The Healing Solaris Cleric

Chapter 131: Natural Enemy (1)

After the sparring with Boyd, Kai glanced back as he walked down the path. Only then did he let out the breath he had been holding when he confirmed Seol Eun-Yeong and Boyd were out of sight.

“Phew, that was close.”

He rubbed his side, recalling the duel.

It’s true that you can’t ignore levels in this game. He’s a complete beast.

Kai’s magic resistance was currently very high. Not just saying, he was confident it was in the top hundred of MID Online.

However, even that insane magic resistance couldn’t completely block the spells of Boyd, the fourteenth-ranked Wizard.

I wanted to spar longer since such opportunities are rare, but...

He felt he couldn’t hold out much longer, so he used Supernova to catch Boyd off guard and ended the duel quickly.

If I had given Boyd a bit more time, he would’ve adapted to the speed of Supernova.

In that case, Kai would have been the one to lose. In fact, that was obvious, considering the level gap between him and Boyd was over a hundred.

If I had lost, it would’ve been a disaster.

As a Mercenary contracted by Cheonhwa, losing would’ve been very bad. No employer would be happy to see their highly paid Mercenary be incompetent.

Kai scratched the back of his head in frustration.

“Damn. Struggling against Boyd means...”

It meant the same for the Wizards rankers of Black Bee.

Especially Sting.

Sting, the master of Black Bee, was known for his skill despite his infamous personality.

No one can reach the third rank among Wizards through luck alone.

Kai stopped and contemplated.

If I fought Sting now, I’d likely lose.

He acknowledged this fact calmly and felt grateful to Boyd.

Boyd was right. I lack experience against Archmages.

Boyd knew this and had requested the duel to warn him not to underestimate Archmages, and that they weren’t easy opponents.

With my magic resistance, I have a significant advantage against Wizards.

However, it wasn’t enough when he was against Archmages over level 200, especially the top rankers.

As he had always done, he decided he needed to prepare. Thoroughly.

Instead of confronting Black Bees inside the Elven Forest, he turned around and swiftly left the forest.

***

After the Elven Forest incident, Black Bee temporarily suspended all external activities. This alone was a significant decision and a loss because while other top ten guilds advanced, they had to stand still.

This pulled Sting’s mood down to the bottom and was the reason why his face looked like the most displeased person in the world.

“I’ll make them pay for this. Every one of them involved will be destroyed.”

However, that wasn’t the only thing bothering him.

And what? Cheonhwa? A nobody guild from Under I never even cared about... dares to challenge me?

While he didn’t care, the community was busy comparing their strengths, and this infuriated him even more because their comparison charts were nonsensical!

“These idiots! What do they think Black Bee is! If our elite fighters step in, we could wipe out Cheonhwa in a day!”

Then, he angrily closed the internet browser and gave an order through the guild chat.

[Crush all guilds, players, and rankers that oppose Black Bee. No exceptions!]

It was a very simple command, but the weight of those words was anything but light.

“The basic rule is to challenge them to a duel, right?”

“Yeah, for the sake of our image. But if anyone resists until the end...”

“Just PK them, right? Got it.”

“And annihilate all parties associated with Cheonhwa and those who were in the Elven Forest.”

“Easy.”

With that simple command, five hundred Black Bee members were unleashed into the world.

***

A week passed from then, and the community, which had been buzzing with issues about Black Bee, was quieter than expected.

However it wasn’t voluntary, it was the result of coercion.

... Those crazy bastards. They even PK anyone who doesn’t listen to them.

The best thing to do in cases like now is to lay low.

Are any of the other top ten guilds not intervening?

Those bastards must have received something. It’s certain.

The Elven Forest Liberation Army guys just ended up being the unlucky ones.

Everyone kept their heads down and stayed quiet in the face of the overwhelming power of Black Bee and the violence wielded by that power!

The actions taken by Black Bee were that drastic and shocking. Thirty general guilds were disbanded, and two Under guilds knelt to them. The number of rankers and players killed in the process was also beyond counting.

As the situation reached this point, people thought:

Damn. In the end, Black Bee will keep their top ten spot.

Cheonhwa seemed to be fighting well at first, but they’ve been losing recently.

I heard they’re completely surrounded in the Elven Forest...

They said they recruited Unknown, but why hasn’t he shown up yet?

The Cheonhwa guild had joined forces with the Elven Forest Liberation Army to oppose Black Bee.

However, it was clear that Black Bee's power was stronger than Cheonhwa’s.

So far, Seol Eun-Yeong's command and tactics had prevented major damage, but even that had its limits.

“Akashia Group 2 has encountered a Black Bee party!”

“Shit! I’ve spotted Kirael, the eleventh-ranked Wizard!”

“Those Black Bee bastards are forming a complete encirclement.”

“There are Black Bee members everywhere!”

Sting demonstrated the principle of turning a crisis into an opportunity through his action by revealing his outstanding command skills that were hidden beneath his hot temper.

[Wow, did Sting really do that?]

[I thought he was just a bad-tempered bastard, but he’s actually a good commander too.]

