...

    For this round, the Seven Seas Alliance, or the Wild Brothers specifically, had chosen a river with shallow water but had a lot of rock formations in the surroundings.

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    The river was quite wide, dividing the two banks right beside the forest trees that were forming a natural wall that prevented any from crossing them.

    This area was much smaller than the one that the previous round had, which was why the two sides were able to find each other almost instantly right after they were summoned by the system.

    The representatives of the two teams were standing on each bank respectively, staring at each other.

    "What!?"

    "Such absurdness! Are those guys out of their minds!?"

    "Sending their sole tank in Group Battle? Are they serious? Are they mocking us?"

    The Wild Brothers could not help but stare blankly at the opposing team, especially after seeing Owen standing in front of Ithilien and Alucard.

    They had already expected that the Empyrean Talons would send at least one of their top combatants for this group battle, so they were not surprised when they saw Alucard. But it never crossed their minds that the other side would be bold enough to send Owen as well.

    Owen might still be a distance away from becoming a Godlike Player or Maverick God, but he was among the top when compared to the peak Titled Rankers and Maverick Rankers. He could even be a cut above those, rivaling some of the weaker gods of the game that were not in the ranking lists.

    As for Ithilien, she was a true Peak Titled Ranker with abilities slightly inferior to Owen’s. She was often overshadowed by him before, but this did not mean that she was weak. She could be ranked as one of the greatest Ranker Archers of the game given her skills.

    Adding to the fact that these two were long-time partners, their coordination had already reached the perfect stage where they no longer needed to communicate with one another to understand what each other was thinking.

    Among the well-known duos within the virtual world, these two were quite known to be one of the best.

    They might not have that much fame as a Duo when it came to the public’s eyes, but they were quite famous within the expert’s circle.

    The moment the experts watching the match saw these two, they could not help but become even more interested. "This is going to be quite entertaining. I wonder which side is better."

    As they had similar thoughts in mind, they also could not help but turn their attention to Alucard, who seemed to be one of the most mysterious members of the Empyrean Talons.

    "We can’t underestimate Owen. He has grown quite a lot since the last time we met him," said the youngest seriously before adding. "Moreover, we have never succeeded in killing even once in any games that we have played. He has always survived every time we attempted to kill him."

    "Now that you have put it that way, I am starting to have the urge to solely target him right now and forget about the competition," said Moyong Gui, the second eldest.

    Moyong Qi, the eldest brother, shook his head as he said. "Don’t forget our priority. You can deal with him later as well anyway, so just focus on our job and avoid risking our investment funds from disappearing."

    The warning of their big boss was still vivid in their minds, so they could not afford to lower their guard and forget about anything else. After all, they could not afford to lose the investment of the Seven Seas Group at this point when they were too invested in the project.

    They did not want to be lab rats like those weaklings back in the main base of the corporation and undergoing such torturous experiments.

    As the three were discussing with each other, the representatives of the Empyrean Talons were also preparing their plans.

    "It looks like they are taking a different approach this time," commented Owen after seeing the team composition of the opposing side.

    They had already watched the battle videos of the Wild Brothers and quite understood their style and battle tactics. But those videos did not reveal everyone, especially when it came to special circumstances where the brothers did not have to show their real capabilities.

    But at this moment, it seemed like the Wild Brothers were taking this match very seriously, especially when they had taken out most of their hidden weapons – just like how the eldest brother had brought all his guns for this match.

    Alucard glanced at the guns that Moyong Qi had taken out before saying. "Nothing has changed. Just leave him to me and deal with the other two."

    "No matter how many guns he brings in this match, his fatal flaw remains the same," he added as he took out his sniper rifle and rested it on his shoulders.

    He gestured at the eldest brother of the trio from the other side, seemingly inviting the guy for a duel before walking away from Owen and Ithilien.

    The two stared at his back for a couple of moments before shaking their heads and smiling bitterly. They had become familiar with this guy after playing with him for quite a while, yet they were still far from fully understanding him.

    They exchanged glances with each other before shrugging their shoulders.

    "Let’s leave him be. He may look like that and sound a little rude, but he is competent and reliable when the situation calls for it," said Owen as he fixed his grip over his shield and took out his battle hammer from his back.

    Seeing him walking toward the opposing trio, Ithilien also took her long bow and prepared for the battle. She knew that Owen had some grudge to settle with these three, so he was quite eager for the payback.

    She knew that he would go all out without aside from those Divine Tattoos and the unique skills of his Ascended Class and Race.

    ......