Sally shook her hand off as the gnoll clattered back into some loose furniture. She might have hurt herself with that punch more than her target. Although, considering the creature wasn’t getting back up, she might be mistaken about that. Things were going pretty much as expected. After the tide of undead washed down into the valley, the gnolls were easy enough to pick off even as tough as they were.

As Humphrey lopped the head off one of the Monsters, she hummed to herself and brought up the Party Chat, just in case the direct messages weren’t working.

[Sally: how’s things?]

[Sally: fangs]

[Theo: good]

[Theo: currently living]

[Theo: killed another LW… will meet u tonight to discuss]

Sounded reasonable enough. He must have gotten more information from the second assassin. Despite her mixed feelings on the System, it seemed shortsighted to want to destroy it without a known way out. Looking at her reflection in a discarded shield, she raised her eyebrows at herself.

“Everything okay, Sally?” Lucius popped out of Humphrey’s shadow and slipped over some gnoll corpses to stand near her.

She smiled. “Yeah. Theo is going to meet us later.” The skull in her hand burst into green flame and she lobbed it into the fray.

“Did he find the cure yet?” A sweat-drop emoji appeared beside the Shade’s head.

“He didn’t say.” She frowned and rubbed at her hair. Should they be looking for the cure, or was he going to sort it himself? Where would they even look? If the assassins didn’t have the antidote, then her next port of call would have been Chuck—the Druid might have gotten something useful from leveling up. Thinking about it, he was probably reasonably powerful now, depending on what skills he chose.

She twirled her dagger around. “I’m sure it will get sorted in time, don’t you worry. Wanna team up?”

“Sure,” a grinning emoji popped up, “but first…” He held out his gloved hand toward the horde fighting the gnolls. A crackle of monochrome lightning arced between his fingers, before a group of the Monsters grew less vibrant in hue.

With a grin, Sally jumped out toward them, and the Shade became her shadow. Slipping in between all the undead, it was simple to sneak up and stab or eat the brains of those otherwise engaged. It was always the bigger plan going on in the background that was their headache, just like in the Wastes.

First the System was in the way, and then a Unique, but now it seemed like Players were the cause of strife. Too busy trying to run the world instead of fattening themselves up for her stomach. Maybe she needed to give them something to actually worry about. She yawned and watched as Norah twisted the neck of a gnoll with her wrappings. The rough snap of its neck overheard over the battle before she dropped the body.

Lucius stabbed the nearby enemy as she took a break to look about. Humphrey was moving slowly and methodically through the remaining Monsters. Occasionally flaring up in blue light as [Decimate] became active. Zombie gnolls clamored around with her own to drag their brethren to the floor to consume. It was calming in a way, melodic. Perhaps Rachel should have given them a teleport to even further through the zone. She had underestimated how tough the Outsiders were, and Theo wasn’t even here.

Around eighty percent of the way through the valley now, the other side that rose upwards into a slope was close by. The Quest hand in was up this side, which seemed mighty convenient. Although the mass of zombies made the process rather carefree, they did also slow things down—where the four of them alone could have gotten through the camp quicker but at more potential detriment to themselves. It was kind of nice being queen of the zombies for a little again, though.

She yawned. There was something quaint about the Forest Area life that she missed. Things had seemed so rough then, but so simple in retrospect. With the abilities they had now, they could easily go back and sack the Capital, or murder their way through all the low level Players. It was a wonder nobody had done something similar—or perhaps they had, and she just hadn’t heard of it. Part of her daydreamed about becoming a dungeon boss, having their own lair for Players to throw themselves at. Tasty ones.

“Almost done, Sally,” Humphrey said with a wide grin from the front, his blade almost hewing a gnoll in half. “Then we’ll have another Level to consider. I’m sure Edward would be pleased.”

Up until the point where he teleported to her to save her life and ate a blade, losing a level again. At least he could respawn back in the Wastes. It was a good thing he didn’t have her ambition, otherwise his Unique bug would be a huge problem. If she could come back to life, well, she’d be even more reckless than she was already.

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She placed her blade into the furred head of the last gnoll and kicked them to the floor. No more brains, lest she throw them up. They tasted okay, but kind of plain and bitter. Certainly not as good as a Player’s. Not that there were any at the table, currently...

Her eyes narrowed, and she looked up at the road ahead of them just as five figures rose from the horizon to walk down. Then another five beside them. Maybe she did get what she wished for. Abs, she thought to herself.

“Sally,” Humphrey nudged her from the side.

Behind them, coming down the cleared side of the valley, was another ten Players. They all had blue tabards on. Her STAR bloiped.

[Chuck: Sally.]

[Chuck: I’m sorry it has to be this way.]

