The battle raged on, and the clock ticked itsst five seconds. Everyone really thought that Tor would make it, but Gorm was determined to take them all in thatst tick of the clock.


    It took a leap back and bent its body backward until the tip of its sword touched the ground. Dark hues of energy gathered in its metallic frame before it burst into a blinding light. A dark wave of beam shot forth from its sword when it strikes its de forward with all its might.


    The powerful energy traveled in a straight line, creating destruction in its path.


    Tor didn''t have any skill to escape the iing attack. The only respite he had before dying was the thought that Gorm''s AoE attack didn''t im any life except his.


    "Shit!"


    "Leader!"


    Waves of cries percted inside the dome, and Niki steeled himself as he took the aggro back on him once more.


    Gorm''s metallic armor moved like it was releasing off steam, and for a fraction of a second, it was shrouded in thickyers of smoke.


    The metal clicking and turning into ce seemed like a horror sound that told of their impending death.


    Arghh . . . Gorm released an eerie cry before it locked its red glowing eyes at Niki.


    Came the short silence was the whooshing sound when Gorm closed in on Niki, and the tip of its sword was only a breath away from Niki''s skull when the timer buzzed and dropped to zero.


    Gorm stopped while its sword was inches from Niki''s eyes. It stood straight before it struck its sword on the ground and its two hands rested on top of its hilt. It released another low grunt before its glowing red eyes dimmed, and he turned into an armored statue.


    "What happened?"


    "It just stops."


    "Should we be concerned?"


    "Rather, did we win?"


    Instead of answering their questions a portal came flickering just beside Gorm while a voice rang in everyone''s ears.


    <Congrattions on beating Gorm the Destroyer!


    Number of yers killed = 2


    Number of yers left = 8


    You can now advance to the next game>


    Everyone looked at each other, processing what the system said before a huge smile broke the worry on their faces, and they jumped from their feet.


    "We did it!"


    "I can''t believe we pass!"


    "Huh? Of course, we can do it. My buddy, Ren, is a genius, after all." Leonel crossed his arms and nodded to himself though his fists were shaking in delight.


    Sumeri released a breath of relief. "I guess your crazy n worked after all."


    Ren smiled a little. "Of course it did." He might sound nonchnt about it, but deep inside, he was rejoicing, too. After all, all of this was merely his conjectures.


    "We should tell, boss!"


    "I can''t contact him."


    "We can''t use any form ofmunication here, idiot."


    <Warning! You will be disqualified if you won''t get into the portal in . . . 9>


    "Whoa! There''s a timer!"


    <7>


    "Everybody get in!"


    Ren and the others hurried into the portal without another dy, and after that . . . everything went ck.


    When Ren and the others came too, they were in a wide hall with some other guilds. And to their surprise, they spotted some familiar faces who engaged Gorm before them.


    "So they were alive, after all." Niki was d that they weren''t wiped out.


    "Why are you happy?" Rox asked, sighing. "They are our enemies."


    "They''re low in numbers, though." Leonel pointed a finger over his chin and stared at the other guilds, counting in his head. "There are some that only have three members left."


    Roxy''s eyes shone when she realized something. "I think our guild has the most members!"


    Eyeing the dejected faces of most guilds that were barely holding on with less than five yers, the once dream they had of achieving first ce seemed like it was within reach.


    "Hey."


    Ren and the others'' attention flickered at the approaching man who was in the same server as them.


    "How did you manage to retain so many members? Did you cheat?" Fredrick asked. And everyone''s eyes went to Ren''s group.


    "Cheat?" Roxy stepped forward and jabbed a finger at the man. "It''s not our fault that you''re a dimwit who lost all your members to Gorm."


    Ren took a deep breath and shook his head. This was bound to happen one way or another. Amongst the group in this server, they were the only guild that had more than fifty percent of their members intact.


    It was expected that the others would find it weird and suspicious. Especially since a huge reward was waiting for them at the end of the war if ever they won. Everybody would feel threatened when a guild suddenly emerged with so many members in tow while they were barely hanging with three.


    They would rally and say things so Roaring Tigers and Fighting Lambs would get disqualified, giving more chances to them.


    "Dimwit?" Fredrick sneered. "Don''t you know how hard we tried and how much time and money we spent for this war? We have sacrificed so much to get here, and we wouldn''t have someone like you, who clearly cheated to pass the first round, get away with this."


    The game was still new. It was only two months since its lunch, so everyone still expected some bugs and cheats.


    But not the Guild War.


    Never the Guild War.


    Rich and powerful corporations ced their bet on this war, and something like a cheat or bug would never happen in the entirety of the game. The Developers made sure of that.


    In the past years, not once did Ren encounter any underhanded methods in the war. In the past, present, and the future, the Guild Wars would always be . . . forever fair.


    "Why is everybody saying that we cheated?" Niki shrunk in his sister''s embrace. Everybody''s hurtful stares were piercing, and he felt like running away.


    Sumeri pat Niki on the head and said infort, "It''s because we have more members than they have. They''re jealous and wanted to bring us down so they would feel good about themselves."


    "What did you say?"


    "Who are you to say that?"


    "We worked so hard for this day."


    "The developers will know about this."


    "Go ahead." Roxy crossed her arms. She was brave when it came to confronting other people but had cold feet when it was strong monsters like Gorm. "If you want, you can even ask them for a video of what happened there."


    Though any form ofmunication was disabled, they could still contact the developers using one of the system''smunication buttons if they had any concerns regarding the game.


    However, it was only essible after every game. The developer announced beforehand that there were short breaks after each round, so they could use that time to report their concerns.


    The others did press the help Bot since right now . . . Ren''s group pose the highest threat, and everyone was willing to bring them down if that was what it took for them to have a chance in the end.


    Money talks louder than anything else.


    Not before long, a small rabbit appeared before everyone. It was like a rabbit in Alice in Wondend, walking on its two feet with a long hat and punky vest and pants.


    "What seemed to be the problem?" it asked, wiggling its nose.