"Is that Snow Dream!!??"
"Why is Snow Dream the Saintess? Where's Wedge? Did the plan change?"
"Can someone tell me what's going on up there? Why Snow Dream? Does she even deserve it?"
The sudden regional announcement left the remaining SSR players in a daze.
No one could comprehend what the SSR upper management was thinking.
From the announcement, it was clear that becoming the Saintess of the Holy Light Church came with massive benefits. Beyond commanding a portion of the church's elite guards, the opportunity for a profession awakening alone was enough to drive countless S-tier players mad with envy.
If Wedge, already an S-tier player, had been chosen, she could have potentially become the first dual-S profession player in the US server!
Yet the Saintess title had gone to Snow Dream, a disciple of a known traitor to the SSR Club. It was beyond absurd.
"Something's gone wrong! Something must have gone wrong!" DonutWizard felt a chill run down his spine, an overwhelming sense of unease creeping over him.
He had a hunch—everyone in the club had been royally screwed.
"Everyone, protect me. I'm forcing a logout!" DonutWizard shouted.
Kirin and the others surrounded him in their golden war chariot, shielding him as DonutWizard quickly pressed the emergency logout button. His character fell into the immobilized penalty state.
SSR Club Headquarters
DonutWizard bolted upright from his gaming pod, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.
Still reeling from the disorienting shift back to reality, he stumbled out of the room and toward the hallway.
"You'll pay! You bastard, you'll pay… I'll ruin you! You're done for!"
A hysterical scream echoed from the main hall, and DonutWizard froze.
He saw two staff members struggling to restrain someone.
It was Wedge—her hair disheveled, her usual seductive grace completely gone.
DonutWizard's heart raced, his face pale.
Was this really Wedge?
He muttered to himself, trembling. This wasn't the composed and calculating goddess who always seemed to have everything under control.
"You betrayed me! How dare you do this to me!"
Wedge's bloodshot eyes burned with rage as her hands clamped tightly around the neck of another woman.
Her eyes were filled with venom, and it was clear she was ready to kill.
"What… are you doing?" DonutWizard stammered, stepping forward to help some SSR members separate the two women.
"Then let me ask you, why do you think I wouldn't do this to you?"
Snow Dream rubbed her reddened neck, her expression remaining calm but now tinged with a cold arrogance and disdain.
"I'm sorry, but I won't be a part of your charade any longer," Snow Dream said with a faint smile, her tone that of a victor making a declaration.
Wedge, like a wounded vixen, hissed venomously: "Snow Dream, don't think that backstabbing me will earn you his trust!"
Snow Dream's gaze grew colder, and she chose not to respond.
Seeing this, Wedge assumed she had found Snow Dream's weak spot and took a deep breath to regain her composure.
Snow Dream silently began packing up her personal belongings.
"Betraying the guild and stealing my Saintess votes? You'll pay for this in blood!" Wedge sneered, chasing after her.
"I'll ruin your father's company, drag you into crushing debt, and make sure you live the rest of your life in misery! You're finished!"
Wedge blocked her path with a cold laugh. "I'm telling you, you're not leaving here today!"
"Is that so?" Snow Dream's lips curled slightly, her gaze turning icy as she locked eyes with the woman who had caged her for so long.
"You mean nothing to him."
Wedge scoffed, her voice dripping with mockery. Now that she had calmed down, she was confident of her victory.
"I know that better than anyone."
Snow Dream let out a soft laugh and said plainly, "Your failure has shown me the truth: with you at the helm, the SSR guild will never amount to anything."
"I think you should sit down and talk this through," DonutWizard interjected, trying to signal Wedge to de-escalate.
He believed Wedge could still turn the situation around with her cunning, ensuring Snow Dream paid dearly while minimizing the guild's losses.
"No, I'm tired of this place." Snow Dream shook her head and refused.
