GBP

Damn it. This is the fifth time I died. What sort of a crappy event is this! We cannot run, we cannot hide and we cannot log out! Was this event just created so that we could die?"

"Bro, at least it's the fifth time for you. I am here at fifteen. I have seriously had enough of this shit. After this, I am going to log out and not come back."

"Yup, better to do my boring day job than play this goddamned game and die like a dog. This is ridiculous."

"Guys! Guys! I heard from my friends that the beast horde in the Gresh Kingdom is a lot more manageable. The teleportation hall is still working. Many players are teleporting to Yleka city."

"Oh shit! This is good news! What are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Ah… but… if we kill the beasts there, we won't get any points. Only if we kill them in our guild's kingdom we can get points."

"Huh? That's too bad but I don't give a shit! Bitch, right now I just don't want to die!"

"That's right. These idiot guilds can suck it. How could the big leaders underestimate an event like this? They should have cared about our safety and made more preparations."

"Ya. I was anyways thinking of leaving this shitty guild and joining Crimson Abyss or Battle Gods. This is a perfect opportunity!"

Several players came to the same conclusion as the crowd around each Kingdom's teleportation halls was starting to build up. When the guilds strictly opposed this action, many players directly quit their respective guilds.

The tension because of the mounting death tolls was not so easily diffused. Their very own lives were at stake at the moment, so even some small guilds decided to give up on the event altogether and run to the Gresh Kingdom to save their lives.

Meanwhile, the other guilds that were too big to give up their pride were all struggling.

"Fucking Crimson Abyss! How are you cheating? Give us the method!"

"They are truly vicious and heartless! So many people are dying! How can they still be hiding this secret cheat? Shouldn't they share it with everyone?"

"Right! They have at least this much responsibility to the world. How could they not care about their countrymen? The government should do something about them!"

"Ban the guild! They shouldn't be allowed to play the game! Arrest the players who are part of the guild and put them in jail!"

"Yes! Yes! The government needs to take action. There need to be consequences for this."

The disgruntled players started sending several death threats to Alex and the other known celebrities of Crimson Abyss. As the death toll kept increasing, this commotion and chaos only became worse.

Weirdly, a few minutes later, these same players started running over to Gresh Kingdom and even applied for Crimson Abyss membership in the midst of the event.

The number of deserters was continuously growing and every single Kingdom except for the Gresh Kingdom plunged into utter disarray. Only a few notable guilds like Battle Gods were still able to keep the situation under control and somewhat stabilize.

At this time, another unexpected event happened. A set of new guilds started to rear their heads and come up in ranking. These guilds also had very specific names, notably, the USA, Russia, Canada, China, Japan, Germany, India, and so on.

It was almost as if the governments of the world had made a united decision and used this special event to kickstart their respective guilds.

Especially at a time of unrest like this, the players who were struggling and only barely clinging to their lives immediately deflected to these new guilds in the hope that government would offer protection.

Coincidentally, this plan actually worked. All the players who wore the government guild tabards seemed to be well organized and holding down their zones pretty well. If one looked closely, one could see that these players were in fact highly skilled and definitely not your average group.

All of their movements, weapon usage, and combat abilities were top-notch. They were also attacking the beasts surrounding them and overwhelming them fearlessly. There was no hesitation or cowardice in their eyes.

From this, it wasn't too difficult to guess who these players were. Only trained army soldiers were capable of such a feat.

It was almost as if all the nations across the world unanimously decided to take action today and unleash all these trained soldiers into the game at the same time or at least publicize this fact at the same time.

It was impossible for something like this to happen on the spot. This response to the event was definitely preplanned. However, no one cared about this. As long as they could obtain some protection, they were already satisfied.

These special guild members also excelled in giving out orders to other random players so slowly by slowly the situation was getting under control at least in some sectors of the main cities.

Meanwhile… the situation in Gresh Kingdom was also far from optimal. The players in this Kingdom were facing another kind of issue. There were no longer enough beasts in the main cities!

Meanwhile… the situation in Gresh Kingdom was also far from optimal. The players in this Kingdom were facing another kind of issue. There were no longer enough beasts in the main cities!

Thanks to the deserters from other kingdoms running to the main cities in the Gresh Kingdom and a certain someone, the beast horde was actually becoming thinner and thinner.

Players were barely dying anymore and even PVP fights between small groups started breaking out in parts of cities.

This would have been good news except that Crimson Abyss was leading the ranking board with a whopping unimaginable lead.

And now that there were no more beasts, how could the other guilds overcome this difference and fight back?

While everywhere else the various guilds were still competing with each other fiercely for the top rank, in Gresh Kingdom, the current top guilds might as well sit down and relax because they had nothing to do.

They had lost the event without even playing it!

They still could venture out of the city walls and fight the beasts in the wild but at this point, that would be equivalent to suicide.

Inside the cities, everything was organized and a huge player base was there to tackle the horde but outside it was still a free for all.

Everyone had the courage and competitive spirit but they didn't have the confidence to bring their guild outside and face the full force of the horde.

So unable to do either this or that, the players in the Gresh Kingdom were literally hanging out and chatting, leisurely killing the one or two beasts that crossed their path.

"Damn you! Crimson Abyss!"

Sitting atop the rock, Liam calmly read the various reports that came his way. "So much chaos and commotion for this beast horde? Tch. Tch. No wonder we fell so quickly the last time around."

His gaze shifted to the beasts that were struggling against his minions. The truth was that though this particular event was terrifying and the beast horde was a force to reckon with, the actual beasts in the horde were still manageable.

