Season 4: Chapter 205. Civil War (3)
The Dark Knight Black Pepper sat quietly in her daughter’s English kindergarten class. The one-hour parent visit was nearing its end.
“Let’s call it a day~!”
“Thank you!”
The class finally ended.
‘Whew...’
Uneasy, Black Pepper checked her phone, flooded with messages.
[Salt: If you don’t show up today either, hand over the Dark Knight class.]
[Parsley: Madam Black Pepper! Hurry!]
[Shrimp: Sis, I’m dying! I’m actually dying!]
‘What a mess...’
A full-scale war had apparently broken out in Survival Craft. Normally, even messaging during war was taboo. With the embargo lifted, everyone had gone frantic.
“Mom~!” Her daughter ran toward her. “Did you see me? How did I do?”
“You did so well.”
“My friends are going to the cat cafe today! You’ll come, right?”
“C-Cat cafe?” Black Pepper wore a strained smile.
Kids this age needed their parents to go with them.
“Oh my~ Let’s go together, Lua’s mom.”
“That’s right. Lua’s English was amazing today!”
Of course, the other moms joined in.
‘This can’t be happening.’
She needed to run straight home after class.
“Mom... can’t we go?”
“O-Of course, we can! Hahaha!?”
Black Pepper’s mind raced. “Um, Mrs. Hyeon-Ju...”
“Yes?”
“At the cafe, I... might need to step out for an hour. Could you watch Lua just a bit?”
“Oh, of course. Is something...”
“Mom!” Her daughter tugged at her skirt. “Where are you going!?”
“Lua... Mommy has... something she must do.”
Fwooosh!
Her skirt fluttered as she turned dramatically.
***
Flutter!
Black wings sliced across the sky. The Dark Knight had finally logged in.
‘One hour in the capsule room. That’s all I’ve got.’
Black Pepper couldn’t even turn her stream on. She rushed straight into battle.
‘If it’s me... I can kill the Lord.’
The Dark Knight had kept the Avenger perks but lost the handicaps. She could even slaughter Cheese Village now. Now, she was stronger than she had been as a mere Avenger.
‘I see it.’
She could see the grotesque fortress rising like a pustule against the dark sky.
***
Inside the fortress, the Knights fought a civil war. Maid Black Tea’s Black Flame Spear shredded everything in her path.
Shraaak!
“Gahh!”
“Ugh!”
Even four of the rebels charging at her all at once couldn’t break through. She carved her way toward someone.
“Move! Damn it! Lord!!”
She had seen that Almond’s attack did nothing to ForeverAlone.
‘Is the Guardian truly unable to harm Cheese villagers at all...?’
The tooltip was vague. Did only the Guardian skills not work on Cheese Villagers? Or could the Guardian simply never kill them? It was the latter.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Kwakang!
Shrimp blocked her with molten lava. He swung a sword forged from magma.
Bwoooom!
“Sis!”
Bam!
Lemon Servant’s shield stopped the blow, but more attacks rained from behind.
[Parsley]
A Survival Craft veteran, Parsley drove her spear into Lemon Servant’s back.
Thud!
“Guhk!”
“Lemon Servant!?”
“Hahaha! I’ll kill you this time, Hong Cha-Young! Still the Lord’s dog, I see!”
Maid Black Tea growled. “Sis, move.”
Parsley had lost to Maid Black Tea at the Summit Duel. This time, she didn’t intend to lose.
“Move? Die!”
Kaang!
Their weapons locked. Maid Black Tea hooked the lower blade of her spear under Parsley’s spear, swept it aside, and slammed the butt of her weapon forward.
Puff!
“Guhk!”
Parsley reeled back from the tricky strike with the handle, but instantly recovered and slashed low.
Shraaak!
Maid Black Tea failed to dodge properly and received a cut on her ankle. Parsley understood Survival Craft’s system far better.
“Damn...” Maid Black Tea’s eyes darted to Almond.
The Lord was in danger.
“What now? And what the hell is that?”
Something descended from the sky.
[Dark Knight]
‘Ah...’
There was no stopping this.
“L-Lord!!” Potato Servant tried to turn back, but Zelu’s skill snared his ankle.
