Chapter 53
Chapter 53
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Commander Appointment
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Kwaaaang!
With a massive explosion, the Zhonghua Guild and Cabal Guild clashed head-on.
At the forefront were Zhonghua Guild's vice guild master Jin Gu-pyeong and Cabal Guild's guild master Jamie.
‘As long as we hold out.’
Jin Gu-pyeong stepped forward confidently.
But he had no intention of trying to take down Jamie.
No, to be coldly honest, he lacked the confidence to beat Jamie.
As the guild master of a massive guild, Jamie had ascended to the ranks of Named Players before Jin Gu-pyeong.
The Knight of Flames, Jamie.
He was the one who had built the current Cabal Guild.
Jin Gu-pyeong was also a Named Player with the title of Demon-Slaying Spear.
But frankly speaking, he fell a notch short compared to Jamie.
However.
‘I may not have confidence in winning, but I have no fear of losing either.’
Jin Gu-pyeong was strong.
After earning the title of Demon-Slaying Spear and rising to Named Player status.
He had only lost once.
The only one who had defeated Jin Gu-pyeong was Zhonghua Guild's guild master.
In spars against other Named Players, Jin Gu-pyeong hadn't won, but he hadn't lost either.
Frankly, if he'd had the chance to shine?
Jin Gu-pyeong was confident he could have been called by a far more impressive title than Demon-Slaying Spear.
‘From the number of Named Players to our overall forces, we hold the advantage.’
There was no need to beat Cabal Guild's Named Players.
Just tying them up would put their side in a favorable position.
Kwaaaang!
Jin Gu-pyeong's spear, wrapped in blue aura, clashed against Jamie's sword, engulfed in red aura, unleashing a tremendous explosion.
Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaaang!
The fierce exchange between the two Named Players was so intense it tore through the sky and shook the earth.
‘Just as I expected.’
It was tough, sure.
But he could hold out no problem.
If he and the other Named Players from Zhonghua Guild could just keep Cabal Guild's Named Players pinned down?
This war was guaranteed to end in Zhonghua Guild's victory.
Jin Gu-pyeong threw everything he had into battling Jamie.
He had no spare attention for anything else.
His opponent was strong, and even just matching him required every ounce of strength he had nursed since infancy.
Hee-chuk!
Then, Jin Gu-pyeong caught sight of Jamie's smile.
‘What?’
A strange feeling washed over him.
Jamie, smiling?
Jamie couldn't possibly be that relaxed right now.
How could he smile while his subordinates were being slaughtered?
“Aaaah!”
At that moment, a familiar scream reached Jin Gu-pyeong's ears.
‘Sword Ghost?’
It was the scream of the Named Player Sword Ghost.
‘How in the world?’
Zhonghua Guild had more Named Players.
So why was he hearing Sword Ghost's scream?
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
He overchanneled mana into his spear.
The spear blade, covered in blue aura so bright it stung the eyes, flew toward Jamie.
Jamie swiftly retreated, dodging Jin Gu-pyeong's attack.
The brief opening this created.
Jin Gu-pyeong surveyed the battlefield.
‘What the hell?’
Jin Gu-pyeong's face hardened like stone.
Sword Ghost was dead.
And that wasn't the end of it.
Cabal Guild members were mercilessly slaughtering Zhonghua Guild members.
At the center of it all were four faces he'd never seen before.
They were clearly all Ranker-level.
And that wasn't all.
What he'd thought were just two Named Player-level experts had swelled to four.
Unnamed Named Player-level experts.
One of them had killed Sword Ghost.
Their skill was beyond doubt.
Why?
Because they'd killed the Named Player Sword Ghost.
Only a Named Player could kill another Named Player.
Moreover, the overwhelming aura pouring from their bodies and their explosive mana were in no way inferior to his own.
“You bastards! You've been hiding your strength!”
Jin Gu-pyeong snarled in fury.
