"Hey there."

As Shadowfall_Three turned around, Marcus gave him a small smile and a casual nod, almost friendly in a way that made the sudden recognition hit even harder.

"Ah!"

The Sorcerer stiffened immediately, his face draining of color as he stumbled back a step.

"It’s you..."

The moment he saw the rabbit mask, Shadowfall_Three recognized him. There was no hesitation, no doubt. To him, that mask might as well have belonged to a nightmare.

Sure, plenty of players had started copying the Rabbit Knight’s appearance lately, trying to imitate the mysterious player who’d become infamous across the region, but Shadowfall_Three knew better than anyone that this one was real. What had happened in the Stone Carving Forest was something he and his brothers would never forget for the rest of their gaming careers. The way the Rabbit Knight had turned the fight around and butchered all three of them after being ambushed was burned permanently into their memories.

Earlier, when Marcus came charging in from a distance, Shadowfall_Three hadn’t gotten a clear look at the mask. But now they were standing face to face, and there was no way he could mistake it.

Not that rabbit mask. Not ever.

"Heh."

Marcus nodded with satisfaction. Good. He’d honestly been a little worried Shadowfall_Three wouldn’t recognize him. If that happened, killing him would’ve felt a lot less entertaining.

"Oh crap..."

"It’s the Rabbit Knight!"

For the first time in a long while, genuine fear crept into Shadowfall_Three’s chest. Even remembering what this guy was capable of made his scalp tingle.

Still, he wasn’t some clueless newbie. As a veteran player, he reacted immediately, retreating backward while trying to widen the distance between them so he could prepare a spell.

Unfortunately for him, Marcus had no intention of giving him that opportunity.

Still smiling beneath the mask, Marcus urged the Flame Charger forward. His Bat Dragon Cloud Sword flashed out in a vicious thrust.

"Triple Surge!"

Three strikes exploded forward almost simultaneously.

-1800, -1900, -1700.

The damage numbers burst above Shadowfall_Three’s head one after another. His eyes widened in disbelief before his body slammed onto the ground with a heavy thud.

"So he’s still this broken..."

That was Shadowfall_Three’s final thought before dying.

The last time they’d met, he, Shadowfall_Two, and Shadowfall_Four had tried to ambush the Rabbit Knight while Marcus was occupied fighting monsters. In theory, it should’ve been an easy kill. Instead, the Rabbit Knight had turned around after barely taking a single hit and completely wiped them out.

Not only had the ambush failed, they’d even lost two pieces of Golden equipment in the process. Worse still, to this day, they still didn’t know the Rabbit Knight’s actual player name.

It was humiliating.

No, humiliating wasn’t even enough to describe it.

Ever since then, the three brothers had imagined getting revenge countless times, replaying the scene over and over in their heads. But every time they seriously thought about how terrifying the Rabbit Knight actually was, that desire for revenge always came mixed with a deep sense of dread.

And now they had confirmation all over again. The Rabbit Knight was still absurdly overpowered.

Getting revenge on him was going to be far harder than they’d hoped.

At this point, fighting fairly probably wasn’t an option anymore. If they really wanted payback, they might have to rely on the methods they specialized in best: dirty tricks, ambushes, cheap tactics, anything they could get away with.

As long as they won, who cared how it happened?

They had to get revenge eventually.

By the time Shadowfall_Three died, his hatred for the Rabbit Knight had already reached its peak, yet even now, he still hadn’t learned the man’s in-game name.

It was maddening.

"Second! Fourth! Be careful, it’s that Rabbit Knight!"

Even in death, Shadowfall_Three kept enough composure to send a warning through the mercenary group chat.

At almost the same moment, the stun effect from SavageBear’s Fake Tremor Hammer finally wore off. Shadowfall_Two and Shadowfall_Four both turned toward Marcus.

"Second... it’s really him."

Shadowfall_Four’s voice nearly cracked.

Just like Shadowfall_Three, the two of them would never forget the face of the player they hated most, and feared most.

"Venom Arrow!"

Without hesitation, Shadowfall_Four abandoned the Yellow-Tusk Boar King and fired directly at Marcus, who was carving through Shadowfall’s members one after another.

Miss.

"What the hell?!"

His expression twisted instantly.

The Rabbit Knight’s dodge rate was still outrageously high. Gritting his teeth, Shadowfall_Four immediately fired again.

"Double Shot!"

Miss.

Miss.

Both arrows failed to connect.

Shadowfall_Four stared blankly for a second, looking like his brain had stopped functioning.

"Are you kidding me...?"

By every normal standard in the game, Knights were supposed to have terrible Agility. Low dodge, low accuracy, slow movement. That was basic common sense.

But the Rabbit Knight completely overturned all of it.

An Archer, a class known for precision and ranged superiority, couldn’t land a single hit on him.

Not one.

And that wasn’t even the worst part.

While Shadowfall_Four desperately kept firing arrows that never connected, Marcus was casually slaughtering Shadowfall’s remaining members one after another. Every swing of his sword looked effortless, clean, almost relaxed. No flashy combos. No wasted movement. Just one strike per target, and another player dropped dead.

To outsiders, it probably would’ve looked incredible, the kind of overwhelming performance that got clipped into highlight videos.

But to Shadowfall_Two and Shadowfall_Four, it felt suffocating.

"Second... he’s even stronger than before."

There was helplessness in Shadowfall_Four’s voice now, as if he couldn’t even think of a way to fight back anymore.

Shadowfall_Two scanned the battlefield rapidly before forcing himself to stay calm.

"Ignore him. Focus everything on the Yellow-Tusk Boar King."

He immediately issued the command through the guild chat.

At this point, there were barely ten Shadowfall members left alive. After witnessing Marcus’s strength firsthand, Shadowfall_Two knew they had no chance of beating him head-on.

On top of that, SavageBear had already dragged the Yellow-Tusk Boar King directly into the middle of their formation, and the boss monster was wreaking havoc everywhere it charged. They couldn’t afford to ignore it either.

Their only realistic option now was to kill the boss as quickly as possible, grab whatever loot dropped, and escape before the Rabbit Knight wiped them out completely.

After all, between the damage dealt by Savage Tribe and Shadowfall together, the Yellow-Tusk Boar King’s health couldn’t have much left. Maybe one or two more concentrated attacks would finish it off.

But as Shadowfall_Two watched Marcus slowly cut through players one by one without even bothering to use major skills, an uneasy feeling suddenly crept into his chest.

Something felt off.

Why was the Rabbit Knight taking his time? Why did he look so relaxed? Shadowfall_Two frowned deeply.

The Rabbit Knight wasn’t the type to show mercy.