Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Being a Guild Master Isn't Enough with Just the Game
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Kali spoke to Hyunwoo.
“Contact Kaisha right away. She’s probably in the middle of combat, so emergency calls won’t go through, but if you reach out, she’ll reply as soon as the fight ends.”
Kali talked to Kaisha so often that her messages lacked any real impact.
But when the usually serious and diligent Hyunwoo made contact, it carried far more weight.
Hyunwoo immediately messaged Kaisha and opened the chat window.
[Hyunwoo: It looks like Lenox has completely lost control. The Central Nation is showing signs of total collapse.]
[Hyunwoo: We’ve seized the internal territory system in the Central Nation and opened a transfer portal.]
The barrier protecting the Central Nation lowered, and the ground shook as if it might crumble.
The incident had erupted right next door, so even late at night, the city blazed with light. Terrified residents poured out in an instant.
Meanwhile, guild members who had followed the woman and changed clothes mixed in with the residents, all staring up at the electronic billboard.
A massive city billboard was playing a news broadcast.
["Breaking news."]
A male announcer appeared.
["The barrier shielding the city from the forest has just come down, prompting city officials to convene emergency measures."]
["Regarding tonight’s explosion in Cellerticia, city officials requested an emergency hearing from Lenoxa, but Lenoxa has remained silent."]
The residents murmured in unrest.
For the people of the Central Nation, this was an unprecedented crisis.
The media, always staunchly pro-Lenoxa, airing this as breaking news meant the situation was gravely serious, even if details were scarce.
Anxiety mounted, but no one could resolve the root issue.
Because the Central Nation’s entire military and governance systems revolved around Lenoxa House head Lenox and his kin.
If Lenoxa abandoned its people, it was over.
Next to the Lenoxa House crest on screen, a woman’s face appeared.
["Cellerticia’s mayor, Serebia, has yet to show herself even as midnight approaches, heightening residents’ unease—"]
A quest window popped up before the eyes of hunters watching the Central Nation’s chaos.
『[Quest Guide] Collapse of the Central Nation
Lenox’s rampage has shattered the Central Nation, endangering its residents. Stop Lenox’s rampage and rescue the Central Nation’s people.
—Time Limit: 1 hour
—A chance to elevate your divinity will be granted as reward.
—Upon success, the mission end countdown will begin.』
『1:00:00』
At last, the Babel Tower Channel 1004 mission was nearing its end.
* * *
I read through the quest window in front of me, then dismissed it.
The countdown had begun.
Feeling that Channel 1004’s mission was in its final stages made my heart race.
I opened the world map.
“…….”
The current competitive landscape had China nearly wiped out by the European Union, leaving a three-way battle between America, Korea, and the European Union.
We’d claimed substantial territory, but deep down, it still wasn’t enough.
Running a guild in reality, plus launching the entertainment business I had in mind, would require massive funds.
YM Group had shelled out 100 billion for gate resource mining rights this time—a staggering sum—but fully extracting those resources to cover it would take considerable time.
Fullminak was among the top three guilds on the non-PVP Korean server.
Of course, in sheer size, Spaceking—the perennial number one—took the crown, followed by Goldbunker, the number two guild that operated like a corporation to generate revenue.
Spaceking, as a famed one-man guild, didn’t need Goldbunker’s structure; they’d made plenty from individual item trades, paid carries, hero leveling services, and more.
Even now that Fullminak had just claimed the overall guild ranking top spot, we were still the most disadvantaged in scale and funding.
I wanted to grow my guild huge.
I wanted to become the proud chairman of a major corporation and get revenge on my maternal family—and my mom.
I’d been crushed my whole life by my mom’s absurd expectations and her smug family. The thought of leaping to heights they couldn’t imagine made my mind blaze white with thrill.
I could do it. I wanted to show them I could shatter those tormenting expectations by soaring impossibly high.
I’d tried not to think about it.
Thump, thump.
My heart pounded not just in my chest, but in my head and throat.
The very first ‘Quest Guide’ had called this channel a resource-rich ‘blessed land.’
How much could we make from mining rights? What could that money achieve?
And...
Would Mom finally acknowledge me?
With the mission reaching its endgame, excitement brought a flood of stray thoughts.
I opened the guild executive chat.
“Hyunwoo, how’s the situation there?”
["Kaisha! Any word on the android forces withdrawing from the forest?!"]
“Yeah? Hold on.”
I urgently messaged Gilgamesh and asked right away.
“Fighting machines?”
["Yeah. What’s up."]
“Any signs of the machine forces retreating or partial withdrawal?”
