Online Game: Starting With SSS-Ranked Summons

After killing all the monsters, Arthur collected the dropped items.

His Rare backpack was already filled with loot, but luckily a few backpacks had dropped among the spoils, so he used them to store the items. Without those, he would've been forced to leave items behind.

As he secured the last of the loot, a notification sounded in his mind. The countdown had reached zero.

Meanwhile, back at the village.

Players clustered around the four gates, weapons drawn and their nerves frayed. The atmosphere buzzed with apprehension as everyone braced for the impending Monster Horde.

Lieutenant Adam stood at the forefront of the eastern gate, flanked by a group of experienced players he had picked. His expression was stern, his eyes scanning the horizon for any signs of movement.

The silence felt oppressive, like the calm before a devastating storm.

"Where are they?" a player muttered nervously, breaking the silence. "Aren't they supposed to spawn or something?"

Another player spoke, his voice wavering. "Yeah, this doesn't feel right. Shouldn't they be rushing the gates by now?"

Adam's head snapped toward them, his tone sharp and commanding. "Quiet. Don't let your guard down. They could be here any second."

The murmurs died down, but the players still felt uneasy. Something was clearly wrong, but they had no choice but to wait.

Seconds dragged into minutes as the players waited with their guards up.

After five excruciating minutes, the players' frustration began bubbling to the surface.

"Something's wrong," one player finally said aloud. "Why aren't they here? Are we just going to stand here and wait?"

"Yeah, and it's not like we can complain to anyone about this," another grumbled. "What are we even supposed to do?"

Adam's frown deepened.

He hated to admit it, but they were right—something was clearly amiss. This wasn't how the event was supposed to unfold, and the lack of clarity only made the situation worse.

After a brief pause, he made a decision.

'I'm not taking any chances. This could hinder our progress, and this is not acceptable.'

Turning to a group of players nearby, he pointed at four of them. "You, you, you, and you. Each of you take a direction. North, south, east, west. Scout ahead and report back immediately if you see anything unusual."

The chosen players did not hesitate before nodding. They clearly trusted Adam even if it meant putting themselves at risk against a horde of monsters.

"Understood," one of them said, gripping their weapon tightly. "We'll be back as fast as we can."

Without another word, the four scouts set off, their figures disappearing into the forest.

Adam turned back to the players at the gate. "Stay focused," he ordered.

"The rest of you, keep your positions. If anything happens, you'll know."

The forest was eerily quiet as the scouts moved through their assigned directions

In the distance, one scout spotted something, his steps faltering as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"This—how is this possible?" he whispered, his voice trembling as fear began to creep into his bones. Stay updated through empire

Before him lay a battlefield that seemed to belong to another world.

The ground was littered with the lifeless bodies of monsters—dozens, if not more. Their corpses sprawled across the forest floor, each bearing signs of a brutal slaughter. Claw marks tore through thick hides, gaping wounds bled into the dirt, and shattered bones protruded from mangled limbs.

The scout's breath hitched as he tried to comprehend the scene. "Wh-who… who did this?" he stammered.

He stepped closer, his instincts battling his curiosity.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and the metallic tang of death. The scout's heart raced as he examined the scene more closely. The kills were clean but with the brutality of beasts. Whatever—or whoever—was responsible had moved through this group of monsters easily, leaving only carnage in their wake.

A loud crack in the distance broke his trance, sending a jolt of panic through his body. He spun on his heel. "I can't stay here," he muttered, his voice shaking. "This is… this is too dangerous."

He didn't need to confirm what had happened here. The sheer scale of destruction was evidence enough. Without wasting another second, the scout turned and bolted back toward the village, his footsteps pounding against the forest floor.

As he ran, his mind raced.

Was it a player? Or something worse—a monster even deadlier than the Horde they were preparing to face? Questions swirled in his head, each more chilling than the last.

The scout's breath came in ragged gasps as he pushed himself to run faster. "This is important… incredibly important…" he muttered, his thoughts fixated on warning the others. If the village didn't know what was out here, they would be walking into a nightmare unprepared.

Back at the village, the crowd at the gates was still tense, awaiting updates from the scouts. Adam stood at the forefront, his arms crossed and his expression unreadable. He glanced at the horizon, his sharp eyes scanning for any sign of movement.

