Chương 233

The royal palace in Reinhardt was ridiculously loud. King Wiesbaden was crying tears of joy. Grid and the newly formed Overgeared Guild had just saved the Eternal Kingdom from the unstoppable golem army. The entire world was watching the live broadcast. Lauel, Huroi, and Euphemina stepped forward to receive their rewards. Golden notification windows flashed above their heads. They had officially acquired the [First Earl] title. Lauel struck a cool pose for the cameras, covering half his face with one hand.

Then, it was Grid's turn. King Wiesbaden stood up from his throne.

"Viscount Grid. I give you 500, 000 gold, an infinite amount of kingdom contribution, and the large city Reidan. In addition, I award you the title of Duke." The broadcasting stations went crazy. A player was becoming a Duke! Grid grinned. He waited for the golden text to pop up. Since Lauel and the others got the 'First Earl' titles, he was definitely getting the 'First Duke' title. He prepared himself for the massive rewards. [You have become a duke of the Eternal Kingdom.] [Depending on the historical background of the continent, a duke has no limit on their expansion of power. The royal family won't be able to openly bind you.] Grid blinked. He read the text again. And again. He frowned.

"Wait. Where is my First Duke title?" The grand hall went dead silent. King Wiesbaden looked confused. The reporters holding microphones stopped breathing. Lauel's face instantly turned pale. He tried to send a frantic whisper. -Grid! Shut up! The cameras! But Grid didn't hear him. He was too annoyed. He tapped the side of his helmet and complained loudly, "Hey, Lauel. Is this a bug? Why didn't I get the 'First' modifier? You guys just got it. I'm the first Duke, right?"

Lauel wanted to bury himself under the palace floor. It was too late. The live microphones picked up every single word. The internet instantly exploded. - Wait, did Grid just say he didn't get the First Duke title? - Grid got scammed! The S. A. Group hates him! - Are you idiots? The system doesn't bug out like that. If Grid didn't get the First Duke title... it means someone else already has it. - Hold up. Who the hell became a Duke before God Grid? - Is it Zibal? Chris? - No way.

Zibal is still doing fetch quests for a Viscount in the Haken Kingdom. - Then who is it?! There is a hidden duke in this game! The media frenzy completely shifted. Five minutes ago, they were praising Grid as the Luckiest and Strongest Player. Now, every single reporter was frantically calling their headquarters, trying to launch a global investigation to find the mystery player who had beaten Grid to the highest nobility rank.

While the political world of Satisfy was in chaos, the economic world was also turning upside down. In a lavish office on the mainland, Kir threw his expensive wine glass at the wall. It shattered into a hundred pieces. He had just opened the merchant rankings. He was Rank 2. Cecilia had taken the #1 spot.

"How?!" Kir screamed at his subordinates, his face turning red.

"I control the land routes! Where is she getting her profit margins?!" His subordinates just stared at the floor. Over the last few weeks, Cecilia's Silver Crest merchant group had completely flooded the market with deep-sea pearls, abyssal silk, and rare water-attuned ores. Things that couldn't be found anywhere on the mainland. Kir couldn't touch her supply lines because she wasn't using wagons. She was using the ocean to trade across the continent.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. A few days later, a sudden World Message flashed across the sky in bold blue letters, answering the remaining questions for the entire player base. [A new Champion of the Sea has been born.] [The aquatic races rejoice at the re-appearance of their Champion!] The merchant forums caught on fire. - Cecilia is crazy. How did she get a trade route through the sea which is safe? - Did you guys see the message?

That explains where Cecilia is getting her stuff! - She definitely partnered up with this 'Champion of the Sea' guy to get safe passage. - Who is the Champion of the Sea? Aquaman? - I bet it's a fish. -No, I heard Cecilia is riding a massive whale to deliver health potions. Calling it now. - RIP Kir. Imagine losing your monopoly to a fish woman. Cecilia had secured an absolute monopoly using the ocean. Her wealth was skyrocketing by the second.

