Chapter 361: Ellie’s Pinnacle

After following the carriage, the Black Dragon Order arrived in a small territory called Avecker Territory, with an average population of 2,000.

“Luo.”

“Yes?” Luo asked curiously as she looked at Xu Jiaqi.

“You should start broadcasting now,” Xu Jiaqi, Black Dragon Order’s second ranked individual, said while pulling out her mask and covering half of her face. The members of the Black Dragon Order immediately followed suit and pulled up their masks that reached the bottom of their eyes.

“R… right now?” Luo asked with uncertainty. Were they telling her to broadcast how they were going to slaughter NPCs? She tried to persuade them, “Scenes showing the slaughter of NPCs could garner the ire of the masses. I think it’s more than enough to start the broadcast once Ellie appears and show the world how you hunt her…”

However, no matter how much Luo said, the expressions of the members of the Black Dragon Order did not change. In the end, her words faded into nothing. Xu Jiaqi said coldly, “If we start the broadcast here, we can use the players’ mouths to get to Ellie faster. If that happens, she will come out quickly. Besides, a provocative video will attract more viewers, right?”

“…”

Even if Luo wanted to deny it, this was the sad and undeniable truth. The viewers were definitely fond of provocative and thrilling videos. Viewers would definitely come to her channel to watch and see Ellie appear. They might curse and blame them for their tactics, but it was also true that they would continue to watch them. So, Luo thought,

‘There’s no way that an Empress would come just because of one small territory, right? These…’

Their idea was to turn this land in Eivelis Empire into a wasteland. They intended to slaughter one, two, three, and many more until she appeared. Besides, they all had their masks up so it did not matter.

However, the name

‘Black Dragon Order’?

would be included in the title of the broadcast. They might be operating unofficially, but they already had a notorious reputation. A group that would do anything for money, that was the Black Dragon Order.

“Then, then let’s start filming.”

Luo was one of China’s best BJs. She quickly turned on her camera and started broadcasting. The title of the broadcast was

‘The Black Dragon Order Hunting Sword Emperor Ellie’.

Just like any other BJs, Luo’s broadcasts always guaranteed enough fun and interesting content. So, the moment she turned on her camera and started broadcasting, a considerable number of viewers flooded in her channel.

That was not all, she even had a provocative broadcast title. The viewers’ interest towards her broadcast was bound to be greater, especially after Berdk was recaptured and taken away from China’s grasp not too long ago.

[We can always trust Miss Luo’s broadcast so let’s watch it!]

[The Black Dragon Order Hunting Sword Emperor Ellie? You’re going to hunt the Empress? That’s crazy shit.]

[But, I don’t see Ellie anywhere?]

Sword Emperor Ellie was already standing in the spotlight for a lot of groups and players all over the world. The biggest contributors to her fame and popularity were her beauty and charm. Her glamorous appearance was comparable to Saintess Loyna’s! However, compared to Saintess Loyna, Ellie had always exuded a cold and dangerous aura, an aura with a unique charm that captivated most people.

As the broadcast began, shocking scenes appeared on the screens of the viewers.

The muscular giant Arcas was the Black Dragon Order member that learned the

‘Pinnacle’

related to close combat. However, his skill level was not yet at a high level, since he only recently learned the skill. Even though that was the case, the power of his skill was still beyond anyone’s imagination. That very same Arcas swiftly moved to break the neck of the guard stationed at the entrance of the village.

Crack—

“What… what the hell?! You bastard!”

Slam—

Arcas punched his huge fist towards the guard that rushed to his side.

Bang—!

The guard’s head exploded to pieces. Thankfully, Luo had set a

‘For 19-year-olds and above only’

restriction when she started her broadcast. Just like that, the horrendous and appaling slaughter by the Black Dragon Order began.

“Kyaaaaaaack!”

“Uwaaaaaaack!”

“Keheok!”

