Chapter 194

Chapter 194
## Chapter: 194
Chapter Title: Overwhelming Contribution

The silence of the crowd finally broke into thunderous applause and shouting.

“Is that beast actually just enduring those strikes without striking back?”

“Incredible! This is unbelievable!”

“Blade Empress, finish it!”

“We’re counting on you!”

The sovereign of blades, wings unfurled.

The onlookers poured their desperate hopes into the Empress’s triumph, person after person.

Without her intervention, the world was staring at its end.

Isera, having consumed even Lukaria, was a walking apocalypse, a force of nature that no one could hope to hide from or outrun.

Yet, following the Blade Empress’s metamorphosis, Isera was reduced to a punching bag, unable to mount even a shadow of a response.

It couldn’t even manage a defensive stance, let alone a counterattack.

The creature stood completely vulnerable to the relentless fury of a solitary Dragon God.

Still, the tenacity of Isera’s life force was nothing short of miraculous.

“That’s beyond normal healing; that’s absolute regeneration.”

“It looks like it’s pouring every ounce of its internal energy into mending its wounds.”

“This has turned into a pure test of endurance.”

A handful of reclusive experts watching from the sidelines offered their analysis of the clash.

Each time the Blade Empress’s crimson talons tore through the monster’s hide, shredding muscle and bone, Isera burned through its mana to stitch itself back together.

It couldn’t run, and it couldn’t sidestep the onslaught.

It seemed to realize that its only hope lay in an endless cycle of rebirth.

Abandoning any attempt to block, it funneled its entire existence into the reconstruction of its physical form.

It was a gruesome game of chicken to see whose spirit or body would give out first.

However, the struggle persisted far beyond anyone’s initial projections.

“What is… what is happening to it?”

“It’s revolting!”

“Make it stop…!”

“I can’t watch this anymore!”

The battle didn’t just last for a few hours.

The sun rose and set, and yet the sickening display of violence continued without pause.

Internal organs were ripped out, brains were sprayed across the ground, and flesh was stripped away.

Even when its head was smashed into an unrecognizable pulp, Isera’s body refused to stay dead, knitting itself back together over and over.

“…Cut the transmission.”

“Stop the live feed now!”

The sheer savagery of the footage became too much to bear, forcing several news outlets to cease their reporting.

The fear was that continuing to broadcast such a nightmare would shatter the collective psyche of the public.

A week passed in this manner.

After seven agonizing days of unrelenting slaughter, the stalemate finally broke.

“Is it… is it over?”

“Did we actually win?”

“Tell me I’m not hallucinating.”

“We did it!”

“Victory is ours!”

“Long live the Empress!”

The cycle of regeneration had finally ceased for Isera.

Simultaneously, a shimmering notification of ‘Victory’ manifested before the eyes of every player across the globe.

The world erupted in a unified roar of triumph at the official confirmation.

But the celebration was cut short.

The spectators who were still watching the aftermath were suddenly paralyzed by a new horror.

“Wait, what?”

“Why is she doing that?”

“I thought she was on our side!”

The Blade Empress had turned her wrath upon the very soldiers and players who remained on the scorched earth of the battlefield.

Park Tae-woo’s eyes were wide with shock.

He had wanted to witness the exact moment of Isera’s demise to mark the end of the war.

‘…I have to get stronger. I’ll make sure no one can ever look down on us again.’

The conflict had burned a lesson into his soul about the necessity of absolute power.

He had seen firsthand how the weak were simply stepped over and tossed aside like trash.

He needed to reach a level where he was untouchable.

Strong enough to ensure he would never have to endure such a feeling of helplessness ever again.

It was in that moment of reflection that the system alerts began to chime.

《You have earned the achievement: ‘The One Who Awakened the Dragon God.’》

《Your Honor has increased by 500 points.》

《You have earned the achievement: ‘Indomitable Hero.’》

《Your Honor has increased by 300 points.》

《Calculating rewards based on total contribution.》

《Calculated contribution: 1.634%!》

《Overall ranking by contribution: 2nd Place.》

《Do you wish to record your name in the Hall of Fame?》

《‘Indomitable Hero Who Awakened the Dragon God, Park Tae-woo’ has been inscribed in the Hall of Fame.》

His heart thundered against his ribs.

