Chapter 436: Absolute No Loyalty
Around the Gear and Treasure scattered across the scene, players’ voices grew louder, their debates quickly escalating into heated arguments.
“This… if we take just one of these back, we’d be set for life!”
“Exactly!”
“Look at that—Fire Lizard Claw Sword! It’s Rare-tier Gear!”
“I say these are probably the Tower’s reward for our Preparation!”
“This Trial’s been brutal—so many died. A little extra reward isn’t unreasonable.”
“But… doesn’t this all look more like ritual offerings or sacred items?”
“What do you know? This is official hidden benefit! It fits the game’s lore while still handing us rewards—so it’s disguised as ritual gear!”
“And you didn’t know this?”
“Anyway, the Fire Giant’s Ring? It’s ours—Royal Power Guild! The first rare Gear we acquire must belong to the strongest Guild!”
“Why should it go to you?”
“Because we passed the Trial with three members! Anyone who disagrees is welcome to Seize it!”
“Hmph!”
“From what I’ve heard, your Paladin’s strong, but your Spellcasters? Pathetic!”
“Then let’s test that!”
The argument turned into a full-blown frenzy. Greed clouded their eyes, and the Preparation phase devolved into violent grabs.
Among them, Royal Power Guild members were the most fanatical. They weren’t just after Gear—they were after real money. Each high-tier item they took back could be sold for a fortune.
And if one of them secured the first rare Gear in the entire server, the Guild Leader—“The Overlord”, a real-world billionaire—had promised a reward of tens of thousands of yuan.
In the face of such massive benefits, quests, reputation, and rules all meant nothing.
One Royal Power Mage clutched the Ring of the Fire Titan Noble tightly in his fist, then stuffed his backpack with gold coins.
“You’d better think twice,” he warned. “Seizing our Gear here means declaring war on Royal Power!”
The two Royal Power Guards stood in front, blocking the way, facing off against several players eager to take the loot.
“Rich kids think they’re special?”
“You’re bullying us too much! These Gear belong to all of us!”
The atmosphere atop the Tower crackled with tension—like gunpowder waiting for a spark.
A battle between players for the first obtainable rare Gear in the entire server was about to erupt.
But Xia Ye Qiu Yu quietly stepped away from the chaos, retreating to a quiet corner at the edge of the Tower’s summit.
“This is the final Trial,” she murmured. “A test of human greed.”
“Given the Master’s personality… those fools blinded by眼前的 benefits? They won’t end up with anything good.”
“Hmph. Royal Power.”
She let out a soft, amused laugh. She could already see Royal Power about to get humiliated—and the thought filled her with satisfaction.
Royal Power, backed by real-world corporate power, had engaged in countless monopolistic maneuvers, making life hell for solo players like her.
She watched the crowd, her eyes gleaming with quiet intensity.
Not everyone had lost their mind.
Some players still remained level-headed.
There was Art Is Explosion from Mechanical Divinity, Mingyue the Sorcerer from Magic Coin, and Ai Chi Fei Dan, a professional Mage.
And then there was Ai Long Ru Feng, the Mage from the infamous Dragon Fanatics Association, standing before the Dragon Form Statue, his expression ecstatic.
But Xia Ye Qiu Yu knew these people—they were all freaks.
The Guild Leader, Safis, was notorious for posting lewd, scandalous dragon-themed images on forums, earning him the title "The Dragon Madness Controller."
She furrowed her brow. Something still felt… off.
“No… no, this isn’t right.”
“This final Trial can’t just be about resisting temptation. If it were, it’d only weed out the dumbest, most greedy Guilds.”
She replayed the recruitment announcement from Isdalia in her mind:
> “Dragon Oath Mages have sworn a Pact with the Red Dragon. They wield mysterious, powerful Dragon Spells and are bound in absolute Allegiance to the Empire’s sole Master—the Emperor Kai Xiusu of the Ember Empire, the supreme and unrivaled sovereign.”
