Chapter 219: Eternal Spire[R-18] (44)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 219: Eternal Spire[R-18] (44)
After all the guild leaders had made their decisions and left, I leaned back quietly in my chair and took a sip of my remaining coffee.
As the bitter aroma spread through my mouth, I mentally reviewed the negotiations that had just taken place. As expected, a few of the guild leaders were still suspicious, and some were biding their time, waiting for an opportunity.
In any case, I had succeeded in steering the situation in the direction I wanted, at least for now.
Just then, Tia quietly approached and stood across from me.
“Mr. Seo-yun, was it really necessary to give them the business rights?”
Her voice was tinged with a subtle question. I chuckled and set down my coffee cup.
“They’ll probably realize they’ve been tricked once they get to the 7th floor.”
Tia tilted her head.
“What do you mean?”
I slowly rose from my seat and walked to the window as I answered.
“The business rights they acquired might look like a goose that lays golden eggs. But the 7th floor is on a completely different level from anything they've seen before.”
“In what way?”
I continued speaking as I gazed out the window.
“For starters, there aren't even any proper cities or towns. It's mostly unexplored territory. In other words, it's a danger zone with literally nothing there.”
Tia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Then, the business rights you gave them are…”
“It means they'll have to fight for their lives just to survive, long before they can even think about starting a business.”
“But if it’s that dangerous, will they even be willing to go?”
I smirked and looked back at her.
“Right now, even as we speak, the dungeons on each floor are dwindling, and resources are limited. The competition is getting fiercer by the day. They don’t have many options. Either they go up to the 7th floor and seize a new opportunity, or they stay here and get slowly weeded out.”
“So in the end, they have no choice but to follow the path you’ve laid out for them.”
I shrugged.
“The choice is theirs. It's not like I forced them, right?”
Tia sighed, but a smile played on her lips.
“Should we start preparing as well?”
I slowly sat back down in my chair and nodded.
“Yes, we need to be ready.”
“But… what if the small and medium-sized guilds get resentful and push back? If things go wrong, they might all side with the Holy Cross Knights or White Night.”
I laughed lightly and tapped my fingers on the table.
“We just have to toss them a few decent territories. They'll tear each other apart trying to claim them.”
Tia’s smile deepened.
“You’re going to incite internal competition to weaken them?”
“To be precise, it's about making them fight for their own survival. We don't have to lift a finger; the competition will naturally weed out the weak, leaving only the strong.”
“And once they’ve built up some strength?”
I gave her a meaningful smile and replied.
“By then, we'll make it so they have no choice but to naturally follow Night Bloom.”
Tia nodded and quietly jotted down a note.
“I’ll get things ready.”
I smiled in satisfaction and drained the last of my coffee.
“And how are things with Mila?”
Tia checked a document for a moment before answering.
“She’s clearing dungeons as planned and provoking them just enough.”
“Their reaction?”
“As expected, the leaders of the guild alliance have shown their displeasure, but they’re avoiding any direct confrontation.”
I stroked my chin, lost in thought.
“What about Kang Hyun-woo?”
“Still no reaction from him. I think that’s why the other alliance guild leaders are getting frustrated.”
“Who among the alliance leaders is protesting the most right now?”
“Javier, the guild leader of Bronze Wolf, is the most vocal.”
“What kind of man is he?”
“He's a typical opportunist—greedy, but also a coward. Most importantly, he's the type who will only make a move when he's certain he won't lose anything.”
“We’ll have to make good use of him.”
Guys like him act tough on the outside, but they crumble easily with the right amount of pressure.
“Tell Mila to make contact with Javier of Bronze Wolf. And keep a close watch on Kang Hyun-woo. The fact that he isn't reacting bothers me.”
“Understood.”
*
“Kang Hyun-woo! How long are you going to just sit there?”
Javier, the guild leader of Bronze Wolf, roared, his voice echoing through the conference room.
Despite his furious shout, the man sitting in the middle of the room showed no reaction.
He simply stared at Javier with a calm gaze.
“Answer me, Kang Hyun-woo.”
Javier gritted his teeth.
“That woman has been stirring up trouble in the town for over a week now. What the hell have you been doing all this time?!”
“……”
Kang Hyun-woo quietly tapped his fingers on the table.
Tap. Tap.
His attitude made Javier lose his temper, and he shot up from his seat.
“If you won’t do anything, then we will!”
At that moment, Kang Hyun-woo slowly opened his mouth.
“Javier. You’re being loud.”
His single sentence silenced the room in an instant. Even Javier shut his mouth.
“Don't be a fool and react to every little thing Jin Seo-yun's hunting dog does. This is exactly what he wants.”
“So you’re saying we should just stand by and watch?”
Javier glared at Kang Hyun-woo, still unable to contain his anger.
“The survival of our alliance is at stake! You know that, Kang Hyun-woo!”
“There is a way.”
“What? A way?”
“Yes… It seems you don't know yet, so I'll hold my tongue… but you'll find out soon enough.”
Javier looked at him with skeptical eyes.
“…And you can’t share this ‘way’ with us?”
Javier stared at Kang Hyun-woo with sharp eyes.
But Kang Hyun-woo simply nodded, his face expressionless. At his response, Javier and several others’ faces twisted in anger.
“Ha, so you're going to hide information even from us, your own alliance?”
“I think we need to elect a new alliance leader!”
A few guild leaders nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. The alliance leader is supposed to represent all of us. If you’re hiding crucial information, then what kind of leader are you?”