She closed it and growled up at the gathered figures. They were a good eighty or more feet away on either side, more if you accounted for the dead bodies in the way. Lucius popped out of her shadow and backed up into her, sweat-drop emojis running beside his head.

“Looks like we’ve caught ourselves a little System error.” A man called down from behind her.

“They’re not as tough as they look,” a second voice crooned.

“Dragon slayers, hah!”

Norah scowled and crossed her arms. “Aren’t these guys supposed to be our friends, hun?”

“Friends,” Sally pouted. “I suppose only the family truly matters.”

“Twenty higher level Players,” Humphrey noted. “What is your call?”

The current terrain wasn’t very advantageous. The Death Knight might be able to block attacks for ten seconds, but if they were still stuck in this valley afterwards, then they’d have trouble avoiding all the potential ranged attacks from both sides.

“I don’t suppose absorbing Archie gave you any super powers?” She grimaced toward Humphrey while the Player’s jeered on.

“Oh. Of course, although I can only use it in my Ultimate form.”

Sally exhaled. “Your Ultimate is a new form? What do you think our chances are?”

“Yes." The Death Knight grinned. "One-hundred percent.”

A question-mark appeared beside Lucius’s head. “Of success, or death?”

“Oh, that was the question?” Humphrey raised an eyebrow and scratched the side of his head. “In that case-“

“Outsiders!” The first voice called out again, silencing the murmured plotting of the Players. “Any last words?”

“Pancakes!” Sally yelled, before punching the Death Knight. “Hit it, Humps!”

[Soul Knight]

The plated figure burst into bright red flame for a second before it was quickly extinguished with a hiss. His dark crimson and black armor was now replaced by bright ivory and silvers as if he was made of polished bone. He took one step forward toward the northern group of players before tilting his head backward. From his eye sockets, emerald light blossomed.

“If I die Norah…”

“You’re a big softie considering you're all metal,” the Mummy smiled. “Just don’t die.”

He nodded and smiled. “I won’t need shadowing. You three focus on the others.”

Sally frowned, but nodded. His new form might be visually stunning, but taking on a full ten Players was some other level of hubris. Plus, she might want those brains they were holding safe for her. She knew he was as tough as Theo was powerful, but he might be trying to overcompensate a little. Ah well, either he would be fine or they’d all die.

“Die!” The loud Player signaled. It had been nice of them to give the group a few moments to talk before attacking. Perhaps even with the faction war, they were still too used to pulling boss aggro after some prep time.

“Can you throw me, Norah?” Sally narrowed her eyes at the group ahead. Two of them looked to be some manner of holy classes, based on the ridiculously bright white garb they wore. Some of them were chanting or casting skills. Some of those might even be Ultimates.

Bandage wrapped around her, and she slid backward along the ground before being flung into the air.

As one, they activated their abilities.

[Quick Death]. After a brief pause, the horde of zombies below Sally turned and began to run toward the Players. Sprinting past each other, she could see the surprise in the eyes of her opponents as the skull in her hand blazed green flame.

[True Shadow]. Lucius flickered as he became a shadow for each of the Outsiders. Crimson hue waved behind each of them as he readied shadowed version of their main weapons ready to strike.

[Royal Guard]. From beneath Norah, as the zombies rushed past her, a large figure rose from out of the ground. Thirty feet tall and wrapped in bandages just like a mummy, the undead creature with a bird head had golden bands encrusted with jewels around its wrists and ankles. Norah stood atop its shoulders and gave it the command to move forward.

From behind them, Humphrey activated [Impenetrable Defense] and slowly walked toward his group as their skills and attacks were rebuffed by his flickering blue shield.

Sally threw out the skull just before she landed, an arrow sticking her in the leg and a spray of fire just missing her as she landed atop the most priestly-looking figure. Just as she knocked him to the floor, her horde of sprinting zombies clashed into the group. Half of the Players focused on clearing the undead, either their Ultimates or powerful skills ripping wide holes through the fast corpses in flashes of different light.

She rolled across the body to not break her legs, slashing out with her dagger as her shadow mimicked the action, drawing deep lines of crimson through the bright white robes of the Player.

“Turn on us, would you?” She seethed as she stood amongst them, her eyes blazing bright red.

Humphrey’s shield dropped, and he ran to cover the rest of the distance. Heavy plated boots thudded on the ground as arrows ricochet from his gleaming body and spells left hardly a scratch. Several Ultimates started to charge as he closed in.

[Endless Knight]

A dozen green arrows struck him, embedding into his metal. A dragon's head of pure ice rose above him and sprayed him with a cone of freezing air. The surrounding ground turned into a mire of roots and thick mud, but he kept on moving.

With a flourish of his sword, the Death Knight's eyes burned a bright green. “Now you will know why you should fear the knight,” he growled.