I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

Public channel.

[Daphne (the chef): Good heavens! What are those monsters falling from the sky?! They're breathing fire at the corpse collectors! I saw it all clearly from inside the clock tower!]

[Kimura Ryohei (Onmyoji): This is impossible! Naga are dragons from Tyrande mythology, why would they appear here?! Isn't this a Britannia-related dungeon?!]

[Tina (Florist): With such a huge size and such destructive power, the system actually says it's just a "minor monster"?! A minor monster that's 100 meters long and can breathe fire and control storms?! This damn judgment mechanism!]

[Miranda (war correspondent): Woohoo! Fantastic! These adorable neutral monsters are wiping out undead creatures everywhere!! I can see it clearly! They're mowing down skeletons like wheat!]

[Kyle (Blacksmith): What the hell! Why is it attacking players?! My teammate tried to get closer to remove the dragon scales and got severely burned by the flames!]

[Colevar (Believer): Non-player factions are marked - does this prove that a "god" who manipulates or drives players exists?]

So, is it possible that our tasks aren't automatically generated, but rather determined by some kind of "will"?

[Pam: Shit! Shit! Shit! These monsters really fell from the sky?! They're manipulating the storm!! I see the river flowing backwards! The ice on the Thames has completely broken!]

[Bashir (driver): It's been two days already, hahahahahahahaha! Whatever it is, I have to thank it, hahaha! Look! Those giant serpents are utterly defeating the undead army! Baby! Burn them!]

[Yoranda (maid): I have some too! God, how many of these monsters has the Lord God thrown down?! I can't count them all! There are flames everywhere!!]

[Amina (Doctor): If that's the case, why didn't you just throw these snakes down from the sky from the beginning?! Why wait until most of the players are dead?]

[Mu Xiao (Druid): There might be some kind of condition, like in a game where you need to complete certain conditions to trigger the next level.]

[Vivian (the witch): Hey! Now is not the time to discuss academic papers. Those serpents have repelled the Vortigern's lackeys; it's time to storm into the Stone Square!]

[Morgan: This is so exciting! Count me in, I want to crush that Wojtigan guy's balls with my own hands!! I'm on my way to the Stone Square!]

[Tim (Hunter): Can someone share the map? My companion and I are lost in Avalon Swamp!]

Sigrid (Shield Guard): Where is that giant serpent you guys were talking about?? I was ambushed and knocked unconscious by goblins, and when I woke up I was in Mermaid Harbor on the West Bank...

[Clyde: Wait, have you guys thought about this—if these Naga were thrown down by the "God," is this "God" truly a "deity"? Where is He? Is He watching us?]

[Hannah (the factory worker): I'd like to meet this supreme deity. If He truly exists, I'd like to ask Him why He chose me as the player.]

[Ivan Sokolov (Orion): Don't be silly, the Supreme God won't answer your question—without players, without instances, this is the future of real Great Britain.]

[Fabrizio (the monk): God above, this must be the Lord's will.]

Wang Ke: ...I have a bold guess.

[Zheng Hao (delivery driver): Stop guessing, hurry to the Stone Sword Plaza! Tomorrow is the day Merlin prophesied Arthur would draw the sword!!]

[Luna (astrologer): The supreme deity is neither good nor evil. I believe He is simply maintaining balance. Don't you think there are too many humans on Earth?]

[Isabella (dancer): If only the Lord God could throw a few more of those Nagas into Old London.]

[Arnold (the farmer): I just crawled out of the cellar. My potatoes aren't ripe yet, but I'm not eating them. I'm going to see Merlin and witness King Arthur draw his sword!]

[Daniel (Night Watchman): I'm already running towards the Stone Square. If I can get a spot in the queue to see King Arthur pull out the sword—]

Vlad the Alchemist: Seven days have passed! Tomorrow! The Sword in the Stone! King Arthur! I want to see him draw the sword with my own eyes!

[Constantine (Father): God bless Britain. God bless King Arthur.]

[Siegfried (Mercenary): God bless our points, that's the most important thing.]

[Antonio (Gladiator): Charge!! For the points! For the glory of Great Britain! For King Arthur!!]

[Lucas (the blacksmith): For Camelot! For King Arthur!]

Oliver: For Merlin!!

……

……

……

The flames and storms brought by the Naga Sons ravaged the land, and the undead army of Voltigan was routed.

In sixth-century Britain, a large white bird gently descended over the old city of London, flapping its wings.

"clatter."

Chen Xi jumped off the back of the giant white bird. Her first feeling was cold, and her second feeling was quiet.

This city is not right.

She landed at the South Bank ferry crossing in London's Old City, according to any history book, any map, or any information shared by players in the public chat—

These should all be the main entrances to the city.

This is a dock, so logically there should be boatmen and soldiers here.

There should at least be a body.

