CHAPTER 229: CHAOSKNIGHT RETURNS

Above the underground storage room, the ChaosKnight players had returned. Previously, only three had come, but now their numbers had swelled to about twenty, all of them guild members.

"We were gone for just a couple of hours and all of them are dead already? What happened here?" one of them asked. His name tag read Big Shark. He frowned, staring at the corpses of Hobgoblins and the fissures running across the ground.

Clearly, there had been a fight, but it wasn’t just any fight—it was a one-sided massacre.

Big Shark, considered one of the core members of the ChaosKnight guild, walked toward the throne while the others spread out to see if the monsters had dropped any treasure.

"Could it be a fight broke out within them?" he mumbled. The thought that another person might have found this place never even crossed his mind. This was supposed to be a top-guarded mission.

It was rumored among the core members that the intel had been given directly by the developers.

So he could only assume this was done by another monster. Hobgoblins were known to be violent after all; coups among their ranks weren’t uncommon.

Right then, he noticed the faint opening where weak torches illuminated the first few flights of stairs.

’If my gut is right... whatever caused this destruction is down there.’ His ears perked up.

Step! Step!

Big Shark’s pupils trembled slightly, and he bellowed at the subordinates behind him. "Everyone prepare yourselves! Don’t hesitate—attack whatever steps out!"

The nineteen players immediately abandoned their scavenging and turned toward the stairs, skills primed and ready.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, their hearts pounding violently.

’Whatever it is, it’s sure taking its precious time!’ Big Shark grit his teeth, anxious and furious at the same time.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

Just when it felt as though an hour had passed, a figure finally stepped out. Its exact form was hidden, but it was clearly humanoid.

"Attack!" Big Shark roared, and a flurry of magic attacks surged toward the "monster."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Boom!

For nearly five minutes they unleashed everything they had, many of them chugging mana potions to keep the barrage going.

Yet there was no kill notification.

"Don’t stop!" Big Shark ordered, sweat glistening at his temple, eyes trembling with strain.

"It’s been over ten minutes and still nothing... what kind of monster is this? If it were below level 50, then its total HP should be 100 at best. With our collective attacks, it should’ve died already."

Suddenly, he raised a hand and shouted. "Stop!"

The magic flurry ceased instantly. Silence fell over the chamber. Big Shark narrowed his eyes at the thick smoke.

Slowly, the haze began to clear. Every gaze locked on the spot, heartbeats hammering like war drums.

The first thing they saw was a pair of sharp, cold, electric eyes—listless yet piercing, looking at them as if they weren’t even worth acknowledging.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!

Several players swallowed nervously. Those eyes looked familiar, but their mana-fried brains couldn’t connect the dots.

Then the rest of the body emerged from the smoke.

When they saw who it was, jaws dropped. Weapons slipped from numb fingers and clattered onto the floor. A few outright pissed themselves.

Even though this was just a game, the fear was painfully real. In the real world, their trembling bodies were drenched in sweat and cold dampness.

And who wouldn’t be afraid? Hovering boldly above the figure’s head, in glowing red letters, was a name:

Broken Heaven

Level 50

[Danger Level: Critical Threat]

Standing before them was Gabriel, a soft barrier from his Guard Robe treasure enveloping him. He appeared calm and relaxed.

Behind him loomed the massive Grizzlenaught, carrying a mountain of crates on its back. Its mere presence cast long shadows across the ground, and its furious gaze bore down on the players.

"S-sir Broken..." someone stammered.

"Broken Heaven...?"

None of them dared ask what he was doing here. Simply standing before him felt like a luxury. If they opened their mouths now, only gibberish would come out.

Gabriel studied them, a glint of realization flickering in his eyes.

"At first I thought it was Warmonger Guild," he muttered, "but it appears it’s just the ChaosKnight." Their insignias made it obvious who they were.

He thought inwardly, ’So I wasn’t wrong... the developer is slowly feeding his daughter information about this world.’

A part of him felt disgusted that the game’s creator would stoop this low. Doing so wasn’t only cheating players—it was poisoning the game itself.

But was he worried? Definitely not. The developer might know how to transfer people into this world, but he wasn’t omniscient. He didn’t know everything.

Gabriel drifted into thought, and the players took the chance to breathe, whispering frantically among themselves.

"What do we do?"

"We can’t fight him—it’s impossible."

"Even the guild leader and ChaosCleric couldn’t stop him."

"I say we retreat!"

"Are we just going to leave all the treasures and everything to him?" Big Shark snapped, the fear on his face slowly hardening into grim resolve.

"Let’s at least try. If we can hurt him, maybe even take him down, the guild leader will reward us—probably even promote us!" His eyes sparkled greedily.

"Think about it. This is just a game. He’s just one NPC. He can’t be that hard to deal with."

Everyone exchanged glances, then nodded silently before turning their focus back to Gabriel.

The killing intent they projected was like a faint breeze brushing his skin. Slowly, Gabriel turned to face them.

That single gaze quenched the fire in their eyes, reducing their bravado back to ashes.

"Fuck, I can’t do this!"

"Me neither!"

"I don’t have enough time to waste here," Gabriel said, his voice calm yet final. "So, how about this: kill yourselves, or let me do it myself..

***

It’s a New month’s Guys!!! Vote with your Golden tickets and power Stones! We did poorly last month let’s get to 500 Golden Tickets this month and there would be bonus Chapters!