Chapter 1136

While Siegfried was busy on the Coral Planet...

“Where the hell is he?”

Back on the Nurberg Continent, Seung-Gu was waiting for someone.

“Damn it... I just wanna finish this deal and go chill already.”

Seung-Gu had recently stumbled upon an ancient dungeon. Clearing it was pure hell, but he somehow managed to clear it.

Thanks to that, he finally hit Level 299 and even managed to obtain a seriously rare item too. He couldn’t help but feel good about himself, as the item was extremely valuable.

Now, Seung-Gu was waiting for his buyer to come and buy the rare item from him.

He wasn't drowning in wealth like Siegfried, but he was still pretty rich. He stood to make around five billion won from selling this loot drop alone. With that money, he planned to buy a building he had his eye on for a while now.

He was exactly five billion won short, but this item had landed in his hands right when he needed it.

‘

Well, my retirement’s already set. Now I can just enjoy the game forever...’

While he was lost in happy thoughts, an Adventurer approached him and asked, “Excuse me. Are you the one selling the Starlight Magic Sword?”

“Yes, that’s me. Are you the buyer?”

“Yeah.”

“

Ah,

perfect. Nice to meet you. You’ve got good taste, man. This item is almost impossible to find,” Seung-Gu said with a smile.

“Yeah. I’ve been looking for it for ages now.”

“Shall we make the trade, then?”

“Let’s do it.”

“Alright, then—”

Just as Seung-Gu placed the Starlight Magic Sword into the trade slot...

Puuuk!

The buyer suddenly drew a dagger and rammed it into Seung-Gu’s stomach.

“

Argh!”

Seung-Gu gasped at the sudden sharp pain that even a Level 299 Adventurer like him couldn’t keep himself steady.

[Alert: Status Ailment!]

[Alert: You have been poisoned!]

Apparently, the dagger was coated with a lethal toxin that instantly incapacitated Seung-Gu.

“W-What the hell are you doing...?”

“Revolution.”

The Adventurer who stabbed him revealed a huge grin, and his whole demeanor changed in an instant.

“R-Revolution...?”

“I’m one of the revolutionaries.”

“What kind of bullshit is that—?!”

“To take down Han Tae-Sung, we have to get rid of his lap dogs first, right?”

“D-Damn it...!”

“Goodbye, lap dog.”

The buyer whispered before dealing the killing blow.

Thud!

Seung-Gu’s corpse hit the ground.

“I have to warn... hyung-nim...!”

Just like that, Seung-Gu was ambushed by a Revolutionary and died.

However, this was only the beginning.

***

“It’s finally finished!”

Yong Seol-Hwa gazed at her newly-completed forge, a huge beaming smile spreading across her face.

She had focused entirely on building a space where she could devote herself to crafting, and now, at long last, her effort had borne fruit.

This would now be her new forge, the place where she would be forging from now on, the Dragon Forge.

The Dragon Forge was going to be the cornerstone of the Dragon Workshop. Her dream was for the Dragon Workshop to become as renowned as the three greatest workshops on the Nurberg Continent.

Now that she finally had a proper forge of her own, she couldn’t help but be thrilled about the future. For the time being, she intended to stay locked up in the Dragon Forge and focus on honing her crafting skills.

Just then...

“For the Revolution!”

An Adventurer suddenly came charging into the Dragon Forge, screaming at the top of his lungs.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

‘

What?!’

Yong Seol-Hwa grabbed a hammer and swung it at the intruder’s head, but she was blasted back instead.

Kaboom!

The intruder self-destructed on the spot, and the explosion hurled Yong Seol-Hwa across the forge.

But that was not the end of it...

“For the Revolution!”

“Destroy it all!”

Dozens more swarmed inside the newly finished Dragon Forge, and they blew themselves up one after another.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The string of suicide bombings ripped through the forge.

Kaboom!

