Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Guild Master Isn't Enough With Just the Game
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SpaceKing players descended onto the Iskasha walls one by one, accompanied by their heroes.
Next, the main members came down, and Dart finally set foot on the wall.
Dart raised his sword high without a moment's hesitation as he faced Gilgamesh head-on.
At that instant, lightning exploded forth.
Credit threw himself in front of Gilgamesh to block him as he lunged toward Dart, and Goldbunker's main members rushed out to swiftly raise shields.
The triple shields and sword collided, shaking the walls.
Kwarrr—boom!!
["SpaceKing's Guild Master Dart has ascended the castle."]
["Goldbunker's guild members are breathlessly covering for their Guild Master."]
Gilgamesh glared at Dart murderously as he was dragged away by Goldbunker's guild members.
["Even if it's unfair, you have to protect your life."]
A siege without the guild's top firepower—the Guild Master—was impossible from the start.
The walls became enveloped in red flames.
Under Hella's flame barrier, which spread out magnificently like a territory marker, SpaceKing's guild members moved swiftly with Dart at the lead.
Even after Gilgamesh was escorted away under cover fire, Goldbunker's resistance continued.
Non-combatants who feared no 24-hour logout stood in SpaceKing's way, but as expected, their resistance didn't last long.
Being non-combatants in war mode inherently meant they were lower in strength.
Their opponent was Dart, the strongest in VFA.
Dart mercilessly swung his sword at those blocking his path.
Slash—!
["Dart is slicing through the enemies like weeds."]
["Time is tight, after all."]
["This is Goldbunker's last gasp. They're trying to buy time somehow, but they've already lost with the NPC battle."]
Dart had cleared the path himself, but soon his guild members began handling the small fry around them.
As Dart walked inside, he quickly scanned the castle interior.
Goldbunker had apparently evacuated all of Iskasha's ruling class NPCs beforehand, leaving no major NPCs inside the royal castle except for servants.
Perfect.
That was Dart's brief assessment.
Occupying the palace and killing the royals would have been a huge hassle.
Especially in the middle of a war like this.
["Dart enters the castle."]
["Iskasha has essentially fallen to SpaceKing."]
["The system doesn't allow territory capture yet, but at this point, it's as good as taken."]
Goldbunker's broadcasters swallowed hard as they watched the situation unfold.
Under the protection of SpaceKing guild members, Dart fully entered the Iskasha royal castle and vanished from sight.
* * *
As befitting Goldbunker's territory, cameras were installed in every corner of the castle.
Along with the countless cameras scattered everywhere, the interior of Iskasha's royal castle—the prosperous commercial kingdom—boasted a stunning and luxurious appearance.
Some guild members gawked around in admiration.
“…….”
Dart's brow furrowed slightly.
The space somehow reeked of Gilgamesh's tastes.
If one considered VFA's intricate and realistic world-building as content in itself, it might be worth taking time to tour and appreciate the building's interior.
Step step—
But Dart, who had zero interest in civilization or cultural artifacts, hurried onward while glancing at the remaining time.
Eight minutes until war mode.
Iskasha's royal audience chamber was uniquely shaped like a treasure exhibition hall.
It was the most ornate and grand chamber he'd seen so far.
Of course, even amid this, the kingdom's key treasures had all been evacuated by Goldbunker.
His steps halted.
"Iskasha territory system."
As Binu called up the system, light condensed rapidly in the center of the king's audience chamber.
A large red gem.
Naturally, it wasn't just any gem—it was the central management program overseeing Iskasha's territory system.
The gem emitted light.
[Access Denied!]
[Bound to Guild Goldbunker.]
It was war mode imminent, so that was expected.
The moment Dart, Binu, and Hella—who had entered the chamber—focused on the red gem.
Boom—!!
One of the treasures exploded.
“?!”
There was no time to be surprised.
Kwarrr-boom!!!
A second explosion rocked the chamber's wall with tremendous force.
Flames seemed to charge toward them.
Golden hair, bearing the flames of Iskasha's despair, flew into the room in an instant.
It was Gilgamesh.
“!!”
Dart hurriedly raised his sword.
As Binu and Hella moved to cover him, another nearby treasure exploded.
Kwa—boom!!
Binu frantically raised a shield and shouted.
"It was a trap?!"
At that moment, the audience chamber was engulfed in the glow of ancient script.
Large frames on the chamber walls connected, forming a massive magic circle.
It was enormous and intricate—clearly no ordinary thing at a glance.
[Tombs of the Gods]
The twelve frames activated as a set, triggering a special skill.
[Within the designated building, all players except those belonging to Guild 'Goldbunker' have their neural power suppressed by 20%.]
[Duration: 5 minutes]
Boom—!!!
Gilgamesh and Dart's swords clashed with a destructive roar, shaking the entire castle.
Boom! Kwarrr-boom!!
Even partially, suppressing Dart's neural power had a massive effect.
Still, as VFA's top player, he wasn't being pushed back, but the suppression felt profoundly unpleasant to Dart.
