Season 4: Chapter 175. Avenger vs Guardian (5)

The combination of Almond’s physical skills and the Guardian class went far beyond what the producers had ever imagined. Even PD Jang, who knew Almond’s playstyle better than anyone, was speechless.

‘This... this isn’t right.’

The Almond he knew was someone who fought among four hundred professional players on a massive battlefield where individual brilliance could barely shine through.

‘So, he was holding back then?’

Skill was always relative. Against two hundred pros, any single player’s strength would naturally be diluted. PD Jang had assumed Almond’s performance in

Civil Empire

represented his skill cap. Now, watching him tear through an army alone, he realized how wrong he was.

Bzzzzzt!

Almond wiped out the entire Team Rocket as he cycled through the Guardian’s Four Beasts skills with flawless precision. This one-man army performance was a solo carry of absurd proportions.

“He’s... literally playing a single-player game,” Park Oh-Hoon muttered.

“Should we... uh, request a patch?”

“How? You want them to nerf him out of nowhere?”

“Well, maybe at least buff the Avenger...”

The Avenger class had become a broken joke, a bugged class that couldn’t even hurt Cheese Village residents.

“Would that even fix this? The Guardian could still steamroll everything.”

It wouldn’t matter even if they tweaked the balance. Besides, the show producers couldn’t make adjustments like that. Only the game developers could. If the devs saw it as a bug, they could patch it. As far as PD Jang was concerned, Cheese Village wasn’t meant to be micromanaged.

“Let’s just go with the flow.”

That was his only rule. The streamers shaped this world themselves. Even a producer with no gaming background understood that simple truth.

“The more we interfere, the less fun it gets.”

“You’re... not wrong, but still...”

Sometimes, PD Jang thought too grimly. Being right was one of the most dangerous things.

***

Team Rocket’s annihilation sent shockwaves across communities. Clips of Almond’s Thunderbolt ending spread in real time, second by second.

[LIVE: Team Rocket’s Thunderbolt Ending]

[They actually got fried lol]

[Almond’s Guardian class is straight-up busted]

— HAHAHAHA legit a thunder god

— Pikachu Almond strikes again

— Wait, Team Rocket actually lost??

└ They’re done.

└ RIP Team Rocket Gang

└ Still funny every time lol

Of course, cynics chimed in.

— Did anyone actually think Team Rocket could win?

Maybe they were right. Team Rocket’s combat record had never exactly inspired confidence. However, every member was a streamer with their own loyal fan base. Their fans didn’t take the loss quietly. On Streamer Garden, the hub of all fandoms, threads began exploding.

[We’ve got full adamantium. You’re dead.]

[Final Showdown incoming, LET’S GOOO!]

[Zelo Rescue Arc!]

Fans had hyped this as a Clash at the Summit, a long-awaited fair fight. Team Rocket had new gear, high-level mages, and a Lava Shaman. Surely, this time, they’d at least put up a show. The result ended up being a complete rout.

[Clash at the Summit? More like Stomped by the Lord]

[Paprika obliterated]

[Funniest part is anyone thinking they could fight Cheese Village]

Even Team Rocket’s own fans couldn’t cope.

— Bruh, how do you lose like this?

— This isn’t even Paprika anymore

└ Look, man, real Paprika wouldn’t lose this hard

— Sure, blame the roster again

Some tried to fight back. They claimed that Treevy’s Team Rocket lineup wasn’t the real Paprika. Others complained that the Guardian class was blatantly overpowered.

— Guardian is busted, obviously

└ Avenger is bugged too

└ She literally couldn’t hit anyone

As always, losing meant public execution. The top trending post summed it up perfectly.

[#1. Clash at the Summit? More like Stomped by the Lord]

— LMAO

— New religion confirmed: Almondism

— “This too is the Lord’s grace.”

— Team Rocket heading straight to the Shadow Realm

Meanwhile, Paprika’s supporters couldn’t stop venting.

— Shrimp wasted too much time on theatrics. Should’ve saved Zelo at least.

└ Black Pepper was trolling, bro

— She’s washed. Took ten seconds just to notice the Lord vanished

└ At least she made good content, lmao

— Kinda worried she’s gonna get flamed hard though...

└ She’s definitely getting flamed

Paprika could only look forward to the Platform War now. They’d lost their gear, their pride, and their stronghold. All hope had already been lost in

Survival Craft

.

***

After the Summit,

The Bubble Daily

published a new headline.

[Victory for All of Cheese Village]

It wasn’t just the Knights’ victory, but Cheese Village's victory. This stance had been Radish Servant’s idea.

“Now’s the time for unity, my lord.”

To build a stronger and more peaceful village, they had to embrace even the Nonghyup Union.

“Do it.” Almond nodded, his massive head dipping once.

Thus, the Knights moved toward reconciliation. They no longer needed to divide the people for votes. After all, this was a dictatorship.

Unity came swiftly.

Donuts, leader of the Nonghyup Union, bowed at the Lord’s citadel. “This too... is the Lord’s grace.”

Once he saw the fertility granted by the Vermillion Bird’s flame, all resistance melted away.

‘Free refrigeration buff... Are you kidding me?’

— Too late to switch sides, Donuts

— Once you taste the viewership, there’s no going back

— Even the Union kneels before the Lord

— At this point, he’s basically the President

— Cheese Village Nation founded!

The Nonghyup Union didn’t fully merge with the Knights, but they ceased all opposition and acknowledged the Lord’s authority. Knights patrolled every district and protected the people from nightly monster raids even in Union territory.