Yong Seol-Hwa’s pride and dream, the Dragon Forge, began to collapse. The sheer force of so many explosions being triggered one after another was more than the building could withstand.

But that was just the beginning...

“Well, well...”

Beowulf, who had already revealed himself to be Lee Geon, emerged from the smoke and walked toward Yong Seol-Hwa.

“Long time no see, eh?”

“Y-You...! I’m not going to forgive you!” Yong Seol-Hwa sprang up and lunged at Lee Geon.

Unfortunately, she did not stand a chance.

Even though she was quite a formidable warrior in her own right, her level and skills were nowhere near Lee Geon’s.

“Oh dear, you’re so fucking slow. Are you really old man Tae-Pung’s kid? You’re not even half of what your old man was in his prime.

Hahaha!”

“Shut up!”

“Are you adopted? You must be adopted, right?

Kekeke!”

“Y-You...!”

“Hey, didn’t you get even a bit of his genes? Hold on, did your mom ch—”

It was then.

“Seol-Hwa!”

“Cut that out right now!”

“You rotten brat!”

“I’m going to kill you with my own hands!”

“You filthy bastard!”

Yong Tae-Pung and the other legends came charging in, screaming at Lee Geon.

“Whew! Look at that! The fossils have crawled out of their holes!” Lee Geon sneered, not even flinching at all before the five Legends.

Why would he? The glory days of the Legends were long behind them.

On the other hand, Lee Geon was still at his peak. He was as close to a perfect gamer as he could be—young, quick, cunning, and ruthless.

“I guess we’re having a mass funeral today!

Kekeke!”

Lee Geon cackled.

At that moment—

“I’m glad you showed up today.”

Cheon Woo-Jin suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Just like the Legends, Cheon Woo-Jin had come by to congratulate Yong Seol-Hwa on the completion of her Dragon Forge.

Of course, what greeted him was not the complete Dragon Force, but rather, this chaos.

“

Ah,

come on. I mean, I’d win anyway if we fight, but I’m busy right now. Later!” Lee Geon said, sounding as if he had lost his will to fight. Then, he glanced back and ordered, “Block them for me while I run away.”

Just like that, Lee Geon tossed the order to his followers before turning tail and running away without hesitation.

“Kill them!”

“For the Revolution!”

“We are the Revolutionaries!”

“You’re going down, you corrupt bastards!”

The swarm of fanatics threw themselves at Cheon Woo-Jin and the Legends, forming a wall to buy Lee Geon time to run away.

“That damn son of a bitch...” Cheon Woo-Jin growled after Lee Geon and began tearing through the fanatics like a berserker.

***

Meanwhile, Daytona was on his way home.

There was only one place called home for him, and that was wherever his beloved wife was, the NPC, Amelia.

Daytona truly loved Amelia despite her being an NPC. His love for her ran so deep that he married her and lived with her in-game.

He would always return to the mansion where they lived after he was done with his daily routine. He made it his habit to spend precious time with her whenever he could before logging out of the game.

Unfortunately, something was different today.

“W-What is this...?”

On his way back to the mansion, Daytona stumbled upon a sight so shocking that his legs nearly gave out.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Their mansion was burning.

“N-No! No!”

Like a madman, Daytona sprinted into the burning building without a second thought.

He braved the flames and frantically searched the mansion, and there, inside the blazing inferno, he found what he desperately hoped he would not find—Amelia.

“No... No, no, no! This can’t be real! This can’t be happening! No!” Daytona screamed in complete denial.

He collapsed to his knees right in the middle of the burning mansion. There, he clutched the charred remains of what had once been the love of his life, Amelia.

He sobbed uncontrollably, his cries echoing louder than the blazing flames.

There, right on the wall of the living room, someone had written something in thick crimson letters.

"DIVINE RETRIBUTION"

It was a message from Lee Geon to Siegfried and everyone related to him.

A warning that not just Siegfried but all who stood by him would suffer the same fate.

On a hill in the distance, Lee Geon sat and watched the burning mansion with a crooked, twisted grin.