KAAAANG!
Potato Servant barely blocked the giant hammer with his own weapon. He couldn’t break free.
***
Black Pepper froze in mid-flight.
‘Huh?’
Somehow, the Lord had already gone down. It looked like ForeverAlone had struck him, which seemed preposterous.
‘This is my chance.’
Black Pepper folded her wings and dove fast. The Lord had killed her more than anyone. She knew his strength and had to finish him now before he created yet another absurd miracle.
Shrrring.
She drew her Claws. One clean strike with this momentum would end him.
Fwish.
“Diiie!!”
[Iceberg]
Something suddenly blocked her path.
CRRRRRRACK...!
A massive ice wall surfaced and cut off her descent.
‘What the!? What is this!?’
WHAM!
Unable to stop in time, Black Pepper slammed into it. Ice shards burst everywhere. Her screen spun from getting hit with the Dizziness ailment.
“Urgh...! K-Kehk!”
Black Pepper felt stunned. She wasn’t the only one. All the Knights froze in mid-charge.
‘What?’
‘F-ForeverAlone?’
‘He blocked her?’
‘By accident?’
Black Pepper shouted, “Wh-What!? What are you doing, Lackey ForeverAlone!?”
The Iceberg was ForeverAlone’s skill. Black Pepper knew ForeverAlone had led the rebellion, so why would he block her?
“The Lord is already dead.”
“What?”
“The Lord is already dead. There is no need to inflict further harm.”
“Wh-What? He’s still alive right there!!”
If Almond were dead, his body would’ve disappeared. At worst, he was near death, but absolutely still alive.
“What do you think you’re doing, Lackey ForeverAlone!!” Zelu roared at him. “We were this close to crushing them! Now you betray us!? Betrayal of betrayal of betrayal!? Aren’t you tired yet!? Are you going to betray even your own chakra!!?”
— LOOOOOOL
— What is this dude?
— The Knight of Betrayals lmfao
— Lackey ForeverAlone, what are you even doing?
— Why the sudden plot twist?
ForeverAlone didn’t answer. He simply shifted the direction of his blade.
Click.
“The Lord can’t defeat us anyway. Let’s... let him go in peace.”
His words weren’t directed at Paprika. It was a coded message.
‘Take the Lord and escape.’
To the Knights, that’s exactly what it sounded like.
The Knights hesitated only for a moment before nodding. They had also reached their limits.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Fwaaash!
All four knights dashed toward the fallen Lord.
“Escape? Who said you could!?” Zelu slammed his fist onto his palm.
[Hell’s Hammer]
A colossal hammer materialized above Almond.
— DAMN
— \o/\o/\o/
— \o/
— \o/\o/
— LET’S GOOOOO
— Lord, please just DIE already lmao
Boom!
With Zelu’s incantation, the hammer dropped.
KWA-BOOOOM!!!
The roof collapsed, and the walls crumbled. Even the floor began to give out.
[Iceberg]
A massive ice formation surged up again from ForeverAlone’s skill.
KWA-KWA-KWANG!
Scalding hellfire and ice clashed, spewing steam everywhere.
Chiiiiii...!
The floor didn’t collapse.
“Hurry!” ForeverAlone yelled behind him.
The four knights supported Almond’s limp body.
“Where do you think you’re going!? Do you know what I sacrificed to come here!? You’re not leaving!!” Black Pepper swooped in again.
Shraaak!
ForeverAlone was still blocking Zelu.
‘Damn it. Lord!’
Crack...
Maid Black Tea bit her lip. She resolved herself and turned around.
‘It has to be me.’
Radish Servant was Almond’s brain, Potato Servant couldn’t handle Black Pepper, and Maid Black Tea refused to let Lemon Servant take this role.
“I’ll stop Black Pepper!”
Fwish!
She swung her Black Flame Spear and knocked Black Pepper’s dive aside.
KAAAAANG!!
Black Pepper’s knuckles ricocheted back.
— GO!
— Black Tea T_T
— OMG
— \o/\o/\o/
— \o/
— \o/\o/\o/
— I’m crying
KWOoooosh!
Maid Black Tea’s spear ignited even brighter red. Her chakra surged like a wildfire.