They were all around Level 50 and even if they possess a mana core, it was nothing spectacular. At least it was just for show and they did not actually tap into it.

There was a sizeable mountain of mana cores piled up next to him and Liam wondered why there were so few beasts in the game that could actually use the potential of their cores. The tutorial did not cover this aspect?

He felt this was weird and then continued looking at the rest of the reports. Just as he thought most of the guilds were whining and complaining that someone else did not solve the problem for them.

"You want the cheating method?" Liam laughed at the ridiculous notion.

It was also clear that his main occupation hadn't spread yet. Except for the few core members and the high-council members of the guild not many people had witnessed him use the soul minions.

Even back at the PVP tower fight, when he was facing Crawford, the display had been cut off and his soul minions were hidden from the public eye.

"I guess when we finally face each other, I can give you a good surprise." Liam grinned, his eyes now browsing through the ranking leaderboard with a smile.

Crimson Abyss was still number one, not just in the Gresh Kingdom, but also in the whole world. The second rank was occupied by 'Battle Gods' without any big surprises there.

Liam also recognized the third and fourth rank guild names, Devil Tyrants and Galaxy Guardians. These two guilds were famous in his last lifetime as well. They were top-tier A-rank guilds that were on the cusp of becoming S-Rank guilds.

But the guilds that really caught his eye were the various government-associated guilds. It only took him one look to realize what was happening here and who could possibly be behind all of this.

To use the beast siege event as a stage to showcase the power of the government and to actually convince so many world leaders to agree to this major decision, there was only one person who was capable of such a feat, to orchestrate something so big and monumental.

His favourite oracle!

He had been silent for a while but Liam did not forget about him.

And if he actually managed to accomplish something like this, his power and backing in the real world and in the game world had already increased to a terrifying level.

If Liam's assumption was indeed correct, then he was no longer within his grasp. It was quite unbelievable that someone was capable of changing history more than he was.

This person should now single-handedly wield more power than anyone else alive. It was almost as if he was already the Emperor of the unknown new world, uniting all the forces.

However, there was only one problem. Was the man operating in the shadows powerful enough by himself? If yes, then Liam had to applaud his genius and his efforts. But if not, then he could only laugh at all of these developments.

Making political and strategic moves like this, having the world in your pocket was surely impressive. But what about when everything changed and all order collapsed?

When it comes down to it, the new world demanded one thing and only one thing, true power. When that need arises, all these alliances would only crumble into nothingness.

So he was not in the least bothered about this development, at least not yet. Everything was just starting and the real battle for survival was yet to begin.

"I hope for your own good, you know what you are doing." Liam chuckled lightly.

With these new developments, perhaps the apocalypse will be more interesting this time around. He clenched his fists in excitement.

Though the unpredictability of the dangerous future was quite terrifying, he couldn't help but feel excited at the same time. He was not the same helpless person any longer.

He closed all the system interfaces and then took a deep breath before first taking out all the black beads in his possession.

Now that he had almost completely recovered from his tiredness, he wanted to stuff all the beads in his possession with the plentiful souls in front of him.

Liam first carefully picked out the beads that had the wyvern and dragon souls and put them away because these were too precious for him to meddle with. He then started stuffing the remaining beads with as many souls as he possibly could.

Too bad he only had a few of these with him. So this process got over rather quickly, especially with the speed at which all his minions and Luna were slaughtering everything in sight.

If someone saw this scene, they would assume that the snow-white fox was also an undead because she showed no signs of fatigue. The rabbit, who also hadn't shown up in a while, was out and about, busily collecting anything shiny and glittering.

As for the star of the show, it was still the three-headed wyvern, no matter how much Luna tried to outshine the draconic beast.

He was wreaking complete terror and devastation on the beast horde from three directions, with no end in sight. The beast was simply too brutal.

Did three-headed wyverns even exist naturally? If a three-headed wyvern was so powerful just how strong would a three-headed dragon be? Liam wondered as he smiled at this spectacular scene. He couldn't help but want to start forging the dragon souls.

However, he was fully aware that he would instantly die if he tried to do that. He was only barely able to withstand the backlash from the wyvern souls, so he still needed more training and strengthening before he attempted that one.

"Alright. It's time I joined this party!"

Alright. It's time I joined this party!" With a big grin, Liam unsheathed his black dragon sword and jumped into the middle of the fray.

This beast horde was not just a chance for him to level up and amass more minions but it was also a perfect chance for him to unlock two of the remaining seals on his black dragon sword. So he did not want to miss this opportunity.

Before the horde thinned down, he was going to break open the seals that held him back.

With countless souls wailing around him, he was at his strongest and this was the most ideal atmosphere to face the backlash of the weapon or rather the dragons sealed within the weapons.

Liam grinned as he felt the thrill and bloodlust of the chaotic battle unfolding in front of him. Kicking his feet off the rock he was standing on, he jumped into the middle of the beast horde that was heading to the city.

Instantly the beasts around him started baring their fangs and charged at him with loud roars. However, all of these roars were drowned by the tremendous roar that erupted from his sword.

[Sword Dance]

Liam's body spun as he held the sword and he slashed at anything and everything that was close to him. Blood splattered everywhere and chunks of flesh flew left and right.

Within seconds both he and the sword he was holding were drenched in the blood of all sorts of beasts and chimeric monsters.

Liam did not even have to wait for long. It was only a few minutes before the inevitable reminder of the system prompted in front of him.

For a moment complete silence enveloped Liam cutting him off from the battlefield entirely. But this was very short-lived. It was the calm before the storm. The next instant this silence without any warning turned deadly.

