The war between the two guilds drew closer after Gian’s death.

Gian’s party wipeout acted like a domino effect for House of Spiders which was already struggling to make things work for itself. During the guild’s trying times, the Awakened ranker and his entire party were one of the main factors supporting the guild’s overall operability. So it was only natural that Gian’s death created a large crack in the way his guild functioned.

The most troubling thing for House of Spiders was the fact that Yeti decided to voluntarily leave the guild. This started a chain of events for the guild. Other rankers decided to face the repercussions of the contract breach instead of waiting for the kingdom of Shaikai to bail them out.

The upper echelon of the House of Spiders decided to punish Yeti for her misadventure in the guild’s most critical times. They wanted to make an example of her. Ariadne, however, ensured Yeti’s safety by providing her with a safe house that nobody could find. This was accomplished by the demonic ranker in her own unique way.

At first, nobody knew who was taking care of Gian’s team. But things like this couldn’t be kept away from the rankers involved in the two guilds for long. Eventually, everybody got to know it was Eren and his team that had decided to spearhead this campaign against the House of Spiders.

Eren didn’t do this for the Stardust guild. But he kept his mouth shut when people started assuming just that. This way, he could get access to more rare resources from his guild for a job well done.

The skirmish between the two guilds gradually intensified. And eventually, even Arch rankers started getting involved. That’s when the kingdom knew it was about time they did something off the books.

The kingdom could not promote the eventual battle openly. Nevertheless, it decided to look the other way if and when the inevitable occurred. This was what the two guilds wanted anyway. To fight it out and see who the king of the hill was.

The guild war was especially crucial for the Stardust guild. It had to ensure that it received minimal damage in the war to keep itself functioning post-war. Unlike the House of Spiders, it had everything to lose. Even a Pyrrhic victory was the most undesirable outcome for the guild.

***

Then one day, an all-out war between the two guilds broke out.

The two guilds mutually decided to fight at multiple locations at once. Individual grudges would be settled. The clash between powerful teams was going to create rivers of blood wherever they clashed. The Arch and Awakened rankers were fighting their wars separately.

Meta rankers were treated like foot soldiers.

The guild war had broken out in multiple places at once. However, there were a few places where rankers from both guilds had gathered in significant numbers, ready for battle.

Sekuy wasteland was one such region.

A bright and sunny morning greeted the residents of Gilaahan. But the morning winds were laced with the smell of blood.

Sekuy wasteland was nothing but a dry patch of land that was between the Ghoulfen river and the Caerni forest. It was about a week’s journey away from the city of Ludan. The region was devoid of life and the nearest town was a day’s horse ride away. This made it an ideal location for two guilds’ Meta rankers to fight it out.

Awakened rankers from both guilds had been deployed to the scene. Their job was to keep the other side’s Awakened rankers from participating in the battle between Meta rankers. Meta rankers could not be sure how much the other side would uphold that agreement. They could only count on their Awakened rankers to act fast in case the other side decided to play dirty.

Eren was also deployed to the Sekuy wasteland along with most of his Meta ranker teammates. Rankers from both sides kept a safe distance from each other. They had spread laterally across the wasteland and were observing an imaginary no-war zone line between them.

Both sides were now waiting for the Awakened rankers from their side to break the stalemate. Each side had deployed seven Awakened rankers to the region and both of them had a leader of the Awakened rankers. Both of them had become de facto leaders of their side as well.

“Bobby, you better keep your hands away from this fight. Otherwise, I’ll skewer your balls, add some black pepper to them, and make you eat them with a habanero dip.”

Kiara Croft from the Stardust guild presented a naked threat to the guy named Bobby from House of Spiders. When they heard her choice of words to threaten Bobby, Meta rankers were dumbfounded.

Kiara Croft was the same ranker who had led Eren and others into attacking the demonic ranker Bulal Blood. When Eren was dealing with Geer’s team, she was injured by the Spiders’ ambush.

She had fully recovered from her injury. She had also progressed further in her ranking journey, becoming a quasi-Arch ranker.

Kiara Croft looked more stunning than ever with her rosy skin, red hair, and green eyes. Her prominent feminine features were not hidden by the leather battle armor she was wearing. Mana, a fire element, created flames around her as she stared with hatred. It was clear that Booby was the one who had ambushed Kiara’s team in the past and managed to kill some of her team members.

Kiara had been told to strictly follow the rules. The upper management of the Stardust guild had told her not to seek personal revenge and focus on protecting the Meta ranker asset. However, she was given a free hand in case the House of Spiders decided to break the rules of the war.

Frankly, Kiara wanted Booby to interfere in the Meta rankers’ battle so that she could use it as an excuse to launch an all-out battle against him. That’s why she began with such provocative words that might trigger Booby or any other Awakened ranker to act.

Kiara was also aware that some of the Meta rankers might die before she was able to step in and handle the matter by herself, as a result of her blatant provocation. But that was the price she was willing to pay to get back to Bobby.

Bobby was a guy who looked to be in his late 30s. He had short brown hair that was well-combed. He had a full-grown beard and a square face. He had no standout features about him, which made him look ordinary and grounded.

Booby was wearing chainmail armor that seemed enchanted with magic. He had a broadsword in his right hand and a medium-sized metal shield in his left. Unlike Kiara, he had his elemental attainment under his complete control. His mana signature was calm and his presence was as serene as still water. The guy looked ready for war but his face still had the tiredness of someone who had been rudely woken up from sleep.

Bobby was also in the last stage of the Awakened rank. However, he knew that a one-on-one battle with Kiara would end in his defeat. The red-haired woman was a complete psycho when it came to battle. She would always dominate her opponents with her fierce and explosive attacks.

However, Bobby wasn’t afraid to face Kiara either. Battle prowess was not everything when it came to life-and-death situations. It was as much mental as it was physical.

Bobby knew Kiara personally by now. He knew that the red-haired woman would let her anger and other emotions fuel her battle style. She would draw her powers from her emotions. But that also introduced some subtle flaws to her style. And a calm person like Bobby could spot these flaws right away. He also knew how to exploit them, making him a formidable opponent for Kia.

Bobby was also stunned by Kiara’s words when he first heard them. But the effect didn’t last long. He knew that the red-haired woman was only trying to provoke him. Unlike what Kiara thought, he didn’t lose his cool.

“Look, you don’t need to take things so personally, Kiara. I never intended to kill you in the ambush. Because I knew you wouldn’t be killed by me. That was just a mission my guild had kinda forced me to take. I could only oblige and do what was asked of me.

I know you are looking for payback ever since the ambush. And you are welcome to break the pact and seek your revenge against me. I won’t run from a fight, no matter how uncomfortable it gets for me.

The worst-case scenario for me would be that Meta rankers from both sides die and I along with other Awakened rankers from my side manage to get away with some injuries. Can you and your guild afford to pay such a prize?”

===

AN: Kiara Croft was first introduced in chapter 101.

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