Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Guild Master Isn't Enough with Just the Game
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Credit said.
["Fullminak reinforcements arriving from the 4 o'clock direction. Looks like about ten of them."]
"Ten of them?"
Gilgamesh was surprised.
They'd even sent support to Spaceking. Did they really have that much leeway?
It was enough to give him a rough idea of Fullminak's current situation—handling the civilian quests with flying colors.
["That's how much spare manpower they've got."]
From what Credit had directly heard from Gilgamesh and piecing it together, Fullminak seemed to have secured the civilians in the forest with their own forces.
Credit said.
["Kaisha really is something else. Never really thought about it before, but looking back, we'd poached quite a few members from Fullminak."]
It was the first Gilgamesh had heard of it, and he asked in confusion.
"What? When did I—"
["Not like we deliberately stole them. Every time we recruited, a ton of Fullminak members jumped ship to us."]
Back then, Fullminak wasn't that famous yet, so he hadn't thought much of it.
Goldbunker hadn't specifically targeted Fullminak members. They'd just run standard recruitment and ended up with way too many ex-Fullminak players among the talented ones.
Thinking back, how had such a small guild ended up with so many standouts?
It was still surprising in hindsight.
["Seeing them build up allies in a new channel and send reinforcements like this, it's like Kaisha has this infinite talent for nurturing top-tier guild members."]
Credit kept talking, but Gilgamesh's ears were still ringing from the earlier shock. Not a word got through.
"......What? That happened? Then why doesn't Kaisha hate me?"
["Why would she? Kaisha's too good for that, and in the end, Fullminak came out on top. They're the top guild now."]
"We're top-tier too, but she hates Spaceking's guts."
["That's different. Spaceking was on a whole other level of scummy. Anyway, Kaisha's efforts all paid off in one go when Gentle Knights folded into Fullminak."]
It had been a huge controversy at the time, but Gentle Knights joining Fullminak was a massive deal.
["See? The world's sneakily fair. Effort gets rewarded somehow."]
Even if it took a detour.
"......"
Stunned by the new info, Gilgamesh sat there dazed for a moment until the chat lit up, snapping him back to reality.
It was a message from Kali.
["Fullminak reinforcements have arrived. Everyone's bored to death, so please assign us to the most dangerous, thrilling spot available."]
* * *
Ten guild members, including Hyunwoo-nim and Mura-nim, headed to Spaceking.
Another ten, including Kali, Enkar, Mino, and Taurin-nim, went to Goldbunker.
That left thirteen after sending out Fullminak's top-rankers—practically their wings.
The remaining members, led by Maya, were mostly the ones who preferred laid-back, peaceful vibes.
After Lea introduced me to the civilians as the great god come to topple the Center, the guild members farmed explosive faith points and got treated like kings in the village. They summoned their heroic retainers and had a blast.
I summoned a few of my own heroes and savored the leisurely time.
Elfer grumbled.
"You made me wait forever to be summoned. You force me to go when I don't want to, then don't call me back for ages."
"You were upset?"
"Yeah."
Aww, poor Elfer.
"Now that reverse summoning's an option, I'll call you more often. I'll treat you to tasty food and buy you cool clothes."
"Promise?"
"Of course."
Elfer's expression softened.
With Messiah and Yugeon flanking me and my head in Elfer's lap as I gazed up at the sky.
Ah, this must be paradise.
I'd summoned Messiah, Elfer, and Valen to the village.
Valen, being royalty like a cousin to Helcannon, had gone off for a quick spar, and a bunch of guild members tagged along to watch.
The now-empty village felt even more serene.
Here's why.
『[Quest Guide] Take a Breather
While the forest civilians exchange info and gather, raise faith in the village and get some rest.』
That's the gist of the quest guide we'd been given.
A voice suddenly piped up.
"All these people you summoned—are they all Kaisha-nim's spouses?"
Hm?
I looked up to see Ehwin. Philia and Open were peeking from behind.
"Nope. Come on over, Ehwin."
"Kaisha-nim said marriages between gods are just alliances, nothing major."
Elfer shot Ehwin a sharp glance and snapped back in a pointed tone.
I chimed in.
"Exactly. I love all of you."
I said it while kissing the back of Elfer's hand, then planted one on my beloved Messiah's forehead.
"Me too."
Yugeon tugged at my clothes from behind, demanding his share of affection.
"Alright, alright."
Hope the affection gauge is filling up nicely.
I set Messiah aside and turned to scoop up Yugeon, who was whining. Messiah propped herself up halfway and stared at him intently.
Who could blame her for being curious about this lifeform so eerily like herself?
But Elfer was the one who asked.
"What's this one?"