Truth be told, he'd suspected as much to some degree.
Even if their guild master and key figures were away on a major expedition.
They'd dared to launch a preemptive strike against Zhonghua Guild.
But he hadn't expected this level.
Why?
‘With this much force, they wouldn't have needed such dirty tricks. What the hell?’
Jin Gu-pyeong had thought Cabal Guild, lacking confidence in a head-on fight, had resorted to schemes.
But no.
The traceless ambush.
‘It was just to build a pretext.’
They'd waited for Zhonghua Guild to strike first.
Eudduk!
His teeth ground together involuntarily.
He'd underestimated Cabal Guild.
That's why he'd fallen for the provocation and suffered massive losses.
‘If the battle drags on like this, we'll lose.’
They still held a numerical edge.
But the quality of their forces was too low.
With Sword Ghost already down.
If the fight continued?
He or the other Named Player One Kill Fist could lose their lives.
Taak!
Jin Gu-pyeong fell back.
Then, with hand signals, he secretly issued the retreat order.
Only Zhonghua Guild members understood the retreat command.
The Zhonghua Guild players who received Jin Gu-pyeong's order quietly withdrew from the battlefield.
As a result, those left at the front.
Were only the players from mid- and small-sized guilds who had joined the war under Zhonghua Guild's orders.
“What is this?”
“Vice Guild Master?”
“Why is Zhonghua Guild pulling back!”
The guild masters of the mid- and small-sized guilds protested vehemently.
“We just need time to regroup.”
At Jin Gu-pyeong's words, the guild masters' faces twisted in despair.
They knew the battle was turning against them.
In this situation, would Zhonghua Guild really regroup and return to the fight?
Or would they just retreat straight to Luzavenu?
No matter how they thought about it, the latter seemed far more likely.
“What are you lot doing here? Get out there and buy us time.”
Jin Gu-pyeong openly ordered the protesting mid- and small-guild masters to go die.
Naturally, their expressions soured.
“Are you defying orders?”
A chilling killing intent rose in Jin Gu-pyeong's eyes.
“N-No, sir.”
“We'll move out right away.”
Under Jin Gu-pyeong's threat, the mid- and small-guild masters had no choice but to head to the battlefield, swallowing their resentment.
* * *
‘What an idiot.’
Kang Hyun-soo was dumbfounded by Zhonghua Guild vice guild master Jin Gu-pyeong's decision.
‘Abandoning the mid- and small-sized guilds.’
Jin Gu-pyeong had sacrificed the mid- and small-guild players.
To protect Zhonghua Guild's own.
‘The only advantage we had was numbers, and he throws it away.’
Humans aren't machines.
That's why they have emotions.
Once the mid- and small-guild players realized Zhonghua Guild had abandoned them?
They'd harbor far more resentment toward Zhonghua Guild than Cabal Guild.
Jin Gu-pyeong was surely thinking, ‘So what? What can a bunch of small-fry guilds do?’
And hoping those small guilds would fight to the death and whittle down Cabal Guild's forces even a little.
‘But it won't be that easy.’
Moreover, Cabal Guild were experts at deception and manipulating psychology.
‘As expected.’
Cabal Guild gave up pursuing the retreating Zhonghua Guild.
Instead of killing the mid- and small-guild players, they focused more on subduing them.
Outnumbered but with over ten Named Players and Rankers.
Subduing them was entirely feasible.
As the situation unfolded, even the mid- and small-guild players, who had been fighting with a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" mindset, caught on.
“Back off quietly! We won't attack!”
“Our enemy is Zhonghua Guild, not you!”
At the shouts from Cabal Guild players.
The mid- and small-guild players cautiously withdrew.
Cabal Guild even released the subdued mid- and small-guild players.
Zhonghua Guild had withdrawn first.
Then the mid- and small-guilds under their command withdrew.
In response, Cabal Guild collected items and skill books from the fallen and pulled back.