The members of the Black Dragon Order killed everything and everyone in sight. They even went so far as to look for the people hiding in inns, houses, and inconspicuous places, and wasted no time in slaughtering them. When the doors were locked, they would just set the entire building on fire.

Crackle!

The citizens of the territory died helplessly under their hands without knowing what was happening.

[What are they doing right now?]

[Wow… It’s an NPC massacre, hehehehehe?]

[You can still laugh? No, more than that, why are they doing something like that?]

[They’re NPCs anyway. What are you thinking? Aren’t you taking things too seriously?]

[That, that might be true but… still, that’s a bit… they still show the curiosity and personality that a normal human has.]

[What do you mean by personality? Kahahahaahaha! Kill more! More, more, more, more! Slaughter them all!]

Spaces that encourage anonymosity were truly terrifying places. They were places that breed the hidden and darkest desires of a person. There were plenty of people that lived normally by hiding their ugly and hideous natures. Someone that looked completely normal inside a company setting might very well be someone that would curse celebrities to die on the internet.

What more inside

Athenae,

a virtual reality game that these people could play wildly in? It became a place where they could manifest the hideous nature that they had hidden in reality and act out their darkest desires.

Then, the troops of the territory appeared.

“Bastards!!! How dare you do something like that here!!!”

“Kill those that dared to wreak havoc inside our territory!!!”

“You’re in trouble,” Arcas said, face crumpling at the sight of the hundreds of soldiers that appeared in front of them. However, his hands were still moving calmly.

A scarlet circle suddenly appeared at that moment. The scarlet circle spread out and sucked in the soldiers that moved to attack the Black Dragon Order.

“Keheok!”

“Ugh, urrrrrk!”

The soldiers tried to grab onto something, the trees, the rocks, the pillars, even the ground. But they were still sucked into that red circle as if they were being dragged inside a whirlpool. The moment the captain of the guards got sucked inside the circle, Arcas clenched his open palms tightly.

Splat—

Splat—

Splat—

Splat—

Splat—

Then, the bodies of their enemies burst into pieces.

“Hohohohoho! These soldiers can’t even last 30 seconds against us!” Xu Jiaqi laughed shrilly.

Upon the arrival of the troops, hope had bloomed on the faces of the citizens of the territory. However, it quickly disappeared into smoke, as despair and gloom fell on them. The Black Dragon Order continued the massacre that was briefly interrupted by the arrival of the soldiers.

“How about killing one every five minutes until Ellie shows up?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

The Black Dragon Order captured all of the remaining villagers and herded them into the middle of the plaza. They numbered around 700. Then, Xu Jiaqi turned to look at Luo, who was broadcasting the scene, before declaring, “Ellie, if you don’t show up, we will kill one of them every five minutes.”

Then, Xu Jiaqi cut off one of the middle aged men’s neck.

Spurt!

“Ho…honey!!!” The man’s wife clutched the man’s body as she screamed loudly. Even the young baby cried loudly over his father’s death.

However, in the eyes of Xu Jiaqi and the members of the Black Dragon Order, they were nothing more than artificial intelligence that could be easily disposed of.

***

The Korean reporters immediately wrote and sent out articles about the Black Dragon Order infiltrating Eivelis Empire, slaughtering the NPCs and taking a territory hostage.

[Who are the Black Dragon Order? They’re a group that will do anything for money.]

[The Korean Ranker Destroyer, Hu Yitian. Is he also a member of Black Dragon Order?]

[The Black Dragon Order’s wicked acts. There’s more than meets the eye…]

Countless articles were written about them, while the players of Eivelis Empire seethed in anger.

[Bastards! How could they do something like that in broad daylight?!]

[They’re making fun of our country, right?]

[I saw the video and it’s really terrible. They’re killing indiscriminately. They would even kill children, women and the elderly.]

[But they’re just NPCs, you know?]

[They might just be NPCs but mister, did you not laugh, chat and dine with those NPCs while you were playing the game? That’s their world.]

