Unchecked Rampage

"A bunch of useless trash!" Vlad II was losing it.

Nearly a hundred people on their side had been conducting a carpet search, and not only had they failed to catch Akabane, but they were also losing contact with their squads one by one.

In less than ten minutes since they began, her side had already suffered nearly twenty casualties.

The penalty for death was extremely severe. Not only did items, levels, and faction honor points drop significantly, but even the skills they had worked so hard to master would be completely forgotten.

If this continued, the Age of the Dead would have no hope of participating in the Visiting Battle by Overstepping Authority!

"Damn it, Lilith! You people from Silent Sequence said that only the old, weak, and disabled remained at the outpost. What kind of 'mascot' is the vice-guild leader of Light-Chaser Garden supposed to be?"

Vlad II questioned the heavily made-up, glamorous woman beside her in a low, stern voice.

"It's just that your people are too useless. At least we didn't face much resistance when we broke into this outpost, did we?"

The woman named Lilith was a Silent Walker sent by Silent Sequence to the major guilds. Her exact duties were unknown, but it was known that supervising battles was part of their job. Their position was equivalent to a recruiter; attacking them was the same as declaring war on Silent Sequence.

Lilith ignored Vlad II's questioning entirely. Her gaze remained fixed on the words carved into the wall, lost in thought.

—Embrace me.

"Where are you going?"

Seeing Lilith suddenly walk toward the door, Vlad II frowned and asked.

"That is none of your concern. Know your place and remember to clean up here, guild leader of the Age of the Dead."

Vlad II watched Lilith leave with a darkened face and let out a string of curses.

"Sister Sui, what should we do next?" In a corner, several members of the Red Glow squad asked the girl in their midst.

"Vice-captain, should we move...?"

"I'm confident I can take out three people instantly."

"I've already figured out how to kill the guy by the window. That myco-flame flamethrower in his hand is a huge threat to us."

Light-Chaser Garden did not officially have a vice-captain position. It was because of the girl's steady and reliable personality, leading everyone to achieve excellent results in battle time and again, that she had earned the unanimous recognition of the Red Glow squad.

At least until today, the vice-captain's words carried more weight than Akabane's.

Listening to the constant reports of Akabane soloing the Age of the Dead over the comms, the members of Red Glow had a new understanding of their vice-guild leader.

The chestnut-haired girl shook her head. "Stay calm. There are at least forty members of the Age of the Dead nearby, and the Grave of the Undead is on standby outside. Trying to force our way out isn't realistic."

"Wait and see," Su Sui added after a moment of thought.

Vlad II seemed to sense this slight movement. She turned her head warily, her cross-shaped pupils mechanically contracting while her skull ear pendants reflected the cold light.

"Bring me my 'Alice,'" she ordered a nearby guild member.

The person understood and soon returned with a well-balanced baseball bat.

Vlad II weighed the bat in her hand.

The body of the bat was covered in unconventional spray paint, the handle was decorated with demon wings, and the sweet spot was lined with neat rows of spikes. Its quality was clearly high—the kind of thing Akabane would shout "so cool!" at if she were here.

Just as the members of the Red Glow squad held their breath, something unexpected happened. Vlad II gripped the bat and suddenly stepped forward, kicking down a member of Silent Sequence in front of her. Before he could even scream, she slammed the bat heavily onto his head.

One hit wasn't enough to vent her anger. Vlad II followed up with several more until the man's head was smashed like a watermelon, completely caved in with red and white splattering everywhere. Only then did the girl slowly stop, panting as she shook the blood off the bat.

"To hell with Silent Sequence. How dare they use me."

"Guild leader?"

The members of the Age of the Dead were already used to the girl's mercurial nature. They only lamented that they would now be enemies with Silent Sequence, silently awaiting her next command.

"No matter what, find the rest of those guys for me. This outpost must be ours, or else the loss will be so bad even our mothers wouldn't recognize us!"

"Oh, right. If you find that girl, bring her to me. I'm going to use Alice to pry her mouth open!"

"What are you standing around for? Go search!"

"Sister, don't forget your lady-like upbringing..." Edward spoke up weakly.

Vlad II froze for a moment, then her expression changed. She elegantly lifted her skirt and gave a sweet smile. "If you don't find them, I'll make sure Alice's sweet magic fills every corner of your mouths, okay?"

A chill ran through her subordinates, and they scattered.

Vlad II whistled, walking out the door in high spirits. The corpse with its head smashed in actually crawled up from the floor, wobbling as it followed her outside. It seemed to sense something and looked back toward the place where everyone was hiding, scratching its head as bits of flesh fell off.

"A necromantic art. It seems the guild leader of the Age of the Dead is a necromantic priest."

Once they confirmed that the monster had left, the members of the Red Glow squad finally relaxed their tense nerves.

"That woman is just an irredeemable psycho."

"Compared to her, our guild leader is as kind as an angel," someone remarked.

"Yeah, definitely."

"Whew." Akabane's heavy breathing echoed in the corridor. Looking back, a dozen hunter-class ghouls were sprinting toward her. Heaven knew how the people from the Age of the Dead had convinced ghouls to enter the Oasis and managed to domesticate them.

These creatures weren't even considered pan-humans. Their already keen dynamic perception and sense of smell were greatly enhanced in the Oasis, making them incredibly difficult to deal with as hunting hounds. Parts of the body injured by them would immediately fester and ooze pus.

A ghoul pounced, leaving deep claw marks on Akabane's arm. Even through the spider mask, she could smell the stench from its gaping maw.

Akabane lowered her eyes in pain and stabbed her dagger into the ghoul's forehead, killing it instantly. This triggered the passive talent "Unchecked Rampage" of the Shadow Striker class, restoring her state and causing her agility to skyrocket to 2000 (MAX) for 0.1 seconds.

In an instant, she transformed into a shadow. The girl lunged forward, hurtling toward the rear.

Calculating the distance, at the very moment Unchecked Rampage ended, Akabane appeared in front of one of her pursuers. Sand Toss, Knee Kick, Kidney Strike, Mouth Muffle, Eye Gouge, Throat Cut—a notorious sequence of despicable moves was executed with fluid precision that would make even professional thief players feel inferior.

As the health bar emptied, Akabane didn't stop. Taking advantage of the second trigger of Unchecked Rampage, she bolted like a startled rabbit, slamming a knee into the next person's abdomen. Blade light tore through the darkness, grazing a neck and leaving a trail of blood.

By the time these stealth-class players realized the girl's proficiency in Unchecked Rampage was sublime, it was too late. Akabane used the ghouls as starters, coordinating with Shadow Clone to continuously trigger the multi-kill effect. Blood light flashed repeatedly amidst the crowd like a revolving crimson windmill. In just two seconds, five people had already collapsed, clutching their throats.