The Achievement Junkie

"Hadurt, what are you after this time?"

"Lorwynn, if you think this is enough to stop me now, you'll get overrun," laughed the man in black skeletal armor. "I'd call your reserves if I was you."

Not hesitating in the slightest, a contact crystal appeared in Lorwynn's hand. "Bring out everyone! It's happening!"

"How decisive… Shall we let the pawns play before they get wiped out by our aftermath?" joked Hadurt.

Lorwynn stayed his hand, not daring to attack as the unpredictable Hadurt was also remaining on the sidelines. Should he act, Lorwynn knew that Hadurt would throw caution to the wind. Even if it involved killing his own subordinates, Hadurt would do anything so long as it led him to victory in the end. At the moment, it was better that neither Lorwynn nor Hadurt fight to keep their own troops from falling uselessly.

Below, as Hurmot followed Argyle's example by barreling into his guild house, a sudden rush of fresh combatants emerged from the association building, forcing a lot of the extra hands available to the invaders to become occupied.

"Good… Now it's time to party!" shouted Hadurt.

As if responding to his shout, dozens more invaders started to fall out of the storm above. They charged toward the association. Finally able to fight anything but endless dungeon mobs, those formerly secluded combatants fought with the vigor of wild beasts.

The first managers of Celestial Crane and Golden Haven were both elated and alarmed to see the sudden rush of reinforcements emerge from the association building. Elated to have more support and lighten the load they were facing, but alarmed to see so many powerful experts that didn't exist in the records.

"Celestial Crane!" A shouted filled the minds of all Celestial Crane guild members. "Flee Federal City at all costs! Reunite in Gilga, but say nothing till you reach there! That's an order!"

"Izzix, escape now!" Again, Hurmot's voice filled the first manager's mind, but now through his personal contact crystal and not his guild contact crystal.

"But the storages--"

"I've already emptied the restricted storages and storages one through three. But if we delay retreat any longer, it may grow too late!" stated Hurmot. "Now run!"

Hurmot's connection ended, leaving Izzix to make his own decision.

The many guild members started to flee toward the city walls by any route they could find. They used the distraction of the reinforcement to the fullest.

"Run, Cannor!" That was the last thing Izzix shouted before using his strongest attack to break free of his opponent. Once that opening was made, the fencer ran away at full speed with no regrets behind him.

Cannor spotted the running Izzix, truly baffled by the antics of the other two auction houses.

Unlike Celestial Crane or Fat Goose, the owner of Golden Haven was absent, leaving Cannor in charge of everything. And should he decide to flee from an invasion, there was no telling how Kaldor would react. He wanted to call Kaldor, but Cannor was too busy struggling to hold his own against opponents with their levels concealed.

He made no call to retreat nor did make any call to retrieve the treasures from within the guild.

Cannor sighed, angry that Kaldor trusted no one enough to allow them access into the restricted storage. Such a decision was the bane of Cannor's existence at that moment, keeping him from trying to flee only to lose the guild's most precious treasures. Without those items, even if the guild survived it would have no chance of remaining one of the most influential auction houses in Kartonia.

Wielding his greatsword with anger and rage, Cannor became more savage the more he thought about the situation and his inability to succeed in either path he could take.

When the other members of Golden Haven saw the members of Celestial Crane running away, they were baffled.

Most of Celestial Crane's opponents chased after the managers and fleeing members but some redirected their attention toward Golden Haven. It forced the members of Golden Haven into greater depression, offering them no way out as they had missed their opportunity to run.

"Stand and fight! Like our guild master, refuse to stand down before a challenge!" Cannor shouted, trying his best to inspire his fellow guild members to continue their losing fight.

While the fight on their end was growing grimmer, something stole the attention of the entire battlefield.

Out of nowhere, a gigantic pulse of spatial energy enveloped the entirety of the Fat Goose guild house. Then, without warning or giving viewers time to react, that purple energy imploded the entire guild house. Every bit of material in the guild house's construction was practically evaporated, torn and shredded apart by the spatial pulse.

When the purple energy dispersed, there was no sign of the Fat Goose ever existing where it's guild house once stood.

Shaken to the extreme, Cannor was completely perplexed and lost as to what was happening. All he could do was prolong his inevitable fall as more and more invaders entered the marketplace, trampling what used to be stalls, booths, and night merchants.

"Was that…"

"The Fat Goose had a teleportation portal?!" An excited chuckle left Hadurt's lips. "Who gave then that? Do you know, Lorwynn?"

Keeping his mouth shut, Lorwynn kept his thoughts to himself. It was obvious to him who gave that to the Fat Goose, but he had no clue that Jack was so resourceful so soon. Lorwynn didn't show it with his face, but he was glad to realize that Jack was growing far quicker than he had anticipated.

"It should've been that old mage from Trodar, right?" reasoned Hadurt, proving just as sharp as Lorwynn thanks to his long lifespan. "I guess they were closer than we suspected. I'll remember that for later. For now… Should we finally get started, Lorwynn?"

Fixing his sharp gaze on Hadurt, Lorwynn stayed silent. He wanted to prolong their battle for as long as possible.

"Fine… Then we'll just do this!"

Following Hadurt's intent, the black lightning started to build up again. In a matter of moments, more and more lightning started to rain down on the city, some even striking the bloody battlefield in the central market. The lightning showed no preference, killing anything and everything it touched whether they were enemies of the syndicate or members of the syndicate.

Some of the more powerful experts managed to either avoid the lightning or eat the damage while standing strong, but anyone under lv. 60 was instantly fried to death by electrocution.

"You're always in a rush to cause a massacre, Hadurt… Have you always been so sick minded?" questioned Lorwynn, not showing any emotion apart from his piercing stare.

A crudely shaped greatsword appeared in Hadurt's had, matching his black armor spattered in bloodstains. "Come on, Lorwynn. Let's play around a little. They're already in harm's way, so what difference does it make if we fight now?"

Sighing, Lorwynn equipped his staff made from the wood of the Ancient Life Tree. Golden runes were etched into the wood, appearing to match Hadurt's greatsword in strength and rarity.

"This time, I'll take Lyrun's staff even if I die!"

"Then I'll be sure to claim your life, but I won't offer a fair exchange."

The black blade fell, leaving dark, dubious energy streaking the air behind it. It collided with the green barrier that Lorwynn cast around himself, creating sparks of green and black energy blowing past both combatants.

Hadurt grinned wide as he started to hack time and time again, sending waves of black energy into Lorwynn's barrier and the battlefield below.

When the battle below was suddenly hit by the remnants of Hadurt's attack, everyone trembled in terror, especially the syndicate members who knew Hadurt's true nature.