["What? Nothing like that."]
“Got it.”
I cut off from Gilgamesh and looped back to Hyunwoo as the situation started to click.
“No such thing, apparently. Did the machine forces invade the Central Nation?”
["Yes. It’s bad."]
The global quest window hadn’t appeared for nothing.
I’d sensed it during Midgard too: the system subtly herded users via ‘quests’ to handle what the world needed.
Android forces meant to protect the Central Nation turning on its civilians...
That was the terror of machines.
Absolute obedience to command issuers, unlimited troop growth via factory production.
“Lenoxa House, the Central Nation’s sacred family, must be at odds with the military, so they’re probably sitting on enormous forces...”
["We suspected as much. If machines are in the forest too, that tracks."]
“The mission’s to stop Lenox’s rampage and save residents within one hour, so we need to meet him ASAP somehow.”
["Ah!"]
Hyunwoo caught on and summed it up.
["Then we’ll focus on rescuing residents here. Kaisha, head straight to Lenox."]
“Yeah. Problem is, where is he now?”
["That should be fine. There’s likely a lead official manipulating the military system. I’ll ask Open for the location, mark it on the map, and send it over."]
I arrived at the territory system while chatting with Hyunwoo.
『You have selected [▶Move].』
『You can move between occupied territory systems. Select your desired location on the world map.』
Our Korean team’s occupied territory systems lit up across the world map.
I chose a spot.
“!”
Crossing the portal with Abyss and Hellcannon plunged us into a hellscape of a once-futuristic SF metropolis.
* * *
The quest window appeared to hunters worldwide in Channel 1004.
Android military forces swarmed the Central Nation and the 3 o’clock front where Spaceking held, as well as the 9 o’clock front with Goldbunker, escalating the crisis.
Godgold’s broadcast switched from hosts to four split screens.
One showed Fullminak members inside the Central Nation; another Goldbunker battling at 9 o’clock; a third Spaceking facing incoming machines just now.
The final screen was a solo shot of Kaisha racing somewhere in the Central Nation.
["Essentially, Spaceking and Goldbunker are holding off America and the European Union, letting Fullminak strike the center."]
["Perfect role division."]
["The European Union and America have no clue Korea’s infiltrated the Central Nation, right?"]
["Not yet. No way to know, and if the EU did, they wouldn’t have left the center so undefended with that army."]
["True. Instead, Goldbunker’s dying in real-time against machines and the EU simultaneously."]
The Goldbunker screen gained a red border highlight.
["Heartbreaking."]
["Sad as a fellow guild, but overall situation’s good—hold on just a bit longer."]
["With the Central Nation’s barrier down, entry’s possible, but androids flooding out drags the EU and America into fiercer wars on both flanks."]
["Meanwhile, our Kaisha finally advances on the final boss."]
["Kamen."]
The red highlight shifted to Kaisha.
["Truth is, Kaisha’s forest clear paved the way. Fullminak’s still getting civilian aid."]
["Fullminak unleashing that Midgard NPC affinity."]
["Fullminak’s biggest strength. Kaisha’s ownership and charisma. Like having a nuke plus negotiation skills."]
["Ha. Nice analogy."]
["Whoa?!"]
Kaisha’s screen zoomed in massively.
["A group from the European Union suddenly appears inside the Central Nation—who knows when they infiltrated!"]
["What the hell?!"]
["They ran into each other without knowing—total reversal!"]
Like the Blue House or White House, a building screaming high-level officials. Kaisha’s group faced off against a band of European hunters.
Both sides froze upon spotting each other, thick tension hanging in the air.
["Wait. Goldbunker screen doesn’t look thinned out? When’d they divert troops?"]
["No way..."]
["What what? Spill."]
["The direction those Europeans popped up—roughly 11 o’clock. When Fullminak’s scout team got massacred, their numbers seemed excessive just for China, so they must’ve dispatched some."]
["Damn, spot on."]
Dart’s earlier guess was right.
The European Union remnants battling Goldbunker at forest 9 o’clock had been suspiciously few.
["How many?"]
["Around 30. Probably their absolute elites."]
["Right on cue, as trouble brews, UK’s number one, Queen, charges ahead to confront Kaisha."]
["Queen?"]
["Whoa, this is..."]
["Too much."]
["So exciting."]
["Peak hype incoming—lock in the channel. Sponsor to boost Kaisha’s win rate."]
As the caster spouted nonsense, viewers kicked off a sponsorship relay.
In Godgold’s live stream chat, some typed ‘this house sells pills like pros’ with tongue-out emojis.