Chapter 73: Your Alliance Has Been Disbanded!

Chapter 73: Chapter 73: Your Alliance Has Been Disbanded!

Looking at the mountain of items filling his inventory, John couldn’t help grinning.

"This expedition..."

"I’ve made an absolute fortune!"

But what caught his attention most was the level notification at the very top of his status panel.

[Lord Tyrant has reached Level 30!]

[Ding!]

[You have reached the current level cap. Your next Class Advancement Challenge Quest has been unlocked!]

John opened the map.

A dark brown vortex icon had appeared on it, slowly rotating.

"The Class Advancement Challenge is unlocked."

He stared at the vortex for two seconds before decisively shaking his head and closing the map.

"There’s no rush today."

This expedition had lasted from early morning until the afternoon. His entire main army had been deployed, leaving his territory practically defenseless.

It was better to return first, organize his territory, recruit new troops, sort out the resources, and reinforce his defenses.

The Class Advancement Challenge could wait until tomorrow.

...

After finishing his inventory, John leaned back against the dragon’s back and let out a long breath.

Only then did he remember that the two people behind him hadn’t spoken to each other since their earlier conversation.

The atmosphere had grown quiet again.

After thinking for a moment, John decided to bring up a less sensitive topic.

"By the way, do either of you know which race has the best chefs on the continent?"

Arno was slightly taken aback before realizing what John meant.

"Chefs?"

"Yes."

John nodded seriously.

"We’ll definitely need good chefs in our territory eventually. You two can think about which ones you like. If we get the opportunity, I’ll recruit them."

Food was essential to human survival.

And, of course, dragons needed to eat too.

The heavy atmosphere on the dragon’s back was immediately swept away. The sadness from earlier also faded.

Ophelia thought carefully for a moment before naming a race, offering a rather convincing explanation.

"Dwarves. The Grayforge Clan."

"They have an almost absurdly precise understanding of heat control. I once passed through one of their settlements while I was still alive and stayed there for three days."

"During those three days, a dwarf chef roasted an entire volcanic mountain goat for me. The skin was so crispy you could hear it crack, while the meat inside was still slightly pink when sliced. Juices flowed right out along the cuts."

"It was served with their own homebrewed dark rye beer, chilled to perfection. One bite of meat, one sip of beer..."

Arno had also been quietly thinking about it. Hearing Ophelia’s recommendation, he couldn’t help adding something of his own.

"The Elves have a tribe called the Moonstring Elves. They live by the sea and make excellent seafood dishes..."

With one person adding a suggestion after another, the atmosphere gradually became lively once more.

...

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Misty Wasteland, in the Dark-0914 Region.

A cavalry force was quietly stationed behind a stretch of elevated terrain.

It consisted of thousands of Centaur Cavalry.

Their upper bodies were humanoid, clad in iron armor, while their lower bodies were those of powerful horses. Their lances pointed diagonally toward the sky, and their formations were orderly, radiating an unmistakable killing intent.

Standing atop the high ground was a heavily armored player with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing toward the distance.

Gareth, Vice Alliance Leader of the Judgment Alliance.

Augustus had assigned him a special mission.

While Tyrant was away claiming the Hero’s Tomb, Gareth was supposed to launch a surprise attack on his territory.

Tyrant had previously revealed his coordinates, so Gareth had been able to track down the area surrounding his territory directly.

Besides the Centaur Cavalry he had brought with him, a B-grade Hero with the same centaur form stood beside him.

"Is this the place?"

Gareth narrowed his eyes and looked ahead.

At the far end of his field of vision, where Tyrant’s territory should have been, there was now only an enormous mass of impossibly dense fog.

It silently hung in the distance, concealing everything behind it.

Even after straining his eyes to their limit, Gareth couldn’t see through the mist.

"What’s going on?"

Gareth frowned deeply.

"There’s nothing here except a huge cloud of fog."

The Centaur Hero beside him concentrated on the distant scene for quite some time before shaking his head as well.

"Vice Alliance Leader, I can’t see through it either."

"However..."

He brought up the coordinates and checked them several more times before speaking in a solemn voice.

"We’ve verified the coordinates repeatedly. There’s no mistake. Tyrant’s territory is definitely behind that fog."

"Since we’re already here..."

A vicious glint flashed across Gareth’s eyes.

"Even if we have to force our way through, we need to take a look inside."

Just as he was about to issue his command—

Suddenly!

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!"

A series of piercing red alarm sounds rang continuously in his ears.

[RED ALERT! Your territory is under attack!]

[RED ALERT! Your Lord Core has been destroyed!]

Gareth’s face filled with disbelief.

"What?!"

He immediately opened his Alliance interface.

What appeared before his eyes was a series of images that had already gone viral throughout the player community.

An endless undead army descending upon the battlefield.

Dragonflame pouring down from the sky.

The defensive barrier collapsing.

And the Judgment Alliance headquarters being swallowed by raging flames and reduced to a scorched wasteland.

In the Alliance member list, familiar names were turning gray one after another, only to be replaced by glaring red crosses.

[System Notification: Alliance Member "Mason Bruno" has been killed.]

[System Notification: Alliance Member "Toma Grayfalcon" has been killed.]

[System Notification: Alliance Member "Cecilia" has left the Alliance.]

[System Notification: Alliance Member "Kyle" has left the Alliance.]

[System Notification: Alliance Member "Shaman" has left the Alliance.]

[System Notification: ...]

[System Notification: Current Judgment Alliance Membership: 1.]

And that one remaining member was none other than Gareth himself.

"It’s over..."

Gareth felt his hands and feet turn cold. His knees nearly buckled beneath him.

"Something terrible has happened!"

The headquarters was gone. The Alliance had collapsed. Even his own territory and Lord Core had already been destroyed.

In a flash, Gareth suddenly realized something.

Almost desperately, he immediately selected the option to leave the Alliance.

[System Notification: You have left the Judgment Alliance.]

Gareth knew he couldn’t afford to keep the Judgment Alliance name above his head anymore.

But what was he supposed to do now?

Without a Lord Altar, wandering around aimlessly in the wilderness was nothing short of a death sentence.

"I have to get another Lord Core."

"Otherwise, if I die, I’ll be expelled from Godfall Continent."

"Wait! My uncle once told me that conquering someone else’s territory might yield a Lord Core!"

As the thought crossed his mind, Gareth’s gaze slowly shifted toward the dense fog in front of him.

"Tyrant’s main forces aren’t here..."

His breathing suddenly quickened as a bold idea rapidly took shape in his mind.

"Doesn’t that mean his territory is practically defenseless right now?"

As long as he acted quickly, he could seize the territory before Tyrant had a chance to return and defend it.

Once he obtained a Lord Core, he could immediately retreat!

With the speed of his Centaur Legion, Gareth was confident that nobody would be able to catch up with him.

Afterward, he could find some remote location, establish a new territory, and slowly develop his forces.

As long as he remained alive, he would still have a chance to start over!

With that thought, Gareth suddenly turned toward the Centaur Hero beside him and issued an order.

"You! Go inside and scout the situation. Find out what’s in there. Be quick, and come straight back."

The Centaur Hero bowed respectfully.

"Understood."

All four hooves lifted off the ground as he charged straight into the dense fog.

Gareth remained standing on the high ground, watching the figure disappear into the mist. His expression shifted between uncertainty and determination.

Although he was already backed into a corner, he wasn’t stupid.

He knew Tyrant wasn’t here, but the territory was simply too strange.

There was no way he would risk charging in blindly himself.

After all, he no longer had any room for mistakes.

It was better to send his Hero in first to investigate the situation before deciding whether or not to attack.