Siege of the Ancient Kingdom Domain (1)
Somehow, my body felt lighter than usual.
How long had it been since I'd last gone out and caused this kind of carefree chaos?
Ever since that stream — the one that left a strange taste in my mouth whenever I thought about it — the war had ballooned in scale, as if everyone wanted a piece of the viral spectacle.
First, Moonstar, the Crusaders' rival alliance, declared their intervention. Then their enemies piled in after them, and the whole thing tangled into a knotted mess of hostilities. Even ordinary people had their eyes glued to it now… which meant neither side could afford to back down.
The losers would suffer a humiliation so complete it was practically guaranteed. And a guild's disgrace always led straight to a mass exodus of members.
The siege rewards had become an afterthought. This was a guillotine match — lose, and your head rolls. Either I or Cross would have a hard time making a living off this game after today.
Guild member Yoru requests activation of Operator. Y/N
Accepted.
Communication range with Yoru during combat has been greatly expanded.
Vision sharing and signal systems are now active.
Anyway, there was still time before the siege began. From this point on, the job was to start killing hostile guild members in advance.
Top priority: disrupt the siege-weapon crafting quests. Keep them from gathering materials in the field, and if possible, cut down their officers too. That was my role.
In short — fight every enemy I laid eyes on.
"Hello. You've heard the briefing, right?"
"More or less."
"Brother Yuhan — ah, Sulbbang asked me to support you. Looking forward to working together."
"I've heard of you too."
"Great. And I watched Gawol's stream — I've been a fan since the Ripper match, so…"
I froze.
The moment the word stream hit my ear, my brain short-circuited. A cold shiver crawled down my spine. I cleared my throat a few times, trying not to sound too weird.
"Thanks, but don't talk about the stream in front of me."
"Yes, sir. Sorry. Still, maybe later, just one screenshot together…? Would that be okay?"
"Depends on how you do. If I like what I see, I'll even add you as a friend. Would be nice to work together now and then."
"I'll give it everything I've got. Just leave it to me."
Well, adding him as a friend only mattered if I was still playing this game long enough for it to count. No need to say that out loud, though.
Sulbbang's prized ace card. Yoru's voice brimmed with motivation. At least the pep talk had done its job.
Night had settled over the desert. We'd been moving for a while when Yoru's voice came through again.
"Eleven o'clock. Hostiles two hundred fifty meters ahead. Fifteen total. They're running a drill rig."
"No need to kill them all — just smash the drill."
"We've got one party standing by nearby."
"Moonstar says they'll send another party if we wait a bit. What do you want to do?"
"Any named players? Especially Immaemangryang. Have you confirmed their position?"
"Checked before we came. You're worried about the debuff, right?"
"Nobody who looks like an immediate threat."
"Still, we're heavily outnumbered. You sure you're okay with this?"
"It's enough. Tell our party to draw a little attention."
Huh. This kid was actually good.
Nothing stalled during the briefing exchange. He knew exactly what I cared about and had answers ready before I even asked. As an operator — or a guild officer — working with me, he'd already earned a passing grade.
As for his skill as a sniper, I'd autopsy that soon enough.
Ancient Kingdom Domain Ruins
Operator has updated the minimap.
The sniper's view opened in the corner of my vision.
A desert under falling starlight. An arrow loosed from a crossbow split the dark-blue sky. Two shots were all it took to shatter the thick silence that had settled over the dunes.
Yoru must have relayed the orders properly. Keeping their distance, two archers led the suppressing fire. The opening ambush landed clean — an enemy warrior bristled with arrows like a porcupine.
I couldn't hear their voices, but the faint boom of explosions and the vibrations carried on the air were proof enough of the engagement. For now, our side was holding its own. The numerical disadvantage wasn't going anywhere, but the lancer's positioning was excellent. At that rate, they wouldn't get wiped out in an instant.
"I'm going in. Let's see what you can do."
"Ready."
Deserts are surprisingly good for ambushes. Sand dunes everywhere, limited light — and footsteps barely make a sound in the deep drifts. Even with proper vigilance, spotting me in this environment wouldn't be easy.
In a one-on-one against a pro, the assassin usually holds the first-strike advantage. Add a decoy to pull their eyes away, and my ambush success rate was as good as a hundred percent.
