Overseas. The Okinawa Islands.

At this time, the Grandmasters and S-rank transcendents in the Ota Dojo had already finished a midday meal. It was not particularly lavish, but it was refined and well-prepared.

With their bellies full of food and drink, a touch of drowsiness naturally crept in. However, none of those present went to take a nap. Instead, they sat together in a circle, chatting and boasting, showing no trace of tension.

In truth, there was no need for them to feel tense. After all, the only one who would be stepping into the arena tonight was Lucky. Since the star of the evening himself showed no sign of nervousness, why should the others feel on edge? They were merely here to watch a performance. There was no need to act as if they were part of the play.

“Grandmaster Hong, we’ll be counting on your performance tonight,” said the S-rank transcendent from Britain, known as the God of Thunder, with a smile.

“Haha, no problem. I guarantee I won’t let you down.” Lucky cupped his hands toward him.

This man, about fifty years old, with a full head of golden hair and the title of Thunder God, was named John. In Britain, there were likely so many men named John that a falling billboard could kill a dozen of them. It was an utterly common, almost cliché, name, comparable to a “Xiao Ming1” in Cathay.

John had a bit of personal history with Yae-hime. Some time ago, the one known as Lightning Wolf, who had charged into Cathay only to be blasted to death by Mylene, had once been mentored and assisted by John in developing his electric-type abilities. Strictly speaking, Lightning Wolf could be considered half a disciple of Thunder God.

Of course, John didn’t believe for a second that it was Yae-hime who had killed him. Still, the fact remained that David had gone to Cathay because of her. In the end, he died. That debt, at least in part, had to be counted against Yae-hime.

To put it bluntly, John was here more for the show than for revenge. As for avenging a disciple? That was out of the question. John wasn’t foolish enough to make enemies of Cathay’s top powers over a half-baked disciple.

“Grandmaster Hong, may your flag rise in victory,” said Wind Lord Kim Tae-gi, a Grandmaster from Korea, with a calm expression.

Unlike John, he had a real grudge against Yae-hime. His disciples, Jin Junmin and Desmond, had both died miserably at her hands. That damned Princess clearly had Grandmaster-level strength, yet pretended to be weak and lured his beloved disciples to their brutal deaths.

This grudge was one of life and death, utterly irreconcilable. Unfortunately, someone else had gotten ahead of him in seeking vengeance. Now all he could do was take some comfort in watching her die miserably.

“Definitely, without a doubt!” Lucky cupped his hands in return.

At the table, the guests chatted and laughed, the atmosphere growing lively. This group of powerhouses was rather friendly with Lucky and Grandmaster Ota.

Another group of experts was currently resting in their hotel rooms, waiting for nightfall. As for the outcome of the duel, they already had a clear prediction in mind. It would be an overwhelming victory for Lucky.

Most of them were simply here to enjoy the show, while also taking the chance to gauge the true extent of his strength. The weaker ones were mainly sent by their masters to watch and show some courtesy to Lucky. As for the result? It didn’t really matter to them.

***

In-game.

After some travel, Yae-hime finally made her way back to Aoma Village. By now, Angelica had already gotten somewhat familiar with the Fiat siblings. They were getting along quite decently.

Upon seeing Yae-hime return, everyone’s faces lit up with joy as they called out in unison: “Princess!”

“I’m back. Are you two getting used to things here?” Yae-hime looked at the Fiat siblings.

“Mm! It’s so much better here than in the city. We feel free,” Aurora said with a smile.

“Yes.” Fiat nodded in agreement.

Compared to the commoners district, the atmosphere here was clearly much more pleasant. What they didn’t know was that Aoma Village hadn’t always been like this.

“As long as you’re happy. We’ll be staying here for a while.” Yae-hime said with a gentle tone.

“I’ll take good care of them,” Angelica replied with a calm smile.

“Mm, I’ll leave it to you then.” Yae-hime nodded, then seemed to remember something. “Oh right, Angelica, can you arrange a beast carriage to head to Aureole Town and pick someone up for me?”

Based on her estimate, the epidemic over there should have already been handled by Micha. Rather than leaving Layna alone in the town, it would be better to bring her over so they could all look out for one another.

Besides, she would soon be producing Holy Water here. Constantly traveling back and forth would be a huge waste of time.

‘It’s just more convenient to base operations out of Aoma Village.’

More importantly, she wasn’t sure how far Alicia’s preparations had come. If she kept running around, Lili might not be able to find her.

“No problem, I’ll make the arrangements right away… Princess, could you give me that person’s full details?” Angelica had taken a few steps but then stopped and turned back to Yae-hime with the question.

Yae-hime wrote down the details on a piece of paper, then took out a vial of antidote from her ring and handed both to Angelica. “Just have someone deliver this potion to her,” Yae-hime said.

Taking the note and the potion, Angelica glanced at the information written on the paper. After a brief hesitation, she spoke up. “Princess, I think I should go myself.”

“Why?” Yae-hime asked.

“This Layna is a girl, isn’t she? Sending a strange man to pick her up just doesn’t feel right.” Angelica explained calmly.

Hearing that, Yae-hime paused in thought. She had to admit Angelica had a point. She’d overlooked that. “Mm, sorry to trouble you.” She gently patted Angelica on the shoulder.

“It’s nothing. I’ll be back soon,” Angelica replied with a cheerful smile, gave a slight bow, and swiftly headed out.

Yae-hime sat down with the Fiat siblings for tea and conversation. It was a leisurely, pleasant time. While things were calm and relaxing on this end, over at the Mangrove Forest, it was utter chaos.

“This one’s mine!” a warrior player bellowed.

“It’s mine!” a holy knight across from him shouted in return.

The two had both grabbed hold of a piece of Uncommon armor and were now locked in a tug-of-war over it. Scenes like this played out again and again in the ruined outskirts of the Mangrove Forest.

By now, the early players had already swept the ground clean of loot. Those who arrived later could only dig through cracks in the earth, scavenging whatever was left. As time went on, even the players who had been killed began to revive, and they, too, joined the treasure hunt.

Compared to the others, these revived players were even more eager and desperate. After all, it was their gear that had been dropped. If they managed to reclaim any of it, they wouldn’t consider the loss too great.

Some aggressive players even resorted to outright robbery, sparking fierce fights. For a time, the situation spiraled out of control.

Still, no matter how chaotic things became, it was an outsider problem. The locals simply couldn’t be bothered. Seeing that the search had come up empty, Blei immediately led his team back to the city. He could already guarantee he’d be getting a good scolding from the emperor the moment he returned.

Along the way, sighs of frustration and regret echoed nonstop.

***

Before the sun had even set, Angelica had already brought Layna back to Aoma Village.

The group chatted for a while, and when Yae-hime noticed the time was getting late, she excused herself and left the living room under the pretense of having something to do. She returned to the guest room and logged off.

In truth, she really did have something to take care of.

***

Outside the game, within the City of Chaos.

Yae-hime slowly opened her eyes, rose from bed, and exhaled softly. “Two more hours… time to get ready.” Even though the outcome of her duel with Lucky was practically set in stone, since this was her first official duel, Yae-hime still wanted to make her appearance in the best form possible.

“What kind of outfit should I wear?”

Yes—her so-called preparation was entirely about her clothes.