Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Guildmaster Isn't Enough with Just the Game
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A massive bomb plummets down.
The barren wasteland stretches empty in all directions, but the sight of it hurtling toward the ground evokes a suffocating tension—it's unmistakably a nuclear bomb.
The moment it hits the earth.
The bomb shatters, and light erupts.
Boom, KABOOM—!!
A sharp chemical flash blazes, followed by thunderous explosions that shake the ground. Faster than flames, an artificial gale races across the land.
Rumble rumble rumble—
As a colossal mushroom cloud engulfs the area, the broadcasters—who had been silent—finally speak up.
["Even seeing it again gives me chills."]
["Looks like a warning bomb drop. Spaceking must be seriously pissed."]
["Yeah. No way they only made one nuke. We're just the broadcast team, so we don't know the internal details, but maybe they've decided to sacrifice for Fullminak now that things have come to this."]
["Honestly, Goldbunker was hitting its limits anyway."]
The broadcasters' live commentary streams directly from directives sent down from above via the real-time chat.
The Goldbunker sacrifice scenario.
["Yeah, why'd they have to sneak attack? Why hit 'em in the back at dawn of all times."]
["Spaceking overplayed their hand big time."]
["Exactly. No one could've imagined Goldbunker pulling out a nuke."]
Of course, even if they'd known ahead of time, no one would've predicted Gilgamesh dropping a nuke mid-ambush like some lunatic.
Spaceking doesn't even know about the karma potions.
["The enemy of my enemy is my friend—Goldbunker joins forces with Fullminak."]
Goldbunker launches a media play.
And it works.
* * *
A Goldbunker special nuke lands smack in the path from Kalba to Iska.
"Damn it—!!"
Crash!
Dart lashes out in fury.
The mood inside Spaceking is like a hornet's nest kicked hard by someone.
Chills race across their skin, trauma surges up.
They're seething with rage, spinning in circles, and the uncertainty of the situation hits even harder.
["That dead guild gets stepped on once and starts twitching like crazy?"]
["It's all bluffing. They dropped the nuke on empty land this time. They can't use it for real."]
["Didn't you see Kaisha come down personally to smash Iska? Those two are definitely teaming up for real."]
["Fuck. Might as well just steamroll Weichen."]
["Steamroll what? Killing Fullminak NPCs does jack shit in war mode."]
["Man, this is pissing me off so bad."]
Soap, listening quietly to the execs' group chat, glances at Dart lounging on his throne.
"How about suggesting a truce?"
"......"
Dart stays silent for a moment.
He mutters, his face twisting in irritation, but he rolls it over in his head, organizing his thoughts.
Finally, Dart speaks.
"Nukes are useless once war mode kicks in."
"True enough."
"We go straight at 'em."
They can't dominate as overwhelmingly as in an ambush, but Spaceking is confident they can hold the edge against Goldbunker even in full war mode.
Dart lays down the call.
"We've already taken Weichen. The second war mode opens, we all-out assault Iska and seize it."
["Roger."]
["Just wait for war mode."]
["We're gonna crush 'em."]
Spaceking boils over.
["Incoming message from the alliance. Goldbunker just said on live broadcast they're teaming up with Fullminak out of rage from the ambush."]
["Knew it."]
["Goldbunker's broadcast pushing that narrative for us to see?"]
["Narrative or not, it's right there in front of our eyes."]
["It's straight facts."]
Spaceking bites the bait. Of course, it's bait that looks totally legit to anyone watching.
And it's partially true.
New info pours in, tangling Dart's thoughts even more.
"Hah."
Dart himself doubts Gilgamesh would drop another nuke.
He's not the type to sacrifice.
But from what he'd seen firsthand in Iska, there was definitely some deal between Kaisha and Gilgamesh.
The question is what.
Maybe not money, but some kind of conditional risk.
Like insurance: if Spaceking doesn't back off after the nuke warning, Goldbunker abandons the siege and aids Fullminak.
"......"
Truth is, if Spaceking takes Iska during the ambush phase, Goldbunker has zero shot in the main siege.
That logic makes the sacrifice-for-Fullminak hypothesis plausible.
"Goddamn it......"
They'd anticipated Goldbunker might cling to Fullminak during the ambush, but the problem is Goldbunker isn't a pushover.
'Should we not have ambushed?'
All because they picked a side.
That hidden card—the Goldbunker special nuke—was way more devastating than imagined.
Without knowing about the karma-reducing items, the more Dart ponders, the more his mind knots up.
To the point he forgets his long experience reading Gilgamesh's personality.
Dart mutters.
"Is this because it's the final siege?"
"Goldbunker's backed into a corner too. Rudel Mine's on the line."
"......"
Rudel Mine had been the source of some seriously dirty business between Spaceking and Goldbunker.
They'd never hand it over, pride be damned.
So they're dumping on Fullminak?
No way Gilgamesh's personality allows that.
But for some reason, Kaisha—who you'd never expect to go berserk—did just that willingly.
Spaceking wants Iska next after Weichen.
Rudel Mine matters, but taking Iska lets them smoothly hit Fullminak's front lines once the official siege kicks off.
Goldbunker and Fullminak—who know this full well—team up and drop a sharp warning.
Nuke drop.
Spaceking members stroke their chests in relief, stunned that the nuke-hit heroes recover fine.
Of course, NPC heroes are just support in war mode.
Still, losing or injuring key heroes shakes siege strength.
After much deliberation.
Dart reaches the same conclusion.
"We aim for war mode."
Ambush phase favors Spaceking overwhelmingly.
But they're confident beating Goldbunker in the official siege too.
No regrets.
