Chapter 873

Siegfried covered his face in frustration.

He never imagined that the three remaining Great Rifts would rampage simultaneously.

“

Kyuuu!

What are you going to do, owner punk?” Hamchi asked, his squeaky voice sounding frantic.

“I told you. Find me a school that teaches shadow clone techniques,” Siegfried grumbled in response.

“

Kyaaaah!

Enough with that shadow clone nonsense already!”

“

Ugh...

You’re the one who brought it up. Also, do you think I’d be asking if I wasn't desperate?”

“

Kyuuu...

I guess you’re right.”

“

Ha...

I have no idea what to do anymore.”

At this point, he was tempted to leave things be and just go with the flow.

How was he supposed to stop three Great Rifts from rampaging at the same time? Even he could not pull off something impossible.

He could somehow manage two of them if the timing aligned perfectly, but three? That was a different story.

Why?

After all, even he had limits. In this case, it was time.

Still, giving up was not an option.

“I have to try as much as I can.”

“Kyuu!

That’s right! You’re nothing but an empty shell without grit!”

Siegfried turned his attention back to the Eastern Great Rift first, checking the requirements to stop it from rampaging.

This time, the rift only created one dungeon after rampaging.

[Eastern Great Rift: The Broken World]

[A dungeon created by the Eastern Great Rift.]

[Difficulty: Hell]

[Maximum Limit: 1 (Pets Don’t Count)]

[Time Limit: 36 hours]

A solo dungeon.

Only one person could enter the Broken World dungeon, and the time limit was thirty-six hours.

Judging by how the time limit was reduced by twelve hours, from forty-eight hours to thirty-six, it seemed to suggest that there was not that much time left before the apocalypses were to destroy the world.

‘What’s next? Thirty-six hours will become twenty-four, then twelve, and finally six?’

Siegfried wondered.

It was indeed a plausible scenario, but that was a concern for another time. Right now, he needed to give his full attention to the issue at hand.

“I will take care of this one myself. Is everyone alright with that?” Siegfried asked, addressing the Adventurers gathered.

Everyone nodded in agreement. None of them objected, as they all acknowledged that no one was higher leveled or more skilled than Siegfried to handle this challenge.

With the Eastern Great Rift now Siegfried’s responsibility, he turned his focus to the other rifts.

“What’s the situation in the other rifts?” he asked the agents reporting from the northern and southern regions.

“Two dungeons have appeared in the north. Cheon Woo-Jin and Beowulf have formed a party to deal with the rampage. We expect that they are capable of stabilizing the situation.”

“At least they’re doing their part. That’s a relief.”

Cheon Woo-Jin was a Grandmaster while Beowulf was a Master. Both of them taking charge of the Northern Great Rift brought some sort of assurance to Siegfried.

“What about the south?”

“One dungeon has appeared there as well. Yong Seol-Hwa is leading a party of Adventurers who share close ties with Your Majesty.”

“Oh...”

Siegfried felt some weight get lifted from his shoulders after hearing the report.

Well, there was no guarantee that Siegfried himself would succeed in clearing his own dungeon, but with people like Cheon Woo-Jin, Beowulf, and Yong Seol-Hwa handling the other rifts, he had confidence that they could make it through this disaster.

The fact that other pro gamers were contributing to the effort further increased their chances. This was as solid as it could get, as the other parties could step in to provide backup even if one group failed.

“That’s great news. All right, I will handle the rift here. Keep monitoring the situations in the north and south. Make sure that you are in constant communication and share updates in real time. Move quickly and coordinate effectively.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Also...”

Just as Siegfried was about to give additional orders, something caught his attention that made him narrow his eyes.

“Well, well...” he muttered.

A group of NPCs had set up roadside stalls and were busily peddling their wares. It seemed that they returned the moment the entry restriction over the Eastern Great Rift was lifted.

‘

These guys are at it again?’

Siegfried thought, looking irritated.

He rolled up his sleeves before he raided the rift. Was it not just these very same NPCs who had transformed into Dragon Slayers when the Western Great Rift went on a rampage?

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Siegfried stomped toward the NPCs manning the stalls with fire burning in his eyes.

***

“Kyaaah!

Who permitted you to do business here?!” Hamchi screamed at the NPCs. He was wearing a leather jacket and had a bat in hand.

“Hey, who authorized you to set up shop here?

Ha?!”

Siegfried scowled fiercely, his face enough to make anyone shrink in fear.

“...”

“...”

“...”

The Adventurers watching the scene were utterly dumbfounded.

In their eyes, Siegfried and Hamchi looked more like thugs shaking down innocent street vendors for a few coins.

“Y-Your Majesty! We are just trying to scrape by and put food on the table for our families!”

“Times are hard, so we thought we would try our luck by setting up shop here.”

The NPCs pleaded pitifully, their voices and bodies trembling from fear.

But Siegfried remained unmoved as he glared at them with a cold and unrelenting gaze.

‘

Oh? Look at these bastards,’

he thought.

He was not buying their act. Perhaps some of them were really desperate enough to risk setting up shop in a dangerous area like this, but what were the chances of that being the same case for all of them?

Slim to none...

‘

These potions and rare goods don’t come cheap. If they can afford to stockpile and sell this kind of stuff, then they’re no ordinary commoners. Also, this isn’t even within any nation’s territory. They’re not paying a single coin in taxes, so their profit margins must be obscenely good,’

he deduced.

And then—

“Hey, Hamchi. Sniff these guys for me.”

“

Kyuuu!

Got it!

Sniff! Sniff! Sniff!”

