159 Waking Up: The Two Leaders!

"Something is odd..." Talia murmured. She furrowed her brows as she stared towards the seemingly mindless monsters and said, "I know for a fact that wolves in real life are smart. They were also known to hunt as a pack. But... these wolves... They are still charging forward despite the visible fact that they won't win against us. Are they that really hungry?"

"I don't think so..." She murmured to herself. 

That said, despite having a bad feeling about the unusual behavior of the wild mountain wolves--contrary to the 'realistic' feature that they should have, She chooses not to pry and not to stress herself over it any further. After all, it was just a game and there was a Continental Quest Event still going on.

She knew that it might have something to do with the Continental Quest Event and they would only know the reason behind it after the event was over. Thus, she decided to simply focus on the task at hand and inform Pedro and her brother about it... Well... Just in case they did not notice.

Since the loots were picked up by Lony and Roval earlier in that same path, Talia decided to message his brother instead and inform him about what she encountered and found out, including the unfortunate fate of the two players and the unconscious NPCs. 

[Killer Looks (Talia): Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother! Urgent news! Two men, down! One, injured! Hundreds... to thousands of wild wolves are charging from the south! and... I CAN HOLD IT OFF! NO NEED FOR YOUR BIG ASS TO HELP!]

Mathew, who was busy 'eating' players, could only force out a smile when he received Talia's message. He halted on his tracks and cried 'Boooook!' as loud as he can, consequently petrifying the players he was chasing. But... The truth is that he cursed as loud as he can.

"FUUUUUCK!" Mathew cried, knowing that it was the three people that Pedro had even 'personally' told him to help based on the numbers of people that Talia had reported. "Expert Bro had even told me to help them, no matter what!"

The Gigantic Chicken stared towards the players, seemingly dozing off. That said, the players who froze in place did not move a single muscle, thinking that the gigantic chicken halted its slaughter because it was not able to spot anything move.

The cold wind breeze passes them which made everyone shiver. That said, they tried their very best not to make any move that would 'activate' the gigantic chicken back to its non-stop 'meal'. Unfortunately, their effort was for naught when one of the players was not able to control himself and sneezed loudly due to the cold wind.

This had made the other players stare towards him with a frown as Mathew got back to his senses. The players could not help but glance towards the gigantic chicken whilst forcing out a smile as the chicken started to move its head--leaning left and right to see the locations of the players properly. 

As the gigantic chicken starts to take steps forward once again, the players could only glance back towards the man who sneezed as if they wanted to punch him to his death. The man could only glance around to all of his fellow players and force out a smile, before saying, "So-Sorry?"

Unfortunately, the one who responded to him was Mathew with his cry. 

"Booook!" 

This made the players started again running for their lives as Mathew started crushing and pecking at a faster rate than before. Unfortunately, the players could only cry in pain as Mathew released his anger towards them. 

Several minutes later, he was able to finally calm himself. At the same time, he had decided to contact Pedro and tell him the truth by forwarding Talia's report. After all, He cannot make himself lie towards Pedro. It was contrary towards the Trustworthy and Loyal image he had taken pride off. 

"I know that there is a chance that I might lose my job!" He murmured as he reverted back to his human form. "But... It does not matter! I would rather play the game by myself than work with someone who does not have trust in me!"

[Killer Smile (Mathew): Uhm... Expert Bro... Urgent matter! When you told me to look for Sire Yojiro and two other men, I ordered Talia to personally look for them. Unfortunately... I had just received her message saying that she found two dead and one injured. She also said that there were thousands of mountain wolves, probably similar to the ones we fought on the other side of the mountain. Rest assured, my younger sister is holding the south without a problem. Still... Please forgive me and my sister if we weren't able to provide help to them in time.]

At this moment, Mathew could only patiently wait for Pedro's response. Mathew was barely able to contain the fury that he felt inside as his hands gripped his sword as tight as he can, even ignoring the possibility that his hand would be injured and bleed from it. 

It was just a game... Why would Mathew act like that? In fact, he had a professional background in VR games, at the least. Such matters should not be a big deal, right? After all, they were in a war. Loses or casualties can't be avoided, right?

Well... It was all true.

In fact, Lony, Roval, and Talia's reactions were acceptable. In the heat of a battle, ordinary players would tend to overreact... to let their anger control their minds. And oftentimes, it would lead them to act their revenge... as soon as possible. 

However, Mathew getting furious is of a different matter. He knew to himself that the reason why they lost two men while one was injured was that they became lax and complacent. It was a mistake that any amateur player might make.

As for Professional Players, It was a must, not to be complacent... not until the victory was announced. It was true for any kind of game. Because they know that anyone could end up as the victor regardless of whether they were stronger or not.

"Come back is real!" As they say in the early days!

Thus, thinking that he becomes a victim of this rookie mistake, Mathew felt that he did not do well enough to fulfill his duty as the Vice Guild Leader and as the player whom Pedro seemingly fully trusts to lead the professional team that he would establish for Bearth Online. 

"I need to work harder!" Mathew slapped his other hand to his cheek as strong as he can. Then, he added, "I have been carefree because Expert Bro almost did everything! He even made all of us overpowered! That said... There was a limit to what one man could do! That's why we were here! To help him! I could only hope that he would give me another chance to prove my worth!"

At this moment, Pedro reverted back to his humanoid form, right after he was able to read Mathew's message. He stood, calm, in the middle of a burning forest and was seemingly unaffected by the intense heat.

However, his calm demeanor only lasted for a couple of seconds--while he was typing his command to Mathew. His body trembled in anger, showing the fury that he felt deep inside. On top of that, this had unconsciously activated his Demonic Eyes--turning his eyes all black and consequently rendering everyone within a hundred meters from him unconscious.

Those who cried out of pain from being burned had suddenly gone silent, making the flaming forest be filled with crackles from the burning trees. At the same time, Pedro's pen-knife had consequently spun around him at a faster rate--fast enough to the point that it was able to make a gust of wind that blows the fire away from him.

"Just because my level is higher than theirs... Just because we have overpowered skill and weapons... Just because we have an overpowered NPC as support... I have been too lax! Too complacent! To the point that I forgot that we are playing a game... called Bearth Online!"

Pedro transformed back into his Black Dragon Form and roared as loud as he can. It was so loud to the point that Mathew, Talia, Sabrina, Arvedar, and even the leader of their enemies on Kagat Village were able to hear.

At this moment, Mathew glanced towards the origin of the roar after he read Pedro's message. He smirked like a demon, whilst his eyes emanated murderous intent and said, "It would be my pleasure!"

[Death (Pedro): Noted... It's all on me! I have been too complacent as a Leader. Let's set things straight from here on... Take charge of the plains and the forest in front of it. I'll handle the rest! And remember... SHOW NO MERCY!]