Chapter 104: Chapter104-Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys
"Shh... quiet."
turned to face the terrified Abbot and spoke softly, "The dragon has left. We won't be harmed. Right now, we are securely positioned at the top of the leaderboard. We absolutely can't afford any mistakes. Do you understand what I mean, Abbot?"
"I don't care! I can't die; I have a daughter! My daughter is still waiting for me in Adela Village! I'm quitting, I'm done!"
Abbot pushed S. aside and turned to leave.
Seeing this, the other team members exchanged glances, but none dared to speak up.
They were all terrified too, but none had the courage to oppose S.'s tyranny.
Now, Abbot's outburst made the others feel restless.
Yes, they wanted to escape, to find a safe place and wait out the six days.
They didn't want to die here!
"Hmm... do you all feel the same as Abbot?"
took a deep breath, scanning the group. Seeing no response, he smirked and sneered, "Good, your decision is wise."
With that, S. extended his hand, and a short sword slid out from his sleeve, resting firmly in his grasp.
In the next instant, S. vanished from his spot.
Before anyone could react, he emerged from Abbot's shadow, plunging the blade through his heart, killing him instantly!
The sight left everyone in shock.
They couldn't believe S. chose such a method to resolve the conflict—it was madness!
"You..."
"I said, no one is allowed to disrupt my plan. If I let you leave, the others will follow suit, and that is something I cannot allow! Abbot, you brought this upon yourself."
With a flick of his wrist, S. effortlessly sliced through Abbot's heart with his razor-sharp short sword.
In an instant, Abbot's HP dropped to zero, and he collapsed to the ground.
Glancing at Abbot's lifeless body, S. showed no emotion.
He turned around calmly and asked, "Now, does anyone else want to leave?"
Silence.
As the second strongest in the team, Abbot had recruited half of the members himself.
Compared to S., they trusted Abbot, the seemingly kind middle-aged man, more.
According to him, he had mistakenly chosen the thief class when he intended to be a knight.
But now, seeing their dependable comrade brutally killed by S., everyone was in shock and couldn't accept what had just happened.
"You... you're insane! You killed Abbot? He was your comrade!"
Donovan rushed forward, shoving S. and yelling, "You beast!"
"My team doesn't need useless trash. Since Abbot chose to back out, he was of no use to us. The same goes for the rest of you! If you want to leave, fine, but you'll have to get past me first. If you can't, then shut up and do as I say, or you'll end up like him."
glanced at Abbot's silent body and sneered, "If you're afraid to die, you should have stayed in Adela Village. What are you doing here? From the moment you joined this event, your lives belonged to me! Now, if anyone else wants to leave, step forward. Kill me, and you can leave anytime. If not, shut up!"
The group fell silent, exchanging uneasy glances. No one dared to make a sound.
It was an unavoidable reality. S. was undeniably the strongest among them.
At level 44, S. was among the top-ranked players on the leaderboard, placing sixth on the combat power rankings, even above Lily.
This alone spoke to his terrifying strength.
While his hunting skills might not be as effective against monsters, against other players, S. was a deadly, invisible killing machine!
Sure, if everyone attacked together, S. wouldn't be able to kill them all. But the problem was, who would be the first to die?
Everyone hoped to be the one who survived, not the one lying in a pool of blood.
This fear meant that S. alone could intimidate the six team members into submission, leaving them too scared to even breathe loudly.
Seeing this, S. nodded slightly, very satisfied.
This was exactly the state he wanted.
If anyone dared to challenge him, Abbot's fate would be their example!
This team didn't need a second voice.
...
"Over there... that seems to be the people John is looking for."
In the air!
Exiled Immortal squinted down, vaguely seeing several small black dots moving slowly below.
Since the Goblin Hunter's Eye couldn't be used for long periods, the task of observation naturally fell on Helena, whose vision was better.
Following Exiled Immortal's direction, Helena indeed noticed several players dressed like thieves.
Whether they were the ones John was looking for, she couldn't be sure.
"They're too far away to see their player IDs. We need to get closer."
"Their senses are very sharp. If we get too close, we might be exposed... If it doesn't work out, we should lock onto their direction and go back to find John."
Remembering John's instructions and aware of the number of enemies, Exiled Immortal didn't want to take unnecessary risks.
Hearing this, Helena readily agreed.
Fortunately, John and the others weren't far away.
Within three minutes, Exiled Immortal had brought Helena back to the mountain peak and explained the situation to John.
"From your description alone, I'm not sure... Do you remember their direction and location?"
Exiled Immortal patted his chest and smiled. "Of course! I have a great sense of direction and have never gotten lost!"
"That's good. How long will it take you to get there as quickly as possible?"
"If I take everyone with me, considering their speed... it will take at least ten minutes, maybe longer."
"Then take Elaria and me first. Get there as fast as possible. Once I confirm their identities, you can come back and bring the others."
"That's the best plan we have, John. Be careful!"
Qing knew that he wouldn't have much advantage against the thief class.
Their elusive movements could easily counter Qing.
Even if he went along, it would be hard to make a decisive impact.
Elaria, however, was different.
Her high level and mastery of spells made her an excellent choice for holding the line in a battle.
For thieves, the most challenging opponent is one who can cover all angles without blind spots!
Everyone agreed with John's proposal.
With Elaria's abilities, as long as the enemy didn't have any hidden powerful tricks, she could handle seven opponents alone!
"Let's move quickly and intercept them. Helena, you stay here and wait. Once we engage, Exiled Immortal will come back to get you."
"No problem."
With the plan set, Exiled Immortal wasted no time.
He lifted John and Elaria into the air and then, after stretching a bit, shot up like a cannonball, disappearing into the clouds!
Just as Exiled Immortal had estimated, within three minutes, they had pinpointed the team's location.
John took the Goblin Hunter's Eye and looked closely. The leading thief was none other than S.
"Heh... finally, I've found you, traitor!"
...
"Is it just my imagination? I feel like the temperature is dropping."
tightened his coat, noticing the low-temperature debuff on his status bar, feeling increasingly puzzled.
The blood-red sun on the horizon hadn't set, dominating most of the sky. In such scorching weather, how could he be feeling cold?
As S. found this bewildering, the ground beneath him suddenly shattered.
A dragon, nearly twice the size of an earth dragon, burst out of the ground, blocking their path!