Aaaarrghhh!

Liam screamed as a gigantic pressure leaked out of the sword in his hands that he was still clutching tightly. A nameless force shot from the earth he was standing on all the way to the sky. This force ripped everything apart.

The beasts that continued to charge toward him were all blown apart into smithereens. This force was a tornado uprooting everything in sight.

"Master!" Luna and the other minions turned to look at Liam. The two wyverns also looked at him but when they did, they started trembling in fear.

While the others simply saw a pillar of energy shooting up, these two draconian creatures could feel it in their souls. There were countless eyes peering out of this pillar of energy.

Every single one of them was slit-like and every single one of them was locked onto Liam. they defiantly stood tall and looked down upon him.

They were free! They were finally free to unleash a part of their presence outside the sword! Four out of the Nine seals had been broken and they were able to peak out of the damned sword!

ROAR! The several souls inside the sword bore into Liam with vengeance. They snorted in arrogance at the beasts clamouring around him. In front of their eyes, these were nothing but ants.

But as for the man who currently had control over them… ROAR! The pillar became even more intense. It was as if it wanted to devour everything in sight and become more powerful.

For a second, Liam couldn't breathe. He was drowning in this strange power that was completely wrapped around him and suffocating him.

But this time he did not fall to the ground and convulse like a weakling. He was already prepared for this and that was why he decided to break this seal in the first place.

GIVE IT UP!" He shouted and started pulling the souls lingering all around him. He used them to make himself stronger, and retain his sanity.

He had never tried this before and he was not 100% sure how exactly to proceed with this or how to even comprehend soul energy but since this was threatening his very life, he knew that his instincts would kick in.

He tried to notice how exactly the black dragon souls were trying to affect him and used the surplus souls around him to cover this weakness.

Naturally, he was not efficient but at this point, he did not care about wastage or anything. He just used whatever he could get his hands on en masse and made it into a shield that protected him from the wrath of the black dragon souls.

The instant this feeling popped up in his mind, he started digging into his heels further. He held onto this feeling and tried to picture a shield all around him made out of these souls, sort of like a cocoon.

Immediately, the pressure on him reduced tremendously. He was slowly by slowly regaining more control of his mind and senses.

With this foothold, now he started making the cocoon around him thicker and thicker. Wisps of strong soul essence drifted around him, answering his command.

The souls within the sword trembled in rage. Even they could feel the pull coming from him. They might have helped him in the past but they would never submit to a mere mortal like him.

They would rather cease to exist than suffer this humiliation. They were powerful ancient creatures that stood at the top of the world. Even if they perish, they would never submit to an ant like him.

SNORT! The black dragon souls collectively roared and dove down to attack the newly made cocoon. They tried to bombard it and shatter it.

Liam shivered. Everything in his world shook, but he knew he was on the right path and he also did not want to back down. He gritted his teeth and bore everything, pulling even more souls toward him in a frenzy.

The dragon souls saw this and became extremely furious. The human had tricked them! This was a completely unfair battleground!

He was at his strongest and they were at their weakest. They couldn't do anything to the ant toying with them in this pathetic world and the pathetic essence that lingered in the world.

They continued unwillingly ramming against the soul cocoon a few more times but soon, they had no other choice.

Another earth-shattering roar echoed from the pillar of energy as the dragon souls returned back to the sword, silently simmering within the confines of the weapon.

Liam panted as he felt the weapon once again thrum with life. The sword in his hand was heavier than ever, but it was calmly resting in his hand. Was it over? He was not sure, but he tested the waters by slowly dissipating the cocoon around him.

Still… there was no response from the sword? It was as if the weapon was completely subdued. Liam smirked. It looked like this was over, at least for now. It turned out that doing this in the middle of this battlefield was the right decision after all.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Several notifications rang out loudly, interrupting his thoughts.

Liam moved out of the way of the beast horde and hurriedly opened his system interface to check the notifications.

Liam blinked. He completely hadn't expected this.

When he forged the three-headed wyvern, he only got a small boost to his legacy, from 70% to 71%. However, the breakthroughs he made today were much bigger than that. One pushed him from 71 to 76%, and the other from 76 to 81%.

He actually had 81% of the legacy!

It seemed like only yesterday that he had started from scratch!

Slowly building this little by little over time, he was now almost close to acquiring the whole damn thing. More importantly, this new attribute… soul strength…

Even with his increased understanding of the legacy, this should be the most valuable thing he acquired today.

"First Order? What does this mean?" Liam narrowed his eyes to think about the implications of this new attribute.

Soul strength was something that was basic to all living beings. More than anyone else, he was aware of this fact because he had by now gone through hundreds of souls.

A living being's strength, weakness, memories, desires, dreams, their entire life, a soul was a record of all these things collectively.

Improving this shouldn't be as simple as gaining a bonus in the strength or agility stats. Liam felt as if this particular attribute was much deeper and had more meaning and consequences.

He licked his lips as he jumped back into the beast horde and began yet another onslaught. There was still a lot he needed to understand and he needed to analyze. A lot of unanswered questions remained.

But he also had the perfect battlefield that could help him figure out these things and solve the questions. All around him, there were countless souls wailing for his attention.

Liam did not waste any time, and he first tried using the newly upgraded sword. He swung it around, sending sword slashes at the beasts around him.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

Four consecutive slashes were executed, but even Liam was amazed at the results. Just for merely bringing down his sword, terrifying damage numbers popped up.

-10,000

-50,000

-15,000

-25,650

His swordplay was far from perfect, so this was simply unbelievable. If his half-assed sword work can unleash so much of the weapon's capability, then how much damage would a trained technique bring out?

