Chapter 188
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: Imperial Guard
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"If the media finds out what we're doing, we're definitely going to get a ton of backlash, right?"
Inside a military plane heading to Thailand, one hero from the Imperial Guard grumbled.
"Why? Because we're putting a male raid leader in danger? Is that the issue right now? When millions of people are about to die?"
"If some reporter spins it that way, I'll chuck her straight into a dungeon break zone."
"Exactly. And even if we do get hate, it'll be those raid leaders who bailed on this crisis who take the real heat. What the hell are those women thinking?"
"Damn..."
It was a reluctant reality—they had no choice but to team up with a male raid leader. On top of that, their own raid leader, Celess, was out of commission. The White House and Tencent couldn't spare anyone either. It was the worst possible situation.
Because of this, the Imperial Guard heroes believed resolving the Vietnam crisis was impossible.
[We'll clear this area first, then head to Hoabinh.]
"It'd be better to go to Hanoi first. The raids are already pulling out of Hoabinh."
[Pulling out?! Then the dungeon break...?!]
"Most of the temporary dungeons from the break have been cleared. But what's the point? We have no way to deal with that monster estimated at 9-star level."
On one side, Chloe Castell was communicating with the British raid team.
[There has to be some way.]
"You've probably heard, but Celess got taken out. It's no pushover. We're guessing it's a Disaster Kin."
[We'll move as fast as we can.]
In light of the crisis's severity, Britain's Round Table Knights and Germany's Iron Cross Clan agreed to wrap up in China and reinforce Vietnam. But Chloe didn't see it as a surefire solution.
Their raid firepower was honestly no different from the Imperial Guard's.
If anything, raid leader prowess favored the Imperial Guard. Celess, their head, was that capable.
Han Minguk, on the other hand, still had to prove himself.
'He's called a genius, but...'
Chloe's gaze shifted to Minguk.
Having joined as temporary raid leader for the Imperial Guard, he was poring over a stack of documents thicker than an encyclopedia, memorizing something intently.
"Whew."
He must have some plan to pull off this insane stunt, but every time Chloe considered their dire straits, she questioned investing precious try time in this guy. Every day counted.
The silver lining was Kang Chaeyoung vouching for Han Minguk's leading skills.
Given Chaeyoung's no-nonsense personality, Minguk's leading must be top-notch. Chloe vaguely remembered an old article hyping him as a once-in-a-century genius.
'Probably exaggerated. Tsk. Anyway, not sure if detouring to Thailand to nurture this guy is worth it.'
With those uneasy thoughts, the Imperial Guard heroes arrived in Thailand and dove straight into clearing an [A-5] difficulty dungeon—no time to rest.
"From here on, I'll be leading the team. Feel free to speak casually."
"Do whatever."
Nodding at Chloe Castell's reply, Minguk recalled the Imperial Guard's specs he'd reviewed en route to Thailand.
Their standard setup was 2 tanks, 5 dealers, 3 healers. One dealer could swap to tank, and a healer to dealer.
As a world-renowned raid, they were equipped to flexibly adjust composition in any situation. This would greatly aid future tries.
And that wasn't all.
'Two heroes with ultimates, huh...'
Ultimate skills had long cooldowns but shone in monster fights like trump cards.
Only rare classes—unique or legendary-rated—possessed them.
Team GGW had one too: Oh Hyun-ah the Phoenix Knight's 'Two Wingbeats,' essentially an ultimate.
But hers revived mid-try, boosting stability and tanking without much direct raid benefit. The Imperial Guard's were different.
'Chloe's Attack Bloom.'
A buff ultimate boosting the entire raid's attack power by 25% for about 20 seconds.
No attack speed increase was a drawback, but with a 7-minute cooldown, it could fire multiple times against long-try monsters.
It could create game-changing variables in firepower-critical moments.
'And Dian's Hero's Rally.'
Dian was the Imperial Guard's sub-tank.
Her ultimate raised the raid's max HP by 20% for a duration, proportionally healing current HP too. Timed right, it was a crisis-escaping ace.
Minguk had all their skills memorized besides.
Checking team abilities was raid leader basics. Applying it in combat was trickier, but he wasn't worried.
In the VR mobile game, he'd commanded over 100 heroes, memorizing and deploying their kits in raids.