"Urk! You little shit, you wanna die?!!"
Clang! Clang! Boom!
Gilgamesh swung his sword furiously.
"You wanna die?! How dare you invade Iskasha without anticipating this?!!"
“?!”
Sensing something ominous, Dart leaped away to dodge Gilgamesh's attack.
Kwarrr—boom!!
Gilgamesh didn't miss the opening and unleashed an attack skill.
The wall where the sword swung shattered completely, revealing a bright space, and Dart's eyes gleamed dangerously.
"You son of a—"
He had no time to curse.
Dart clenched his teeth and blocked Gilgamesh's strike once more.
Kwa—boom!!
Creak, crick—
Beyond their locked swords, Gilgamesh's red eyes bubbled like molten lava.
Blue flames sparked in Dart's eyes as well.
Killing intent collided.
Trapped by the castle's snare, under a neural power debuff.
Items tied to ancient myths were notoriously effective against players.
Perhaps because they were 'gods'' belongings.
"I'm gonna—kill you!"
Dart ground his teeth.
Even as rank 1 Dart, death meant a 24-hour logout he couldn't escape.
Gilgamesh hadn't come alone, of course.
Sub-guild master Credit, who had brought five main guild members, stood there with a gentlemanly smile.
“…….”
Credit quietly stared down Hella and Binu.
You know not to interfere, right?
This fight had already started—don't make it a bigger mess.
A fierce staring contest unfolded between the guild members of both sides, but jumping in would just turn it into an all-out brawl.
Hella and Binu glanced at each other.
While the guild members rationally gauged the situation with war mode looming, the Guild Masters' ignited duel raged on.
Boom! Kwa—boom!
Each clash of Gilgamesh and Dart's swords made the guild members flinch faintly.
It was insane.
If a Guild Master died here, it was over.
* * *
Mino began the official siege countdown in earnest.
["5 minutes remaining."]
Wechen front.
SpaceKing's handler there was Nix.
Nix and Shiva.
SpaceKing had positioned martial arts specialists as their main force.
They were good at tanking.
With fortresses like Wechen royal castle, Fullminak was on the offensive while SpaceKing defended.
Classic siege warfare—attack versus defense.
Long before the siege countdown began, SpaceKing's guild members had seemed utterly relaxed.
And for good reason.
"The shield will go up soon."
Hyunwoo-nim, who had just boarded the fleet, said to me.
Since SpaceKing held Wechen, their shield would activate shortly.
That's when Fullminak's 'shield breaking' would begin.
Unlike SpaceKing, tension hung thick over Fullminak with war mode approaching.
["3 minutes remaining."]
The command chat buzzed briefly.
["Whoa, I'm nervous."]
["No matter how many times, this feeling is always the same weird thrill."]
["It's a VFA siege, after all."]
["Fullminak's gotta deliver another legendary this time."]
["Praying for Guild Master's rank 1 takedown."]
["Oh yeah, suddenly excited."]
["Dart should be coming down soon."]
["That guy's probably sick of it and wants to bail."]
Fullminak guild members traded idle jokes to ease the tension ahead of war mode.
In the chatter, another two minutes passed.
Fullminak's red fleet was packed with allied guild members awaiting orders.
["1 minute remaining."]
The moment had come.
"4th and 5th armies, advance."
At my command, the handlers nodded.
Magic circles formed on the fleet, and Fullminak's main forces from the battlefield materialized.
Whoosh. Whoosh whoosh.
Rotation of reserves and frontline personnel.
Not to give the frontliners rest, but to concentrate forces as per the prior strategy.
After issuing commands, Mino boarded the fleet, knelt on one knee, and stared below intently.
"50-second countdown."
Tension pulled taut.
Like us, SpaceKing's guild members had all withdrawn from the Wechen front.
NPC troops halted their Wechen assault upon receiving the standby order, and the freshly departed 4th and 5th armies formed a frontline at the Wechen walls.
The 4th and 5th were siege non-combatants.
Since they could die without issue, many had already perished in prior fights, but the survivors were gathered and sent at once.
20 seconds.
SpaceKing scrambled breathlessly to counter the suicide charge.
Naturally, their frontliners were also non-combatants besides the mains.
Nix was nowhere in sight, probably at the castle's system to capture immediately when war mode opened.
10 seconds.
9 seconds.
8 seconds.
7 seconds.
...
"Finally."
"Clang."
[00:00:00]
In an instant, the game's virtual graphics rippled faintly like particles in a wave, spreading white light.
System windows popped up before the players.
Ding!
[The 99th Official Siege War has begun.]
[Opening territory systems for pre-registered territories.]
[War Mode On]
[[Fullminak Karma Values]
—Evil Karma: 3,820,000
—Good Karma: 17,919,000]
[War Mode fully supports player wars. Unite with your guild members to conquer and rule the opened territories.]
[Midgard awaits the gods.]
It had begun.
VFA's official siege war.