"We're well aware of your reputation," another player conceded with a confident chuckle. "But we aren't like the fools you've vanquished in the past. Our stats are all above three hundred — we're the most skilled mercenaries in this game!"
Ren couldn't help but stifle a yawn. "Is that so?"
The players' pride was pricked, but these individuals were professionals, and they swiftly quelled their indignation.
"We won't let you mess with our heads."
"Yeah, you're just putting on a front!"
"You can't take on all of us at once!"
Ren nonchalantly shrugged. "That's what everyone said . . . until they met their end."
"Ha! What a joke! False bravado from someone who's about to meet their doom!"
"And once we're done with you, those two women will be ours to enjoy. Ahahahaha!"
Ren's serene countenance shifted abruptly. The veneer of amusement dissolved, replaced by a hard and icy expression. His eyes narrowed to menacing slits. "Is that so? I was offering you a way out, but it seems you're determined to embrace your fate."
Ren's face turned grim as he called out, "Elena."
Elena stepped forward, her presence commanding attention. "Yes?"
"Can you take care of them?" Ren's intention was clear; he intended to make them pay through lost EXP points. Dying at the hands of Elena, a world-boss-level NPC, would surely cripple their character levels.
Elena grinned and cracked her fists. "Gladly."
Evie remained silent, her eyes fixed on the unfolding drama, while Ren stood resolute beside her.
As Elena advanced, the players couldn't resist hurling insults.
"What?! Hiding behind a girl?!"
"Ahahahaha! All that talk and you're just going to hide behind a girl!"
"Easy there, girly, you might break a nail."
Their laughter echoed with mockery.
Ren simply crossed his arms and tilted his head, his patience thinning. Evie sighed softly, shaking her head in response.
Elena, undeterred by their taunts, flashed a confident smile and brandished her weapons, poised to face the players head-on.
She stood on the road path, her azure armor billowing in the wind, while twenty players from various guilds gathered.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm orange hue across the virtual landscape, Elena turned to her opponents. "You've all come to die, I see. But let's be clear about something. I don't take kindly to players who mock my husband to be. So, if you want to dance, let's dance."
Elena drew her long, shimmering sword from its sheath, its blade enchanted with the power of the elements. She whispered an incantation under her breath, causing her armor to transform into ethereal, luminous wings, granting her the ability to levitate. With a graceful motion, she floated several feet above the ground.
One of the players, a burly warrior, stepped forward, brandishing a massive axe. "You talk big, but let's see if you can back it up!" he snarled.
Elena grinned, her eyes glowing with magical energy.
The clash erupted with lightning speed as the player lunged forward, swinging his axe in a deadly arc. Elena gracefully sidestepped the attack and retaliated with a barrage of magical arrows conjured from thin air. Her precision was unmatched, and the arrows found their mark, striking down several players in quick succession.
They believed their defenses could withstand the impending onslaught, but their overconfidence gave way to stunned silence as they abruptly vanished into thin air from a single arrow.
It was the moment when their laughter morphed into blood-curdling screams of terror.
"Fall back! She's too powerful!" one of the players shouted, his voice trembling with fear.
Elena wasn't about to let them escape so easily. She called upon the power of the earth, causing the ground beneath her foes to tremble.
Sharp, jagged stones erupted from the earth, creating a barrier that blocked the retreat of the retreating players.
"You're not going anywhere," Elena declared.
In the midst of the chaos, another skilled rogue, attempted to sneak up on Elena from behind.
However, Elena's heightened senses detected the approaching threat. She spun around, her cloak of wings morphing into a shimmering shield that deflected the rogue's dagger strike.
"You'll have to try harder than that," Elena taunted.
Elena's opponents were now in disarray, their formations shattered.
She took advantage of the chaos, casting a blinding flash of light that disoriented the remaining players. As they stumbled and shielded their eyes, Elena launched a series of devastating fireballs, reducing her adversaries to ashes.
The final moments of the battle were marked by the defeated players teleporting away to safety, one by one, leaving only those who were unable to escape.
However, those who attempted to flee were mercilessly pursued and finished off by Elena's pets, methodically hunting them down one by one.
The remaining players who had no escape option dropped to their knees, beaten and drained.
"Enough! We surrender!" they pleaded.
"Too late. You sealed your fate the moment you insulted my companions," Ren declared, and Elena swiftly dispatched the players, reducing them to nothingness.
As the players disintegrated, drops of items fell to the ground. Evie bent down to collect them but found nothing of note.
"It seems there's nothing valuable here," she muttered.
Ren nodded. "I wasn't after their items anyway." He surveyed the aftermath of the battle and then said, "Let's return to the carriage."
As the dust began to settle on the battlefield, the players' ghosts were flying around their body. They have the option to log out or revive on the spot –– after paying for the EXP penalty that is.
They were bewildered and frustrated. Their faces contorted with shock and anger as they examined their character stats.
How come they suffered EXP penalty on a player versus player fight?
It wasn't just an ordinary EXP reduction; it was a colossal penalty that had slashed their levels to less than half of what they were before!
Their voices filled with disbelief and frustration, they huddled together, trying to make sense of the devastating EXP penalty that had befallen them.
This would surely affect their standing in the leaderboard, in their guild, and their clients!
