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Chapter 11: The Might of the Huntress
Narrated by Valen Veridian
After the elimination of Marcus' allies and two of the strongest joining Marcus, both of them healed their injuries and regained their stamina quickly.
After a while, Siegfried looked at Marcus and asked, "So what is our next move? Is it to gain points or an ally?"
As soon as Siegfried spoke those words, Marcus replied in a calm voice, "I'm sure you've heard about the lone huntress. We will attack her base and add her to the team."
After Marcus finished speaking, Galahad looked at him in disagreement and said in a heavy yet calm tone, "I don't think that's a good idea, Marcus. You and I are disciplined warriors. Siegfried will already be hard to command, and Ellis Runestone is a hunter by nature—she will not listen to orders."
Hearing his words, Marcus looked at him and countered his point in a few words. "I agree, you are right Galahad, but they are not weaklings. They can handle themselves. I'm sure they will solve their problems—and we are not here to command, but to survive."
Hearing their conversation, Siegfried stood up from the ground and asked Marcus a question. "But we need to know her location. How do we know where she is?"
Hearing his question, Galahad agreed with him too. Then, after their question, Marcus gave the answer. "Just like I manipulated your teammate, I have done the same to her team too. She is in that mountain," Marcus spoke those words, pointing at a mountain.
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The Betrayed Huntress
The scene shifts to Ellis Runestone holding her teammate, who was the spy. She simply kicked him out of the team and checked for any other spies.
The scene shifts back to the three.
Marcus stepped forward and chose his remaining original allies and spoke. "You two will scout the area, and when you are done, give the signal to Siegfried. Galahad will battle Ellis, and I will check for any other person's location who is worth recruiting."
After his words, his allies did not wait a single second and carried out their duties. Marcus and Galahad also left for their own tasks while Siegfried sat on the ground.
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The Art of Survival
Lesson One: Betrayal
The scene shifted to Marcus' original allies. As they were going to the designated location, they were both furious and cursing at Marcus in an angry voice. "Damn that bastard! He thinks he's better than everyone else. He dispatched us to scout because he thinks even if we get eliminated, it means nothing to him, and we'll just save his hands from the dirty work."
As they were cursing at Marcus in their heads, they also knew if they did not contribute to the team, they would not make it out of this phase. The tension between them was high until a thought appeared in one of the allies' minds. He suddenly broke the tension between them and spoke to the other in a low voice. "Hey, you and I both know Marcus dispatched us here because we're replaceable by others, and we don't have room in that team. So why don't we team up with Ellis' allies, and with them, we attack Siegfried together?"
Upon hearing his words, the other boy looked at him in disagreement and replied, "Do you think they'll agree to help us? What if they betray us instead?"
Hearing his words, the other one cracked a smile on his face and said in a manipulative tone, "Just think about it… just think about it. Who do Ellis and her allies consider more dangerous—us or Siegfried? They will want to eliminate a bigger threat than us."
Hearing his words, the other boy was conflicted but agreed after a while.
They both reached the base, and upon setting foot on the base, they were already surrounded by Ellis and her allies.
They all pointed their spears, swords, and bows at them.
But they both surrendered and spoke in a scared voice, "Calm down… calm down. We come in peace. We want to join you to defeat Siegfried. If you help us, we'll tell you about their plans."
Hearing their words, Ellis was quite pleased but she was still cautious and asked a question. "And why do you want to work with me rather than your teammate?"
Hearing her question, they replied, "Because our other teammates are too favored by Galahad and Siegfried. If we don't do something, we'll be eliminated too."
Upon hearing their words, Ellis agreed to help and asked them to reveal their plans.
They told her everything about how Galahad was preparing to attack Ellis and that they needed to signal Siegfried to come.
As they were talking, a sudden loud noise came from the forest. Marcus' allies signaled Ellis that it was Galahad—they went into the forest.
And Galahad came from the dense forest and dashed forward at supersonic speed and charged at Ellis. Ellis responded with her arrows, launching them with her bow.
Galahad smirked and said to Ellis, "It seems you are a bit slow with your arrows."
Upon hearing his words, Ellis replied in a mocking tone, "It seems your brute force is so-so. That is why you're trying to anger me into draining my stamina."
As the words left her mouth, Galahad was disappointed that he could not anger her.
Ellis continued to attack him without giving him a moment to catch his breath.
But Galahad continued to strike the arrows mid-air with precision.
Upon seeing their fight, her allies knew they would only cause trouble if they interfered, and that's when they started going in the direction of Marcus' allies.
They reached them and signaled Marcus' allies to call Siegfried. They agreed and sent a ranting man to Siegfried. Upon seeing the message, Siegfried dashed to the forest at high speed.
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In the Meantime
Encounter After 4 Years
Marcus was walking in the sand, searching for valuable teammates, until two figures riding a griffon landed on the ground.
Those two figures were Valen Veridian and Lucian Caelum.
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End of Chapyer 11