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The entire world was in a buzz.
[The Luvien Empire had sent 40,000 of Nerva’s Black Knights and 20,000 rankers to Masserati Kingdom’s Esser Fortress.]
[Esser Fortress is a very strategic point for Masserati Kingdom.]
[From the quest that opened just now, it seems like Nerva Sephiroth is very determined to kill both Richard and Minhyuk all at once.]
[According to the correspondents that we have sent to various parts of Athenae, the kingdoms and empires are ‘not making a move’.]
[Do you know what this means?]
[No nation is moving to help the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the Masserati Kingdom.]
Even the viewers were making a fuss.
[Where are all those nations that used to flatter the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom? They have grown close with Minhyuk, right?]
[Ellie, Raldo, Dragon King, Gremory, Saintess Loyna and even the other popes, they all are close to him, right? Amazing.]
[But now that he’s in danger, you can’t even see a strand of their hair there. Haha.]
[Don’t state the obvious. Just think about it. That’s the Luvien Empire. Anyone that dares to stop the advance of the Luvien Empire will find their nations destroyed in just a matter of days. As for Saintess Loyna, she’s supposed to be a neutral party.]
[Then, just like usual, there will be no nation that will support the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom? I’m pretty sure their troops are all exhausted too.]
[What in the world did the Food God do to Nerva…]
[Haven’t you heard the rumors? Minhyuk was the one that brought the ten plagues to the Luvien Empire.]
[For real?]
[Yep, yep… Hey, why don’t you know about this? Haha. Moron.]
[Anyway, that’s the reason why Nerva is hell-bent on destroying the kingdoms created by ‘foreigners’.]
[GG, Beyond the Heavens. There are even country-level rankers among the high-rankers that joined the war. From what I heard, Vietnam’s Miao has become really strong thanks to the ‘God-rank Bow’ that she got recently.]
[I heard that France’s Callauhel now has two god-rank artifacts, is that true?]
[Didn’t China’s Xu Jiaqi also get stronger?]
Just like what they said, it was not just the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom that had grown stronger. The other players had also continued to grow. Because of that, country-level rankers that had participated as kings in the Battle of the Thrones before were confident that they were now strong enough to take them on once more.
God of Archery Miao stroked her white bow and thought, ‘I’m very sorry to you, Minhyuk. But I really want to get that title in the Luvien Empire.’
‘It will be very hard for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to survive this time.’
For them, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was a nation that would have to collapse one day. Miao walked with the troops and looked at the man named Venteio, who was at the vanguard and leading Nerva’s Black Knights.
‘The Luvien Empire’s power is truly amazing…’
Miao was left speechless after seeing the current Mercenary King, Mercenary King Venteio, in front of her. This man had suddenly appeared, took down the Mercenary King and united all of the mercenaries in the continent. From what she knew, he was also one of the Absolute Supreme NPCs too.
‘And there’s also the Swords of the Gods. They are a force to be reckoned with but they’re still acting like that.’
Even though Venteio was not one of them, the Swords of the Gods all acted courteously toward him. It seemed that strength was respected, and he was very influential.
Venteio also brought along his mercenary troops and incorporated themselves among the Black Knights.
‘Wolf Mercenary.’
Including Venteio, there were only less than thirty members. However, from what Miao had learned, they had named themselves ‘Wolf Mercenary’ in honor of the man that they all admired.
‘They are at a level that even a decent ranker would not be able to fight against them.’
That was just how powerful the Wolf Mercenary was. In fact, the mercenaries were all ranked. Those in Wolf Mercenary were all strong people that could rival those at the top 1,000 rankers.
‘But in the end, they still became Nerva’s dogs.’
There was no helping it. Athenae’s Second Era only had one outcome, and that was the entire continent being devoured by the Luvien Empire.
In no time at all, the Esser Fortress appeared in the eyes of the imperial army.
***
For a moment, the battlefield turned silent and calm. Even though they were from the same army, the soldiers of the Luvien Imperial Army could not help but gulp when they saw Nerva’s Black Knights approach. It was only natural. After all, they were of different levels.
The feelings were more intense for the Masserati Kingdom troops.
‘What the hell is in front of us? A raid?’
‘We have crossed a mountain yet we are faced with another mountain?’
“Why did the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom provoke the Luvien Empire?! Shouldn’t you have expected something like this to happen?!”
Richard was furious. He glared at Black Dragon fiercely while venting his anger. Did Minhyuk not expect this to happen? However, even if he could, in the end, Minhyuk was still a player.
“I’m sorry. Hooo.”
Richard realized that he had acted rashly. The one that moved his army was Nerva, not Minhyuk. Besides, this was not the time to determine who was right or who was wrong.
