outh of the novice village, the night over the plains pressed heavy. The moon was hidden by clouds, leaving only scattered firelight—flares from the many squads gathering.
Overlord Spear's bounty order was like a whip, lashing players into frenzy. Five thousand gold, a permanent guild seat—temptation enough to drive hundreds, thousands, mad.
"There! Found him, South Ridge Path!"
A shout rang, and swarms of players surged toward the same direction.
…
Xu Zhu, Ling Xue, and Fatty Third walked the dim forest path. The night wind rustled the trees. Fatty Third shivered, muttering: "Big bro… they're really after us. What do we do? This isn't dozens—it's hundreds!"
Xu Zhu halted, gazing at the distant firelights on the mountain trail.
"No escape," he said calmly.
Ling Xue drew a deep breath, sword flashing cold in the dark. "Then we cut a path."
—
The first wave came quickly.
Over thirty players, spears and shields arrayed like a small army. At the front, a warrior in heavy armor sneered: "Residual Blood Maniac, the bounty's on your head. Surrender."
"Save your breath," Ling Xue snapped, charging first!
Her blade whistled through the air, cleaving for the enemy's front.
Xu Zhu followed close behind. Residual Edge snapped open!
Dozens of movements unraveled into red lines before his eyes. He walked a wire-thin path among them, stick thrusting with precision into joints and seams.
"Stop him!"
The warrior roared, shield crashing down.
Xu Zhu sank low, Residual Edge forcing his body to its limit. One step, body almost parallel to the ground, stick stabbing upward—
Boom!
The shield flew, the warrior crashed down, dissolving into gray light!
Spectator channels exploded.
[Holy shit! Residual Edge extreme dodge!]
[He's moving like there's no one around him!]
[Is this humanly possible?!]
…
But Xu Zhu knew—every second was hell.
The roar in his ears worsened, vision flickering sharp then blurred. Multi-line prediction drained him brutally.
[Warning: Residual Edge Sync Rate 62%]
[Danger: Overuse may cause permanent mental damage]
The system prompt stabbed his eyes with pain.
Xu Zhu exhaled coldly, but did not stop.
"Residual Blood Maniac! Tonight's your death!"
The second wave charged down the slope, volleys of crossbow bolts screaming!
"Xu Zhu!" Ling Xue cried, spinning, her sword flashing arcs of light, cleaving several bolts.
The rest she didn't block—she hurled herself before Fatty Third, body catching one arrow!
Thud!
Blood sprayed, Ling Xue grunted, but remained standing.
"I told you, I'm no burden!" she roared, teeth clenched. "I am a swordswoman!"
Xu Zhu froze for an instant. Then his stick erupted, sweeping three attackers away in fury.
—
Before the third wave arrived, new voices cut through the chaos.
"Enough!"
Figures in silver cloaks stood in the mountain pass, weapons glowing faintly. Above their heads, the guild tag—[Skyveil Alliance].
Their leader said coldly: "Overlord Spear, you shame yourselves. Residual Blood Maniac may be an anomaly, but ambushing one newbie with an army—don't you feel disgrace?"
Spectator channels erupted:
[Skyveil Alliance? Ranked #2 guild?]
[They're stepping in?!]
[This just got interesting!]
…
Overlord Spear's men hesitated, then sneered: "Skyveil wants to be his backer?"
"Backer?" the leader scoffed. "At least we know honor."
—
Xu Zhu stood at the wind's edge, chest heaving, roar still pounding in his ears. He looked up at Skyveil's silhouettes barring the way.
He understood—this was the first true storm.
The name of Residual Blood was no longer a joke.
It had already been swept into the struggle for power across the entire server.