Chapter 450: Shadowfall’s New Enemy
Marcus still couldn’t quite figure out the twin sorceresses. Icefall was impossible to read, and Firebrand’s attitude toward him seemed to change every few minutes. One moment she looked upset with him, the next she avoided even making eye contact. The sisters remained a mystery. Still, with both of them quietly following the group and causing no trouble, Marcus had to admit they were a lot more pleasant to travel with than he’d expected.
The party rode hard for nearly ten minutes before a familiar system announcement suddenly echoed throughout Dominion.
Ding!
[Attention all players. Tomorrow at 12:00 PM, Old Vine Auction House will hold a large-scale auction at the Arena. In addition to previously announced items, the tenth Guild Creation Token in Dominion will be available for bidding, allowing the establishment of the game’s tenth major guild. Also featured will be a selection of high-level equipment from levels forty to fifty, as well as a limited quantity of Super Health Potions that restore 500 HP per second. Players looking to increase their strength should not miss this opportunity.]
The announcement repeated three times in succession. Old Vine clearly intended to make as much noise as possible. Beginning the next morning at nine o’clock, the advertisement would continue playing every hour until the auction started. No one would be able to claim they hadn’t heard about it.
Marcus couldn’t help grinning. Every major attraction in the auction belonged to him. The Guild Creation Token. The high-level equipment. The Super Health Potions. Old Vine had practically built the entire event around Marcus’s inventory. As he listened to the announcement echo through the world, Marcus found himself sitting a little straighter in the saddle. How many guilds are going to lose their minds over that token? The thought alone put him in an excellent mood.
Around Dominion, players reacted immediately.
"Damn, Old Vine Auction House is unbelievable. Three of the ten Guild Creation Tokens have gone through them already."
"Seriously, where do they even keep finding these things?"
"I’m more interested in those Super Health Potions."
"Five hundred health per second? That’s insane."
"If they’re real, every tank in the game will want them."
"I’m definitely going to the auction tomorrow."
Guild leaders focused on the Guild Creation Token. Independent players focused on the level-forty equipment and the newly revealed Super Health Potions. Regardless of their priorities, one thing was clear. Old Vine Auction House had become even more famous.
Meanwhile, far to the east of Dragon’s Peak Citadel, members of Shadowfall were grinding monsters inside Sheep’s Pass Cave. The moment the announcement ended, an archer nearly shouted himself hoarse.
"Boss! Leader! That Guild Creation Token has to be the one the rabbit knight stole from us!"
The speaker was none other than Shadowfall_Four. Even now, he hadn’t recovered from that humiliation.
"That token should’ve belonged to Shadowfall!"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Watching something worth hundreds of millions of gold coins get auctioned off by someone else was painful enough, and knowing it had once been in their hands made it even worse.
"Boss, we should investigate Old Vine Auction House," Shadowfall_Four continued. "Maybe we can get information on the rabbit knight. If we find out who he is, we can track him down."
Beside him, even Shadowfall_Two nodded in agreement. "He’s right. We need to find that rabbit knight." The Guild Creation Token itself wasn’t what bothered them most. Losing it had cost Shadowfall the chance to establish Dominion’s tenth major guild, and that opportunity couldn’t be measured purely in gold.
The assassin standing at the center of the group finally looked up.
GimmeABlade. The founder and true leader of Shadowfall. Compared to the frustration displayed by his subordinates, he appeared remarkably calm. He wasn’t happy about losing the token, but dwelling on it wouldn’t change reality. The rabbit knight had already taken it. Anger accomplished nothing.
"One," GimmeABlade said calmly, turning toward his most trusted subordinate. "What do you think?"
Shadowfall_One continued firing arrows while speaking, his movements never pausing. Arrow after arrow flew from his bow. The level-forty Unicorn Sheep around them collapsed one after another before they could even approach. Every shot landed with terrifying precision. Every shot was lethal. No one present could confidently estimate the limits of his strength.
"We need to find him," Shadowfall_One said. "The sooner we understand his abilities, the better. We need to learn how strong he is and identify any weaknesses."
His voice remained steady. "This rabbit knight has already attacked Shadowfall directly. Whether we pursue him or not doesn’t matter anymore. He’s already become our enemy."
The others nodded. That much was obvious. The conflict had gone beyond simple competition. Neither side was likely to ignore the other moving forward.
"He’s dangerous," Shadowfall_One continued. Based on the reports from Shadowfall_Two and the others, he had already built a rough image of the mysterious rabbit knight in his mind, and the more he learned, the more curious he became. He genuinely wanted to meet this opponent face-to-face. Then he shifted to another subject. "As for investigating him through Old Vine Auction House, that’s impossible."
"Why?" Shadowfall_Four immediately asked.
That had been his entire plan. If necessary, he was prepared to use threats, money, favors, or anything else available to extract information. Anything to make up for his previous failure.
Shadowfall_One looked at him as if he were an idiot. In truth, he often wondered how Shadowfall_Four had reached his current position. The man possessed decent combat ability and absolute loyalty to their boss, but his judgment was questionable at best. If it weren’t for those qualities, he wouldn’t have lasted this long.
Beside them, GimmeABlade remained silent. Although he had stopped attacking, he stood calmly among a herd of charging Unicorn Sheep. The monsters rushed him repeatedly, yet more than eighty percent of their attacks missed entirely. He moved with minimal effort, stepping aside just enough each time. Assassins naturally possessed high evasion, but what he displayed went far beyond normal mechanics. Any ordinary assassin would have been stunned watching it.
"Why can’t we touch Old Vine Auction House?" GimmeABlade asked casually.
He already knew the answer. The question wasn’t for himself. It was for everyone else, especially Shadowfall_Four.
Shadowfall_One immediately understood. He glanced around at the gathered members before answering. "Because Old Vine Auction House isn’t simply a business."
His next words carried far more weight than before.
"And because anyone who treats it like an ordinary auction house is asking for trouble."
