Chapter 305: As Long As You Make It Out Alive, Everything You Say Is Right!
The banquet hall was packed with invited guests, bringing together most of the powerful figures in this kingdom.
These people looked quite bizarre—like a chaotic dance of demons and monsters.
High above, the ornate murals on the vaulted ceiling glittered under the golden light, like stars shining down upon the hall.
A massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, like a cluster of dazzling diamonds, casting a splendid glow throughout the room.
As Ramirez listened to the demon’s description, he couldn’t help but wonder: If that chandelier came crashing down, how many people would die?
And so, he wisely moved away from the central area beneath it.
In the middle of the hall, a group of guests in splendid formal attire chatted and laughed with ease.
Their movements exuded elegance and composure, giving off an air of nobility and authority.
Every word and laugh they shared seemed to display an innate aristocratic bearing.
This made quite a few Chosen Ones feel out of place.
He didn’t know how the other Chosen Ones had fared when they arrived at the banquet hall, but the South Korean Chosen One, Kim Jeong-ki, couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off the moment he got there.
“Is it just my imagination, or does it feel like someone’s watching me?”
Kim Jeong-ki trusted his instincts. He ordered the demon behind him to check the surroundings.
But just as the demon began to look around, an ice-cold hand silently touched his shoulder.
Kim Jeong-ki’s heart nearly stopped for a moment. Who could possibly slip past the protection of three demons and a guide dog to get this close to me?
“We meet again.”
A familiar yet strange voice sounded right next to his ear.
He quickly signaled for his demons and guide dog to stand down.
If he remembered correctly, this had to be the magician he’d run into last night.
There was always a hint of something odd in that magician’s tone.
It made you feel like he was teasing you, yet he spoke with such seriousness.
Maybe that was just the magician’s quirk—you could never tell when he was being serious.
As a humble Chosen One, Kim Jeong-ki immediately lowered his posture and politely struck up a conversation with the magician, carefully trying to pry some useful information out of his words.
After all, if it hadn’t been for this magician’s help, he probably wouldn’t have made it through that rainy night.
So he figured the magician had no reason to want him dead—if he did, he could have made his move yesterday.
Still, the palace rules did say that magicians were unreliable, which made Kim Jeong-ki keep his guard up.
They chatted for a while, until the magician suddenly shifted the topic, his tone turning sly and mocking.
“Oh, what a coincidence. My assistant can’t make it tonight, and since you’ve worked with me before on stage, I was wondering if you’d be free?”
The magician wanted Kim Jeong-ki to help him with a performance.
In return, he promised some incredible rewards—though he didn’t specify what.
Hearing this, Kim Jeong-ki felt an overwhelming urge to kick this twisted magician into next week.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the skills to pull that off, so he held back.
You call what you did last night magic? That was straight-up murder!
You want me to help you—let you dismember me for fun? Have I lost my mind?
Treating a killing act like a magic trick—Kim Jeong-ki had never seen anything so absurd.
He didn’t refuse outright, but politely declined, saying he wasn’t feeling well.
The magician simply said, “What a pity,” and left.
That single word, “pity,” carried an unsettling weight.
As the four lords arrived one after another, all the banquet guests had assembled.
At that moment, Kim Jeong-ki’s sharp ears caught the sound of a click from the main entrance—as if the doors had been locked shut.
An ominous aura began to creep over the area, making him feel uneasy.
He had a strong feeling that something was going to happen at this birthday banquet. After all, the king wasn’t a normal person—he was an absolute lunatic.
And these guests, of course, weren’t normal either. Their values seemed completely different from “human” ones.
“Did I miss something?”
His mind raced, thoughts spinning.
Dozens of rules scrolled through his head.
Suddenly, one rule came to a halt in his mind.
[Rule 3: Magicians are unreliable, but you must never trust the words of a Skeleton Knight.]
“Wait… magicians are unreliable… but if he’s not actually a magician, does that mean I can rely on him?”
Thinking back to the intelligence he’d gathered, he became increasingly convinced that this man wasn’t the real magician.
