Chapter 94

CHAPTER 94

Hanppunman.

Even though it was already past seven o'clock and he had already decided what to do about Shaanxi, he still kept Seo Jun's stream open on one side of his screen.

He felt like he had to.

Seo Jun was casually chatting with viewers, and Hanppunman couldn't help but wonder what exactly he was aiming for.

What's he going to do?

Would he attack Gansu and secure his rear?

If he did, then Shaanxi would be lost anyway, and everything would return to square one.

Losing Shaanxi was practically guaranteed.

Maybe things would be different if they increased the number of rankers allowed to play in Shaanxi and tried to defend it.

Yesterday—

If the Demonic Cult had chosen to invest in Shaanxi rather than defending Gansu, things might have become troublesome.

It would have turned into a siege.

If the Orthodox Faction failed to reclaim it in a single day and the Demonic Cult managed to hold the territory, they would end up being dragged around by the Demonic Cult's pace.

They could waste a day.

Maybe even two.

Then Gansu might be lost and the connection restored.

But today, with no additional rankers able to enter Shaanxi and the region completely surrounded, it was essentially over.

"They're even telling him not to defend it on stream right now."

People often said that Seo Jun had many followers.

And by that, they didn't mean the hundreds of thousands of ordinary players.

They meant the heavy users who played all four of their daily matches every single day without fail.

Because there were enough of those users to consistently get matched against opponents of similar skill, they couldn't accumulate huge amounts of Fame Points through long winning streaks.

However, their absolute numbers vastly exceeded those of the rankers.

If they ever united, they would become a large and dangerous force.

Huh...?

A strange sense of unease spread through his body.

• Did the Demonic Cult move?
• Looks like they're trying to take back Gansu. Four people.

News came in, and Hanppunman's attention immediately shifted there.

Four people wasn't a big deal.

The Orthodox Faction immediately sent four as well.

The reason was simple.

If there was any chance to defend Gansu, they intended to defend it.

When the enemy attacks, there are usually two ways to respond.

You either get matched against them directly.

Or you queue after they've finished.

The former yields much greater rewards if you win.

The latter is more of a fifty-fifty exchange.

This time they chose the former because Gansu wasn't absolutely essential.

If they won, they could either eliminate more of the Demonic Cult's strength or even reclaim the territory.

If they lost, then so be it.

• Demonic Cult and Unorthodox Faction are fighting in a key area.
• We finished one match in Shaanxi and are queueing for the next.
• Check Jiangxi and Anhui. Markers popped up there.

We need to keep the Unorthodox Faction in check too.

The Unorthodox Faction, having profited enormously from the chaos, now held a commanding first place.

In that case, they needed the Demonic Cult's help.

It's one of humanity's oldest traditions:

Second and third place teaming up to pull down first place!

Yet the Demonic Cult seemed unusually obsessed with targeting the Orthodox Faction.

No.

More accurately, they kept probing them.

Almost as if they're trying to make us burn through as much manpower as possible...

As time passed, that feeling only grew stronger.

By the time players had just finished about two matches, Hanppunman typed into chat.

• Guys, let's conserve our strength a little.

Then he kept watching.

And soon—

"Huh? What are these guys doing?"

He noticed something strange.

He carefully observed the red markers appearing in the border regions between the Unorthodox Faction and the Demonic Cult.

The names kept disappearing before matches could begin.

"Are you kidding me?"

Of course, players could cancel matchmaking.

But both the Demonic Cult and the Unorthodox Faction were doing it.

"Ah!"

He hurriedly informed everyone.

This was urgent.

If the Unorthodox Faction and the Demonic Cult had joined forces, there was no need to think about their target.

Only one faction remained.

The Orthodox Faction.

"What the hell are they thinking?!"

It's rare to see two factions join hands to eliminate a third.

Why?

Because the goal isn't to make someone else finish last.

The goal is to win.

The limited duration of the event was another obstacle to maintaining an alliance.

To keep an alliance intact, both sides would have to carefully divide the spoils while suppressing a third faction, making sure neither side gained too much.

There simply wasn't enough time for that.

They only had ten days left.

And if their ally betrayed them, they could end up handing over first place entirely.

The result?

Second place.

A meaningless second place.

The Demonic Cult's old stream title might have been "At Least Second Place," but even they didn't actually aim for second.

They'd rather finish dead last!

Everyone knew the open secret:

That's exactly why they had finished last so many times.

Oddly enough, that was part of why people liked Demonic Cult players.

Who wouldn't prefer a fool with passion over a clever schemer?

Of course, that didn't mean people stopped making fun of them.

Anyway—

"Has the Demonic Cult lost its mind?"

They're targeting the Orthodox Faction in a situation like this?

If the Orthodox Faction disappeared here, the Unorthodox Faction would begin from an overwhelmingly advantageous position.

How many territories would the Demonic Cult then have to take from them to win?

And as yesterday had shown, the more territories there were, the more disadvantaged the Demonic Cult became because its fourteen-player force couldn't be spread everywhere at once.

Yet they were still trying to eliminate the Orthodox Faction.

"Do they really have a grudge against us?"

That didn't seem likely.

And besides—

"What is the Unorthodox Faction trusting to make them believe the Demonic Cult will attack us...?"

Ah.

The Demonic Cult had spent all this time repeatedly poking at the Orthodox Faction and wearing down their strength.

Seeing that, the Unorthodox Faction must have become convinced.

These lunatics are serious!

They really are trying to kill off the Orthodox Faction!

After all, every time the Demonic Cult attacked the Orthodox Faction, they were spending not only the Orthodox Faction's strength, but their own as well.

The Unorthodox Faction could still betray them here.

