"Vice Leader! Lord Stormrider!"
The mont they saw LoS_Ironfist and LoS_Stormrider present, LoS_Blackblade and the others were visibly startled. They quickly straightened up and saluted.
"Hmm..."
But LoS_Ironfist and LoS_Stormrider barely acknowledged them. With just a slight nod, they completely ignored the group.
"Starlily, co here."
At the sa ti, Doombringer imdiately pulled LoS_Starlily aside.
Seeing this, LoS_Blackblade and the others froze in confusion.
"Brother?" LoS_Starlily looked at him, bewildered. But she never expected that just calling out to him would make him snap in anger.
"Shut up!"
Doombringer barked, his face dark and stern. Without another word, he dragged LoS_Starlily away.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" LoS_Starlily realized sothing was off and tried to resist, but Doombringer was faster. In an instant, she was pulled away.
At the sa ti, LoS_Stormrider stood up and walked toward Ethan. His expression was cold, his eyes slightly narrowed as he scrutinized him.
"Heh..."
After a brief silence, he suddenly let out a dry chuckle and said casually, "A young hero, huh? If I’m not mistaken, you’re not even thirty yet, are you?"
Ethan didn’t answer. He simply furrowed his brows slightly and glanced at LoS_Stormrider before shifting his gaze toward LoS_Ironfist, who remained expressionless.
Then, in a calm tone, he said, "Ironfist, care to explain? Seems like your Legion of Shadows has so kind of issue with ?"
"I wouldn’t call it an issue," LoS_Ironfist replied as he stood up, his voice cold. "But Valkarion, what you did today was out of line."
He fixed his gaze on Ethan and continued, "The five-man squad led by LoS_Blackblade—we raised them from the ground up. Without Legion of Shadows, they wouldn’t be where they are today. In other words, the mission resources they receive, the rewards they earn—those all belong to Legion of Shadows, wouldn’t you agree?"
His eyes flashed with a hint of coldness as he went on, "And yet, they handed over mission resources to an outsider. Worse, they turned around and sold the mission rewards back to Legion of Shadows. What does that make us? A bunch of fools? Valkarion, what do you think?"
The mont those words fell, LoS_Starlily, LoS_Blackblade, and the others stiffened, their faces turning pale.
At last, they realized what the real problem was.
"V-Vice Leader, this is on us!" LoS_Blackblade forced himself to step forward, his voice tense. "We didn’t think things through. We’re really sorry. But this... this has nothing to do with Valkarion!"
"Shut up!"
LoS_Stormrider snapped, his voice sharp and unforgiving. "You ungrateful traitor—who said you could speak here?"
LoS_Blackblade stiffened, his face filled with bitterness. He dared not say another word.
"Stormrider..." LoS_Starlily hesitated, as if she wanted to say sothing, but Doombringer imdiately grabbed her arm.
"You shut up too!" Doombringer barked, his tone deadly serious. Then, with a quick glance at Ethan, he gave him a subtle, apologetic look before dragging LoS_Starlily toward the tavern’s exit.
It was clear—he understood the situation perfectly.
There was no turning back now.
Either Ethan backed down,
Or Legion of Shadows did.
But expecting Legion of Shadows to compromise? That was impossible.
Which ant they had no place in this ss anymore.
And no right to interfere.
Otherwise, they’d be no different from traitors.
"So I guess I just made things worse by trying to help?" Ethan shrugged, his gaze landing on LoS_Ironfist. His tone was calm, but there was an unmistakable edge to it. "Alright then, since we’re done with the formalities, let’s cut to the chase. Say what you really want."
Truth be told, Ethan could understand LoS_Ironfist’s reasoning.
And sure, he could even acknowledge it.
Because, in a way, it did make sense.
But understanding was one thing. Accepting it was another.
At the end of the day, what did any of this have to do with him?
All he knew was that he had fought tooth and nail to complete the mission and earn his reward. That was his.
Everything else?
Not his problem.
And he had zero interest in making it his problem.
At that mont, sensing the impatience and irritation in Ethan’s voice, LoS_Ironfist’s expression darkened. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Then, in a tone that left no room for negotiation, he said, "Fine. No more gas. Hand over the mission rewards. Return what belongs to us, and we’ll pretend this never happened."
"You want to return it?"
Ethan chuckled, his voice laced with mockery. "Ironfist, have you gone senile? Or did you hit your head on the way here? Do you really think that’s gonna happen?"
The mont those words left his mouth, LoS_Ironfist’s face twisted in anger. A dangerous aura flickered around him.
But he held himself back.
Fixing his gaze on Ethan, he spoke slowly, his voice low and threatening.
"Listen, kid. The world is big, and your journey is far from over. Don’t make do this the hard way. Because if you cross Legion of Shadows, in the end, you’ll only be hurting yourself."
"Heh..."
Ethan let out a cold laugh.
He was done here.
Turning on his heel, he made to leave.
But just as he took a step forward—
A figure blocked his path.
Ethan’s expression darkened as he looked up.
Standing in front of him was LoS_Stormrider.
His face was just as cold.
And his eyes were locked onto Ethan with an unmistakable hostility.
