Season 4: Chapter 192. Knights (1)
Did they say misfortune never comes alone? When the rebellion in Paprika Mine ignited, something even worse unfolded as if it were inevitable.
“What... what am I hearing?”
The loyal knight who served as their public relations officer, Lackey ForeverAlone’s eyes trembled as he stared at the server chat.
[CreamPuff: Lord, have you lost your mind!? How could you do that!? You burned people to make fertile soil!?]
[Donuts: At minimum, this calls for an impeachment hearing.]
[Pepperoni: O-Our village... was built from burning people...?]
...
Rumors about the Knights flooded the chat.
[Chestnut: Wait, does that mean Black Tea’s house burning down was related!?]
[CreamPuff: omg omg omg]
[Miho: No way... Black Tea!]
[HornRamen: I told you! Black Tea was totally being used!!!]
Funnily enough, everyone remembered Black Tea’s house burning down, but no one remembered Lackey ForeverAlone’s house burning even worse.
[HornRamen: Notice how all the Knights are conveniently quiet? Huh? Got anything to say now!?]
[Donuts: Dude, most of them logged out already...]
[HornRamen: Oh... right.]
[Miho: LOLLLLL]
Lackey ForeverAlone scrolled through all of it.
‘It has to be nonsense.’
At first, he could only manage that thought. Who could easily accept that everything they believed in was suddenly a lie? It was like telling a lifelong believer that god didn’t exist, which wasn’t merely just cruel but blasphemous.
‘D-dammit...’
Lackey ForeverAlone was no monk. He hadn’t spent his life devoted to faith, but merely spent it without ever meeting a woman. He had only followed Almond for a few days and hadn’t held rank in the Order for long.
— lmaoooo it finally happened
— bro, close your eyes...
— omg that pill
— uh-oh...
— red pill drop lmao
— legendary moment
Not one viewer was calling it fake.
[Current Viewers: 145,000]
Lackey ForeverAlone could never imagine such numbers that reached close to Almond’s viewership after the world championship. ForeverAlone was nowhere near Almond’s size as a streamer. This wasn’t happening because of him.
‘My lord... why?’
Only when narratives collided did something like this occur. Lackey ForeverAlone knew this too.
“Wh... what the hell!?” He lowered his head, jaw clenched.
His hands shook violently. No one could tell whether he was acting or not. They genuinely couldn’t.
— Oh no...
— Start over king!
— I can’t breathe LOL
— insane reaction lmao
— BRUH
The chat overflowed and waited for him.
“This... this is just a rumor.”
— ?
— ?
— ???
“There’s no way this is true! Anyone who brings up this nonsense again, I’ll ban every single one of you!”
— holy shit lmfao
— he’s gone full joker...
— bro is sick lol
New viewers cursed him, and old viewers pitied him.
— denial arc
— Lackey ForeverAlone noooo
— HAHAHAHA
— Yeah, sure it’s fake lol
Bang!
The doors of Paprika’s governorship burst open.
“L-Lackey ForeverAlone! Sir! The Paprika miners have revolted!” one of the Worker Knights shouted in panic.
“Revolt?”
‘How dare they?’
Lackey ForeverAlone drew his sword.
“Amaterasu.” Zelu suddenly appeared.
[Hellfire]
Black flames engulfed the messenger.
“K-KKAAAAAAGH!!” His death throes earned him one final burst of viewership.
The Worker Knight didn’t survive.
Psshhhh!
Only black ashes remained. Lackey ForeverAlone stared with trembling eyes.
‘No way.’
When the ashes scattered, something familiar gleamed beneath.
[Fertile Soil]
— LMAOOOOOOO
— he swallowed the red pill whole
— pfft
— AMATERASU LOL
— beautiful
Lackey ForeverAlone forced his gaze up. Dozens, then hundreds of Miners approached in formation. They spread out like gangsters and swaggered forward with stolen swords and raised pickaxes.
— god damn
— that entrance tho
— looks like a mafia raid
— Zelu’s aura is insane for his age lol
At the front of the advancing Miners stood Zelu. In his hands gleamed a weapon Lackey ForeverAlone had never seen before.
‘What is that... blood-red hammer?’
[Hammer of Hell]
Forged from Zelu’s blacksmith skill, this Hellsteel had been refined from human ore.
Chak.
Zelu stood relaxed before the Paprika governorship, casually as if greeting an old friend. “It’s been a while, Lackey ForeverAlone.”
“What are you...? G-Go back to your post. Now!”
Even after witnessing the truth of the Lord moments ago, Lackey ForeverAlone still raised his blade.
“If you don’t retreat this instant...”
“You know this, yes?”