[Are you being serious? Will you even stop killing monsters just because you feel pity for them?]

The people were divided into two factions. One faction believed

‘They’re just NPCs anyway.’,?

while the other believed

?‘Still, that’s too much.’

. However, the majority was leaning towards the former.

Either way, they were just NPCs. The players all had a different mindset from them, and began to move quickly.

[I’m Rocker, a Level 253 warrior player. I’m currently in the vicinity of Avecker Territory where the NPCs are being slaughtered. We’re thinking of going straight to Avecker Territory to save their citizens.]

[I’m a Level 341 mage player. I’m also going straight to Avecker Territory.]

[I’m a Level 390 assassin player. I’m already hiding near Avecker Territory to watch the situation and what our enemies are doing. They’re killing a person every five minutes.]

[There are already around 80 players gathering near the vicinity of Avecker Territory.]

[There are around 30 players from Quad Village coming on their way to join you.]

[I’m the merchant, Another. We’re willing to support the Avecker Territory Recapture Operation with all the potions and scrolls that you will use during the operation.]

[This is Aeios Guild Master. We only have thirty priests, but we’re currently building a small temple near the vicinity of Avecker Territory. We will immediately head to Avecker Territory to give buffs and heals.]

In a short time, the number of players that gathered together to head to Avecker Territory reached almost 300. The range of their levels might be varied, but there were still a few high-leveled players among them. This was understandable, since the hunting grounds surrounding Avecker Territory were only for novice and advanced players.

[Ah. I want to go too, but I’m too far away.]

[I’m also a bit further away, but I’m going to hurry to get there.]

[I’m on my way there too. Yep, yep… The players are all on their way there.]

Avecker Village was one of the few special villages where the players could not move to using warp or return scrolls. Aside from the fact that it was a remote area, the terrain that they had to pass through to go there was also quite difficult to traverse.

But, there was one thing that was for sure, there were already more than a thousand players heading to Avecker Territory. Considering that most of the players were concentrating on the Continent Cloud, this was already a significant number of players.

Then, someone asked.

[Guys, just looking at your levels which are at the 200s and the 300s, do you think you even have a chance to beat them? If you go there, you’ll just die and drop all your items, artifacts, and even your level. Are you all morons?]

[Why are you even going? You’ll get slaughtered if you go there anyway. Besides, if you go, the Chinese will just mock us.]

[Why am I going there? I once finished a blacksmith class transfer trial in Avecker Territory. The owner of the smithy there gave me a sword and armor as a gift because I’m just a novice.]

[Even if we get slaughtered there, we can still drag the time and might even be able to buy those NPCs more chances of survival.]

[We just don’t want to stay silent when those Chinese are doing something like that. At most, we’ll just receive some penalty after dying while fighting against them.]

[Our nation’s citizens are all amazing. Just like what we did during the Gold-collecting Campaign, and during the 2002 World Cup when we all waved our Korean Flag while wearing red shirts. And the same is true right now. Our country’s teamwork is amazing!]

That was right. The Black Dragon Order would face very unexpected opponents this time around.

***

“Over there!!!”

“Bastards!!!”

Voices rang loudly from all over the Avecker Territory. After watching the broadcast, numerous players united and advanced to Avecker Territory together.

Baaaaaaang—!

The mages cast their fire magic, while the archers shot their arrows.

Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh—

Dozens of arrows rained down on their enemies.

However, with just one wave of Xu Jiaqi’s arm, these magic spells and arrows stopped right in front of the Black Dragon Order.

“

Gasp!

”

“What… what the hell?!”

Another swing of Xu Jiaqi’s arm and the magic and arrows were returned to their owners. She was the holder of the Legendary Class ‘Master Reflector’. Just like that, the arrows and magic that the players sent engulfed them.

Baaaaaang—!

Stab! Stab!

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Bastards! Don’t even think about touching the citizens of the territory!”

“Die!!!”

