“Wait a sec… I’ve seen a few of those names somewhere before… Ah, that’s it…! They were a part of Sleeping Gardenia’s raid group that cleared the first hardcore raid…!” One of the individuals in the group who went by Red Keeper mentioned.
“Huh? Now that you mention it… I think you’re right.” The player standing at the head of the group, Iron Ghost, said.
“Does that mean someone is starting to move against Sleeping Gardenia?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. A top guild like them is bound to have its fair share of enemies. If I remember correctly, they haven’t been on good terms with Blue Oasis lately after that raid. Also, Mist Palace and Sleeping Gardenia have always been rivals for as long as I can recall.”
“But, are they really members of Sleeping Gardenia? I won’t claim to know every single player, but I make it my job to know the names of the core members. Moreover, that Qi Jiguang, who is well known for flying solo, is also listed here. From what I know, no one on this list is a core member of Sleeping Gardenia—unless, they have been secretly hiding them.”
“I doubt it. You know those top guilds. Whenever they have the chance to brag or show off the talents under them, they never hesitate. After all, it just means more publicity for them. Still, now that we know Sleeping Gardenia is involved somehow, we’ll have to act carefully. We’ll target those unrelated first.”
“What’s this? You scared or something?”
“Ha? Don’t joke around. Why make things intentionally difficult for ourselves? We’ll start with the weaklings and work our way up.”
As Iron Ghost and Red Keeper chatted, similar discussions were happening among the others who had come in groups.
Meanwhile, Azalea had already closed out the system window as she listened intently to the several conversations taking place. She had to calm herself multiple times after hearing some of the words being spoken.
Azalea was even more infuriated by the bonus reward offered just to humiliate those under her teacher’s protection! Everyone else may have been oblivious to it, but this was not some ploy against Sleeping Gardenia. Rather, it was a direct slap to the face of her teacher!
“Not only do they dare to hunt our people, but they even want to humiliate them? When I find out who is behind this…” Azalea clenched her fists tightly as her gaze turned cold.
…
After Q discussed a few minor details involving the requests, the meeting came to an end as everyone left the cave to prepare for the hunt.
As for Azalea, she was the first among those who left the cave as soon as the meeting concluded.
Zeeeut! Swooosh!
Since Izroth was not responding to her messages, Azalea was left with no choice but to try to get in contact with someone else. However, besides Izroth, there were only two names on her friend’s list.
The first name was Luna’s. But, it was currently grayed out, which meant that she was probably in an area that did not allow for outside communication. So, this left Azalea with only one choice.
“Why did it have to be them…” Azalea inwardly sighed.
Just the mere thought of speaking with them gave Azalea a headache. However, at this point, she was out of options as time was quickly ticking away.
“No, there is no time for such thoughts. Things are different from that time.” Azalea internalized as she sent a voice chat.
Not too long after Azalea sent out the request, it was accepted as a familiar voice entered her ears.
[Voice Chat Has Started]
Mirage, “Suddenly contacting me out of the blue—how unlike you, shorty. So? What do you want? Did you miss my voice that much and decided to call-”
〈System Alert: You have terminated the voice chat!〉
“I am doing this for my teacher… Keep his words in mind… Keep them in mind…” Azalea thought to herself as she calmly reopened her system interface and called Mirage once again.
[Voice Chat Has Started]
Mirage, “Did you hang up on me?!”
Azalea Wraith, “You are mistaken. My finger accidentally hit the terminate voice chat command—that’s all.”
Mirage, “I don’t know if I believe that… But, seeing as how you’re calling me, it must be something important, right?”
Although Mirage joked around, after their journey together in the Pzenium kingdom, she understood that Azalea was not the type of person who would go out of her way to contact someone else just for the sake of doing so.
Azalea Wraith, “Where are you currently located?”
Mirage, “Hm? Not too far away from Danaharpe. Why do you ask?”
“It’s no good. Traveling from Danaharpe to Amaharpe’s capital city on foot will take at least a day.” Azalea internalized.
Azalea Wraith, “Listen to me carefully, someone is hunting us. Or, to be more precise, they are hunting those who are ȧssociated with my teacher.”
Mirage, “Hunting us?! What are you talking about? Why would anyone want to hunt- No, never mind. Knowing that guy, I wouldn’t be surprised if he offended a few hundred people. Hahaha!”
Azalea Wraith, “Can you at least try to take this somewhat seriously? You are one of their primary targets.”
Mirage, “Let them come. Do you think I’ll run away and hide just because some people want me dead? Let me tell you, I, Tian Suyinrong, am not afraid of a fight!”
Azalea inwardly sighed. This headstrong woman—trying to get through to her was no use! She had to take a different route.
Azalea Wraith, “I am sending you a list. Can you get in contact with everyone listed on it?”
Azalea sent Mirage a message containing the five other names listed that were being targeted.
Mirage, “I can get in contact with Midnight, but… I was so caught up in the moment back at the Mystical Realm Palace that I forgot to add everyone else. Ah, have you tried contacting Luna or Zi Yi? I’m sure they can get in contact with everyone else on the list.”
Azalea Wraith, “If I could, do you think I would have called you?”
With Izroth and Luna out of the picture, naturally, Azalea tried to send a friend request to Zi Yi in order to contact her. However, Zi Yi’s friend requests and messaging were both set to private!
As for adding her back at the Mystical Realm Palace—the thought did not cross Azalea’s mind.
Mirage, “Hah. That hurts, you know? Give me a sec, I have an idea. I’ll call you back in a bit.”
[Voice Chat Has Ended]
Without waiting for Azalea’s response, Mirage terminated the voice chat.
“I feel a little uneasy leaving things in her hands. But, despite her personality, she’s at least a bit reliable… Just a bit, though.” Azalea internalized.
…
Approximately five minutes later…
〈System Alert: Player Zi Yi has sent you a friend request. Do you wish to accept?〉
Out of nowhere, Azalea received an alert from the system as she glanced over it.
After seeing who sent the friend request, Azalea wasted no time accepting it. And, not even a full second after she accepted, Azalea received an invite.
“A few names from the list are still missing,” Azalea said to herself as she joined the voice chat.
〈System Alert: You have joined the Conference Voice Chat!〉
[Voice Chat] Guan Yu, “Like I said, it’s fine! A real man doesn’t back down from a challenge!”
[Voice Chat] Mirage, “Yeah, what’s there to be scared of? We just have to beat whoever dares to come after us, right?”
[Voice Chat] Zi Yi, “Before we do anything, we have to gain a better understanding of who is behind this and their reasons. And, the perfect person to explain that has just joined us. Welcome, Wraith. I hope you can shed some more light on what exactly is happening.”
[Voice Chat] Azalea Wraith, “Allow me to explain in full detail…”
Azalea went on to inform the group about Siren, the details of the requests, as well as how she first learned about someone wanting to target them.
By the time Azalea finished her explanation, everyone was infuriated! They could brush off many things; however, wanting to intentionally humiliate one of them was crossing the line!
[Voice Chat] Halls, “Unforgivable…! If they want to hunt us, fine! But, is there a need to go so far?!”
[Voice Chat] Midnight, “It does leave quite a bad taste in one’s mouth.”
[Voice Chat] Zi Yi, “You’re right. However, they have made a fatal oversight.”
Oversight? Was there something they missed?
[Voice Chat] Zi Yi, “Think about it. The mysterious client wants video evidence of our humiliation. Isn’t this a glaring clue?”
