Chapter 681: Aiming for the Best

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Calderock Town, Mayor's Residence.

All of the members of the Empyrean Talons, exempt from Shin, were currently gathered in the conference room while waiting for the final member to come.

"Ah~! I am so bored! Why are those guys from Silent Night suddenly back out at the very last minute? Too bad, I am really curious to see where they get their confidence from," said Arthur as he stretched his back on his seat.

"Heh! Why would they fight if their commander got beaten up by Shin Bro and lost almost everything?" commented Leonard from the side smirkingly.

Hearing that, Arthur suddenly turned his head towards Leonard before saying. "Given their background, finding a new set of equipment and skills books for him is not going to be a problem. And with how skilled he is, his old form is not going to disappear that easily."

Reaching this point, Arthur suddenly remembered something and suddenly started smirking. "By the way, isn't Justin currently holding a rank higher than you on the official ranking list? How does it feel that Shin beat on your prey?"

"He even defeated Immortal. Does it mean that he basically overtakes you in the rankings?" he added while laughing. And before Leonard could even refute, Arthur quickly continued. "Tsk! Tsk! Are you not ashamed that he managed to catch up to you despite playing a virtual game for only a few months?"

The expression on Leonard's face immediately became dark the moment he heard those words. Unfortunately, he didn't have any words to refute Arthur. So, all he could do was glare at the latter while staying inside his head. 'Just you wait for your turn.'

In the meantime, the other guys were busy with their own things. And from the look of it, all of them seemed to be unaffected about what happened earlier.

Well, aside from Cloe, of course.

After all, she was a part of Silent Night for quite some time since she knew Justin personally in the real world. And even if she was only a free agent of their team, she still felt some sentiment with the team since she shared quite a lot of experience with them. She was even close with one of their members, Hannah.

But after what she had experienced earlier, she didn't know how to feel anymore. And when Arthur saw the expression that she was currently having, he suddenly kicked the ground to move his chair towards her before patting her shoulders. "Hey! What's with that look? You are going to make Shin brokenhearted if you show him that expression."

"Ah!"

Hearing that, Cloe immediately came back to her senses before quickly looking to Arthur. And when the latter saw the expression on her face changed all of a sudden, he couldn't help but tease her a little. "I thought you were loyal to my brother? So, why are you feeling bad for that guy? Don't tell me that you are actually cheating behind his back when you are in the Sun-Moon Continent?"

"Eh!? That's not true! I-…" Cloe was trying to explain herself when Shin suddenly entered the room. And when she saw him, she couldn't help but shut her mouth since she didn't want Shin to misunderstand what she was planning to say.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere within the room suddenly became awkward which made Shin frown his eyebrows. "What's with the suffocating air? Did something happen?"

Cloe opened and closed her mouth, planning to explain what happened. But no words came out from her mouth which made Shin's eyebrows frown even deeper.

Fortunately, Arthur's quick-wittedness saved her in time. "Hey! Let me see the stuff that you got from Justin before passing it to Owen."

"Eh!? Huh!?"

Hearing that, Owen, who was currently reviewing a few battle videos of himself, couldn't help but turn his head two. He was quite confused at first but he immediately realized what they were talking about when he saw Shin sharing the information of Justin's equipment set to everyone.

Skimming through the information displayed on the virtual screen in front of them, the others couldn't help but wear a weird look on their faces because of how crazy the stats were that they were seeing.

Naturally, except for Arthur, Leonard, Cloe, and Shin. After all, they have their own sets that have similar stats.

"Tsk! It is pretty decent," commented Arthur while slightly nodding his head.

Hearing that, the others couldn't help but turn their head at him simultaneously while also shouting at him inside their heads. – "Pretty Decent!?" –

Understanding the meaning behind their looks, Arthur looked at them innocently before saying. "Don't misunderstand. This set is actually trash compared to mine."

F*CK!

The others simultaneously cursed inside their heads while throwing a sharp glare at him. And when Arthur saw that, he quickly raised both of his hands before saying. "That was just a joke. A joke! You guys are too serious."

On the other hand, Shin suddenly turned to Owen before asking. "What do you think? Is it suitable for you?"