Liam felt goosebumps as he continued using the sword repeatedly. As for the reason for this new development, he could feel it clearly after the fifth swing.

The powerful aura that lashed at him when he unlocked the seal was now surrounding the sword, hence the exaggerated damage numbers.

This was completely different from when he had undone the first seal, the second seal, or the third seal. The effect this time was off the charts. Every time a seal was undone, more and more of the dragon souls seeped out.

Liam couldn't help but wonder just how powerful this weapon would turn out if he unlocked the fourth, fifth, and seventh seals as well. There were also the mysterious eighth and ninth seals, about which nothing was known to him.

He gritted his teeth as he slashed at the beasts around him one more time before taking a look at the system interface.

[1st Seal: To break the seal, devour a thousand rare grade or higher grade weapons]

[Broken]

[2nd Seal: To break the seal, devour a thousand rare grade or higher grade herbs]

[Broken]

[3rd Seal: To break the seal, devour a thousand rare grade or higher ores]

[Broken]

[4th Seal: To break the seal, devour a thousand rare grade or higher gems]

[5th Seal: To break the seal, devour a thousand elemental essences]

[6th Seal: To break the seal, devour a thousand bloodlines]

[Broken]

[7th Seal: To break the seal, devour a thousand souls]

[8th Seal: N/A]

[9th Seal: N/A]

"Right now, I can also break the 7th seal. Hmm… For the 4th seal, I have some gems but a trip to the Four Empires should help me get through that. And the elemental essences… maybe those two demonesses finished collecting?" Liam did a quick calculation.

He probably had the ability to unlock all seven seals, but would he be able to withstand the result? With each seal he unlocked, the weapon became more and more dangerous.

In his last life, the person who managed to conquer this weapon and even managed to bring it out into the real world was one of the key pillars of the collapsing world.

So Liam believed that it was possible for him to accomplish the same feat and become just as strong. However, he doubted if he would have the same path to achieving the results.

Thanks to his soulmancer class, the backlash he felt from the sword was probably so much more terrifying than that person ever did. This made it more difficult for him.

However, that did not change anything. He still had to unlock the seals and completely bind with the weapon before the tutorial ended. He had to become strong enough to withstand the aftermath. There was simply no other way.

And as for how he was going to do it, Liam guessed that the answer lay in the new attribute and the new skill he acquired. These two should be the key.

If he raised his soul strength high enough, then dragon souls simmering in the weapon shouldn't be able to affect him. Even if they did, the skill [Soul Shield] should be able to save him from their wrath.

This should be true at least for this seal and perhaps for the next one. But the last seal…

Liam did not know what he needed to do to withstand the effect of that one, and if all seven seals were unlocked, would he really be able to handle the weapon? Would he then be able to take it out of this world? There were also the eighth and the ninth mysterious seal…

There were too many uncertainties. Liam let out a sigh and steadied his mind. There was no point in jumping the gun now. He could only calmly take everything step by step.

After a few deep breaths, he attempted to repeat the movements from earlier as he tried to recreate [Soul Shield] one more time. He also tried to pull the souls towards himself to improve his soul strength and potentially bring them to the Second Order, but it was easier said than done.

Though he had accomplished this once, it looked like he had to practice more to get the hang of it. Liam cracked his neck and started busying himself.

With the multitude of souls around him, he alternated between practising the new skill, forging new minions, and trying to sense his own soul strength.

However, what he did not know was that his movements hadn't gone unnoticed this time around.

As he slaughtered beast after beast, a pair of ethereal eyes watched him from a distance. These eyes belonged to a woman who looked as if she were an angel descended from the heavens.

Her entire figure brimmed with divine energy from top to bottom. She was incomparably beautiful. There was a pride in her gaze that set her apart from everything around her. And currently, this woman's full, undivided attention was on Liam.

"Interesting." She smiled as she continued to observe him in the mirror in front of her. "If things continue at this rate, his kill count is going to be incomparable to other players."

"Imagine fishing for a pearl and finding a diamond. Mmmm." She had been looking at the list of players engaged in the beast siege and their respective contributions when she unexpectedly stumbled upon a surprise, the top player on this list.

It was good that she decided to pay more attention to this particular event, otherwise, she would have missed such a wonderful opportunity.

"What is he? How could I have missed him for so long?" She whispered to herself in a low voice. However, the knight next to her still heard her and bowed his head. "May I intervene, your eminence?"

"No. Let him be. I want him to become stronger." The smile on the woman's face grew wider. He will become my crown jewel." Her finger touched Liam's figure in the mirror as he dispatched another dozen beasts. "A very fine jewel indeed."

The knight next to her slightly frowned before his expression became steady again. But if one looked closely, they would be able to see the anger simmering in his black obsidian eyes as he also continued watching Liam.

Silence filled the space. But a minute later, the angelic woman seemed as if she had changed her mind. Her smile disappeared, and unexpectedly another order was issued.

"On second thought, let's start the next phase. Send in the big guys."

Gresh kingdom, royal city…

The situation in the city at the moment was so peaceful that Shen Yue, Mei Mei and a group of core players were sitting around and chatting aimlessly.

This same event was happening throughout the whole city but at least the others had some PVP action. But since this group was near the royal kingdom even that was not there.

"How long is this going to last?" Mei Mei yawned lazily. She was feeding her panther a fresh batch of meatballs which she acquired from Shen Yue.

"Don't know. I am so bored." Ian murmured in response, trying to aim at a distant player or beast with his arrow. At this point, he did not care which one he hit. He simply needed someone to come at him.