"Let warn you one last ti—don’t make do this the hard way..." LoS_Stormrider said coldly, his tone sharp and unfriendly.
But before he could finish, a single word shot out from Ethan’s mouth.
"Get lost!"
"You... what did you just say?" LoS_Stormrider’s pupils contracted, as if he couldn’t believe his own ears.
The next second, his entire expression twisted into pure rage—dark, nacing, and ice-cold.
"You really think you’re sobody, huh? Guess I need to teach you a lesson!"
"Shriek!"
In an instant, a massive brown Roc materialized beside LoS_Stormrider, its presence radiating an overwhelming sense of danger. With a piercing cry, it launched itself straight at Ethan.
A 9th-Tier unit—a Roc!
But at that exact mont, a mystical lamp appeared out of thin air beside Ethan. From its top, a deep blue mist swirled and expanded, forming into a massive fist—before punching the terrifying Roc straight into the air!
Boom!
Like a cannonball, the 9th-Tier Roc slamd into the tavern wall with a deafening crash, nearly shattering it on impact!
Rumble!
The entire tavern shook violently, as if an earthquake had just hit.
"Holy—what the hell is going on?!"
"Are you serious? Soone’s fighting inside the tavern? And making this much noise? Do they not care about attracting the Lord’s Keep patrol guards?!"
"Wait, look! That’s a 9th-Tier Roc!"
"Not just that! Over there—it’s a 9th-Tier Genie!"
"Damn... no wonder the fight’s this intense. Ultimate Units—a 9th-Tier Genie and a 9th-Tier Roc going at it? No wonder they don’t give a damn about the rules! Let’s go check it out!"
"Wait... isn’t that LoS_Stormrider, the third-ranked ace of the Legion of Shadows guild?! Who the hell is he fighting? Could it be... an S-rank player from the Monarch Leaderboard?!"
"An S-rank player? No way! This is Legion of Shadows’ ho turf. Even an S-rank wouldn’t just waltz in here looking for trouble without thinking twice! Besides, did you see that kid? He looks way too young! A damn kid?!"
"Wait, holy shit—he really is just a kid! Am I dreaming? How the hell does soone that young already have a 9th-Tier unit?! That’s insane!"
"The craziest part? He’s actually fighting LoS_Stormrider head-on! LoS_Stormrider’s strength is already dangerously close to the Monarch Leaderboard level... Where the hell did this little monster co from?! This is unreal!"
...
The entire tavern erupted into chaos.
People were whispering, gasping, and staring in utter shock—completely dumbfounded by what they had just witnessed.
At the sa ti, LoS_Stormrider’s face twisted in sheer disbelief as he locked eyes with Ethan.
"You... your Genie actually overpowered my Roc?!"
That shouldn’t have been possible.
Under normal circumstances, in a pure strength contest, a 9th-Tier Genie was no match for a 9th-Tier Roc.
Not to ntion, LoS_Stormrider was Level 34—which ant all his attack and defense stat bonuses were fully applied to his Roc, making it even stronger.
And yet, despite all that...
His Roc still lost.
Not just lost—it was completely dominated from start to finish.
Which could only an one thing.
Ethan’s level was higher than his.
His attack and defense bonuses were stronger than his.
And not just by a little. The gap had to be massive for this kind of overwhelming result.
But that didn’t make sense.
LoS_Stormrider wasn’t the strongest player in the country, sure—but he was still Level 34!
If Ethan was stronger than that—then just how high was his level?
Level 37? 38?
Or... 39?!
"Th-this... this can’t be real..." LoS_Stormrider’s face went pale. His hands trembled as he stared at Ethan, his eyes flickering with sothing he never expected to feel—fear.
For the first ti, he hesitated.
He didn’t dare make another move.
Sure, level wasn’t everything in a fight—but it was still a huge factor.
Because if your level wasn’t high enough, you simply couldn’t reach the top.
And right now, in all of North Arica, there were less than ten publicly known players who had reached Level 39.
Even the Legion of Shadows’ strongest player, their number one ace—LoS_Bladesong—was ’only’ Level 39.
That alone spoke volus.
And even if Ethan wasn’t Level 39, but Level 38 or 37, that still ant he was a top-tier powerhouse.
The kind of player who could easily break into the top 50 of the Monarch Leaderboard.
And that?
That was terrifying.
LoS_Stormrider knew exactly what that ant.
At the top, only the elite remained.
If Ethan was truly at that level, then if he got serious—he could crush LoS_Stormrider like an insect.
Because the higher you climbed, the bigger the gap between players beca.
The ones at the top had the best talent, the best resources, the best everything.
They stood on the shoulders of giants, constantly pushing ahead—getting stronger and stronger, while everyone else fell further and further behind.
The strong got stronger. The weak got weaker.
That was the Pyramid Theory!!!
And right now, LoS_Stormrider was realizing—he was nowhere near the top.
His face turned even paler. His body trembled. He instinctively took a step back. Then another.
At the sa ti, LoS_Ironfist was also staring at Ethan, his expression frozen in shock.
His brows furrowed, his eyes flickering with disbelief—his mind racing as he tried to process what he had just seen.
This wasn’t just unexpected.
This was unreal.
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