CHAPTER 69: SACRIFICE FOR THE SOUTHERN GUILD ALLIANCE

Selling the Fire-Pillar Sword gave Ethan at least 150,000 gold. Back when he bought it, the price was 200,000 gold at the equipment shop in Porco City.

But certain items drop in value when their durability decreases. In this case, the Fire-Pillar Sword’s price went down because Ethan had used it in every single battle.

After finishing the transaction, Ethan took the money and left the equipment shop.

His goal was to return to his room at the inn and rest comfortably before starting his next plan.

When he arrived at the inn, Ethan stopped in his tracks upon seeing Celica coming down the stairs.

The woman looked shocked after seeing him—after all, she knew Ethan had been resting in his room earlier before they went out hunting.

"Ethan?"

Ethan smiled, pulling down the hood of his black cloak and removing his white mask. He gave a small smile as Celica walked up to him.

"Did you guys get a lot of Star Essence?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, we did. We got quite a lot," Celica replied.

Unlike Ethan, who went to the forest to get a new sword, Lara and her team focused on hunting for Star Essence.

They did it as a team, right after Ethan helped boost their strength. That gave them a little more confidence.

Ethan nodded. He needed to meet Lara to collect the Star Essence—they had agreed that Ethan would be the one to store and protect the guild’s shared resources.

He knocked on Lara’s door. Not long after, the red-haired woman opened it with a bright smile when she saw Ethan standing there.

"Oh, you’re here. I went to your room earlier, but you weren’t there," Lara said.

"Yeah, I just got back," Ethan replied.

"Here," Lara said, happily handing over the Star Essence she’d collected. The total was 650.

Lara told him that she and her team hunted Star Essence monsters in several areas, and some of the essence they got was from other guild teams they had defeated.

With the additional 650 Star Essence, the total amount owned by the Sword Liberation team reached 4,986, raising their rank to 13,644.

Ethan accepted the Star Essence and stored it away. He expressed how proud he was of Lara and the rest of the team—a genuine sense of pride for the progress they’d made under his guidance.

Lara’s face turned red. She didn’t expect Ethan to praise her like that. Without his advice and leadership, they wouldn’t have gathered that much Star Essence.

"Thank you. We’ll always remember your guidance," Lara said softly.

The woman who used to be known for her toughness now looked gentle in front of Ethan.

What people said was true—someone with a fiery temper usually becomes quiet when facing someone stronger than them.

In Lara’s case, she couldn’t bring herself to act harsh toward Ethan. She couldn’t even raise her voice at him. It was out of admiration, respect... and maybe a little affection.

Ethan nodded. He had already obtained the Ashura Bloodblade faster than planned. Just like he told Leni from the LionArk Guild, the plan to create chaos in Uruk City in the north was about to begin.

LionArk, being one of the major guilds in Arkan City, had to form an alliance to defend against the northern guild alliance’s threat.

Leni had to stay cautious and never appear to side with Ethan. The northern guilds must not know that Ethan was the key to destroying Silver Star.

"Lara," Ethan called.

"Yes?" she asked, curious as she stepped closer.

CHOKE!

Ethan suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the neck, shocking Lara and making her panic.

His grip was so strong that her HP slowly started to drop—the friendly kill feature had been activated for the event.

"W-What are you doing, Ethan?!" Lara cried, terrified.

"Let’s fight, damn it!"

He threw her hard forward, smashing through the inn window and sending her body flying out into the street below.

Lara crashed to the ground, bruised and injured. Ethan could see many players stopping in their tracks and looking up at the shattered window.

"I-Is that EthanArk?" one of them asked in shock.

One of the LionArk members saw it happen. Coincidentally, he was one of the people who’d accompanied Leni when she met Ethan before.

During that meeting, Ethan clearly said that his grand massacre plan against the northern alliance would begin with a fake conflict between him and his own guild.

He had planned it on purpose so that other players would start seeing the Sword Liberation team as victims.

If they saw Ethan attacking his own team, many players would sympathize with Sword Liberation and label Ethan as a criminal and traitor.

Ethan summoned the Ashura Bloodblade and leaped down, aiming to finish off Lara.

But his body was suddenly pushed to the side as one of the LionArk members rushed in to save her.

"I won’t let you hurt other players anymore—not even your own teammates!" the man shouted.

Ethan slid back, glaring forward. He saw Celica, Nuwa, and Luca running toward Lara.

Not only were they there, but the entire LionArk team had arrived to secure the situation. Leni stood in front of them, walking toward Ethan.

In her heart, Leni hated having to carry out this plan. But LionArk had no other choice.

Silver Star was too strong, while LionArk was far too weak right now. Without Ethan, they would fail the Mavelard City challenge.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, ETHAN?!" Nuwa shouted angrily.

"What am I doing? Are you stupid?" Ethan mocked.

"I’ve been fighting alone with a bunch of weak idiots. I’ve gathered way more Star Essence than any of you!"

"I just want to kill you all to ease my burden. That’s it," Ethan said coldly.

"But we’ve fought together for—"

"You think that matters? Not at all!"

"Don’t forget, I have nothing to do with Sword Liberation. I joined the guild only to enter the event and win rewards for myself!" Ethan shouted.

Lara froze, then gave a small, sad smile. Her heart felt crushed, like Ethan had squeezed it tightly.

Tears fell from her eyes as her chest tightened with pain.

"I thought... you were different, Ethan," Lara said quietly.

Leni looked over and saw Lara step forward despite her injuries, her neck still red from Ethan’s grip.

Lara and Ethan faced each other in the middle of the city street—every player stood behind LionArk, while Ethan stood alone.

"It was stupid to fall for a criminal, wasn’t it?" Lara asked.

"I never asked you to love me. I’m not guilty of the pain you feel," Ethan replied.

"This pain came because I expected too much from you. The biggest disappointment is hoping too much from people," Lara said.

Ethan stayed silent. He decided to end the argument. He put away the Ashura Bloodblade, summoned his white mask, and pulled up the hood of his black cloak.

Without saying goodbye, he turned around and walked away from the city.

Lara couldn’t take it anymore. Her heart broke even more as she watched him leave.

She fell to her knees and cried, her body still wounded.

Nuwa walked up and held her tightly, with Celica and Luca doing the same.

The four of them had truly been betrayed by Ethan.

Leni watched their sadness. She felt guilty that Ethan had to carry out this part of the plan.

But Ethan told her not to reveal the truth to the Sword Liberation team until the final day of the event.

That way, they wouldn’t be hurt or worried. Better they hate me and learn the truth later than suffer in fear every day, he’d said.

Master Ethan’s plan was indeed wise. He sacrificed his own name to protect his friends.

No wonder Miss Ashley had always admired him.

"What should we do now?" asked one of Leni’s teammates from LionArk.

"We have a common enemy—EthanArk!"

"We can’t fight him separately. We need to unite our strength."

"We must form the Southern Guild Alliance!"