"That's enough." Shen Yue immediately reprimanded them. The group quickly quieted down, no one wanting to disobey her.

By now, word had spread that she was the girlfriend of the big boss, thanks to two people, Mei Mei and Rey. So everyone treated her with respect and fear.

Also, after forming the mana core, Shen Yue's abilities were at a completely different level. To listen to her was the wise thing to do.

A few more minutes passed by in silence with everyone observing the royal palace like a hawk when suddenly loud horns started blaring once again.

"What's happening now?"

"Something is going down!"

Everyone immediately became alert. The couple of assassin players wandering in the front lines quickly sent the updates to the team. And just like they suspected something huge was indeed going down.

All of a sudden the beasts fighting against the players started shouting in an enraged voice. Their eyes became red and they started attacking in a frenzy without any self-preservation as if they had lost their minds.

Not just that but their attack power and health as well suddenly sky-rocketed. If every player was facing a random mob character before, now they were facing an elite boss!

And this did not happen just in the Gresh Kingdom, it was happening all over the world, in every kingdom. Players who had only just now somewhat stabilized their group and the beasts they were fighting with suddenly found themselves overwhelmed yet again.

Without any warning, their opponents became several times more powerful. The blows coming their way turned deadly and lethal and in a second, there was mass chaos. Once again players started appearing in the graveyard en masse.

Players were struggling and barely holding on even in the Gresh Kingdom where there were currently not that many beasts. In the other kingdoms, the situation was that much worse. Just like that the battle once again turned in the favour of the beast horde.

As wave after wave of beasts kept on coming, for every hundred beasts about a dozen were these special elite boss beasts that had unbeatable power and insane health reserve. Guilds had to set up raid units just to keep them engaged.

Every second the situation was becoming worse and worse. If this continued then there would only be a complete and utter massacre, perhaps the entire human population could be wiped out!

Everyone's faces turned ugly and ashen as this harsh reality dawned on them. For the first time, the horror of this game was out in the open for all the players across the world to see.

With the god of death knocking at the doorstep, everyone furiously typed in their system interface to force log out. It didn't matter if they belonged to a government guild or top guild, they simply wanted to get out. Unfortunately, that was still impossible.

"Aiyoooo! I am going to die here!"

"Let me go! Let me go! I want to see my wife and daughter!"

"Damn it! I am still a virgin! I don't want to die yet!"

The mass hysteria and panic spread like a wildfire. Players even began hiding inside buildings to escape from the beast horde fully knowing that something like this could probably buy them only a couple of seconds. They simply did not know what else to do.

And amidst this chaos and confusion, suddenly another set of NPCs emerged from the shadows. The Dukes, Grand Dukes of the various Kingdoms along with the military Generals appeared out of their hideouts.

These were the true powerhouses of the kingdoms and now, finally, they got down to do the dirty work themselves. The tides of the war immediately turned as these monsters started tossing out powerful attacks to combat the berserk beasts.

Huge meteorites started falling from the sky, earth shook, the ground split apart here and there spewing out fire, ice spears and lava rained, the entire place turned chaotic as one massive attack after another assaulted the elite beasts.

"Oh dear god!"

"Thank you, Jesus!"

All the players immediately rejoiced. Finally, there was some light at the end of the tunnel. The situation that looked hopeless just a second ago, now slowly started returning to the formal equilibrium.

Thankfully, the NPCs intervened in time. It was almost as if the players were never expected to fight these on their own. But it did not matter how the event was designed. All the players were just happy they were not killed left and right anymore.

Peace returned and several guilds even started to try and kill steal from the NPCs triggering a whole other series of events. Though logging out was still impossible, players once again participated in the event with gusto.

And in the midst of this comeback, Shen Yue finally received a notification that she was waiting for. Her special kingdom quest prompt flashed in front of her again.

Shen Yue hurriedly pressed the Y and this time there was a blinking mark on the map that pointed her straight to the target she was supposed to protect.

With the target arrow marked for her, Shen Yue couldn't ask for a better hint to start the kingdom quest. She did not know why she of all people specifically received this quest, but she was determined to do her best.

Shen Yue activated [Stealth] mode and started to move in the direction of the tunnel, which covered the northernmost part of the canal that cut across the city. This was an interesting spot as it was the farthest from the royal palace.

Who was this so-called princess running from? Firstly, she did not know where a princess popped out from, but if it was for protection, shouldn't she be running toward the palace?

Shen Yue couldn't understand the situation. Nevertheless, she was very curious to meet this secret, hidden princess. She continued running towards the tunnel, careful not to bump into anyone else, and soon reached her destination.

Weirdly, when she arrived, no one else was there. Just to make sure, Shen Yue searched all areas surrounding the tunnel thoroughly, but she couldn't see anyone. Since it was a somewhat open area, not even other players were around, as they couldn't hide in this spot.

"What is going on? Where is this princess?"

She frowned and looked around when suddenly she spotted another person sitting at the far end of the tunnel. He had hidden quite well between two narrow passages, so she missed him while searching the place the first time around.

Shen Yue immediately revealed herself and walked over to this person. Naturally, she also turned on her charm, as this usually made things a lot easier.

"Hi, did you by chance see a young woman somewhere around here?" She asked with a sweet smile. As she finally had a chance to take a good look at this person, she was immediately shocked.

The person she was talking to was in a terrible state. The poor guy seemed too battered and bruised. He was very young and had a feminine face, which currently had numerous cuts and injuries.

He looked back at her with a pair of red eyes and shook his head.