Finally, the sound of rapid footsteps reached his ears. One of the scouts emerged from the tree line, drenched in sweat and wide-eyed with fear.

"Report!" Adam barked, stepping forward.

The scout stumbled to a halt, gasping for breath. "I… I saw something…"

"What did you see?" Adam's voice was steady, but the weight behind it silenced the murmuring crowd.

"Monster bodies," the scout managed to say, his voice trembling. "Dozens of them. Riddled across the ground like… like it was nothing. All of them dead. Something—someone—wiped them out."

The players around gasped, their expressions ranging from confusion to fear.

Adam's brows furrowed. "Are you certain?"

"Yes, I'm certain," the scout replied, his voice still shaky.

Adam's gaze sharpened. "How were they killed?"

"They were killed brutally," the scout said, swallowing hard. "There were claw marks on the bodies… deep ones. It looked like monsters fighting each other. But… I didn't fully investigate. Reporting this felt more urgent."

Adam nodded slowly, his mind racing. "Any signs of a player being responsible?"

The scout shook his head. "None that I could tell. But… the way they were killed... they were completely overwhelmed."

Adam's jaw tightened as he processed the information. Around him, the gathered players erupted into chaotic whispers, their emotions swinging wildly from hope to fear.

"Could it be a boss monster? But how could this happen? Doesn't that mean we technically survived the event?" one player exclaimed.

"Oh my god, you're right! If the monsters are all dead, we won!" another chimed in, their tone hopeful.

But the mood wasn't entirely celebratory. A ripple of doubt and unease spread through the crowd as others began to piece things together.

Although a few players expressed relief, the majority weren't so easily convinced. They weren't fools. The implications of the situation were clear, and it didn't take long for unease to settle in. If the monsters hadn't been killed by other monsters or a boss, then the only explanation was that another player had intervened.

And that meant something far worse.

The contribution points were all gone, claimed entirely by whoever had managed to wipe out the horde. The realization spread like wildfire, the hope of victory quickly replaced by frustration and simmering anger.

The grim reality began to sink in. Without contribution points, there would be no rewards for their efforts. Even though they had technically "survived" the event, it came at a cost—one that left them empty-handed and cheated. The resentment in the air was evident, their earlier anticipation now overshadowed by the bitter sting of being scammed.

Adam's frown deepened as he scanned the crowd. His mind worked quickly, trying to piece together who could have orchestrated such a move.

Most of the players here were too weak or uncoordinated to pull off something of that scale.

But there was one person…

His eyes darted through the crowd, searching for a familiar face. Fateless.

The mysterious auctioneer, was infamous for his rare items and his power although not much of it was revealed. If anyone had the means, the cunning, and the audacity to pull off such a feat, it was him.

Adam's gaze darkened as he continued scanning. 'Where are you?' he thought, his jaw tightening.'If this was your doing…'

His internal musings were interrupted by the sight of a familiar figure moving through the crowd.

Arthur, with his usual calm yet assertive demeanour, pushed his way forward.

"Excuse me."

"Let me through."

"Sorry about that," Arthur said as he moved to the front.

Reaching Adam, he stopped, his expression turning to one of genuine confusion. "Lieutenant, fill me in," Arthur said firmly. "I just logged in a few seconds ago. I was caught up with something in the real world and thought I'd be late to the event. Now I'm hearing people say all the monsters are dead. What's going on?"

Adam studied Arthur for a long moment, his expression unreadable. "You just logged in?" he asked, his tone sceptical, but before he could press further, Arthur frowned deeply.

"Yes," Arthur replied, his voice carrying just the right amount of exasperation. "I rushed back thinking I'd missed the start of the event, and now I find this chaos? If all the monsters are already gone, we might have bigger problems than I thought."

Adam hesitated, his instincts urging him to question further, but Arthur's concerned expression gave him pause.

"Fine," Adam said curtly, before recounting the details of what had transpired, though his tone carried an edge of distrust.

Arthur's frown deepened as he listened. "That's bad. If it's a player, then this whole situation is worse than it looks. We need to confirm it now by checking the corpses,"

Adam nodded, though his sharp gaze never left Arthur. "Agreed. Let's move. You're coming with me."