kscans

Chapter 407 - The Main Act

The format and content of the 'White Throne' Conquest Victory Party were largely the same as the 'after-party' held after the Four Pillar War. Since the East was in charge of this subjugation, the venue was even the same: the Istia war-time base, [Ruvalest, the Phased Subterranean Castle].

The only differences were the participation of the ranked members from the North and South who joined as reinforcements, and the nearly half-day duration, as if to say, 'Talk and party as much as you want.'

As always, several tables were laden with snacks and drinks (of unknown origin), and the floors were generally separated between ranked members and everyone else—however, this time, the token 'barrier' quickly became meaningless.

That was because,

"—Daaaaaaamn iiiiiit…!"

"Alright, next!"

—on the 'stage' set up for performances, just like at the last after-party.

"—Guaaargh!"

"Okay, next!"

—the sound of clashing blades, something that should have no place at a glamorous party, echoed through the air.

"—I see it now, you're mi—?!"

"Where are you looking?! C'mon, next!"

—a lively and lawless, gruesome feast of blood… or perhaps a feast of shame, a public execution (?), was unfolding.

Just under sixty participants, almost the entire frontline of the raid.

The format: a one-versus-sixty survival battle.

The end condition: when one side runs out of lives—in other words,

"That's thirty! Next!"

"Dammit, I can't see a thing…!"

—this frenzy would continue until either I beat them all, or the mob (they) beat me.

There was no 'cause' for this.

When I showed up with Sora at the start time, I was immediately met with a collective declaration of war from the male members, who made up the majority of the raid party, and here we are.

Yeah, I knew this would happen. They were probably all tired, but the reason I was allowed to just leave peacefully after the 'White Throne' conquest was all for this.

It was because my fate of being relentlessly teased here today was already sealed.

I did shout it out pretty loud, after all—"Ashe."

By the way, the other half of this incident, the 'Princess' herself, is watching elegantly from the second floor. The blue-haired girl next to her, smiling wryly, seems to be enjoying herself as well, which is great.

And speaking of which… there's an opening.

"—Gahvouch!"

I parried the weapon of mob member number thirty-one, who was launching a fierce rush, and as we passed each other, I delivered a satisfying backstab right in the center of his back.

Unlike ridiculously tough enemies, players can't withstand a precise strike to a critical point, even with a decent weapon.

Even though it's in the low-damage dagger category, my Rabbit Dagger, made with top-quality materials and craftsmanship, is more than sufficient. A good stab and a sharp twist, and they explode into pieces in a single hit.

"Phew…"

I'm making a point of doing this as quickly as possible, but honestly, it's pretty tough.

It's not about the continuous battles or maintaining focus; it's simply that everyone here is ridiculously strong.

I remember their faces and names, but I haven't grasped the fine details of each person's special skills and whatnot. As a result, I've already come close to dying about five times from the surprise attacks of these elite members selected for the raid.

Counters, set-up skills, and even all-out attacks meant to take me down with them… as expected, my weaknesses and the things I hate to deal with are completely exposed, and these seasoned veterans are mercilessly exploiting them.

There was one time when I lopped off a player's head, only to have the damage reflected back at me the next moment, almost killing me. Actually, I did die once, and that really scared me.

I don't even know what they did, but honestly, I feel like I could have just accepted my loss at that point. It's a unique piece of equipment I'm proud of, but frankly, the [Aquamarine Rabbit Heart] is just too cheap in a one-on-one fight—alright, that's thirty-five.

"Ngaah…! His one-on-one performance is just demonic…!"

"It's not just strong, it's on the level of being unfair."

"See? Agility builds are justice in PvP…"

"If you can't react, you can't even get on the same playing field."

"This is seriously an impossible game."

"Is there any chance other than ganging up on him with Riha-san included…?"

"Against an opponent who handled the White Throne's tentacle barrage, even a group fight is…"

"The best solution is obviously for the backline to just roast him along with his allies."

"I can only see a future where he breaks through in an instant and deals with the backline first."

"How about we all face him, and on 'go,' we all just self-destruct at once?"

"He'd probably escape that in an instant too, and it'd be game over…"

"…So that's the situation, but honestly, how do we beat you?"

"Are you really asking him that?"

With that lively discussion at my back, the next challenger stepped onto the stage. I let out a wry smile at his question… Understanding that this was just some intense roughhousing and not actual malice, I replied,

"Let's see… for example, if I get tripped while moving at high speed, it could cause a major accident, and I might even die."

"Well, yeah, probably…"

"So honestly, set-up skills that could have a similar effect are what I'm most scared of. As you know, while I'm moving, my vision is basically zero."

"No, we did not know that."

"And that's how it is."

"How what is?!"

To be honest, I think the most graceful outcome would be something along the lines of 'after a good fight, I was overwhelmed by numbers and died with honor,' so I'm more than happy for them to aim for my weaknesses. I'm fully prepared to expose them myself.

However, of course.

"So let's get to it, my thirty-sixth consecutive win!"

"Ah, wai—you're assuming you'll win—glrblaargh?!"

I have no intention of throwing the match, so I'll be doing my best for a little while longer.