Chapter Forty-Five: The Gambler Knight—Zach

“He’s awakened, he’s awakened!”
Chen Ming stood in front of them, wild with delight, laughing as if he’d just found a check for five million. Beside him, Zhu Liang smacked him hard on the head, shouting, “What’s all the fuss for? So you awakened your system, so you’ve got a hidden class—does it really warrant this much noise?”

Zhu Liang was simply jealous, and since he still had the chance to rough Chen Ming up a little, he didn’t hold back. Chen Ming gritted his teeth, rubbed his head, and shot Zhu Liang a disgruntled look, but then turned to Yang Fan, beaming guilelessly. “Boss, I’ve awakened! I’m a Grand Summoner now—an A-rank hidden class.”

Yang Fan just smiled, unsurprised; he’d already known what Chen Ming’s future class would be. He simply told Chen Ming to try summoning, to see what kind of creature he could call forth. As he spoke, Yang Fan explained the Summoner’s development paths and skill tree.

Whether Chen Ming actually understood any of it was anyone’s guess, but when Yang Fan was finished, Chen Ming pressed his palms together in mock solemnity and chanted, “O King of Kings from the Realm of the Gods, darkness falls, and your people suffer under its oppression. I beseech you, send forth a Great Angel to drive away the demons.”

He delivered this line with slapdash seriousness, yet neither Yang Fan nor Zhu Liang dared interrupt. Zhu Liang assumed this was some kind of summoning incantation, while Yang Fan, knowing Chen Ming to be the most unpredictable of summoners, thought he might actually manage to call forth an angel—though that chance was about as likely as winning five million in the lottery today, then winning it again with the same numbers tomorrow.

The odds were vanishingly small, but Yang Fan’s heart beat like a gambler’s—a yearning to win big even with just a single coin, despite knowing full well it was impossible.

A gust of wind swept through—nothing happened. After several minutes, Chen Ming scratched his head, embarrassed, and grinned sheepishly. Zhu Liang, thoroughly annoyed, smacked him a few more times. Yang Fan was left speechless by Chen Ming’s “summoning”—such grand words about the King of Kings, yet in the end, not even a whiff of a response.

But then, if an angel really did appear, it would be an invincible force; no zerg or aberrant beast could stand against it.

Before Chen Ming could start joking again, Yang Fan became serious. “Our situation is extremely dangerous right now. I can’t do this alone. I need you to summon a powerful creature. Here—a silver-grade greatsword. Use it as an offering; it might double your chances.”

Summoners could use offerings to enhance the quality of their summoned beasts. A good offering could call forth an entity many times stronger than oneself. A piece of silver-grade equipment was enough to make anyone green with envy, but Yang Fan was using it as a mere sacrifice—a waste in any other circumstance.

Yang Fan reluctantly handed over the Critical Ring to Chen Ming. Azir’s Greatsword was incomplete and couldn’t be assembled, so this was their only silver-grade ring. At any other time, Yang Fan would never have done this, but he had an ominous feeling—something was about to happen. He could only hope Chen Ming would summon a second-tier aberrant beast or even a zerg.

A bronze-grade would suffice, but a silver-grade would be even better.

“All right, I’ll give it a try.”
Chen Ming, unaware of just how precious silver-grade accessories were, accepted without hesitation. He solemnly activated his summoning skill. The Critical Ring shimmered on the ground, tearing open a rift of black light—a hexagram, dark as midnight, inscribed with countless arcane runes whose meaning was lost to all.

“Mighty one from the Summoning Realm, by my will as a Grand Summoner—Chen Ming—I call you forth from the world of summons. Stand with me, drive back the darkness!”

In that instant, Chen Ming exuded an overwhelming aura. From within the hexagram, a tall figure began to take shape—towering over five meters high, its features obscured in shadow.

“A Titan Giant?” Yang Fan murmured in barely-contained excitement. A five-meter colossus was at least on par with an Earth Giant—possibly even the legendary Titan. If it truly was a Titan, that would make it a gold-grade aberrant beast—utterly invincible. How could Yang Fan not be thrilled?

The energy radiating from the hexagram was immense. Zhu Liang swallowed nervously, vowing never to bully Chen Ming again.

All three stared in anticipation, eager to see what creature would emerge.

Just then, a deep, sonorous voice rang out.

“To fight for the glory of my lord! A knight is a symbol of light, to drive out darkness is my honor. My lance is sharp and flawless; my body shall shield all from evil. Knight Zach, at the service of all lovely ladies.”

The rousing declaration echoed through the room. At first, Chen Ming, Zhu Liang, and Yang Fan listened intently. But by the end, the tone had taken a turn—'at the service of all lovely ladies?' Chen Ming’s face twitched with embarrassment, while Zhu Liang shot him a mocking look.

Yang Fan’s expression was like he’d just swallowed a fly.

“It’s him—the Gambling Knight’s clan, the most unsavory knight of all: Zach!”

Yang Fan blurted it out, and both Chen Ming and Zhu Liang heard him clearly. But neither understood what a Gambling Knight meant—just someone fond of gambling?

The beginner’s guide had once mentioned the Summoner’s Realm, a world much like their own, inhabited by people, aberrant beasts, and zerg alike. Within the Kingdom of Knights, there were thousands of knightly families, but the most notorious was the Gambling Knights.

Knights were supposed to embody justice, selflessness, sacrifice, and light. The Gambling Knights, however, were an aberration. Every member of that family was addicted to gambling, and nine times out of ten, they lost. Thus, a Gambling Knight lived in perpetual cycles of feast and famine.

This habit led them to always haggle for terms before helping anyone; only when their conditions were met would they lend a hand. Otherwise, they reserved the right to simply walk away. In times of danger, the Gambling Knights were invariably the first to flee.

What left Yang Fan truly speechless was that Zach was the most shameless among them. In the previous life, many had summoned Gambling Knights, spending vast sums to send them back to the Summoner’s Realm. Zach, however, was the exception; he stubbornly refused to return, clinging to the mortal world with shameless persistence.

He chased women, adored money and beautiful girls—an absolute scoundrel. The player who summoned Zach in the last life had even abandoned his class entirely to rid himself of Zach’s pestering, a testament to just how maddening this guy could be.

And now, of all creatures, Chen Ming’s first summon was him—how could Yang Fan not be dismayed?

While Yang Fan was preoccupied with his thoughts, the hexagram faded away, revealing a three-meter-tall wooden horse. A burly figure leapt down from its back...