Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Heroic Debut
I intentionally left the building, knowing the Courageous Lion King and Kim Taechun wouldn't leave things at that. I wanted a more open space to fight a little more comfortably.
'So that the Ruler of the Plains can move a little more freely.'
There were a lot of Players on the 12th floor. An equally large number of Guardians were watching, and in the crowd were Players those Guardians valued. The 'Ruler of the Plains' didn't have the guts to cause an uproar in such a place.
I remembered it very clearly.
[The 'Ruler of the Plains' burns with hostility towards you.]
[The 'Ruler of the Plains' detests you.]
[The 'Ruler of the Plains' has reached the limit of their patience.]
They sent a whopping three messages saying similar things in one go. It wasn't confirmed, but people believed that the number of similar messages a Guardian could send was limited to three. The Ruler of the Plains went all the way to the limit to warn me.
'They were waiting for their chance.'
And so, I gave them that 'chance'.
'The Courageous Lion King was also eyeing a chance to make Taechun and me fight again. Me being down here is perfect for that.'
I knew the Ruler of the Plains would throw a fit at some point. And I knew that when that happened, the Courageous Lion King would also join in, exactly like I planned.
'I told you, I'll set the stage.'
Rather than the 'Ruler of the Plains' causing an uproar alone, it was better for the 'Courageous Lion King' to join the fray. The two of them probably had an agreement to act against me right now.
The berserk Taechun made a strange growling noise from his throat.
"I'll… kill… you…!"
Behind him, chimera monsters were baring their fangs like they wanted to charge at us right away.
Orcanthrope LVL 32
They were fusions of Orcs and Lycanthropes. Basically, chimeras. There were six of them.
'They sure made a lot of them.'
They probably made as many as their Guardian abilities or the System-prescribed limits allowed.
'It must have cost an enormous amount to make that many.'
Overall, the monsters looked similar to Lycanthropes, but they had misshapen green skin instead of wolf fur. They were also using weapons like clubs or spears, like Orcs.
'They're fundamentally stronger than Lycanthropes.'
They had no weakness of being enfeebled by water. They were also physically strong and belonged to a race categorized as Orc level or higher. Naturally, modern weapons wouldn't work against them.
Yeonseo drew her sword.
"Boss. This… looks a bit dangerous. They're all level 32, and the energy they're giving off is no joke. And what's with Kim Taechun? He's acting like he's gone mad all of a sudden."
Even without my orders, my party members fell into position on their own accord. To my amusement, Sunghyun and Sung-gu were standing with their backs to each other, taking the optimal position to synergize. In order to protect the two magicians, Sunhwa was holding a large shield next to them, and Yoohyun stood next to me, readying his mana.
"Hyungnim," he said to me. "How come they're not attacking Taechun?"
"Because Taechun is no different from a monster right now."
To be more precise, the monsters recognized him as a monster. The Guardians surely had a hand in it.
"Listen up. Those guys are faster than Lycanthropes." My words implied that no one other than me or Yeonseo could overpower the Orcanthropes. "Their characteristics have changed a lot, so I don't think the weakness of Lycanthropes will apply, and it's also impossible to fight them like when we fought the Great Orc Warrior."
In other words—
"If we fight them head-on, we'll take significant damage."
If we were unlucky, someone could even die.
"Fuck. Should I just burn them to a crisp then? Want me to show you the Jayangdong Firemaster?"
He wasn't being serious. Sung-gu knew that throwing out a big attack would pull the aggro to him. The moment that happened, there was a 99% chance the magician class Sung-gu would die.
'Mettle probably won't work right now.'
I said one more thing to my party members.
"For now, stay put while drawing as little aggro as possible. The police and other Players will come to support us."
If my prediction was correct, the people upstairs should already have seen this coming, and someone would eventually come down. That 'someone' would very likely be the Taeguk Shield guild members.
Taeguk Shield coming down didn't necessarily mean that a new path opened up for me. It simply meant that the police and reporters would take action as well.
Sungshin might only be a corporation, but I was sure the government would act. Even if they didn't bring fighter jets and tanks, they would at least send special forces armed with automatic weapons, and quickly. Naturally, reporters would also rush over to provide coverage.
'To make a flashy debut, Taeguk Shield will intentionally take their time coming down.'
But the Ruler of the Plains also wanted to drag things out, because they wanted to see me shrivel in fear. So in essence, the two parties had the same intent.
'In that case, the picture is clear.'
The Orcanthropes weren't attacking us right away. They were simply giving off a threatening aura. The Courageous Lion King, who was getting a share of the action instigated by the Ruler of the Plains, was also waiting.
"They won't attack us right away. Stay on the ready. In a little while, they'll fight with the police. The government might even send special forces here."
The special forces would definitely start attacking the monsters, and there was a very high chance they'd act overbearing with us, like Sungshin had done upstairs. Why? Because they had to dampen our spirits.
"There's a high chance they'll act overbearing with us, but don't respond and just stay put. We won't be killing the mobs this time."