“Kang Hyun-woo, we need to reconsider if you’re qualified to be the alliance leader.”
A murmur went through the conference room.
Even the guild leaders who had remained silent until now began to voice their complaints.
Yet, through it all, Kang Hyun-woo’s face remained placid.
“Are you saying you want to remove me as the alliance leader?”
Kang Hyun-woo asked in a low, calm voice. Javier continued to glare at him, his face full of discontent.
“The problem is your attitude, expecting us to follow you blindly while you monopolize all the information.”
“I’m not monopolizing information.”
Kang Hyun-woo slowly stood up.
“It’s just that you don’t need to know.”
At those words, several guild leaders showed their displeasure.
“Are you going to keep disrespecting us until the very end?”
“I’m not disrespecting you.”
Kang Hyun-woo looked out the window and spoke quietly.
“The problem is the spies in this room.”
The moment he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the conference room froze.
“…What?”
Javier looked momentarily flustered before scowling.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Our alliance has been a solid union for a long time…”
“Is that really so?”
Kang Hyun-woo let out a low laugh. His gaze swept across the room.
“There’s one in this room, too.”
At his words, a few guild leaders flinched.
“Wh-who are you talking about?”
Javier asked, unable to hide his panic.
“Even if I don’t say it myself, the truth will soon be revealed.”
Javier’s brow furrowed.
“If you don’t speak clearly right here and now, you’ll be the one stepping down from the leader’s position.”
Despite his strong protest, Kang Hyun-woo’s expression remained unshaken.
“Do you really want to know?”
Kang Hyun-woo quietly rose from his seat and looked around the room.
“Bronze Wolf, Crimson Mace, and Emerald Whisper.”
As he called out their names, the faces of the three guild leaders simultaneously hardened.
“All of you have been in contact with Jin Seo-yun’s dog.”
Javier’s face turned pale.
“Wh-what are you talking about! That’s a lie!”
Kang Hyun-woo quietly took a small crystal from his pocket and placed it on the table. A blue light emanated from the crystal, projecting a hologram.
It was unmistakably Javier, talking to someone in the dark. The scene changed, showing the guild leader of Crimson Mace, and then the leader of Emerald Whisper, meeting with the same person.
“This… this is fabricated!”
Javier shot to his feet.
“I can’t believe this crap! You’re saying we’re traitors? And your only proof is this stupid video?”
But the expressions of the other guild leaders had already turned cold.
Kang Hyun-woo looked at Javier, his face still calm.
“A fabricated video? Then explain this. Why did you meet that woman in the ruins on the outskirts last Thursday night?”
Javier’s face grew even paler.
“That… that was…”
“The information you handed over was about a dungeon our alliance discovered.”
Kang Hyun-woo’s gaze shifted to the other two guild leaders.
“The leader of Crimson Mace, you gave them our alliance’s resource status. And the leader of Emerald Whisper handed over our defense systems and personnel deployment.”
The three of them stood speechless, looking at one another.
Luke quietly stood up.
“The punishment for traitors is death. Alliance Leader, shall we proceed?”
Kang Hyun-woo shook his head.
“No, they are still useful to us.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just as Jin Seo-yun used them as spies, we will use them against him.”
Everyone held their breath at the coldness in his voice.
“Javier, you and the other two will continue to contact them. However, from now on, you will only relay the information I instruct you to.”
Javier stared at Kang Hyun-woo with a bewildered expression.
“Wh-why should I do that?”
“You have only two choices. Cooperate with our plan, or die.”
Faced with Kang Hyun-woo’s cold eyes, Javier could no longer argue.
“Jin Seo-yun must not find out that his spies have been discovered. He needs to continue thinking that we are weakened by internal division.”
Kang Hyun-woo’s calm voice resonated through the conference room.
The atmosphere had completely changed.
The anxiety and suspicion in the guild leaders’ eyes were gone. In their place was a newfound respect and trust for Kang Hyun-woo.
“Shouldn't we put a leash on those bastards?” one of the guild leaders muttered in a low voice, glaring at Javier.
“That has already been prepared.”
Kang Hyun-woo’s aide approached and quietly handed over three pieces of paper.
-Thud.
The three papers placed on the table glowed with a faint red light.
“Wh-what is that?”
Javier’s voice trembled.
Kang Hyun-woo raised one corner of his mouth and said,
“I’m going to place a geas on you.”
His hand slowly picked up a paper and brought it toward them.
“If you want to survive, you will accept this.”
Javier and the other traitors turned pale.
Cold sweat dripped down the traitors’ foreheads.
But they knew.
If they failed to make a choice in this moment, they would be killed on the spot.
Javier stared at the paper with a trembling hand.
“…I understand.”
In the end, he lowered his head heavily.
The geas was immediately activated, and a red symbol was engraved on his body. The same symbol appeared on the guild leaders of Crimson Mace and Emerald Whisper.
“Lock them up separately.”
At Kang Hyun-woo’s command, the personnel on standby moved instantly.
The traitors were dragged away helplessly.
After they left, the conference room was once again filled with silence. Then, in the midst of that atmosphere, one guild leader cautiously spoke up.
“Alliance Leader… it seems to me you have a real plan. Am I right?”
Kang Hyun-woo slowly nodded.
“In one week.”
He looked around at the guild leaders and said in a low voice,
“We’re going to start the boss raid, excluding Night Bloom.”
As soon as he said it, the conference room began to stir once more.