The stat design for the Incurable Crown, Constantine, was incredibly exaggerated, with a total health pool of one million, pushing him dangerously close to the dream-grade level. The royal palace was riddled with mechanisms and heavily guarded by countless elite monsters. It was unrealistic for a single guild to fight their way in and kill him.
This was why the Silent Sequence had called for an alliance to launch a general offensive.
Undoubtedly, the subjugation force would be composed of the elites from every guild. Once the boss's health dropped to 5%, the players would inevitably turn on one another. To secure the killing blow in such a chaotic scene...
Xu Xiaoyou was not optimistic about it.
However, she had a trump card in her hand.
Boom— Flames erupted instantly, sweeping through the entire underground space. The swarming monsters all fell into the craters created by the explosions, disappearing into the bottomless black abyss.
The sound of roaring faded into the distance as the dark-red-haired girl killed a rotten troll and leaped lightly to stand before Xu Xiaoyou.
"There, all done."
"Are we going to follow the others to take down the boss next?" Akabane Tsubaki blinked. "Leave the task of snatching the killing blow to me!"
After clearing all potential threats in the base, Xu Xiaoyou nodded. She assigned a series of preparations to the man in glasses before patting Akabane Tsubaki's shoulder. "I intend to entrust you with a difficult mission, my dear vice-leader."
Akabane Tsubaki's face stiffened.
Nothing good ever happened when this Pomelo Pest made that expression!
"While we go out to conquer, you will stay behind and guard this place with the Red Glow squad."
"Ah, why me?" Akabane Tsubaki puffed her cheeks. "Shouldn't guarding the base be left to the Sighing Wall or Death Watch? We're a stealth class!"
Xu Xiaoyou smiled without saying a word.
Akabane Tsubaki grabbed her hand and slumped onto the ground.
"I'm begging you, Yuzu, take me out to play. I'm bored to death down here. The prison smells terrible. I haven't breathed fresh air in three days. I want to go out and take a bath. Do you have the heart to watch a beautiful girl walk around smelling like trash?"
"If you just take me out, I'll do anything!"
Xu Xiaoyou raised an eyebrow. "Really, anything?"
Akabane Tsubaki's bright eyes blinked as she bit her lip, revealing a pinkish-red shoulder in a bashful manner.
"I mean, I suppose it's not impossible..."
"What a courageous statement. I'm having you stay behind in the prison with the Red Glow squad."
"Wow, that's so mean!"
Akabane Tsubaki rolled around on the ground.
Xu Xiaoyou helplessly placed her hand on the little raccoon's head. "I'm leaving you to guard the prison because it's the most important part of the plan. It's because I value you that I'm entrusting you with this heavy responsibility."
"Really?" Akabane Tsubaki blinked.
"Really." Xu Xiaoyou's expression was solemn. "Think about it. If someone comes to sneak attack our base at the final moment, do you think those clumsy oafs could handle the enemies?"
"What we need is a sharp blade, not a sturdy shield. Do you understand?"
"Only by holding a knife to someone's throat do you have the right to negotiate."
"And you are my vice-leader, the sharpest blade of the Light-Chaser Garden. This time, the negotiation table isn't in a meeting room; it's on the battlefield. Do you understand?"
Akabane Tsubaki felt the heavy weight in the girl's words, and her mouth hung open slightly.
If Angelina were present, her eyes would have rolled to the back of her head.
In reality, this Pomelo Pest said similar things to almost everyone of value in the guild: "You're very important to me," "the guild can't lose you," "you're special," "your eyes are beautiful."
If anyone actually believed those words, Angelina could laugh at them for a whole year. She didn't believe for a second that Xu Xiaoyou would take responsibility for her words. Most likely, she'd forget everything the next day, leaving the PUA'd employees to overthink things.
And in fact,
That was exactly the case.
Xu Xiaoyou's purpose for keeping Akabane Tsubaki in the prison was simple. She didn't intend to snatch the boss's first kill; what she wanted was to stir the boiling water as much as possible.
Winning first place was certainly something to strive for, but she also had to leave herself an escape route. Once they stirred the waters enough to force the other guilds to go all-in, that would be the moment for highly mobile stalkers like Akabane Tsubaki to strike.
As for the specific reasons, she couldn't tell her guild members yet.
She could place spies in other guilds, so naturally, others would plant moles in hers.
The few members who had applied the night before were extremely suspicious. There were no flaws in their personal information or resumes, but it was precisely that lack of flaws that raised her suspicion.
Solo players were capable of spinning any kind of lie to join a large guild.
Xu Xiaoyou's gaze lingered on the player IDs of 'Crayon Shin-chan,' 'Qiao Qiao,' and 'Afanmu.'
Unless they had a professional team behind them.
Xu Xiaoyou's lips curled slightly as she arrived at the prison entrance. Most of the guild members were standing by, and the heavy units were ready to set out at any moment.
【Natsume Yuzuri: Aside from Angelina and the Red Glow squad members, everyone gather at the prison entrance and prepare for the subjugation operation.】
【Golden Beetle: Boss, I've been so idle these days that my bones are getting rusty. I can't wait to pull off something big!】
【Shadow Weaver Poem: Snatching the first kill? Sounds interesting.】
【Gaoshou Xiaobei: Naturally, such a thing should be left to us shadow strikers.】
【Yu Wen: Haha, how come I don't see the Red Glow squad? Don't tell me they were assigned to guard the prison. As expected, the boss still trusts us in Heifeng more.】
【Yu Mingcao: Stop being so full of yourself. It's only because the boss feels that guarding the prison is more important that she entrusted the task to us.】
【Yu Wen: Did you even manage to say that with a straight face?】
Ever since the two stealth squads were formed, they had been competing openly and secretly, with neither side liking the other. The Heifeng squad looked down on Red Glow for being a bunch of nepotism hires, where even a mascot could be a vice-leader.
The Red Glow squad, meanwhile, thought the Heifeng squad was too rigid, only knowing how to sneak and assassinate without any flexibility, making them unfit for spy and intelligence work.
Xu Xiaoyou didn't stop them, watching the show from the sidelines.
It was a good thing for teams to have a competitive relationship. As long as it didn't create irreconcilable conflicts, she was more than happy to let this competition continue.
Compared to Red Glow and Heifeng, the relationship between Death Watch and the Sighing Wall was much more harmonious, with members rarely clashing. The White Kite squad went without saying—they were all incredibly kind and youthful girls.
【Qiao Qiao: The main force is already on the way. Leader, when do we head out?】
【Afanmu: Yeah, yeah, Leader. If we go too slow and the advantageous terrain is taken by other guilds, it'll be trouble.】
Xu Xiaoyou immediately noticed the names of these two players.
Their words made the lower-ranking guild members feel a wave of displeasure. They were just a bunch of newcomers, yet they dared to critique their leader's thoughts.
After going through multiple battles, everyone in Light-Chaser Garden had already developed a strong sense of collective honor through their daily interactions.
To everyone's surprise, Xu Xiaoyou gave a soft laugh.
【Natsume Yuzuri: Yes, you have a point. If we want to take the crown, we must seize the first kill on the boss.】
【Natsume Yuzuri: There's no time left to wait for those who haven't arrived. No more delays; we set out immediately.】
Rate on N.U.
