Episode 265
“That is all for the explanation. The situation may not be good, but let’s try to defend as best we can.”
Around noon, Hanbit sat in front of his laptop and finished delivering the plan via video conference. It was
a deceptive strategy newly established at Nio Guild headquarters.
It was a secret meeting attended by reliable Alliance senior members such as Haemu and Grace.
“I understand, but… it’s too much of a gamble. It really hurts that we are short on manpower.”
Haemu, who had already heard the situation, deliberately created an atmosphere of anxiety.
The widely publicized plan was an invasion defense strategy that dispersed forces.
Considering the shortage of troops, it was a standard plan to prioritize defending a small number of occupied territories with high capture points.
In reality, however, everyone except Hanbit would be forced to leave the territories.
“We have to make do with what we have. It is a situation where we are lucky if we can defend even a part.”
Max, who had been listening quietly—ranked 322nd, no, now 318th—spoke up.
The spy who leaked information to the Seongche Faction.
Their expressions were not visible because their respective character images were displayed on the screen.
However, a cautious tone, as if assessing the situation, was evident in her voice.
"The hardliners and moderates have formed an alliance, but there are also many players acting independently. Wouldn't the Holy Faction already be aware of the territories with high capture points and the internal information?"
Just then, Grace recited what she had promised. It was a safeguard designed
to frame the possibility of a leak as a matter of course,
even implying that it would be impossible to guess who leaked the information.
Hanbit spoke while looking at the shared map screen.
"Even considering that, there are territories that must not be lost. If the Holy Faction knows the information on key territories, they would likely anticipate that the defenses are thick. It would be better if they shifted their focus to the ones with lower capture points."
Hanbit tossed out a remark mixed with a wishful thinking.
The person who reacted immediately to that remark was Max.
"Certainly, there is a possibility they might launch a massive assault on the relatively easy-to-penetrate territories." "Or how about we disperse our forces in that direction as well?"
"We can't go in a half-hearted direction. We need to invest decisively and defend the places that need to be defended."
"Hmm, if you are firm in your stance, I suppose I have no choice. I will follow the plan."
Max, who had been instigating the dispersion of forces, meekly agreed, keeping his words short.
This conversation would be passed on intact to the Seongche faction by him.
The Alliance invests all its troops to defend key occupied territories.
This was a clear plan to be imprinted on the enemy.
"The most important one is Occupation Site No. 32, right? Black Dragon, the place you said you would take charge of. The structure looked quite treacherous."
Haemu deliberately mentioned the name to emphasize it.
Occupation Site No. 32, the top priority defense point that Black Dragon would personally oversee.
A significant number of personnel were already assigned to it in the records.
As this was also a pre-arranged conversation, Hanbit chimed in.
"It has 10 occupation points. If we defend it well, we can use it as a permanent hunting ground. I'll have to do my best."
The interior of Occupied Territory No. 32 was an environment of pure chaos. It was a mixture of
all sorts of abnormal weather conditions witnessed by the Investigation Team on the Sky Island of Nephelis.
It was a horrific structure where elements of the Cube of Hell were intermingled with that environment.
'I made the right decision leaving it to Elfo.'
Occupied Territory No. 32 was originally a target they had given up on conquering.
However, the situation changed after meeting LLLL, the 6th ranked player, on Feria Island.
Even though they contacted him a little late to ask for help, Elfo readily succeeded in conquering the place.
They had told him the method, but it would likely have been difficult without the power of a 6th-ranked player.
Moreover, he was now preparing the plan Hanbit had conveyed alongside rankers within the top 300.
"If No. 32 is the most important, wouldn't it be better for me to go there?"
Max, who had been listening to the conversation, interrupted once again to express his opinion.
Ideally, it was a plan that should have been carried out out of his sight, but Hanbit had been waiting for that question.
"If that happens, the forces on the other side will be left empty, won't they?"
"I am stronger than the numerical ranking." "If Capture Point 32 is valuable, it is definitely best to defend it. Don't you think so?"
