I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

That evening, the Allied forces on the Burning Plains began to withdraw from their camp.

The war is over.

The Titan's remains still stand in the middle of the plain, like a small hill made of rubble.

Some low-level players came specifically to watch the spectacle, taking pictures of the huge crater created by Li Wu's Burning Star Returning to Nothingness Arrow, and then posting them on the forum to show off.

The atmosphere in the Heavenly Punishment Guild's camp was very somber.

Caesar sat in the center of his tent, a cup of tea that had gone cold on the table in front of him.

His two deputies, Ironwall and a female archer named Silverwing, sat opposite him, none of them speaking.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Finally, it was Iron Wall who spoke first.

"Guild Master, the spoils have been distributed."

Caesar raised his eyelids slightly.

"How many?"

Iron Wall's expression was rather unpleasant.

"According to the contract terms, the spoils are distributed according to the proportion of damage contribution. The total damage contribution of all 460 members of Heavenly Punishment is 0.13%."

"So what did we get?"

"Thirty-seven legendary materials, two unique items, and 1,200 gold coins."

Caesar did not speak.

One thousand two hundred gold coins, four hundred and sixty people on an expedition, and in the end, they were all divided among one thousand two hundred gold coins.

On average, each person has less than three gold coins.

It's not even enough to buy a bottle of blue potion.

"What about them?" Caesar asked.

Iron Wall's lips twitched.

"Myth Guild took 99.7% of the share. I can't say the exact amount, but I estimate that the Titan Core Fragment alone is worth a hundred times more than everything we got combined."

The camp fell silent again.

Silverwing suddenly spoke up: "President, there's a problem with this contract. We agreed on a 60/40 split, not based on damage contribution."

"What does the contract say?"

Silverwing opened its mouth, then closed it.

She had seen the contract, and it did indeed state "distribution based on the proportion of damage contribution".

It was Hua Zitong who changed the wording.

When the contract was signed, their deputy in charge of reviewing it didn't notice this change.

To put it bluntly, I was tricked.

"That woman." Iron Wall gritted his teeth.

"Don't scold her." Caesar picked up his now-cold tea and took a sip. "It's our own fault for not reading carefully. Besides, even if the contract stipulated a 60/40 split, the outcome wouldn't be much different."

"He dealt 99.7% of the damage by himself, do you think we have the nerve to ask for 40%?"

Iron Wall and Silver Wing fell silent at the same time.

indeed.

Even if the contract states a 50/50 split, what right do they have to ask for half of the spoils?

The alliance of 2,800 people, of whom 2,799 people combined dealt a total of 0.3% damage.

And that man called "Seeing Flowers Through the Fog" scored 99.7% by himself.

He doesn't even need support.

From start to finish, the tank failed to hold aggro, the healer failed to heal him, and the crowd control failed to control the Titan.

He single-handedly completed the entire process of outputting damage, positioning, clearing mobs, and destroying the core.

The two thousand-plus people are just for show.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time on the battlefield today," Caesar said, setting down his teacup. His voice was calm.

"What are you thinking about?" Silverwing asked.

"Why did you think I came?"

Caesar leaned back in his chair, looking at the top of the tent.

"I told myself that I came here to get the world's first kill and prove that I, Caesar, am not at the top because of other people's absence."

"But today I stood on the battlefield, watching him single-handedly slice the Titan to pieces with over a dozen skills I'd never even seen before. I didn't even have a chance to get close to the Titan."

What was I thinking at that moment?

Ironwall and Silverwing remained silent.

"I'm thinking, with such a huge gap, who am I even comparing myself to?"

Caesar smiled, a self-deprecating laugh.

He said something that I'm still pondering to this day.

"What did you say?"

He said I should compare myself to those in the realm of gods; they are my true rivals.

Ironwall and Silverwing exchanged a glance.

The realm of the gods.

That place that trapped most of the max-level players on the entire server.

"He means that he doesn't consider me an opponent at all." Caesar's voice was not angry, but rather clear-headed as if he had been doused with cold water.

"But he's right."

He stood up, walked to the tent entrance, lifted the curtain, and looked at the Titan's remains in the distance.

"The core members of the five super guilds will emerge sooner or later. When that happens, all the current rankings and positions will be disrupted."

"If I still have the same strength by then, I won't even be qualified to keep my position."

"So what are you planning to do?" Silverwing asked.

Caesar turned around.

"Go back to leveling up. Starting tomorrow, the entire guild will enter wartime mode. All leave and all commercial activities are canceled."

"I want to double the core combat strength of Heavenly Punishment within three months."

"and then?"

Caesar's gaze fell to the east.

"Then... go to the realm of the gods."

Iron Wall suddenly looked up.