“D-Damn...” Black Pepper’s face twisted.
‘I didn’t even turn my stream on...’
Even as the Dark Knight, she was at a disadvantage without any chakra buffs. Still, she had one option.
“I didn’t want to use this...” Her eyes glowed violet. “Domain Expansion.”
[Boundary of Vengeance]
She would end the Lord completely. However, his death would never appear on broadcast if she killed him inside a closed domain without her stream on. It would essentially destroy this entire content arc.
‘But we’re far beyond caring.’
Her desire to kill Almond had long surpassed any reasonable boundary.
“W-What...!? A domain THAT strong without a single viewer watching!?” Even Zelu felt shocked.
Black Pepper’s killing intent was that genuine.
“You’ve lost your mind!! You’ll kill the entire stream!!”
— LOOOOOOOL
— Fr tho
— She’s actually insane
— She’s gone too far
— This is real madness
Woooosh...!
A violet barrier expanded and sealed off everything, leaving only the collapsed Lord and Black Pepper inside.
“Let’s go to hell together, Lord Almond!” She steeled her resolution and ran in.
[Dispel]
PANG.
Her domain instantly shattered, and the world flipped back to normal.
‘What?’
Black Pepper couldn’t process what just happened.
‘Dispel?’
Her system message said a dispel had interrupted her skill.
‘There’s something like that!?’
That something was right above her.
“Kyeeeeeeek~!”
‘What the?’
A massive bird flew overhead. The name above its head revealed who it was.
[GreenTea]
The Nonghyup Union’s Druid, Green Tea, had arrived.
“Black Tea! We’re here!”
More individuals could be seen riding on the bird.
“G-GreenTea? And... what...” Maid Black Tea’s eyes widened.
“You guys... Why? Weren’t you my father’s old friends!?” Zelu felt even more stunned.
The Nonghyup Union was a former ally of the rebellion. Why were they here?
“Hey, now. We call out the Knights when needed, but only we get to call them out.”
[HornRamen: Wind Mage]
Wind swirled around Horn Ramen’s hands as he hopped off the bird. He had somehow evolved from a farmer into a Wind Mage.
“No matter what happens, we can’t let Paprika take Cheese Village.”
[MiddleAgedDetective: Bear Druid]
MiddleAgedDetective landed next.
[Donuts: Awakened Strength Farmer]
Even Donuts arrived, cracking his neck.
Crunch-crunch...!
His body looked noticeably enhanced.
“I, Donuts, after getting wrecked by the Ivy League sports team, started building up my strength. Turns out strength really is everything.”
— The logic omg
— LMAOOOOO
— When your body fails, your brain has to suffer
— This middle-aged guy needs help LOL
Maid Black Tea blinked. Of all people, these were the last ones she’d expect to come help.
“W-Why...? We’re the Knights.”
Donuts took a stance and answered, “No matter what, Black Tea was the Nonghyup Union’s ace.”
Horn Ramen raised a thumb. “And the Lord was our rival. We can’t let someone else finish him off.”
— Kyaaa
— Aw yeah
— THIS is brotherhood
— Wowwww
— Loyalty at its best
— Goat Union
MiddleAgedDetective shouted, “I told you, Black Tea. We have power too!”
All three of them struck the same pose. “NONG! HYUP!”
— LOOOOOOL
— My god...
— Ughhh
— Please just go home
— Why are they like this?
— Old men supremacy LOL
Maid Black Tea’s eyes trembled. “... I accept.”
Only in this moment, she acknowledged the Nonghyup Union.
— YES
— INSANE
— Holy crap
— They were real all along
— Kyaaa
— Is Black Tea crying again lol
“Leave this to us~.”
Clack!
The Nonghyup Union trio stood in Paprika’s path. They whispered to each other over a private channel.
“How is it? Feeling the chakra yet?”
“Ooh... This must be it.”
“Oh... I feel it.”
The truth was, they had joined mainly just to experience the chakra.
— Black Tea got tricked AGAIN!
— LMAOOOO
— These chakra addicts
— They’re the real heart deviators
— Always scammed. First by fertile soil, now by chakra
— She’s secretly a softie lol
— Well... everyone’s satisfied, so who cares?