Ashen Dragon-Chapter 232 - 158: The Disappearance of the Players
Chapter 232: Chapter 158: The Disappearance of the Players
“‘Cassius’s Treasure,’ did you all buy it?”
Mantou eagerly looked at everyone, seemingly trying to find fellow unlucky comrades.
He spent all the money he got from selling Dragon Scales on the treasure chest, drawing seven times in a row, but ended up with nothing but some adventurer’s intimate underwear.
Natural War Maniac stroked his bald head and chuckled: “I got pretty lucky, pulled something quite useful from a green gear.”
Summer Night Autumn Rain also beamed: “I got a Fireball Staff, and I only did it once.”
Mantou was on the verge of tears: “Why is everyone so lucky? Am I the only one who’s unlucky?”
...
But Singo shook his head.
Mantou was overjoyed, his face lit up.
He thought he had found a fellow unlucky comrade and eagerly asked: “Haha, you’re unlucky too, right?”
However, Singo replied disdainfully: “I didn’t buy anything at all.”
“Just watching the fun. Isn’t this event just the officials trying to milk us players? Probably want to control the Gold Coin in the closed beta to prevent too much gap when the official server opens.”
“Can’t believe someone would be dumb enough to put their savings into this. Really think they’re that lucky? They’d be better off spending their money directly.”
Mantou’s smile instantly froze on his face after hearing this.
He patted his chest, barely comforting himself: “Lucky me, I’m not the most miserable; there are those who did a twenty-draw and got a pile of garbage.”
“Charlotte, my dear brother…”
He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and smiled in relief.
In the distance, Charlotte lay on the ground as if turned into a black-and-white photo. Members of the Magic Coin guild surrounded him, pouring all sorts of Magic Potions like “Mental Elixir” and “Frenzy Potion” into him, hoping their dear leader could recover from his tragic ordeal.
Charlotte’s “twenty-draw white light” had already spread, becoming a hot topic on the forums and a spirit consolation for countless unlucky players.
It was referred to alongside the single-draw double yellow egg feat of another guild member, Sky Flying Witch, as the “black and white twin terrors” or the “Europe Africa duo.”
“Alright, that’s enough.”
“The server closes in three hours, want to taste some twenty gold coin wine?”
Singo pulled out an exquisitely packaged wine bottle, deliberately shaking it so the tempting liquid glistened on the bottle’s wall.
A Bipedal Wyvern also descended beside them, its slender neck nuzzling the knight’s body affectionately.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
Mantou was instantly pumped.
“Come on! Let’s drink till we drop!”
Swashbuckler hooked his arm around Mantou’s shoulder, grinning mischievously:
“Let’s go together!”
“Rogue Beast, do you belong here?”
“It’s the last day, don’t be so stingy, right?”
“Ouch~”
“Damn, why is your lizard biting me again? Is he targeting me?”
…
In the Steel Dragonwing Palace.
Cassius sat cross-legged on the cold throne, closely watching the panel and keeping an eye on the Magic Images from all over the kingdom.
On the panel, the countdown ticked by, second by second.
“10, 9, 8,…”
“2, 1,…”
“0.”
The numbers finally reached zero.
With no warning, the tavern’s clamor halted, the square’s revelry ceased.
Whether in the wilderness, mechanical factories, deep mountains, or even in the bloodied maw of a lion scorpion, all players’ bodies transformed into minute, shimmering light particles in an instant and vanished as if they had never existed.
Despite there being only a thousand or so players, Northwind Castle felt less lively without them. Many local residents had gotten used to the crazy bunch and found their disappearance unsettling, especially in places like Barto City and Sgurr Town, where the players had started out.
The tavern owner, who had just finished mixing a fine batch of wine, stood stunned staring at the empty space, unable to speak for a long while before blurting out: “Who will pay for this now?”
“Wait…how do I control the magic circuits disconnect, and which indicator light should I check?”
“You didn’t get to say yet—”
The factory apprentices witnessed their mentor disappear before their eyes and stood bewildered before the vast and complex machines.
“Rawr?”
Playing with its prey, the lion scorpion, who had just swallowed a human whole, felt its mouth go empty and let out a frustrated and furious low growl, unable to comprehend what was happening with its small brain.
In the Steel Palace, Cassius asked the Magic Mirror:
“Any signs of anomalies?”
The face of Ramp, appearing on the mirror, responded gravely: “Still…nothing.”
“We experimented with twelve players, set up control groups, and monitored over a hundred players using spells but found no clues.”
“Logically, such a large-scale teleportation, regardless of the method used, should leave traces in the Magic Web, even if it were divine intervention. But these ‘Starfallen’ seemed to vanish into thin air without any magical fluctuation or teleportation spell residue.”
Cassius remained calm: “Understood, you can set this aside for now.”
“Yes, master. I need to help manage the remnants of the Mechanical God Cult. We still lack truly intelligent spellcasters in the kingdom. I’m worried the personnel sent won’t handle it correctly, causing losses.”
“Go ahead.”
As Cassius cut the connection, the mirror dimmed, and Ramp’s image vanished.
“Still no result. What kind of power lies behind this so-called ‘game system’?”
“Maybe only by reaching the domain of deities can we glimpse the secrets behind this fog…”
Cassius muttered to himself, staring at the [Server Temporarily Closed] sign on the panel.
The Red Dragon had also given considerable attention to this “server closure” event, mobilizing nearly all spellcasters in the Ashen Kingdom for research, but still came up empty-handed. This only indicated that the power behind it was too high, even beyond Ramp, a High Rank Mage’s comprehension.
“Hmph…”
Cassius exhaled a breath of sulfurous smoke, flames emerging from his mouth, turning the palace into a fiery furnace. Fortunately, this was a brand new palace, or another disaster would have ensued.
“The ancestral bloodline within me is almost uncontrollable. If not digested soon, there might be a volcanic eruption. I must enter slumber within a month.”
At this moment, a Tiefling Guard inconveniently knocked on the door to report.
“Ah!”
His hand was burnt red by the hot iron door, causing him to cry out in pain, but he endured it and reported:
“Your Majesty, Frederick of the Hall of Dragon Oath seeks an audience, bringing with him twelve humans.”
“Let them in.”
Cassius responded calmly.
He slightly waved his wings, and the strong force of his domain instantly soothed the Magic Web and calmed the raging fire elements. The surrounding hot air cooled down gradually.
“Looks like Frederick has chosen the first batch of people.”
