Dungeon King: The Hidden Ruler-Chapter 111: [Throne War: Parallax Protocol 2] Day One Has Begun

[THRONE WAR: DAY 1]

The Frayed Ledger guild shop was quiet this afternoon, its usual buzz replaced by the steady clink of metal on wood as Raven inspected the new gear laid out on the bench. Before him, resting on dark velvet, was the custom-forged Spireweave Duelset—a full combat gear set crafted by Catria herself. It was dwarven in design, with a sleek steampunk finish: a pair of gleaming daggers with gear-tooth hilts, a matte-black pauldron lined with steam vents, and a belt rigged with double scabbards for quickdraw access across Raven’s back.

Catria stood nearby, fidgeting with her gloves and trying her hardest not to grin. Her hair was pulled back, her eyes flicking between Raven’s unreadable expression and the dagger’s engraving. This was her first real offering to Raven—something built with her own hands, shaped with the quiet admiration she never dared speak aloud.

To her, Raven wasn’t just a player. He was the one who, alongside Theo, had pulled her from the gray static of her life. Back then, she’d been a shut-in, a failed artist with a fading dream. Now she was a named crafter—one who had watched her parents cry not out of shame, but pride, the moment her first share of cartel earnings hit her bank account.

Raven turned the first dagger in his hand, eyes catching on the engraved name: Spirefang.

"Huh," he muttered, voice as casual as ever. "Burst and haste. The more I’m into battle, the more the damage output."

Catria’s voice wavered. "Uh-huh. Never saw you fight... but I figured your style’s something like this."

He nodded once and looked over the full set:

Set Name: Spireweave Duelset

Custom-forged dwarven light combat set, crafted by Catria for fast, mobile engagements. Inspired by Raven’s burst-and-slip style.

Dagger 1 – Spirefang (Main-hand)

Effect:

Break Pulse: First hit against any enemy with 80%+ HP deals bonus armor-piercing damage and interrupts their casting if they’re not already crowd-controlled. (10s cooldown per target.)

Dagger 2 – Spirefang Reverse (Off-hand)

Effect:

Finisher’s Curve: Deals +15% critical strike chance against enemies with below 50% HP. If the target is already affected by a bleed or burn, the bonus increases to +25% crit chance.

Set Bonus (Equipped 3+ pieces: Belt, Pauldron, Dual Daggers)

🔹 2-Piece Bonus – "Engage Drive"

Gain +6% movement speed and +5% skill haste for 5 seconds after hitting an enemy with both daggers in quick succession.

🔹 4-Piece Bonus – "Forge Rhythm"

Every 20 seconds of continuous combat, the next attack restores 5% stamina and slightly extends Raven’s evasion window for 3 seconds.

A smile curled on his lips. "Huh. Not bad."

The passive bonus triggered—his own dwarven synergy bonus granting him an additional +15% damage for wearing a full dwarven-style set.

Still, Catria’s eyes flickered with the faintest disappointment. Raven sighed. He knew what she was hoping for.

So he repeated, slower this time, with intent: "This is great, Catria. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a dual-wield set."

Now she beamed with pride, practically radiating joy like a sunlit forge. She looked like a huge cat, one that would start purring if you scratched behind her ears.

Theo walked in and chuckled. "So, you’re going to wear it right away in the Throne War?"

"Yep," Raven said, equipping the new set piece by piece. "I don’t have a proper PvP set. This fits. You wanna join?"

"Oh, we’re all joining," Theo grinned. "Just not the same way you do. Our young lady here is making floods of PvP gear from your regular material drops. Nothing special—just purple max—but I’m selling it under the Attic Squad account webs."

Raven groaned. "You still use that horrible name."

"That sounds lame," Catria added.

Theo raised an eyebrow. "You got better names?"

Raven shrugged as he didn’t care for names while Catria responded briefly, "No."

The world returned in red and gray.

Raven’s screen shimmered into focus—dust curling in the air, alarms flashing across the HUD. Emberwatch’s sky was already half-obscured by drifting smoke, and the system alert pulsed like a wound in the corner of his vision.

Raven stepped out from the event portal and into the battlefield.

The Throne War this month took place in Emberwatch, a border outpost nestled in the desolate Halberd Waste zone. The sky was washed in pale rust, streaked with ash. A faint vibration ran through the cracked earth as distant siege engines thundered from beyond the horizon.

Raven looked around with calculating eyes. A faint smile curled his lips.

Velkarin Axis. That meant they were this month’s defenders.

Right on schedule, just after he’d finished conquering Gravewake Hollow and Kharnath Dur.

The Halberd Wastes were normally a dead, silent place—once a frontline of a forgotten war. Now, though, special event overlays gave it the air of an active siege: broken siege walkers, blood-soaked banners fluttering, smoldering sky pyres blazing day and night. Emberwatch burned like a scar refusing to fade.

He started walking toward the inner sanctum, his pace steady.

This time, he would use a summon—but not one of the dramatic ones. No massive flaming titan. No elegant, demonic paladin like Lady Seravelle or cold beauty like Lady Ostreva. That would draw too much attention.

No, this called for something subtle.

Duskrunner Alpha.