Had the horror world been trying to hint at this all along?
With that thought, he immediately ordered his demons to find the magician—preferably using a mirror to confirm if he was an impostor. But with so many people around, he might not get the chance to use one.
The other Chosen Ones also seemed to sense something wrong, or had discovered something themselves.
Sidney moved toward the main entrance, planning to slip out, but the guards blocked his way. So he could only wander elsewhere, trying to figure out how to leave.
It wasn’t that he thought the hall was especially dangerous; he’d noticed there were far too many guards around.
That meant the security elsewhere was probably thinner. Maybe he could sneak into the main building and find some clues there.
After all, he still hadn’t found the Red Cape Guard, though he’d heard rumors that this guard had gotten into trouble.
So his target shifted: find the dungeon.
And the rules never said he had to attend the banquet—maybe he shouldn’t have come to the hall at all.
But it was too late to think about that now. He’d need someone to help cover his escape.
Through the contacts he’d made that afternoon, he’d already identified a few “impostors” based on the intel he’d gathered. But he still wasn’t sure which one was the king—he needed more solid proof.
Even though Sidney was doing pretty well, hardly anyone was watching him.
The audience’s big screens were all showing footage from the Dragon Country.
The other Chosen Ones were all following similar patterns—but this one was just absurd.
Everyone else was either sneaking into the main building to investigate or scrambling to survive in the death-soaked banquet hall.
Meanwhile, over here, they were holding a full-blown coronation ceremony!
When the banquet officially began, the doors swung open.
A powerful squad of guards marched into the hall in perfect formation.
The emblem on their breastplates was the royal crest, making everyone step aside.
And then, a young girl wearing a crown and holding a scepter walked into the hall, stunning the crowd.
The girl was visibly nervous. After all, someone of her standing had no business being in the palace—this was her first time here.
Everyone in the hall outranked her.
Pretending to be the king in front of all these people made her uneasy.
But she was surrounded by loyal demon guards.
And Zhang Yangqing had promised he could kill every single person in the room if necessary, urging her to have fun and treat the place like home.
With that reassurance, she gathered her courage and stepped forward.
For the guests, the mysterious king had finally revealed their “true face.”
Most of the first-timers were stunned at how young the king was.
But quite a few others seemed to understand—so that’s why the king never showed their face.
A handful of nobles sneered at those making a fuss, saying, “You don’t get it. The king looks different every time they appear—man, woman, young, old, tall, short, fat, thin—it’s all just one of the king’s many identities.”
With the nobles speaking up, no one else dared to question it.
That saved the girl from having to explain herself.
Zhang Yangqing’s plan was simple: have the girl dress as the king and appear at the banquet.
Then the real king—likely hiding among the crowd, waiting to spring a surprise—would be forced to reveal himself in protest.
And once he showed up, Zhang Yangqing, hidden among the guests, would cut him down.
It was a solid plan. But… nothing happened.
Not a single person rebelled.
Zhang Yangqing was puzzled. Did I make a mistake somewhere?
No way—his plan should have been foolproof.
Which step had gone wrong?
He decided to wait a bit longer, but in the meantime, he told the girl not to eat or drink anything.
Someone at this banquet was definitely going to try poisoning the king—and Zhang Yangqing already had a guess who.
The banquet continued. Many guests presented gifts and offered their congratulations to the girl.
Oddly enough, everyone kept acknowledging her as the king.
After all, they were all expressing their respects to the monarch.
With lords, nobles, and other important figures recognizing her, her legitimacy kept rising.
Zhang Yangqing was baffled. This is going way too smoothly, right?
You’re all just accepting her as the king?
I was ready to start chopping heads off—can’t at least a couple of you step up and give me a reason to swing?
To everyone’s surprise, Zhang Yangqing’s side managed to complete the banquet without a hitch.
During the feast, many brutal performances were staged.
Since everyone knew the king enjoyed gruesome spectacles, they’d all prepared something gruesome to please them.
Some even planned to grab random guests and slaughter them on the spot, showing off new torture techniques they’d learned.