And whoever this mysterious Champion was, they were probably backing her up. But the real earthquake that hit the Satisfy community was something else. The S. A. Group updated the Unified Rankings board in real-time. For quite some time, the top spot belonged to one man. Anyone who had ever met him was completely awestruck by his control. His name was Krauge, the Sky above the Skyl. But when the rankings shifted recently, the entire player base stopped breathing.

[Unified Rankings] Rudra Kraugel The official Satisfy forums had erupted into a total war over this matter where the 1st place ranking was taken away from Kraguel so quickly. Rudra wasn't a new name to the veterans. He was the absolute monster who took the #1 spot back in the early 150s. He was the first to hit Level 200, and the first to hit Level 300. But then, he had vanished from the rankings completely.

People assumed due to him getting a legendary class, he had lost a massive amount of levels as a balancing method. But now, he was back and that too so soon. - NO WAY. KRAUGEL DROPPED?! - This is a visual bug. I refuse to believe it. - The Zenith has returned! Long live Rudra! - Are you guys dumb? Kraugel is the God of Control! The Sky above the Sky! He doesn't care about levels. If they fought, Kraugel would slice him up without taking a single hit. - Kraugel's control is perfect.

He can read every single attack path and always hit critical attacks. The Kraugel fanboys were fiercely defending their idol. But the Rudra faction was just as loud, and they had a very solid argument. - Bro, Rudra is the Zenith. He is the real 1st Legend. - Yeah, remember that World Message a long time ago? Rudra became a legend way before Grid. His base stats would probably be just as broken as Grid, not to mention his status immunity and other legend buffs.

- You guys talk about control like it matters when the other guy's control isn't godlike either.. The debate raged on for hours. Who was actually stronger? Not many people had ever seen Rudra fight recently. The lack of information made the Kraugel fans arrogant. But then, a veteran player posted a video thread titled: You newbies don't know what raw stats look like. - Hey idiots. Before you say Kraugel can dodge anything, watch this clip from the Red Sea a few days ago.

The video was recorded from a distance by a player hiding on a small trade ship. It showed a massive stretch of the Red Sea and the water was violently churning. Hundreds of Level 325 Frenzied Sharks were swarming the area. They were massive and strong monsters, which would require a team of rankers in the 100s to hunt a single one but the scene shown here depicted otherwise. Standing still on a small jagged reef in the middle of the swarm was a single player holding a heavy, dark metal staff.

The gamer tag above his head read Rudra. The video didn't show an elegant and beautiful fight, far from it. It showed a Massacre. A massive shark leaped out of the water, its jaws unhinged to swallow Rudra whole. Rudra didn't dodge. He just casually swung his heavy staff like a baseball bat. BANG. The heavy metal connected with the shark's snout. A visible shockwave ripped through the air. The Level 325 shark didn't get knocked back. It literally exploded into grey light on impact. He did it again. And again.

Three sharks lunged from different angles. Rudra just spun his staff in a casual, lazy arc. The force of the swing crushed all three of them instantly. He wasn't using any strong skills or reading the targets before hitting them. He was just using basic attacks to absolutely destroy anything that got near him. The forum thread went completely quiet for a few minutes as people watched the footage. Then, the comments slowly started rolling in again. -... Did he just one-shot a Level 325 monster with a basic attack?

- He's not even trying. Look at him, he almost looks bored - This seems to be a few weeks ago, when Rudra was supposed to be around Level 290, meaning he didn't even have his Third class awakening - What the hell is wrong with his strength stat?! - Wait, look at the way he is fighting, he hasn't been hit once! - Yeah, his Control is at least as good as Hao's. - Kraugel could dodge a 100 attacks perfectly and hit another 100 accurately. But it looks like Rudra just needs to swing once and he could K. O any player.

- RIP Kraugel. - Wait, if Rudra is hitting this hard with a normal swing, what happens when he actually uses a skill? - That's why he is called the Zenith. He is the Peak there is. The world of Satisfy was changing rapidly. The Overgeared Guild was rising in the Eternal Kingdom, the merchant economy was shifting to the oceans, and a returning King sat at the very top of the rankings.