Chapter 179
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Fall of the Thieves' Sanctuary
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Killing the nineteen shadows didn't take long.
Jeong Hoon bound the last one without killing him.
Activating Brainwash.
He immediately used Brainwash to uncover Marcus's plans.
But Marcus's plans were nothing special.
"Orders were to assassinate Alteor and Hudin."
With glazed eyes, he spilled everything.
"Wow... this is insane."
Ha-jin stared blankly at the scene.
"Is he like that because of the skill?"
His mother watched with a bewildered look.
"Now he's even using brainwashing..."
Kim Bong-gu looked at him with utter disgust.
"Is that it? Nothing else?"
"Yes."
Jeong Hoon snapped the shadow's neck in an instant.
"Alright, then. Time for us to head out."
Their next destination was the Thieves' Sanctuary.
Jeong Hoon took the lead, followed by his mother, Ha-jin, and Kim Bong-gu.
Marcus couldn't believe it.
Despite fortifying the city's walls and sealing off all external access, the outsiders' power defied imagination.
"What?! Our thieves are getting slaughtered by outsiders?!"
Tens of thousands of outsiders had swarmed in and smashed through the walls.
They effortlessly subdued any thieves who resisted.
Those who surrendered early were left alone, but resisters were mercilessly killed.
"Yes... Thanks to them, the archers easily breached the Thieves' City."
"Those damn outsider bastards!"
Boom!
Marcus slammed his fist on the table.
His face flushed red with rage.
According to the thieves' reports, thousands of outsiders were turning the city upside down.
They had tried to stop them, but the outsiders' eyes burned with madness, and many thieves backed off, convinced they'd be killed if they didn't.
"You need to escape! We don't know how they brainwashed the outsiders, but we can't stop them."
"Then just issue a quest to counter it!"
"We... we tried, but they won't listen."
"What...?"
What kind of quest could they have received?
Just then, outsiders flooded into the sanctuary.
"Marcus! Where's that bastard hiding?"
"Come out now while we're being nice!"
"Time to rest. I'll make you rest by force."
"You coward! Get out here!"
How dare they summon their leader like that?!
Veins bulged on Marcus's forehead.
'Nell! What's the situation?'
Marcus called for Nell, the shadow leader.
But no response came.
'Nell!'
Even calling again yielded silence.
The other shadows didn't respond either.
That meant...
"They all got taken out."
Useless fools!
Marcus swept back his hair and stood up.
"Leader! You must evacuate now!"
"Why should I?"
"Pardon?"
"Absurd. That senile old man offered some amount? I'll double it!"
He planned to issue a quest with far more gold than the Archers' City had offered, redirecting the assault there.
'Crazy old geezer. Think I'd fall for this?'
Marcus left his quarters and headed to the sanctuary.
"This doesn't seem right..."
Alta Mara, who had delivered the report, eyed him hopefully, wishing he'd flee.
Marcus's gaze turned murderous.
"Are you saying my judgment as leader is wrong?"
"N-No, that's not... Gahk!"
Alta Mara couldn't finish.
Marcus had already grabbed his throat with his right hand.
Alta Mara's level was 220.
Marcus's was 295.
The 75-level gap made Alta Mara's vision go black.
But just before passing out, Marcus released his grip.
"Disrespect me again, and I'll snap your neck."
"Cough! Cough! S-Sorry... cough!"
"We're heading to the sanctuary now."
Marcus left his quarters and went to the sanctuary.
It was already occupied by outsiders.
"L-Leader..."
"Forgive us..."
The NPCs, overwhelmed by their numbers, had surrendered without a fight.
Now they were bound in the center.
"Bunch of utterly useless trash."
Marcus muttered under his breath.
Then the outsiders surrounded him.
"Kill him!"
"We just need his head, right?"
"First slash wins!"
Gold rewards only went to the top three.
No time to worry about appearances.
"Wait! I'll give you something way better than what that Alteor bastard offered!"
"Marcus! You finally showed!"
"Outta my way! He's mine!"
"Damn it! 100,000 gold is mine! MIIIINE!"
"100,000 goooold!"
Marcus shouted desperately, but the users didn't hear.
The sheer numbers were beyond imagination, and they were too fixated on quest rankings to listen.
His face drained of color as they charged.
"Uwaaaaaaaaah!"
The battle ended so anticlimactically it wasn't even worth calling a war.
That was possible because countless users bulldozed through like a steamroller.
'Yeah. An event with 1 billion for first place...'
Less than a lottery jackpot, but still no small sum.
Most people couldn't save a billion in a lifetime, so they investedin real estate, stocks, coins, etc.
Many even borrowed to start.
No wonder their eyes spun at the sight of a billion on the line.
With real money and it being a game, users just charged blindly.
"It's over already...?"
"We didn't even do anything..."
Late-joining users muttered in disappointment.
Ha-jin and Kim Bong-gu felt the same.
"Wow... I was gonna bulldoze with Dark Soldiers."
"Was gonna show the true power of the Shadow Command. What a shame."
His mother smiled at Jeong Hoon.
"Good thing it ended quick."
"Yeah."
Jeong Hoon smiled back.