Allegiance. Loyalty.
“I get it now!”
Her eyes lit up.
The key was Loyalty.
Dragon Oath Mages were required to be absolutely loyal to the Emperor—treat him as a Divine Being.
That was the true final Trial.
Without hesitation, Xia Ye Qiu Yu straightened her clothes and strode swiftly toward the Humanoid Statue of Kai Xiusu.
She dropped to her knees before it, hands clasped together as if in prayer.
“Though…”
“Master Kai Xiusu is so handsome!”
“How can a Non-Player Character in a game be perfectly tailored to my taste?”
Though her posture was devout, her thoughts were anything but.
“This… I get it.”
Art Is Explosion, noticing Xia Ye Qiu Yu’s bizarre behavior, paused, then walked forward and knelt to pray as well.
The other Mage players glanced at the two women praying, then at Ai Long Ru Feng, lost in his fanatical gaze.
“Wow… Kai Xiusu’s female fans are real,” one muttered. “I heard they even have a fan club in the real world.”
“And guys too?”
“Those Dragon Fanatics are insane. All they post are insane images online.”
“Gotta admit… the King’s model is insanely good.”
“Yeah, probably the best-looking one I’ve seen. Too bad he doesn’t appear often.”
“How much gold could that Statue sell for?”
Unseen from the players’ view, high above the Tower’s summit, “Dragonfire Maiden” Misha hovered in the air, her body wreathed in flowing flames.
Her golden eyes burned with intense heat—but their gaze was icy, cold, even edged with murderous intent.
Her vision pierced through the thick stone walls, seeing everything within the Tower of Conflagration.
“These crude, vulgar Home fools…”
“Dare to touch the Sacrificial Offering I prepared for King Kai Xiusu? They have no idea what they’ve done.”
Her slender hand clenched, and within her palm, a violent surge of light flared.
The players fighting over the Gear were already marked for death in her mind.
“They don’t even respect the King,” she whispered. “They’re not fit to be noble Dragon Oath Mages. They don’t even deserve to live in the Empire of Ashen.”
Then she looked at the Humanoid Statue. Her expression softened.
Two women with Dragon blood knelt before the statue, praying—just as she did every day.
And both bore the same golden eyes, the mark of Dragon lineage.
It stirred something in her—faint warmth. She saw them as equals.
For revenge. For helping the King better control the Tower of Conflagration, Misha always played the role of cold, calculating, merciless.
But despite her experiences and early maturity, she was still, at heart, a teenage girl.
Deep down, she still clung to a last hope—finding someone she could truly connect with, a fellow companion.
“Those who still pray to the King in such chaos… they’re worthy.”
Her gaze drifted to the Dragon Form Statue.
There, a man stood before it—no prayer, no gesture—but his expression was utterly sincere.
“That gaze… he’s just like those fanatical cultists.”
She thought to herself.
But she didn’t know the truth.
This so-called “fanatic” was thinking thoughts even more transgressive—so blasphemous they’d burn him alive under the Fire Punishment.
That gaze wasn’t devotion. It was obsession—so intense, it was almost saliva-inducing.
She blinked once, softly.
“He… is worthy too.”
“The three Stellarfallen have passed the Trial. They’ve proven their Loyalty.”
“They are all worthy to become the King’s representatives—Dragon Oath Mages.”
She spoke, then paused. Her brow furrowed.
Her gaze grew distant.
Because there were still others.
More Stellarfallen.
They had passed the Trial.
They hadn’t succumbed to greed.
They hadn’t touched the Ritual items.
Yet… they showed no sign of Loyalty.
She paused, reflecting.
Then, with a quiet resolve, her jaw tightened.
“Hmph.”
She exhaled sharply. Her golden eyes flared with firelight, rippling like flames across the surface.
Her silver teeth parted slightly.
And she whispered,
> “Master Lanpu taught me:
> Loyalty that is not absolute is equal to absolute disloyalty.”
—
(End of Chapter)
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