"I, Usher, offer him a chance to duel me one-on-one. If he wins, I will leave with my team immediately."
Usher stood with an aura of unmatched dominance. His expression was like that of a noble prince, and the way he spoke exuded confidence, as if victory was already within his grasp.
"Despicable bastard!" Iron Cavalry's voice rang out in anger.
"Usher, I'll f**k your sister!" Bradley cursed vehemently. He knew exactly what Usher was doing—taking advantage of the fact that Orson wasn't online, making it look like Orgod was too scared to face him in battle. This was all just to create the illusion that Orgod was inferior, even though everyone knew otherwise.
"Oh? Seems like the Triple Crown Champion has his moments of fear. What a shame," Usher shook his head and waved his hand, raising his divine bow high. "Kill!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The sound of the command echoed, and Usher's thousand-man battle squad surged forward with overwhelming momentum, their presence so intimidating that it felt like it would break through the screen and leave viewers in awe.
Madman, who had the authority to command, quickly recognized the incoming threat and sent Bradley a message to retreat. "We need to fall back to the Fengqi stronghold. We can still fight there."
"I'm so pissed off! I'll personally chop Usher into pieces!" Bradley roared, his anger evident.
"Calm down, Bradley. The game has just begun. We'll turn things around once we find the right opportunity," Madman replied, trying to steady him.
Bradley took a deep breath and swung his enchanted greatsword, cutting down any enemies in his way. With Iron Cavalry and others, they swiftly retreated to their stronghold, then moved down a side path to escape.
"Ha! Running without a fight—everyone, remember this is the style of Godslayer!"
"Such trash! How dare they occupy Dragon Mountain? Pathetic!"
"Make way for Usher! Dragon's Kiss Guild is here to dominate!"
Amidst the ridicule and laughter, the guild that had previously surrounded them cleared the way, willingly handing over the stronghold to Dragon's Kiss Guild. At that moment, it seemed like the number one player in Infinite Dimensions had already been decided.
"Let's take a look at the live chat."
"Yeah, the comments are about to be hilarious."
"Godslayer is a guild founded by a former champion, but they're getting completely crushed in this battle. I didn't expect the Triple Crown Champion to be missing, though."
Two commentators, with malicious intent, began to stir the pot, their faces filled with disdain.
"LOL, the Godslayer leader isn't even online for the stronghold battle. 66666!"
"F*ck Orgod, I thought that trash was going to rise, but looks like I was wrong."
"Haha, maybe the eSports association banned Orgod, the strongest of Godslayer."
The broadcast team worked hard to keep the chat moving, and the screen was flooded with an avalanche of comments. The crowd erupted into harsh laughter.
Orson, who had been silently analyzing the situation, was suddenly interrupted when Sienna reached out and covered his eyes, not wanting him to see the ongoing ridicule.
"It doesn't matter. Let them laugh if they want to. I don't care," Orson said calmly, brushing Sienna's hand away with a gentle smile.
Sienna, visibly frustrated, huffed. "I don't know who they are, but stronghold battles last all day. Just because they've taken the lead doesn't mean they can hold it."
"Besides, there are five strongholds around Dragon Mountain. It's not a good thing that they've taken this one first," Sienna added, her voice full of conviction.
Orson smiled knowingly. Though Sienna didn't have time to play the game, she kept up with the Infinite Dimensions forums and had a keen insight into stronghold battles.
The fighting continued, with Dragon's Kiss Guild, SSR, Slaughter, Moonlight Guild, and other top-tier guilds shining brightly on all three battlefields. The live streamers knew exactly what the audience wanted to see, so they occasionally cut to scenes where Bradley and his team were getting beaten up.
Despite their excellent equipment and tactics, Bradley and his team couldn't withstand the overwhelming numbers. They would often take a stronghold, only for multiple guilds to attack them within ten minutes.