I had already leveled a veiled declaration of war against Sungshin. Not only did I basically threaten the youngest grandson of Sungshin's president, but I also confidently declared that I would raise my value with my own two hands. In order to control me and the other Players, Sungshin would want to show their strength by moving government forces and saving our lives to get us indebted to them.
Yeonseo asked, "Boss Hyukjin, what do we need to do?"
"Make sure the aggro doesn't go to the civilians. Taeguk Shield will hunt the monsters."
"Will Taeguk Shield really go in and hunt them?"
"I have to make them."
"That won't boost the casualties, will it?"
"Trust me. Today, those guys will be hunted without any losses on our side."
Was I just imagining it, or did Yeonseo's cheeks redden a little?
"O-Okay. I will trust you."
For some reason, she seemed to be awfully polite all of a sudden. Just then, I heard another growl. Kim Taechun was exuding an aura no inferior to the growling Orcanthropes. And then came the loud sounds of sirens.
"Huh? Like Boss said, the police really are coming."
Be it police or special forces, it was useless.
'They can't be killed with modern weapons.'
There was just no way. From Orcs onwards, modern weapons were useless.
[The 'Nameless Observer' is observing you.]
[The 'Whispering Devil' is delighted by your scheme.]
[The 'Merchant of Venice' has pinpointed exactly what your intent is.]
The incomprehensible 'Whispering Devil' and extremely quick-witted 'Merchant of Venice' seemed to know what kind of situation this was. Right now, the stage was set and the action was waiting for the right moment to begin. The two Guardians were greatly enjoying the show I had crafted with the Guardians' dispositions, Kim Taechun's personality, and all the other elements in mind.
"This is the police!"
Police cars pulled up, and the sound of helicopter blades came from above.
The police and special forces streamed out of their cars. As if to show off their strength, they spoke to us in a commanding tone. "We will kill the monsters!"
In the meantime, the Taeguk Shield guild members also came down. Their timing was absolutely impeccable, like they had measured it with a ruler.
To start, I gave a warning.
"I am a Player with a special class. It's dangerous here. Modern weap—"
I wasn't able to continue. A policeman wearing a black special forces uniform gestured me into silence. "We will handle it. Civilians, for your own safety, please get far away."
'Get far away' was the nice version of what was really 'fuck off'. That was the true message written in every part of his expression and tone. They seemed to have a lot of faith in their abilities.
'Maybe… I stopped too many dungeon breaks.'
Actually, Orcs should have already appeared in the real world. They should have caused a lot of damage. But because I prevented that from happening, these guys had no clue about the 'shields' monsters of a certain level possessed.
A person who looked like a commanding officer said sternly, "If you do not cooperate, we will use force to temporarily detain you."
They looked ready to use their guns if we didn't comply. I raised both hands behind my head and gave them one last piece of advice. This was all I could do.
"Your weapons won't work against them. You need the strength of Players."
"We will be the judge of that. Back off."
"They have a shield that modern weapons don't work against."
"I said to back off."
I had given as much warning as I could. I took a few steps backwards. Seemingly pleased by my submissive attitude, the man spoke into his radio.
–Fire on my signal.
Reporters also rushed in to broadcast the situation. With them, every piece was present.
The Courageous Lion King and Ruler of the Plains, working together. The Brown Bear Kim Taechun being controlled by them. Taeguk Shield, who wanted to become heroes. The police, who had most likely received commands from Sungshin's upper management. And finally, the reporters who were here to show the world what was happening.
The picture I'd told Senia about when we whispered earlier was fitting into place exactly as I'd envisioned it. Taeguk Shield would come under my command. And through it, I would obtain every benefit there was to obtain. After a few more steps, that was well within the realm of possibility.
Without standing in the fore, I would be able to secure a share of Sungshin's mighty support.
'Taeguk Shield. You want to have a flashy debut, right?'
Song Kiyeol's future path would change depending on how he developed Taeguk Shield. It would determine whether he would inherit Sungshin or not. After all, Taeguk Shield was essentially hand in hand with the new tech business.
'But he can't do it alone.'
The guildmaster of Taeguk Shield, Song Kiyeol, didn't realize that modern weapons wouldn't work on the Orcanthropes. From the very start, his plan to suppress the monsters with modern weapons and then have the guild make a flashy debut in front of the reporters was flawed.
'But—'
It was still possible if I helped, using a Playing method that was mine alone. At least in this moment, right now, only I could pull it off.
The Ruler of the Plains was incensed by the fact I wasn't showing a hint of fear, even after so much intimidation.
[The 'Ruler of the Plains' withdraws the final chance they gave you.]
Final chance? Apparently, they'd wanted to see me sniveling and begging for mercy. They still thought this stage was under their control.
[The 'Ruler of the Plains' bears very intense hostility towards you.]
If I could have sent a message, I would have told them that I felt exactly the same way, and that we would see who would come out on top.
With that notice, the chimera monsters, the Orcanthropes, began to move.
'It… has begun.'
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