“Tsk, tsk. Just what is Your Majesty thinking?”

Banquet hall. Marquis Constinu stared at those from Vallas Territory with an unpleasant look.

Marquis Constinu was a figure called one of the Kingdom of Goyard’s Three Stars.

He also didn’t like Hyun, who was nothing but an outsider.

“Chancellor Nell of Vallas Territory. I greet Marquis Constinu.”

Looking at the woman named Nell, Constinu turned his head away.

It was total disregard.

There was no one in this banquet hall with influence as strong as his.

Because of that, the others here were also ignoring the Radiance guild members.

Constinu looked over the kingdom’s talents filling the banquet hall.

The nobles and talents who had come up from all across the country were the leading figures who would guide the Kingdom of Goyard going forward.

Before he knew it, nobles who had come up from various regions filled the seats around him.

“Star of the Kingdom! It is an honor to meet Marquis Constinu!”

“Hoh. A child of House Brak? I hear you became a knight this time?”

“Yes. I will strive and become a knight who protects Marquis Constinu!”

“Marquis, greetings!”

“Heh heh. So many come to greet me—I can’t be happier.”

Constinu, pleased, tipped back his glass.

One by one, the people in the banquet hall began to get drunk.

“You’re drinking heavily today.”

“When else would I drink, if not on a day this happy?”

As Constinu took another drink, he made a puzzled expression.

Boldrom Fortress’s exterior resembled a colosseum.

It was built around the walls of a massive circular fortress, with the center opened wide.

In the opened sky, black currents were wavering.

“Hm?”

Those black currents condensed and dropped toward Constinu.

BOOOOOM-!

CRACK-

“......?”

Constinu made a puzzled expression.

The nobles who had been laughing and talking with him just moments ago were torn to pieces, blood spraying.

In an instant, the intoxication drained away.

“U- UAAAAAH!”

“KYAAAAAH!”

Constinu could see a young woman and a man who had landed on the ground.

The infamy of the woman, who had grown long red hair, was well known.

A dog with great power, worshiping the evil god.

People called her the First Calamity.

[The First Calamity Helenya appears!]

[First Calamity Helenya Lv.436]

The man standing beside her—holding a huge greatsword shaped like a rippling blade.

A giant so tall his height reached 7'3".

A man no one among the five calamities could match in close combat.

[The Second Calamity Rogal appears!]

[Second Calamity Rogal Lv.429]

Constinu staggered back.

[Status Ailment: Calamity activates.]

[A massive slaughter instinct paralyzes all reason.]

[Fear and dread seize everything.]

“Ughhh.......”

“Ughk.......”

Constinu looked around. Those who hadn’t trained martial prowess.

Those with endlessly weak bodies were collapsing, foaming at the mouth.

Constinu, too, was being swallowed by enormous fear and dread.

Soon, Helenya lifted a snake-head-shaped staff.

BZZZT-!

[The Tome of the Evil God activates.]

[A massive barrier seizes all of Boldrom Fortress.]

[Infiltration into Boldrom Fortress is prohibited.]

[Helenya’s level is low for using the Tome of the Evil God.]

[Those level 450 and above absolutely cannot enter.]

[Those level 400 and above can enter at a slim probability.]

[Those level 300 and above can enter if they spend a long time.]

The Tome of the Evil God.

Power the evil god bestowed for the calamities.

It was similar to the power Jack had manifested.

Helenya struck the ground with her staff.

CRACK-!

“You killed the demon, so you have to pay the price for your sins, right?”

The ground touched by the tip of the staff turned to sand and sank downward.

The sinkhole-like thing gradually grew larger.

From inside it—

SKREEEEE

SKRIT-SKRIT

An unidentified sound was heard.

The faces of those there hardened stiff.

From beneath the sunken ground, something unknown, about the size of a human arm, rose up.

‘A feeler?’

It was a black insect’s feeler.

Soon, something huge—reaching 8'2"—revealed itself.

[Giant Ant Lv.354]

Forcing their way up from underground, around 150 Giant Ants appeared.

What made Constinu even more tense were the ants that spread wings and flew up.

[Soldier Ant Lv.375]

The Soldier Ants held spears and swords and the like, and their number reached around 20.

‘I heard the First Calamity is connected to summoning.......’

As Helenya’s staff swung, black currents seeped into the ants’ bodies.

[Giant Ant’s physical defense increases by 30%.]

[Giant Ant’s magical defense increases by 30%.]

KREEEAAAH-!

One Giant Ant lunged at a noble.

One of the knights he led stepped in front to block it.