But the girl rejected every single one. She was used to such things, but that didn’t mean she enjoyed watching them.
Eventually, she said she was tired and wanted to rest, and left the banquet hall.
And just like that, she had won everyone’s recognition and successfully usurped the throne to become the new king.
Because when she handed Zhang Yangqing a Royal Coin, he actually received a completion prompt.
That meant he could settle the instance and leave right now.
“Find me a fiefdom,” he said. “There should be something corresponding to that in the king’s chambers.”
For her, granting his request was only natural.
He had handed her the throne—what was a mere piece of territory compared to that?
Before long, the girl found the ring that symbolized lordship—the same kind worn by the other lords.
And just like that, Zhang Yangqing received another notification: the hidden mission was complete.
The audience was dumbfounded. The other Chosen Ones hadn’t even figured out who the king was, and he’d already solved everything?
And the scariest part? Even the Dragon Country’s Celestial Master didn’t know who the king was.
With all missions completed and at record speed, his rating was guaranteed to be off the charts.
But that left him puzzled. This was too easy. Did I eliminate all the dangers ahead of time?
Instead of rushing out, he decided to confirm one thing.
So he had the girl—still in her kingly role—accompany him back to the banquet hall.
The grand doors swung open once more. When the guests saw the king appear for a second time, they were bewildered, but they obediently cleared a path.
But what happened next left them even more confused.
This wasn’t a joke—several heads had already rolled.
Zhang Yangqing entered the banquet hall and ordered the “king” to call forth the Ghost Riders.
The guests couldn’t believe it. This guy is ordering the king around?
And the king actually obeyed. It made no sense.
Until they saw what came next.
After a few Ghost Riders stepped forward, confused, Zhang Yangqing swung his longsword.
A sharp clang echoed through the hall. Five powerful Ghost Riders were instantly decapitated, their skulls clattering to the floor.
Hot flames from their bodies began spreading across the carpet.
But with just a wave of his hand, Zhang Yangqing extinguished every spark.
The sudden brutality sent chills down everyone’s spines.
Just as the other Chosen Ones felt they could be killed at any moment by the powerful natives, these natives now felt they could be wiped out at any moment by this terrifying Chosen One.
Ghost Riders were elite warriors forged through countless battles—major assets of the kingdom. And yet, they’d been sliced apart like tofu?
Zhang Yangqing didn’t bother explaining anymore. He was on a killing spree.
Right there in the hall, he publicly beheaded three lords, their attendants, and even a mage—before finally stopping.
With such a horrifying scene unfolding, why wasn’t the crowd panicking?
Not because they didn’t want to run—but because they were all frozen in place by an overwhelming aura, forced to watch helplessly as Zhang Yangqing carved through them with no escape.
They barely dared to breathe. Anyone who exhaled too loudly would lose their head the next second.
This was Zhang Yangqing at his absolute peak—these natives were facing a power far beyond their plane.
Even the king and the guards followed Zhang Yangqing’s orders. How could anyone inside dare to resist?
Having already met all the conditions for settlement, he had nothing left to hold him back.
Even if he broke the horror world, he could still leave.
He was just looking for an answer now.
After killing all those people, Zhang Yangqing lost interest and left the banquet hall.
And with that, the baffling massacre came to an end.
The nobles didn’t flee—instead, they began “theorizing,” saying those people were trying to assassinate the king, so the king had hired this man to eliminate them.
The nobles, being supporters of the crown, were pleased that three lords were dead. Their explanation also helped save the royal family’s face.
The others, half-convinced, accepted the story and the banquet went on.
After all, the killer didn’t explain himself—who knew why he did it?
In a world where killing was routine, a few deaths didn’t really matter.
Back in the main building, Zhang Yangqing had quite a few people following him.
Sitting on the king’s exclusive sofa, he fell into deep thought.
Throughout this time, the young girl stood quietly beside him, not asking any questions.
Strange. All these people are so weak—none of them compare to the one I met on the road.
Wait. No.
The magician—there were supposed to be two, but I only saw one at the banquet.