However, Richard could not help but feel ashamed at the delight that he had felt when they initially got the upper hand against the Luvien Empire. After all, his name would be even more known to the world with this.
‘I… In the end, Masserati Kingdom will still be destroyed…’
A bitter aftertaste lingered in Richard’s mouth. Many of the people that believed in him would perish today.
“…Soon.” Black Dragon looked at the horizon that was now covered with their enemies. “Endure. Hold on until the sun goes down.”
“…?”
Richard looked at Black Dragon in confusion.
‘Until the sun goes down…? What?’
Then, Ellie approached Black Dragon and asked, “The situation is not looking too good. I did not expect that Luvien would send another army.”
Even Raldo hurriedly returned to their side and said with an ugly look on his face, “I never expected them to send the Black Knights…”
‘What? What did they say just now?’
Black Dragon had implied something earlier. From what he could see, it was something that only he and his son, Minhyuk, knew.
‘By any chance… will support troops come…?’
No. Richard had judged that to be virtually impossible. Any kingdom or empire that dared to send support from this land would definitely be pulled out from their roots. However, he could finish pondering over the matter.,
Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh—
“Keuaaaaaack!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaack!”
“Keheoooook!”
“W, what?!” Richard shouted in surprise. Dozens of arrows pierced through the mages’ shields and stabbed into the hearts of their troops that were above the ‘centurion-rank’.
“Hoooo,” a woman spat out a breath as she pulled the strings of her bow once again. This woman was none other than God of Archery Miao with her newly acquired class-specific item, the Abbas’ Bow. She had actually used the ‘Enemy Commander Search’ skill that was attached to the bow.
Dash, dash, dash, dash, dash—
Immediately after that, the Black Knights’ cavalier charged toward the walls of Esser Fortress that housed the nervous and tensed Maserati troops waiting for them.
Baaaaaaaaaang—
[Sword of the Gods Bella has joined the battlefield!]
[Sword of the Gods Locco has joined the battlefield!]
[Sword of the Gods Pero…battlefield!]
[Sword of the Gods Amber…battlefield!]
There was only one Sword of the Gods that ranked in the top ten among them, the rest were all ranked in the 20s. However, there were a dozen of them. On top of that, Luo, the Sword of the God that ranked in the top ten, was special.
[Sword of the Gods Luo. Level 701.]
Elainey and Rend were only at around Level 680 or so. One would say that the twenty-level difference was not that huge. In truth, it was a deep chasm that separated them.
In Athenae, new skills would appear or they would receive additional stats whenever they increased their level by a hundred. There was a high chance that Luo was more than twice as strong as the other Swords of the Gods present here.
The arrival of the additional enemies plunged the troops of the Masserati Kingdom into fear and terror.
Sword of the Gods Luo was an assassin-class. One move and he was able to slash the necks of the executives of the Masserati Kingdom.
Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—
Spurt—
Splash—
Fwooosh—
“…!”
Richard’s pupils were shaking as he looked at Luo. In just an instant, the man in front of him was able to force his guild members, the pillars of his kingdom, to log out.
“Right now…” Richard hurriedly gave his orders. “Send the NPCs back and bring all of the players to the vanguard!!!”
“Yes…? But…”
“Now!!! Even Team Darkness! Please fall back and stay in the rear!!!”
Richard remembered that the NPCs of Masserati Guild were also here. That was why he made the choice to send the NPCs back and brought only the players forward.
He quickly looked at the time. ‘Time before the sun sets…’
There were still thirty minutes left.
“Hold on!!! You have to hold on and defend the fortress one way or another!!!”
That was right. Richard decided to put his trust in them. Hearing the words of Minhyuk’s father made him realize why he admitted that he was glad that Minhyuk was the first player to become king.
As for Ellie and Team Darkness? They did not completely fall back to the rear, instead, they kept on sending them support from the walls of the fortress.
Richard grabbed the ring in his hand tightly.
“Your Majesty…!” Ricor called out to him in a hurry, he was one of the few that knew what that ring was for.
During the time when class-specific items were rapidly spreading in Athenae, Richard was able to get his hands on the ‘The Ring of the King’s Blessings’, an item that could dramatically increase the stats and skills of the guild members that were within Richard’s two kilometer radius. However, there was a side-effect.
‘He won’t be able to level up for two weeks… even his level will drop by one.’
Even though he would face such a huge penalty, Richard still asked his guild members to fight for him. “Our names will be written in history if we win this war today!!!”
Putting all his hope and faith in those words, Richard tightened his hold on the ring.
[You have activated the Ring of the King’s Blessings!]
[All of your stats have increased by 21%!]
[All of your skills have increased by one level!]
[Your fear has disappeared, replaced by courage and bravery!]
[Your skill cooldown has decreased by 20%!]
[Your resistance to abnormal status has increased by 20%!]
