Season 4: Chapter 195. Knights (4)
This broadcast wasn't just being watched by ForeverAlone. Assuming they were awake, almost every streamer was watching in real-time. Hong Cha-Young was no exception. She had woken up late in the afternoon and was absentmindedly fixing her messy hair while checking her phone.
Buzz.
Buzz.
[Gyuri: Sis, did you see? We’re allowed to watch Cheese Craft content now!]
[Gyuri: Seriously, it’s crazy lol]
[Gyuri: I think Survival Craft is about to explode!]
The messages came from Lemon.
“Ugh... What? What is this?”
That wasn't all.
Buzz.
[Green: Babe, you awake? I think you need to start your stream as soon as you get up lol]
[Green: Things are crazy right now.]
Messages came from Green Tea as well.
Buzz.
[Gyuri: You have to row while the tide is in! Sis!]
Another one from Lemon came in. Row? Row the boat?
What the...?
Cha-Young quickly jumped up, tied her hair back, and climbed into her capsule.
Hiss!
She dove inside as if jumping into a pool.
[Streaming will now begin.]
She began her broadcast, knowing only that something significant was unfolding.
“Ah... Sorry, I started the stream a bit abruptly.”
— sup sup
— Hi, Tea!
— Oh? What’s the occasion?
— Lmao did you see it?
— LOL
— Hurry up and watch it, go go
Several viewers already knew.
“I heard we’re allowed to watch Cheese Craft now? And... it seems like something happened at dawn...” Cha-Young vaguely said as she quickly accessed YouTube.
When the tide was in, one had to watch it live for the viewership to count.
“Huh?”
She knew the viewership would be high, but this was different.
“What the...” Her voice suddenly dropped. “Why? Why, why, why? What is this?”
— Lmao
— LOL
— Look at those viewer numbers lol
— The way she’s turning serious proves she’s a pro streamer lmao
— Abyss detected!
This number wasn't right. This was the kind of number that appeared only when something had gone horribly wrong.
“I mean... Damn it... did I do something wrong again? Huh?”
She came because they told her to row while the tide was in, but what was with this number the moment she turned on the stream?
[Current Viewers: 98,000]
How did it hit 100,000 so suddenly? For a streamer of Cha-Young’s stature, this was an impossible figure.
— Just watch it lol
— Hurry up, the premiere already started
— Go go go
— It’s not the abyss lol
Judging by the chat’s reaction, it didn't seem like she was being canceled.
“I’m watching, I’m watching~.” Cha-Young nodded and turned on Episode 4 of Cheese Craft.
At first, she enjoyed it just as everyone else did.
[The one whose house was turned upside down was Maid Black Tea.]
“Ahahaha! Right! I was totally fooled back then!”
Even when the scene showed her house burning down, she just laughed heartily and didn't think much of it.
— Lmao for real
— Almond is surprisingly smart lol
— Fact: That’s Radish Servant’s land now lol
— LOL
She even felt touched again by the scene of Almond handing her Fertile Soil. “Ah, I really thought fireworks would go off behind us. I said that during the interview, and they actually added it in with special effects.”
— For real? Lol
— God-tier editing
— Wow
— LOL
Then, Maid Black Tea’s interview appeared. “To be honest, I was wavering back then.”
Cha-Young covered her face, unable to look. “Ah, damn it...! I can't watch this. Ah, seriously!”
“The Knights of Almond... looked good.”
She punched toward the camera. “AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!”
Thump! Bam!
— Lmao
— Hong Cha-Young is so cute
— Flame fist lol
— LOL
— Ugh, I can't watch this either lol
— Crazy
— Yesterday’s Episode 3 trailer was the real legend
The good times ended there.
Bzzt.
Next was Almond’s interview. “I only gave it to her because the system blocked me.”
“Huh? What...?” Cha-Young’s eyes wavered.
What did that mean? She didn't understand because she hadn't heard the rumors about Fertile Soil yet.
“What system block? It was mine? The Fertile Soil?”