"Hmm…"
Hanbit reacted as if deliberately deep in thought.
After pausing for a moment, he continued as if resigned to the situation.
"Fine. It’s better than losing 32. You join us at Capture Point 32. I’ll fill the vacant spot with someone else."
"That’s the right decision. Then, let’s head to Sector 32 on time."
Max spoke in a satisfied tone.
It was understandable that he would be pleased to see things unfolding according to plan.
Reading his thoughts, Hanbit stood up and said,
"There are 12 hours remaining until the invasion event begins. Please hunt in the designated areas until then, and gather at the rally point at least 20 minutes beforehand. We will conclude the meeting here."
*Click*
The meeting, which had lasted about two hours, wrapped up like that.
Although he had ended up deceiving Max and the others present, it was unavoidable now.
“Shall we grab something to eat?”
Hanbit left the room, went to the kitchen, and heated up some soup.
Sitting at the table and picking up some gimbap to eat, he checked his smartphone.
[LLLL]
“We’re ready. If we don’t show ourselves at all, they’ll actually become suspicious, so I’ll make it look like some of the Rankers are attacking a forbidden zone rather than the occupied territory.”
Having finished his preparations quickly, Elfo was already formulating a plan that took into account the gaze of the enemies.
Thirty Rankers, including him.
Considering that most of them had no interest in the occupied territory, it was a considerable number.
Naturally, since the Seongche faction was unlikely to deploy all of their Rankers either, this was sufficient strength for a special task force.
Hanbit sent a reply of thanks and hurriedly finished his meal.
“Liwei, Luna, Rafina… Ah, there was Ranger too.”
Returning to his desk, he checked Elfo’s player list.
What surprised him during their recent exchange of information was the tremendous growth of Luna and Rafina.
It was said that the two of them ran into Liwei by chance while caught in an error zone at the boundary of the forbidden zone.
From that point on, they reportedly poured their time into growth day and night.
I heard they have now climbed into the top 600.
'I've climbed too.'
Hanbit entered the RP website and checked the newly updated rankings.
[189th Black Dragon]
Perhaps due to the aftermath of the private zone and Feria Island, the ranking had broken through the top 200.
Although he didn't attach much significance to it, in RP, this was the result of proof.
Scanning the rankings up and down, Hanbit quietly switched over to the community. As expected
, it was heated up there again today.
<Invasion Event 12 hours.>
<Adult Faction wins (Recommend), Other side wins (Dislike).>
<Black Dragon, please stop opening content that can't stream;>
<Is it okay to switch to the Adult Faction now?>
<Anyone who started the Feria Island Archives?>
Countless people waiting for the invasion event and people agonizing over which faction to join.
Of course, even those focused on gameplay had distinct characteristics.
“Hmm.”
Hanbit scrolled down, scanning the headlines.
Then, he found a post that caught his eye.
<Maybe there’s something in the capture points?>
It’s currently accepted theory that dangerous areas with high monster levels have high capture points.
But isn’t it a bit strange to give up a capture point just to kill monsters?
Isn’t there something hidden?
-Oh, that doesn’t sound plausible.
└LOL
-You’re steeped in the "hidden" stuff… .
-Black Dragon, you’re wrong.
-So, when is Black Dragon streaming?
└It’s tough these days.
└You’ve lost your original mindset;
└How are you supposed to stream during invasion content?;
└Legal stream sniping, wow.
It was a post by a solo player who didn’t seem to be part of the Adult Faction or the Alliance.
The comments were a complete mess, but the term "hidden" wasn’t entirely wrong.
After all, capture points weren’t an indicator of every value.
“You have a good hunch.”
The criteria for the points calculated by the system appeared to be a composite result of the occupied territory's location, resource efficiency, terrain and monster danger, and regional buffs.
However, unrevealed elements such as hidden objects, spaces, or passageways had absolutely no impact on those points.
In other words, the superiority of importance could not be determined solely by the displayed numerical values.
“We can’t let them be taken.”
There were a few occupied territories that hadn’t even been mentioned in the meeting.
