Pretending To Be A Boss

The golden firebirds were screeching, their cries like thunder.

They circled in the night sky, looking down upon humanity.

Countless speckled monkeys jumped up and down on the branches of red-tailed trees in the distance, watching the excitement.

These creatures of the mining areas clung tightly to their defensive lines, seeming to only attack humans if they approached their range.

Or perhaps the self-annihilation of humans seemed so irrational to them.

As seconds and minutes passed, the already chaotic situation became even more tumultuous.

Apart from the cries of birds and beasts, the air was filled with hair-raising laughter.

These chuckles became more and more prevalent, like a flame burning away humanity, growing fiercer with time.

Song Que's original plan had been to wait for reinforcements.

Everyone had delved deep into the territory, not just for internal strife but naturally to investigate and discover what was happening in the depths of the Red Earth Forest.

Moreover, without reinforcements, relying solely on his and Gu Luo's team, they simply couldn't breach the second defense line.

Let alone the third defense line formed by forty Zudun Giants.

But the reinforcements never arrived, and they encountered an unimaginable number of enemies.

No matter how powerful a hunter, it was impossible to face an alliance formed by the world's finest hunter teams.

These people with malevolent smiles seemed to have forgotten national boundaries, missions, and even their humanity.

Chaos finally converged into one place, becoming a more lethal threat than the beast tide—the Fallen Legion.

Lin Jue swung his hockey stick, the air filled with the nauseating stench of blood.

He cursed loudly,

"Damn it, I didn't die to those bulls outside or get stomped to death by those big guys inside, only to be killed by my own people?"

"What the hell are you laughing at, you son of a bitch, I recognize your face! You're on the hunter's list, right? Don't come any closer, or I'll break your skull!"

"Fuck, you're still laughing after being beaten to this state? Cry for me! Cry!"

Lin Jue's noise and activity were actually intentional.

He had felt that he needed to keep thinking constantly to fend off these strange laughs.

And when he yelled at the top of his lungs, his teammates seemed to snap out of it instantly.

Several times, he saw two of Gu Luo's team members' mouths slowly stretching into a grin.

He would immediately shout over, and it genuinely seemed to have the effect of enlightenment.

"This won't do, boss. If we keep fighting like this, sooner or later we will become like them, laughing like freaks. Look at Cyclops, his laughter is disgusting."

"Damn you, Lin Jue, when did I ever laugh? It's you who laughs like you're crying," snapped Cyclops, his aim unfailing, even as he bantered with Lin Jue, his hands didn't falter.

Gu Luo said,

"No matter how strong we are, two teams can't face nearly half the world's hunters. Among these hunters, there are those whose strength matches ours."

Wielding his greatsword, Gu Luo was still relatively lucid, the laughter affecting everyone to some extent.

But Gu Luo and Song Que, deserving of being the leaders of their teams, remained the most clear-headed from beginning to end.

Ye Feng, although he possessed a strong eye talent, had a weaker strength and struggled to withstand this kind of erosion from the depths of his consciousness.

He clutched his ears, appearing to be in pain.

In such a state, facing the enemy was even more arduous.

Hunters from the Fallen Legion swarmed in, quickly surrounding Ye Feng.

These hunters were already powerful, the strongest of each fortress.

Now, under the Joker's influence, they behaved madly, even losing their sense of pain, becoming even more difficult to deal with.

Lao Lei's fingertip strikes were frequent as he faced the increasingly clear laughter in his mind, simply frowning in response.

Streaks of lightning fell, and the hunters around Ye Feng were easily defeated by Lao Lei.

Xiao Shi followed Song Que, and anyone trying to get close to Song Que was taken down by the girl's extremely clean and precise military spike technique.

Her face expressionless, her gaze empty, Xiao Shi seemed even more immune to the laughter than Song Que and Gu Luo.

"Your team is indeed filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. This girl on your side seems even crazier than those with the smiling faces," noted Gu Luo, still with some strength to spare as he fought and talked with Song Que.

Song Que responded,

"Xiao Shi... she's a bit special. I can't explain this to Brother Gu right now. Let's deal with the situation at hand first."

"How do we deal with it? Push forward or retreat? If we push forward, we're no match for those creatures right now. If we retreat, we'll have an endless stream of hunters to face, not to mention a bunch of wild bulls waiting for us in the outermost area!"

Gu Luo's expression showed resolve, apparently prepared for the worst.

Song Que maintained his composure.

He appeared simple-minded when he smiled but was in fact the sharpest of the three family heirs.

"An extraordinary individual has joined the hunters. If we want to win, we must find the source of the chaos. Observe carefully; that person is definitely watching us from the shadows."

The others nodded in agreement, Song Que's words offering them a glimmer of hope.

If they could find the source driving the crowd mad, everything could be quelled.

At least... that's what it seemed on the surface.

...

...

The Joker didn't hide.

Convinced he possessed an invincible force, he himself joined the chaotic fray.

He was just like the madmen around him, but he didn't laugh as exaggeratedly.

Occasionally, he found the laughter grating, frowning in annoyance, and would even kick those who laughed too hideously.