The guild members of Masserati Kingdom had come from all over the world. They all followed Richard because of his ‘Power of Growth’. As they continued to live under his rule, they realized why he became the second king of Athenae. He was someone that truly cared for his guild members, while sometimes being more cruel and tough than anybody else.
“As His Majesty commanded!!! Let’s hold on!!!”
“Endure it!!!”
“Attack!!!”
A troop made entirely of players squeezed the last of their strength and charged toward the Black Knights.
“…What an amazing fellow.”
“We have no choice but to acknowledge him, eh?”
Ellie and Raldo looked at Richard in admiration. For a long time, it had been very hard to unite the foreigners. After all, they solely lived for profits and gains. Yet, these people were now working together and making a sacrifice for the king of their nation.
‘I can now see why he became the Absolute Monarch.’
‘Minhyuk, make that person your rival and continue to grow and move forward.’
Ellie and Raldo even entertained those thoughts.
Ricor also went out shouting, “Uwoooooooooooh!” as several disasters fell down from the sky.
Even though Ricor’s disaster had become much stronger, there was not much damage on the Swords of the Gods and the Black Knights.
Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh—
“Keuhaaaaaack!”
God of Archery Miao’s arrows flew and stabbed through Ricor’s chest.
The guild members, who had regained their courage, charged forward but the problem was the Black Knights were too strong. Richard could clearly see that even his strongest guild members that ranked at the top of their guild were no match against the Black Knights. Even the Swords of the Gods were easily stabbing through his members’ chests and chopping off their heads as if it were a game.
‘…’
Twenty five minutes later.
[90% of the Masserati Guild’s members that had gathered in Esser Fortress have been wiped out.]
[Your qualifications as a king are being questioned.]
[You might incur the resentment and grudges of the people if you lose this war.]
“…Ah.”
Richard clearly felt the difference in their class. The best members of the guild fought with all their might yet they were easily wiped out, leaving only 10% of their forces behind. Their levels went down and they even dropped their artifacts. Although they were not really dead, Richard was sure that they would most definitely shed tears of blood at the loss.
‘However…’
The reason why they would be sad and in despair was because today was likely the fall of the Masserati Kingdom. In the end, Richard drew his sword with Ricor, who was covered in blood, escorting him.
Shwaaaaaaa—
In just a blink, the walls of Esser Fortress were being occupied by the Black Knights.
“Kill their king!!!”
“Die!!!”
“Ugh!!!”
Richard became aware of his limits as he tried to cut down their enemies.
Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—
Ellie and Raldo also jumped in and escorted Richard.
“Go. Quickly go back to your kingdom and empire.”
“That is for us to judge,” Ellie said, looking at Richard with a wry smile on her face. Ellie was known to be a cold empress. She did not show any emotion to any other king in her presence. “The Masserati Kingdom will become stronger.”
However, her words showed that she evaluated the Masserati Kingdom highly. Still, everything would be for naught if their kingdom perished. They had to survive this day.
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Then, Black Dragon appeared, looked over the horizon and said, “The sun is setting.”
“Uwaaaaack!”
“Keuaaaaack!”
“Keheoook!”
“Pl, please. Don’t come here. Hiiiiiik!”
As the desperate screams of his dying guild members rang in his ears, Richard could not help but look at the beautiful scene of the sun setting down the horizon.
‘What the hell is over there?’
They did not have any allies and support troops. Richard had no doubt that the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would also face the same situation soon.
‘Why did Black Dragon say those words?’
“…”
Then, at that moment, the setting sun illuminated the figure of two men walking slowly forward.
[The Legends of the Land of the Forgotten Heroes has appeared!]
[He is a living and breathing legend in the Land of the Forgotten Heroes, a man that is skilled in cloning techniques and someone that could make the Jade Emperor tremble in fear!]
[He is someone that has become a king in the Land of the Forgotten Heroes. He has rectified the shaking and collapsing kingdom and is writing the story of a new legend!]
[This Legend’s name is ‘Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal’, the king of the Kingdom of Rama!]
[This Legend’s name is ‘Aaron’, the king of the Kingdom of Eden!]
Vwooooooooooong—
Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom—!
The loud beat of the drums and the blare of the horns resounded on the battlefield as another man appeared in the middle of the two men, the three of them slowly walking forward once again.
Two large armies, with one holding the symbol of a two-legged bull while the other bore the symbol of the ‘Ruyi Jingu Bang’, appeared right behind them, spreading around the horizon. Each army had around 40,000 soldiers.
Finally, Richard was able to see the face of the man that was walking at the forefront. This man was none other than Beyond the Heavens’ King Minhyuk.
Richard could only gulp dryly while thinking, ‘…You brought support troops from another world?’
He was truly in a different class.