CHAPTER 247: THE BLACKSTAR CLAN [2]

When the groups of ChaosKnight members logged into the game again, their greatest fear came to pass.

They found themselves back in Whitebridge City. All their stats were reset, their levels gone, and every item they owned had vanished!

Basically, they were starting from scratch again.

"That bastard! That fucking bastard!"

"I was so close to reaching Level 20!"

"Damn it! All my items are gone!"

"Level zero?! This game’s broken, man!"

"I lost my entire armor set!"

The players felt like crying their hearts out because they had to start all over again, left behind by their peers.

Unable to bear it, some of them logged out of the game to report the situation to IceQueen, while a few stayed behind, hunting desperately to raise their levels as fast as possible.

When IceQueen received news of their deaths in the real world, she gritted her teeth in anger.

"Guild leader, before I was killed, he made a comment that he dislikes us—and not only that, he also called us invaders," reported the leader of the messengers.

Hearing that part, IceQueen’s expression froze.

"Invaders..." she muttered under her breath, her tone dark. Her icy-blue eyes flashed sharply.

For him to spawn-camp them meant only one thing—this Torrin Blackstar was intentionally getting rid of players. He somehow knew that by repeatedly killing them, he could weaken them permanently.

"So there are NPCs that don’t like our presence, I see." This event was a rude awakening for everyone.

IceQueen clenched her fist so tight that her knuckles cracked. "First it was that bastard Broken Heaven, and now a Hero-Rank mercenary."

"That bastard’s farming our lives for fun," muttered a high-level member of the ChaosKnight Guild, slamming her palm against the desk. "Players losing everything—stats, gear, EXP! That’s not normal NPC behavior!"

"Guild leader, I suggest we avoid this NPC for now," ChaosCleric, the voice of reason, spoke once again.

IceQueen’s gaze hardened. She stood up slowly, her snow-white coat glinting under the LED light. "He called us invaders. That means he doesn’t see us as adventurers or visitors like the other NPCs. He sees us as parasites."

ChaosCleric narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like that look in IceQueen’s eyes.

’Don’t tell me she’s going t—’

"You’re right, let’s avoid him. Broken Heaven is enough. We can’t afford to make more enemies," she said calmly, leaving the room.

ChaosCleric watched her go with a look of relief.

This was the first time he had ever seen IceQueen walk away from a fight in all the years they had known each other.

’It seems Sir Broken is really keeping her up at night,’ he thought, recalling her tired eyes that looked like those of a panda. ’Phew, if only she could have the same mindset for Broken Heaven as well, the guild would have grown far more powerful than this.’

IceQueen walked through the hallways of their guild building, her steps echoing softly.

"Torrin Blackstar..." she muttered. "When I’m done with Broken, I’m coming for you next."

In the forum, the current trending person was none other than Torrin Blackstar. Word of what had happened spread like wildfire.

It was the first time someone other than Broken Heaven was trending, so the thread garnered a huge number of views and comments from players.

[Thread: Who the hell is Torrin Blackstar?!]

User1: That psycho NPC just wiped out our entire party!

User2: He killed me seven times! I’m back at Level 0!!

User3: Wait... did someone say he mentioned "invaders"?

User4: Yeah, I heard from a friend of mine who was among them!

User5: Fuck, what does this mean?!

User6: We’re cooked! The NPCs want to rebel against us! Trust me, they’re already looking at me with weird eyes!

...

Back in Edgar’s tower, Gabriel was inspecting the Hellfire Turret Logan had just crafted.

Because it wasn’t properly refined, it looked crude and uneven, with small bumps along its surface. Gabriel was amazed, but he didn’t let it show on his face and perfectly masked his reaction.

Meanwhile, Logan stood to the side with an eager expression, like a student waiting for his master to evaluate his work.

"This is okay but not good enough," Gabriel said calmly, placing his fingers on the trigger.

He pressed down, and the turret whirred to life. The barrel rotated once, twice, then locked forward like a sleeping beast waking up.

"Careful," Logan whispered, stepping back, feeling anxious. What if the gun exploded? What if it malfunctioned? There were several thoughts swirling in his mind. He really wanted to give Sir Broken a good impression and show that his efforts hadn’t been wasted.

Gabriel didn’t respond or even glance at the nervous teenager. He simply aimed the weapon at a nearby training dummy.

His finger squeezed, and then—

RAT-TAT-TAT!

A burst of small rounds streaked out, each trailing a faint orange afterglow. The dummy took three hits to the chest, and the metal buckled inward, plating shredding like wet paper. Flames licked across the impact points, and the dummy’s eyes fizzled into sparks before collapsing in a heap of molten joints.

Logan exhaled in relief at the sight, a proud smile lighting up his face. He even did a small victory punch and kick midair when no one was looking.

Gabriel lowered the turret and noticed the splash of heat had slightly singed the floorboards. He frowned and touched the barrel—warm, but within safe limits. At least now he didn’t have to worry about the militants or gunslingers recoiling from barrel heat during use.

Feeling that testing it on a training dummy wasn’t enough, Gabriel turned to Logan and told him to follow.

Logan was slightly confused about where they were going, but he didn’t question it. They went outside, entered the Kelsa truck waiting out front, and drove off.

Some time later, they arrived at a restricted spot in the heart of Stellar City marked with yellow Keep Off tape. On the other side, he could see a mix of players and adventurers standing before a large round blue portal that shimmered with energy. A few security personnel stood close to the tape, stopping ordinary civilians from approaching the area.

"What are we doing here?" Logan asked, looking up at Gabriel with confusion.