After the news broke out, people everywhere were seen rushing into the Mercenary Guild. Numerous players swarmed the counters of the guild to verify the authenticity of the message.

Inside the hall, the players waiting for confirmation gossiped eagerly, “Who did this?”

“It’s such a huge sum. No matter who it is behind this, the Fallen Angels League is in deep trouble this time. How unfortunate for the members who are at such a critical moment of transitioning into Tier 6… Hehe…”

“Four billion gold coins! This is no petty business. I bet all the in-game guilds aren’t going to remain silent…”

“That’s true. Since it’s so easy to level up now, nobody’s afraid of offending the Fallen Angels as long as the price is right!”

Tongues continued to wag within the guild hall.

Even though the target this time was the largest League in Angel Faction, very few could resist the temptation of the four billion gold coins.

Those who had reached the counter and obtained the details of the mission were lost in thought.

The guild officer had guaranteed the forty billion gold coins!

All members of the Fallen Angels League had been put on the wanted list.

Any individual or group that successfully slew ten Level 57 (or higher) members of the Fallen Angels, causing the target to drop in level, the player or Party would be rewarded five million gold coins.

Any individual or group that successfully slew ten Level 58 (or higher) members of the Fallen Angels, causing the target to drop in level, the player or Party would be rewarded six million gold coins.

Any individual or group that successfully slew ten Level 59 (or higher) members of the Fallen Angels, causing the target to drop in level, the player or Party would be rewarded seven million gold coins.

On the Level Leaderboards, a majority of the Fallen Angels were at least Level 55 or above. Among them, more than fifteen thousand players were Level 57 or above. Players who had reached Level 59 and had begun to attempt Level 60 were also as much as three hundred.

The wanted order placed by an anonymous player severely impacted the Fallen Angels, especially since the League was gearing to be a forerunner at the Tier 6 stage.

The large group of Fallen Angels would now face the risk of dropping levels once someone accepted the quest.

After all, bringing a Level 57 player one level down resulted in a five million profit or an equivalent of five Divinities… The more quests completed, the greater the reward!

On normal days, neither single players nor players in parties would dare to provoke the Fallen Angels.

However, after the mammoth quest was set up in the Mercenary Guild, the Fallen Angels immediately became the largest prey of the entire Angel Faction.

The four billion gold coins would motivate the bounty hunters to remove a collective of 7000 levels from the Fallen Angels. Moreover, the creator of the quest also promised to give a higher reward if the missions progressed fast enough.

Thus, to a lot of players, even if it meant war against the almighty Fallen Angels, the profit gained was going to overcompensate their loss.

Besides, how many organizations could the Fallen Angels really handle at one time?

In the end, the Fallen Angels’ advancement toward Tier 6 would definitely be drastically pulled back after this calamity. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for its competitors.

As long as they made use of this window and surpassed the Fallen Angels, the threat from the Fallen Angels would automatically be void.

“I accept!”

Countless solo players or players with Clan support covertly accepted the kill order.

***

The Winter Bar in Winter Demesne.

After the messenger announced the news, more than hundreds of high-tier League members put down their drinks and stood up in anger.

“Who would be so daring? Does this person have a death wish?”

“Could it be those new Leagues?” Recently, more and more Leagues had mushroomed across the Mythical Continent. The Angel Faction alone had more than fifteen new Leagues and counting.

“Damn! I can’t wait to see which f*cking bastard dares to touch the Fallen Angels.”

An uproar immediately broke out in the establishment. A lot of them indignantly claimed that they were going to stroll across the Mythical Continent and see for themselves who was so brave to assault them.

Finally, Qin Ruo suppressed the tumult.

As if he suddenly recalled something, he turned his head to the side and asked Black Rock, “Isn’t today the day of the Hall of the Exalted’s official disbandment?”

Once the Honor Points of a League went below one million, it would be given ten days to recover its lost. If the League failed to do so, then it would be officially disbanded.

Qin Ruo linked the dots based on the anonymous player’s extravagant spending.

Not many players could splurge four billion gold coins in one go just to take out the Fallen Angels. The only enemy that fit the bill would be the Hall of the Exalted—the League that was shattered by the Fallen Angels in the Underworld ten days ago.

Black Rock and his other comrades were baffled. They subsequently voiced out their opinions.

“The Hall of the Exalted?”

“I don’t think this is their doing. They’re too arrogant to be this discreet.”