During this time, Bradley had killed over four hundred enemies, ranking first in kills, but he had died more than ten times. Several times, he had been left stranded without being healed by their little priest, Stewart.
When a player dies repeatedly, their respawn time increases, which made Bradley and the team even more vulnerable.
Orson watched quietly, knowing that constant failure could push people to their limits, ultimately bringing out their true potential. The battles served as an excellent training ground.
"Hit and run. We retreat, and when they come after us, we'll hit them again. If they won't leave us alone, we'll make them go mad!" Madman had had enough. His strategic training kicked in, and he used classic guerrilla warfare tactics—hit the enemy hard and then retreat, only to circle back when they least expected it.
Godslayer's members scattered, forming smaller groups to harass the other guilds. After taking a stronghold, they didn't get greedy. Instead, they would retreat, wait for their enemies to take the bait, and then ambush them.
At the same time, they racked up kills to gain merit points, which could be exchanged for rare items. This "hit-and-run" strategy was infuriating to their enemies, but there was little they could do to stop it.
Madman understood that this strategy wouldn't allow them to hold a stronghold for long. If they stayed inside, they'd be targeted by Usher and other guilds, and without the strength to stand firm, they couldn't make any progress.
"Godslayer is done for. The stronghold battle ends in eight hours, and they haven't even captured one point. The game's already lost for them," a player from another guild taunted.
"Triple Crown Champion? More like a clown. He's too scared to even fight in a stronghold battle. He should go back to playing Infinite Dimensions."
"Even if he does show up, what can he do? Infinite Dimensions is not like Sword and Conquest. His time has passed."
As the barrage of hateful comments continued, it felt like "today" was the day the "haters" had been waiting for.
Sienna's face turned bright red with anger. She was so upset that she couldn't even eat her food. She quickly paid the bill and urged Orson, "Hurry up and go back. I want to see you win. If you lose, you'd better watch out, I'll beat you up!"
"Alright, alright, no need to push me," Orson said with a helpless smile. He still had some time before his magic seal could be broken, but he couldn't argue with the girl's persistence. He sent her back to the hospital and returned to his villa.
He brewed some tea, took a bath, and everything seemed peaceful. Orson wasn't in a rush at all. He even made himself a bowl of instant noodles before lying down to sleep.
The alarm clock went off, and Orson washed his face, prepared himself, and entered the game pod right on time.
"Looks like... we're about to lose."
Madman's voice sounded tired, and he hated to admit it, but it was the truth. The three battlefields and ninety-nine strongholds had been fiercely contested. He had led his team to every single one, and while everyone had earned plenty of merit points, they hadn't captured a single stronghold. Without a stronghold, all their efforts were for nothing.
"ShatteredCrown: 'In the last 30 minutes, you guys come to the Wangtian Pond. I'll give it to you.'"
Madman was surprised. He knew the King Family was allied with Orgod and had taken two strongholds already, but he didn't expect them to be so generous.
"Madman: 'Even if I accept, that guy won't.'"
"ShatteredCrown: 'Why not?'"
"Madman: 'He's too proud. I might accept, but he won't.'"
ShatteredCrown had nothing to say in response. After all, with Orgod's pride, he would never accept something like that without a challenge.
"I'll try breaking through elsewhere," Madman sighed.
Most guilds had already reached a consensus: if they captured any stronghold, the guild next to them would come to their aid in defense. Godslayer was being treated like an enemy. No one wanted them to grow stronger.
"F**k!" Bradley swung his sword through a massive tree, venting his frustration. He wore a golden title above his name, "Thousand-Kill Enemy," a prestigious title for slaying over a thousand enemies, but he couldn't enjoy it.
"I'm about to lose it. I think I'm just going to wash up and go to bed," the God of Iron Cavalry muttered, yawning.
Just as everyone was on the brink of despair, a familiar notification sounded.
"Your friend Orgod is now online."
A sudden surge of energy spread through the group. Orgod had logged in.