"President, you mean...?"

"Yes." Caesar's tone was calm but resolute. "I want to go in and see what's in that place that's trapping over three hundred top experts."

"If the people inside are trapped, I'll go and bring them out. If there are any trials inside, I want to face them myself."

"Looking at flowers through the fog is right. To prove yourself, you can't compare yourself to him; you have to compare yourself to the strongest group of people."

"And the strongest group is in the realm of the gods."

The tent was quiet for a few seconds.

Then Ironwall stood up and slammed his breastplate down hard.

"I'll go with you."

Silverwing also stood up.

"The spear of divine punishment will never back down."

Caesar looked at the two of them and nodded.

He didn't say anything more.

Everything that needed to be said has been said.

What needs to be done, let's start tomorrow.

……

It was already midnight when Li Wu returned to the City of No Fall.

The lights in the city lord's mansion were still on; Hua Zitong hadn't gone to sleep yet.

He went straight to the top floor and pushed open the door to the Secret Documents Laboratory.

Hua Zitong was sitting on a chair by the window, holding a cup of hot tea, looking at the night view outside. Hearing the door open, she turned her head.

"You're back?"

"Hmm." Li Wu leaned the bow against the wall and found a chair to sit down.

Are you tired?

"I'm not tired, but my mental energy was quite depleted. Those six-pointed arrows were still too much for me."

Hua Zitong nodded.

Last time, when Li Wu used the Arrow of the End in the City of No Return, he fainted.

Although I didn't faint this time, my complexion was definitely not good.

"Have you looked at the attributes of the Titan Core Fragment?" Hua Zitong asked.

"I've seen it." Li Wu took out the glowing sphere and twirled it in his hand. "Double health points, 20% reduction in both physical and magical damage. Not bad."

"Not bad?" Hua Zitong glared at him. "If this were put at an auction house, the starting bid would be at least 5 billion gold coins. There's only one of its kind in the entire server. And you call it not bad?"

"What's there to get excited about? You can't eat it anyway."

Hua Zitong took a deep breath and decided not to argue with him.

"There's one more thing." She put down her teacup and opened a folder in front of her. "The spoils distribution results are in. The Heavenly Punishment side... might not be too happy."

"Did you change the contract terms?"

Hua Zitong looked up, somewhat surprised.

"You found out?"

"I guessed." Li Wu leaned back in his chair. "When you were negotiating with Tianfa, you mentioned that the spoils of war would be distributed according to the proportion of damage contributed. I knew you were playing a trick on that statement."

Hua Zitong did not deny it.

"They didn't read it carefully before signing, so it's not my fault. Besides, even if it's a 60/40 split, you dealt 99% of the damage, so what right do they have to take 40%?"

"You're right," Li Wu said without criticizing her, "but Caesar might hold a grudge."

"Let him remember." Hua Zitong's tone was cold. "As long as you're here, he won't dare to turn against us."

Li Wu glanced at her.

This woman has changed a lot since he first met her.

Six months ago, Hua Zitong would analyze things before taking action and always leave herself a way out when making decisions.

Hua Zitong is becoming more and more decisive and ruthless in her actions.

The experience of single-handedly supporting the guild for half a year has driven her to this point.

"Thank you for your hard work," Li Wu said softly.

Hua Zitong was stunned for a moment.

She lowered her head and stared at the teacup in her hand for two seconds.

"You've already said that once."

"What's wrong with saying it again?"

Hua Zitong did not answer.

But Li Wu noticed that her fingers tightened slightly as she held the teacup.

There was a moment of silence.

Li Wu opened his backpack, took out the Titan Core Fragment, and was about to use it.

The moment he touched the fragment, a tremor emanated from it, reaching the core of his cryptic perception.

Li Wu's hand stopped.

wrong.

This fragment... is resonating.

It was not with his bow, nor with his secret text.

Instead, it resonated with something else deep inside his backpack.

The Bones of Erling.

That bone that he thought had become a souvenir.

Li Wu took out the bone and placed it on the table next to the Titan core fragments.

Between the two items, a visible energy thread slowly emerged.

The cipher symbols began to flash on the silk threads.

Hua Zitong saw it too.

"This is..." She stood up and leaned closer to examine it.

Li Wu stared intently at the secret texts.

He recognized him.

Those symbols were not any of the thirty-six cryptic texts he possessed.

Rather, it was the more ancient symbol he saw on the wall in the video of the Iron-Blooded Emperor entering the realm of gods.

"Hua Zitong".

"Um?"

"Help me investigate something."

"Investigate what?"

Li Wu shifted her gaze from the two items to the darkness outside the window.

Is there any connection between the core fragments of Titan and the realm of the gods?