— LOOOL
— HAHAHAHA
— LMAO
— T_T lol
— Here it comes... the red pill...
— Oh no...
The chat was dying of laughter. What was going on?
Almond’s next answer came. “I didn't know at first, but it turns out you get Fertile Soil even if you burn monsters.”
“Wa-Wait. You get Fertile Soil by burning monsters? What’s with the 'even' if you burn monsters? Then, the other way is... What?” Cha-Young covered her mouth.
— Yeah...
— Don't try to find out the truth
— :(
— Let’s just live in the Knight’s Matrix
— We were happy back then
— Oh no...
Cha-Young scrolled through the chat and finally realized. “This is insane.”
Memories she always thought were slightly strange flashed through her mind. The executions by fire and the second-round open recruitment interviews that felt like a hellish competition involving fire... It was always damn fire and more fire.
ForeverAlone’s house also completely burned down, didn’t it?
His house had been scorched to a crisp. Even Maid Black Tea had participated in that operation. It hadn't been simply to defeat the Union. Now, she finally understood what Almond meant by the system block.
“Crazy... son of a bitch!”
— Lmao
— HAHAHA
— LOL
— Immediate swearing lol
— That’s our Black Tea!
Ding!
Someone sent her a video donation.
[Past has donated 10,000 won!]
[(Video)]
It was the footage of Maid Black Tea’s interview from moments ago. “The Knights of Almond... looked good.”
— LOOOOL
— Savage
— Lmao
— Right away? LOL
Cha-Young hung her head. “Ugh...!”
Another donation popped up.
Ding!
[Mr. Black Tea has donated a whopping 100,000 won!]
[You who came to ruin my life...]
— Hahahaha
— The rest of the quote is gone lol
— He’s just the guy who came to ruin it!
— LOL
— This guy just ruins things lol
“Ah, yes. Thank you for the donation, Past. M-Mr. Black Tea... thank you so much... Ha... Hahaha... damn... I was completely played, wasn't I?”
Amid her confusion, donations poured in. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
— He gave you legendary content~ Just have a shot~
— For real lol
— That sigh contains so much LOL
Ding.
[Viewership has donated 100,000 won.]
[This, too, must be the Lord’s grace.]
— In the end, it all comes back to the Lord’s grace lol
— LOOL
— Even here? lol
— Viewership is crazy~ Donations are crazy~
Cha-Young lowered her head. Her shoulders were shaking as she stifled her laughter.
— She was betrayed, but the corners of her mouth are lifting lol
— Desperately trying not to laugh loool
— HAHA
— The Lord’s grace~ is as vast~ as the heavens~
“Hey! I-I’m not laughing, okay?!”
***
Cheese Craft continued. In fact, the real story started now.
[Thus, the Knights of Almond were formed.]
Clang!
On screen, five iron swords thrust upward and touched at the tips.
“Almond! Almond! Almond! Knights of Almond! Fighting!”
“Whoo!”
— All they needed was five to start this big company
— LOL
— The beginning of the Knights lol
— The success story of a startup
Though the Knights now boasted incredible prestige, they were still just a club-level group of five at this time.
Bzzzt.
[Radish House]
Only three of them had gathered: Almond and the Servant Duo.
“I have something to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“Actually, there’s another village out there.”
Dun-dun.
Narration flowed over the sound effects. “Almond shared all the secrets of the Fertile Soil with his underlings.”
— Servants are built different lol
— Wow lol
— Good judgment, it’s impossible alone
— Kya
— What about the Maids? lol
After hearing the story, Radish Servant looked dazed.
Potato Servant asked, “S-So... you’re saying you killed people from the other village and burned them to make Fertile Soil?”
“Yeah.” Almond nodded as if it were nothing.
“You even burned around twenty of them with the Dragon's Breath?”
“Right.”
As if terrified, Potato Servant stared out the window at the fields of Fertile Soil.
Bzzzt.
Sweet Potato’s interview scene appeared.
[What were you thinking at that moment?]
“T-That I should never mess with him?”
