Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons - Chapter 211

Chapter 211: Release them!
The crowd’s mood darkened instantly.

“Release our people, chief! Otherwise, we’ll wage war against you. And I assure you, we’ll be the winners of that war, undoubtedly!” The burly man’s voice boomed across the square.

Charles felt sweat beading on his forehead.

Where was the protector? The situation was spiraling out of control.

Then he spotted it—something massive flying toward them at rapid speed.

‘A dragon?’ He gulped, eyes widening as he stared at the approaching figure before an idea clicked.

‘It could be the Protector’s reinforcement,’ he thought, glancing at the goblin king who wore a faint smirk as he tracked the flying beast.

‘It’s really the Protector’s reinforcement. A dragon!’

Confidence surged through Charles. He turned to face the players, shoulders squared.

“I will give you 5 seconds. Either leave this place, or I will burn you all down to smithereens. And I mean that literally.”

The burly man frowned, scanning Charles’s face for any sign of deception.

‘He’s bluffing. They don’t have that much firepower.’

“Alright, chief. You’ve chosen war. We shall fulfill our duty to our leaders and save them.” He turned to the crowd. “Players! No—Warriors! Are you ready to wreak havoc?”

The response was immediate and thunderous.

“For Lieutenant Adam!” roared a warrior, his greataxe gleaming in the sunlight.

“The NPCs have ruled us long enough!” a mage shouted.

“Fateless, our auctioneer could not be betrayed!” bellowed a tank, thumping his chest. “I’ll die before I let him rot in prison!”

The burly man raised his weapon high.

“WAR!” he screamed and charged forward.

But as he rushed ahead, he failed to notice the drake that had appeared directly above the crowd, hovering silently on powerful wings.

Charles’s lips curved into a cold smile. “Burn.”

The drake opened its maw.

Fire erupted downward—not a narrow stream but a devastating cone of flame that engulfed the burly leader completely.

“ARGHHH!” The man’s screams pierced the air as he writhed, his armor melting into his skin.

A village guard stepped forward without hesitation, driving his spear through the burning man’s heart.

The player exploded into particles of light.

Silence fell.

Absolute, stunned silence.

The players froze, weapons half-raised, as they processed what had just happened. Their fearless leader—gone in seconds.

Slowly, heads tilted upward.

“Is—is this a dragon…” someone whispered, voice trembling.

The drake hovered there, smoke curling from its jaws, its yellow eyes reflecting their terrified faces.

“WHO CARES WHAT IT IS? DID YOU SEE WHAT IT DID TO THAT MAN?!”

A cleric dropped to her knees.

“We’re all going to die!”

“SCATTER!” someone yelled.

Bodies pushed against each other.

Players tripped over themselves trying to put distance between them and the drake.

The beast’s scales gleamed in the sunlight as it descended to an area beside Charles, smoke still curling from its nostrils.

“I told you I would burn you down,” Charles said, his smirk triumphant.

Gregory, Adam’s second-in-command, took a step back, his mind racing.

‘Impossible… How could he have such a creature under his wing? He killed Carnel in an instant…’

He glanced over his shoulder.

Almost two hundred players stood behind him, weapons drawn but uncertainty in their eyes.

The quick calculations ran through his head.

‘We could beat them, but many would die. We’d lose their trust forever.’

His gaze snapped to the cheif’s building at the far end of the square, where the underground prison was situated.

‘Lieutenant Adam could simply come out, apologize, sanction one of us, and it would work on these idiots.’ Gregory nodded to himself. ‘That’s the best plan.’

“Hold!” he called out to the retreating players.

“Don’t panic!” But few were listening.

The ranks were already breaking.

‘Damn it. They aren’t listening. That drake’s power was too domineering. To annihilate one of our strongest in an instant…’

Gregory’s mind raced. He had to act fast.

“WAIT!” he shouted, voice cracking with desperation.

“This is a trick! That dragon wouldn’t be able to use such an attack again! It’s impossible!”

Players paused, half-turned.

Gregory seized the moment.

“This type of beast would only be available in the city, not here in some backwater village. IMPOSSIBLE! He’s trying to trick us. WAKE UP!”

“Otherwise, he would have used it from the beginning!”

The fleeing stopped. Uncertain glances were exchanged.

“He’s right,” a player with a battle axe muttered.

“This dragon must have cooldowns on his breath attacks.”

“Yeah! And why would a noble dragon listen to some village chief?”

Gregory felt a surge of renewed hope.

“They’re bluffing! One more push and we free Lieutenant Adam!” The drake snorted, flames flickering between its teeth.

“Bluff! It’s spent its mana!” Gregory shouted, gaining confidence.