That brave sword struck down at the Giant Ant boldly.

CLANG-

The knight’s eyes shook.

“Wh-what is this......?”

There wasn’t even a scratch on the Giant Ant’s carapace.

The knights’ average level was 320.

The defense of level-350 Giant Ants with 30% increased defense was beyond what they could handle.

The ant hooked the knight with the teeth on both sides.

CRUNCH-

The knight’s armor warped like paper, and when it bit down, it split in two.

SPLAAASH-

“You die.”

The calamity began.

“U- UAAAAAAAH!”

“P-protect the nobles!”

“Chancellor—th-this way...... KHAAGH!”

“U- UAAAAAAAGH!”

Constinu’s face went pale.

The weapons of ordinary knights couldn’t do anything to the Giant Ants.

Constinu assessed the situation with the coldest clarity.

‘It’s the end of Goyard.......’

The end isn’t only when every commoner dies.

The people here were the talents who would lead the next ten years.

If all around 600 of them died, Goyard would suffer irreparable damage.

At Helenya’s gesture, dozens of Giant Ants turned their heads toward Constinu.

“Marquis Constinu, don’t worry!”

Knights and ants clashed. Among them were excellent knights as well.

Those called the sword saints of a territory.

Powerhouses reaching level 350.

But three, four Soldier Ants were clinging to them.

“Hiiiiiik!”

“Th-this can’t be happening!”

“Lord Rams falls in battle that easily......!”

The nobles and talents who had been guarding Constinu ran away.

The ones who had sworn to protect him with their lives were now running with their tails between their legs.

Constinu could see an ant baring those sharp teeth as it closed within arm’s reach.

“Hiiiiik!”

At that moment.

FWEEEEEK-!

BOOOOM-!

Just one arrow blasted a Giant Ant and sent it flying 65 feet away.

‘Wh-what......!?’

Constinu was horrified.

The shaft was only about half the length of an ordinary arrow.

And the ant hit dead-on had its thick carapace pierced, writhing as it spilled sticky green blood.

When he looked back, unlike those fleeing, he saw people advancing.

Constinu took them in with his eyes.

At the very front was Nell—the woman whose greeting he had ignored.

“We will escort you. The mages are forming barrier magic, so if you hold out a little, it will be fine.”

In this terrifying situation, Constinu—having shown disgrace—turned spiteful.

“How could the likes of you possibly stop those monsters!”

At that moment, a man struck a descending Soldier Ant in midair.

FWIP-

It was Dragon Knight Ressel.

And.

CRAAACK-

CRAAACK-

CRAAACK-

Ian and Hyeji stood on the left and right, drawing their bows like mad.

Ian’s arrows lacked accuracy, but they threw the ants off.

Hyeji’s arrows lacked destructive power, but they were too accurate.

KREEEAAAH-!

Seven ants spat poison at once.

In that moment, Bark appeared and slammed down a shield.

KRK-KRK-KRK-

That poison froze without even reaching Constinu.

Constinu looked up at the sky.

Taehun kicked in midair six times.

THUD, THUD-THUD-THUD, THUD-!

He kicked away Soldier Ants trying to tear apart nobles in midair.

Then he surged up again and brought his heel down on a Soldier Ant flying above.

BOOOOM-!

Beyond the rising dust, a knight who used a sword well appeared.

That one person rampaged across the battlefield.

SLASH-

THUD-THUD-THUD-!

CRACK

Constinu couldn’t believe it.

Their visible levels shouldn’t be able to output power to this extent.

‘What the hell is this......?’

How were they overwhelming similar levels in the 330–350 range like that?

Constinu soon found the singular point.

‘Artifacts......?’

Every one of them was holding something with special power.

That was what was making them strong.

Anyway.

[A defensive barrier is formed.]

A barrier completed by dozens of mages separated allies and enemies.

‘......They saved me?’

Constinu had been enjoying the banquet while sneering at them as outsiders.

He had sneered at them because he suspected outsiders would think lightly of protecting the kingdom.

But that wasn’t it.

Radiance had built high intimacy with Constinu.

Even so, Constinu knew.

‘We will all die.......’

That this was a hopeless situation.

Meanwhile.

Nell was exchanging whispers with Hyunsoo.

Hyunsoo gave instructions.

[Guild Master Hyunsoo: ......I think it’s ready now.]

Nell’s eyes shook.

She turned him over in her mind for a long time.

[Nell: Understood. But are you confident about crafting that sword?]

Nell couldn’t hear the answer.

Because Helenya flicked her finger with an elegant motion.

[Guild chat, including whispers, is restricted.]