— LOL
— GOAT judgment lol
— HAHA for real
“Literally a minute before that, I was considering a rebellion. Radish Servant and I are close, but we weren't close with Mr. Almond.” Potato Servant shook his head.
Sreeeeech!
A thriller-like sound effect played as he finished his sentence.
“There was just way too much Fertile Soil in the fields.”
— Lmao
— For real lol
Bzzt.
Back at the house, the Servant Duo acted strangely obedient.
The narration continued, “Almond, who simply intended to share a secret, unintentionally began a reign of terror. It was the beginning of an absolute monarchy.”
— HAHA FR
— Now that I think about it... it’s true lol
— Rule of terror
— His mere existence is terror~
[Based on this power, Almond made a proposal.]
“We can make more Fertile Soil.”
The Servants’ eyes appeared close-up.
[Those words now sounded a bit different to the Servants.]
Radish Servant’s interview voice was briefly inserted. “I wondered if he would make me fertile. I had a momentary delusion.”
Fortunately, that wasn't the case.
— LOOOL
— Lmao
— Radish is so cute
— Radish before he lost his innocence
“We’re going to burn monsters.”
“Ah.”
“Whew.” A sigh of relief came out.
“The monsters' next target is ForeverAlone.”
“Even if we create Fertile Soil in ForeverAlone’s fields by burning monsters, won't we be unable to take it?”
“He’s right. We’ll get hit by the system block again.”
[There was a problem. The system block would be triggered once more. To this, Almond proposed a new method.]
“The system block is lifted when that player is dead and out of the game.”
Dun-dun.
The calm narration recited once more, “Death.”
— LOL
— Crazy
— For real?
— Lmao
— Is he insane?
— Whoa
— This is where... all the disasters started...
“We’ll set fires around the Union to block their escape and let the monsters kill them. Then, we move in.”
The voices of Radish Servant and Potato Servant were inserted.
[At the time, what were you thinking?]
“That some normal guy like myself will get nowhere close to thinking like this guy.”
— Lmao
— Lackey ForeverAlone’s viewership is exploding
— Crazy
— The Servants are hilarious lol
— Wow...
— So people become this evil for Fertile Soil
— ??? Everyone will be fertile... that is the path of humanity...
— A world where everyone is happy lol
“F-ForeverAlone did nothing wrong, Lord Almond...”
“Is that so? Then it can't be helped.” Almond nodded, seemingly agreeing quite easily.
Bzzt.
Radish Servant’s interview appeared.
[What were you thinking then?]
“I thought, 'This person is completely insane.'”
— For real
— Lmao
— Look at his face lol
“He came to us saying we should plan it together, but he had already planned everything out. It felt like he just came to make us accomplices.”
[Then why... did you go along with it?]
“Uh...” Radish Servant scratched his head. “B-Because he said he’d increase our cut.”
— LOL
— You’re the same, kid
[Wow...]
Sensing the gaze of the production staff, Radish Servant shouted, “What! This is war! Do you think Survival Craft is a joke?! I have to make a living too!”
— Lmao
— He’s already been tainted
— Survival Craft is a joke, Sweet Radish...
— If Radish is like this, imagine Potato Servant lol
— Pure corruption
— Perhaps Fertile Soil is the physical manifestation of a black heart?
— This is killing me
***
Meanwhile, Radish Servant was also watching Cheese Craft.
Thud.
He covered his face with both hands.
‘I’m screwed...’
He hadn't expected them to expose his wicked side so vividly.
— Emergency!
— Abyss detection alarm triggered lol
— What do we do now???
— LOL
Radish Servant was genuinely flustered with no time to respond to the chat.
‘What do I do? This? Wow.’
He agonized for a long time before drafting a message.
[RadishServant: Lord...]
No, wait. What was he saying?
[RadishServant: Mr. Almond...]
That felt too distant.
[RadishServant: Bro...]
Yeah, this was it. Radish Servant nodded and finished the message.
[RadishServant: Bro. We are so done.]