Although they were empty, they weren’t simply left neglected.
Players selected by Haemu and Grace were planning to lie in ambush nearby to defend them.
The objective of this invasion event was clear.
Protect what must be protected, and take what must be taken.
That was all.
Whirring—
Hanbit moved to his bed, donned his gear, and immediately executed.
When the Nio Guild Headquarters was revealed, the faces of the players, including the twins, came into view.
“Now, let’s move.”
***
Slash—!
Splash—!
Red blood splattered onto the pure white snow.
Standing inside Occupied Territory No. 46, Hanbit watched the battle that had dragged on for nearly ten minutes.
Bang—!
“Ugh!”
Ping-pong parried the Orc’s attacks from the front line.
Seizing the opportunity, the twins launched a counterattack.
Whoosh—!
Pow pow!
Unable to penetrate the tough skin, the attacks scattered, leaving wounds.
Whoosh—!
Whoosh—!
The monster swung its fists, scattering rage.
Pingpong, who had been watching the situation closely, threw himself forward once again.
Bang—!
“Ugh!”
The impact was so strong that his foot dug into the ground, nearly breaking Pingpong’s back.
It was that powerful a monster.
“Isn’t this a bit too much for you?”
Kim Han-seop, who was watching alongside him, asked with a frown.
It was certainly a tough opponent, but the risk was well worth it.
Swoosh—
Just then, Haneul slid forward and scattered afterimages to confuse the enemy.
His wind-infused movements were the result of his own research and training.
Whoosh—!
The Orc, unable to clearly distinguish Haneul, swung his fists wildly.
And the moment his movements got tangled and he staggered.
Ta-da—!
Haneul quickly turned around and leaped up, wrapping his arms around the Orc’s neck.
Aaaargh—!
The enraged monster wildly swung his arms and threw punches toward his head.
Seizing the opportunity, Pingpong straightened his shield and charged straight ahead.
Crack—!
A bright yellow wave emanated from the orc's knee. It
was an attack created in collaboration with the Earth Spirit.
The impact scattered the enemy's center of gravity.
*Pow!
* At the same time, a sphere of light exploded from the orc's line of sight.
*Groan!*
Instantly blinded, the orc screamed and hunched his upper body.
Just then, the Dagger of the Sky attached to his neck moved.
*Thud!*
The fatal weak point on the right side of the orc's nape.
The sharp dagger pierced precisely there.
*Thump!*
The orc, unable to even scream, collapsed to his knees.
Having lost his focus in an instant, he fell straight to the ground.
"Huh?"
"This…"
"Oh!"
Only then did the three people stop moving and simultaneously widen their eyes.
Hanbit knew the reason.
[Experience points increased by 8,310,000.]
The experience points gained per monster were 8 million.
Even excluding the effect of the World Tree's Legacy granted to Hanbit, it exceeded 6 million.
It was also thanks to the 1.5x experience multiplier applied by the faction buff.
“This gives a ton of experience points!”
“The monsters are tough, though.”
“How much is it if we catch them all!”
The average experience points given by monsters in the mid-400s range was roughly in the low 1 million range.
Considering that, this number and this amount of experience felt like an unbelievable treasure.
“You don’t have to catch them quickly, so Noeul, try using your magic a lot.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
“Hurry up and get to the next one!”
The three, now working together quite well, immediately continued the battle.
Watching this, Hanbit turned his head and said,
“You go somewhere else with me.”
“Somewhere else?”
“There’s a good place. A place where both of us can hunt…”
Ding-
Just then, a sound different from the usual alarm rang in his ears.
Hanbit turned his gaze and wore a puzzled expression.
'A phone call?'
He had used the feature to link with a real-life smartphone before.
However, it was strange that the caller was Yeonwoo.
Was it something that wasn't meant to be a message?
“Wait a minute.”
Hanbit moved his hand and immediately accepted the request.
Click—
a strange electronic sound was heard as the call connected.
Soon after, Yeon-woo's voice followed.
(Hyung, I think you need to come to Mom's shop right now.)
