Spirit Sword Nesting

……

Hundreds of players—a force large enough to crush any dungeon currently available—were completely wiped out in the Nask Great Cemetery!

When this news was published in the game's weekly bulletin, it instantly stunned the entire server.

"Is this for real? I heard the Sky Eagle Guild organized hundreds of players to tackle the hidden map, only to get instantly annihilated?"

"It's true. I asked my friend, and he said some insanely powerful monster charged through and wiped everyone out in seconds."

"Rumor has it they almost won, but the monster had way too much HP, and they couldn't grind it down."

"That's a hidden boss for you… Though I’ve heard other guilds are already planning to raid that dungeon too."

Normally, dungeon runs involve five-player parties, with high-difficulty ones capping at twenty. Only major guilds could muster a force of hundreds.

Yet even this highly coordinated super-army of players was wiped out before even reaching the boss—defeated by a single elite monster.

"I don’t even know what happened. It felt like a freight train slammed into us, and then… nothing."

That was the testimony of one of the Sky Eagle Guild members present at the massacre.

……

Inside the Nask Great Cemetery.

"Hmm…" Ye Chuan appeared before the Skeleton Guard, his gaze falling on the hundreds of spirit orbs littering the ground—left behind by the fallen players.

"Jackpot. This should be enough to stuff Lilith’s mouth full." With a wave of his hand, Ye Chuan stored all the orbs into his inventory.

He then glanced at the Skeleton Guard and checked its status.

Hmm…

Less than 1% of its HP was missing.

"Not bad, you guys actually did some damage."

Ye Chuan couldn’t be bothered to heal it. After all, this was just a disposable avatar he’d casually molded from chaotic energy. He could easily make hundreds more.

"Ohohoho, my king, how have you grown so powerful all of a sudden?" A short skeleton dressed in a strategist’s robes appeared. Despite its skeletal face, it gave off an obsequious vibe.

This was one of the dungeon’s monsters—apparently serving as Ye Chuan’s elite strategist.

Though its level was pitifully low, around 10 at best.

"Can you leave the castle?" Ye Chuan’s question made the skeleton freeze.

"L-Leave the castle? My revered king, are you… expelling me?"

"Just answer the question." Ye Chuan’s ghostly flames flared.

"O-Of course I can!" Trembling under his oppressive aura, the skeleton stammered.

"So, I can’t leave…" Ye Chuan mused. Not that he minded—this was a one-time adventure world, after all. Some restrictions were to be expected.

"Go spread a rumor outside. Tell them this castle holds endless treasures—legendary-grade equipment and materials beyond counting."

The little skeleton was dumbstruck for several seconds.

Endless treasures?

This dumpy castle had nothing but bones—and the few magic-infused ones on the boss himself. Where were these supposed treasures? There wasn’t even much spiderweb around.

"Go. Now."

"Y-Yes, my king!" The skeleton stiffly shuffled forward. "But, uh… my appearance might make spreading rumors a bit difficult…"

Ye Chuan glanced at it and raised a hand. "Illusion magic."

Under a shimmering light, the skeleton transformed into a short, scrawny human.

"Whoa!"

"Good enough?" Ye Chuan then pulled a spirit sword from his inventory and tossed it over. "Here. Take this outside and claim it dropped from one of my minions."

The skeleton’s hands trembled as it clutched the glowing blade. "S-Such a rare weapon!"

"But my king… won’t luring those outsiders here put you in danger?" it hesitantly asked.

Those strange beings seemed unkillable, with terrifying teamwork and intelligence.

They were practically a natural disaster!

"I’d be disappointed if they didn’t come." Ye Chuan waved it off. "Hurry up."

"R-Right away!"

Clutching the sword, the skeleton scurried out of the cemetery. Meanwhile, Ye Chuan returned to his throne.

With such high-quality bait, the player turnout should be much better this time.

"Come on, come all. How else am I supposed to collect enough spirit orbs for Lilith?" The ghostly flames in his eye sockets burned fiercely.

……

Nolan Village—also the starting zone for The Last Sword. Despite being labeled a "village," it housed hundreds of thousands of players, resembling a sprawling city more than anything.

As news of the Nask Great Cemetery incident spread, even the newcomers learned the dungeon’s location—along with rumors of its terrifying elite monster and hidden boss.

Over at the Sky Eagle Guild’s headquarters, the atmosphere was grim. The guild leader and members wore sour expressions.

At this critical stage of early-game progression, losing an entire level and piles of equipment due to a wipe was an unacceptable setback.

"Baldy, you swore that boss was only Level 20! Now I’ve dropped out of the top three on the rankings!" Su Qiao’s face darkened as she slammed the table.

"If we’d at least killed the boss, fine. But how did we get wiped by a single elite monster?"

"Boss, according to the intel I dug up, that undead boss should be capped at Level 20," the bald man replied awkwardly.

"Logically, its elite monsters shouldn’t be that strong either."

Elites were usually a tier below their boss in level.

"What’s the plan now? Other major guilds are already eyeing that dungeon."

Though there were many starting zones, Nolan Village had one of the highest player populations—unsurprising, given The Last Sword was the world’s only full-sensory VRMMO.

And where there were players, there were major guilds.

"I don’t care how you do it. Secure that boss’s rewards for me." Su Qiao commanded.

"Understood. This time, we won’t fail."

Just then, a notification popped up on the bald man’s interface. His eyes widened in shock.

"What is it?"

"Boss, a thief infiltrated the cemetery and stole a legendary-grade weapon!"

"Legendary?!" Su Qiao shot to her feet. "You’re joking. The strongest gear in the game right now is rare-grade, and we’re only six months in!"

"Dead serious." He forwarded the screenshot to the guild chat.