in the Northern Frontier, Blade Syndicate, had decided to pick a fight.
It wasn't just any fight, it was a full-blown guild war. The forums buzzed with chatter. Blade Syndicate's leader, Marcus Skeiner, had posted a taunting video earlier. It showed off his team's flashy combat skills, capped with a challenge.
The post exploded with comnts, holding the top spot on the forum.
Ethan clicked the Create Post button. His title was simple and bold:
"Renegade Alliance doesn't rely on numbers. To crush Blade Syndicate, five are enough."
He attached a video, followed by a single caption:
"Tistamp: 21:43. Kills: 57."
Initially, the post was drowned in the flood of forum activity. Barely anyone noticed it. But ten minutes later, curiosity prevailed. It resurfaced, drawing attention for one reason: the poster's na—NotADruid. That na carried weight. It was the rookie legend everyone had been talking about.
The video started with Skyblade charging into battle. His back was turned, but the intensity was palpable.
Then ca the carnage.
A Warlock's summoned Demonic Guardian unleashed a Blade Storm, cutting down six enemies in seconds. The Shield Tank flowed effortlessly through combat, each skill landing with pinpoint precision, every enemy move preempted.
A Paladin's basic strikes drove foes into disarray, capitalizing on milliseconds of stagger to deliver devastating executions. The screen flared red as decapitated heads rolled, blood spraying like fireworks.
And then there was the black panther. Its every strike was a kill, its damage numbers absurdly high. It appeared and vanished like a shadow, spreading panic in the opposing ranks.
In contrast, Blade Syndicate's players were chaos incarnate. They shoved, scrambled, and collapsed like a herd of panicked sheep. The difference in skill was striking.
A particular highlight was the Warlock in glasses, a plump and very young figure. His summoning skills were overwhelming. One Demonic Guardian, two Void Lords, three Succubi, four Hellhounds, and ten Imps. His summons were a literal demon army.
But he wasn't just a summoner. His Destruction Bolt reduced health bars to slivers. Though its casting ti left him vulnerable, the power behind it was unmatched.
This was the strength of Renegade Alliance.
Among the chaos, Ethan stood out in his understated way. Unlike the others, he wasn't flashy. He didn't need to be. His panther form tore through enemies like a whirlwind, his kills precise and thodical. No one escaped.
And yet, anyone with an eye for combat could tell: this fight's pace was dictated by the panther. It exploited fear, scattering Blade Syndicate's formation until they were herded together like cattle.
When the dust settled, Blade Syndicate's 57 players were wiped out in under three minutes, a feat unheard of in Ethereal's early stages, where gear wasn't strong enough to dominate so completely.
At the center of it all was Ethan, the panther. NotADruid.
It seed to hint at another battle on the horizon. Their five-man performance wasn't over yet.
And then there was the title of Ethan's post:
"Renegade Alliance doesn't rely on numbers. To crush Blade Syndicate, five are enough."
A single sentence, arrogant, bold, and brimming with confidence. It stirred sothing in people, making their blood pump faster.
In no ti, Ethan's post and Marcus Skeiner's earlier taunt beca the hottest topics on the Ethereal forums. Players abandoned their quests and rushed back to safe zones just to refresh the thread, desperate to see how things would end.
Ethan's post wasn't just a declaration. It was a slap in the face to Blade Syndicate, whose reputation relied on overwhelming numbers.
It was like saying: "You like ganging up on smaller groups, huh? Fine. We'll leave just five of us to deal with you."
Everyone knew how this started. Blade Syndicate had picked the fight, killing Renegade Alliance players unprovoked. Skyblade led a counterattack with a few dozen players, wiping out over a hundred from Blade Syndicate.
Humiliated, Blade Syndicate retaliated. They rallied over 1,500 mbers to hunt down Renegade Alliance's 200. The odds seed impossible, and many expected a swift end to the fight.
But it didn't end.
The battle raged for an entire day. Renegade Alliance lost a few dozen players, but no one knew how many Blade Syndicate had lost in return.
While Renegade Alliance mbers fought and dodged pursuit, Blade Syndicate filled the forums with boasts.
They even started spreading rumors about Ethan.
The stories were absurd: NotADruid had supposedly been hospitalized after being caught with another man's wife. So claid he'd been hit by a car. The insults and curses were endless.
Newer players still stuck in Starter Zones tried to defend Renegade Alliance on the forums, but they were drowned out by Blade Syndicate's constant trolling. It was impossible to argue with them, these people didn't think before they spoke. They'd say anything, no matter how ridiculous.
Ironically, it was Blade Syndicate's hate-filled replies that pushed Ethan's post to the top of the forums.
Ethan read through the comnts, a cold smile tugging at his lips.
'Keep talking. You'll be eating your words soon enough.'
The post reignited Renegade Alliance's morale. They cheered. Even if Ethan did nothing else after this, they wouldn't bla him.
As for those who had left the guild, regret began to creep in. They reached out to old teammates, hoping to smooth things over and rejoin.
But the replies they got were far from welcoming.
"Piss off!" one particularly fiery forr mber shot back through a private chat.
---
Ethan and his team were already back underwater, navigating through the subrged caves.
Ten minutes later, they surfaced in another pond, erging near a larger camp.
As before, Ethan went ahead to eliminate the sentries while Skyblade and the others prepared for the assault.
This ti, the camp was far larger than the previous one. The enemies weren't just weak Priest-class players. The camp was packed with 129 enemies, with 34 sentries alone.
The numbers were overwhelming. Even with Skyblade's well-equipped team, they couldn't ignore such a massive gap.
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