Realm of Myths and Legends

"That aside, you said that we are bullying you all? Tell me, when you accidentally step on a few ants in your path, do you still call it bullying?" Valkyria said firmly as she pointed her sword forward.

Valkyria’s words caused Umi and the others who escaped from the secret underwater base to boil over in rage. She dared compare them to ants that just happened to be in her path? How were they supposed to swallow such a humiliation?

"Zinnia." Valkyria called out.

The next moment, Zinnia stepped forward from out of the crowd of players behind the Lotus Guard.

"I knew that that guild leader was sending reinforcements to secure the ore cave we found. But, I didn’t think Commander Valkyria and the Lotus Guard would come to Kifa Karsts personally." Zinnia thought to herself as she arrived next to Valkyria.

Section leader Zinnia from Sleeping Gardenia and section leader Meteor Rex from Sacred Beasts joined hands to fight against the top guilds blocking entry into the secret underwater base. Thanks to taking the initiative and ambushing those protecting, the players from Sleeping Gardenia and Sacred Beasts were able to gain the upper hand against those from the other top guilds.

However, Zinnia and Meteor Rex never expected that there were still reinforcements from the top guilds close by. Therefore, not long after the battle started and things were going smoothly, an additional 40 players showed up and ambushed them. As a result, a few of their people died.

Fortunately, with the help of Green Ivy’s skill that was upgraded by Izroth, they were able to prevent the worst case scenario from coming out and even momentarily overwhelmed the enemy forces. But, in the end, a difference of three to four times in numbers was too hard to ignore.

That’s when, just as the situation was looking dire, Valkyria showed up along with the members of her Lotus Guard. In one quick breath, Valkyria and the Lotus Guard members swept through the enemy forces and saved those from Sleeping Gardenia and Sacred Beasts.

This all happened not too long ago; therefore, even though Umi and the others had received a warning from their guild members, they had no time to read it due to having to flee for their lives.

"You called for me, Commander?" Zinnia said respectfully.

"You are the section leader of Kifa Karsts. Tell me, who was it that first broke the agreement?" Valkyria inquired.

"Reporting to the Commander, the first to break the agreement was Defiant led by section leader Defeaning Silence. Not only did they attack the members of out guild in our territory, they even coveted what rightfully belonged to us. When we did not agree, they threatened to spread the information to others and pressure us from all sides. I’m afraid that if Palace Master Izroth and Miss Wraith did not step in, our Sleeping Gardenia would have suffered big losses." Zinnia explained as she glared over at Slow Slumber, who attempted to remain unnoticed.

She then continued, "Furthermore, I received a report not long ago that Broken Exile, Defiant, the Headhunter Syndicate, and Mist Palace all sent players to attack the ore cave that was discovered by our Sleeping Gardenia. If the Lotus Guard did not arrive when they did, I fear that not a single person from our Sleeping Gardenia would have survived."

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"Presumptuous!" Valkyria shouted as she stabbed her longsword into the ground and rested her hands on its hilt.

The moment she performed this action, a series of heavy and oppressive waves of sword aura rushed out toward the group in front of her.

"Hearing these words directly from section leader Zinnia’s mouth, do you still have the face to say that it is us bullying you?! Shameless! Today, none of you can think of leaving this place!" Valkyria stated with a cold look in her eyes.

Umi, Off Beat, Mist Princess and the other survivors winced as their expressions darkened.

Umi, in particular, looked as if her soul had left her body. The ore cave was her very last chance to save her status in Broken Exile. But, with Valkyria and the Lotus Guard present, did she still dare to covet it? Now, it was all truly over.

"Heh... Hahaha... Hahahaha!" Umi abruptly erupted into a fit of laughter as she raised her gaze to the sky and covered the top part of her face with her hand.

Umi’s strange behavior caused the others to look at her with confused and pitiful gazes.

"Good...! Very good! Sleeping Gardenia, Sacred Beasts, the Mystical Realm Palace—even if things are over for me today, soon enough, all of you will have no place in RML! Today’s debt, even if I’m not the one to claim it, will have to be paid in full!" Umi shouted as the mana around her surged and thousands of water droplets formed around her.

"I’ll take as many of you with me as I can!" Umi cried out as she motioned her hand forward, sending a wave of sharp needles made of water and mana speeding at Valkyria, Zinnia, and the Lotus Guard players.

"Lotus Guard, hear my command! The enemies before us—leave no one alive!" Valkyria ordered without moving a single step.

"Yes, commander!" The players of the Lotus Guard responded in unison.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

Suddenly, three members of the Lotus Guard rushed forward. Each member wore a full set of dark silver armor with portions of white clothes embroidered with the symbol of a silver lotus. They wore a helmet which covered the top parts of their face and long white capes embroidered with a silver lotus at its center. As for their weapons, they all wielded a sword similar to Valkyria’s; however, it was a bit shorter and the aura it radiated fell behind the weapon in the Commander’s possession.

From their appearance alone, one would think that the Lotus Guard was nothing but players belonging to the warrior class. After all, they all wore a full set of armor and wielded a sword. However, if one attempted to face them with this thought in mind, they would be in for a rude awakening.

One of the Lotus Guard players who rushed forward at Valkyria’s command brandished the sword in her hand. The following moment, a dark red aura encompassed the sword as the Lotus Guard member halted her steps and pointed her blade at the rain of water needles. @@novelbin@@

Out of nowhere, a wave of flames engulfed her sword as a large disc of flames materialized. From the disc of flames, a volley of small fire arrows rained forward by the hundreds and collided with the water needles.

In a flash, the water needles were overwhelmed by the firepower and the volley of small fire arrows carried on with momentum and poured down on Umi and the other enemies present.

"Avoid it-" However, before the player could finish their words, they were bombarded by the small fire arrows and incinerated.

That player had not yet recovered from the fight against the Failed Chimera as well as the damaged received from the destructive pressure that abruptly emerged in the boss room. As a result, they were unable to withstand a single attack from the Lotus Guard member.

Another member of the Lotus Guard held her sword upside down as it released a faint blue hue before strings a mana emerged and tied together to form a shortbow.

As for the last member of the Lotus Guard that charged forward, she tightened her grip on the sword in her hand and used both hands to wield it. Then, a familiar sight emerged as a faint silver hue encompassed the sword along with strings of mana that created a greatsword.

This was one of the hidden strengths of the Lotus Guard. Due to their attire, at first glance, one was unable to differentiate a tank from a magic caster or support. This made it challenging for enemies to take the initiative to attack since they would not know who to prioritize.

Such a thing would not have been possible if not for the collaborative efforts of Sleeping Gardenia’s Blacksmiths, Inscriptionists, and Enchanters, who all worked together to create the framework for the Lotus Guard equipment sets.

...

Less than one minute later...

Umi, Off Beat, Clutch, Slow Slumber and the other survivors had been eliminated by the three Lotus Guard members. Even though the others were weakened, they could all still be considered as elite members of the top guilds. For them to be defeated by three players alone spoke volumes to the strength and teamwork employed by the members of the Lotus Guard.

"Commander, something’s happening." Zinnia said as she looked down into the abyss that used to be filled with water.

The staircase that led down into the secret underwater base started to crumble and vanish. And, if one listened closely enough, they could hear the sound of rapidly moving water that seemed to be getting closer.