Thus, the first battle ended in utter anticlimax.
Kang Hyun-soo was furious.
‘We didn't even get to use what we'd prepared.’
Kang Hyun-soo had positioned summons near Cabal Guild's guild house.
If the battle turned?
He'd planned to have the summons attack the guild house.
Caught between enemies front and back?
Cabal Guild would have to split their forces.
At least two or three Rankers would be diverted.
That would even things out somewhat.
But.
‘They see one Named Player die and panic?’
Kang Hyun-soo couldn't believe it.
In his pre-regression memories, Zhonghua Guild were rabid dogs.
They'd tear into anyone who touched them, unforgiving.
They were troublemakers, sure.
‘But they'd never retreated out of fear.’
Zhonghua Guild hated losing face more than death.
That's why he'd expected a brutal fight.
Yet it ended after just a few hundred deaths.
And on top of that.
‘They've lost the trust of the mid- and small-guilds they were dominating.’
This was a problem.
‘No way they'll apologize and tuck tail, right?’
That would derail Kang Hyun-soo's plans.
‘Is it because the guild master is away? Even so, running off this easily?’
The current Zhonghua Guild was different from the one Kang Hyun-soo remembered.
In his memories of the future, Zhonghua Guild's guild master was Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon.
The current Zhonghua Guild guild master?
Blade King Kyung Wi-gang.
‘But their nature shouldn't differ that much.’
As Kang Hyun-soo recalled, Blade King Kyung Wi-gang and Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon got along very well.
When Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon surpassed him in skill, Blade King Kyung Wi-gang handed over the guild master position and created the elder role to step back.
The two never clashed.
Rather, Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon handled external affairs to expand Zhonghua Guild's influence.
While Blade King Kyung Wi-gang managed internal affairs to solidify the guild.
‘Blade King Kyung Wi-gang was practically Sword Sovereign Ju Wi-cheon's political mentor.’
They clicked perfectly.
‘Well enough to stab me in the back together.’
Eudduk!
Kang Hyun-soo ground his molars.
‘Blade King Kyung Wi-gang needs to return for a real fight.’
If Blade King Kyung Wi-gang's temperament matched Kang Hyun-soo's memories?
He absolutely wouldn't stay quiet.
Cabal Guild was the same.
‘They're not the type to settle for one hit after taking one.’
They'd retreated gracefully today.
But only to divide Zhonghua Guild from the mid- and small-guilds.
Cabal Guild would surely attack Zhonghua Guild again.
The Cabal Guild in Kang Hyun-soo's memories.
‘Never forgave anyone who bared their fangs at them.’
They played the fool normally, but turned rabid the moment they were hit.
‘Showing an example.’
To ensure no one dared mock them again.
‘It ended more anticlimactically than expected, which is disappointing.’
Still, he had to grab what he could.
Kang Hyun-soo headed to the now-deserted battlefield.
‘Battalion Formation.’
Kang Hyun-soo activated his Battalion Formation skill.
Saaah!
New summons made of mana were born.
Chak!
The freshly created summons knelt in unison before Kang Hyun-soo.
There weren't many summons.
Just around 150.
Truth be told, he could have filled all 600 if he wanted.
‘But I can't waste stats that easily.’
He'd had spares before.
Now, he was short.
‘Commander's Blessing can only be used once a day too.’
Thus, he only created summons based on players level 600 and above.
“You're the captain.”
Kang Hyun-soo used his new skill on the summon at the front.
‘Commander Appointment.’
Amid the soldier-class summons, a commander-class summon was born.
Hwaaaak!
Stats were consumed, and the appointed commander's mana surged exponentially.
Its appearance changed too.
Its body was still made of mana.
But it now looked no different from a living human.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
“Sir!”
The summon spoke human language and bowed to Kang Hyun-soo.
The summon Kang Hyun-soo had appointed as commander.
Was Zhonghua Guild's Named Player who had died in the battle just now.
Sword Ghost.