Zela stood inside the tunnel and stared up blankly. He had fled underground in fear of the Dragon of Streaming Destruction’s breath attack. Through the square slice of sky above him, a battle between dragons and heroes raged on. Where a single misstep meant deletion, they fought with their lives on the line.

‘This is...’

Only now did Zela recall what he once wanted to be.

‘A hero.’

He wanted to become a hero of Cheese Village. In the darkness, Zela’s trembling hand reached up.

Thud.

His hand pressed against a block. That small hand strained as it dragged his oversized head up.

“Everyone.... I’ll fight too.”

He began to climb.

— Whoa...

— The legend of Zela begins!

— Nice

— This is it!

— Let’s gooo!

— But he doesn’t have anything?

Zela had nothing except his job skills. Every item left behind as Zelu’s legacy had already been lost.

“Aren’t you all here?” Leaving those words behind, Zela climbed higher.

— Nice

— Awww

— Zela...

— Right, we’re the power

— Damn it, the will of Zel...

Carrying his dream of becoming a hero, he climbed up and up.

“I believe in all of you, and...”

He was in the middle of delivering what he thought was a pretty cool line.

Someone shouted, “If you join the fight, donations will explodeeeee!”

It sounded faint at first, too far away to hear clearly. However, it grew louder the higher he climbed.

Radish Servant, trying to draw people in, screamed through a megaphone item, “Fighting makes moneyyyyyy!”

— ?

— ??

— LMAOOOO

— So it was about money?

— Holy shit, the timing

— Of course...

— Right, war makes money.

Zela had moved with the conviction of wanting to become a hero.

Pop.

He emerged from the hole.

“Wow. You really do sniff out money fast.”

“Oh, Boss Zel~ You’re already here? Hahaha. You’re different. Totally different.”

“This is how you stay number one in the industry.”

Everyone assumed he had come for the money. Even Radish Servant, flying above, winked and pinched his fingers into the shape of a coin.

— LMAOOOOOOOO

— LOL

— The guy only cares about money...

Zela felt dumbfounded. “N-No, that’s not it. Didn’t you all see? I...”

He tried to explain his conviction, but a Knight came down from above.

Radish Servant shouted through the megaphone, “Everyone, summon monsters!”

The strategy was simply to build a massive tanking army through monster summons. This would draw the Dragon of Streaming Destruction’s attention. Then, the relic users who could actually fight would move in.

In the end, Zela had no choice but to say, “Please donate...”

— ?

— So it is money in the end

— ??

— Fundraising professor LOL

— No way LOL

— War has always been about money

— LMAO

— Holy shit

Even though he said that, Zela’s viewers poured in donations as if to boast their numbers and capital.

Ba-bam!

[EatThis has donated 100,000 won!]

[Let’s go! Zela’s monster squad!]

[Tomo has donated 100,000 won!]

[Ah LOL how do you resist gacha?]

[ZelTheHero has donated 100,000 won!]

[Descendant of Zeluto... You, at least, become a hero for us.]

BOOOOM!

So many monsters burst forth that it seemed simultaneous.

— DAMN

— Wow

— Insane

— Firepower

— Is this... Zelo?

— This is what chakra of influence looks like LOL

— Holy shit

From cute little slimes to enormous, vicious beasts that could be classified as kaiju. Every kind of monster that existed in this world came pouring out. The monsters Zela summoned multiplied endlessly, enough to swallow all of Cheese Village.

“Insane...” Watching from the sky, Radish Servant clicked his tongue in shock. “This level of firepower....”

Now it was clear just how much strength Zela could wield if he chose to. He wasn’t alone. Though he had lost everything, he still possessed an inherited legacy. Zela climbed onto one of the dragons he had summoned and flew up.

“I am...” He declared, “A legion!”

— Nice

— Damn

— LMAOOOO

— Holy shit LOL

— So this is why he asked for donations

— That’s crazy

— This is it

Cameras across the broadcast channels all snapped to Zela.

— Wow

— Zelo’s money pull!

— Nice

— Breaking news: U.S. military arrives

— War is money LOL

— Incheon landing operation

With Zela at the head, other residents began summoning monsters of their own. The army swelled even more.

BOOM!

BANG...!

Monsters burst forth everywhere. One by one, the residents who had been hiding in the tunnels emerged.

‘War makes money...!’

‘It’s ending anyway, might as well make a final score.’

Not just monsters, every Cheese villager began gathering. They had all come together to oppose the Dragon of Streaming Destruction.

Treeana ordered the Knights, “Charge!”

Radish Servant shouted her order through the megaphone, “CHAAARGE!!”

“WAAAAAAAH!!”

Dragons took flight, and every Cheese villager surged forward. The giant monsters thundered ahead in long strides.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Th-This is insane.” Stunned, Radish Servant asked Treeana, “Uh, is it okay if we fly ahead first?”

They were supposed to let the monsters take the damage, but Radish Servant’s Mega Hawk was already far out in front.

Treeana had already figured out the Dragon of Streaming Destruction’s behavior patterns. “It’s fine. They’re more focused on destroying the ground. That’s how Potato Servant drew so much of their attention.”

“Ah...!”

Potato Servant acting as bait hadn’t been a coincidence.

