Chapter 496

Chapter 496

The area around the gateway was instantly razed after the high-level Adventurers joined Siegfried—no, razed was an understatement as the combination of their skills had decimated the surroundings completely.

The skills of the high-level Adventurers flying all over the place were a sight to behold, and the mutated monsters swarming in the jungle like a swarm of locusts were annihilated by it.

The Adventurers were rampaging so wildly that it seemed the monsters would soon be extinct.

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‘This burning event will be sucked dry by me!’

Siegfried's event had completely riled up the Adventurers, and they fought more fervently than usual—no, they plowed through the monsters like a bulldozer.

Any gamer would have the natural instinct to do anything they could do in their power to obtain rewards that could potentially put them ahead of others, and it was this exact natural instinct kicking in that made them fight so proactively.

The battle lasted for just ten minutes, which ended in the decisive victory of the Adventurers and the complete annihilation of the monsters—no, annihilation was a mild way of putting it.

“Catch that thing!”

“It’s getting away! Don’t let it get away!”

The Adventurers chased down every single monster to extract experient points and essences. The bonus provided by the so-called "burning event" turned the Adventurers into slave catchers chasing after fugitive slaves, which in this case were the few monsters that had survived the initial battle.

Siegfried smiled after seeing the entire surrounding around the gateway cleared of monsters and said, “And that’s how you secure a foothold.”

“Congratulations, Your Majesty!” Carrell exclaimed, kneeling on one knee.

“Great work, Carrell.”

“Not at all, Your Majesty!”

“No, you worked hard. Ah, but don’t forget to run five hundred laps every day, okay?”

“A-Ah...!”

“Hey, until when do you plan to live as a–”

It was then.

‘Hmm?’ Siegfried suddenly noticed someone’s intense glare directed at him. He turned and looked to find hundreds of Adventurers glaring at him.

‘W-What? Why are they looking at me like that?’ Siegfried was taken aback and burdened by them. However, the Adventurers seemed to have ignored his feelings and glared at him with fire blazing in their eyes.

Siegfried racked his brain, wondering if he had wronged them in any way, but he could not think of anything. He looked around and looked down to see something sparkling all over the ground. They were the Green Otherworldly Essences that the monsters had dropped upon death.

‘Ah’! Siegfried exclaimed inwardly as he finally understood why the Adventurers were looking at him in that manner. They wanted to pick up the essences littered all over the ground, but they were reluctant to do so lest they incur his wrath.

Why?

They had heard how vicious he could become once someone got on his wrong side. After all, what he had done to Ranker Descartes had already spread all over the continent. The Adventurers were not willing to risk being on the receiving end of the devil’s fury just for a few Green Otherworldly Essences.

Gulp!

Still, the allure of the essences was so strong that they could not help but swallow the hard lump stuck in their throats while looking at the rare objects sparkling seductively on the ground.

Siegfried looked at the Adventurers and said, “I am fine, so please feel free to pick them up. No need to feel burdened by me.”

“Sorry...?”

“We can just pick it up?”

The Adventurers doubted their ears for a second.

“Yes, you can go ahead. I already have the Top-Rank Ignite Crystal, so I do not need them anymo–”

Before he could finish speaking—

“Fuck off!”

“It’s mine!”

“Stop pushing!”

“Get out of my way!”

“You bastard!”

“Damn you!”

“Hey!”

—total chaos descended upon the field.

The Adventurers shoved and brawled over the Green Otherworldly Essences on the ground.

“I won’t be participating in this battle.”

“T-Then what will you do? Are you just going to watch?”

“Of course not.”

“Then...?”

“I’ll have to preserve myself to fight the boss. Hoho!”

As soon as he said those words.

“...”

Hamchi, Seung-Gu, Carrell, and Gosran were speechless.

Not to be mistaken, Siegfried’s plan was actually brilliant. His plan to throw the Adventurers at the monsters to distract them while sneaking behind enemy lines to kill the boss monster was nothing short of brilliant, but the problem was...

‘You’re such an asshole, owner punk... Kyu...’

‘Hyung-nim... Why are you becoming worse by the day?’

‘It’s indeed an excellent plan but... Why does His Majesty look so despicable to me right now?’

‘Siegfried-nim is too evil...’

Hamchi, Seung-Gu, Carrell, and Gosran could not help but think that Siegfried was being extremely despicable right now. They could not be blamed for thinking that way, as his plan was to basically throw the Adventurers as bait while he would kill the boss monster and slurp up the rewards all for himself.

After seeing how his comrades were staring at him, Siegfried couldn't help but be flustered. “W-What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

“Owner punk...”

“Y-Yeah?”

“What you said just now means you’re going to throw the Adventurers as bait while you enjoy the boss to yourself. Kyu...’

“N-No!”

“You can tell us honestly, owner punk. You’re trying to–”

“I’m not! I said I’m not!” Siegfried interrupted with a scream. Then, he retorted, “What do you want me to do? Do you want me to be a fool and rush from the front?! Killing the boss is what’s important and the fate of the continent lies on us as well! The fate of the continent!”

“Kyu?!”

“Tsk! You won’t understand even if I tell you. Forget about it!” Siegfried clicked his tongue and stomped away in anger.

“Owner punk! Kyuu!”

“H-Hyung-nim!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Siegfried-nim!”

Hamchi, Seung-Gu, Carrell, and Gosran hurriedly chased after him.

“Don’t you dare follow me! I don’t want to see any of you!” Siegfried lashed out once again. Then, he left and disappeared somewhere.

***

Right after Siegfried left...

“Kyu... Do you think owner punk got hurt?”

“I already told you hyung-nim is not that kind of person!”

“Ahem... I am ashamed that I was unable to understand my liege’s thoughts.”

“Well, I’m sure he isn’t that kind of a person. I guess we should apologize...”

Hamchi, Seung-Gu, Carrell, and Gosran felt terrible for doubting Siegfried.

Meanwhile...

“Damn it!”

Siegfried went to a secluded part of the jungle and vented his frustration and anger.

“How the hell did they know? Is my brain wiretapped or something? No way... Mind Reading?! Can one of them read minds?!”

He was shocked when his comrades saw right through his plans, and he could not help but rack his brains, thinking about how they managed to see right through him.

Ironically, Siegfried had no idea that a sign was flickering above him.

"I Am Backstabbing."