"Starlily, are you sure you should be telling all this so openly?" Ethan asked, clearly surprised.
A secret with such massive consequences—shouldn’t it be guarded tightly and never spoken of?
"It’s not a big deal," LoS_Starlily replied, shaking her head. "Besides, I already have a pretty good idea of what you’re planning." She paused for a mont before continuing, "Honestly, this is actually a good thing for us at Legion of Shadows. To be frank, we’re not exactly short on gold, but high-tier units? Now that we desperately need. And it’s not even a secret—everyone knows it..."
Before she could finish, a strong, confident voice rang out from outside the room.
"Starlily is absolutely right! Gold isn’t an issue for Legion of Shadows, but high-tier units? That’s a different story!"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the hallway, growing louder and closer.
A mont later, with a sharp click, the door swung open.
A towering, broad-shouldered middle-aged man strode in, his face lit up with a friendly smile as he greeted Ethan. "Hello, I’m LoS_Ironfist from Legion of Shadows."
"LoS_Ironfist?"
Ethan raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised.
LoS_Ironfist—second-in-command among Legion of Shadows’ top ten elite players. The guild’s number two.
Not only that, but he was also a ranked player on the Monarch Leaderboard—a true powerhouse.
And to top it off, he was one of the three vice leaders of Legion of Shadows.
With all these titles combined, LoS_Ironfist was the kind of person whose re presence could send shockwaves through the entire North Arican gaming scene.
Even Ethan hadn’t expected that a simple unit trade would attract the attention of soone like him.
Still, despite his surprise, Ethan remained composed. He extended a hand and said calmly, "Nice to et you. I’m Valkarion."
His unshaken deanor made LoS_Ironfist pause for a mont, studying Ethan with mild intrigue.
It wasn’t arrogance—just reality.
In all of North Arica, there were only two kinds of people who could sit across from him without the slightest hint of nervousness:
One, those who held power and influence on par with his own.
Two, those who were so confident in their strength that they simply didn’t care who they were dealing with.
Powerful connections?
Ethan looked too young for that. And LoS_Ironfist had never heard of him before, which made that possibility unlikely.
That left only one explanation...
"A top-tier player."
LoS_Ironfist’s gaze deepened as he studied Ethan, then broke into a smile. "Let’s sit and talk."
"Sure." Ethan took a seat, waiting for LoS_Ironfist to continue.
"I’ve already heard what happened from Marty," LoS_Ironfist began. "If there was any offense, I hope you won’t take it personally. That aside, I’ll be direct—I don’t like wasting ti haggling. Legion of Shadows is in desperate need of Tier 8 units. If you’re willing to establish a long-term partnership with us, I can guarantee you’ll be more than satisfied with the price."
"Go on," Ethan said evenly.
LoS_Ironfist hesitated for a fraction of a second before chuckling. "Alright... How about this—200 Silver Pegasus Knights per year. Can you supply that? If you can, we’re offering 1,200 Tier 7 Pegasus Knights in exchange. That’s six Pegasus Knights for every Silver Pegasus Knight. Of course, we can also convert that into gold or other resources. Based on the current market, one Pegasus Knight is worth about 60,000 gold. What do you think?"
As he finished speaking, he locked eyes with Ethan, watching closely for any reaction.
But Ethan simply let out a quiet sigh and shook his head. "Why is it always such a hassle talking to people like you?"
LoS_Ironfist blinked, montarily caught off guard. "I’m not sure what you an."
"Do I really have to spell it out?" Ethan said, exasperated. "Two hundred Silver Pegasus Knights per year? You’re testing , aren’t you?"
LoS_Ironfist’s expression stiffened for a split second before he let out an awkward laugh.
He had been trying to gauge Ethan’s limits, to see just how much he could handle.
But to be seen through so easily...
Yeah. That was a little embarrassing.
"Haha, my bad, my bad! After dealing with the top guilds for so long, it’s just beco second nature... I didn’t even realize I was doing it. My apologies, Valkarion," LoS_Ironfist said with a good-natured chuckle. He was sharp enough to recognize when the situation wasn’t in his favor, so he imdiately offered a sincere apology.
Hearing that, Ethan’s expression softened a little. He nodded and said, "Alright, let’s cut to the chase. One hundred Silver Pegasus Knights per year. We’ll go with the price you ntioned earlier. Deal?"
"Deal!" LoS_Ironfist agreed without hesitation.
A stable supply of one hundred Tier 8 Silver Pegasus Knights per year—
Even for Legion of Shadows, this was a massive deal.
Sure, the cost would be astronomical, but from their perspective, it was absolutely worth it.
Because in the end, power was what truly mattered.
With power, you called the shots. You had influence.
With power, you could climb to the top and dominate the competition.
Everything else? Just background noise.
Especially after the setback they had suffered in recent years—Legion of Shadows had learned that lesson the hard way. And now, more than ever, they understood exactly what it took to stay on top.
"Alright then, we’ll leave it at that for now. I’ll head back and get the goods ready. I’ll be back in a while, and when that happens, I’ll contact Starlily directly. Talking to the rest of you is just too exhausting—I’ll let her handle the coordination with ."