“They can’t stop two hundred of us!”

Players began to regroup. Weapons raised again.

“For Lieutenant Adam!” someone shouted. “For Fateless!” echoed another.

Whilst a new chant came out.

“FOR THE DRAGON’S HEART!”

The Swordmaster’s eyes narrowed beneath his hood.

He exchanged a glance with Charles. The drake opened its maw.

Gregory laughed. “See? Nothing! I told you—”

WHOOSH!

A second, even larger blast of flame erupted, carving a burning trench in the ground between the players and the town hall.

The heat wave knocked the front row of players off their feet. The fire didn’t touch a single player—a warning.

In the silence that followed, the Chief frowned.

“The next one won’t miss,” he said, voice deadly quiet.

The drake’s chest expanded, preparing a third blast.

Gregory paled. ‘How?! That’s impossible!’

“Final warning,”

Charles announced. “Drop your weapons or die.” Players looked at each other, panic returning tenfold.

Gregory stood firm, grip tightening on his weapon.

“Don’t drop your weapons. They’re trying to slaughter us whilst we are unarmed!”

Charles frowned, his patience wearing thin.

Arthur, who had slipped among the crowd of players long ago, decided it was time for the next phase of his plan.

He pushed forward through the ranks, emerging at the front lines in his Swordmaster disguise, face expressionless.

“That’s enough. We will not be fighting with the village chief.”

Murmurs rippled through the bewildered players.

“Who’s that guy?”

“Never seen him before.”

“Wait, isn’t he from the training grounds?”

“Yeah, first one to get his instructor badge!”

Gregory spun to face Arthur, eyes narrowing.

“Who are you to decide if it’s enough? You’ve clearly been paid by that tyrant. Traitor!”

Arthur shook his head and addressed the crowd directly.

“I’ll say this once. Whether you follow me or not is your choice. But that man—” he pointed at Gregory, “—is trying to wage war against the village chief at the cost of your lives. He wants to sacrifice all of you for his cause. He doesn’t care if you lose levels or gold. He only cares about his agenda.”

“Imbecile! How dare you!” Gregory’s knuckles went white around his weapon.

Arthur just smiled, watching the crowd’s reaction carefully.

“He might have a point…”

“I can’t afford to lose another level.”

“But what about Lieutenant Adam?”

Gregory’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. The confident swagger from moments ago vanished as he stood face-to-face with the Swordmaster’s challenge.

“I… you…” he stammered, taking an involuntary step back.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed beneath his hood. “That’s what I thought.”

The drake growled, smoke curling from its nostrils as it moved. The beast’s presence alone made several players back away further.

“He won’t do it!”

“Of course not—he wanted us to die first!”

“I can’t believe I almost believed him and threw my life away..”

The crowd’s mood shifted instantly. Players who had been ready to charge minutes ago now glared at Gregory with dawning suspicion.

Charles stepped forward, seizing the moment. “Anyone who surrenders now will receive no punishment. Return to your homes.”

Gregory stood alone, abandoned by his army. His hand trembled on his weapon.

“Who said I won’t attack! I will attack!” he shouted.

The players had already seen his hesitation. They weren’t stupid enough to believe him now.

Arthur stepped forward, his Swordmaster persona radiating deadly confidence. “We surrender,” he announced loudly, taking control of the situation. “Kill this person who had raged a riot and his friends. We apologize to the mayor.”

Charles’s face lit up with vindictive pleasure. “I shall make him rot in prison. Guards! Take control of him and his friends.”

The guards moved instantly. Before Gregory and his teammates could run, they were surrounded, spears pointed at their throats.

Gregory’s eyes darted wildly, looking for escape. His teammates shared panicked glances.

“NO!” Gregory screamed, realizing what prison meant for them.

‘If I get thrown in prison, our control over the village will be reduced to nothing. That can’t happen.’

In a desperate move, he turned his blade on himself. The guards lunged forward, but they were too late.

SLASH!

Gregory’s body shimmered and burst into particles of light.

His teammates weren’t as quick. The guards tackled them to the ground, binding their hands with rough rope as they struggled futilely.

Arthur raised his sword, his disguised form cutting an impressive figure against the afternoon sky. The drake snorted far behind him, adding to the dramatic image.

“These were the people that we trusted with our lives,” he called out, voice carrying across the square. “They run like chickens when reality hits. We will not be trusting them again!”

“NEVER!” the crowd chanted, finding a new leader in the mysterious Swordmaster.

Charles watched with narrowed eyes as players gathered around Arthur. The situation had been defused, but he wasn’t sure if he’d gained control or simply witnessed power changing hands.

But he would soon come to know that the swordmaster, was in fact, the protector he served, Fateless.