All she did was raise her right hand, and the air around her shivered as if the System itself were responding to her command.
The feral beast accompanying her let out a roar that made the earth tremble. Then, it unleashed dozens of clones of itself into the crowd, attacking anyone who drew near the treasure chest.
With unprecedented agility, she snatched the chest from Wagyu's grasp. In less than half a minute, a deathly silence prevailed; nothing remained in the field but the fading corpses of players.
One Lord's lips trembled as he whispered in terror, "She's... insane! She slaughtered everyone just for a treasure chest!"
But Shaun, watching the scene from afar through the shadow-view interface of his unit "Wagyu," didn't see it as madness, but rather... brilliance. From the start, the chest wasn't just a reward.
He had noticed something suspicious about the timing of its appearance and the location of its fall. It was clearly a curated event designed to nurture her.
[System Warning: "Lord Elia Fairmont" is opening the first Grade C Golden Treasure Chest on the Azrua server.]
[All players on the continent will receive a notification of the revealed contents.]
The System's voice echoed through the virtual sky, and transparent screens appeared before every player.
[Congratulations! The first Grade C Golden Chest has been opened in the primitive continent of Azrua.]
[Contents:]
Rare Unit Summon (Epic Grade)
Grade D Silver Weapon
Dungeon Map: "The Abyss" – Grade B
1,000 Grade C Magical Crystals
Shaun's face froze for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. "A Grade B Dungeon? A thousand Grade C crystals?"
At that moment, Wagyu raised his head from the ground and noticed that Kitsura, Elia's companion, had turned directly toward the shadows where he was hiding. A single glance from her was enough to make the black specter vanish forever, dissipating as if he had never existed.
[System Alert: Shadow Unit — "Wagyu" destroyed. Attack source: Kitsura, magical power exceeding expected limits.]
"Damn it..." Shaun muttered, clenching his fist. "Even Wagyu couldn't last a single second?"
A new notification suddenly appeared before him, its source unknown:
[Private Message from "Elia Fairmont"]
"I was wondering when the emissary of the Hollow Council would arrive..."
Shaun's face went rigid. How did she know about his contact with the Hollow Council? That woman was dangerous—extremely dangerous! Regardless, his location remained unknown while she was out in the open.
[Message Read]
But no reply came from him.
At that moment, Elia moved calmly, picked up the golden seal from the chest, and placed it in her inventory interface before turning her back and departing. However, the System did not let matters end there.
[New Global Event Activated!]
[The Hollow Council declares: The first "War Beacon" has been opened. After the protection period ends in three days, the struggle for control over the Beacons will begin for a period of three years.]
[The Lord who collects three Beacons will be granted the title "Provisional King of Territories."]
Shaun raised his eyebrows as he read the final text, murmuring, "Provisional King of Territories...? This must be the start of the chaos phase."
Then he issued a new command to the System in a low voice:
[Unit Order: Recall all Shadow Soldiers to border positions]
[Resource Update: Priority on collecting Iron Ore — Required amount: 1000+]
[Activate City Auto-Defense Mode]
The system messages appeared in succession:
[Order received. Executing commands within 00:05:00]
[WARNING: Activity of unknown units detected near the Southern range!]
[Confirmation: Sub-light beam descending toward your territory within 3 minutes.]
Shaun's eyes froze for a moment, then he gave a faint smile and said, "It seems the sky wasn't satisfied with just one chest... fine, let's see what you're hiding for me this time, 'Hollow Council.'"
Shaun smiled thinly as he watched the Grade C Silver Treasure Chest he had just snatched from the scattered ruins on the plain.
[Treasure Chest Opened]
[Contents: 100 Grade C Magical Crystals, Grade D Weapon Blueprint, Grade E Growing Territory Core]
[WARNING: The blueprint contains unstable energy. Direct use may lead to magical energy depletion. It is recommended to prepare 1,000 Grade C Magical Crystals before activation!]
Shaun muttered to himself as he examined the details, "Well, the magical crystals are good... a weapon blueprint is rare... but owning another territory of the lowest grade? This might be useful... maybe?"
[System Confirmation: Treasure chest contents added to inventory]
Even though the contents were minor compared to the Golden Chest he had previously lost, it didn't worry him much. Elia Fairmont was stronger than him currently, despite all his advantages.
The reason was clear: it wasn't about level, but the rarity of the units. With another Epic summon contract at her side, her power would become even more terrifying!
He pulled up his status interface and scrolled through his unit data again. Common Shadow Soldiers, Rare Shadow Archers, and other uncommon units... they all seemed sufficient to survive under normal circumstances, but they were nothing against the Epic power of units like Elia Fairmont's Kitsura.
Not to mention the beta testers he had yet to face; Elia was already an unbeatable enemy for now.
He took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "Well, who am I to complain... even though I have the unique ability to summon shadow creatures, the existence of other players like Elia makes things much more complicated..."
He opened the battle log window, his eyes scanning the horizon where Elia and Kitsura had vanished after opening the Golden Chest.
"Those rare units... at only Level 11!" Shaun muttered in amazement before clicking the enhancement icon for his soldiers.
[System Alert: New unit available for upgrade — Shadow Archers]
[System Alert: Suggested upgrade level: 8 | Required Pooled Magical Energy: 250 per unit]
[System Alert: Power increase of 112% after upgrade]
Shaun smiled mischievously. "Fine, let's see how I can use this power to damage my rivals before they surpass me." He redistributed his pooled magical energy, transferring it to the Citadel Center to activate enhancements, while the Shadow Archers stood ready at their pre-assigned positions.
He smiled with cold irony, checking the status interface of his soldiers after confirming the activation of auto-defense.
[System Confirmation: Auto-Defense mode activated]
[System Confirmation: Shadow units ready for deployment at any moment]
He felt no real concern over Wagyu's death; his shadow creatures were capable of being re-summoned, even if it meant losing half their levels as a temporary penalty.
Shaun muttered to himself, "Well, this is a unique advantage... only I possess this kind of control over shadows."
Despite the temporary losses, he knew that with the ability to re-summon his army at any time, who would dare challenge him? What about Elia Fairmont and her Epic Kitsura units? Could that rising power surpass his army that reassembles itself without end?
He looked at his screen, where his unit data began to rearrange itself automatically. The soldiers who had lost their levels returned to the summoning lists as if nothing had happened.
[System Alert: Shadow unit re-summoning complete]
[System Alert: All soldiers in designated defense positions]
Shaun exhaled and gave a confident smile. "Elia Fairmont... I refuse to believe you have all these rare Kitsura units... but let's see who is strongest in the end."
His eyes lit up with a sharp glow as he began planning every possible move. His units, despite their temporary penalty, had become more resilient and ready to adapt to any attack.