Chapter 250
Chapter 250
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 250
Chapter Title: Act 49. The Spark of War (4)
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“The building is quite unique.”
William began.
“You’ve seen it?”
“Yes. The entire building was covered in mithril.”
“It’s to prepare for surprise attacks from monsters. This building serves as the boundary for the safety zone, so we function as a sort of fortress wall.”
“It seems a bit strange to build your headquarters in such a dangerous place.”
“We must be in the most dangerous place to protect the weakest.”
“……”
“Was that too obvious?”
William chuckled lightly and tapped his card on the reader. The door opened with a sleek sound.
“It’s the other way around. The building was constructed first, and then the area was devastated by the appearance of an S-rank monster and a large number of gates. We managed to stop it with many sacrifices, but that region remains unrestored.”
“You could have moved the headquarters.”
“Remaining here makes it easier to monopolize the gates. The areas around the Pentagon and the White House have frequent gate occurrences, giving us an advantage in claiming them before other guilds. Covering the entire building in mithril is a significant expense, but it’s well worth it.”
“I’m sure it is. After all the money you’ve made from your business.”
Jun Bo-ra said sarcastically.
But William, looking completely unbothered, smoothly continued the conversation as if he’d been waiting for it.
“Speaking of which, I heard news that a William from A-Team died during the battle between your two factions.”
Cha Eun-ha recalled what Kim Se-hyeon had reported during the night raid.
The player from A-Team they had tried to capture but accidentally killed.
His name was also William.
“Hearing that someone with the same name died isn’t exactly pleasant. Hmm. That was a joke, but I guess it wasn’t very funny?”
“No.”
Jo Min-woo answered instantly, then fell silent after Jo Min-ah nudged him in the ribs.
Jun Bo-ra swallowed a bitter laugh and said.
“I’m sorry, but we didn’t come here to trade jokes. We’re here to hold you accountable for the significant damage your ‘business’ has caused our side.”
Jun Bo-ra’s gaze locked onto William.
William’s smile gradually faded, and he bowed his head deeply.
“You’re right. What needs to be resolved must be resolved. I am truly sorry for the harm you’ve suffered due to the misguided actions of some of our guild members.”
He was cutting them loose.
Jun Bo-ra immediately understood the meaning behind his words.
“Is that the official statement from the Pentagon Eagle?”
“Yes.”
The air grew tense.
Although William was the only Pentagon Eagle player in the room, the atmosphere was so charged it felt like a fight could break out at any moment.
Cha Eun-ha, after a sharp glance around, spoke in a low voice.
“There are a lot of people nearby.”
At least ten people were peeking into the room through the window.
They were likely under orders to rush in and fight the moment William gave the signal.
The twins’ faces hardened as well.
“It seems you intend to threaten us.”
“I like people who are quick on the uptake.”
“I think you might be underestimating us.”
*Crackle.*
Blue electricity crackled around Cha Eun-ha’s body, threatening to erupt at any moment.
Seeing this, the twins also conjured blue flames.
At that, William’s expression changed slightly.
‘Why do they possess that level of power?’
Cha Eun-ha and the twins.
They were individuals who shouldn’t have possessed such formidable power at this point in time.
As an S-rank himself, William could tell.
These three were his equals, or perhaps even stronger.
‘Still, the other two aren’t that strong…’
“‘They shouldn’t be this strong at this point, so why are they?’ That’s the question on your face.”
“……”
“The Strategy King. That introduction should be sufficient, right?”
A chill ran down William’s spine.
Strategy King. Those two words had the power to make him instantly accept the existence of three incomprehensible S-ranks.
Jun Bo-ra’s eyes flashed for a moment.
Reacting to the name “Strategy King” was as good as William revealing he was Salvatio.
‘To have already made those three S-ranks, he must have the incredible skill and information the rumors claim. In that case, there’s no way the Strategy King himself isn’t an S-rank.’
William studied Jun Bo-ra with a troubled look.
She felt like an A-rank at best, but he was certain that what he saw wasn’t everything.
No, it was terrifying.
To feel like an A-rank even with her power suppressed.
Just how strong was she really?
‘And on top of that, the Strategy King’s companions made L-Team retreat without him even being there, and that guy Kim Se-hyeon fought Roberto one-on-one and defeated him without a scratch.’
As his thoughts continued, William felt his hair stand on end.
There were several S-ranks here at the Pentagon Eagle headquarters.
But what if that Kim Se-hyeon was also here?
What if the man watching him silently was also one of his companions?
‘I absolutely cannot fight them.’
It wasn’t a guaranteed loss.
But it was certain they would suffer immense damage.
William changed his plan to avoid a fight at all costs.
‘But I can’t afford to be subservient either.’
William swallowed dryly and forced a relaxed smile.
“Do you know where you are? Depending on the circumstances, your actions could be taken as a declaration of war. The moment that happens, we would be justified in attacking you.”
Cha Eun-ha clicked her tongue and retracted her mana.
William wore an expression that said, ‘Of course, that’s how you should react,’ but Jun Bo-ra was laughing inwardly.
This was one of the scenarios she had anticipated.
In fact, she was almost grateful he was acting exactly as she had predicted.
It was time to proceed as she and Kim Se-hyeon had planned.
With that decision, Jun Bo-ra played her first card.