That would be the best outcome for us.

If that happened, the Orthodox Faction would survive this crisis.

Meanwhile, the Demonic Cult could find itself on the verge of being eliminated from the race altogether.

Will those Unorthodox bastards save us?

And yet—

Hanppunman couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more going on.

Something hidden beneath the surface.

• It's a good thing we noticed now, at least...
• Seriously, what's wrong with those Demonic Cult bastards? Did they suffer qi deviation or something?
• This is why demonic arts are dangerous...
• Good thing our proud Orthodox comrades who were attacking Shaanxi stopped their matches too.
• ...They're gone.

In an instant, every light on the map vanished.

The battlefield fell silent.

Like the calm sky before a typhoon arrives.

The Orthodox Faction's chatroom froze as well.

Silence.

And while the Orthodox players were on edge—

• Still, unlike us, he was probably popular with women...
• You're banned.
• Wait, guys. Look at the battlefield map.
• Oh??
• Streamer lol, even your daily life stories are insane.
• No seriously, how was someone like that a loner??? That's exactly the kind of personality that makes guys go crazy and flock to you lol.

"Haha. Looks like everyone went off to take a break."

Seo Jun smiled meaningfully as he chatted with his viewers.

[Righteousness Expulsion Faction]

• Looks like the Orthodox guys finally figured it out? Everyone stopped matching and started conserving manpower.
• Coordinating with the Demonic Cult today was pretty fun.
• ThisIsNotMartialArts <-- Failed to time the match cancellation lol.
• It feels a bit awkward since the Demonic Cult set the stage for us, but should we betray them?
• That's not bad, but wouldn't taking the Orthodox headquarters taste even sweeter? lololol
• Can't argue with that.
• LOL
• I only have one attempt left, so I can't even cancel matchmaking anymore TTTT.
• Well then, shall we get started?
• We're just playing the battlefield normally, but somehow we look incredibly evil.
• Well, we are the Unorthodox Faction. lol
• Then let's ease into it?
• Let's go.

Red markers began appearing on the map once more.

Naturally, they were all in Orthodox territory.

• WHY ARE THERE ONLY TWO RED MARKERS?!
• Demonic Cult! You colluded with the Unorthodox Faction! I feel betrayed!

• Oh.
• Suddenly it's an all-out war between the Unorthodox and Orthodox Factions.
• What? What's happening?

Seo Jun stared at the map with growing interest.

Watching was honestly more fun.

"Everyone, the Demonic Cult will start moving now."

The Unorthodox Faction had begun attacking two territories similar to Shaanxi—regions where capturing just one more territory would put them directly in front of the Orthodox headquarters.

They were completely relaxed.

No matter how well the Orthodox Faction coordinated, at least one of those locations was almost guaranteed to fall.

Seo Jun began explaining the situation to his viewers.

Someone would probably summarize everything on the forums soon enough, but plenty of people wanted answers right now.

• Unorthodox Faction, let's not betray each other.

['Third Elder' donated 100,000 won!]

[Did you know? Every strategy of the Demonic Cult is created by Heavenly Demon-nim. Today too, Heavenly Demon-nim came up with this plan on the spot because he thought the Orthodox Faction's behavior was pathetic!]

• So what you're saying is the Orthodox Faction is screwed now? lololol.
• Oh.
• Let's jump them!

When had he ever called them pathetic?

And the strategy too.

The guy was subtly taking shots at him.

• Scholar and warrior?
• The Orthodox Faction was acting pathetic lol.
• First time watching battlefield politics? lol.
• Who has friends in this business?
• Getting people to cooperate is the hard part.

['But' donated 30,000 won!]

[If the Demonic Cult and the Unorthodox Faction join forces, doesn't that mean the Orthodox Faction can't stop them anyway????]

That was true.

If tomorrow the Unorthodox Faction thought eliminating the Orthodox Faction would cost too much, they would betray the Demonic Cult immediately.

For example, what if the Orthodox Faction ignored the advancing threat to their headquarters and instead spent an entire day capturing Unorthodox territories?

The moment the Orthodox headquarters fell, every territory occupied by the Orthodox Faction would become neutral land.

In that situation, the Unorthodox Faction would have no idea whether the Demonic Cult might betray them next.

They would immediately stop their offensive.

Trust could perhaps be rebuilt later, but what would the Unorthodox Faction gain by obediently following the Demonic Cult's wishes?

That's why a bigger bait is necessary.

To summarize the situation:

Yesterday and today, the Demonic Cult had spent manpower attacking the Orthodox Faction as a form of advance payment to the Unorthodox Faction.

And now the Unorthodox Faction had effectively replied:

"Your package has been shipped."

In second-hand transactions, advance payment puts the buyer at a huge disadvantage.

The seller might disappear tomorrow.

Or the package could arrive only for you to discover a brick inside.

So even after receiving the advance payment, you still have to remind the seller that actually completing the deal is in their best interest.

Both sides already roughly understood the bigger picture.

"So for now, we just need to show them that it's possible."

Put a knife to the Orthodox Faction's throat so they couldn't afford to do anything funny.

And show the Unorthodox Faction that they were looking at the same board.

In that sense, it was still too early to relax.

Time sure flew by.

While talking, the hours had slipped away before he noticed.

• What possibility?
• Let's defend Shaanxi now.
• If the Orthodox Faction keeps pouring resources over there, we might actually succeed in defending it!
• We're waiting, Cult Leader!
• Just give the order!

Defend?

What nonsense.

"No. We're attacking too."

He smiled.

"Shanxi."

If they reached the territory directly in front of Hebei—

The Orthodox Faction would start sweating bullets.