‘Kill them if you can. If you can’t, then hunt them to Mad Land.’

This was the message of the Matriarch.

There were already thousands of active ‘hunting teams’ that were usually assigned the tasks of killing beasts and maintaining peace at borders.

But now, half of these teams were diverted to kill the invaders. What’s more, thousands of natives gathered into teams and started a search for these invaders.

Like many adventurers in his city, Captain Warhak also formed a team and entered the forest zone to search for the invaders.

He wouldn’t have done so for any other invader teams. They all had a Sovereign!

The natives were limited by the Synthetic World’s laws and couldn’t have more than six Sovereigns. Every time Invaders came, they’d come in five groups, with each group bringing a Sovereign.

So, despite their long development and well-documented history of invaders and their atrocities, it was risky for the natives to confront them on a full-fledged scale. Moreover, the invader Sovereigns were always stronger than the natives.

Even though most invaders didn’t care about the natives and just entered the Inner World, there were more than a dozen cases in the past ten thousand years when things got bloody and the invaders tried to slaughter the natives to extinction.

It was only thanks to the World Will that ‘expelled’ the Invaders that went overboard that the Natives managed to survive.

Still, these dozen events remained a pain point for the natives and their hatred for the invaders was instilled deep in their bones.

That’s the reason Warhak signed up. He just wanted a chance to kill the invaders. Forget the reward. Forget the resources spent on it.

And this was truly the perfect opportunity for killing a group of invaders. This team of the young man and two young women was unlike any other. They didn’t even have any peak level 9, forget a Sovereign!

And fortunately or unfortunately, out of thousands of teams searching for the invaders, Warhak’s was the one that found them.

“This is our chance! Let’s wash the graves of our ancestors with the blood of these barbarians” Captain Warhak raised his axe and pointed to the top of a mountain. “For Hortus!”

“For Hortus!” Ten more axes were thrust into the air and a bloodthirsty war cry echoed in the forest.

The hunting team was all composed of Body Awakeners and they dashed to the bottom of the mountain in the blink of an eye.

But before they could take a step further, their bodies grew heavy and they directly knelt on the ground.

“D-Damn it…”

Warhak tried to stand but his weight doubled in an instant and as a result, the ground under him cracked and his knees sunk into the soil.

Seeing this, Warhak’s team gulped and fell silent. But Warhak only grew angrier. “I’ll kill you bast—”

Warhak’s words came to an abrupt stop as the wind around him turned sharp like a blade and pressed against his neck. His skin strained under the sharpness and tore, leaking a drop of blue blood.

The gravity on Warhak’s neck grew and his proud head was forcibly lowered.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The footsteps of the invader were light, but in the terrifying silence, they slammed against the hearts of Warhak’s team.

More worrying than the footsteps was the being that was emanating the terrific killing intent. As it approached them with each step, cuts started to appear on the natives.

They were first small, only a finger length. Then, there were larger and deeper cuts.  When the footsteps finally stopped, the team members were covered in numerous cuts and their blood formed a puddle under their knees.

“Hm!”

Following the invader’s disdainful snort, the air around the natives tightened and they were strangled.

Warhak’s neck too was being slowly compressed. In a few seconds at most, he’d die. Knowing struggle was futile, he closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable death. He only hoped other teams would avenge his death.

But after a few seconds of gruesome strangling, the gravity on their bodies suddenly disappeared!

“Huh?” Warhak thought it was an illusion and instinctively looked up.

He saw a woman in an exotic black dress. Her cold eyes and frosty face coupled with the killing intent made him realize she was the one that nearly killed them.

On the other hand, the young man who suddenly appeared in front of them had a peaceful face and even a friendly smile. This only made Warhak more vigilant.

“I want to talk to your leaders. We don’t mean harm to you.” The young man said in a calm voice. His voice was assuring and he had the temperament of a leader.

For a moment, Warhak almost wanted to call his leaders. But he woke up and sneered at the young man. “Do you think we’re fools? You and your friends are all the same. Bloody invaders.”

“My friends?” The Young Man had a frown on his face.

Warhak thought he might have had a bad relationship with the other invader teams. So, he decided to piss him off. “Oh yes, friends. They’re just not weak like you. They all got Sovereigns. But you, you don’t even have a strong level 9.”

The Young Man’s face turned grave and he turned to the woman in white and the woman in black with a serious expression.

They spoke in a language Warhak didn’t understand. But he felt like they were scared.

But the Young Man turned to him a few seconds later with a calm face and said. “Let them be. How about you connect us to your leader and we hold a proper dialogue? Hostility with us will not gain you anything. If we cooperate, maybe we could even help you with my friends.”

“Ha—Hahahaha!” Warhak burst into tears as he roared with laughter. This was the funniest and most audacious thing he heard in his entire life.

The invader whose sole purpose entering their world was to plunder their resources and enslave their world was talking about peace.

Not only that, this invader who was the weakest of all other groups, had the gall to call it cooperation when he just wanted to “use” their strength against his enemies.

Warhak’s hatred of the invader only got worse.

Unaware of the complex mental dynamics, Varian continued to speak in an attempt to strike peace. “We had our own circumstances. I assure you we’re not hostile to your people, as long as you don’t antagonize us. If our talks proceed, we’ll leave this place.”

“Keep dreaming. There is no peace. Only war. My people are coming for you. Thousands of them. You can’t escape! You bloody bastards!” Warhak spat on the ground and closed his eyes.

Varian’s eyes turned gloomy but he adjusted his mood and signaled to Sia. Sia waved her hand and knocked out everyone.

The three of them then traveled toward a safer region while carrying the hostages. After putting them in a safe space, Varian’s trio started searching for another team.

They found a twenty-member with a mid level 9.

After subtly guiding them into the valley they’re currently at, Varian appeared in front of them along with the hostages.

Sarah and Sia hid in the background, lying in ambush in case things went south.

“I have your people in my hand, but they’re not harmed. I just want to talk to your superiors.” Varian said with a peaceful gesture.

The hunting team paused for a moment as their gazes alternated between Varian and the hostages.

Varian decided to show some goodwill and waved his hand. The hostages, including Warhak, floated toward the team slowly.

As they reached the hunting team, Varian removed the telekinetic power and also let down his vigilance a bit.

‘They should be willing to talk now, rig—’

BOOM!

The captain of the hunting team shot his spear straight at Varian with Warhak in the middle as the cover.

The spear tore through Warhak’s body and headed for Varian.

Following the sounds of wind tearing, more and more spears pierced through the hostages and reached Varian.

“…What the?!”

Varian was dumbfounded at the hunting team’s action.

They used the hostages as a cover to attack him. They didn’t even blink in hesitation for killing their own.

What’s worse, Varian realized that there might not be any talks.

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