Lackey ForeverAlone could only remain silent.
“He doesn’t care about you.” Zelu ignored him and continued calmly. “The Lord doesn’t value the Knights. I know exactly what he really is.”
— LOL holy shit
— HOW DOES HE KNOW?
— Does Zelu know the truth or is he just built different?!
“That guy...”
Chak.
Zelu reached into his inventory and pulled out something. “Valued only Fertile Soil from the beginning.”
Lackey ForeverAlone’s sword trembled.
Ding!
A notice appeared across the entire server.
[Cheddar: Beautiful Cheese Village has now reached the halfway mark of its preparation period. The village is entering a new turning point.]
Suddenly, the admins made an announcement.
[Cheddar: Village residents may now watch Cheese Craft Episodes 1 to 4.]
— ?
— no way??
— out of nowhere?? Lol
[Cheddar: Future episodes remain locked. Please be mindful. We will return later with another event. Thank you.]
That was it. The bomb had cleanly dropped.
— holy crap
— rip Knights lmfao
— embargo lifted LOLOLOL
— this is war
— INSANE
Lackey ForeverAlone froze, and so did Zelu. The Miners behind them reacted similarly as the title of today’s episode hit the screen like a guillotine.
[Cheese Craft Ep. 4: The Knights]
[Premieres in 1 hour]
***
The community exploded.
The staff had planned this for weeks and had been waiting for the right moment. To average viewers, this was the most violent ambush of all time.
[#1. Knights about to collapse like wet cardboard LOL]
New posts shot to the top instantly.
==== ====
(Screenshot)
Embargo lifted. Absolutely insane.
Are they just burying the Knights alive???
==== ====
The post included a capture of Cheddar’s announcement.
— wtf out of nowhere
— production team just committed murder
└ fr though lol
— real??
— Maid Black Tea is in danger now too lol
— gg
— this is nuclear level
— If I were Almond, I wouldn’t log in today
└ facts LMAO go play something else
└ lmfao
└ might as well rerun Civil Empire instead
Another top post followed.
[#2. Biggest Winner of This Disaster]
==== ====
Lackey ForeverAlone.
Viewership at 200k.
He’s flying to Mars.
==== ====
— Almond viewers migrated straight to ForeverAlone LMAO
— But he’s also the biggest victim tho...
└ bro financial therapy incoming~ cheers
└ therapy only works if they donate, not just watch lol
└ oh, they’re donating alright, the chat is exploding every second
— insane rise
— Even ForeverAlone’s downfall is iconic lol
└ dude is a demon lmao
└ even success is tragic for him lmfao
— Lackey ForeverAlone, you must assassinate the dictator. You are the chosen.
The Knights dominated the discourse. Beyond them, no one knew what information episode four would reveal, what truths would drop, and what wasn’t revealed yet.
[#5. The scariest part]
==== ====
The episode hasn’t even aired yet.
==== ====
The premiere hadn’t even begun.
— I’m wheezing lmao
— just the announcement was a nuke
— actual chaos incoming
— terrifying
— I can’t wait
[Cheese Craft Ep. 4: The Knights]
[Premieres in 5 minutes]
***
The production team, the planners, and operations staff... Everyone tied to Cheese Village held their breath as they stared at the incoming premiere numbers.
“We have to hit peak here.”
PD was no exception. He clasped his hands, as if in prayer, and lowered his head. The embargo lift was his proposal, an experimental strike drawn from his survival show days. No streamer content had ever tried something like this.
A cute Survival Craft server suddenly turning vicious and politically volatile was insane and new.
‘It’ll work.’
Community reactions were strong, but that meant little to them. Many shows praised online still failed. Meanwhile, hated shows blew up. In the end...
‘Viewership decides everything.’
If the numbers broke the threshold when the episode premiered, then success was guaranteed.
“It’s starting!”
“Roll it.”
[Cheese Craft Ep. 4: The Knights]
[NOW PREMIERING]
— drumrolllllll
— LET’S GO
— Lackey ForeverAlone, prepare to cry lol
— oh my god
— genius move from production
— So every streamer in the game sees this right??
— The Knights’ funeral march begins...
...
The chat roared like a stadium. PD Jang’s eyes widened. Everyone watching froze.
‘Holy shit.’
Ju-Hyeok’s eyes widened too.
Episode 1 had 100k viewers. Episode 2 had 120k. Episode 3 reached 130k. It was steady and slow, but real growth. Episode 4...
[219,000 watching LIVE]
It shattered the 200k mark. This was an impossible milestone for a first-run premiere.
“Unbelievable....”
“D-DISASTER! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER!”
They all leaped from their seats.