After Feixiao left, Jing Yuan walked in next.
"Come, let's see what profession you get," Valerius said with interest.
If Jing Yuan also drew a Demon General, that would be truly entertaining.
"Haha, I'll give it a try."
Not only Valerius—even Jing Yuan himself was curious about what he might draw.
He pulled the lever.
[Thief: You are a thief. Agile and skilled, you can unlock certain locked doors and treasure chests. You may join a Hero's party.]
"…A thief?"
Jing Yuan pointed at himself in disbelief.
Me? A Xianzhou general… a thief?
"That's actually a very strong profession," Valerius said.
Strong?
Perhaps.
But Jing Yuan truly didn't want the Thief profession.
If word got out, where would he hide his face?
"Can't I change it?"
"No."
"…Sigh."
With no choice, Jing Yuan could only sigh and accept his fate.
Players continued entering one after another, drawing their roles before leaving.
Some were delighted.
Others were miserable.
Aside from the few who drew the Hero profession, most players were dissatisfied with their results.
[All professions assigned. Transporting players into the game world.]
Beams of light descended.
The players were transported into the fantasy world.
Inside a gloomy palace—
Phantylia sat upon the central throne, barely able to contain her excitement.
Her lips curled upward uncontrollably.
"Not bad. I didn't expect General Feixiao to end up as one of my Demon Generals."
"Tch."
Feixiao clicked her tongue, extremely annoyed.
How did this woman end up drawing the Demon King?
Now she had to take orders from her.
"There's no need to be angry, General Feixiao," Ningguang said calmly. "It's just a game."
Ningguang stood beside them as part of the same faction now.
They couldn't afford internal conflict.
"Let's set aside our grudges for now," Phantylia said as she stood and surveyed the room.
Her five Demon Generals stood before her.
Black Knight: Feixiao
Illusionist: Ningguang
Monster Commander: Raiden Ei
Memory Thief: Black Swan
Bloody Witch: Silver Wolf
"Well then," Phantylia said, "what should our strategy be?"
Although Feixiao disliked taking orders from Phantylia, she still intended to take the game seriously.
She glanced at her status panel.
"I'm the Black Knight. Level 85. I can use martial techniques and dark magic."
"My suggestion is simple—"
"I leave immediately and destroy nearby villages. Don't give the Heroes any chance to grow."
But behind her serious tone, a strange light gleamed in her eyes.
Because they had access to their character's background memories in this world.
And her Black Knight story had a twist.
Originally, she had been a knight commander of a kingdom.
But the Demon King had controlled her with dark magic, turning her into a Demon General.
She even had a disciple in this world—
Hero Yanqing.
Which meant that later in the story, she might be able to break free from the Demon King's control and join the Heroes.
Naturally, she planned to go cause chaos immediately.
Even if she couldn't directly help the Heroes, it would still be better than letting other Demon Generals hunt them down.
The Heroes were still weak.
If they died early, the game would end too quickly.
"That's a reasonable suggestion," Phantylia said with a nod.
However, she turned her gaze toward Raiden Ei.
"But I think Miss Raiden Ei would be more suitable. After all, she can command the monster army."
"Good idea. Let me go," Raiden Ei immediately volunteered.
"I'm level 80, and I can command monster troops. If you let me go, I'll wipe out the Heroes in no time."
"I'm not staying here," Feixiao said bluntly.
She had no intention of listening to Phantylia.
Just because the story said the Demon King controlled her didn't mean that would happen here.
"I'm not taking orders."
"…Fine."
Realizing she couldn't command Feixiao, Phantylia reluctantly agreed.
"That's better."
Without another word, Feixiao strode out of the palace.
She was going to stir up some trouble.
"Honestly… can't we cooperate for once?"
Silver Wolf rubbed her temples.
Their side already had fewer players.
And now they were fighting among themselves.
This looked like a guaranteed loss.
There were seven Heroes.
Add companions, and their numbers could easily reach thirty.
Even though the Demon faction started at higher levels, if the game dragged on long enough, victory wasn't guaranteed.
Three days later—
Outside a small village.
Countless monsters gathered.
Raiden Ei stood at the front of the army.
With a wave of her hand, she gave the order.
"Attack."
Instantly, the monsters roared and surged into the village.
"Help!"
"Monsters!"
Flames rose into the sky.
Screams echoed everywhere.
"…This… it's just a game."
Raiden Ei's heart tightened slightly as she heard the cries.
She kept reminding herself—
This wasn't real.
But the world felt so realistic that it reminded her of the disaster five hundred years ago.
Inside a cellar in the village—
Kamisato Ayato spoke urgently to his sister.
"Ayaka, stay here. I'll lure the monsters away."
"Brother, let me go instead."
Kamisato Ayaka grabbed him.
She was a Hero.
How could she hide while monsters attacked?
"That won't work," Ayato said quickly.
"Listen to me. Your level is still too low. Going out now won't help. The rest of the game depends on you."
"And what about you?"
"I'm just a villager," Ayato said with a wry smile. "If I die, it's no big loss."
Now he understood why he had started beside the Hero.
It was clearly for this moment.
"Alright, I'm going."
After reminding his sister again, Ayato carefully opened the cellar entrance and climbed out.
The scene outside looked like the end of the world.
"…Seriously? Who's this cruel?"
"This Demon King player is heartless."
While muttering complaints, Ayato began leading monsters away from the village.
Once outside—
He saw Raiden Ei standing at the front of the monster army, looking conflicted.
"General! Help!"
Ayato's eyes lit up.
Her equipment looked incredibly powerful.
She must be a strong profession.
"Hm?"
Hearing the shout, Raiden Ei turned her head.
She immediately spotted Ayato running toward her.
Her eyes brightened.
This person had to be a player.
No matter what role he had—
Capture him first.
"Seize him."
With a wave of her hand, several monsters rushed forward and pinned Ayato to the ground.
Ayato: "?????"
What just happened?
He was completely stunned.
Seeing Raiden Ei standing face-to-face with the monster army, he had assumed she was confronting them.
But instead—
She was their commander.
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