All the rookie players looked like they'd seen a ghost, their faces a mix of shock and sheer panic as they kept their distance from Sterl and his two companions as if afraid of catching some contagion.
Rayna and Linna, who were relaxed just a moment ago, suddenly stiffened up.
They were terrified, their bodies trembling slightly as they instinctively moved closer to Sterl, their eyes filled with despair.
Linna and Rayna are in immense pain. After finally having the whole family become players, bringing hope to their lives, are they really going to die here on their very first day out of the base?
What hurt the most was having that hope snatched away so cruelly!
Sterl frowned slightly. With his god-like powers activated, he could easily take out all these members left by the Blood Mist Guild. But what about all these ordinary players around him?
Was he supposed to kill them all to keep a secret?
The guild leader, David, looked at Sterl with a sort of admiration. Faced with such a dire situation, only to look slightly uncomfortable, he had good mental strength.
David leisurely took out a glass bottle that shimmered with light, clearly a magical item.
"Boss, shall we make our move?" a member of the Blood Mist Guild asked.
David nodded nonchalantly, "I didn't want to do this. But since they won't fall for it, don't blame me."
His words seemed tinged with a guilty conscience.
But the players around were baffled.
What was he talking about?
But in the next second, the rookie players understood.
"What are you doing??!"
"Stop it!!"
…
Countless new players scream out in agony.
The ones remaining here were actually the elite members of the Blood Mist Guild. Although there were only about a dozen of them, in just a brief encounter, they unleashed various skills and began a frenzied slaughter.
The rookie players had no means to resist, and within seconds, nearly a hundred of them were decimated.
The area turned into a deep hell made of limbs and blood.
Sterl, who hadn't activated his god-like powers, with his attributes only at nine (not counting the free attribute points), was taken aback.
He hadn't expected the Blood Mist Guild to be so ruthless, killing hundreds of new players - this wasn't something that could be easily explained away.
Even if it was to target the three of them, it was not worth it.
Rayna and Linna were pale with fright, clinging to Sterl.
In their eighteen years of life, they had never witnessed such a horrific scene.
David patted the shoulder of a blonde-haired man, "Lova, I'll give you face. I will reward you with these two girls after I finish playing. Take them away now."
"Yes, Boss!" The man with the lustful gleam in his eyes approached Linna and Rayna.
David, playing with the glass bottle in his hand, smirked coldly at Sterl,
"Now, it's your turn."
"There are too few talents awakened in the base this year, and the D-level attribute enhancement can only make do with it."
Throughout this exchange, the Blood Mist Guild didn't see Sterl and his companions as human beings, treating them as fish on a chopping board, ready to be slaughtered at will.
David didn't even bother to hide his disdain anymore. His real target wasn't the two young girls, Linna and Rayna.
As a professional, what kind of beauty couldn't he have?
His real target was Sterl, the D-rank talent.
Extracting his flesh and blood into the glass bottle would create a [Crimson Force].
"If it wasn't for this, I wouldn't have needed to silence all the other players."
"Fortunately, completing this task will meet the quota required by that person this year…"
"If he bestows his blessing, my strength could improve even further!"
The guild leader pondered, recalling a terrifying figure, shivering with a mix of fear and anticipation.
But now, Sterl, although still confused, understood one thing.
There were no witnesses left around!
Only the enemies from the Blood Mist Guild.
What was there to wait for?
Just kill them!
[Descend of the God]!
A golden light flashed around Sterl, and his aura soared.
The members of the Blood Mist Guild, including the guild leader, were momentarily stunned, but it lasted only half a second.
"You still want to resist??" The players in bright red robes sneered menacingly.
Sterl's aura was indeed frightening, but how could they believe that a newly awakened player with low-level talent could fight back?
Even standing still and letting him hit wouldn't make a difference.
Could he possibly take down so many level ten players all by himself?
Sterl smirked coldly. He could already picture it: unleashing a firestorm that would have the members of the Blood Mist Guild kneeling, then interrogating them about their sinister plans...
Boom!!
With a casual snap of his fingers and uttering two syllables, Sterl unleashed an advanced-level firestorm that erupted instantly!
Enhanced by his god-like powers, with a whopping 68 spirit points behind it, the spell's impact was equivalent to a level thirty player's ultimate move, with a hundred percent power boost from his Arcane Soul.
The fire consumed everything in its path.
Rayna and Linna, in their despair, saw the flames cover the sky.
The elite players of the Blood Mist Guild didn't even have time to react before they were engulfed by the intense heat, turning into charred remains. In less than a second, their bodies dried up and turned to ash, leaving only charred skeletons that crackled and broke apart in the flames.
The guild leader and the blonde-haired man were the last to be affected.
The latter turned to ash just like the others in less than a second.
The guild leader managed to resist for a few more seconds, his body shimmering with protective lights before they shattered, his protective items destroyed in an instant.
Then, in a mere moment, David's eyes flashed with shock, panic, fear, and despair as he desperately tried to flee.
But it was too late!
He lasted less than five seconds before the flames overtook him, extinguishing his life.
His body, however, remained somewhat intact, burning like a torch for a while longer.
When the firestorm spell finally dissipated, not only were the Blood Mist Guild players gone, but the corpses of the rookie players had turned to ash as well.
Around Sterl, Linna, and Rayna, the ground was scorched with dark, spiral patterns. Trees were reduced to ash, the soil baked and cracked, resembling an apocalyptic scene.
"What??"
Sterl was dazed. This wasn't how it was supposed to go...
Wasn't he supposed to have them kneeling, begging for mercy, while he delivered some cool lines before interrogating them about who was behind this plot?
Everything was gone, not even a corpse left!
What the hell!
Was his full-powered attack always this powerful?
He was utterly stunned.
Little did he know, with the enhancement from his Arcane Soul and god-like powers, his firestorm had reached the might of a full-strength attack from a level forty professional.
And this was considering a professional with a good job class, high attribute bonuses, and superior talents capable of such output.
This level of combat power was something only top twenty individuals in the base possessed.
To use it on a newly turned professional player was indeed overkill...
As for the other Blood Mist Guild members who hadn't turned professional, they were simply outmatched.
Despite his shock, Sterl keenly noticed something that survived the firestorm, lying on the ground and emitting a faint glow—
It was the strange glass bottle that the Blood Mist Guild leader, David, had taken out.