They've already hit 90% of their goals by taking Weichen.
* * *
"Kaisha. Returning to fleet."
Back on the fleet, relaying the news draws cheers and praise over voice chat.
["Whoa, Guildmaster, mad respect."]
["Total respect."]
["Nuke drop and securing moral high ground. Zhuge Liang's crying."]
["Nuke-respect. Ultimate respect."]
["Loyalty loyalty."]
Guildmates don't ask how she pulled off another nuke, or what deal went down between her and Gilgamesh in Iska.
No one asks, so she volunteers.
"Classified stays classified."
["Figured you handled it perfectly."]
["Spill one word, we'll shut up and follow."]
["In Kaisha's name, amen."]
["Damn. Starting to feel real faith. Now I get how NPCs feel."]
["Guild members' faith surges."]
["Mine's already maxed, no room."]
["Mura's the one, huh."]
Our guild's core members trade relaxed jokes, bursting into laughter.
Spaceking proposes another short break.
They struck first and demanded break on their terms—total assholes—but this decision hits perfect.
Worth personally going to Iska to drag out that nuke use.
War mode looms close.
* * *
["Second break turn."]
["What an exciting development again."]
["Yeah. Real-time twists were insane. Best ever."]
["Still buzzing. How's it this fun? Time for reevaluating Spaceking's ambush."]
["Reevaluate what."]
The Weichen battle recap kicks off with a scoff.
[First Turn End]
[Weichen Battle Begins]
["Weichen battle starts now."]
["Spaceking ambushes but eats a nuke, momentum crushed. Scared of another, all guilds pull NPC troops to Weichen."]
["Bunch 'em all up, no nuke hits, right?"]
["That's the play. Goldbunker, Fullminak, Spaceking—three guilds hold summit in Weichen."]
[Alliance vs. Spaceking]
[Hellcannon Ultimate Unleashed]
[Alliance Emergency]
["Hellcannon's power is nuts. Shreds users too."]
["Midgard's strongest for a reason."]
["Spaceking smoothly defends pre-seized Weichen. No openings."]
["But Fullminak holds against Spaceking. And Goldbunker's sneaking in."]
["Ambush relies heavy on heroes. Goldbunker lacks OP ones. Spaceking has Hellcannon, Fullminak Messiah."]
["Right. We don't."]
["Make money over hero grinding."]
[Boasting] subtitle flashes briefly.
["Still, ranker influx makes user power solid, but can't beat Spaceking's war obsession."]
["They're war-crazed."]
[Spaceking Reinforcements to Weichen!]
[Hell Army vs. Maya Army]
["Spaceking adds NPC troops."]
["This part's the real banger."]
["Pure catharsis."]
["Skimming ambush recap? Watch this. Strongly recommend."]
["No regrets, for real."]
[Kaisha Descends to the Field!]
[Hero Messiah's Ultimate Unleashed!]
["Spaceking's Hell shows top-tier command. But Fullminak led by Maya holds line with minimal losses."]
["Kaisha support incoming."]
["Messiah three-finger wipes the front."]
["Three-finger shone dramatically in Weichen. Want details? Check prior Weichen vid."]
[Iska Battle Erupts!]
[Goldbunker vs. Spaceking]
["Meanwhile, Iska getting wrecked hard."]
["To get Goldbunker-Spaceking Iska clash, gotta mention Rudel Mine."]
["Infamous dispute zone."]
["Spaceking's waited for Iska-linked siege. Failed mine raids despite chaos."]
["No comment."]
Extra explanation scrolls by.
[For details, watch 'Blatantly Biased Non-Three Kingdoms Commentary' vid etc.]
["Goldbunker's hero weakness makes ambush hopeless. Iska's done for."]
["Then Iska's savior appears."]
[Iska's Savior God-Kaisha]
[Soap's Shawshank from Iska]
[Kaisha's Rampage]
[Spaceking's Miraculous Retreat]
["Kuh."]
["Kyaa."]
["How could I not stan our Kaisha after this."]
["Pump those views."]
["Spaceking main Soap flees, Dart comes to scout."]
["Mains dying now is disaster."]
["Logout's a full 24 hours!"]
[Nuke Drop Near Kalba]
[Nuke Warning Solidifies Goldbunker-Fullminak Alliance]
[Spaceking Declares Break]
["Zero casualties, but Spaceking's feet are glued."]
["No clue how many nukes Goldbunker has, but at least one confirmed. Guildmaster flips out, who knows."]
["Yeah. Didn't expect pre-war nuke."]
["Right. Unimaginable."]
["Spaceking waits for war mode. They ambushed and sparked NPC war, now propose break again."]
["Break ends suspiciously quick. Right to war mode start."]
["What next."]
["Korea server siege—tension till the absolute end. Spaceking ambush recap."]
[Official Siege War Mode System Open]
[Friday 19:00:00]
["Tonight, Friday 7 PM. Finally, Bipa siege war mode begins."]
["Live viewing!"]
War mode countdown starts.
NPC strategic battles like a 'Three Kingdoms' so far—war mode pits users directly.
Comments explode.
View counts and such climb faster as time passes.
That day, net buzzes with Spaceking's dawn ambush.
Bipa's already famous.
Stunning visuals, diverse user skills, war developments—tons for non-gamers too.
Netizens hype the siege.
Goldbunker spotlights fan-fave Kaisha hard; her feats drop massive bait.
Kaisha footage flood thrills her idol-stanning fans.
Overdosed on Kaisha hits, fans shill siege wildly across forums and SNS, herding newbies into stanning.
Siege audience swells; prior vids rack views for 'homework' watches.