Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Fisherman's Profit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘That ended easier than I thought.’
I was certain both Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor would accept.
Why?
Because through future foresight, I’d seen visions of them fighting alongside me.
But I hadn’t expected them to decide so quickly.
Especially the Beast Emperor.
‘Maybe it’s because of the penalty I didn’t tell them about.’
Players appointed as commanders gain increased loyalty toward Kang Hyun-su.
If I’d told them about that penalty?
Song Ha-na might’ve still gone along, but the Beast Emperor could’ve backed out.
‘Feels a bit guilty.’
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor trusted Kang Hyun-su.
That’s why they accepted his proposal.
If it had been any other player?
They wouldn’t have accepted so easily.
They probably would’ve doubted him endlessly and imposed all sorts of restrictions.
There were plenty of ways to do it.
‘Like drafting a soul contract or swearing a vow of conviction.’
Both were high-rank items, exceedingly rare.
But named players or rankers could obtain them without much trouble.
Kang Hyun-su had exploited Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor’s trust.
Mistrust of humanity.
Kang Hyun-su wanted to purely trust Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor.
However.
The painful memories of betrayal before his regression blocked that choice.
He couldn’t trust anyone—not after being betrayed by the one he trusted most.
‘My mind feels at ease now.’
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor had accepted the commander appointment skill.
Now, he could trust them absolutely without doubt.
Even while trusting Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor, Kang Hyun-su had constantly suspected and guarded against them.
It was his trauma, an unhealable wound etched deep from before his regression.
So now that he could fully trust them.
Kang Hyun-su’s heart was more at peace than ever.
‘I’ll change their futures.’
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor.
Both had died fighting the Demon King’s army before his regression.
But this time, that wouldn’t happen.
Even if they died, Kang Hyun-su would bring them back.
He would twist their fated deaths into lives.
That was the only atonement Kang Hyun-su could offer them.
And the indulgence he granted himself.
* * *
The Cabal Guild had seized all of the Zhonghua Guild’s hunting grounds.
And any player bearing the Zhonghua Guild’s mark was executed on the spot.
“At this rate, won’t the Zhonghua Guild collapse?”
“Ridiculous. They’re just temporarily pushed back. Once the guild master and main force return, it’s over.”
Players who made Lujabenu their home were plunged into great chaos.
The sudden war and hunting ground blockades caused massive turmoil.
But there was one strange thing.
“Why aren’t they attacking us?”
“Exactly.”
Players returning from hunts heard that all Zhonghua Guild players who’d gone out hunting had been slaughtered.
The victims—sacrificed while hunting monsters—were low-level players from levels 0 to 200 who hadn’t joined the war.
Low-level players’ hunting grounds were areas where the Cabal Guild struggled to exert influence.
Yet they’d been completely wiped out by the Cabal Guild’s attacks.
However, mid- and small-sized guild members or party-scale players not affiliated with the Zhonghua Guild?
Not a single one had been attacked.
“The Cabal Guild does play fair. They spared all the small guilds that sided with the Zhonghua Guild in the first battle.”
“True. The Zhonghua Guild bastards used us as arrow fodder and ran away.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to side with the Cabal Guild?”
“Shh! Quiet. If the Zhonghua Guild hears that, we’re done for.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Kang Hyun-su let out a scoffing chuckle.
‘They’re sharp, as expected.’
Lujabenu’s public sentiment was wavering.
After the first battle.
The Cabal Guild had massacred every Zhonghua Guild member who ventured outside Lujabenu.
But they permitted hunting for small guild members or independent parties.
‘Division is their top priority.’
That division had already begun.
No—thanks to the sub-guild master of the Zhonghua Guild, the Demon-Slaying Spear Jin Gu-pyeong, making a foolish choice, it had accelerated even faster.
In that situation, controlling the hunting grounds.
‘Would only speed up the division.’
The Zhonghua Guild couldn’t hunt.
In such circumstances, how would they view small guilds granted permission to hunt?
‘They’d suspect collusion with the Cabal Guild.’
The sacrificial pawns sent to buy time in the first battle returning unharmed would further sow seeds of doubt.
‘Patriotism or ethnic pride means nothing in this situation.’
Chinese players tended to band together tightly.
That hadn’t changed even in the Atlantis dimension.
Ironically, though, Chinese players prioritized personal gain over the group more than anyone.
Until now, the Zhonghua Guild’s interests had aligned perfectly with those of Chinese players in Lujabenu, so there’d been no issue.
The Zhonghua Guild even symbolized Chinese pride.
‘But now the situation has changed.’
The Zhonghua Guild had used small guilds as arrow fodder on the battlefield.
If the Cabal Guild had massacred those small guild players?
The survivors would’ve had no choice but to fully cooperate with the Zhonghua Guild to stay alive, like it or not.
However.
The small guild players who’d faced the Cabal Guild returned with minimal losses.
On top of that, they were allowed to hunt.
If the Zhonghua Guild and Cabal Guild went to war again in this situation, what choice would Lujabenu’s small guilds make?