"Ummm…" Shen Yue felt awkward. From his condition, it was clear that he was a beggar or a commoner who got badly injured in the beast horde. "Do you want something to eat?" She took out some food and a health potion for the poor beggar.

"A decent health potion?" The beggar's eyes immediately lit up. He grabbed it and emptied it out in a second. "Give me another one."

"Hmmm?" Shen Yue didn't care about the beggar's demanding attitude or why her charm didn't seem to be working. After all, the poor thing was very badly hurt.

In this condition, he probably wasn't thinking straight, so what could he have seen? She gave the guy a couple more health potions and prepared to look around once again when she abruptly stopped in her tracks.

She turned to stare at the 'beggar' one more time if he could even be called that now.

With the person's face completely clearing up and his wounds all healing, little by little, the haggard and crumpled face was turning into something astonishing.

Shen Yue couldn't help but gasp lightly. This person's features were utterly stunning, but a second later something else stood out. She was shocked again, as she was actually beginning to recognize the person in front of her.

It was none other than the current king of the Gresh Kingdom!

When all the high-level NPCs walked out to face the beast horde, particularly the elite beasts, in the royal city, the King and the royal court also made an appearance. So what was he doing here?

Shen Yue only needed one more look, as suddenly everything seemed to click into place. The king who looked like a woman, her special rescue the non-existent princess quest and the fact that she was right now staring at this person where her target was supposed to be…

All of this pointed to one thing, and only one thing. The current King of the Gresh Kingdom was actually a woman? The crown prince had always been a princess? Was this why he was being hunted down?

Shen Yue's eyes twinkled as she slowly opened her mouth. It was time to verify this wild thought she had. "I can help you reach a safe location, princess." She said.

"You can? Quickly tell me. What is your plan?" The 'beggar' stood up in alarm. It took him, or rather her, a second to realize what just happened, and she froze awkwardly.

Got you! Shen Yue grinned brightly. "Don't worry, princess. Your secret is safe with me." She unleashed her charm fully and gave a light nod. "As for the plan… it is pretty simple."

"Everyone is focused on the main entrance and exit of the royal city, I am sure you are aware of some emergency exits?"

The 'beggar' nodded.

"We could use those to leave the city and then head somewhere safe. Me and my group of guild members will see to it that you reach somewhere safe and sound, princess."

The young man bit his lips while being repeatedly addressed as a princess, but he did not say anything to deny it.

Shen Yue smiled and called for the rest of the team. Everyone had their invisibility potions ready, and soon the entire group set out on their mission.

The 'princess' led the way, and they easily reached one of the side exits. En route, a few beasts sniffed them out, but Shen Yue and the group quickly took care of the beasts and put them away.

Luckily, all the special elite beasts were occupied by the main NPCs, so they did not have to face these monstrous creatures. However, this situation immediately changed as they stepped outside the city.

Within seconds, they were surrounded by ten of the berserk elite beasts.

Shen Yue immediately prepared to fight. She knew that the difficulty of a kingdom quest would definitely be off the charts, so she hurriedly dashed ahead with her daggers.

Seeing Shen Yue charge forward, everyone else in the group took their respective places as the fight instantly broke out. Several colourful attacks started flying left and right, and arrows and weapons flashed brightly in the sunlight.

The group confidently moved, coordinating perfectly with each other. They had all run several dungeons together, so they were all well aware of each other's strong points, weak points, and capabilities. They fought supporting and buffing each other as the overall strength of the group soared.

However, the enemy in front of them was not just any ordinary enemy. With a massive health of ten million, each of the ten elites was akin to a freaking dungeon boss.

It was not just their health but also their attack patterns. They had complicated attack patterns that were not easy to dodge, and each one dealt a massive chunk of damage. Every single attack was sudden and bizarre, and they attacked in a frenzy with no thoughts of self-preservation.

Worse yet, the fight devolved into chaos and eventually coalesced into a small nucleus, drawing in additional elite beasts. The ten berserk beasts they were facing quickly became fifteen.

Biting her lip, Shen Yue watched as things began to go south. The whole fight was a complete mess, and they were only barely holding on. If things continued this way, this quest was going to end before it ever began.

The really infuriating part was that the damned princess did little to nothing to help. Wasn't she supposed to be powerful since she was able to play the role of a king?

Everyone here was fighting for her survival, and she was simply standing and watching the show. Tsk. Tsk. What a piece of work! Shen Yue gave her a glare and then decided to take action.

"Everyone, let's split up. It's impossible to get out of this as is, so you guys slowly draw these beasts back to the city, and then they will automatically be taken care of."

The others quickly followed the orders, and the fight changed trajectories. Shen Yue then looked at two players specifically, one long-range hunter and one priest. "Ian and Josh, come with me. Princess, let's move."

While the rest of the group held the aggro of the beasts and kept them busy, these three slowly slipped out. They managed to evade the heavy hitters of the beast horde and slaughtered their way out of the mess.

Shen Yue then led everybody to the spot where their mounts were safely hidden. This had been their retreat plan, just in case, the beast horde was too difficult to handle in the surrounding villages and towns where Alex and the others were fighting.

Shen Yue borrowed two mounts from this stash, and the group of four was quickly out of harm's way. The beast horde did contain some flying beasts, but most of these were hovering over the cities. So for now, they were mostly safe, though this probably wouldn't last long.

Some players had already tried using this strategy to save themselves from the beast horde and miserably failed. They were ganged upon in mid-air and plummeted to their deaths.

Hence, they had to quickly fly to another destination and get off the skies. But where were they supposed to go? What was a safe destination in this never-ending beast horde?