Could that guy actually be…
A thought crossed Zhang Yangqing’s mind: Holy crap, no way.
Because yesterday, when he attacked the magician blocking his path, the guy had tried to put up a fight—but it was useless.
Zhang Yangqing had just assumed he might be a hidden boss-level figure.
Today, he’d killed everyone in the hall with strong auras.
But none of them had even been able to resist.
Which meant they were weaker than that magician.
That was how Zhang Yangqing judged a creature’s power—by their ability to take a hit.
After all, no one had ever survived a single blow from him.
So he had to rely on small details like this.
“Did I really kill the boss just by walking past him?”
Now that he thought about it, the magician from last night had definitely been beyond what any normal supernatural being could handle.
The design was probably for people to avoid him, or fulfill his demands.
He was just unlucky enough to run into Zhang Yangqing.
At the time, Zhang Yangqing had just wanted to show off his power and had taken him out without a second thought.
After all, the guy wasn’t even mentioned in the night path rules—Zhang Yangqing hadn’t cared at all.
With some suspicions forming in his mind, Zhang Yangqing turned to the girl and said, “Have fun.”
Then he hit the settlement button.
After all, he’d already cleared all the dangers for her.
The nobles wouldn’t move against her, and the merchants had no reason to.
The Skeleton Knights—who were strong enough to counter Deep-Sea Contractors—were all dead. The magician was gone. And the remaining lord wasn’t that powerful anyway.
Besides, if she couldn’t handle even that, she had no business being king.
Zhang Yangqing had done more than enough. He settled and left.
Anyone who followed Zhang Yangqing in the horror world always came out stronger.
He had proven, time and time again, that as long as you listened to him, good things would come.
With a flash of white light, Zhang Yangqing, for the first time, was eager to check the other Chosen Ones’ screens—he wanted to know if his guess was right.
Back at Dragon Tiger Mountain, Zhang Yangqing’s vision returned.
Inside the room, his senior brother Su Muyu sat on a nearby stool, looking serious.
Zhang Yangqing walked over to another stool, sat down, took a sip of tea, and asked, “Senior Brother, you already know what I’m going to ask, right?”
Su Muyu nodded and replied, “That magician you killed on the night path—he might have actually been the king. He fits all the criteria. Take a look at this Chosen One’s screen.”
With that, he showed Zhang Yangqing the screen of the South Korean Chosen One, Kim Jeong-ki.
Zhang Yangqing’s own screen hadn’t shown the magician at all. Meanwhile, Kim Jeong-ki was already starting to suspect that the magician was the king and was trying to find a way to confirm it.
While following the magician, Kim had noticed that he seemed to avoid “heat waves”—in other words, he stayed clear of the Skeleton Knights.
But since Kim hadn’t yet encountered the Red Cape Guard in the dungeon, he couldn’t yet confirm that this was the king—he was still in the information-gathering phase.
Only after meeting the Red Cape Guard would he be able to put the pieces together.
The experts and audience, who had already watched Zhang Yangqing’s “speedrun” and gained intel from the dungeon, had naturally guessed that this magician was very likely the king.
No Chosen One had confirmed it yet, though.
Seeing all this, Zhang Yangqing let out a long sigh of relief.
So… I almost got myself killed?
Thank goodness I came up with that plan in the end. If I had just waited for the king to show up, I’d have been stuck in there for a while.
And over on the other screens, this “magician” is casually handing out gold watches and gold chains—like that’s normal?
Seeing Zhang Yangqing out safely, Su Muyu also breathed a sigh of relief.
“To be honest, I was worried you might run into trouble. But you stumbled your way out first.”
Su Muyu had been studying the horror world, but his understanding was still theoretical.
Same as the experts—he’d never actually been inside, so he didn’t know the specifics.
Zhang Yangqing smirked. “Senior Brother, what do you mean ‘stumbled’? This is called turning the tide with sheer skill.”
Su Muyu: “…”
Here you go again with the boasting, huh? But hey—as long as you made it out alive, everything you say is right!