Hamchi sniffed the NPCs one by one. Siegfried’s sense of smell was extraordinary, but it could not match Hamchi’s supernatural sense of smell.

“Well? What do you think? Are they as poor as they claim to be?”

“

Kyuuu!

Nope! These bastards don’t smell like mold at all! I can even smell perfume! There’s even a hint of spices!” Hamchi exclaimed confidently.

“I thought so,” Siegfried said, his lips curling into a cold smile.

No matter how well someone disguised their appearance, they were bound to be betrayed by the scent clinging to them from their lifestyle.

Perfume? Spices?

In the Nurburg Continent, such luxuries were anything but common. They were basically only accessible to the well-off.

“Men! Arrest them all!” Siegfried commanded the Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers.

“Yes, sire!”

The soldiers moved swiftly, overpowering the NPCs and arresting them on the spot.

“

Argh!”

“Y-Your Majesty! Why are you doing this to us?!”

“Please! Have mercy on us poor commoners!”

The NPCs wailed and pleaded, but Siegfried did not even blink. To him, they were potential Dragon Slayers, sent by the angels to sow chaos in this world.

The fact that they were cosplaying as commoners only further annoyed him.

“People like you give real struggling people a bad name,” Siegfried said icily. Then, he turned to the soldiers and ordered, “Throw them in jail and have Dame Oscar interrogate them.”

“Yes, sire!”

Oscar could easily separate the real commoners from the ones pretending through her Sword of Truth: Fragarach.

But what if, by some slim chance, they weren't Dragon Slayers? Then, Siegfried would issue a sincere apology and give appropriate compensation to settle the matter.

Sure, there would be some backlash if the NPCs claimed that they were abused and treated unjustly, but they were technically setting up shop in a restricted zone, so they were aware of the risks they were taking.

After the Proatine Kingdom’s soldiers carted the NPCs away...

“So you don’t like paying taxes, eh?! Shameless crooks!”

“

Kyaaah!

Who said you could sell here without my permission?!”

Siegfried and Hamchi demolished the remaining stalls with absolute ruthlessness before finally turning away.

“A-Are they gangsters...?”

“It looked like they were shaking those poor vendors down.”

“Whoa... I didn’t know racketeering was something you could do in this game...”

The Adventurers shook their heads in disbelief, clearly uncomfortable by what they saw just now.

***

After driving out the NPCs, Siegfried stepped into the Eastern Great Rift.

Of course, he meticulously prepared by stocking up on potions, food, and scrolls before entering. Thorough preparation was the key to survival in a dungeon as unpredictable as a rampaging rift.

[Eastern Great Rift: The Broken World]

A message popped up before his eyes the moment he entered the dungeon.

[Proatine Kingdom: Preussen]

To his surprise, the dungeon’s setting was none other than the Proatine Kingdom itself.

“Huh?”

Siegfried turned his head in confusion while looking around Preussen, the dungeon’s setting.

The scenery was indeed familiar.

This was, without a doubt, the entrance to the capital city of the Proatine Kingdom, Preussen.

‘

But what’s going on?’

He carefully observed the area around him, and that was when the differences between the Preussen he knew and the one he was in became evidently clear.

First, the cleanliness.

The buildings were dilapidated, the streets were littered with trash and filth, and the air carried an unpleasant stench.

Also, Preussen’s meticulously maintained trees lining up the streets were dried up and withered while the street lights had either broken bulbs or were toppled over entirely.

Not only that, the atmosphere was distinctly different, too. The gloomy weather definitely gave it an overcast sense of darkness, but the city’s overall vibe was dismal, as evident from the dark, somber expressions of the people walking on the streets.

“W-What the hell is this...?”

“

Kyuuu!

Hamchi has no idea!”

“Is this the end of days? Some kind of apocalypse?”

Siegfried decided to move toward the city center while still baffled by the unfamiliar sight of Preussen.

‘

But what’s the clear condition for this dungeon?’

he wondered.

With no notifications or hints about how to complete the dungeon, Siegfried had no choice but to explore blindly.

As he wandered deeper into the city, he eventually reached the main square at the heart of Preussen.

Hamchi tugged at Siegfried’s pants and shrieked, “

K-Kyuuu!

Your head’s been cut off, owner punk!”

“Huh? What? Who are you calling headless? Do I look like a Dullahan to you?”

“

Kyuuu!

No, not you! Look over there!”

Siegfried turned his head toward where Hamchi was pointing and was shocked.

“

Eh?”

Hamchi was pointing at the massive fountain at the center of the main square where the Hero’s Statue: Siegfried van Proa was standing proudly.

But then...

“Wow, the head’s really gone like you said,” Siegfried murmured.

The statue was beheaded, and its head was now lying submerged in the fountain.

Surprisingly, Hamchi’s own statue beside it remained perfectly intact.

“What the hell happened here...?” Siegfried grimaced and muttered.

After all, seeing a statue of himself decapitated was not exactly a pleasant sight.

“Who the hell would—”

It was then.

Clip, clop, cop!

A loud commotion erupted as the sound of galloping hooves thundered in the air.

“Catch that bastard!”

“Don’t let the miscreant escape!”

“Faster!”

Dozens of cavalrymen, who were part of Preussen’s security forces, were chasing after a hooded figure who had their hood pulled down low to cover their face.

It was routine for the security forces to chase after a criminal, but the problem was that their pursuit was so reckless that a child walking along ended up falling in danger of getting trampled on by the horses.

‘

Watch out!’

Without thinking, Siegfried instinctively threw himself forward to shield the child.