During the broadcast, faces were blurred, so no one recognized them.
"Ahem, no one seems to know who we are."
Kim Bong-gu looked inwardly disappointed.
He held the third spot on HoneyTube, yet no recognition.
"But how do they calculate contribution points?"
"Good question? I was too busy watching Marcus get wrecked to think about it."
The one holding Marcus's head was a level 297 Crusader.
He'd landed the finishing blow and claimed it.
Other users eyed it hungrily, ready to snatch.
The issue was how to earn the HoneyTube contribution.
"Does the first to complete the quest get it?"
"Nah... then what about Marcus's head?"
"You complete the quest holding the head."
"Oh? So rewards differ? Makes it easy to tell."
Users lunged at the Crusader.
To grab the head and finish the quest.
As the Thieves' Sanctuary turned into chaos, Jeong Hoon led his mother, Ha-jin, and Kim Bong-gu to the leader's quarters.
"Wow... it's crazy. Everyone's going nuts over that one head."
Ha-jin was amazed.
"100,000 gold on the line. Anyone would charge like mad."
"True."
"No need to envy. Head to the underground vault, and that 100,000 gold will seem like nothing."
"...Gulp!"
Kim Bong-gu swallowed hard.
His sparkling eyes screamed greed.
"Oh, by the way, you're not getting any."
"Yes...? Wait, why?"
"Honestly, you did nothing. Passenger gets no greed."
"Huh! Passenger? Forgot I killed the shadow leader?"
"Even that, I spoon-fed you."
Jeong Hoon's arrow had sealed Nell's movements and locked his skills.
Without it, Kim Bong-gu might've been the one down.
"Psh, I could've done it solo. I'm Shadow Command."
"Shadow Command? Your combat sense is trash. Pilots make the ship. Right?"
"..."
Kim Bong-gu drooped his head gloomily.
Coming this far with nothing?
Damn bastard.
Rot in hell.
"Son? We all worked hard. Gonna play favorites?"
Just as he thought to stop joking, his mother smiled.
But her eyes weren't smiling.
Sign she was angry.
Jeong Hoon felt a chill down his spine and shook his head.
"Just kidding. Bong-gu's reactions are gold. Of course I'll share with everyone."
"Right?"
"Yes."
"Mom...! I'll call you Mom from now on."
Touched, Kim Bong-gu teared up.
His mother awkwardly waved it off.
"That's fine. And Hoonie wouldn't favor anyone. Don't worry. He's so kind."
"...Kind?"
"Of course. Show me someone kinder than my son."
"Uh..."
Kim Bong-gu hesitated.
Put all earth's humans here, someone's kinder than Jeong Hoon.
"Alright, let's go."
Jeong Hoon headed underground.
Recently breached, the basement was spotless.
But a massive wall blocked the middle.
Said only Marcus could open the vault, but there was another way.
'Brute force.'
Smash it open.
Jeong Hoon drew Leviathan and struck the door.
Boom!
It didn't budge.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
Ha-jin asked, startled.
"What else? Forcing it open."
Jeong Hoon replied casually and struck repeatedly with Leviathan.
But the door's defense was insanely tough.
Whoa, what's it made of? So sturdy.
Muk-ho, watching quietly, was impressed.
'Why not use me? I could smash it quick.'
Jeong Hoon grinned.
"It's fine. Be quick."
As promised, cracks formed on the door.
They spread fast, and with one more strike, it shattered like glass.
Beyond lay Marcus's hoarded treasures.
"Wow..."
"What's all this?"
Ha-jin and Kim Bong-gu gaped.
"My god..."
His mother widened her eyes.
Jeong Hoon ignored the treasures.
The real prize was the box in the corner.
He approached and inspected it.
Unidentified Box
-Type: Box
-Rank: ?
-An ancient box of unknown name.
-Requires a matching key to open.
It looked utterly plain.
Yet Marcus stored it here.
Found long ago in the seized Archers' City territory.
They'd tried everything to open it, but failed.
Only way: Insert Jeong Hoon's key into the hole and turn.
"Is this the box you mentioned?"
His mother showed interest.
"Yes. That's it."
Jeong Hoon nodded with a smile.
Ha-jin and Kim Bong-gu, fixated on gold and jewels, ignored it.
"Hahaha! We can take this, right?"
"Hey! Don't lie down! Think of the germs."
"Come on, bro! Smell this. Drives you crazy!"
Jeong Hoon chuckled, pulled the key from inventory, and inserted it into the hole.
Perfect fit.
Turning it slowly, the lock clicked open.
The box glowed, transforming into brilliant gold.
Latin Fon Ascenstone's Treasure Chest
-Type: Box
-Rank: Legendary
-A sub-space pouch containing treasures cherished by the first leader of the Archers' City.
-Opening grants the treasures.
"Gasp! Legendary?"
His mother, watching, jumped in shock.
She knew from playing New World how valuable Legendary was.
"I told you it was worth expecting?"
Jeong Hoon smiled and opened the treasure chest.
Inside were five treasures.
All Legendary items.
With these, his mother, Ha-jin, and Kim Bong-gu would level up big time.