“Dwayne is in our custody.”
“To think you believed that would work is laughable. There are plenty of talented people like him.”
Sacrificing one hostage is acceptable.
William was openly stating as much.
‘I’ve already been informed that Dwayne has lost his power.’
A worthless hostage.
To William, Dwayne didn’t even feel like a hostage.
For a hostage to have value, they must be precious.
If Dwayne hadn’t lost his power and was still an S-rank, he might have considered it, but a powerless Dwayne was just another piece of ‘trash’ under his feet.
William adjusted his rimless glasses and smirked.
In response, Jun Bo-ra also let her lips curl into a wide smile.
“When did I say there was only one hostage?”
“Not just one…?”
“Dwayne wasn’t the only one from L-Team who didn’t make it back, was he? We captured them alive. Oh, and of course, A-Team, who caused all this trouble, too.”
“……”
William broke into a cold sweat.
‘You’re telling me they didn’t kill them all?’
He couldn’t understand it.
Capturing one person was one thing, but so many?
There was no reason to make such a choice unless one wanted to leave behind future troubles.
Moreover, capturing someone alive was only possible with an overwhelming difference in skill.
He had expected as much when he heard they made Roberto retreat, but to think they had captured all the other L-Team members and even Santiago from A-Team.
William’s heart sank as he felt something had gone terribly wrong.
“And this entire conversation is being relayed to them as well.”
Only when Jun Bo-ra took out a communication device did William realize he’d been had.
He could immediately recognize it as a device issued by the Pentagon Eagle, one used by A-Team.
As if to drive the point home, Santiago’s voice, thick with suppressed rage, crackled from the device.
-William. Were you really going to abandon us?
“No, this is…”
-If that’s how you’re going to play it, then I have my own ideas. You know better than anyone that A-Team handles the dirtiest work for the Pentagon Eagle. If I’m going to be thrown away like this, I’m not going down quietly. I’ll expose all of your ugly secrets. You can’t reach me here anyway, so you can’t stop me.
Santiago laughed like a madman.
He was the type of man who would do it.
Knowing this all too well, William’s face turned cold.
‘I’ve been had.’
This was a world where people harmed others for their own survival, for their own benefit.
It was nothing for people to die at the slightest disagreement.
This was especially true in the United States, where the Pentagon Eagle was based.
That was why William had naturally assumed Kim Se-hyeon’s group would have killed all their enemies.
‘If that matter gets exposed, things will get complicated.’
William bit his lip.
He had known a delegation would come.
But he couldn’t pay them too much attention, so he hadn’t been able to prepare a proactive response.
His plan had been to simply threaten them into backing down at a reasonable point.
Even that became unusable once he learned the enemy’s strength.
In fact, the current situation was the worst-case scenario.
‘Damn it. I heard the Strategy King wasn’t in Busan, so I never expected him to come in person…!’
William cursed internally.
‘If I’m going to take a loss either way, I need to minimize the damage.’
William calmly gathered his thoughts.
Then, with great difficulty, he put a smile back on his face.
“I misspoke. But I hope you can understand that I couldn’t just say the hostages were our priority when I didn’t know what unreasonable demands you might make.”
“I understand. Negotiations become disadvantageous if you show weakness from the start.”
“Thank you for your generosity.”
It looked like a warm exchange on the surface, but the winner was clear.
A smile full of余裕, and a smile stiff from being forced.
“Still, we need to get things done, right?”
In contrast to Jun Bo-ra’s gentle smile, William’s twisted grin said it all.
“...I suppose this concludes our business.”
About ten minutes later.
William rose from his seat, looking exhausted.
“I can’t make the decision immediately, so I’d appreciate it if you could wait for about two days. If you wish, we can provide you with a place to stay. What will you do?”
“No, that’s alright.”
“Understood. Well then.”
As William left the room, the tension finally broke, and Jun Bo-ra let out a long sigh.
“Phew. I think it went well.”
“You did great, Unni.”
“I didn’t misspeak or anything, did I?”
“Just looking at that guy’s face, I’d say you did great. You were so articulate, too.”
“I guess so. I have talents I never knew about.”
Jun Bo-ra gave a wry smile and picked up the paper cup on the table.
It had been there since they entered the room, but the tea had gone lukewarm since she hadn’t touched it during the meeting.
‘Remember. Don’t push them too hard. They aren’t the original NPCs. We can’t predict what they’ll do. What we know about them is only a fraction of the whole picture.’
She recalled Kim Se-hyeon’s earnest warning.
The talk itself had concluded well, but it wasn’t over yet.
‘I have to be careful.’
“Let’s go get something to eat! On the way here, I heard people talking about a good restaurant.”
“I wonder if Oppa is done with his business?”
“...Who knows?”
“He must be. I got a signal from him earlier.”
“A signal? We didn’t see anything. That’s suspicious. Now that I think about it, you two were whispering about something the other day… Mister, what did you and Hyung talk about?”
“It’s a secret.”
Choi Yeon-soo glanced at the spot where William had left and smirked slightly.
***
Some time after Jun Bo-ra’s group, disguised as a delegation, had entered the building, I too approached the Pentagon Eagle headquarters.
“Please remove your mask. We need to verify your identity.”
A bodyguard looked down at me impassively.
His eyes showed a clear determination not to let me pass unless I complied with his demand.