Chapter 268
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 268
Chapter Title: What Have You Done to Yourself?
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It's not just the military.
Various corporations and politicians, too.
The influence wielded by the Green Dragon Clan over the upper echelons of this country surpassed the imagination of ordinary people.
Not only vast sums of money, but all sorts of drugs, medical techniques that could cure any disease, and elixirs that extended lifespans.
The Green Dragon Clan, equipped with everything, were rulers that those in power could scarcely defy.
It had been that way since the distant past when they were known as the Demonic Cult.
There was no need to explain just how strong their influence was in this modern era.
"The Monster Monarch must have known that. He just misjudged, thinking he could hold off the military and government with his own power."
"Did he trust the power of fear more than greed?"
"That's how I see him."
"That's truly regrettable."
Li Chingwei chuckled softly.
A few years ago, before the guild headquarters collapsed because of Maia, that threat might have worked.
In Brazil, even high-ranking officials couldn't ignore retaliation from gangs.
In fact, after hearing of the Green Dragon Clan's defeat, the government had hesitated to confront Forest Guild for that very reason.
Yet here they were, actively cooperating now.
For one simple reason.
"If he'd realized threats aren't something only he can make, he wouldn't have made this blunder."
"Probably because he didn't expect us to get involved."
"Well, if you hadn't been gathering dirt on government officials all this time, Tzushian, we couldn't have threatened them so effectively."
"You're too kind."
Tzushian, who oversaw the Black Dragon Clan's intelligence network in Brazil, humbly bowed her head.
She was the general manager of Leviathan, after all.
This was basic for someone like her.
All that was left to pity were the soldiers dragged kicking and screaming to the battlefield, caught between the Green Dragon Clan's carrots and the Black Dragon Clan's sticks.
Though considering the bribes and support they'd received, they had little room to complain.
"Anyway, this stops Pawn's advance."
It didn't matter how many gang members there were.
Their best weapons were RPGs at most.
Most were level 50 or below.
Mere rabble without command structure couldn't stand against a properly trained army.
Gangs wouldn't stick to crime if they had the power to beat the military—they'd just overthrow the country.
"Next up... shall we move Knight?"
Tak.
After confirming the gangs' rout,
Li Chingwei casually shifted her crystal Knight toward the slums of São Paulo.
Of course, not being a prophet like Aynsha, she couldn't be certain something would happen there.
But preparation for the future wasn't just for prophets.
What mattered was 'knowledge'.
The enemy's and allies' strengths and weaknesses.
What the opponent liked and hated.
Geography, weather, external variables, and more.
The more information you had, the better you could prepare optimal countermeasures even without foreseeing the future.
As countless famous generals had said, knowing both yourself and the enemy guaranteed victory in a hundred battles.
Thus, Li Chingwei could predict.
'Gula hates losses.'
'But he treats his subordinates as expendable.'
'So he's prepared other expendables.'
'The place in São Paulo with the most gangs responsive to Gula is the slums.'
'BOPE agents made of high-level players could suppress it no matter what.'
'If Forest Guild elites infiltrate, it might be risky, but retreat is still possible.'
'Still, confirmation is key, so pair it with drone surveillance as a precaution.'
She didn't claim 100% certainty.
She just analyzed the gathered intel.
And based on that analysis, executed the optimal move—even if not the absolute best.
The princess of a clan naturally gifted at gathering info and reading minds via telepathy.
The mastermind behind the absurd World Peace Plan that forced even the Sword Duke to admit defeat.
The Seven Dragon Society's worst schemer.
And its greatest strategist.
Black Dragon Princess Li Chingwei smiled faintly as she supported the Knight's rear with her turquoise bishop.
"Hold out for half a day, and I'll praise you, Monster Monarch."
And so, hellish time began for all Brazilian gangs and Forest Guild members.
Tadak, tadadak.
A campfire quietly burning away.
Sitting in front of it with only his shirt draped over him to warm his chilled body, Maia sat in silence.
She hadn't touched the meat Rimon had grilled for her, nor the fruit.
Deep in thought, perhaps.
Or as if her soul had fled.
She sat utterly still, like a statue.
Rimon suddenly spoke to her.
"Still worried?"
"...About what?"
"Your clan in Quetzalcoatl."
Only after that out-of-the-blue question did Maia break her silence, slowly lifting her head.
Her green eyes, darkened with gloom, fixed on Rimon for a long moment before she finally spoke softly.
"No, I'm not particularly worried about them."
"I see."
Her image of rushing back without regard for her own safety because she was concerned for her clan was still vivid.