As if answering her question, a system prompt flashed in front of Shen Yue. Her quest was updated, and now there was an arrow mark indicating where the escort mission ended. In fact, the entire path from start to finish was clearly dotted.

"I guess this makes things simpler." She sighed and signalled the group to move forward. Luckily the destination wasn't that far away. They should be able to reach you within a few minutes.

The group cautiously proceeded forward, the two bat mounts using the cover of trees and clouds whenever possible. Everything was going smoothly but when they got closer to the location slowly Shen Yue's expression stiffened up.

She knew what this location was. Rather she had already been here before. She would have recognized it sooner if not for the fact that she was constantly looking around and making sure nothing sneaked up on them but now that they were here, she immediately recognized the spot.

The safe location for the princess was nothing but the same demon temple where the old enchantress had kidnapped them and planned to use them for some sort of sacrificial ritual!

If Liam did not come and rescued them on time, Shen Yue shuddered to think what could have happened and now they were back here again, back at the same spot! What the hell?

She even flipped open the system interface map to double-check if this was really the safe location where the quest was supposed to end and it was still the same. Nothing changed. This was the spot.

Shen Yue did not know why but she had a bad feeling about the whole thing. The first quest which gave her the special class was a quest to help the old maid in the royal palace but in the end, the maid betrayed them and planned to use them for her evil deeds.

So would this person also end up doing the same?

"No. What am I thinking? This is a completely different person. She is not really connected to the enchantress. I am overthinking things." She calmed herself down.

However, immediately another unsettling thought arose in her mind. If this is not connected to the enchantress then why would she get this quest of all people? It didn't make sense. It had to be someone connected to her special class. Only that explained things.

Also since she was unconscious, she never really got a good look at the enchantress's face when she was not old and shrivelled anymore. She only heard the story from Liam. So perhaps this woman could resemble her or be connected to her in some way?

Shen Yue kept stealing glances at the princess who was still in her king disguise. No matter how she looked at it, the person was indeed extravagantly beautiful and if all the disgusting makeup was removed perhaps even more beautiful than her.

There really was a big chance that she might be an enchantress too. Irrespective, Shen Yue decided to mentally prepare herself just to be sure. It was better to be safe than sorry. She gripped her daggers tightly as she continued looking around, watching out for any potential beast attacks.

In the next few seconds, the destination arrived and the two bats flew down and landed smoothly. The trip was a complete success without any mishaps.

And from the looks of it, the demon temple was most definitely a safe location.

There were a few beasts roaming around in the area but most of them were outside the perimeter of the temple. No beasts were present inside the actual building structure.

Ding! The system notification also arrived to indicate that the quest was complete. A chunk of experience points chimed in and a sizeable amount of gold coins were also rewarded. All in all, it had ended well.

Before checking out the rewards, Shen Yue first bowed to the princess. "Your highness, we are here. Please let me know if we can help you with something else."

The good thing about a kingdom quest was that most of these were chain quests and the rewards exponentially increased with each chain quest.

So even though Shen Yue was nervous about this place and this situation, she still did not want to miss out on the opportunity and started fishing around for the next quest.

And just like she wanted, the King/ princess calmly smiled. This was a huge improvement since their first meeting. It seemed like the favorability had increased a lot. Now Shen Yue was more than sure that there were other quests.

"Let's go inside and take a look." The princess replied and Shen Yue and the two guys followed her. "Ian, Josh, we might have to fight some mobs inside. Be prepared" Shen Yue whispered to the two quietly and everyone became alert.

The group only barely entered the big dilapidated walls of the temple when all of a sudden a force field appeared and pushed them inside.

"Princess!" The three of them quickly looked around to check on the chief guest they were supposed to protect when unexpectedly… that chief guest was doing just fine!

Shen Yue bitterly smiled. In the end, everything happened just like she was hoping it wouldn't! She looked at the devious smile on the face of the person and, she quickly got back onto her feet and entered [Stealth].

Sure, she might be in a similar situation like last time but there was one big difference. She was no longer the same person!

Shen Yue managed to get out in time as three dark bolts made their way to the three of them. The other two did not respond fast enough and were hit. Ian's health dropped by 10% and Josh recovered by casting a healing spell.

But after this, the two of them were also on their feet and engaged in combat. They easily evaded the next couple of dark element attacks which came their way.

Using this chance, Shen Yue showed up behind the princess and backstabbed her. The opponent was strong but Level 70 was still something she could manage. After all, she had in her hands a pair of legendary daggers.

The paralyzing effect of the daggers should have already been activated so Shen Yue hurriedly activated a slew of attacks. She did not hold back and also activated her charm and started using her enchantress class special skills.

However, the moment she did that, a strong dark element shield jutted out and blasted her away. "You dare use my mother's legacy against me?" The opponent finally revealed her true form.

Shen Yue looked up to see an unbelievably breathtaking woman with a strong demonic aura seeping out of her. Everything she had assumed was indeed true. The two were connected and moreover, they were mother and daughter!

Shen Yue got back up again and dashed towards the woman. "You are just like your mother. Attacking the person who rescued you!" She used blade dance to get in some attacks before the next defensive barrier popped out.

She just needed a couple of attacks to go through and the venom on the daggers would take care of everything else. But shouldn't the paralyzing effect from the backstab be already active?

As if answering her, the princess sneered. "Weak! Useless!" She easily evaded all the attacks, each of her movements exquisite and breathtaking.

"A person who stole my mother's legacy shouldn't talk down to me. You are a mere thief. Do you know what is the real power of that legacy?"

