Chapter 282: Chapter 282

Su-ho smiled as the system alert appeared.

"Finally caught him."

This had been the most complicated fight he’d faced since returning after regression.

Still, not once had he thought he’d lose.

Because there was one massive gap between the two: Su-ho had absolute confidence in his identity.

And that was a critical difference.

Even if fake-Su-ho was just a copy, he was still an exact replica of An Su-ho—same skills, same stats, same swordsmanship, and even the same thought patterns.

Which meant that if fake-Su-ho had been given enough time to think and a few more clues to grasp the situation, the result of the fight could’ve gone either way.

That was why the early setup had been crucial.

Catching him while he was still unsure of his own identity and understanding of the situation—that was the perfect time to bait out carelessness and impatience.

‘And in a match between masters, even the slightest carelessness or urgency can lead straight to death.’

The plan had worked flawlessly.

Of course, Su-ho had backup strategies prepared too.

But they all would’ve taken more time.

In an ordinary battle, that wouldn’t have mattered—but Su-ho was in the middle of a time-sensitive quest.

So he chose the fastest route to end it.

Soon, fake-Su-ho’s body disappeared on the spot.

Watching it vanish, Su-ho let out a small sigh of regret.

‘Damn. Guess since he was part of the quest, his body disappears instantly.’

He’d wondered what kind of loot you could get from farming yourself.

But there was nothing left—not even a shard.

Still, he was satisfied.

Everything had gone exactly as planned, and he’d taken out the fake Su-ho cleanly.

‘Time to move to the next step.’

Without wasting time, Su-ho headed toward the queen and the princess.

“The prince is dead!”

“Find the queen and the princess!” Check latest chapters at novel•fire.net

“Search every corner!!”

The king, the prince, and the kingdom’s army had been all but wiped out.

The gates were breached, and the invading army flooded in like a tidal wave.

“Everyone, be careful! The Knight Commander and Archmage are still alive!”

The final bosses hadn’t fallen yet.

They fought desperately against the invading forces.

But no matter how strong a knight or a mage may be, they were still human—and human stamina and mana had limits.

Aren was already near death.

He’d pushed far past his limits, and what kept him going now was sheer willpower.

“Sir Aren...! Please, it’s all right now. Stop... please stop...”

The queen sobbed, heartbroken, seeing Aren’s tattered form.

But Aren was more resolute than ever.

“No, my Queen! How could I abandon you both now and betray my oath?”

“Please don’t say that! Sir Sotron, is the spell ready?”

“Almost there...! Just a little longer!”

The spell they were referring to—

At this point, the only option left was to run.

And fleeing, under these circumstances, was not cowardice.

As long as they lived, revenge and rebuilding would still be possible in the future.

But teleportation was far more difficult than it seemed.

Even for a court archmage.

Which was why Aren stood alone, holding off the invaders so that Sotron could focus.

“Sir Aren! It’s ready!”

“Then begin at once...!”

With that, Sotron began the spell.

Aren, with the last embers of his life force blazing, raised his sword one final time.

The pressure he gave off was so intense, no one dared approach.

Finally, the teleportation spell activated.

Light exploded outward, enveloping Sotron, the queen, and the princess.

Blood and flesh burst in every direction.

It happened in an instant.

Like a camera flash going off.

The princess called out with a trembling voice.

Her face was drenched in blood—her mother’s blood.

The princess collapsed.

Her mind overloaded with trauma. Her brain shut itself down under the pressure.

Seeing the princess fall, Aren nearly lost his mind.

Then, a vile voice echoed through the invaders.

“Kehehe... how stupid. Did they really think we wouldn’t expect a teleport?”

The voice belonged to one of the invading army’s lead commanders.

He was as powerful a knight as Aren, but prioritized pragmatism over honor.

So he hadn’t stepped forward—he waited, stalling for time until Sotron began the teleport.

The moment the spell was cast, allied mages jammed the coordinates and forced a magical backlash.

And the plan had worked beautifully.

