Valentino, the global number one in the tanker rankings, was an icon and an idol for all tankers worldwide. Why? In Athenae, the tanker class had never been in the spotlight. But the tankers’ status seemed to rise whenever Valentino appeared on the screen. And this very same Valentino was now left facing a tall and high wall he could not reach.

Ali mouthed to Valentino.

Despite suffering such great humiliation, Valentino could not attack or show anger at him. His eyes shifted as he realized Minhyuk had created this situation before the gods for Ali's sake. Although embarrassing, he even shouted, “Frieeeeend!!!” to show his trust in his subordinate. His gaze landed on his emperor. However, Nerva acted entirely differently from Minhyuk.

“This emperor is very ashamed to have you as a subordinate.”

“...”

“You dare to criticize others, yet you act like a wet rat in front of the one you criticize? It seems like you need to share the conversation that you had earlier. If I find you guilty, then I believe you deserve such treatment, no?”

Nerva judged that it was better for his image to scold his subordinate, who had been trampled on, rather than protect and show care for him. He had decided that Valentino deserved criticism and blame in this place.

When Nerva said, was completely different.

Valentino’s head turned blank. He could see Nerva’s contempt. It was as if he were looking at a bug despite his kind, gracious, gentle words.

He was the idol of all tankers. When he joined the Swords of the Gods, tankers from all over the world cheered. Some of his fans were so happy that they even held parties amongst themselves.

Valentino was a greedy man who loved attention. Because of that, he had already thought and planned his future, which was also why his head had turned completely blank. He wanted to scream. However, he could only clamp his mouth shut in front of Nerva. He might fall even further if he said the wrong thing here.

Meanwhile, Ali raised his left arm and showed off the symbol on his arm as he walked toward Minhyuk. And Minhyuk? He greeted Ali with a wide and bright smile on his face.

Everything had a price; this was how Valentino paid the price for his actions.

***

Reporter Go Eun-Ah turned her head after looking at Valentino, who finally got up after stumbling on his feet.

she thought, her mind turning as she tried to figure out its meaning.

was a process where one gave up their position and allowed someone to take over for them. However, she had one question.

Of course, everyone who had received the invitation to the Gods’ Succession Ceremony had something in common. First, they were all players who had achieved Level 600. Second, there were no production-class players; Minhyuk was the exception since he was unique. And third, all of them were God-class players.

But would the gods truly hand over their positions so easily? Go Eun-Ah understood that the God-class players would grow stronger once they inherited their respective gods’ positions. However, she wanted to know if the gods were willing to give their positions easily.

Suddenly, blazing flames shot up and lit the entire hall where the succession ceremony was being held.

Then, the entire hall began to shake.

“Wh- what?”

“What the hell?”

“What is happening so suddenly?”

The players were highly flustered as the hall slowly floated to the sky. At that moment, a familiar man wearing gorgeous silver armor and overflowing with charisma appeared standing in front of the podium. The gods immediately gathered around him as they all looked at the players.

“The succession ceremony will now commence.”

This man was none other than the Battle God.

“Kihyeeeeeeeeck!”

“Kyahaaaaaaack!”

“Graaaaaaaaaa!”

Roars resonated from a distance. When they turned to look in the direction where the sound came from, they saw thousands of bone dragons and tens of thousands of wyverns charging toward them. And from the looks of it, death knights and liches were riding atop them. Then, a bright light flashed, and the space by the side of the gods cracked open. Through this crack, hundreds of pegasi, followed by thousands of white horses carrying the knights of the Divine Army ran out. But that was not the end of it all.

“Kihyeeeeeeeeeck!”

“Kyahaaaaaaaaaack!”

The God of Summoners stepped forward and raised his arms to the sky.

Millions of flying monsters poured out from the sky.

“What- what the hell…”

The players, who could not understand the situation, were all moving like headless flies. At that moment, the Battle God and the gods gathered around him disappeared in a flash of light. Where did the gods go? They appeared standing or riding atop some of the bone dragons and the pegasi.

Finally, the notifications rang in the ears of the flustered players.

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Everyone was left speechless when they saw that the penalty was too big. Notifications also rang for each individual, and these were the notifications that rang in Valentino’s ears.

Most of them heard similar notifications. And, of course, the same was true for Minhyuk.

Minhyuk was also left flustered when he saw that his skills' effects would be reduced by half if he died or failed to prove his qualifications in this Succession Ceremony. However, the most significant damage he could receive here was that he would be unable to develop and grow further as the Battle God’s Descendant.

