Child of Destiny

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After watching the features battles, the members of the Empyrean Talons were left with their respective thoughts as they now had an idea of how powerful their rivals in this tournament were.

The matchup that the tournament organizers had chosen to feature on the official broadcast was the match between the Titan Guild and the Slayers Adventurer Team.

This match was so intense that it had left a deep impression on those who had watched it.

Each matchup for every round were so intense, where the contenders from each side were always finding ways to take advantage of their respective strengths. They were also trying their hardest to find the flaws from their opposition, forcing the other side to commit a mistake.

After taking turns in having an upper hand during the battle, the side that remained composed and steady until the end was the one who emerged victorious as they limit the number of mistakes they had committed in the entire battle.

The Titan Guild won the first round since their representatives for the individual matches were much better than the Slayers Adventurer Team.

The two matches were quite close, but it was clear that the Titan Guild had better combatants when it came to individuals.

But when it came to the second round, which was the group battle, the Slayers Adventurer Team had made a comeback.

The trio representing the Titan Guild put up a good fight from the start until the end, but they were unable to withstand the ferocious firepower of the twin mages of their opposition.

Ravier and Ember let the world remember why they were one of the best duos within the virtual world. The terror of the Winter Demon and the Flame Witch was revealed to the entire gaming community once again.

The Titan Guild had a lot of powerful trios within their ranks, but due to how huge the guild was, they were unable to summon all of them to attend this tournament.

They had only sent a few people, who would represent their respective factions within the guild, to join the unified team.

Regardless, the ones representing them here in the United Cup were among the best.

The three that were chosen to represent their team for the group battle were Athena, Apollo, and Artemis, who were all Godlike Players.

On paper, their team was supposed to one of the strongest trios within the entire gaming community, especially with such a strong composition for a three-vs-three battle – a powerful tank who soak all the damage, an aggressive fighter who could act as a secondary tank and destructive force at the frontline, and an godly archer who could freely and safely fire at their enemies under the protection of the two.

Such a scary lineup was supposed to beat their opposition one-sidedly. But who could imagine that the result was the exact opposite of what everyone was thinking.

It might not be a beatdown, but the three gods of the Titan Guild had gotten a tough time during the entire battle.

All of these were attributed to the third person that the Slayers had sent alongside one of their power duos for the group battle.

Pantheon, the Immovable God!

He was one of the greatest tanks that the virtual world had acknowledge due to his unshakable technique and impenetrable defense, which even the top Godlike Players admitted that only an exceptional few could break through.

He was even dubbed as one of the standards of being the perfect tank within the gaming industry due to his achievements.

He used to be the chief tank of the Dark Hero Adventurer Team, which Lawless and Faker used to lead.

He was one of the main pillars of the team, known for his steadfastness and unshakeable will.

God Slayer for absolute strength, Death God of the extreme speed, and Immovable God with unbreakable defense – these three gods of the virtual world were feared even among the Monster Rank Players of that era.

Alongside the two, who were known as Tora and Yami at that time, the Dark Hero became one of the powerhouse groups within the virtual world mostly because of the three of them.

Naturally, there were still others, who were equally powerful and the pillars of the legendary adventurer team. But these three spearheaded all their campaigns, which led to unstoppable victories.

These three became an absolute legend during those times. But all of it came into an end when the two gods disappeared within the gaming community for more than two years.

It might be a short time for others. But for the fast-growing industry such as the gaming world, these two years were long enough to bury most of the legends and get replaced by the new generation.

Due to the disbandment of the Dark Hero Adventurer Team and the disappearance of their two leaders, its members scattered everywhere – either joining another power or going solo.

The traitors of the group attempted to find the others to either lure them to join the forces that they each joined or hunt them down to eradicate such future threats completely.

Pantheon was among those who disappeared and never appeared again in the public until recently. He sought his previous leaders, who were also the only ones that he had acknowledged, the moment when he heard the news about their return.

Many had thought that he had already lost his touch for disappearing for such a very long time. He was nothing but a mere washup legend, who was already forgotten by many.

But who would have thought that his comeback would be so stunning that even the combined forces of three top-notch gods of the Titan Guild were unable to break through his defense. Find your next read at My Virtual Library Empire

He did not only ward off their attacks and created enough space for Ravier and Ember behind him to throw all the spells they wanted.

It was a close fight, but Pantheon had shown everyone his dominance. It felt like he was announcing to the world 'they' had returned.

Shin was not familiar with the previous members of the legendary Dark Hero Adventurer Team as he was quite new to the gaming world. But after listening to the explanations of the veterans around him, he understood that these guys were not as simple as he originally thought.

At the same time, he also could not help but be impressed with Lawless and Faker, who had been acknowledged by someone strong and loyal as this Pantheon dude.

In the next round of the match, which was a team battle, Lawless and Faker had led the team to victory without losing a member.

Morgan, the Golden Bullet, worked perfectly well with these two. As long-time partners of those two, his teamwork with them was more than enough to bridge the gap between him and the godly marksman of their opposition.

As for Hayden, the Immovable Mountain, the dude had outperformed himself by a huge margin. He had showcased a foreign version of himself as he strive to get an acknowledgement from one of his role models.

Pantheon was one of the best tanks within the virtual world, so it was not strange for Hayden to take him as his idol, especially with the similarities of their titles.

As for their fifth member, it was another person that Shin did not recognize. But based on what Leonard had said, it was another scary guy that seemed to disappear from the gaming world after the incident in «True Era» Online.

Shin was confused at first, but he later realized what made the said person scary. This dude had a very faint presence that made almost everyone neglect him.

If this guy was an assassin, then his targets would most likely die without them knowing what happened.

'Fortunately,' this guy did not have a class meant for stealth and assassinations. Instead, he was a shaman – a shaman who locked any presence within the battlefield, making others almost neglect his existence.

But upon closer inspection, Shin realized that this guy's timing when using his debuffs on their opponents and placement of totems had always been perfect.

It might be unnoticeable for others. But for Shin, who kept his eyes on the guy and very familiar with strategic battles, the actions of this guy were a terror for those standing opposite to him.

Malison, the Witch Doctor – Shin had engraved this name in his mind as he knew that they could face this guy in the later stages of the tournament.

Compared to the powerful trio and duo of this team, Shin felt that this guy would most likely be the one to give them the most trouble.

After all, the others were pretty much straightforward while this dude felt like a mystery for Shin.

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The Slayers Adventurer Team had advanced to the next round of the bracket after defeating the Titan Guild in a very convincing fashion. But that did not mean that the latter was a weak team. They just encountered a stronger and more united opponents, which happened to be their current weakness.

The other matches were also quite satisfying to watch, but most of them were not as stunning as the battle between these two giants.

Shin and the rest of the Empyrean Talons discussed the performance of every team while also trying to put themselves in each team's shoes, discussing some strategies that they could use to break free from certain situations.

At the same time, their next opponent had also been determined. It was a 'familiar' team as Shin and the others had also watched one of their matches before.

Hien Workshop – a powerful organization with a solid background and history. It was a team with quite a lot of powerhouses as well.

The next match was not going to be that easy even for them, especially after seeing how the team had performed just now.

"It looks like I have to prepare a serious strategy this time around," commented Shin as he looked at the matchups projected on the virtual screen.

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