Teleportation was so delicate and complex that a tiny interference in coordinates could cause the target to explode instead of teleport.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t managed to blow up the princess too.

“Well, whatever. I’ll just kill the princess with my own hands. That’ll be even more meaningful, won’t it?”

With that, Bahram gave an order.

“Kill the knight. Bring the princess to me.”

The brief calm shattered as brutal reality returned.

Bahram’s command reinvigorated the soldiers, who stabbed Aren with swords and spears.

With a blade lodged in his lungs, Aren could no longer shout—but he still screamed with his soul.

“Princess!! Wake up!! Princess!!”

And those would be his last words.

To make sure he was dead, the invaders severed Aren’s head and turned toward the unconscious princess.

One of them reached for her.

The soldier’s hand dropped to the floor with a dull thud.

He didn’t even realize what had happened.

It wasn’t until he saw his severed wrist that the pain registered—and he started screaming.

Everyone’s attention snapped toward the man with the severed hand.

But another soldier shouted something that stole the spotlight.

“The princess! She’s gone!”

The princess had vanished.

Even Bahram looked flustered.

Where could she have gone?

Teleportation was already blocked...

Then, an unfamiliar voice rang out.

“Ah, guess that didn’t work.”

The voice belonged to none other than Su-ho.

He appeared out of thin air—carrying the unconscious princess.

Everyone was too stunned to speak.

Su-ho, however, simply clicked his tongue in annoyance.

‘So the moment I take her into the Subspace House, the quest pauses.’

The entire time chaos unfolded, Su-ho had been quietly hiding in a corner with Achromatic Solitude.

Part curiosity—but mostly to confirm the exact quest clear conditions.

He recalled the second quest:

You are now guardians of the palace.

Work together to protect the palace from the invaders.

The key wasn’t “work together”—it was protect the palace.

But in his past life, players who attempted Moon Palace said they lost the siege and fled with just the princess—only for the Gate to suddenly be cleared.

Su-ho had always wondered how that happened.

It didn’t make sense.

Then he remembered one thing:

They said they cleared the Gate, not that they completed the quest.

‘They said the rewards were crap too.’

No MVP, barely a level-up.

It was because the players hadn’t cleared the quest properly.

‘The Gate gave them a quest. But they didn’t complete it—so the reward sucked.’

Still, the Gate cleared anyway.

That’s when Su-ho smelled opportunity.

‘Seriously, if you can’t tell this is a jackpot Gate, you’re an idiot.’

Why was Moon Palace a jackpot?

One shot. High difficulty. Crazy reward potential.

That’s why Su-ho considered this the highlight of his entire run.

He unsheathed his Blood Weapon and muttered,

"Plan A failed, time for Plan B."

Plan A had been to stash the princess in the Subspace House and fight the invaders alone.

But the moment he took her inside, the quest paused.

So, Plan A had failed.

There had been another plan before that too.

Kill everyone, including the princess, and fight the invaders solo.

But Su-ho knew the system was too strict for that.

‘Even if I guard an empty house, the system won’t acknowledge it.’

That wasn’t just speculation—it was based on experience.

He’d failed similar quests before when trying to cheese them.

So this time, he left at least one royal alive.

Another option had been to fight on the front lines with the king and prince from the start.

‘That’s way too tedious and inefficient for a player.’

Because there was a high chance they wouldn’t accept Su-ho as an ally.

‘This place feels like virtual reality to me—but to them, it’s real life.’

The Gate was a simulated world created by the system.

But only the player knows that.

If an average soldier #1 suddenly starts slaughtering invaders like a monster, of course they'd be suspicious.

So yeah, maybe it was a bit sociopathic—but Su-ho let the kingdom’s army get wiped out first to make things easier.

Even if he performed on the battlefield, he’d be distrusted.

Especially by people like Aren and Sotron who knew the real strength of the kingdom’s troops.

Which left only one option:

Leave the princess outside—and drive out the invaders.

He’d spent plenty of time preparing for this {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} plan.

Su-ho glared directly at Bahram.

“What’s the holdup? Not gonna fight? You here to sightsee or what?”