Strongest Kingdom: My Op Kingdom Got Transported Along With Me

"Although I can't see much, I can tell there are a lot of monsters outside the city… and they're lining up." His brow furrows. "It's hard to explain, but they're standing there obediently—no fighting, no chaos. Just… waiting."

One of his men, a younger adventurer with a bow slung across his back, leans in. "Captain, what about inside the city? It's probably been reduced to rubble by now, right?"

The captain lowers the spyglass and shakes his head. "Can't tell. The walls block my view." He hands the spyglass to another member. "See if you can spot anything else."

The man takes it and scans the city. His eyes widen slightly. "There are monsters on top of the walls," he says, voice tinged with disbelief. "They look like they're… patrolling."

Another adventurer scoffs. "That's ridiculous. Since when do monsters patrol like trained soldiers?"

The captain exhales, running a hand through his short, graying hair. "With this information, the quest is a success. We might even get promoted to a Silver-ranked adventurer group." He smirks. "After all, the kingdom put out this quest specifically. This is exactly the kind of intel they wanted."

One of the younger adventurers, a wiry man with twin daggers strapped to his waist, whistles. "Silver rank, huh? That'd mean better quests, better pay, and fewer of those garbage escort missions."

A stocky warrior with a greatsword slung over his back crosses his arms. "It'd also mean harder jobs. But this? This is valuable. If monsters are organizing like this… that's not normal. The kingdom's going to want to know what's happening here."

The captain nods. "Exactly. That's why we don't take any unnecessary risks. We head back and report." He glances around at his team. "And no one does anything stupid, understood?"

"Yeah, yeah," the rogue mutters, sheathing his daggers. "Not like I want to fight an army of monsters."

The youngest member, a bright-eyed mage, looks up from his notebook. "Captain, I've been thinking… There are two types of adventurers, right? Some, like us, take quests as a group and rank up together. But then there are solo adventurers—the ones who don't belong to a party and take on quests alone."

The captain raises a brow. "Yeah, what about it?"

The mage hesitates, then says, "It's just that… Krove, a Bronze-ranked adventurer, took this quest before us. He never came back. Just like the others who took it first." His grip tightens on his notebook. "Doesn't that seem off to you?"

The group falls silent for a moment.

The rogue clicks his tongue. "Krove, huh? I remember that guy. Thought he was hot shit just because he cleared a goblin den solo." He shakes his head. "Still, he wasn't weak. If he disappeared too…"

"Maybe he got careless," the warrior grunts. "A lone Bronze-rank sneaking around near a monster-infested city? He was either reckless or unlucky."

The captain sighs. "Stop being so worrisome. We're far away from the city. I even bought this spyglass for a fortune just so we wouldn't have to get any closer." He taps the expensive item in his hand. "This lets us do our job without ending up like Krove or the others."

The mage frowns. "Still… something doesn't add up." He looks back at the city, then at the monsters outside. "If this was just a regular monster outbreak, we should've seen signs of destruction. Smoke. Fires. Maybe even bodies. But everything looks… controlled."

The rogue crosses his arms. "And that's weird because…?"

"Because monsters don't do that," the mage says flatly. "They rampage. They destroy. They don't line up in neat little rows like soldiers waiting for orders."

The captain exhales sharply. "I know it's weird. But weird or not, our job is just to gather intel and report back. We're not here to solve this mystery ourselves." He gestures to his team. "We've got what we came for. Now, pack up. We're leaving."

The group nods and begins gathering their gear. The tension lingers, but they push it aside—after all, they're professionals.

Then—

A faint whisper. A flicker of movement.

The mage's breath catches. His fingers tighten around his staff. A cold, unnatural presence presses against his skin, sending a violent shiver down his spine.

Something is wrong.

"Wait—"

Before the words can fully escape his lips, the world shifts.

The others don't even react. They don't even know.

Because they're already dead.

Dark, wraith-like figures rise from the very shadows around them—silent, formless beings of pure darkness. No sound. No warning. No chance.

One by one, the adventurers drop. Eyes wide. Mouths slightly open as if in mid-conversation. Their bodies crumple, lifeless, before they even realize they've been killed.

No struggle. No screams.

Just silence.

The mage, the only one who feels it—who knows—tries to raise a barrier. But before he can even gather the mana, cold fingers brush against his throat.

His vision blurs.

Then—

Darkness.

The shadowy figures stand for a brief moment over the lifeless bodies. They do not speak. They do not linger.

And just as suddenly as they appeared—

They vanish.

-----

In the grand throne room of Raltheon's royal palace, King Edric sits on his throne, his fingers drumming lightly against the armrest. The room is silent, save for the occasional crackle of the torches lining the stone walls. Before him stands Marshal Novius, the kingdom's top military strategist and commander of the royal army.

The king exhales, his voice heavy with concern. "Marshal Novius… has the Adventurers' Guild had any success with the quest?"

Novius lowers his head slightly. "Unfortunately, Your Majesty, they have not." His tone is measured but firm. "Every bronze rank adventurers that has accepted the request has failed to return. At this point, we may need to raise the quest to Silver rank."

King Edric sighs, leaning back against his throne. His expression darkens. "So even the Bronze-ranked adventurers couldn't handle it… And we still don't know what happened to them."

Novius straightens his posture. "Rest assured, Your Majesty. If the situation escalates, the kingdom's army is always ready."