The Blood Contract glowed brightly and entered the Crimson Lizard King's head, causing its health to rapidly regenerate.
"Congratulations! You have successfully formed a Beast Contract with the Crimson Lizard King!"
A gray Beast Icon appeared on Orson's interface, indicating the unlocking of his Battle Beast feature.
Looking at the Crimson Lizard King, now docile like a silly goose, Orson took out a rare saddle from his bag: Will of the Battle Beast.
The saddle was pitch black, with a war flag of the gray dwarf king and four ancient battle drums hanging from it.
Orson mounted the Crimson Lizard King, and as he did, the sound of drums rang out, stirring the blood of anyone who heard it. The voice of a ghostly fireboy echoed in the air, creating a perfect balance of grandeur and ferocity.
"Here I come."
Opening his mini-map and marking the Wild Mountains, the Crimson Lizard King soared into the air, spreading its seven to eight-meter wingspan, and with a swift whoosh, it flew over Death Mountain.
First Battlefield—The Godslayer guild fought fiercely. Under Madman's command, the defense line of the guild World Dominators was torn apart.
Bradley snapped to attention, raising his sword and roaring: "Damn it, let's kill them!"
Iron Cavalry, Wild Gale, and other melee players quickly followed, charging into battle against the three hundred strong guild members of World Dominators.
With the help of the small priest's curse healing, Bradley's stats doubled, and he dove into the enemy ranks like a thunderclap, cutting through them like a force of nature. It was no exaggeration to say he was unstoppable!
Madman led his Assassin Team—a group of twelve—in stealth, sneaking into the enemy stronghold to target the enemy's backline DPs, who were hiding behind their tanking players.
The World Dominators guild wasn't weak, but they were facing a group of lethal players.
The top ten Rookie Kings, led by Iron Cavalry, were all notorious kill machines from various MMORPGs. Every player was a skilled technical expert, and they weren't afraid to fight more than one enemy at a time.
"Real men don't run! Let's have another fight!" The leader of World Dominators shouted as he and his surviving troops retreated, but not before declaring that Bradley and his guild should wait for them.
Bradley and his team smirked. "These guys are obviously running to call for backup."
This wasn't the first time it had happened. Various large guilds had attempted to encircle them in the past. They never left them an escape route.
"Hold the line," Madman sighed. With just two and a half hours left in the stronghold battle, they still hadn't seen Orson's return. Even though they shouted in the guild chat, there was no response from him.
"Hold until the end, we'll get the revived players to come to Chaos Rampart as quickly as possible," Bradley said.
At this point, their only option was to hold out—they had no other choice!
"Whoever's gear broke, come over here to get it fixed," Madman shouted.
In the stronghold battle, no equipment or experience would drop upon death, but if a piece of equipment was repeatedly attacked, it would eventually break, requiring repairs at the blacksmith.
Twenty or so players gathered around, and Madman couldn't help but sigh. "I don't have that much gear left. Here, just take these."
With that, Madman tossed a bunch of blue-quality items out of his bag, at least ten pieces.
"Gold? Vice guild leader, you've been dropping gold?"
A large bag of gold coins came flying out as well. The players were momentarily stunned, but Madman quickly snatched the bag back, coughing awkwardly. "Uh, forget you saw that!"
"Seriously? You really know how to steal? No wonder their backline was dying so slowly—I thought you were looting stuff," Bradley messaged privately, cursing Madman for being underhanded.
Madman: "Shut up, I'm just practicing my skills for my Master Thief class. It's all for leveling up."
Madman clearly felt guilty. The S-rank Master Thief class was notorious for being hated by others, so he didn't want to draw too much attention to it. If they weren't in the middle of a stronghold battle, he would've gone after the World Dominators' guild leader, who had purple equipment earlier.
"Damn it, we're finished!"
"With this many enemies, are they here for the stronghold battle, or just to wipe us out?"
In just ten minutes, enemies from three guilds had surrounded Chaos Rampart. World Dominators players, who still had survivors, were also among them.
"Where's Orgod? Tell him to come out and face me!" A woman's voice caught Madman's attention, and he frowned.
"What's going on? Who are these people from the L&H Guild? Why are they here to attack us?"