‘This is insane. What is this? Did she get briefed in advance?’

Radish Servant couldn’t believe that Treeana could observe and analyze so much in such a short span. He assumed she had prior knowledge since the production team had cast her.

***

In the broadcast control room, PD Jang asked Park Oh-Hoon in disbelief, “How did she even know that? No, seriously, did we mess this up that badly?”

“Uh... I-I’m not sure either, sir. I mean, Survival Craft’s AI is kind of bad to begin with...”

Even the production team hadn’t known. Not just them, the designers who had built this entire scenario hadn’t known either. They had only designed the Dragon of Streaming Destruction to destroy Cheese Village as intelligently as possible. They hadn’t known the specifics of its behavioral priorities.

“T-They’re really looking down! Even though Almond and Treeana are closer!”

On screen, Lady Grudge and Saint Kaiser fired their skills at the monsters below.

Kwaaang!

Powerful beams tore through the ground, but monsters still filled the field. Meanwhile, Almond continued closing the distance. Treeana had been right. The Dragon of Streaming Destruction’s fatal weakness had been fully exposed.

“This... this might actually work?”

It looked like Phase Three would begin before the City of Treevy even finished rising.

***

Saint Kaiser’s crimson beam swept across the ground.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

Monsters vanished as if erased by a chalkboard eraser. On the other side, Lady Grudge scattered corrosive acid.

Chiiiiii...!

White fumes rose as monsters melted away.

“Graaahhh...!”

“Ughhh!”

An enormous number instantly died. The Dragon of Streaming Destruction’s combat power exceeded expectations.

Zela flew between them and shouted, “Rise!”

Puh-buh-buh-buh-boom!

White clouds burst in succession, and countless monsters appeared. They all fell to the ground at once.

“Woooooo!”

— Monster bailout DAMN

— Holy shit LOL

— Donation party

— Your money is melting!!

— Nice

— Monster rain LOL

— Insane money burn

— This is the U.S. military, damn it!

The descendant of Zelu, Zela wielded the terrifying power of infinite chakra.

“Chaaaarge!” At Zela’s command, the monsters surged forward again.

Lady Grudge cast her spell. “You filthy insects!”

Woooong...!

Trees erupted from the ground, spraying clouds of lethal pollen. The pollen clung everywhere and released toxic fumes that punched holes through the monsters. It was a horrific sight.

“Right here!”

Chwaaak!

A dragon piloted by Lemon streaked past and slashed Lady Grudge.

“Hehehe! Got her good!”

Only then did Lady Grudge notice the swarm of gnats buzzing around her.

“Grrrr...! Insolent!”

She fired her breath at them.

Kwaaaaang!

Lemon raised her shield.

[Shield of Friendship]

Fwoosh!

The shield blazed with overwhelming chakra.

“Uaaah!”

Thoom!

That small shield blocked Lady Grudge’s breath completely.

“Kyaaaahhh!”

Lady Grudge suddenly writhed in pain from countless more gnats latching onto her.

“Excali...!!”

Puh-boom!

Radish Servant swung his relic while riding another resident’s dragon.

“Die!”

“Die! Die!”

Not just the Knights, every resident who had summoned a flying monster joined the assault. They rained down on Lady Grudge, drawing their weapons and stabbing relentlessly.

“Haha! Let’s plow a field here!”

“So this is why I became a farmer!”

Horn Ramen, Donuts, and MiddleAgedDetective pulled out pickaxes and literally tilled Lady Grudge’s hide with their farming skills. The pickaxes weren’t relics, but they dealt meaningful damage with the buffs from the cheering ghosts and their own viewers layered on top. The same went for the other villagers’ weapons.

Puh-thud!

Thud!

Damage steadily accumulated.

Lady Grudge, as if calling for Saint Kaiser’s help, screamed, “Kyaaaahhh!”

However, the monsters on the ground kept Saint Kaiser completely occupied.

Kwa-kwaaang!

Saint Kaiser’s breath attack obliterated them in droves. Beneath his wide-open maw, Treeana and Almond slipped in unnoticed from below.

‘I see it.’

Among the countless scales embedded under his jaw, one single scale rose in reverse. The reverse scale could instantly incapacitate even a mighty dragon. Almond drew his bow and aimed for it.

Giriiiik...!

He held his breath and released. The arrow flew straight toward its mark.

Saint Kaiser murmured, “LTE.”

Thoom.

The flow of air changed. At the same time, Saint Kaiser’s massive divine form dispersed like the wind. Almond’s arrow cut through empty air.

— ?

— OH SHIT??

— LTE?!

— Guess the next step is fake so they can’t do it LOL

— Holy shit

— Wait what

— Suddenly?

— No way!

Shiiiiiiing!

Saint Kaiser, jaw stretched open, reappeared behind Treeana and Almond at a terrifying speed. “I’ll chew you to pieces!”

[Translator’s Notes]

[To give a bit of context, the Dragon of Streaming Destruction is representing the Korean telecom companies. These telecom companies are actually the reason why “Treevy” (Twitch) shut down in Korea because they were charging an absurd amount for bandwidth fees. That’s why the dragon is using special skills like 3G and LTE.]