Second place in total contribution.

That meant, statistically, he was the person most responsible for the downfall of Isera after the top contributor.

Every player in existence was likely looking at his name right now.

They would all recognize Park Tae-woo as the hero who brought the Dragon God Lukaria back to the world.

‘The system even gave me a custom title.’

He noted that the name entry automatically generated a grandiose prefix.

However, a flicker of confusion crossed Park Tae-woo’s mind.

‘Who could possibly be 1st?’

He was certain he had been the most proactive person on the front lines.

And yet, he was still one step behind the top spot.

He quickly pulled up the rest of the Hall of Fame rankings to see who else was there.

《1st: ‘Anonymous (Identity Hidden)’》

《2nd: ‘Indomitable Hero Who Awakened the Dragon God, Park Tae-woo’》

《3rd: ‘Fleeing Leader, Darkstar’》

《4th: ‘Undisclosed’》

《5th: ‘Barrmushu, the Demon Slayer’》

……

《Based on your contribution tier, you are granted access to ‘Isera’s Treasure Vault.’》

《You are permitted to choose two artifacts from ‘Isera’s Treasure Vault.’》

The name of the vault alone sounded immense.

Depending on what he picked, he could walk away with items of mythic quality or higher.

A thin smile formed on his face.

The blood, sweat, and terror of the last week were finally paying dividends.

‘This is just the start of my ascent.’

If Hudson stayed true to his word, the fallen city of Rundle would be placed under his control.

It would be the foundation for Korea’s power, a sovereign base.

The strategic and economic advantages of ruling a city were limitless.

*Crunch!*

“Help! Please!”

“Get away from me!”

A chorus of sudden, terrified screams snapped Park Tae-woo out of his thoughts.

He looked toward the commotion, his brow furrowing in confusion.

The newly ascended Dragon God was slaughtering the survivors.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’

He was certain she had been their savior.

Regardless of why she was attacking, he couldn’t stand by and watch his allies get butchered.

He knew he didn’t stand a chance against her, but his legs were already carrying him forward.

*Shing.*

He unsheathed his blade as he sprinted toward the chaos.

*Ziiing!*

Before he could reach her, the world warped.

“The… The Guardian of the Black Egg?!”

Hel, the Guardian of the Black Egg, had opened a spatial rift and forcibly teleported Park Tae-woo away from the danger.

-Kyahahaha?

Even Hel, who had initiated the teleportation, seemed visibly unsettled.

The Guardian had intervened to save the remaining fighters, never imagining that the Blade Queen—who shared a mental link with Randolph—would turn her blades on humanity.

“……”

With her prey gone, One tilted her head upward.

Her face was like a mask of frozen ice.

There was no warmth, no anger, no human emotion in her eyes.

Having slain Isera, One had undergone yet another radical shift.

She had killed, consumed, and evolved far beyond her previous limitations.

Her skeletal armor had hardened into a suit of blood-red plate armor that covered her entire frame.

She now gripped a different sword in each hand.

One was a shimmering white blade, forged from the very essence and heart of Dragon God Lukaria.

The other…

*Roooar!*

It was a nightmare blade crafted from the remnants of Isera, a hellish weapon that continuously leaked black flames.

The sheer pressure of her presence was enough to make one’s soul tremble.

【Do not stop until they are all dead.】

【Destroy those who took your children from you!】

Her state of ‘Berserk’ had not faded.

The ability was absolute; once sparked, it would only end with her own death.

One locked her sights on Hel and swung Lukaria’s white sword.

Then.

*Kwaaaaaaaaang!*

A bolt of lightning that seemed to tear the firmament apart erupted from the blade, screaming toward Hel.

-Kyahahaha?

Hel narrowly avoided the strike through another warp, but terror was evident in the Guardian’s eyes.

That lightning didn’t just destroy matter; it erased the soul itself.

One hit would be the end of Hel.

In fact, it would be the end of anything it touched.

*Fwoooooosh!*

-Kya…!

Next came the hellsword born from Isera’s core.

A towering column of infernal fire shot into the sky, dyeing the clouds red.

*Boom! Boom!*

The heat from that karmic fire was so intense the ground turned to liquid.