She turned around and just as Ian and Josh were about to land their attacks, the two guys suddenly stopped, frozen in place. The strong demonic aura seeping out of the princess became much more intense as she mumbled something inaudible.

The next second, Ian raised the arrow he was clutching in his hand and pierced his throat with it and Josh stabbed the pointed end of his staff into his eyes. "Hey! Stop!" Shen Yue shouted but the two were in no position to hear her.

They acted as if they were completely bewitched and repeatedly did the same moves in a frenzy until they dropped dead on the ground, their bodies dissipating into dust.

They actually died? Shen Yue's face became pale.

Ha Ha Ha Ha! The princess cackled loudly. "Did you think that was all I had planned for them? They are not done yet. Ha Ha Ha Ha!"

"They can't escape from me even if they die! Ha Ha Ha Ha!"

"They will keep killing themselves over and over again and again until I say so! Ha Ha Ha Ha!"

"They will stop only when their souls are completely obliterated! Ha Ha Ha Ha!"

Shen Yue's heart sank. They will keep committing suicide until they die permanently? Though she had no proof that something like this was actually possible, she was inclined to believe this witch.

The crazy psycho did not look like she was joking. She needed to finish this fight as soon as possible and get to the graveyard, or at least inform someone about this.

She clutched her daggers tightly and dashed toward the princess, whose eyes were red now as if she had undergone some sort of transformation.

After forming her mana core, Shen Yue obtained a few more skills, but none of them enabled her to do this. So she couldn't help but wonder what exactly this woman's power was. What were her plus points and minus points?

As for her own positives and negatives, by now it was clear that none of her enchantress class skills worked on the enemy. [Beguile], [Mesmerize], [Distract], nothing worked.

The same was true for the princess. She was also not able to charm Shen Yue as she did with the other two guys. Also, her magic strength also seemed to be quite low. Either she was injured, to begin with, or she was currently not at her peak.

Either way, this was a fight that Shen Yue was not prepared to give up. She only needed ten minutes, and she was confident that she would be able to finish this up and help the two people, who by now were probably respawning at the nearest graveyard.

"Wait for me." She muttered and started swinging her daggers madly. None of their class powers was working against each other, so it all came down to this, her fighting technique.

Shen Yue had not been lazing around all of these days. She had trained hard for several hours every single day with Asura. Her current fighting form was completely different from before. Every action she took demonstrated the painstaking effort she had put forth.

The princess growled in anger as she saw that she couldn't shake Shen Yue off that easily. "What weapon is that?" She attacked with more dark energy bolts.

Shen Yue didn't bother answering her, as she evaded most of them and blocked some of them with her dagger. The stinging, corrosive dark elemental energy couldn't do anything to the legendary weapon. She kept pushing the enemy with everything she had.

The princess tried her best to keep this a long-range fight, but Shen Yue kept closing in on her, forcing the opportunity for the damned witch to be stabbed with her poison daggers.

She alternated her pace, one of the tricks she learned from Asura, so her attacks also alternated between fast-paced and slow-paced. It was very difficult for the princess to make sense of her pattern and rhythm. It threw her off.

Shen Yue's stats right now were also highly boosted thanks to the daggers, so with that, she was able to make up for the level difference. She might have been a damsel in distress the first time around when fighting with the mother, but now she was not even close to being helpless.

Moreover, she had 60% resistance against dark element after she formed her mana core, so unless the princess used powerful attacks, she wasn't able to do anything to the woman. These attacks came infrequently, which Shen Yue avoided at all costs.

The longer the fight lasted, the more certain Shen Yue became. The princess was wounded. Even though she had not managed to land a hit until now, she knew that she would be able to do so soon enough.

Ahhhhhh! She shouted as she executed [Blade Dance] again. She was slowly beginning to overpower the damn woman.

And if the princess was able to use demonic spells, was she also capable of doing the same? Suddenly, Shen Yue had the urge to try something. It was like an instinct. She had observed Liam so many times, well for different reasons, but she was able to mimic him.

'Feel my mana core and move it.' She muttered to herself and tried to increase her speed. Just a little bit more, and she would be able to do it.

Shen Yue gritted her teeth and pushed herself as she finally landed a perfect stab. But at the last minute, the princess blocked with thick demonic energy miasma.

Unfortunately for her, Shen Yue was not done yet. She had already foreseen this and twirled around to land the real attack she had planned.

-5000

A damage number popped up. This was nothing huge, but that was not the point. Now that she had landed an attack, the effect of the dagger should be active. Was it the paralyzing effect or the poison effect?

-1000

The next second, another damage number popped up, immediately answering Shen Yue's question. It was the poison effect that would now make her health slowly bleed!

"This is not enough, you whore. Do you think you can kill me with this cheap trick?" The princess's face contorted and Shen Yue smirked. She did not stop attacking and continued pushing forward with her daggers.

Soon another attack landed and then another, an insane damage number popping out.

-10000

This was the real power of the daggers. The poison effects and the paralyzing effects actually stacked. The more hits landed, the more the poison would spread and drain the health of the opponent.

"Just one more and you are dead, bitch." Shen Yue relentlessly attacked the princess, not giving up. Her daggers gleamed with bloodlust as she went in again for the kill.

However, before her daggers could touch her, suddenly a golden shield appeared between them. Shen Yue's eyes widened in shock. What was this attack? It didn't look like her opponent's attack.

As she was wondering about this, she unexpectedly heard a voice. "That's enough. I will take it from here."

And when she turned around to look, Shen Yue saw a woman in a cream-white robe standing next to them.