Second World

After getting Wilted's info from Jack, Corporate United members had an easier time progressing the kingdom faction quest. They compiled a list containing the high-ranking political leaders in Boron's camp and watched them in secret.

After determining the most likely targets, they put those under heavy surveillance. From the surveillance, they further homed in on the ones who seemed the most restless about the rebellion. They then started prying for more information from the people around the ones they targeted.

"Currently, we have four targets. Lumnil Nightaxe, Morgri Goldbuckle, Uvud Rodbringer, and Yonhilda Mountchest," Ironhand said to Grace and Paytowin. "They are all influential party leaders who commanded a portion of the troops from Boron's army. They seemed to be on board with the rebellion but from our probing, we know they are having second thoughts. After more snooping, we now have enough information about how to sway the four leaders' opinions."

"How?" Paytowin asked.

"In the case of Lumnil and Morgri, they are worried that Boron doesn't think they are important enough," Ironhand answered. "Boron had a habit of keeping a journal on his subjects who had wronged him and whom he considered deserving of reward. We need to steal this journal. If Lumnil and Morgri's names are on Boron's bad list, or not on the list at all which indicates that Boron doesn't think much of them, this can be used to persuade the two to switch sides."

"What about Uvud and Yonhilda?" David asked.

"Uvud and his wife are close friends to Boron. But recently, his wife spent a lot of time visiting Boron without him. When Uvud confronted her about her having an affair, she denied it. She said Boron was under heavy pressure due to the current ongoing rebellion. Boron is her childhood friend. She wanted to console him during this difficult time. That's why she often went to visit Boron. Uvud accepted the explanation but people who are close to him can see that he carries a little suspicion even if he doesn't want to admit it. If we can find proof and show that Boron is indeed having an affair with Uvud's wife. This can help end the two's partnership.

"As for Yonhilda, she supported Boron because Boron has his brother hostage. If we can free his brother, she will surely switch sides."

"I see," David said. "Out of the four, Yonhilda is the most certain in terms of outcome. Saving her brother will ensure she will no longer help Boron. But for the other three, even if we get the journal, if Lumnil and Morgri's names are inside Boron's good list, it won't help us. Uvud is the same. If we tail his wife and turns out there is indeed nothing going on between her and Boron, it would just be a waste of time."

"Then we should focus our effort on Yonhilda," Grace said.

David nodded.

"We have enough members to go after all of them," Ironhand said. "But if you three wanted to help on Yonhilda's case, that is up to you."

"I bring some of our members with me," David said. "They are masters at covert operations. I will lend them to you to deal with the journal and the affairs. As for I, I will go for Yonhilda's brother."

"Paytowin and I will join you," Grace said to David.

"Okay, I will have one of my guild members with the kingdom faction quest to lead you," Ironhand said. "According to our intel, Yonhilda's brother is held in one of Palgrost's forts. The fort used to be the base for Boron's private army. His army has left but the fort is not empty. Boron left some troops behind to guard the fort."

"Where is this fort?" David asked.

"It is in…"

Ironhand suddenly went quiet. His face became tense.

"What's wrong?" Grace asked.

"My party members. The ones who are posted outside… Their names are greyed," Ironhand answered.

The door to the room opened then. As it did, six round things came flying from the door. The door was closed again.

"Grenade!!" David shouted.

The VIP room was a closed space. Other than the door, there was no other exit. The VIP room itself was not that large. The blast from the grenade would cover the entire room. There was no escape. Even with the current players' high level, their HPs were not enough to survive the damage from six grenades.

Both Grace and Paytowin were on alert once they heard Ironhand's words. Grace was about to do something but Paytowin beat her to it. His body was covered by the metallic armor of his Brave Techno Suit.

"Everyone huddled to that corner!" Paytowin yelled while activating his suit's overdrive mode. He zoomed forward and caught all the grenades and then rushed toward the other end of the corner.

David and Grace reacted at once after hearing Paytowin. Ironhand was still confused. Grace grabbed the guy and forcefully pulled him.

The grenades exploded on Paytowin's chest point-blank. He might have survived with the Brave Techno Suit on, but he didn't want to take any chances. The grenades might have been from players who had fully leveled the skill. So, he activated Unyielding Hope and gained invulnerability for two seconds.

The grenades' AOE blast spread forward. A grenade hit a three-meter radius area. If they had detonated at the center of the room, the blast would've covered the entire room. But because Paytowin had brought the grenades to a corner, the opposite corner was spared from the blast. This corner was where Grace and the others were currently huddling in.

Grace would be fine since her armor had very high defense and she had also activated the Armor of Ego, but David and Ironhand would have been killed. Paytowin's fast reaction saved the two.

Once the explosion ended, the door opened again. Six players with face masks rushed in, no doubt thinking about finishing off anyone who survived the blast. They were shocked to find three players at the corner were still in full health. They then heard the door behind them was closed.

They turned around and saw someone who was fully covered in a metal suit blocking the door. Next to him was a large golden-colored techno golem.

"You morons are going to tell us why the hell you attacked us," Paytowin said.