Chapter 278: The Scales of Victory, Passing the Buck

Kamiyu never expected her name to have become so renowned among Ability Users. Upon hearing her name, the enemy’s will to fight instantly vanished, and they retreated in a panic within moments.

“It’s all your fault—our plan almost failed,” one team member said as he finished off the last Ability User, delivering a final blow for good measure.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s all my fault,” the teammate who had first revealed Kamiyu’s name apologized repeatedly.

“It’s fine. Those guys thought we were weak and were about to capture us. We would’ve gotten serious soon anyway. Next time, we’ll need to provoke them properly, just like Miss Kamiyu does,” the captain of the Rescue Unit said.

The new Players trapped inside the Vine Cages watched in confusion and shock. The people who had been pushed back just moments ago were now effortlessly taking down powerful Ability Users. What had happened?

One of the rescuers cut open the vines, freeing all the new Players.

“Thank you so much,” they expressed their gratitude in unison.

“Big brothers, where are you all from? How are you so strong?” In their understanding, Players only appeared after a crack in the sky and being chosen by the Black Sphere. They had no idea about the Beta Version of the Black Sphere, Beta Players, or that another group of Players had already logged into Crimson Earth.

Simply put, they didn’t know about the existence of Veteran Players.

“Hey, I already told you—we’re Lady Kamiyu’s subordinates,” the same teammate stepped forward again, boasting proudly.

“Oh, impressive!” “Everyone has an Ancestral Legendary Weapon and high-level Armor—you’re truly the elite among elites.” “Then Lady Kamiyu, whom you speak of, must be even more incredible.”

The captain of the Rescue Unit interjected, “Hey, don’t use Lady Kamiyu’s name to show off.”

The teammate scratched the back of his head and said, “Sorry, I’ll be more careful next time.”

The Rescue Unit captain turned to the new Players and said straightforwardly, “Let me get straight to the point. Lady Kamiyu’s Sanctuary is short on hands and is recruiting Players for missions. If any of you are interested, you can come back with us. If you have concerns, you’re free to disband here—we won’t force you to stay.”

This was the script summarized by the Black Sphere War Room. Instead of wasting words praising the Sanctuary, it was better to let them decide for themselves.

And so, the new Players began murmuring among themselves. “Could the Sanctuary be a scam, like those organ-harvesting schemes?” “But if we disband here, we might get captured again. We might not even make it back home.” “Well, they’re so strong—what could they possibly want from us?” “Exactly. Let’s ask more questions. Asking won’t kill us. If something feels off, we can always leave later.”

After the discussion, the Veteran Players from the Rescue Unit exchanged words with the new Players. In the end, 92 Players chose to trust Kamiyu and decided to follow them to the Sanctuary to give it a try.

Of course, not all members of the Rescue Unit escorted them back. Only two team members were assigned to lead everyone safely into the Sanctuary. With the Black Sphere’s live feed, they could perfectly avoid the traces of Ability Users. Moving forward confidently under this one-sided transparency, the new Players watched in awe, marveling at the sight.

The same scenario was playing out across Dragon Roar City. Various rescue units were rushing to save new players kidnapped by ability users, competing with Fear Emperor for personnel. Fear Emperor’s approach was a one-time transaction—once captured, the new players would be sacrificed in a blood ritual. In contrast, Kamiyu operated like a contractor, assigning tasks to new players. Those willing to take them on could do so, while those preferring to play as lone wolves were free to do as they pleased. She never forced anyone to stay.

Kamiyu steadily accumulated talent and strength, while Fear Emperor lost opportunities to restore his power. As the balance shifted, the scales of victory gradually tilted in Kamiyu’s favor. This strategy was akin to cutting flesh with a dull knife—first simmering the broth, then reducing it over high heat.

At this moment, Fear Emperor was in a furious rage. With less than 60% of his power remaining, he was awakened by his subordinates not because players had been captured for blood sacrifice, but because he learned that the players had been snatched away by Kamiyu. His anger erupted into a thunderous outburst.

“What?” “What have you all been doing?” “Kamiyu, you’ve ruined my plans again!” His aged and feeble cries echoed throughout the core trunk zone, causing leaves to fall from the tree canopy above.

“Your Majesty Fear Emperor, please calm your anger,” Men San led the way, prostrating himself fully on the ground. Behind him, hundreds of ability users quickly followed suit, trembling and not daring to speak.

“If I hadn’t consumed the other three fifth-tier ability user guardians to restore my power, would I be relying on you worthless trash?” Fear Emperor, lying within the tree trunk, said.

It turned out that in order to regain his strength, Fear Emperor had reabsorbed the fifth-tier ability users he had created using fruit cores, similar to Hungry Ghost Shara. This meant that, aside from Men San, there were no fifth-tier ability users left in the Fear Emperor Tree Core Zone. Among the hundreds present, many were even weak second-tier ability users.

“It is my incompetence,” Men San said obsequiously. “Please allow me to lead all our troops to recapture the players.”

“You’d better succeed. I recall that kidnapping players for blood sacrifice was your idea,” Fear Emperor said, slightly opening his eyes as he began shifting blame.

Alarm bells rang loudly in Men San’s mind. He thought to himself, “You treacherous Fear Emperor! It’s true that I proposed the idea, but you were the one who authorized it. You were the final approver. Now that things have gone wrong, you’re blaming those below you. What sense of responsibility does this dog of a Fear Emperor have? This despicable creature is trying to go back on his word, using my failure as an excuse to reclaim the fruit core within me.”

Seeing Men San silent and prostrate on the ground, Fear Emperor roared, “Why aren’t you hurrying to capture the players for blood sacrifice? How am I supposed to grow stronger without them? What are you all doing lying on the ground like fools? Are you all dogs?”

Men San’s rebellious heart burned even fiercer. With that, all the ability users in the tree trunk core zone mobilized to hunt down players across Dragon Roar City.

This scene was broadcast live by the Black Sphere and relayed to Kamiyu, who was advancing rapidly.

“Although I can’t hear the audio, I can tell what they’re trying to do,” Kamiyu said into her microphone from atop the royal pegasus. “Alert everyone: from now on, do everything possible to stall the ability users and keep them away from the tree trunk core zone.”

Now that the defense in the core zone of the tree trunk is weak, it’s the perfect time for a sneak attack. Kamiyu bypassed the tree wall and took out an A Tier Rogue Skill Fruit, which lasts for 12 hours—plenty of time. What she needed was the Rogue’s stealth skill.

Meanwhile, Jack also swallowed an A Tier Mage Skill Fruit in one gulp. The two of them were preparing to put on a big show for the Fear Emperor.