‘They’d head to the battlefield out of necessity, but they’d probably just go through the motions.’
The Zhonghua Guild could hardly fully trust small guild players anymore either.
‘They’ve lost their biggest advantage.’
The Zhonghua Guild’s greatest strength was their overwhelming numbers.
And those numbers were disproportionately made up of small guild players under their influence rather than core members.
Yet.
‘A foolish choice squandered their biggest edge. This is problematic.’
The Zhonghua Guild needed to eliminate the Cabal Guild.
Even if it meant near-mutual destruction, they had to win somehow.
But looking at the current situation.
Defeat seemed far more likely than victory.
‘The Blade King Jing Wei-gang’s return will help, but.’
It was questionable if the Zhonghua Guild could hold out that long.
The Cabal Guild wasn’t attacking Lujabenu itself.
Most people thought that since the Cabal Guild belonged to the Lamepazil Kingdom, attacking Lujabenu—territory of the Miteo Kingdom—was impossible.
A misstep could spark all-out war between the Lamepazil and Miteo Kingdoms.
But.
‘The Cabal Guild doesn’t care about that.’
Crucially.
‘There’ll be minor disputes, but no full war between the Lamepazil and Miteo Kingdoms.’
The Rokto Empire, suzerain over both kingdoms, would never allow it.
‘The Cabal Guild is in league with that guy from the Rokto Empire.’
A minion of the Demon King lurking in the Rokto Empire.
He would covertly side with the Cabal Guild.
‘Part of me wants to expose him right now.’
The Rokto Empire wielded immense influence as the overlord of countless kingdoms.
A Demon King minion at the heart of its power was a fatal vulnerability for humanity.
In fact, before his regression, that weakness had caused enormous losses.
But.
‘Exposing him now is impossible.’
No—not just exposing; even approaching was difficult.
Without concrete evidence, he couldn’t tip off the guy’s political enemies either.
‘For now, the Cabal Guild comes first.’
The Demon King’s minions and traitors.
They were all Kang Hyun-su’s enemies.
But they were strong foes beyond his current reach.
So now was the time to steadily gather strength.
He had to methodically crush enemies he could handle.
* * *
Kang Hyun-su’s group hunted monsters as casually as ever.
They occasionally ran into Cabal Guild players.
‘They’re letting us pass.’
After confirming they weren’t Zhonghua Guild, they didn’t approach further.
They even cleared space to make hunting easier.
‘I wonder how the Zhonghua Guild will respond.’
Three days had passed since the Zhonghua Guild holed up in Lujabenu, forcibly banned from hunting.
For them, it was an immense humiliation.
‘Realistically, they could just swap gear to remove their guild marks and hunt.’
The Cabal Guild didn’t inspect hunting players thoroughly.
They just glanced and moved on.
Naturally, removing the Zhonghua Guild mark would let them hunt freely.
But that would shatter the Zhonghua Guild’s pride.
Especially if they bumped into familiar small guild players while hunting like that?
Total humiliation.
‘How long can they endure?’
They’d suffered a major defeat in the first battle.
But aside from the Sword Ghost’s death, the damage wasn’t catastrophic.
‘Guerrilla tactics, not direct confrontation—they could manage.’
This was the Zhonghua Guild’s hunting ground, not the Cabal Guild’s.
Naturally, Zhonghua Guild players knew the terrain better.
‘Even a mutt bites half to death in its own yard.’
Kang Hyun-su didn’t like the Zhonghua Guild’s silence.
He wanted them to burst out of Lujabenu soon and launch guerrilla attacks on the Cabal Guild.
Why?
‘So I can help.’
The hunting grounds were swarming with Cabal Guild players right now.
Mostly levels 500-600.
‘There are definitely disguised ones among them.’
The disguised were surely level 700s and rankers.
Why?
The Cabal Guild had used similar tactics before his regression.
‘It’s a fishing operation.’
Spreading level 500-600s to occupy the grounds was bait.
When Zhonghua Guild high-levels and rankers bit—exposing themselves.
The hidden Cabal level 700s and rankers would counterattack in unison.
‘I can’t move alone.’
If Kang Hyun-su’s group attacked Cabal players here?
They’d be surrounded and focused down immediately.
But if the Zhonghua Guild struck using terrain advantages?
His group could rampage freely.
‘The question is whether the Zhonghua Guild bites the bait.’
From what Kang Hyun-su knew, the Zhonghua Guild lived and died by pride.
They wouldn’t pass up such juicy bait.
They needed to recover their image from the first battle’s crushing defeat.
And shake off the shame of their hunting grounds being occupied.
Truthfully, if they bit, they’d suffer another rout.
But only if Kang Hyun-su didn’t intervene.
‘With my help, I can balance the scales.’
Kang Hyun-su was fully prepared to tip those scales.
That’s why he hoped the Zhonghua Guild would bite the Cabal Guild’s tempting bait sooner.
‘Before the Blade King returns, I need to pile maximum damage on both guilds.’
Only then.
Would both sides reach a point of no retreat.