Thanks to the barrier, Nell gained a little time to hold out.

She looked around.

Even if only distinguished guests were gathered here, it wasn’t only NPCs.

There were also a very small number of users.

Nell’s chest pounded with excitement.

‘Finally.’

It might have been the moment she had waited for a long time.

Nell moved into action.

*****

AJ Internet Broadcasting Station.

The current situation at Boldrom Fortress was being broadcast across dozens of monitors.

Every screen being broadcast was the screen of users who had been inside Boldrom Fortress.

Streamer Beren.

Currently reaching 700,000 viewers, they were a user with 400,000 subscribers.

Their content mainly showed the lives of nobles.

By happening to attend the banquet, they ended up broadcasting.

“Is there no streamer who says they’ll relay directly to us?”

“There isn’t.......”

Producer Kim Minwoo made a bitter expression.

Individual streamers wouldn’t share with a station when they could take it all themselves.

And public attention was high.

700,000 viewers.

460,000 viewers.

390,000 viewers.

Those were the viewer counts the users there had secured.

Then cheers erupted from all over.

The streamers, and the voices of experts explaining the current situation.

-Who are they!?

-Unknown individuals saved Marquis Constinu at the moment of crisis.

-H-hyungs......! It’s Ressel, huh? The Genius Trio? Huh!? Isn’t that person Saint’s Child Belia!?

-Hyungs, what the hell is happening!?

“......!?”

“......!?”

Producer Kim Minwoo and Director Lee Taeho were horrified.

“Why are they there?”

“Why are they together?”

High-rankers famous enough to ignite the whole country. The fact they were together shocked people the most.

Because of that, the broadcasts’ viewer counts began to increase even more.

In truth, Ressel, Bark, and Saint’s Child Belia were fairly famous figures in Ares.

And there was no one who didn’t know the faces of the Genius Trio.

At that moment.

BZZZZ

‘Huh?’

Producer Kim Minwoo answered the call.

-This is Kim Hyein. I’m calling to contract exclusive broadcast relay with AJ Internet Broadcasting Station. I know Director Lee Taeho has deep ties with station staff. Please issue an official notice to halt all streamers’ relays.

“An official notice? That isn’t easy.”

Exclusive relay by us? And if they go after us for image-rights infringement, it would be entirely possible.

But it wasn’t easy.

Director Lee Taeho took the phone.

“I want to hear the conditions. Give me a clear reason that makes it worth doing that.”

Director Lee Taeho was thorough.

No matter that he had once been a terrestrial broadcast director and had many connections, issuing an official notice was something to be careful with.

But then.

“......What?”

After hearing Hyein, Director Lee Taeho’s eyes shook.

‘We have to do this.’

Director Lee Taeho was horrified.

“I’ll issue the official notice right now.”

Watching the monitors, Director Lee Taeho admired.

“Is it finally time?”

******

[The broadcast ends.]

Viewers panicked.

-What?

-Are you kidding me?

-What is this all of a sudden!

Because the streamers’ broadcasts they’d been enjoying ended.

-Is this a country!?

-They say it was forcibly ended because of image rights.

Then.

-Hey, they say AJ Internet Broadcasting Station is taking it exclusive!?

-What?

-How’d AJ Internet Broadcasting Station pull that off!?

-LET’S GO!

Viewers moved quickly.

The viewers who entered soon had no choice but to be shocked.

-Look at the viewer count climbing.

-They’re absorbing the viewers from the streamers who got cut off, holy shit.

[Current viewers: 1,101,061.]

-Wow, AJ Internet Broadcasting Station hit the jackpot.

-That guild name popped up!

-What, it was a guild!?

-But then why was the guild name hidden until now?

[Radiance.]

-Radiance?

-Good name.

-Where the fuck is “Radiance,” you fucking weeb lol

Even the experts were shocked.

-This is incredible! Our country’s best rankers were concentrated into a single guild!

-Just who ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) is that guild’s master, to gather people like that!?

Then another anomaly happened.

[Radiance changes its name.]

-???

-Wh-what is it? Why change the guild name all of a sudden.......

[Changed to Hyun’s Forge.]

-......!?

-Wh-what......!?

-B-BLACKSMITH HYYYYUUUUN!!!

-H-hyungs......! It’s Hyun’s Forge. Hyun’s Forge, hidden for so long, finally reveals itself!!

It was a shock.

Hyun’s Forge, which had been shrouded in secrecy, finally spread its wings.

A tremendous shock spread beyond the country, out into the world.

That shock was being proven by a single number.

[Current viewers: 1,613,013.]