Volume 2, Chapter 5 – Undercurrents Stirring

“Wait… you’re?!!”

Karl inadvertently caught sight of a small girl with long silver-white hair. Though he was taken aback by her adorable, delicate looks, what truly shocked him was her identity.

He remembered that just a few days ago, at the Northern Fortress, a girl with the same silver-white hair had appeared before him and easily neutralized the Frost Dragon’s attack.

Yes.

If Karl wasn’t mistaken, that girl was the very same one now standing before him…

Of course, Karl also remembered that back then, the little girl’s eyes were crimson, filled with a violent and feral aura. But the girl before him now, aside from the difference in eye color, looked exactly the same…

“Wuu… me?”

Seeing the Paladin Captain Karl suddenly looking her way with a surprised expression, Tianyin instinctively tilted her small head.

“Eh… are you talking to me?”

“You… you…”

Karl’s face looked surprised, but his words came out stammered.

“What’s wrong?”

Orgum, the beastman, looked confused as Karl’s reaction came out of nowhere. At the same time, the players and NPC soldiers who had gathered around due to the commotion also turned their eyes in Tianyin’s direction, following Karl’s gaze.

“Hm? Outsiders?! Don’t tell me there’s another spy?!”

Following Karl’s line of sight, Orgum first blinked in surprise at Tianyin’s cute face, but then noticed Mengyao standing behind her, blinking her big innocent eyes.

Because of the System, players’ appearances were more or less standardized in the eyes of NPCs. So even though Mengyao was a cute loli herself, in the eyes of Orgum and Karl, her charm was far more “ordinary” compared to Tianyin’s.

The moment he saw Mengyao, something seemed to click in Orgum’s mind. His previously calm expression instantly turned into one of rage.

With his beastman features and the scar running across his face, Orgum’s expression now looked extremely ferocious.

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Boom!

The ground beneath his feet cracked in a small radius instantly, and the massive, heavily built Orgum shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, charging straight toward Mengyao.

Though Tianyin could be airheaded at times and hadn’t fully processed what was happening, she could clearly feel the overwhelming killing intent rushing at her and Mengyao from Orgum’s charge. It was obvious that this was not a friendly approach.

『Samael!』

「Understood!」

Instinctively, Tianyin did what she thought was the most necessary thing at that moment, to switch into the state of the Seven Deadly Sins.

But just as she was about to shift her personality to the Original Sin of Wrath and hand over control of her body to Samael, a golden flash of light suddenly appeared in front of her.

That was… Holy Light!

“Orgum, what do you think you’re doing?”

It was Karl who had suddenly appeared before Tianyin. At that moment, his entire body was wreathed in a golden light that flickered like flames.

One of his hands, wrapped in Holy Light, effortlessly caught Orgum’s raised fist.

“What?”

Having his attack blocked so easily, Orgum of course knew he wasn’t Karl’s match. Even so, as a beastman, retreat was never in his nature.

“You’re asking me what I’m doing? I should be asking you the same! Obviously killing the spy!”

Orgum’s words came out as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“What spy? Did I say there was a spy?”

Karl still held Orgum’s fist, but the golden flames of Holy Light around him gradually dissipated, revealing his stern face now wearing a complicated expression.

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“When did I ever say there was a spy?”

“Wait… what? You mean that wasn’t… a spy?”

Realizing something was off, Orgum’s tone began to drop lower and lower.

“Don’t tell me… I got it wrong…”

It had to be said, watching the fierce, burly beastman’s expression soften awkwardly was a truly strange sight to behold…

“Hmph. So what if I got it wrong? Those outsiders are never any good in my eyes anyway!”

Though he had clearly been in the wrong, Orgum, unable to swallow his pride, retracted his fist from Karl’s grasp and turned away without another word.

Tianyin was left blinking blankly, still not understanding what had just happened.

“Master… are you alright?”

Though she had been mistaken for an enemy by Orgum, as a player, Mengyao could sense the killing intent that had emanated from him.

And because of that, she had a much clearer grasp of what had just taken place than Tianyin did.

Basically, she’d been mistaken for a spy among the outsiders, and that beastman named Orgum had tried to kill her. Fortunately, the Paladin Captain of the Holy Hand Knights, Karl, had stepped in and stopped him in time.

Mengyao let out a quiet sigh of relief. But then she noticed her master still standing there in a daze, clearly not having caught up yet.

“Master?”

She softly called out while poking Tianyin’s back with a slender finger.

“Eh… what is it?”

Tianyin snapped out of it, staring blankly at Mengyao.

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“Is it over already?”

“Over… what?”

Mengyao looked utterly lost at Tianyin’s question.

……

Meanwhile, after Orgum left, Karl dispersed the crowd of players and NPC soldiers who had gathered around.

Once everyone had left, he took one last long, complex look at Tianyin before quietly walking away himself.

Though Karl’s gaze had been subtle, there were always those with sharp eyes who “accidentally” caught sight of it.

After marching for some time, the sky gradually darkened. As night fell, the remnants of the army found a hidden spot to rest and conceal themselves.

Under the cover of darkness, it was almost impossible to see what lay far away. And in that pitch-black night, certain plans were quietly taking shape.

In a small grove nearby, several players whose names all began with the prefix Kongjing huddled around a tattered map, whispering among themselves.

“Vice Leader, if my calculations are correct, these NPCs will pass through a valley tomorrow. When that happens, it’ll be the perfect chance to wipe them all out…”

One of the more ordinary-looking players spoke with full confidence, his dark eyes glimmering with intelligence in the night. His finger pointed at a spot on the map, a valley.

They used a physical map for convenience in their discussion. After all, while players had access to the System’s virtual map, it only marked locations they had personally visited, offering no extra information.

Unlike normal VRMMOs, this game’s virtual map included a fog-of-war mechanic.

That meant anything beyond the player’s field of vision would remain hidden on the System map.

Because of this fog-of-war system, paper maps like the one before them became extremely valuable for tactical planning.

The player who seemed to be the Vice Leader stared at the marked valley, falling silent in thought.

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“Yunchou, based on your calculations, when will the NPCs reach that valley?”

“If I haven’t miscalculated, around 11:20 a.m. tomorrow. Within ten minutes after that, they’ll all have entered the valley.”

The player called Yunchou spoke with absolute confidence, his words leaving no room for doubt.

“Huh… but even NPCs aren’t dumb enough to just march straight into a valley…”

The third player beside them spoke sourly.

“Besides, our window of opportunity is limited. If Fischerna the Headless Knight notices us, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“I’ve already accounted for that.”

Yunchou smiled slightly, his gaze fixed on the Vice Leader, who seemed lost in thought.

“Vice Leader, remember, it was me who manipulated the NPCs into changing their marching route toward that valley. I can guarantee nothing will go wrong… So, for tomorrow’s operation, my stance remains the same as before.”

“Hmm… do you really think this will work? Hunting a Legendary orange-tier NPC isn’t something players like us can handle. You’re not pushing the Guild into this just for that Paladin’s Legendary weapon, are you?”

“Of course not just for the equipment. But there are some things, Vice Leader, that are better left unknown to someone of your rank.”

“You should know there are more than ten Vice Leaders in the Kongjing Guild, after all~”

“…Are you threatening me?”

“Not at all…”

Yunchou smiled faintly.

“I’m merely stating a fact. And don’t forget, this mission was entrusted to me personally by the Guild Leader. You and your men are just here to assist.”