……
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.
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
o a martial world and obtained a system that allowed him to draw one entry per year. Unfortunately, all he drew were useless white-tier entries. The probability for high-quality entries was extremely low, with the highest-tier mythic entry having a mere 0.001% chance! To increase the probability, he had to improve his martial realm, but he lacked the innate talent for cultivation. At the age of eighteen, Chen Yi fell into the hands of a gang and was forced into hard labor. Just as his life seemed destined for a bleak end, on his 18th entry draw, he actually pulled a mythic entry—Simulator! In the simulation, he could also draw one entry every year that passed, and upon ending the simulation, he would inherit all entries and his martial realm! In his first simulation, Chen Yi struggled desperately just to survive, knowing that living one more year meant one more entry draw! Finally, with hair turned white, he drew the entry he had longed for—Low-Grade Innate Talent! "Hahaha! Don't bully the old and poor! Time to cultivate and inherit my cultivation base!" ... From then on, Chen Yi continuously simulated and drew entries, his martial realm soaring higher and higher! Epic, legendary, and even mythic entries were gathered into his collection one after another! "What demon race or devil race? What dark turmoil? I don't know anything about that. They just charged at me screaming 'How can you possibly ascend to immortality?!' and got stuck to my fists, unable to be shaken off. Blind spots, speed bumps... go talk to my simulator. We're all struggling to survive out here. I'm trying so hard, so how are they still alive?"
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