Consume this item to create a foothold at a desired location that lasts for 2 seconds.
The foothold produces no footstep sounds.
A trickle of mana drained away as a panel formed in midair. I kicked off hard and launched upward — but I had no wings. I dropped straight down and stomped the warrior's head like a pile driver.
His stance shattered under the brutal impact. With the bodyguard's strength gone, the assassination target was left wide open.
I carved a deep gash across the startled curse-caster's throat. A spray of red blood fanned out, but — as expected of siege-guild specs — one hit wasn't enough to kill him.
Not that it mattered. He was still a mage-type body. I threw a dagger into his heart, and he crumpled where he stood.
Behind me, the enemy kunoichi reacted with razor-sharp instincts —
Bang—!
Blood burst from her masked face, the gunshot ringing out a beat late. Serious firepower.
"Enemy kunoichi down."
"Nice."
"Next is Flare Shot. Watch the splash."
Before the lifeless kunai hit the ground, it was time to finish the warrior pinned beneath me. I pressed down on the back of his skull again and drove my blade into his neck and temple. He must have been the key piece — his life was stubbornly tenacious. By the time I grabbed his hair and tore open his throat, the warrior groaned something out.
"G-Gawol…"
"What?"
"Could I… just once… suck on your toes…?"
"Hiiik!"
What kind of insane garbage was that? I twisted the blade free in pure revulsion. Thankfully, the warrior's life finally gave out.
From far across the battlefield, something like a red laser beam appeared — skimming past me by a hair's breadth. The system-marked trajectory of our allied sniper's bullet. I shoved the warrior's corpse toward the impact point as a shield.
A half-tempo late, the gunshot cracked — and searing flames flooded the entire field. For a moment, everyone's vision was blanked out. Which meant my next move was already decided.
"Looks like an assassin's going to make a run at me."
"Can you handle it?"
"If it's too much, I'll reposition."
"Don't bother. I'll clean it up."
Who did he think I was? A sniper watches my back — so I watch the sniper's.
I vanished into stealth before the flames cleared. An assassin tore through the fire and blew right past me. Even with me cloaked, not so much as a greeting for your senior? This rude junior needed an education.
I slammed his face into the dirt as a lesson in manners and stabbed his side without mercy — ruptured organs, bleed toxin, paralysis toxin, and I severed the tendons behind his knees for good measure before slipping into the shadows.
As my form disappeared, a berserker who'd leapt with everything he had lost his target. A sniper's bullet punched into his bewildered face.
"Berserker critical. I'll finish him off."
"But their brawler is supposed to be pretty strong… what do you want to do?"
"That pervert in the fundoshi over there."
"I was thinking I'd smash the drill first."
"Ah… I'll handle him."
I knew exactly who he meant. A brawler who'd been pressuring our party peeled off in a hard turn, closing in. The musclebound man flaunting an uncomfortable amount of bare skin had a face I recognized well.
"Long time no see, Fundoshi. Didn't expect to meet you as an enemy. Weren't you with the big house originally?"
"Paying the price for making the wrong friends."
"That so. Then I take it there's no bad blood between us?"
"Of course not."
FundoshiMania. During the conflict with Dongmicham, he'd been a mercenary dispatched from the "upper house" — meaning a top-tier guild. Judging by the look of things, he was on loan to the hostile Venom Guild now.
We'd party-hunted together plenty of times. Aside from the perverted outfit and his questionable taste in picking brawler, he was a decent guy.
"Looks like your specs have gone way up."
"As if I could match you on pure skill, Gawol. I've got to take every edge I can get before I come at you."
"Hmm. Fair enough."
"Ever since I watched the Arena, I've wanted to fight you like this at least once. With a challenger's heart."
Fundoshi clenched his fists. The raised guard was unmistakably a combat stance. I lifted my daggers toward my upper body in kind.
"You want a one-on-one?"
"Yes. If you'll accept."
"Then I won't."
"What?"
"Why would I keep fighting here? I'm done."
The sniper's bullets hammered the drill with ferocious intensity, as if dumping every ounce of firepower into it. While Yoru wrecked the rig, I sheathed even my daggers and ran.
I only take fights I can win. I don't take dangerous ones. That was my rule for field combat.
That was why I picked assassin.