Within seconds, every kilometer surrounding One was transformed into a melted, burning wasteland—a literal hell on earth.

One pursued Hel with single-minded lethality.

-Kyahahaha!

Hel shrieked in a mix of fury and fear.

But to stay was to be disintegrated by lightning or incinerated by the void-fire.

Faced with no other choice, Hel abandoned the battlefield and fled.

Hell.

There was no other word to describe the smoking ruin that remained.

But then, the rampaging Blade Dragon God, One, suddenly became still.

“The Empress… she’s stopped moving!”

“…It looks like she won’t attack as long as nothing enters a fifty-kilometer radius around her.”

“But she kills everything that steps inside that circle.”

“We got the evacuation orders out in time, so there are no more casualties for now, but…”

The global community was in a state of high alert.

The death of Isera had only resulted in the birth of a new, potentially more dangerous Dragon God.

The only saving grace was her apparent stationary nature, a fact confirmed by high-level computer simulations.

“So as long as we stay away, we’re safe?”

“We’ll build a massive containment wall.”

“I guess she wasn’t our friend after all.”

World leaders let out weary sighs.

The celebration of victory had turned to ash in their mouths.

If a Dragon God even more powerful than Isera decided to wage war, humanity was finished.

But if she stayed in her 50km zone, they could manage the threat.

They just had to isolate the area and keep everyone out.

However, that hope was quickly shattered.

The Blade Empress began to move again.

She crossed the boundary.

“I thought the radius was fixed!”

The question was answered with frantic new data.

“The detection range is growing!”

“What did you say?”

“Yes, it was stable yesterday, but the zone just expanded exponentially! At this speed, she’ll reach the mainland of the United States in three days!”

The world was facing a crisis unlike any before.

《You have earned the achievement: ‘The One Who Birthed the Dragon God.’》

《Due to the effect of ‘Great Presence,’ your Honor reward is doubled to 4,000.》

《You have earned the achievement: ‘Dragon God Slayer.’》

《Due to the effect of ‘Great Presence,’ your Honor reward is doubled to 4,000.》

《Your total Honor has exceeded 10,000 points.》

《A new special attribute, ‘Charisma,’ has been unlocked.》

《Charisma is a measure of your innate majesty. Others will instinctively feel a sense of awe or fear in your presence and will find it difficult to lie to you.》

《Your words and deeds carry the weight of law. The inhabitants of a city you rule will follow you blindly, even if you impose extreme taxes or harsh conditions.》

……

《Take control of 10 cities to be recognized as a ‘Kingdom.’》

《Obtain the ‘Qualification of Honor’ from the ‘Sanctuary of Honor.’》

《Holding the ‘Qualification of Honor’ grants you a social standing equivalent to high-ranking nobility in any sovereign state.》

《Elite knights seeking glory will migrate to your territories.》

《You may now appoint up to 10 ‘Regular Knights.’》

《Regular Knights receive the ‘Mystery of the Regular Knight’ buff and bonus attributes.》

《These bonuses are amplified based on your Charisma score.》

……

《Construct 10 or more unique structures in your cities: ‘Shelter of the Honorable,’ ‘Fountain of Life,’ ‘Hermit’s Hall,’ etc. These buildings grant automatic bonuses to the territory.》

《Special structures require the ruler’s Honor to maintain; higher-tier buildings attract legendary adventurers.》

《They increase the frequency of high-level quests, leading to city prosperity.》

……

《Calculated contribution: 91.356%!》

《Overall ranking by contribution: 1st Place.》

《Do you wish to record your name in the Hall of Fame?》

《Your name has been inscribed in the Hall.》

《Analyzing suitable titles for the 1st place contributor……》

《No existing title is deemed sufficient.》

《Searching for high-tier alternatives.》

……

《You have earned the highest possible grade of reward.》

《Calculated contribution is overwhelmingly high.》

《Standard top-tier rewards are insufficient to match this level of contribution.》

《The reward is being transcended to match your achievements.》

《Reward transcendence in progress.》

《Reward transcendence in progress.》

《Reward transcendence in progress.》

《Reward transcendence in progress.》

《You have gained the rights to the ‘Ancient Dragon God’s Treasure Vault.’》

…

……