As he spoke, Ethan stood up and said slowly, "Also, this ti, I need to take so Tier 7 Pegasus Knights back for training—preferably at least ten. If you guys are willing to let owe you the paynt for now, next ti, I’ll give you a Silver Pegasus Knight for free—consider it interest."
"No problem!" LoS_Ironfist nodded imdiately, then turned to LoS_Marty. "Go grab fifteen Tier 7 Pegasus Knights right away!"
With that, he looked at Ethan and grinned. "Consider the extra ones a gift from —just a friendly gesture! Valkarion, let’s add each other as friends, yeah?"
"Now that’s what I call generosity, LoS_Ironfist!" Ethan chuckled. He didn’t refuse and accepted the offer without hesitation.
Then, he and LoS_Ironfist added each other as friends.
Seeing this, Doombringer hesitated for a mont before gritting his teeth and asking, "Valkarion, mind adding as a friend too?"
"Valkarion, this is my brother," LoS_Starlily introduced from the side.
"Sure, no problem!" Ethan nodded with a smile and added Doombringer as well.
At that mont, LoS_Marty returned, bringing back fifteen Pegasus Knights and handing them over to Ethan.
"Alright, I’m out." With the units in hand, Ethan didn’t linger. He turned to leave and called out, "Starlily, I’ll contact you in a while. Later!"
"See you, Valkarion!" LoS_Starlily quickly waved goodbye.
anwhile, LoS_Marty couldn’t help but ask, "Vice Guild Leader, aren’t you worried that giving him fifteen Pegasus Knights upfront might an he just takes off and never cos back?"
"Not a chance."
"Not a chance."
LoS_Ironfist and Doombringer both shook their heads almost simultaneously.
LoS_Marty was montarily stunned, completely puzzled. "Why not? Fifteen Pegasus Knights—that’s not a small amount."
"With his skill, he doesn’t need to pull sothing like that. And honestly, he wouldn’t even bother," Doombringer said, shaking his head.
"Exactly..." LoS_Ironfist nodded, his eyes gleaming. "Even putting aside his strategic talent, Valkarion’s individual strength is probably top-tier. He might even be stronger than ..."
"What?! No way!"
"Stronger than you, Vice Guild Leader? That can’t be right."
LoS_Ironfist’s words left LoS_Marty and LoS_Starlily completely stunned.
Their eyes widened in shock, their faces full of disbelief.
Who was LoS_Ironfist?
He was one of the true pillars of the Legion of Shadows guild!
At his peak, he had even ranked among the top fifty on the North Arican Monarch Leaderboard—a true powerhouse among powerhouses!
And now, he was saying that Valkarion might be even stronger than him?
What kind of concept was that?
That was just... ridiculous!
"Starlily, Marty, your own skill levels aren’t high enough, so you can’t really feel it," LoS_Ironfist explained. "Every top-tier player has a certain presence—a kind of aura. And the closer soone is in strength, the easier it is to sense that aura..."
He paused for a mont, then asked, "Let put it simply—earlier, he clearly knew who I was. He knew my strength and my status. But even so, he stayed completely calm, totally unfazed. In fact, he even gave off the impression that he had the upper hand over . If it were either of you in his position, could you have pulled that off?"
"Of course not!" LoS_Starlily and LoS_Marty shook their heads in unison.
"Exactly. A guy like that has no reason to scam us for a re fifteen Tier 7 Pegasus Knights. He wouldn’t even bother. Sure, it’s possible he was just putting on an act, but I’ve led Legion of Shadows for years, and I’ve never t anyone who could fake it that well—without a single crack in their facade. In other words, even if he was acting, the fact that he could do it so convincingly ans he’s soone worth paying attention to. Got it?" LoS_Ironfist lectured.
Then, he suddenly let out a long sigh and shook his head. "It’s been a long ti since I’ve seen a young player this impressive. The next generation really is sothing else."
"Yeah, no doubt about it," Doombringer agreed, nodding. He turned to LoS_Starlily and said seriously, "Starlily, if you get the chance, you should try to build a good relationship with Valkarion. If you two beco friends, it’ll be a huge advantage for you."
"I—I got it..." LoS_Starlily nodded quickly, but her mind was clearly elsewhere. She seed lost in thought, distracted by sothing.
anwhile, outside the tavern, Ethan casually mounted one of the Tier 7 Pegasus Knights and soared into the sky, heading north toward Sylvanwood. His figure soon disappeared into the sea of clouds, vanishing from sight.
A few hours later, Ethan arrived at Sunfire Basin, on the outskirts of Sylvanwood.
But instead of summoning Cicero and flying straight into Sylvanwood, he logged out of the ga and took off his VR headset.
Crossing Sylvanwood over the past few days had been exhausting—not just for Cicero, but for him as well. So he decided to take a break and get so proper rest.
And just like that—
Log out.
Sleep.
Done in one smooth motion.
Before he knew it, morning had arrived.
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