Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 283

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.’

A shame.

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!”

“The king too!”

“Find the queen and the princess!”

“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.

“There they are!!”

“Kill them!!”

But—

“Guhk!”

“Keurgh!!”

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

The final bosses hadn’t fallen yet.

Aren and Sotron.

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.

“Haa... haa...”

“Damn it...”

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?”

“But—!”

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

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

The spell they were referring to—

Teleportation.

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.

Then Sotron shouted,

“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.

FWOOOSH!

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

And then—

BOOM!!

They exploded.

Sotron.

And the queen.

Splatter!

Blood and flesh burst in every direction.

It happened in an instant.

Like a camera flash going off.

“M-Mother...?”

The princess called out with a trembling voice.

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

“Uuh... uuh...”

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.’

Exactly that.

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

Why?

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

He recalled the second quest:

[Guardian]

Grade: S

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.

But Su-ho knew why.

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?

Experience said: