ATPnovel Chapter 243: Where are you, my emperor?
Chapter 243: Where are you, my emperor?
[I’ll try to post six Chapters a day for the next five days to make up for the delay in the mass release and, well, the four missing Chapters, hahaha.]
While the merchant confederations of Blackwatch were nearing their end, peace still reigned in the kingdom of burning ice.
The nobility, already certain of the imminent victory of their forces, celebrated in their halls.
The common folk also went about their peaceful lives, oblivious to the turmoil of distant battlefields.
Only those strange beings blessed by the gods—practically immortal—remained immersed in chaos.
These were, of course, the players.
At that very moment, at the base of the eternal mountains, deep within an imposing castle of shadows, a group of thirty players had gathered.
Each had reached the third stage, sporting a wide variety of classes and equipment of exceptional quality.
A few women stood among them, but without a doubt, the one who drew the most attention was a Korean woman with long black hair and skin as pale as porcelain.
Her body was clad in pristine plate armor that left only her beautiful face exposed.
It was Seo-Ah, known among players as Snowbreath, one of the newest and most admired professionals in Tales of Estria.
While the group discussed how to conduct the raid against the boss, she stood leaning against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed.
Generally, she didn’t like to take off her helmet. The insistent stares she received from male players were far too irritating.
For a wealthy girl, the daughter of one of the richest men in her country, and on top of that a recluse who rarely liked to go out, those stares were undoubtedly one of the worst parts of her day.
All she wanted was to relax while no one paid her any attention. But, of course, that wouldn’t last long. Soon enough, the eyes of one of the players turned in her direction.
He was a paladin with golden hair, blue eyes, and pleasant features.
Looking at him brought to mind that NPC who had killed her on the day she decided to devote herself completely to the game. Still, the two were nothing alike.
That NPC was someone she could only think of as the most handsome man in the world.
This guy, on the other hand, was just another jerk who thought he was the most handsome man in the world.
"So, Snowbreath, what do you think of our plan?" he asked, assuming she had already heard everything.
They all came from different countries, but thanks to Tales of Estria’s perfect neural translation system, communication between them flowed without any difficulty.
"Does it matter?" She lifted her gaze to stare at him with an icy glare, her hand tightening around the hilt of her sword as she took a step forward, straightening her posture. "I’m just DPS; I just need to hit and not die, right?"
"Hahaha, yeah." The paladin nodded, drawing heavy sighs from the three other girls in the group.
The other men, just like him, didn’t really care whether she had actually heard the plan. All they wanted was an opportunity to get her private contact information.
"Alright, enough talk." Another player spoke up, an archer who served as the group’s second-in-command.
"The lord of this castle is a vampire baron. From what I’ve read on the forums, he must be alone by now, since we’ve already taken out all his subordinates."
"We just need to storm the throne room and take him down. As long as we can protect the priests, there shouldn’t be any problem."
No one disputed those words. That was, in fact, the most effective strategy for taking down vampire lords—at least the corrupted ones.
The priests could channel holy power to prevent regeneration, giving the DPS enough time to tear them apart.
"Let’s go. I’ll hold his aggro; you guys just focus on dealing damage." The paladin declared, taking the lead and striding toward the castle gate.
"There’s a small town called Goldenveil a few dozen kilometers from here. We can sell the loot there when we’re done."
Stopping in front of the gate, he didn’t hesitate. A powerful kick slammed against the heavy doors, smashing them wide open with a deafening crash that echoed through the empty corridors beyond.
His companions followed close behind, some already activating the recording function to stream the raid in real time.
Snowbreath was the last to enter, feeling her heart race slightly in her chest.
Goldenveil... Wasn’t that the city of that Lord who had killed her back then?
’Ah... I hope he hasn’t held a grudge against me...’ Snowbreath thought to herself, quickening her pace to catch up with the others.
At last, the group reached the throne room, finding the door sealed.
That door was also broken down without ceremony. The front line stormed inside with swords and axes in hand, ready to tear the enemy to pieces.
The advance, however, didn’t last long.
No sooner had they crossed the threshold than the paladin at the front of the group froze in place.
A metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils, while his eyes, wide with confusion, fixed on the figure of the boss they were supposed to slay.
He lay sprawled at the foot of the staircase leading to the throne, his head severed clean from his torso, his body utterly lifeless.
A dark pool of crimson slowly spread across the polished marble beneath him, seeping into the cracks like creeping veins.
Suddenly, the paladin’s eyes darted upward, fixing on the throne at the top of the stairs.
And there, they found a woman.
Eyes like a blood-red moon shone beneath long lashes. A crimson dress of the same hue enveloped her voluptuous body, while long, slightly wavy golden hair spilled delicately over her shoulders.
The paladin glanced at her status screen and, to his horror, saw nothing but red skulls lining up endlessly.
That could only mean one thing: there was a difference of at least a hundred levels between him and the enemy.
"Oh... look what we have here, fufufu~" The woman laughed, her voice so sweet it seemed bathed in honey, echoing through the room like an intoxicating purr.
Despite her sweet voice, a slight flick of her index finger was enough for them all to freeze at the same moment.
Their heads plummeted to the floor with wet, heavy thuds, decapitated before they could even comprehend what had happened.
Their bodies remained upright for a brief heartbeat before crumpling lifelessly onto the marble.
"Hm..." She lowered her delicate hand slowly, her beautiful face clouded with boredom.
When she saw the bodies of those intruders dissolving into tiny fragments of light, a faint glimmer of interest crossed her face, but it soon faded.
"Ah... my emperor... where are you?" She toyed with the ring on her finger, her blood-red eyes drifting closed as her hand sank into one of her enormous, snowy tits, slender fingers vanishing into the soft, milky flesh that bulged voluptuously around them with a languid pulse.