Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Assault on Weichen
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This is Weichen.
SpaceKing's territory.
Weichen itself is a fortress with no gaps whatsoever, as the entire royal castle is built like one.
That's because it's the territory closest to Lowguard after Kalba and Tereb.
Lowguard is a monster habitat, so they've fortified it with ironclad defenses.
Shiva grumbled.
"Why do we always end up with the most annoying, high-maintenance lands?"
Even for territory management, dealing with monsters was always left to the players.
SpaceKing held Kalba and Tereb, where Lowguard monsters periodically overflowed like a flood.
Weichen wasn't quite that bad, but monsters still crossed over here frequently.
Nix pulled up the heroes' skill windows and stared ahead as he asked.
"Then should we hand Weichen over to Fulminak?"
With nothing to say to that, no one responded.
Shiva stayed quiet for a while before muttering again.
"Isn't this surprise attack boring as hell? I wanna go down there and smash everything."
"Report it to Dart."
"No way, fuck that."
"Then keep an eye on Kaisha."
"......"
Shiva obediently looked up.
Kaisha wasn't that far away; focusing his neural power let him see her crystal clear.
Kaisha stood atop Fulminak's red battleship.
Her black hair whipped in the wind, green eyes gazing down below.
[Name] Kaisha (lv99)
—Korean Server Ranking 7th
Affiliation: Fulminak
Position: Guild Master
<>
Shiva muttered.
"Last siege, Kaisha tied with Dart again. Wonder if this time they'll settle it."
"How the hell should I know."
Dart had been rank 1 on Bipa for so long that no one could imagine him being dethroned.
Yet here was rank 7 challenging rank 1 without backing down.
One of Kaisha's nicknames.
Rank Breaker.
Current rank 1: Dart. 2nd: Abyss. 4th: Gilgamesh.
The 3rd in between was Hyeonwoo, guild master of Fulminak-allied Gentle Knights.
Gentle Knights had been the most talked-about guild before Fulminak rose up.
Guild rankings back then:
1st: SpaceKing
2nd: Goldbunker
3rd: Gentle Knights
4th: Fulminak
From 5th on, they were alliances of major guilds, not worth nitpicking.
That was back when Gentle Knights' guild master Hyeonwoo and vice master Mura—the Bipa's strongest 'invincible tank'—formed an unbeatable duo.
Then one day, in a siege war one-on-one duel, Hyeonwoo lost to Kaisha, and Fulminak crushed Gentle Knights in the siege itself.
That's when Hyeonwoo decided on the alliance, getting absorbed into Fulminak and flipping the rankings.
Thus began Bipa's Three Kingdoms era.
Fulminak, led by Kaisha, swallowed the 3rd-place Gentle Knights and immediately overtook Goldbunker for 2nd.
After that, Kaisha kept challenging Dart for 1st.
Rank 2 Abyss was Kaisha's ally, so comparing those two was impossible, but from rank 3 Hyeonwoo on down, no one could beat rank 7 Kaisha.
People speculated it was because neural power over ten million displayed as infinity, creating variables—but that didn't make rankings meaningless.
There were just occasional exceptions.
Nix glanced up and muttered.
"So they really joined hands."
Gilgamesh, with his standout blond hair, appeared on the red battleship. Just then, the red and yellow battleships' decks fully connected.
Fulminak and Goldbunker had truly allied.
The obvious result of the surprise attack, but once war mode kicked in, that alliance would shatter anyway.
Shiva spoke in an irritated tone.
"Sigh. Once they take Weichen, I hope war mode starts quick."
Nix replied.
"We gotta take Iskasha on the way too."
"Ahh. Rudel Mine."
"Gilgamesh is gonna flip out."
"Why am I suddenly feeling great?"
Shiva and Nix chuckled, imagining Gilgamesh's misfortune.
* * *
Gilgamesh clicked his tongue in disgust while looking down.
"Swarming like roaches."
I asked him.
"Is this the first time SpaceKing's pulled a surprise attack?"
"They drag armies here and pick fights sometimes, but a full surprise war? First time for real. They're cocky about sieges."
"Feels like this surprise attack is their hidden card they've been prepping."
"Obviously. If there'd been precedent, we'd have gathered all the continent's NPCs ahead of time too."
SpaceKing played dirty.
If war mode opened after they stole the castle, retaking it wouldn't be easy.
I lightly placed a hand on Gilgamesh's shoulder.
"Think of it as a sacrifice for us. Like detonating another nuke."
"You bastard."
Gilgamesh grimaced and shook off my hand.
"That'll never happen."
"We can use it in karma-free war mode."
"Players scatter the second they see the bomb. Useless. No accelerator, too slow."
Now I got why he called it useless.
"That's a shame."
Regular sieges were player-vs-player.
Affiliated heroes joined in, but apparently heroes didn't die from splash damage.
Heals, probably.
Gilgamesh shifted his gaze beyond Weichen.
"Anyway, their rear forces look way too stacked. Connection numbers seem huge too."
"Forces gathered to hit Iskasha."
"......"
Gilgamesh shut his mouth.
Iskasha was Goldbunker's frontline territory.
Close to SpaceKing's frontline Kalba, packed with famous mines—attack probability was 100%.
I subtly bowed my head.
Whispering softly to the gravely serious Gilgamesh over the impending invasion.
"Even after war mode opens, I plan to help Goldbunker as much as I can, so tell me if you need anything."
"......"
Gilgamesh eyed me suspiciously.
Goldbunker had focused too much on money, neglecting hero training. That's why the surprise attack hit them hard.
Without us, they had almost no way out.
"We're already in the same boat."
His eyes narrowed at my words.
