......

    The battle between the Plague Race and the Righteous Churches was in full swing. The side of the former was slowly losing its grounds due to the numbers advantage of the latter.

    Even if some top forces chose to side with the Plague Race, their numbers could not be compared to what the side of the churches had. After all, not everyone wanted to take the gamble of coffee converting their races and fight against the major forces sides with the Righteous Churches, particularly those who had invested quite a lot in their respective faction.

    But despite the shrinking territory of the Plague Lands, the quality of their forces was also becoming much stronger, especially when the Plague Energy was slowly getting more concentrated the more they got near the center of the region.

    There were even a lot of appearances of Chieftain Rank Plague Monsters, making the competition more engaging.

    There was even a single appearance of a Lord Rank Plague Monster, which had slaughtered quite a lot of experts during the battle. This forced the Righteous Churches to send a powerful Templar – a high-ranking Paladin and Holy Knight – on the battlefield.

    It was just a pity that the monster was eliminated by the said Templar, causing much regret for everyone as it was supposedly a chance for them to earn such massive event points.

    Regardless, the players who had fought and ’assisted’ during the raid had earned quite a lot of points after that battle, which still satisfied them.

    ...

    During the entire process of this war, a lot of players finally uncovered the mysteries surrounding the Plague Race.

    The players, who loved to investigate the different lore of the game they were playing, had discovered that this was not the first time that the Plague Race had emerged into this world.

    A Plague Race was a type or a sub-race of a Cursed Creature. It was a race that was cursed due to committing some taboo or provoking a very powerful being that cast a curse on them.

    There were quite a lot of Plague Races, but most of them were eradicated by the Righteous Churches or the Hall of Heroes while the rest had hidden underneath the banner of the Undead Race – which also became the reason why the churches were hostile against most of the Undead.

    There were also some types of Plague Races, which had overcome their instinct of infecting or contaminating the other races and improved their image. Some of them even became an independent race and became very influential.

    Such an example was the Vampire Families, who had seen their kin and formed a circle and their council.

    They were an independent group that had a decent relationship with the Hall of Heroes due to their Vampire Lord and the Monarch of the Blood occupying a seat within the circle.

    Through this connection, they had even built a good impression with the Righteous Churches, lessening the tension between their forces.

    It was just a pity that they were unable to connect with the vampires of the Frozen Kingdom, particularly Dracula, the Vampire Primogenitor of that continent, much earlier due to the tension of that era – the Repelling Era against the invading demons.

    ...

    Such backgrounds had been uncovered by the lore scholars of the game, increasing the understanding of the players about the Plague Race, which also increased the interest of the people about them.

    But at the same time, the weaknesses of the race were also revealed one after another, making their side start to lose more footing during the war.

    It was at this moment when the players and other forces participating in the event realized that the event was closing to its conclusion.

    Those siding with the Plague Race started making preparations as they knew that their side was on the losing end.

    At the same time, he also could not help but think of that monstrous guy, who was supposedly steamrolling his way in this event, suddenly stopped his tracks and disappeared altogether.

    "How come he is still not making his move when the situation is already like this?"

    "I know that they are quite busy with the ongoing tournament, but given their overall strength, it will not be hard for them to rival those top forces that are currently operating and participating in this event."

    He was quite confused as to why Shin and his friend were not seen in any parts of the Plague Lands despite how intense the war was. Especially so when Shin was actively participating in the event in its earlier stages.

    Shin even occupied the number one position on the event’s leaderboards since he had hunted quite a lot of elite monsters and a couple of Plague Race Players on top of killing one of the main generals of their side.

    While Axion was waiting patiently for his fate to come, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice resounding from the tomb hall.

    "Ah! It seems like am quite early. The ’fruit’ is yet to ripe."

    A shiver ran down Axion’s spine when heard that voice, especially when no one could reach this place. Even those Elders sent by the Demonic Churches and Corrupted Cult were unable to break through the maze formation protecting this place!

    "Who-...!?"

    He was to ask who the intruder was when he suddenly swallowed his words after seeing the person walking out of the shadows in the corner of the hall.

    As someone quite familiar with the circle of experts within the game, it was impossible for him not to recognize this uninvited guest.

    "Lich God Immortal! What are you doing here!?" his face suddenly turned grim when he saw the latter.

    But before he could hear any response from the other party, another person’s voice reverberated within the hall.

    "Tsk! Tsk! So the defective product is also here. You have disappeared after that ’incident’, yet here you are showing before ’us’."

    At this moment, a hooded individual walked out of the coordinator’s office, right across the throne where Axion was sitting, and entered the hall in a laid-back manner.

    Immoral did not have to guess who the other ’guest’ was as he replied. "This is quite surprising. To think, Azazel, one of the strongest forces of that person, to be sent here."

    "It looks like the ’Pandemonium’ have put quite a lot of importance on this operation," he then paused for a moment as he remembered that this guy loved to collect things.

    He then pointed at the floating miasma and Axion, especially on the latter’s chest, before asking. "Or is it because of those things?"

    Axion, on the other hand, felt an even stronger threat coming from the other person, which made his already grim expression even worse.

    If it were just Immoral, then he would still have a chance. Even if he could not win, he was confident that he could buy as much time as he could – at least until the backup arrived or even until the entire ritual ended.

    But if this guy, who just arrived was added, he was not sure if he could last that long.

    "This is going to be dangerous," he mumbled as he stared at the two uninvited guests, who seemed to be ignoring his existence.

    ...