[Cheese Village Freed from Monster Threat — This, Too, is the Lord’s Grace]

The Bubble Daily

spread the headline everywhere. Every comment beneath it expressed the same thing.

— Miho: May today be fertile with the Lord’s grace.

— GreenTea: May today be fertile with the Lord’s grace.

— HornRamen: May today be fertile with the Lord’s grace.

...

Inside the citadel, Almond listened to Radish Servant’s report.

“Cheese Village has been fully normalized. All now unite under your will, my lord.”

Neither the Farmers nor any other guild dared defy the Knights. Their rule had become absolute, a single nation united under one head. Lord Almond led that unified state himself.

“This too is the Lord’s grace.”

— Is that just their greeting now?

— They say it like a prayer lol

— In this country, it is a greeting...

— If Radish Servant disappears, the nation collapses.

— Prime Minister Radish Servant incoming!

Radish Servant recited his usual line. Then, he unfurled two more scrolls to deliver the village’s progress report.

“Agricultural output has increased more than sevenfold. Total village production has risen over fivefold. Many residents are moving away from farming into new, higher-value professions. However...”

Shff.

He closed the scroll and concluded, “The mining sector is struggling. Monsters still plague the area. The labor is harsh, and most residents avoid it. Worse, mining is associated with the traitors, so public perception is poor.”

“

Hmm...

” Almond nodded slowly. “And?”

Radish Servant hesitated. He always had to gauge how much the Lord was actually listening before continuing.

— Is he even paying attention?

— (Fishing thoughts intensify)

— This nut is zoning out again lmao

“

Hmm...

I believe it’s time.”

Three in-game days had passed since the Battle at the Summit.

“Indeed.” Almond nodded, as though he already knew.

“It’s time we march on Team...” Radish Servant was about to say Team Rocket.

Almond suddenly raised a hand. “That’s enough for today.”

“Sorry?”

Almond had misunderstood the phrase, “It’s time.” To him, it meant, “Time to log off.”

“What do you mean, ‘sorry?’ The stream is over. Wrap it up.”

“Oh... ah, y-yes, of course! Thank you for your work today, my lord!”

“Good work.”

Poof.

Almond’s avatar vanished instantly.

— HAHAHAHAHAHA

— He just dipped mid-war talk

— Well, it was time lol

— Different time zones hit hard

— Immersion shattered

— Radish Servant’s entire world just collapsed

“

Aha...

Well, everyone, you can’t stay in

Survival Craft

24 hours a day, right?” Radish Servant forced a laugh and postponed the invasion of Paprika once again.

— Fair point

— At least he’s back early in the morning anyway

— He literally logs in before sunrise

— Info: Radish Servant naps between battles

— Adapt to the Lord’s schedule, man

Radish Servant sighed deeply.

‘Without the Lord, it’s impossible.’

A Paprika invasion was Cheese Village’s final objective, but it couldn’t happen without Almond. No one in the village could mine Adamantium yet, and the stigma surrounding miners was so strong that no one would take on the job. They had planned to conquer Paprika and seize their ore.

“

Hmm...

” Radish Servant pondered other solutions. “But where’s Zelo, anyway?”

***

“Hello, everyone! It’s Zelu here~”

Zelo had returned to the game, but now introduced himself as Zelu. Even his name tag had changed.

[Zelu]

The devs had done it for him.

— ?

— ??

— Wait, what lmao

— Where’s Zelo??

“Zelo was my father. A dishonored traitor executed for his crimes.”

— BROOOO

— What in the legacy arc is this?

— They really did him like that

“

Goo-goo~

”

After all, it made no sense for a player officially executed by the in-game council to reappear as a normal citizen. The devs had given him a new narrative role.

“Yes, well... that’s how it is. I’ll try to live an honest life.”

Ding!

[CheeseInspector has donated 5000 won.]

[Descendant of a traitor?!]

“Descendant of a what now? What, was I supposed to pick my parents?! Huh!? I didn’t inherit a single bill from them either!”

— HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

— “Descendant of a freedom fighter”

— We’ll allow it since you inherited nothing

— The real struggle arc begins

— Hard mode unlocked: No inheritance, only shame

Zelu then explained the dev-approved backstory, “Anyway, I didn’t inherit any money, but I

did

inherit my father’s mining talent! It’s in my DNA!”

— LMAO WHY MINING TALENT?

— Literal miner bloodline

— Is this a cheatless reincarnation?

— Bro’s dad died a criminal and left him a pickaxe

Then, a question he wasn’t ready for came.

[ExtremeCoupleFan has donated 10,000 won.]

[Who’s your mother?]

“...?”

— oh no

— here we go

— he’s not gonna say it is he?

— don’t do it bro

“Uh... I, uh... Choco Shroom?”

He said it. There was no going back.

[Random Buff Activated]

[Attribute: Flame]

Whoosh!

Fire burst up around him for no reason.

— LMAOOOOOOOOO

— Yo this ship is canon now

— Flames of Passion!

— First streamer couple to canonically have a kid

— Timed perfectly too lol

Just like that, Zelu’s story arc was set. He rejoined the village as a humble miner, but the world was cruel.

“What? You’re Zelo’s son?”

Thunk!

A rock hit his head.

“Die, traitor’s spawn!”

“Zeluto[1]! You’re the shame of our village!”

“My mom says I can’t play with you!”

— LMAOOOOOOOOOO

— Zeluto LOL

— This is so cursed

— Send help pls!

1. Reference to Naruto, who was the village outcast in the beginning. ☜