DonutWizard sneered in response: "The latest guild management contract was signed last week. Do you know how much it'll cost you to break the agreement and leave the club?"
"Ten billion," Snow Dream replied calmly.
"Then I'll ask: are you paying with cash or card?" DonutWizard smirked, motioning for staff to retrieve the contract.
"There's no need to check—I'll cover it for her."
At that moment, a man walked into the room, his sharp features shadowed by a perpetual gloom.
"Strategic Trickster!?"
"What's the meaning of this, William?"
Both Wedge and DonutWizard were stunned.
William, the Strategic Trickster, was a legendary tactician who had struck a deal with Usher during a critical siege, gaining the power of an Epic Soul Seal.
Single-handedly, he had held off the enemy until the siege ended, securing Dragon's Kiss Guild's last stronghold, Dragon's Breath Fortress.
Had it not been for him, the guild would have been utterly wiped out and left a laughingstock.
Yet despite his allegiance to the Light Dragon faction, William secretly controlled several mid-sized guilds, acting as a hidden ace ready to assist Dragon's Kiss in their eventual retaliation against Godslayer.
William shook his head and smiled. "It's simple. On behalf of the DK Group, I'm here to officially terminate our partnership with the SSR guild."
"What? Terminate the partnership?"
Wedge's confidence crumbled.
Although SSR was backed by the UJ Consortium, they were only the consortium's second choice in Infinite Dimensions—the first being the Thousand Hands Guild.
SSR had barely survived Godslayer's suppression thanks to DK Group's financial support.
Now, the termination of that partnership would spell disaster for the club.
After years of dominating the US esports scene, ruling countless popular online games, SSR was now on the verge of collapse.
"William's here? Bro, sorry, but I'm planning to switch environments too."
"Apologies, Wedge, and thanks for everything. Triple Crown Winner is impressive, but staying in SSR just doesn't make sense anymore. Goodbye."
Before Wedge could catch her breath, over twenty SSR pro players walked out of the training room.
They were SSR's top operators and high-ranking professionals, most of them still in their teens—prodigies of esports.
"You… none of you are allowed to leave!"
Wedge's voice trembled, her eyes red as she shouted desperately.
"And why not? We're not executives like you. This is a mutual agreement—we're free to stay or go as we please," one player retorted coldly.
Wedge stood there in stunned silence, the tension in her chest finally snapping as the players who once flattered her now ignored her completely.
"DonutWizard, you have potential. There's still a chance for you," Snow Dream said with a smile, extending an olive branch.
"Go to hell!" DonutWizard exploded, lunging at Snow Dream in rage.
William's expression turned icy as he kicked DonutWizard across the room. "Know your place. Get lost."
The scrawny DonutWizard was no match for William. He turned to see his goddess, Wedge, sobbing helplessly on the floor.
His face twisted with hatred as he shouted, "Snow Dream! And you, Dragon's Kiss Guild—you'll all die miserably!"
Meanwhile, back in Infinite Dimensions, the SSR coalition was in complete disarray following DonutWizard's sudden logout.
Madman: "What the hell? Why aren't those SSR rogues moving?"
Bradley: "This is what happens when you mess with us—no matter how big your guild is, in Infinite Dimensions, everyone bows to us!"
With their leadership gone, the SSR coalition crumbled entirely, surrounded and slaughtered by the combined forces of Godslayer, Moonlight, and Supreme Guilds.
Madman: "Hey, Demon Emperor, are you just going to sit back and pick up scraps? Come out here and help block them!"
Hearing this, Demon Emperor, locked in battle with leftover NPCs, frowned deeply. He distrusted Madman, knowing he was unpredictable and ruthless, often setting traps for his enemies.
Could this be another ploy to lure the Slaughter Guild into a trap?
Madman smirked, shouting again: "Don't drag your feet! Get over here—loot will be split evenly! Blank's gear is with me—come and claim it!"
His grin widened as his voice echoed across the battlefield.