ElderEscalator: "I've been holding onto my grudge since that rookie village incident. I've been waiting for this day!"
"Ugh… Orson, what the hell did you do? This woman really holds a grudge, doesn't she? Is she counting that rookie village incident?" Bradley groaned.
"Haha, ElderEscalator is getting stronger and stronger. How could we not be there for the street rat hunt? The SSR vanguard guild is here!" ThunderStrike laughed.
"Damn it! SSR is here!"
The guild members froze, and the atmosphere dropped to freezing point.
SSR was a household name in the US, one of the top esports clubs. Players who made it into SSR were all elite-level pros, a far cry from the previous guilds they'd fought.
Madman's expression changed. His strategy of winning with fewer numbers heavily relied on the fact that their main fighters were seasoned veterans.
But against SSR, he felt somewhat lacking.
"Why are there so few of you?" ElderEscalator scowled at Wild War, as SSR had only brought one small battle group, with players only in their early twenties.
"Don't worry, the main forces are still behind. After we take the fourth stronghold, the guild leader will join us," Wild War laughed.
"The fourth stronghold…"
The Godslayer guild members sucked in a breath of cold air. They hadn't even secured one stronghold, while their opponents had already taken four!
While SSR couldn't match the financial power of the top guilds, their numbers were overwhelming, with almost all members being pro players, each with far superior battle skills than regular players.
Sieging and taking down ordinary players was basic for SSR members.
"Why aren't they attacking immediately?" The small priest asked weakly.
Madman stared into the distance, his face grim. "Those bastards are stalling for time. They want to wait until the last minute of the stronghold battle and crush us, leaving us with no time to launch another attack."
"Where the hell is Orgod?" Madman privately messaged Orson again.
"How many enemies are there? Are SSR and Dragon's Kiss Guild here?"
Orson, who had been silent for some time, finally responded. Madman's face changed. "SSR has brought a small team, but their forces… there are probably about 1,100 of them. What the hell did you do to make so many people want to kill you?!"
If Orson had been there, Madman might've been tempted to strangle him.
Thinking back to the initial plan where they expected four enemy guilds, Madman now wished he could slap himself.
At least seven guilds were already against them, and more were gathering!
"That number isn't too bad. I didn't do anything really, honestly… maybe it's just my charm," Orson sent back with a "thinking seriously" emoji.
"Shut the hell up!" Madman cursed.
On the other side, Orson was dealing with a tricky situation, which was why he hadn't been able to respond right away.
Having a flying mount was every player's dream, but the skies of Infinite Dimensions were far more dangerous than the ground. A moment of inattention could cost you your life.
Riding the Crimson Lizard King, it seemed unbeatable in the sky, but in reality, it was still vulnerable.
As he reached the edge of the Wild Mountains, he was ambushed by a Bloodline Dragon.
Though it was just an elite monster, it was level 50 with 200,000 HP—far stronger than the Crimson Lizard King.
Orson retaliated, but just as they were fighting, a massive Leviathan Beast appeared.
This creature, resembling a giant whale, was thousands of meters long, covered in monstrous white scales. It inhaled and lightning crackled, as if it could devour the sky itself.
The Leviathan Beast casually devoured the Bloodline Dragon with one bite, then shot through the sky with a flash of lightning, disappearing from view.
Orson was drenched in cold sweat. The Leviathan Beast was a beast of domain-level power—according to the lore, it
had once been a pet of the ancient Titans.
Meanwhile, back at the First Battlefield, a white-robed woman riding a white horse entered the Chaos Rampart, and the crowd erupted into cheers.
"S-Rank Spirit Priestess! No wonder SSR can dominate, they've only lost less than ten players so far."
"US Region's top priest, no way Orgod is on her level."
"My goddess, how can she be so beautiful?"
The one who arrived was Wedge, leading SSR's battle group!
Wedge, already a high-profile esports star with immense beauty, drew the adoration of fans, especially the "hardcore" ones, who rushed to take photos with her.
Wedge smiled gracefully, handling the fans with poise, greeting each person and posing for pictures.
"The game is nearing its end, has Orgod logged in yet?" a gentle voice asked.
"My God, are you kidding me…"
The Godslayer guild members felt a chill run down their spines, and then Dragon's Kiss Guild and SSR appeared together in the distance.