Hearing that, Owen couldn't help but stare at Shin blankly as he didn't know how to respond. He could only open and close his mouth as he tried to say something. Unfortunately, the words that he wanted to say seemed to be stacked in his throat, and couldn't go out.

Even if the set seemed to be not suitable for him, Owen would still say 'yes' given the insane stats that the set had.

Seeing Owen's reactions, Arthur immediately added. "If you think it is not suitable for your tastes, we can still ask Big Brother Black Hammer to reforge it for you, so that it will suit your style."

Cough! Cough!

This time, both Alucard and Akailu couldn't help but clear their throats due to the words that they just heard. Then they turned to Owen while looking at him with full of envy. – "Lucky b*st*rd!" –

"Don't be surprised. This is a part of your contract – as long as you are supporting the team, we will give you our full effort to improve your strengths," said Cloe when she saw the look that the two had on their faces.

Alucard and Akailu suddenly gulped a mouthful of saliva when they heard her words before looking at each other.

Seeing that, Arthur suddenly smirked before saying. "Heh! Of course, we also need you to be strong enough to fight against our rivals."

He then paused for a moment to sweep his gaze at everyone before continuing. "Out of our group, only five of us can properly contend against peak experts of the game. So, we are most likely going to lose if we compete in the 'Battle for Dominance' that will be held a few months from now. And the 'Bloody Winter War' after that."

"Eh!?"

Aside from Shin, who was still not familiar with the matters of the gaming world, the others immediately turned their heads at Arthur and looked at him with full of disbelief. After all, they were clearly aware of what kind of tournaments were mentioned.

Seeing their reactions, Arthur couldn't help but sneer at them before saying. "What? Do you think we are just a casual team that is hunting some world bosses and doing a couple of Empire Quest for fun?"

"Of course, we are going to participate in those kinds of competitions to improve ourselves. And naturally, to also become the best adventurer team in history!" he added with an excited tone.

On the other hand, Shin could only shake his head with a bitter smile as he could tell what Arthur really wanted. And even if he was not aware of this plan, he still didn't say anything since both Leonard and Cloe remained quiet.

"We can carry our team in group and team battles. But it is a completely different case when it comes to individual competition," said Arthur, which made the others look at him with a slight frown.

Sensing those gazes, the proud Dragon God suddenly smirked before asking provokingly. "What? Do you have any problem with what I've said? I am just stating the truth."

"Our teamwork is actually not that bad, but our overall strength is still a little inferior compared to the top adventurer teams and main force of the powerhouse guilds. Take those guys from Silent Night, for example. Nine of them have a Godlike Title of their own while the rest are at the peak of being Titled Rankers."

"I am pretty confident that we can at least fight them on an equal footing if it is a team battle. But-…" reaching this point, he suddenly trailed his words in the air for a couple of moments and pointed at Leonard, Shin, and himself before continuing. "But if the three of us become occupied with their best members, I doubt that you guys will be fine on your own."

"Are you guys confident that you can handle the rest of their group without us?" asked Arthur while raising his eyebrows.

Hearing those words, the others suddenly turned quiet as they could that they would not stand a chance without these three. Even with the help of the number one priest of the game, it was still impossible for them to defeat such a team with a crazy lineup.

Arthur didn't say anything for a couple of moments, letting the others digest what he just said. And when he thought that his words finally sank inside their heads, he suddenly started grinning from ear to ear before saying. "But you guys don't have to worry. Because we will make sure to make each one of you reach a level that you can only dream of."

"After all, we are only aiming to be the best," he added while maintaining his mysterious smile. And at the same time, he was also giving Shin a meaningful look as if he was saying that it was his turn.

Being able to read what was the meaning of that look, Shin could only sigh helplessly before taking out a sealed scroll from his inventory and throwing it to Owen.

Swoosh!

Owen unconsciously caught the scroll while looking at Shin confusedly. He then turned his attention to the scroll on his hand before staring at it blankly with wide-opened eyes.

Arthur took his actions as a cue to nod his head repeatedly while saying. "So, we will start with you."

In the meantime, Shin, Cloe, and Leonard couldn't help but lower their heads and cover their faces with one hand while thinking to themselves. – "This suddenly became embarrassing!" –

...…