Leni and her two teammates listened to the plan Ethan had explained. Ethan could read the enemy's strategy map, analyzing the existence of two cities, different territories, and the guild alliance system.

That setup had the potential to create a power split —strong guilds centered in the north and weaker ones in the south.

Even so, forming an alliance to fight another alliance wasn't effective.

Ethan suspected that spies from the Big Three guilds were already scattered among lower-ranked guilds.

There's no way they'd ignore all the guilds in Arkan City just like that. They must be planning something I don't know about.

Leni agreed. She also explained that defeating other guilds to get Star Essence was a common thing —they themselves had done it to several low-ranked guilds before.

LionArk currently had a total of 7,560 Star Essence, ranking 11,058th overall.

Their difference with Sword Liberation was around 3,000 Star Essence —quite large, but it proved Sword Liberation was already on par with rank-B guilds.

If they kept pushing forward, Sword Liberation might break into the top 10 by the end of the event.

However, since Ethan had other priorities related to guild matters, he decided to focus on LionArk.

With his strength, he could probably earn thousands of Star Essence and distribute them among guilds that deserved it.

His agreement with Luscho was to bring Sword Liberation into the top 10 at the end of the event. There was no obligation for Ethan to push them into the top 3.

My relationship with Sword Liberation is only a matter of agreement — but LionArk… LionArk is home.

Leni nodded, clearing her throat as if to show she fully understood what Ethan meant.

Her two teammates looked unsure when they heard Ethan's plan, but Leni reassured them —Ethan was LionArk's former leader, after all.

During Ethan's era, LionArk had been the most respected guild in all of Tower of Ascension.

With that experience, Leni was confident Ethan could carry out his mission perfectly.

"You don't need to get involved when I take the enemy's weapons," Ethan said. "Let me and Sword Liberation handle that."

"Alright."

"Focus on collecting Star Essence. Don't challenge any big guilds."

"Yes, Sir Ethan," Leni replied.

Ethan nodded, pleased they were following his instructions. But then something shocking happened —something they didn't expect.

PUNCH!

He struck them — a flurry of punches and kicks landed on Leni and her teammates. The three of them panicked, confused about why Ethan was suddenly attacking them.

Leni couldn't fight back after Ethan's fist hit her stomach hard. She gasped in pain, her eyes wide. The two men with her were in even worse shape.

Of course, Ethan wasn't attacking them for no reason. He still had his own sense of restraint —he wouldn't let them die.

"W-Why—"

"People in the city saw you talking to me. If you return unharmed, they'll suspect you're working with a criminal."

Leni finally understood. Even though his punch had hurt badly, Ethan was doing this only to prevent LionArk from being accused of collusion.

"Go. And from now on, we don't know each other until the last day of the event."

"Understood, Sir Ethan."

She and her two teammates limped out of the southeastern forest —faces bruised, blood at the corner of their lips.

Just as Ethan predicted, players in Arkan City saw their battered faces. They began showing sympathy, voicing their anger.

"If LionArk was attacked, we'll fight back!" shouted another player.

"Tell us! Where is he now?" demanded a warrior from another team.

Leni gave a small smile, spitting a little blood to make her act more convincing.

That only made the other players more furious —their rage boiled over.

"In the northern forest. We injured him —he's probably resting now," said Leni.

"Let's hunt that bastard down!" another player yelled.

Dozens of players rushed toward the forest without even reporting to their guild leaders. They acted on instinct —to them, LionArk was the city's leading guild.

Anyone who dared hurt LionArk might as well have declared war on the whole city.

Alright, Sir Ethan. I've gathered you a crowd. Now it's your turn to take their weapons.

Elsewhere, Ethan turned as he saw dozens of players running from the city toward the forest.

Their faces were full of anger, frustration, and killing intent.

What did Leni just do?

Ethan jumped high, landing on a thick tree branch. From there, he crouched and watched the players shouting his username.

"EthanArk must be around here somewhere! Spread out and find him!" yelled one of them, and the others followed.

Even though Ethan was cornered, these were all low-ranked guild players —stronger than Lara's group, maybe, but still far weaker than Silver Star's members.

Leni knows I'm after weapons. Did she lure them here on purpose… to feed them into my plan?

Clever girl.

"Hissy."

Ethan extended his hand toward the tree trunk beside him. Hissy, his snake companion, slithered out and hissed softly.

Ethan whispered something to her —a quiet order to go down and poison everyone below.

Hissy turned her head downward, eyes fixed on her prey. She hissed again, signaling she understood.

While Hissy was still spreading the poison, Ethan stayed hidden on the branch. Once the Venomfang poison began working, then he would move.

After about ten minutes, players below started groaning in pain as sharp, toxic thorns pierced their skin —Hissy's Skill 1 effect.

Ethan watched as some began to convulse, some vomited blood, and others collapsed weakly. Almost all of them had been poisoned.

"Good."

He jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground. His sudden appearance startled the poisoned players.

Their eyes widened as they saw EthanArk —the red PK title above his name confirming their fears.

"EthanArk!" one of them shouted.

More players arrived from another direction, yelling when they saw him standing among twenty-three fallen bodies —all pale, poisoned, and barely breathing.

"What the hell did you do?!" one of them roared.

"I need your weapons, 10,000 gold, and your Star Essence," Ethan said coldly.

"If you don't hand them over, twenty-three people will die and fail this event."

"So? What will it be?" he asked, challenging them.

"You bastard! What makes you think we'll hand everything to you?" another shouted.

"Your guild's pride," Ethan said flatly. "Your guild masters must have high hopes for you, right?"

"It's only the 5th day, and you've already died to me —leaving your Star Essence behind for me to take? Where's your pride?"

"If you give me what I want, I'll let you live… and keep gathering more Star Essence."

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