But now there's nothing.

The old stone pier has a pale gray color, with a few wooden stakes sticking out of the water, wrapped with rotten cables.

Several capsized boats were submerged in the lake.

A stone-paved path on the shore leads to the city gate, where two wooden doors covered with iron sheets stand, one hanging askew on the hinges and the other lying on the ground.

The iron nails on the door have been corroded to a dark red color by time.

Weng Yang also jumped off the bird's back, and Zheng Wenxuan pulled Wang Lei, whose body was covered in frost, off the bird's back.

Wang Lei shivered when he landed, and his paper clothes rustled.

Tan Moli rode on the back of the giant white bird, patted its back, and the giant bird immediately flapped its wings and rose back to a high place.

—If anything unusual happens, Tan Moli will alert everyone immediately.

……

……

Something's not right.

Chen Xi squatted down and touched the ashes on the ground with two fingers.

The ashes were mixed with charcoal fragments, broken tiles, and some indistinguishable black particles.

She twirled the ashes between her fingers: "It must have been lit a long time ago; it's completely cold now."

Where have all the living people in the city gone?

Weng Yang looked around. They were standing on a main street, which was wide enough for four carriages to travel side by side.

On both sides are stone houses, some two stories high and some three stories high, all with small windows on the side facing the street.

Most of the window frames were made of wood, but the wood was rotten, and some windows still had faded curtains hanging on them.

When the wind blows, the curtains sway gently.

But there were no living people.

not a single one.

"There should be quite a few Indigenous residents in London's Old City."

Weng Yang's voice sounded very loud on the empty street:

"The Arthurian legend should be set in the sixth or seventh century AD, and historical records about this period of London are basically blank."

However, based on population size, there should be at least tens of thousands of residents here.

—Although players rarely see any living people along the way, they mostly encounter fantastical creatures such as corpse collectors, lake fairies, goblins, and dwarves.

But no one really investigated why they hadn't seen many living people.

After all, everyone assumed that the remaining living people were in the old city of London.

The city still exists, but there isn't a single living person left in it.

As for the imagined epic battle against the undead knights, storming the castle, and capturing Vortigern alive, that didn't come true either.

"Could it be that all the living people have hidden themselves? Hidden in the cellar, or somewhere else?"

Weng Yang rubbed his skin, which was covered in goosebumps, feeling that the whole thing was strange.

Chen Xi didn't speak, but glanced at Zheng Wenxuan and Wang Lei. The two immediately understood and went off to investigate separately.

Where is Merlin?

Weng Yang considered a possibility: "Could Vortigern have turned everyone in the city into undead just to kill Arthur?"

Chen Xi shook his head: "It can't be confirmed yet."

Following that, more and more players began to enter the city.

A man rode a unicorn, looking very proud, past the street, dressed in a full knight's outfit.

Someone was grabbed by the bird's claws and dropped from a height of more than ten meters above the ground with a dull thud!

Someone climbed out of the Thames, soaking wet, spitting out a dozen strings of eerie green bubbles.

"Wow! This is King Arthur's castle?! That's so cool!"

"Where is that bastard Wotigan?! I'm going to kill him!"

"Where is Merlin? Where is the beautiful elf? Where is the tavern? Where are the fine wine and delicious steak? Come and welcome your hero—"

"Wotigan's lackeys! Come and fight me to the death!"

"For King Arthur! For the glory of Great Britain!!"

A group of players surged through the city gates and onto the streets.

But in the completely empty city, only their cheers echoed.

Because there are no enemies, not a single one.

There were no soldiers from Wotigan.

There are no black magicians.

There are no dead.

There was no one to collect the body.

The imagined great battle and the thrilling counterattack all vanished like bubbles—the undead legion was crushed, and they stormed into the old city of London, dragged Wotigan out of his castle, and chopped off his head.

Every player had already rehearsed this scene in their mind.

If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be: "I drew my sword and looked around, feeling utterly lost."

……

……

Wang Lei and Zheng Wenxuan returned quickly, both with solemn expressions, clearly having found nothing.

Chen Xi pondered for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tracing patterns on the map:

Everything seemed eerie.

The ever-growing Wojtigan undead army, the deathly silent castle, and the vanished residents of London.

It's impossible that Vortigern used dark magic to turn himself into an undead creature, is it?

Suddenly, a bird's cry came from the sky.

The giant white bird circled high above, its wings flapping against the gray sky. News of Tan Moli had also arrived:

[Tan Jasmine (intelligence expert): There's no one in the castle, absolutely nothing.]

[Tan Moli (intelligence expert): But I just received a piece of intelligence.]

[Talking about Jasmine (intelligence expert): First, Merlin is in the Stone Sword Plaza, do you want to go see him?]

Chen Xi straightened up and looked straight at the Stone Sword Square.