“We have to survive against the onslaught of the gods’ attacks…?”

“Stop the gods? This is wild. How can we…?!”

The players were plunged into even deeper confusion. They were just players. That was not all. They were also forced to kneel and worship the gods the moment they arrived here and subjected to the gods’ momentum and presence.

Immediately after that, a huge explosion erupted and devoured the players.

“Keheok! is this strong?!”

“Shit…”

“A- aaaaaaaack!”

The players quickly saw the hundreds of magic the God of Magic sent hurtling down at them. But was that all? Of course not. The soldiers and knights of the Divine Army also shot thousands of arrows.

The Battle God also sent flames flying toward them along with the bone dragons’ Breath.

The succession ceremony’s hall, which floated to the sky, shook fiercely. In just an instant, the narrow space was turned upside down. Some unlucky players were even sprawled on the ground and forced to log out.

“N- no…”

The players’ faces twisted when they saw the expression on their faces before they completely turned into ashes and disappeared. And what expression did they see? They looked desperate. It was as if their worlds fell apart, and they lost everything. Anger flared up within them. Perhaps it was only natural. After all, their pride as one of the God-class players was trampled upon.

“F*ck this! Is this the reason why there aren’t any production class players among us?!”

Only then did the players realize that among all the God-class players, there weren’t any players with a production class. This was because they wouldn’t be able to survive this hell. But what if they were here? What would happen then? Although the production-class players might face enormous risks, they would still greatly help the other players. After all, they could help reinforce and strengthen the other players so that they could reach the gods and be on the same ground.

Tension ran high among the players as the notifications rang in their ears. Many of them even lost their will to fight. Even Minhyuk frowned when he heard the same notifications.

Minhyuk suddenly felt a sense of urgency when he realized that his qualifications would still be questioned even if the ones that suffered damage were others and not him. Be that as it may, he had already accepted this situation. However, the problem was that most players lost their will to fight.

At that moment, the gods began to prepare for the second wave of attacks. Meanwhile, Minhyuk, who was located on the opposite side of where the gods were, heard another series of notifications.

“U- Uwaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Run!!!”

“Damn it!!!”

The players hurriedly ran in the opposite direction, trying to get as far away from the gods as possible. It was quite a funny sight. These people were the envy of many. However, now that they were facing great danger and were at risk of losing their God class, they all tried to run away.

Valentino stood blankly amidst the panicking crowd. Then, someone shouted at him, “Activate your shield and protect this emperor!”

This someone was none other than Nerva. Nerva did not look flustered at all. He stood there calmly and gave orders to Valentino. And Valentino? He looked at the crowds of players running away in the opposite direction.

“...”

Valentino continued to look at them blankly. At that moment, Minhyuk, who was about to pass by him, said, “Valentino, activate Bentino’s Wall in front. I am in desperate need of your help. If we have your walls, then we will be able to defend against this attack.”

“...What?”

Valentino almost blurted out these words. Could one player indeed defend against the onslaught of attack from the gods? No more than that, did he just say that he desperately needed Valentino’s help? Then, at that moment…

“Come here in front of me and protect me right away!!!”

Nerva’s grating shouts rang in his ears. This was the very same person who had said that he would execute him and remove him as a member of his knight order. The worst part? He looked at Valentino with contempt as he shouted louder at him.

Nerva shouted because he did not want his subjects to heed the orders of the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor.

“If you don’t come before me right now, I will make it so you cannot set foot on Earth!!!”

Valentino was left speechless as he looked at Nerva, who kept on threatening him.

Yes, he was that kind of guy.

He was also the subject of people’s admiration.

The notifications that rang in his ears earlier said:

That was right. There was still something he had not lost. Valentino was the pride of all the tankers in the world.

Valentino turned his gaze away from Nerva and ran in the opposite direction, toward where Minhyuk, Ali, and Death were running.

“Make way!”

Valentino beat them to the chase. Then, he slammed his square shield on the ground with all his might just as the thousands of magic sent by the God of Magic and the tens of thousands of arrows shot by the Divine Army flew toward them along with thousands of Breaths.

The moment the Succession Ceremony truly started, all the damage they had received had recovered. This was also the case for their skill cooldown, which meant Valentino had something to rely on.

“Bentino’s Wall!!!”

A colossal shield that looked like a wall comparable to Mount Tai's appeared in front of the running players.

The entire world held its breath as it watched Bentino’s Walls unfold as the attack of the gods fell upon the God-class players.