Declaration of War (2)

That evening, amid the blaze ignited by the Dragon Raid incident on the official homepage, another post poured oil on the flames. It was a post uploaded by Hellfire himself under his own ID, fully embracing my idea.

Posted just hours earlier, the thread racked up millions of views, becoming an unprecedented hot topic.

The Dragon subjugation was a massive event, but it felt somewhat detached from ordinary players—a league of their own. The Empire's invasion, however, was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something every player could join, regardless of class or level. As long as they joined a Phoenix-affiliated guild or formed an alliance, that is.

It was the first war in the game, and that alone drew massive interest—but the real hook was the universal accessibility.

Reactions poured in fast.

Solo players were even hastily forming alliances, recruiting others on the spot. Several mid-sized neutral guilds openly declared their intent to join.

Major guilds like Taeseong, Olympus, and Gojoseon couldn't be thrilled about this. Pessimistic hate comments popped up here and there, but once the hype caught fire, it was unstoppable.

Phoenix would be the main guild clashing directly with the Empire. For casual players, they could snipe safely from the rear, bail if things got hairy. Even if Phoenix lost their castle, it wouldn't touch them.

A risk-free shot at achievements, plus a massive in-game event rarely seen on streams. No wonder so many wanted in.

It started as a casual "fighting!" during a hunt. But seeing BlessedPabol's message in guild chat hit me in the chest.

Most of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Saint Guild members they'd treated like family had merged into Phoenix. Some disbanded and quit the game entirely.

These three from Saint—including Hyunjung—had bet everything on sticking with me in Tayen. Risking total character wipes from endless deaths, or real-world retaliation as Taeseong's targets.

Why they'd stuck by me despite it all? Taeseong's tyranny—they wanted some small payback, even if full revenge was a pipe dream.

Knowing my big bros and sis's hopes, I had no choice but to give it everything.

To deliver them perfect revenge!

Guilds were tiered: advanced, mid, low, and newbie. Based on cumulative achievement points, not just member count. Even small guilds could rise with effort and feats.

The advanced threshold: 2 million guild points.

Tiers unlocked perks—like indefinite war declarations against any nation, including the Empire, once advanced.

That was why Darius brazenly boasted about toppling the Empire and becoming emperor.

And naturally, I planned to declare war on Tiese.

War status means no murderer penalty for PKs. Plus experience and achievements per Taeseong kill. Total win-win-win.

I didn't care about murderer status—death was just a reset for me. But my guildies? Their gear was top-tier now; murderer penalties were brutal on death.

So, to fast-track advanced status, I aimed to farm max achievements this time.

Three days wasn't short. But for our guild—quantum-leaping ahead—it wasn't enough to fully digest our gains.

-Dro hyung, sorry, but can we talk? Think I need to tweak my build direction.

Still hunting in the underground city's honey spot, I'd returned to town at Ra Chan's call. Among us, he had the widest network—first to craft Draconic weapons.

"Whoa, congrats for real. Didn't expect both bows in two days—legendary as always!"

"Hehe, called in every favor to scrape mats. Totally in debt now."

"Drama queen. Both legendary?"

"Duh! Hoped for divine crit, but crafting can't make 'em—server-limited uniques."

"Makes sense. Specs still top legendary? Trade window, lemme see."

"Yeah, that's why I called. Great options, but build path's tricky."

Tayen's first Draconic weapon stood out from the pack.

Deceptively simple options. Most legendaries had four; this had two. No stats or elements—even rare-grade stuff.

Yet it screamed broken.

"Damn! Attack power's insane? And +100% range? Enhanced, it'll be nuts!"

"Right? Pierce ignores physical and shields! Just two god-tier options."

"Tuning's peak is stock... Simple but ultimate bow king options. No flaws."

Zumbaka's two-handed axe hit 820. This ranged beast? 1,460. Slight enchants could rival divine.

"So, what's the dilemma? It's busted—no brainer."

"Can't pick a special skill. Was eyeing Memory Shred post-dragon, but this bow screams sniper."

"Aha! Skill tree issue? My specialty."

Ra Chan's original class: knight. Top-tier melee DPS at early 300s months ago. Restarted as extreme-damage archer after lucky special skill and Orc Lord's token.

-Not just that. Overlapped positions with Hiky a and guild master. Not playing Tayen 1-2 years? Went all-in on new char.

Instance/quest limits favored his switch to archer. Ex-top player: god control and DPS insight.

Special skill Mana Exchange (stamina-to-mana) sealed it—built on deep knowledge.

-Archers spam skills for DPS cycles, need mana investment. I min-mana, all-in strength for attack/range. Paper body, but mobility/gear carry.

Confident players craved unique, specialized chars—no vanilla builds.

Ra Chan—most like me. That was his reason.

"Memory Shred's solid... Fits your tree. But yeah, sniper specialization suits. You're dead if melee closes. Go full concept: long-range to ultra-range sniper!"

Instant-confuse skill Memory Shred scaled off strength—not int—so melee/mages loved it. Great hidden save for fragile Ra Chan.

But melee-range flaw.

"Then Illusion or Chain Shards? Can't decide."

"Nah. Too vanilla for your tree. Answer's here: Learn Taming Monster like me."

"Taming?"

"Ultra-range DPS sniper flying. Fighter jet, right?"

Inspired by ranker archer Bi Sang Gu from the aerial brawl. Griffin riders had counters, but god-gear flyer like him? Dimensional threat—only firsthand foes knew.

Ra Chan on fast flyer? Terrifying upgrade.

"Griffin? Too slow—sitting ducks. Need Red Drake tier, but solo?"

"Greedy much? Plenty solo-tamable. Wyvern Nest we passed en route to dragon."

"Oh? Duh! Lv400 normal mob! Fast enough, soloable!"

"Heh, settled? Normal but levels well. Soon we'll overflow with air mounts? Chukgul wants Pegasus bad."

"Oh yeah? Anyway, perfect. Heading to Ostarg for taming."

"I'll tag. Help with tame."

"No need. Wyvern's cake solo."

"Huh? Packs aren't tight, but tough... Sure solo?"

"Hyung... Gonna see me as deadweight forever? 'Power hidden' ring a bell? Was saving show, but c'mere."

He traded again. Two Draconic Bows. First: unenhanced. Second: enchanted. Multiple times...!

"You madman!! Two bows, and you +6'd it? And succeeded?"

Barring divine drop, Ra Chan's bow ruled Tayen—for now.