[His command style is quite different from Seol Eun-Yeong’s, but it’s not bad.]

Sting’s reputation was once again on the rise, as he showed command skills that even those who usually looked down on him couldn’t help but acknowledge.

“Bahaha. Idiots. Did they really think a guy with no brains could become the third-ranked Wizard?”

“As expected of our Master.”

“It was annoying to see Seol Eun-Yeong be called the best commander, but now I’m glad your skills are being recognized.”

The leadership of Black Bee was confident of their victory, and anyone who could read the current situation thought the same.

“Let’s take a look...”

At the Black Bee's operations command headquarters in the western area of the Elven Forest, Sting, who was sitting on a luxurious sofa that didn’t fit the forest, hummed a tune as he scanned the map.

"Herding them to the center of the forest, success. The encirclement must have been formed tightly as ordered, correct?"

"Yes. Unless Cheonhwa and the Liberation Army log out or use a town return scroll as a group, they absolutely cannot escape."

"Hehe. It would be better if they tried to run away."

"I agree. It would solidify our victory along with their title of coward."

"Hehe." Only then did Sting nod with a satisfied expression. "The prestige of the Black Bees should of course be at this level."

His map showed him the two hundred bees that had survived the fierce battle.

It was said that Cheonhwa was somewhat useful among the Under guilds, and they lived up to their title I guess.

Who would have thought they would log out three hundred of their guild members? Although they were enemies, he had to acknowledge Seol Eun-Yeong's command and tactics.

"But that reputation ends today."

Sting activated the guild chat and gave orders in a relaxed tone.

[Close the encirclement. Eliminate all enemies you find, and bring Seol Eun-Yeong alive.]

He planned to personally deliver a death befitting a defeated leader.

At the moment the order was given, all guild members on the map began to move simultaneously. Watching that scene, Sting felt a thrilling pleasure.

To achieve such things with just a gesture. My guild truly is the best.

The Black Bees, which he had painstakingly built, had become one of the top ten forces in the world. Thanks to that, now he could only confirm on the map that his guild members were eliminating the enemy, and he liked that fact the most.

He had always thought that such leisure was what a ruler should possess.

Someone of my stature doesn't need to dirty his hands dealing with small fry.

The guild members on the map were gradually closing the distance between each other. That was evidence that the encirclement was tightening!

The moment the gap between them disappears, this incident will come to an end as well.

What was reflected on Sting's face was not the joy or exhilaration of a victorious commander but leisure. His face was covered with a leisurely and relaxed expression as if it was only natural.

Then, a very small imbalance appeared on his face.

"Hmm?"

Slightly squinting his eyes, Sting stared at a part of the map and gestured to the sub-master.

"Master, did you call for me?"

It was the sixth-ranked Wizard, Ice Emperor Raos.

Sting immediately asked him, "Raos. The signals from Melton and Shumeran in Group 26 have been cut off. What happened?"

"Pardon? That can't be right... Let me check." Raising his eyebrows, Raos, who brought up the guild window, slowly began to say, "Oh! So it is. Could it be an ambush, do you think? Otherwise, their signals wouldn't be cut off from the outer part of the encirclement..."

At that moment, guild members from the command and information departments, not the Black Bees' combat team, began to report one by one.

"This is Shururu. I’ve been logged out! I’m dead!"

"Kimikimi from Group 24. Communication has been cut off!"

"Gardron of Group 27. My status has changed to combat status! Oh, I’ve just been logged out!"

Hearing the continuous bad news, the expressions of Raos and Sting hardened.

"...What is going on?"

“It seems to be an ambush...”

“An ambush? Now? Does that make any sense? We’ve been driving them toward the center from the outskirts of the Elven Forest to form the encirclement! And now you’re saying it’s a feint attack?”

Sting wondered if Seol Eun-Yeong had seen through his tactics.

He dug his fingernails into the armrest of the luxurious sofa for a moment, and then composed himself and quietly asked, “How many ambushers are there?”

If they had cleared the outer region this quickly, it had to be at least two parties.

At least eight. Maybe even up to twenty people.

He had been momentarily raged by the thought that his tactics had been read, but calming down, he saw reality.

Right. Even if there are ambushers, they can’t overturn this situation.

No matter how much a tactic could change the tide of war, it couldn’t overcome an overwhelmingly strong opponent and superior numbers.

After checking something, Raos turned pale. “Th-that is...”

Sensing something wrong, Sting scowled and asked, “What’s with that reaction? How many are there?”

At his urging, Raos slowly lifted his head, a bead of sweat rolling down his tall nose. “I-I got messages from the members who died...”

“Stop stalling and get to the point!”

“One! The enemy is just one person!”

“What? That’s ridiculous...!” Sting shouted, jumping up from his seat.

But undeterred, Raos finished his statement with a distressed expression.

“It’s him, Unknown. The one hunting our guild members from the edges is Unknown!”

That was the moment when Unknown, who had joined the Cheonhwa guild as a mercenary, first revealed himself on the battlefield.