Chapter 257
Chapter 257
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 257
>Chapter Title: The Crimson Second Prince
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Around the time the world was buzzing over Kaiser’s infamous “Parrying Machine” video.
-Crazy, Kaiser TV dropped a new video!
>-Wow, a Forgotten King raid clear? Missing this would be a huge loss.
>-What are you all doing here? The parrying stuff isn’t the issue right now.
That night, the Forgotten King raid video went up.
With everyone already talking nonstop about Kaiser, viewers flooded in instantly, and comments started pouring in right away.
-Wow…… Look at the lions tearing into each other with the blizzard raging. Is this what a clash between the world’s strongest looks like? My heart’s swelling.
>-What was that ending? The scale is insane. Kaiser swings his sword and everything shatters?
>-Thought it ended with the one-shot on the king, but he got that too. Mirror of Vengeance? What’s that? One of the #1 rewards?
>-Chant it! Kaiser, he is a god! Kaiser, he is a god!
Reactions full of awe, one after another.
-What’s so great about this…… Okay, it is impressive, damn it.
>-No way, what the hell is this? What did I just watch?
>-Nothing…… Nothing to nitpick.
>-Whatever else, Kaiser definitely proved it this time. Even the haters are thinning out.
>-This is uncriticizable even for haters lol. Criticize this and you’re basically admitting you’re disabled.
>-The moment you bash Kaiser, Arthur, Lepias, and all the Top 10 Guilds plus high rankers lose their shit. Who’d dare lol.
Now, even haters had no room to butt in.
Sure, some snide or belittling comments popped up here and there, but even they couldn’t bring themselves to post hate about his skill.
[Kaiser Strikes Again!]
>[Kaiser, the MVP of the World Quest Clear! Now Making Waves with the Forgotten King Raid……]
>[Kaiser: Where Do His Limits Lie?]
>[NewX Broadcast Hits 200 Million Viewers, Forgotten King Raid Already at 50 Million?]
Of course, the reporters didn’t miss the chance, pumping out articles left and right. Now portals and communities were flipping from Disaster raid talk to the Forgotten King.
Top 10 Guilds? High rankers?
-Kaiser! Kaiser! Kaiser! Kaiser!
>-Kaiser Punch! Kaiser Punch! Kaiser Punch!
>-Ah, I believe……
>-Listen to those Kashin Church membership numbers rising. Awesome~
>-Yeah, count me in as one. Joined today and everyone welcomed me so warmly.
>-Really? Felt more like hellfire to me. If they sniff out a spy, they hunt you down till you delete your account.
>-? How do you know that? Members! Over here! There’s a heretic I wanna rip apart!
With Kaiser’s signature missiles firing off one-two punches, people were too dazed to care about the users lost in the frenzy.
They were just busy chanting those three letters: Kaiser.
That’s why it happened.
[Kaiser Enters the Imperial Palace!]
>[Half-Year Record Shattered, Ties with the Sword Emperor……]
>[Imperial Palace Entry: Because of the World Quest, or a Hidden Piece?]
-?
>-Kaiser entered the palace?
>-With the Sword Emperor, no less?
>-Crazy?
The sudden new scoop grabbed all the attention in a flash.
With three massive incidents in a row, it was only natural that every eye was on Kaiser.
It wasn’t just attention anymore.
-At this point, isn’t Kaiser a one-trick game? Shattering every record in sight.
>-No, seriously, Kaiser’s on the main quest, right?
>-Then the palace too?
>-More like #1 raid ranking gets you that. The Empire was all over this one.
>-Wow…… Hold up. So Kaiser’s personally ahead of the Top 10 Guilds?
>-Kaiser > Top 10 Guilds theory confirmed.
>-Fact) Thousands from Top 10 Guilds + high rankers couldn’t take it down, but Kaiser’s four-man party did. Thus, Kaiser > Top 10 Guilds.
>-No cap, that’s parry diff.
>-Who made that parry? Top 10 Guilds could never.
>-Yep, in the end, Kaiser’s the one entering the palace? Top 10 Guilds stuck twiddling thumbs? Kaiser’s the trend now?
Public opinion was shifting bit by bit, and now views putting Kaiser above the Top 10 Guilds were taking the majority.
Normally, they’d dismiss it as nonsense, but this time was different.
It was that groundbreaking, and the fact that Kaiser’s party snagged what the Top 10 couldn’t served as proof.
-Serves them right lol.
>-Top 10 Guilds acting all high and mighty, but equal in front of Kaiser……
Bam!
“Damn it!”
Leon, unable to hold back his rage while scrolling the opinions, slammed his desk and gripped his forehead, breathing heavily.
Xiao, seated diagonally across from him, smirked.
“What’re you so pissed about, like you did something great? Oh, right. That video of you running tail-tucked from the Disaster’s everywhere. Looked good on you?”
“Shut it, Xiao. All you do is hit-and-run from afar, mouth the only thing alive on you.”
“What’d you say, you brainless brute who only knows charging in? Jealous? Go snag a Pegasus yourself. That’s why you end up like that, just mindlessly barreling ahead.”
“You little……!”
“Enough, both of you.”
The one stopping the heated pair was the man seated opposite.
Short blond hair.
A monstrous 210cm height. Shoulders not just wide like a thug’s, but a full-on shoulder monster.
An angular, manly face with the deep features typical of a Westerner.
Daniel Alexander, the pride of America and leader of Aegis Guild, the current strongest tank guild in Gate of Sears.
“You’re the ones who started the raid before I got here, right? Bickering over right and wrong now is just pathetic.”
“……What difference would it make if you’d come?”
“Who knows. At least we wouldn’t have failed to hold aggro and flailed around like idiots.”