Yugeon's eyes narrowed, so I patted his back to soothe him.
I lifted my head to look at Elfer and startled—Ehwin, Philia, Open, and even Lea were all there gawking at me.
I asked awkwardly.
"It's fascinating and all, but aren't you guys staring a bit too openly?"
Lea said.
"Oh, sorry. It's just not something you see every day in our village. Looks nice."
"Promiscuous."
Open muttered under his breath, and Lea smacked the back of his head with a sharp crack!
"Ugh!"
Open glared at his mother, but Lea just smiled sweetly with her beautiful, lovely face.
Mother-son relationships are pretty universal, huh.
Lea said.
"Forest residents often can't reproduce at all, and the Center tightly controls population—contacts between people, births, everything. You can't even have kids whenever you want."
"That's not why you're here!"
Open, fresh off getting smacked by Lea, said it with real annoyance.
He must have business with me.
"Something up?"
"Well—"
Open cut off Lea, who was about to speak, and explained quickly.
"Some mysterious outsiders like you got into a fight with forest residents. If you're our god, you'll obviously take our side."
Ding!
『[Quest Guide] Civilian Protection
Clashing with hunters from another nation on the way back to base. Fight off the foreign hunters, rescue the civilians, and boost faith.』
This was weird.
Unless the hunters had gotten backstabbed and massacred by civilians—which wasn't the case.
With a channel quest like "Protect the Civilians" right there, what idiot nation would seriously pick a fight with them? Unbelievable.
But the quest popped up anyway.
I jumped to my feet and rallied the guild in the group chat.
"Emergency. Forest residents under attack from foreign hunters. Quest's up—everyone, assemble in the village."
* * *
European Union.
Coincidentally, Europe's nations had spawned crammed into one corner of the 1004 channel map—that's what kicked off the union.
Hard to call it pure chance, but anyway, the familiar European hunters recognized each other's avatars right away and teamed up.
If Korea had the hero-spawning "City War," Europe had a C-rank gate blow open and wipe out an entire village—a full-on disaster.
Huge tragedy, but it bonded the European nations tighter.
Even Britain, the powerhouse that's dominated since Vipa Online, shrewdly joined the EU to avoid making enemies of the union.
Thus formed, the European Union split into three teams heading three ways.
Two for war and territory grabs.
One for the Center push.
The EU Center assault team found the forest residents early, built rapport, and delved deep.
Over half got wiped out.
So the EU dispatched forces to the Center.
["Damn it. How the hell are those civilians? Gotta be Center soldiers disguised as them."]
["Sub-mission 1 incoming! We'll take out the soldiers and push to the Center!"]
["After them!"]
"Sub-mission 1" meant taking out this land's rulers and their soldiers.
After getting wrecked by the residents, the EU hunters pegged them not as "civilians" but as the "Center's first line of defense" they had to fight.
Having lost countless guild members to the "deception," it was a natural conclusion.
"Half the guys who came here are dead already—no one's gonna get cocky, right? The Center's dispatched soldiers in the forest depths are using magic. Stay sharp."
King, guild master of Britain's guild Chess, commanded the front.
This guild's quirky trait: GM "King" is a woman, while vice-GM and Vipa Online UK top player "Queen" is a guy.
War began.
King, kicking off the battle, reported to the other teams scattered across the map.
"Center assault team. Engaging in full combat now."
["Southern front: Fighting China."]
["Eastern territory team: Standoff with Russia. Scouts say they're probably fighting the US. Will report if battle starts."]
Fewer nations in the Center forest than expected.
Certain countries that flopped even in Vipa Online got wiped and logged out early in the territorial wars.
Even if they had some military edge, they lacked the spare forces for Center pushes beyond territory and nation wars.
Send troops to the forest? Sure, but lose big in territory wars, and you'd portal-rush reinforcements between zones.
Bottom line: Needed serious forces to even enter the forest.
King muttered.
"It's too damn quiet. Way too quiet."
Britain currently boasted Europe's top hunter power.
But the world had other powerhouses like the US, Korea, China.
Queen replied.
["Like those idiots who came early, got betrayed, and wiped? Other countries probably ate backstabs from the disguised soldiers too."]
"Could be."
The idea that Center soldiers posing as civilians had killed nearly all the hunters held the most water right now.
["That's our chance."]
The EU could pull this strategy because their "union" meant sheer numbers of hunters.
For reference, other nations where every hunter counted were repeatedly portaling to safety in crises, grinding out forest assault methods.
"Alright. Let's mop up these bastards quick and push to the Cen—"
As King wrapped it up, suddenly a massive barrage of green mana bolts surged from the front toward the union forces.
Tatatatatang—!!