"......Kinda true, but why does it feel so off? This kindness doesn't suit you."
"Not kindness—strategy."
He smirked as I switched it up.
"Fair. Getting ambushed side-by-side, it'd be weirder not to ally. Good chance for us to get friendly too. Rethink the stream collab."
Persistent.
I'd poked enough; time to probe SpaceKing sentiments.
"By the way, how's the Rudel Mine ownership dispute going? We've been waiting to trade in the area."
"Whoa! Don't get me started, those SpaceKing thugs! Fuck, they just bulldoze everything!!"
Hitting the sore spot made Gilgamesh explode.
SpaceKing and Goldbunker had long fought over Rudel Mine northwest of Iskasha.
With Iskasha bet in this siege, their feud bubbled like a volcano about to blow.
Rudel was Midgard's largest mine, Goldbunker's.
SpaceKing, holding territory right above Iskasha, used force to demand it, and if they took Iskasha this siege, it'd legally transfer.
For Goldbunker, who'd desperately defended amid dirty tactics, staying sane was the real challenge.
Gilgamesh yelled excitedly.
"Just thinking it might go to them keeps me up at night!"
SpaceKing and Goldbunker had never gotten along.
Goldbunker wove tight capitalist webs to suck resources from the north; SpaceKing muscled in on central legal rights and plundered.
Even Midgard's in-game history had that north-central tension.
"Ha. Seriously thinking of ways to kill Dart."
"Why not."
I grinned at Gilgamesh, who looked back in surprise.
I stared intently into the eyes of Goldbunker's guild master, now dead serious, then slowly turned away with a quiet smile.
Down on the ground, the assault on Weichen began.
* * *
Fulminak and Goldbunker's NPC coalition army poured attacks from three directions centered on Weichen's royal castle.
9 o'clock: toward Iskasha.
7 o'clock: castle gates.
5 o'clock: toward Diperonta.
It dispersed SpaceKing's AoE skills maximally but could merge when needed.
Regular NPC soldiers were just cannon fodder, numbers only.
The key was the 'hero' NPCs, trained with skills and physical prowess by players.
The hero skill window floating beside me glowed, auto-casting skills.
Initial clash. Even skirmish forming.
"[Kaisha's Blessing.]"
[Skill overlaps.]
[This skill is affected by the caster's fame in Midgard.]
[NPC movement speed increases.]
[NPC health recovers.]
[NPC mana recovers.]
[NPC defense increases.]
[NPC attack power increases.]
[NPC luck improves.]
[NPC faith rises.]
[NPC confidence rises.]
[NPC hearts find peace.]
...
Whoooosh—
A super-wide blessing light descended on the ground.
Gilgamesh, checking ultimate cooldowns, gaped at my system window.
"Why are the buff effects insane? How much fame you stacked?"
"More importantly."
I didn't like Goldbunker's war attitude.
They dumped frontline command of every legion on us Fulminak, pretending otherwise while busy with live streams.
"Streaming pay well?"
Gilgamesh lit up immediately.
"Of course. You interested too—"
"Then bump our guild's cut this time."
He flinched, then glanced down in panic.
He knew damn well what his guildmates were doing.
Pisses me off.
"Your guildmates aren't focusing at all, too busy streaming."
"Th......"
"Allied fighting together, some streaming for cash, others babysitting their heroes too."
Look close: our competent, kind guildmates were covering all Goldbunker's NPC heroes too.
Allies meant treating their heroes like your own. Basic.
At least for Fulminak.
"But those are personal streams, I can't just—"
"Formalize siege revenue split."
I cut him sharp-eyed; he nodded fast.
"Sure, that."
Quick acceptance eased tension.
Weird guy.
Won't touch guildmates' cash, but his own? Fine.
Seeing Goldbunker's antics, I had zero streaming interest, but their hustle raked in serious money.
Current siege video revenue split: Goldbunker:Fulminak:SpaceKing at 8:1:1.
I pushed for 3.
"30 percent."
Gilgamesh frowned slightly, then haggled slyly.
"30's too greedy humanely; 20 compromise. That's double already. You fight the war; we film, edit, upload hard."
Fair point, so I countered.
"Free ride penalty 25%. If you get wrecked by SpaceKing, lose Iskasha and get pushed, we fully back your war mode filming."
If Goldbunker lost Iskasha to SpaceKing, siege videos would tank.
Observer cams (in-game military drones) alone couldn't cut it.
Then I added slyly.
"Bump the share, insure it."
VR game, but shop cams were diverse. Best quality? Players' 'eyes.'
This deal was insurance.
Gilgamesh mulled it over, then.
"Deal."
I patted his shoulder, buying off his free-ride guilt with money's name; he gave me a weird look.
"Stream with me for real. You'd make bank."
No clue the context.
"Last siege, why stream now."
"Really the last? Midgard ends, Lowguard opens obviously."
Common theory.
No more land to conquer in Midgard. Weichen's the finale, hence 'final siege.'
Then.
["7 o'clock support request! Main gate Hell Cannon! Hell ultimate incomingggg!!"]
"!"
Gilgamesh and I whipped around. Alliance chat support call.
I checked 9 o'clock.
"Minoya."
["Yes! Sending!"]
"Kali."
["Yeah."]
Gates glowed; some players urgently deployed to 7 o'clock lines.
I opened 7 o'clock voice chat.
["Kiyaaak!"]
["Fuck! How's the kill range this nuts?!"]
["Dart's staring daggers, can't even kill him!!"]
["Uwaak! Uwak! Heal fuck, heal!! Save my hero—!!"]
["Tankin' it!"]
Fulminak's ace tank, Invincible Shield Mura-nim's voice.