Xiao and Leon scowled fiercely at his calm sarcasm.
They moved their lips, itching to retort, but couldn’t—facts were facts.
‘……All he’s got going is being tanky. Comes late and starts shit? What an annoying prick.’
They hated to admit it, but Aegis Guild’s tanking was undeniably top-tier.
Especially considering Daniel’s unique ability, they might’ve actually held aggro and run a stable raid.
“No more chit-chat. We didn’t gather to fight among ourselves, did we?”
“……True enough.”
The others nodded at the words of the holy knight in radiant golden armor, Arthur, who’d been listening silently.
He was right.
Four Top 10 Guild masters gathered in this one conference room.
All to deal with what was coming next.
“When’re the others showing?”
Even then, it wasn’t just four.
“Dunno. Armory Lord and Harrington said soon.”
“What about Annihilation?”
“Tch, you seen that guy show?”
“Right. And the other one can’t make it, so eight of us? Not bad turnout.”
“Huh? Eight? That creepy corpse freak wouldn’t come to something like this…… No way Bloodslaughter’s coming too?”
“Yeah.”
Bloodslaughter Guild.
The top assassin guild in Gate of Sears, where once marked, survival was impossible.
Even among Top 10 Guilds, they rarely showed face, so it felt novel even to them.
“That’s how big this is.”
“Who knows. With her personality, might just see it as intriguing prey.”
“Tch, lucky bastard…… We who joined the World Quest look like fools now.”
“More importantly, that Heavenly Demon guy was supposed to come before the Disaster raid—what’s he doing?”
“Lost again, that idiot. How do you get lost even with a map? Guy’s never on time.”
“Pfft, won’t get boring. Empire’s huge anyway—new sights every day.”
Babylon, Ernest, and now Heavenly Demon Cult.
Two missing, but still a historic summit.
All because of one man: Kaiser.
“Alright, everyone’s arriving soon, so let’s prep the meeting.”
As Damian Alexander tapped the table, drawing all eyes.
“What about Kaiser? We just gonna let him be?”
“And if not?”
“Who knows. Armory Lord’s not here, but depending on the situation…… Might need to deal with him.”
Damian’s eyes gleamed coldly as he spoke.
He glanced at the empty seat with a chill expression, adding flatly.
“Handy high-performance dagger that’s taken an interest, too.”
The Top 10 Guilds.
Known for their heavy asses, they were finally starting to check Kaiser for real.
* * *
Meanwhile, at that very time.
Do-hyun, the very one stirring up the Top 10 Guilds, had sparkling eyes.
No eyes could shine more eagerly with excitement.
[You have entered the Imperial Palace of the Arnis Empire.]
[Recorded in the Book of Adventures.]
‘So this is the palace…… “Radiant” doesn’t even begin to cover it.’
‘Whoa! Master, check out that hallway sparkling. No way that’s all gold? Not plating, right?’
‘L-Liza…….’
‘Hm. “Lavish” falls short. Even the ancient Empire wasn’t this much…….’
And no wonder—the palace interior surpassed imagination.
As they neared the audience chamber, the hallway was made of gold, gleaming, with a long red carpet running atop it.
The walls were lined with what looked like priceless artistic crafts at a glance.
‘The saying that the Empire has more money than all its cities combined is true.’
Is this what being overwhelmed by wealth feels like?
Unlike Do-hyun, whose jaw hung slack and wouldn’t close, the Sword Emperor clicked his tongue.
“Even more gold this time…… Is His Majesty’s illness worsening?”
“Illness?”
“There is such a thing. More importantly, how long you gonna gawk around like some country bumpkin? You planning to act like that in front of His Majesty too?”
“No way. Don’t worry.”
Do-hyun shook his head firmly at the Sword Emperor’s concern.
This was tied to the main quest—no way he’d screw up.
He planned to have a nice, thorough chat since they wanted to talk.
‘Something connected to the imperial family…… Most suspicious is the Emperor, right?’
So this conversation was especially crucial.
No summary executions, so probe as much as possible without crossing lines.
Minutes passed pondering how to phrase things as they walked.
“Here we are. We’ll meet His Majesty now, so mind your manners.”
The Sword Emperor warned lowly before an unmistakably extraordinary door.
Do-hyun nodded heavily, and the Sword Emperor cleared his throat.
“Your Majesty. Garfield here. I’ve brought the apostle as commanded. May we enter?”
“…….”
But seconds passed with no reply.
Even knocking yielded nothing.
Seeming caught off-guard, the Sword Emperor looked flustered.
‘……No way he’s not inside?’
As Do-hyun’s face hardened.
“His Majesty stepped out for urgent business just moments ago.”
“Hm?”
A soft voice.
Gentle timbre, yet frail and weak, like it might snap any second.
“We must’ve just missed each other. He’ll return soon, so please wait, Sword Emperor.”
Turning, he appeared.
A beautiful young lord with long, radiant silver hair.
Clearly a beauty, but his pallid, drained face and slender limbs overshadowed it.
“Second Prince. To come here for state affairs…….”
“No family attendants, so call me young master as before.”
“Haha. With a guest here, how could I?”
The Second Prince of the Arnis Empire, Eden de Arnis, made his entrance.
Rumor had it he was frail but kind, with deep ties to the Sword Emperor—but none of that registered now.
‘……Red.’
Do-hyun could see it.
[Eye of Truth activates.]
The faint red glow leaking from the Second Prince.
Just as Gamillion said—something hidden about him.
But seeing the red glow, Do-hyun’s expression twisted oddly, as if baffled.
‘……Why’s his whole body red?’
Second Prince, Eden de Arnis.
From head to toe, he was dyed entirely red.