“Beautiful... It’s really nice to just sit and stare at the fire from time to time. But I really gotta give it to him. Those flames look really wicked, yet he’s not even coming out!

"Well, I’m sure those flames won’t kill a high-level tank like him anyway. Probably just tickles him at most,” Lee Geon said with a shrug. Then, he flashed a twisted grin and added, “But I can’t say the same for his precious NPC! She’s probably charred really nice right now!

Kekeke!”

Lee Geon cackled at the sight of Daytona still inside the burning mansion, holding the charred remains of Amelia and refusing to leave.

“

Hahaha!”

“I bet he’s a loser in real life. Only a loser would marry an NPC. What a joke of a man he is.”

“Won’t be long before he snaps and starts drooling in some psych ward!”

“

Kekeke!

I love it! Burn baby, buuurn!”

Lee Geon’s fanatics cackled beside him as they mocked Daytona’s misery.

BNW was just a virtual reality game.

However, the thrill of inflicting real mental torment on someone was the greatest pleasure for them.

***

While the summit dragged on, Siegfried took the chance to thoroughly investigate what other resources the Coral Planet had.

And the result was nothing short of shocking.

“T-This entire planet... it’s basically one giant goldmine.”

It turned out that the Coral Planet was nothing short of Eldorado, a literal city of gold. The planet was brimming with natural resources from the surface all the way down to its ground.

Dig into any random mountain and there would be a gold vein; drain a riverbed, and there would be mana stones everywhere as if they were pebbles. The native lifeforms were of immense economic value, too.

‘

With resources this rich and their advanced technology... The economic value would be off the charts if someone colonized this place...’

Siegfried couldn’t help but be in awe at just how absurdly valuable the Coral Planet was.

‘

But why did they even bother invading our world? What could they possibly lack here...?’

This was one question that truly baffled him.

The Coral Race had built up a thriving civilization, full of abundance and technological advancement.

In Siegfried’s eyes, it didn't seem like there was any real reason for them to invade another world at all.

After all, invasions only happened when there was something to be gained, as nobody would fight when there was no clear profit for them.

‘

Something about this just doesn’t add up...’

While Siegfried was pondering over the question—

“May I come in, Your Imperial Majesty?”

Outside his tent, he heard Duke Neighdelberg’s voice.

“Oh? Please, come in!” Siegfried replied, welcoming him warmly.

“Your grace is immeasurable.”

“What brings you here? I heard you were still in talks with the Coral Emperor?”

“The summit concluded just a while ago, and I have just returned.”

“I see. Thank you for your hard work. So... did things work out with them?”

“We did our best to secure a ceasefire agreement, but the Coral Emperor refused,” Duke Neighdelberg replied, shaking his head.

“

Oh?

Really?”

“He was not willing to compromise at all.”

“Why?”

“Their culture and worldview are fundamentally different from ours. For them, the very notion of a truce does not exist.”

“I see...”

“The Coral Emperor declared that even if it meant their entire species would be driven to extinction, there would be no surrender.”

“Sounds like things just go really messy... Who knows how much more blood will spill?”

“In a way, I believe that is for the best.”

“How so?”

“The Corals would eventually invade our world again, even if we were to sign a truce. For the sake of the future, perhaps it is wiser to end this once and for all.”

“I guess you are right... So, we keep fighting? Is that it?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty,” Duke Neighdelberg replied with a firm nod. Then, he explained, “We already hold the advantage in this war. And if they are determined to see this through to the bitter end, then we have no other choice either.”

“I got it. If the war is going to rage on, then I need to get moving, too. I have to go and rescue the elders.”

“Indeed, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Duke.”

Siegfried immediately left his tent, leaving the duke behind.

‘

Just hang in there. I’m coming for you.’

Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse were being brainwashed by the enemy, so Siegfried knew that there was no more time for him to waste. He had to infiltrate that research facility as quickly as possible.