Unexpectedly calm response—Rimon couldn't hide his surprise.
Maia sneered at him.
"As you said, if Li Chingwei's stepped in, Forest Guild isn't a match for our clan."
"Yes, exactly."
Arrogant words for one of the top ten guilds.
But Rimon readily agreed.
Not mere lip service to reassure her, nor vague optimism that his bad feeling would pass.
As a veteran of centuries in the jianghu.
As a former PAB agent.
And as one who'd fought a monarch.
Rimon knew the top ten guilds' fatal weakness.
"They don't know war."
"...You're the only one who'd say that about Forest Guild."
"It's the truth."
Rimon smirked.
And continued innocently.
"It's not just Forest Guild. Most players have that flaw."
"That flaw?"
"Treating life like a game."
Hunting monsters in dungeons.
Getting stronger simply by leveling up.
Easily earning money from dungeon byproducts.
Living like RPG characters, growing accustomed to it.
Or perhaps contracting with constellations made them that way.
Rimon calmly pointed out the common issue among most players.
"With a command skill, they act like invincible generals, believing high levels and good skills conquer any foe."
In dungeons, their confidence wasn't excessive.
Usually leading five or six, at most hundreds, against monsters—they could be fine leaders there.
But no matter how many monsters.
No matter how strong the boss.
It was just 'hunting'.
Like how an RPG expert becomes a strategy sim newbie.
Excelling at monster hunts doesn't mean mastery of human combat, let alone wars with thousands mobilized.
"Waging war against my fiancée of all people will be Forest Guild's worst self-inflicted wound."
Maia snorted involuntarily at Rimon's boastful-husband vibe.
"Not even funny."
"Huh? Did I say something weird?"
"Li Chingwei can't just be Forest Guild's worst nightmare."
"Hahaha, sharp point."
Rimon chuckled.
A general once said strategy's basics were doing what the enemy hates most—and mastering it made you the greatest.
Li Chingwei was a girl who could be anyone's worst enemy in that regard.
No—all Black Dragon Princesses were.
That's why, in past Seven Dragon Society ops where clans allied, the Black Dragon Princess always took operational command.
Green Dragons excelled at one-vs-many.
White Dragons at escape.
The clan strong from the rear, innate schemers and conspirators—that was the Black Dragon Clan, and Li Chingwei their princess.
Much less players who knew nothing of real war, treating it like a strategy sim—they couldn't beat her.
They'd be lucky not to get wiped out.
"What I can't be sure of is whether Li Chingwei will really help our clan."
The issue was trusting Li Chingwei.
But Rimon answered without hesitation.
"She will."
"Why?"
"Best way to screw over the Monster Monarch."
"Does Li Chingwei have any grudge against him?"
"She does."
She'd never even met Gula—what grudge?
As Maia eyed him skeptically, Rimon pointed at himself with a grin.
"That pig bastard made her one and only fiancé go missing in the jungle."
"...Indeed, an easy-to-understand reason."
Maia furrowed her brow.
Never mind the nonsense about being her fiancé—helping the Green Dragon Clan just to mess with him was very Black Dragon Clan.
Thus, she understood why Rimon was so confident.
What she couldn't grasp was one thing.
"Unlike how I can't understand why you'd risk the scales to rescue me when you no longer need to."
Whether for the scales' compulsion.
Or Hermann's treatment.
She was unnecessary now.
Why take the risk to save her?
As Maia pierced him with sharp eyes demanding honesty, Rimon smirked.
"By that logic, I can't understand why you stayed behind alone to buy time either."
"..."
For revenge.
Or her own safety.
Making him fight the Monster Monarch and retreating with the Green Dragon Clan would've been best.
Why take the risk?
Rimon, admitting his own curiosity, scratched his cheek at Maia's pursed pale lips.
Her sharpened gaze showed she wouldn't answer.
"If it's too hard to answer, I'll ask something else."
Thus, Rimon didn't pry into Maia's motives.
Instead, he posed a completely different—yet in a way, far more critical—question.
"My lady, what have you done to your own body?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb."
Rimon was a Sword Master.
Meaning he knew the human body as well as any doctor—better than anyone in some ways.
Among those he'd faced were even past Green Dragon Princesses.
Thus, he knew.
Maia's deterioration wasn't just from this fight.
Poison and internal injuries were triggers.
Her body hadn't been normal before that.
Suffering seizures while wielding bio-manipulation psionics, needing drugs to stabilize herself.
And with her world's top medical skills, there was only one reason her body was like this.
"Just how long have you been using yourself as a guinea pig for human experiments?"