[BONUS]

Ren thought that it was an excellent strategy, but was it enough to kill the Thunder King?

"Okay, here's the plan," said Ivan as he looked at Ren after all of the mages took their position. "You're going to rain hell upon that thing with everything you've got. Use the most devastating magic you have in your list."

". . ." Ren's brow rose. "Is that all?"

Ivan nodded seriously. Roger made it clear that Ren's only purpose here was to reinforce their magical unit. His spells were very powerful, that was for sure, and that was all they needed from him.

If they killed the Thunder King using their own strategy, they wouldn't have to pay Ren a single dime. So they were determined to exploit him with all his MP and potions as much as possible.

"Is this right?" Erica asked Eric as they approached the Thunder King, who still didn't put the two hundred players in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" asked Eric.

Erica briefly glanced in Ren's direction. "Is bringing him here the right decision?"

Eric looked at her sister weirdly. "What are you talking about? It's your idea to employ him in the first place."

"Yes. Because all the guilds he helped have risen in ranks," said Erica. "But now I'm beginning to wonder if it's a wise decision since he's causing rifts in OUR ranks. And I fear that our core members, especially our generals, would mess up because of his presence."

"You mean because they're jealous, they'll focus more on him than the boss?" Eric chuckled. "They're more professional than that."

"Jealousy can be an ugly thing. We can't afford to lose focus, or even we will suffer a huge death penalty. If that happens, White Unicorns will suffer a huge setback. We can't afford that, especially when the Guild War is just around the corner."

Eric patted her sister's shoulders. "Relax, will you? It's too late to back out now that he is here. What do you want to do? Kill him off?"

". . ."

Eric's eyes rounded. "Wait . . . you . . ."

"I'm thinking that after he uses all his mana, we will dispose of him. I think it isn't a big deal since we won't have to pay him anything as long as we kill the Boss with our own strategy.

"In fact, disposing of him after he has exhausted all his spells would do us good. In that way, everyone's focus will be on the Boss."

"I agree with you about them losing focus because of his presence . . ."

"But . . ." Erica continued for her brother.

"But I think that maintaining a good relationship with World Conqueror is a must . . . or have you forgotten about what happened with Black Lion?"

Eric held Erica by both shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "Sister . . . that Ren is no ordinary guy. I'm sure you felt it too. Until we have more information about him, we can't act recklessly."

". . ." Erica couldn't retort for a whole fifteen seconds. She was really pondering on what was the best course of action to take right now. She expected that there would be resistance in the group when they decided to employ Ren, but what she wasn't prepared for was the amount of dissatisfaction coming from all sides.

She thought that all would be well because Ren had agreed to follow their strategy and even proposed a no-pay rule if he couldn't acquire the second-tier spells for them. Was it naive for her to assume that it would put everyone at ease?

Seeing others wary, she might've indeed underestimated the effect of Ren's presence. The rules and agreement simply didn't matter. The root of the matter was that everyone didn't like Ren.

Erica feared that this would impact their fight with the Boss, so she decided on the spot to eliminate the immediate threat that was Ren. However, her brother also had a point, and Erica was torn on which side to choose.

If she had known that this would happen, she wouldn't have brought up employing World Conqueror to her brother in the first place.

Eric gave Erica a tight grip on her shoulder. "Don't do anything rash, and focus on the game. The Boss is upon us."

Eric stared at his sister for some time. He knew that she was worried about their guild, but he also knew that she wanted to see for herself how things were going to transpire first.

"If he ends up disrupting our strategy, then we will get rid of him," Erica said coldly.

"How?" asked Eric, shaking his head. "How do you kill a top player?"

". . ."

Erica didn't have the chance to reply as the Thunder King used Towering Thunderhead's [Sleet and Hail], dealing constant damage to everything that was exposed under the sky.

"Everyone, into position!"

The players scampered into groups, remembering every bit of their training and strategy that was hammered into their minds within the past few days.

The Tanks covered their body with their shield, while the White Mages who had already acquired the spell [Barrier] that nulled half of the damage rained upon players casted the spell. The only thing was, it could only protect a single player, not a whole area.

The White Mages naturally prioritized the core members and their damage dealers, while the regular players could do nothing but consume HP under the constant hail.

As for Ren, there was no White Mage to heal him, unlike the others. Not that he needed healing in the first place.

The damage dealt by the [Sleet and Hail] was minuscule. The only concern was the [Freeze] if they were constantly hit by the hail.

Ren didn't have any problem with that, though, since he was already equipped with [Monarch Sovereignty] that allowed him to be immune to all status effects. Although he stole it from the guild he was helping now, he was confident that no one would recognize it, as evident by how no one even bat an eyelid at the sight of his weapon.

At this point, it was useless to copy the Thunder King's spells since Ren knew that all its attacks were of lightning affinity, and the Thunder King was immune to all attacks related to electricity.

What he conjured was the usual [Death Cavalry]. The last spell that White Unicorns saw him use.

– 2047!