Still, the Korean players never stopped. Even the close combat players gathered together and rushed at them like a tide. Among them were the Level 511 Rukawo and Eden. Rukawo and Eden were a famous ranker couple. The couple started playing together and eventually grew strong and became rankers. They were considered among the top rankers in Korea, and were very loved by many players.

The two might be a lovey dovey couple, but they constantly bickered about the most trivial things while playing the game! The man, Rukawo, was a knight class player. The woman, Eden, was a mage class player. They were rankers that were well-received by other players, since they covered each other’s shortcomings during hunts. And right now, the two of them were left in frustration after seeing the huge gap with their enemies.

“O… Oppa… The enemies are too strong.”

“…Goddamnit!”

The Black Dragon Order members were too strong for the coalition that aimed to eradicate the Black Dragon Order. And this was considering Rukawo and Eden were already included. And the worst part was that they had not shown their all yet. However…

“Let’s still do it.”

“Yeah.”

…the two were not afraid. The high-leveled mage Eden could cast high-tiered magic! Rukawo immediately dashed ahead of the other players, rushing at the Black Dragon Order.

“Let’s get rid of these Black Dragon Order bastards!!!”

“Die!!!”

The members of the Black Dragon Order snickered, as they watched them run around in front of them.

“The small fries are getting too excited.”

“This is fun.”

Then, Arcas slammed his fist on the ground strongly.

Baaaaaaang—

A powerful shockwave erupted and engulfed all of the players that entered the territory.

[You have been subjected to a Halting Wave.]

[You will be stunned for four seconds.]

“Hi, hiiiiik…!”

“This… this is ridiculous!”

Hundreds of players, including the high-leveled Rukawo, fell into a stunned state. This was an unbelievable debuff ability! Then, Xu Jiaqi moved. She slowly trudged forward, while spilling gas on the villagers from the oil can in her hands.

Shwaaaaa—

The villagers were also affected by the Halting Wave. She took this opportunity to cover them with gas. Then, Xu Jiaqi took out a match.

“What grudge do you have with us?”

“Ugh… aaaaack…!”

“W… waaaaaaaaah!”

“Aaaaaaack! N, no!!! Spare us! Please!!!”

“Uwaaah, uwaaaah!”

The Korean players were plunged into anxiety and frustration as the Black Dragon upped their ante and became more brutal in dealing with the villagers upon their arrival.

“We’ll continue to do this. Anyway, this is Eivelis Empire’s village and territory,” She smiled wickedly as she lit the match in her hand. No, she tried to, because when she was about to light it…

Tik—

Swoosh—

…something brushed past her hand as red blood dripped down the ground. Xu Jiaqi turned her head around and saw the existence that they never thought would come. That single move overshadowed the words of the people that said that the Empress would never move just because of a mere hundreds of people.

There were hundreds of knights wearing full plate armor, with the symbol of the phoenix on them. Standing in front of these knights was a woman with fluttering red hair, and she was wearing bright red armor. This was the person that threw the dagger at Xu Jiaqi’s hand. Ellie, the Sword Emperor, had come. Ellie slowly tied her bright red hair with a hair tie and…

Shiiiing—

…pulled out her bright red sword from its sheath. Ellie walked slowly as she declared, “Keep your hands off of my people...”

The corners of Xu Jiaqi’s mouth awkwardly curled up. She tried to laugh her words off, but she could not do so. The murderous intent that Ellie was emitting had tightly bound their limbs.

Then, Ellie finished her words, “…before I kill you.”

Goosebumps covered Xu Jiaqi’s entire body.

1. A national sacrificial movement that started in Korea to repay their debt to the International Monetary Fund back in early 1998.

2. South Korea’s Red Devils defeated Poland, Italy and Spain and headed towards the semi-finals. This is their most memorable world cup run. However, there were plenty of controversies surrounding this world cup according to European news outlets, nevertheless, it’s still the most memorable run for SKR.