Death Heir’s Devouring System

Once the time for signing up for the mission was up, the Chosen were teleported in a flash.

"This is new." Azrael mused, surveying the area they were supposed to fight over.

There was no ground beneath his feet. Instead, he stood on flying chunks of massive rocks that would serve as footing for the whole battlefield.

Aside from himself, there were six other Chosen, Chunk included.

Attempting to use [Inspect], Azrael was surprised it worked. He learned all the people were Proven, most of the Blessed Rank, with two aside from himself of the Cleansed one.

On the rock they were supposed to protect, there was a flag that waved so violently in the strong wind it looked as if it was going to be ripped any second now.

'Cinder should be able to fly here despite the strong wind, though it will be a bit difficult,' Azrael mused, calling forth the beast.

Thankfully, unlike in the battle royale, here it wasn't prohibited from using Remembrances.

Quite lucky for Azrael, considering the nature of the battlefield.

"What is the plan?" One of the Chosen asked as soon as he got his bearings.

The mission was simple: a one-hour limit. Each Chosen had to capture an opponent's flag and bring it back to their own, earning them one point. When the timer ran out, the team with the most points would win the battle and claim full control of the land.

"We must focus on offense." Another suggested forming a plan.

"I am going to be bringing the flags to the base; you take care of the defense," Azrael declared.

"You—" One of the group was about to argue back until his eyes landed on Azrael.

The featureless white veil he wore, slowly dripping with fresh blood, was far more chilling than a simple demonic mask.

"I—" The Chosen hesitated under Azrael's gaze.

Several seconds passed in tense silence; no one dared to interject.

At the end, it was decided that Azrael was going to be the one bringing the flags. Of course, the other Chosen made plans not involving Azrael. Despite his horrifying nature, they supposed that he would die in the first minutes of the match, leaving them alone.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Chunk asked.

Azrael waved his hand dismissively. "I will be fine."

This, despite what some might think, wasn't arrogance. To win, someone had to bring flags to their base. And Azrael was the best one for the task. With a flying mount and [Ghostwalk] being part of his skills arsenal, he would be the perfect fit for the role. Taking people with him would just increase his chances of being spotted.

Of course, that didn't mean he would remain undetected for the entire game. But that was the point of the VR simulation: to gain experience across varying levels of combat. Only when he was truly ready would he challenge the Remembrance of the Death Knight.

Estimating the distance between the flying rocks, they were spaced a few meters to several hundred meters. Impossible to cross unless one could jump very far, fly, or teleport. In cases such as this, they would need to go around.

The first thing Azrael explored was at what altitude he could fly with Cinder. There didn't seem to be a limit to how high he could go. But going down was another matter. Cinder seemed reluctant to dive under the rocks, as if the mere fact of doing so would kill them immediately.

'So going below is impossible… Well, at least that means I don't have to be worried about someone creeping from below.'

With his exploration over, he dispelled the beast. It might have been faster to fly towards the edge of the battle and reach the opponent's flags, but doing so would lead to him being spotted too easily.

While the sky offered no cover, the ground was a different matter. Most of the rocks were covered in greenery, formed into natural structures, or had small coves, all providing plenty of places to hide.

Since the Crimson Accord was in the lead with 40% of landmass being owned by them, he judged them the more pressing danger.

Naturally, he went towards them.

His plan was simple: while the members of the Iron Howl faction and Crimson Accord members fought over who got the flag, he would sneak in and snatch it.

It was certain that someone would take their flag as well, since the Ashen Vow had only several members in the game. But that was simply the disadvantage of joining the losing side.

'I would simply make up the difference… or die trying to do so. Either way, I will gain invaluable experience.'

It didn't take long for the loud echoes of explosions to reach his ears in the far distance.

Taking a peek at the remaining Chosen, he saw that both of the strong factions were down ten players from the short start of the battle.

'Good, the fewer eyes, the harder to spot me.'

Silently moving across the rock, he slipped past the tangle of jungle vines that had formed along his path.

Only to halt a second later, hearing the faint echoes of footsteps.

Going low, he neared.

A woman stood calmly before the corpses of two slain Chosen. By the lack of destruction in the area, it was obvious that the fight hadn't lasted long.

'She must be strong,' Azrael immediately noted using [Inspect].

Ascension Level: [Champion]

Purity Rank: [Cleansed]

'To think the first person I met is a Champion… she has the same power parameters as Champion Alexander.'

Azrael found himself in quite a problem; engaging the woman in a fair fight was suicidal, and he would perish in seconds. But he didn't feel confident enough to evade her senses and go past her.

Fortunately, it turned out that he didn't need to; from the other side, another person showed itself and immediately attacked the woman upon making eye contact with her.

The man was a Cleansed Champion as well.

Azrael was about to witness a clash between these two mighty warriors.

Maybe even capitalize on the opportunity and take out the weakened winner, reducing the total number of opponents…