GGW mobile raids were 20-man; this world's were 10-man. Comparing difficulties felt unfair.
Sorting his thoughts, Minguk eyed the heroes he'd command.
'...Haha. Lots of discontent, I see.'
He chuckled inwardly.
They weren't showing it openly, but their stiff expressions screamed it. Their thoughts were transparent.
Fresh off arrival in Thailand, complaints wouldn't erupt yet. But failing expectations or fumbling commands would spark them for sure.
'Can't be helped. That's my place in this world.'
If anything, their decision to go along showed considerable leniency.
Impressive growth and dungeon break experience aside, he wasn't trusted like top-tier heroes yet.
But Minguk was confident he could flip their dissatisfaction and anxiety quickly.
"Let's start the briefing."
The dungeon they entered was Thailand's [A-5], home to 12 named mobs, 7 special ones—a mid-to-large scale.
Already cleared multiple times, strategies were readily available from the Thai government.
Minguk easily tailored tactics to the Guard's specs. That's what he'd done on the plane.
With specs far exceeding the difficulty, aggressive clears were feasible—faster pace possible.
True to form after countless mock raids, Minguk's briefing nailed the essentials crisply.
'Not bad? Clean briefing. Hits the key strategy points...'
'He'd look killer in a suit.'
The French heroes murmured admiration at Minguk's briefing.
It showed solid instincts, at least. Combat leading was another matter, but expectations ticked up slightly. Still, Minguk's true value lay beyond briefings.
"Huh...?"
Louise, the Imperial Guard dealer fighting a darkness monster, grimaced at her status.
Thailand's [A-5] darkness monsters used "Abyss of Darkness," a debuff slashing ally healing by 100%—a nasty one.
Counters involved destroying periodic battlefield objects for debuff-purging buffs.
But fight terrain distanced objects from mobs, leading to occasional misses. No mistakes for clears, of course.
Even battle-hardened Guards weren't infallible.
"Fuck, we're screwed."
Louise cursed involuntarily.
With the temp leader, screwing up like this—failing debuff purge meant no heals, instant death on hit.
That's when it happened.
"Healers, maintain shields on Louise. Debuff's still up—no heals needed."
"Louise, circle right to the monster's rear. Just track the tank's position; no AoE hits otherwise."
"I'll call Dian's ultimate myself. Your mana keeps fluctuating—trust my judgment."
Minguk's orders flowed seamlessly. As instructed, team members called to Louise sweeping wide right.
"What, Louise? Missed the debuff wipe?"
"...Yeah. Rushed an attack and stepped out of object range without realizing."
"For real? How'd Minguk spot it?"
"Right? Caught me off guard too."
Overhearing the dealers, Chloe recalled Kang Chaeyoung's words before Thailand.
A male leader outshining even Celess, the Guard's face. Chloe wasn't 100% sold, but his team checks and battlefield read were spot-on.
But the Guard's awe for Minguk didn't end there.
"Everyone scatter—no groups of four or more!"
"Shockwave incoming at 3 o'clock. Emil, Bridget, Dian—if you don't want a heal shower, move now."
"Adds spawning—Chloe, Attack Bloom."
The darkness monster was a 7th-grade one, only in [A-5]+ difficulties.
So potent, fewer than 20 raids per country could handle them. Yet Minguk commanded it like he'd slain hundreds.
As if reading the future of monster reactions to their attacks.
More than that, the temp leader leveraged their superior specs 200%, pushing aggressive clears. Team synergy was unreal—anyone would mistake him for the official leader.
Thus, their [A-5] clear speed doubled the norm. Swift calls and micro prevented try wipes.
"What? Isn't this too easy? Real 7th-grades?"
"Feels like a [B] dungeon."
"Minguk's a 6-star hero, right? What 6-star pulls this?"
"He is 6-star. Hero Pads don't lie. And yes, 7th-grade—the three blue shards prove it. Only special 7th-grades drop those."
"Who doesn't know that? But..."
Gazes turned to Minguk chatting with dealer lead Chloe post-successful try.
A mere 2-year hero, junior to them all. Yet he'd dismantled [A-5] 7th-grades effortlessly—not from a gut start either.
"Genius is on another level."
Someone said it. The women nodded in agreement. All of them.