Chapter 438: You Are Not Loyal Enough!
"Huff, huff."
"Damn, that NPC was terrifying! I've never seen fire damage that ridiculous before."
"She looks like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, but she almost wiped out all the elite players who passed the trial!"
"Still, thank goodness."
The [Royal Authority] guild player pulled out the ring clutched tightly in his hand, exhaled onto it, and wiped it clean. His bloodshot eyes gleamed with excitement and exhilaration.
"Got my treasure."
"Hehe, the server's first purple-tier item—I'm going to strike it rich!"
"I wonder how much President Overlord will reward me this time. Maybe enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life!"
He was already lost in a fantasy of wealth and success.
After all, the [Royal Authority] guild had a history of such events.
During the beta test, President Overlord had spent 100,000 yuan to buy a full set of rare equipment from a guild member.
"Swoosh—"
Suddenly, he felt a scorching heat behind him, and his clothes began to burn.
"No... no way."
A sense of dread rose in his heart.
He trembled as he turned around, his face paling instantly.
A red-haired, golden-eyed girl appeared, stepping through the rift in space. She hovered in mid-air, looking down on him, her flame-like hair swirling wildly.
Flames encircled her, and ashes floated around.
The meaning in her gaze was clear.
"Emperor Cassius once said,"
"Theft is strictly forbidden within the Empire."
The player muttered in disbelief, "How does this NPC have such a large range of activity..."
"She's supposed to be the boss of the Tower of Blighted Flame! How can she show up here?"
But, unwilling to let go of his impending fortune, the [Royal Authority] player went all in.
He clutched the ring tightly, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead as he desperately defended himself:
"D-Don't come any closer!"
"This isn't theft!"
"What players do in the game can't be called stealing! Where's the admin behind you? I'm filing a complaint for consumer fraud!"
Misha coldly observed him, the flames around her intensifying into a fiery vortex.
Her lips moved slightly.
"Unforgivable."
"Boom!"
In the next moment, fierce tongues of flame surged out like a giant serpent, engulfing the player entirely.
When the flames dissipated, only a small pile of ashes remained on the ground, scattered by the wind. Left behind was a single, gleaming golden ring—the [Noble Efreet Ring].
"Hmph, fool."
"Greedy and ignorant fools like him are no different from those northern nobles. Dreaming of becoming Dragon Pact Sorcerers? Ridiculous."
Misha beckoned with her hand, and the precious ring was enveloped in flames and floated into her palm.
She once again stretched out her hand, tearing open a fiery spatial rift, and returned to the Tower of Blighted Flame.
Holding the ring, Misha softly declared, "The sinner has been punished accordingly."
"Let this be a warning to you all."
"Additionally, I am Misha, the Pact Sorcerer of the great Emperor Cassius, and his executor within the Tower of Blighted Flame."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"We will obey your orders!"
Seeing the fate of the thieves, the remaining players quickly pledged their loyalty.
But they couldn't help feeling relieved.
"I knew it—there's no such thing as a free lunch. It was a trap!"
"Yeah, good thing I didn't try to grab any gear."
"More like you couldn't get any."
"Man, Dragon Pact Sorcerers are crazy strong! This damage is insane."
"Hehe, I saw something was off and stayed calm. Now I'm about to advance!"
"Yeah, we're about to gain this incredibly powerful class!"
The players began envisioning their bright futures. With such a powerful class, they could soar to new heights.
Under the eager gazes of the players, Misha looked around and spoke again.
"As you can see, Dragon Pact Sorcerers possess immense power, all bestowed by the supreme Emperor Cassius."
"Every Dragon Pact Sorcerer is a servant and executor of His Majesty, blessed by the great Red Dragon."
Her fingertips ignited with flames.
"For us, the most important thing is absolute loyalty."
Among the players, Summer Night Autumn Rain beamed with joy.
She had guessed correctly!
As expected, being a contract-bound servant required loyalty—a defining feature of the Ember Empire's series of classes.
For example, data collected on Dragon-Oath Paladins revealed that players in the "Cassius Fan Club" dealt higher damage than average players.
Misha continued, raising her slender hand as if to point to the crowd.
"Therefore—"
The players eagerly awaited her next words.
"You are all disqualified, except for these three."
The players were thunderstruck. They looked around and saw only [Summer Night Autumn Rain], [Art Is Explosion], and [Love Dragons Like the Wind] with golden flames above their heads.
They began shouting in disbelief.
"Why?!"
"What for?!"
"This isn't fair! Do it over!"
"I didn't steal anything, and I passed the trial!"
"Yeah, why aren't we allowed to pass? We didn't do anything wrong!"
"And what about those three? Do they have special privileges?"
The remaining dozen or so players erupted into chaos. After all their hard work passing the trial, they were devastated to be hit with such news.
Naturally, they were indignant.
Misha, however, remained expressionless as she asked, "Are you certain you did nothing wrong?"
"Your lack of loyalty to Emperor Cassius is your mistake."
"What?"
The players were dumbfounded.
But Misha continued seriously, "During the earlier chaos, only these three Starfallers remained unaffected by external temptations and paid their respects to His Majesty's statue."
"The rest of you, though you didn't steal, simply stood by and watched."
"You didn't even bother to kneel before Emperor Cassius' statue!"
"This..."
What kind of absurd reasoning was this?
Misha's "soul interrogation" left them speechless.
The disqualified players were indignant, feeling cheated for being eliminated over "insufficient loyalty."
Some players clutched their chests, feeling intense regret.
They had seen Summer Night Autumn Rain and the others kneeling before Cassius' statue earlier but dismissed it as fan-club fanaticism.
If only they had knelt, they would have passed too!
But...
Maybe there was still a chance?
Thinking this, they decided to try their luck.
"Emperor Cassius!"
Several players simultaneously slid to their knees before Cassius' statue, wailing comically.
"Please, ma'am, don't eliminate me! I'm very loyal!"
"Long live Emperor Cassius!"
"His Majesty is our eternal sun!"
The other players, stunned for a moment, quickly followed suit, afraid of being left behind.
"For the great Red Dragon's vision!"
"We could never repay Emperor Cassius' kindness, even over lifetimes!"
"Glory to the Ember Emperor!"
But their antics failed to impress the Dragon Pact Sorcerer.
Misha shook her head, finding their behavior disgraceful and disrespectful to Cassius.
"Leave this place."
"I see no loyalty in your eyes—only greed and lust for power. You are unworthy of becoming Dragon Pact Sorcerers."
Misha's voice was cold as flames reignited in her hands.
"Get out."
Under the threat of fire, the players reluctantly left in tears.
"As for you... follow me."
"Your loyalty has passed my test, and I will take you to meet His Majesty."
The three remaining players were ecstatic.
Not only had they successfully advanced, but they were also about to meet Cassius.
In the current Ember Empire, such an opportunity was incredibly rare.
During the beta, players could meet Cassius with a few coins by exchanging for a [Mysterious Invitation] and visiting him as a mysterious merchant.
But now, the towering emperor resided permanently in the Steel Dragonwing Palace, and not even mountains of gold could buy an audience.