With a body not far from a regular wolf-type summon—just larger, more muscular—it could pass for a mid-tier elite pet. Perfect.

Raven whispered, "Come forth, Duskrunner Alpha." Duskrunner appeared in a burst of black mist, its fangs already bared, ready to speak.

Before it could open its mouth, Raven placed a hand on its paw. "We’re not in a dungeon. Be silent, okay? Only talk when no one’s around. Got it?"

Duskrunner tilted its head, clearly confused but nodded. It gave a low growl in compliance.

"Good boy." Raven vaulted onto its back. "Straight to the temple ahead. This is a PvE event—lots of human players. If they see my summon talking, it’ll raise questions."

Below them, a defender was cut down—one of the AI guard captains overwhelmed by a summoned Cindraleth beast that burst through a weak barricade. Players screamed for heals, but the caster fell next. Their body clipped awkwardly into a burning crate. They will be resurrect at the inner sanctum.

Without being told, Duskrunner leapt toward the nearest rooftop and began moving across the city’s heights—jumping railings, skimming narrow eaves, always above the crowd.

"So what’s this Throne War?" Duskrunner asked quietly.

"Stop for a moment," Raven ordered.

Duskrunner halted atop a long, sloped roof. Raven turned his gaze back.

"Look behind you. That’s the outer wall. The enemy will come from there."

Duskrunner glanced over his shoulder, taking in the imposing wall that marked the edge of Emberwatch, its gates sealed by heavy locks and arcane sigils.

"Now look ahead," Raven continued.

In the center of the city stood a towering temple—sun-bleached stone pillars framing the final objective.

"That’s the inner sanctum. The invaders will try to breach the outer gate, swarm through the city, and destroy that temple. Simple setup."

"So we get to kill everything?" Duskrunner grinned, tail twitching.

"...Or get killed."

"Even better," Duskrunner growled with excitement, as distant explosion heard from outer wall.

"Inner Sanctum. Let’s go!"

Duskrunner growled in acknowledgment as they joined the movement through Emberwatch. Players sprinted past in disorganized clusters—hauling parts, spell scrolls, siege cores. Some looked frantic, others resigned.

Near the sanctum vendor, Raven tapped out the basics: oil cauldron, trebuchet, ballista frame. He didn’t need much. Just a clear angle.

He and Duskrunner weaved through supply runners and guild squads until they reached an unused ridge behind the left gate scaffolding.

He dropped the frame, assembled the ballista, and locked it into place.

Then the ping hit.

"Follow the East Wall push with Parallax Vanguard!"

Duskrunner’s ears twitched. "What was that?"

"Noise," Raven said flatly, Started shooting the fire ballistas at the marching troops.

Cindraleth Union’s troop.

A tagged squad had appeared on the east side—five glowing outlines surrounded by promo borders. Vanguard. Parallax Vanguard.

[Alundra_Tremorhold]: "We cleared that wave. Don’t @ me with this PR squad."

[Parallax_Claude]: "Hey, chill, we’re on the same side here."

[Alundra_Tremorhold]: "Yeah? And where the hell were they when the left flank almost collapsed? This whole PR circus is getting people killed."

[Parallax_Rivien]: "We are here now and we—."

[Alundra_Tremorhold]: "Oh shut the hell up. if you can talk, you can kill. Try killing something instead of talking!"

A low-ranked player ran toward the left tower—carrying a disruptor crystal. An arrow caught him mid-sprint, fired from behind the fog of war. His body dropped flat, the crystal rolling off and blinking uselessly. No PR team filmed that.

Alundra Tremorhold. Raven didn’t know her, but that name is often showing up in global rankboard for PvE points rank.

That means the defense in this area is organized by their guild.

He stood up and calculated the battleground before him. At the wall breach, Alundra’s group held the line to make sure the flow of enemy wont added. Behind her group, flow of Cindraleth troop marches in through the breach.

Another section of the wall collapsed in a roar of splintered stone and shrieking system alerts. A squad from the guild Ironhost tried to plug the breach, but half were deleted by AoE sap bombs. One mage ignited trying to cast—her death message blinked red in the upper corner.

Raven efficiently locked a ballista bolt into place, and aimed at behind the breach, to the second line, before barking command. "Support the breach defender! Shoot at the incoming troops. Aim your ballistas to few meters behind the breach!."

More soldiers poured in. A wave was already moving toward the South Sector. Alundra’s group was still holding on. Raven shot at the enemy’s backline, to cut off the enemy flow to Alundra’s group. To slow down the flow of attacker.

"You! Hey, I remember you" a cheerful voice behind him. He looked around.

She was the one paladin that helped him on the last days of previous month’s Throne War.

What was her name again? Oh yeah, Fairyblade.

Raven gave her a brief nod, polite but curt. "Good timing."

He turned his eyes back toward the gate.

She had already placed her ballista and aimed at the same spot Raven had aimed

"Wanna group up?" she asked.

Raven shrugged and clicked yes on the party request before adding, "That won’t change the fact that I’ll still move on my own."

Fairyblade shot another bolt before answering, "Then I’ll follow you."

Before she could reply, another explosion rocked the outer wall—closer this time. A new flank had collapsed.

Raven narrowed his eyes. "Try to keep up."

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