“That’s right. Judging from their swagger, they wouldn’t go anonymous after putting on such a big show,” said Black Rock who spoke. “I still think this has been set up by other Leagues. The new Leagues have loathed the Five Great Leagues from the start, and they’ve established an underground collaboration. They could be sharing the cost and trying to snipe us from the dark.”

“Yeah!”

“That’s highly possible.”

Most members at the Winter Bar supported Black Rock’s deduction.

“Is it possible that the Hall of the Exalted’s cooperating with these people?” Gold Digger Babe’s words served as a wakeup call.

Qin Ruo was a little terrified by the possibility. His comrades around him also fell silent due to how serious the situation could be.

The ten new Leagues had long been dissatisfied with how the Five Great Leagues monopolized most resources within the Angel Faction. If they were now being aided by Big Bruvver and company, then the Fallen Angels may be dealing with great trouble this time.

Realizing the severity of the matter, Qin Ruo made no delay and contacted the other League Commanders swiftly. He also made an announcement asking all Level 55 and above comrades to stay within the Mythical Continent’s safe zone before further notice.

“Qin Ruo,” Majestic Hero was the first to reply, “I’ve already warned my members. Anyone who accepts the quest will immediately be kicked out from my League. Besides, I’ve also instructed them to provide support if your men are attacked. By the way, do you know who the anonymous player is targeting in the Fallen Angels? Any thoughts?”

“Thanks! Right now we’re still unsure who the anonymous player really is. But I do suspect the Hall of the Exalted as well as those new Leagues. I’ve retained my men in the Underworld for the time being but they’re not going to stay in this gloomy place for long. My priority now is to protect those at Level 59. We’ll wait for them to reach Tier 6 first, then only hunt down the culprits behind all this mess one by one.”

“Mm, that’s a wise move. The most important thing now is to not let the matter affect them. I think this is also the mastermind’s true intention. They can’t touch the Fallen Angels as long as all of you remain in the Underworld,” Majestic Hero shared his analysis.

Qin Ruo smiled a little. “Don’t you worry. I can still handle this. The Fallen Angels aren’t going to be torn down so easily. Four billion gold coins are not going to stop us. They’re underestimating our true strength. After the focus shifted to the Underworld for so long, they must have forgotten how developed and advanced the Five Great Leagues are… We should pick a time and help them understand why we are called the Fallen Angels!”

***

“Sh*t.”

“Nobody has come to claim the reward the entire afternoon. The Fallen Angels have reacted rather efficiently. We’ve hardly seen them outside. Its members who are at Level 55 and above are all missing.”

“Do you think Qin Ruo’s an idiot? He’s obviously going to stop his high-level members from wandering around after the wanted order’s hung up at the Mercenary Guild.”

In the restaurant of a small town, ten people surrounded a table inside a dim room.

“What should we do then?”

“Don’t you worry. The Fallen Angels won’t be able to hold out for too long. Hiding for one or two days makes no difference to our plan. The several hundred Tier 6 players they have are also none of our concern. Our ultimate aim is to pester them and jeopardize their development.”

“Why the hassle? Since we’ve already figured out the route to Winter Demesne, why don’t we just reveal it to the public and conquer it? This will also prevent them from leveling up, and fulfill our aim easily, right?” a person with a hoarse sound spoke impatiently.

However, his suggestion was immediately refuted by a cold sneer, “Stop being a fool. The Underworld isn’t your backyard. Its distance spans more than a hundred and fifty kilometers. Even if we manage to bring a large army to Winter Demesne, what makes you think that we can beat the Fallen Angels in an extended war? How do we manage our supplies and logistics down there?”

This was met by silence.

“Moreover, revealing the route will also definitely startle the Fallen Angels. Knowing that we’re going to attack his city, don’t you think Qin Ruo may set up an ambush midway? Not only that, we may not even reach Winter Demesne at all, instead, risk blowing up our cover too.”

“Bruvver’s right. This time, we’re not aiming to take down the core of the Fallen Angels, so please be patient. Lockdown all information and don’t try to act recklessly. Since Winter Demesne has been built more than half a month now and will soon be attacked by the Undead again, we’ll wait until then and utilize the route at that time.”

“…As such, stay put for now. Try not to let the Fallen Angels notice us. Let the greedy ones do the dirty job…”

“Following that, do remember to restrict your underlings as well. We have to save the reward for the others. If not, who else is going to provoke the Fallen Angels for us and keep them busy?”