Chapter 184
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: Monthly Siege War
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The siege war that took place every month.
The siege war format was incredibly straightforward.
The guild that had captured a castle in the previous siege war was in charge of defending it, while the guilds that failed to capture it had to attack and seize the castle.
Defense was overwhelmingly disadvantageous here, since they had to fend off multiple guilds all gunning for the castle.
Hoyoung had captured three castles in the previous siege war.
The final result was second place.
First place went to Dokjeon, led by Min Jin-ho.
Before that, Shinwa had taken first place as easily as eating breakfast, but after losing three castles, they dropped to third.
Among them, the largest castle by far had been snatched by Hoyoung.
So Shinwa must have been grinding their teeth in preparation.
You placed second in the previous siege war.
A bonus buff will be granted.
Please select your desired buff.
As Jeong Hoon entered the field, a list of buffs spread out before his eyes.
Defense and Health Increase
Resource Recovery Speed Increase
Attack Power and Critical Hit Chance Increase
Slight Increase to All Stats
Skill Cooldown Reduction (2)
Recovery Power Increase
Attack power increase would be best.
Jeong Hoon chose firepower without a second thought.
We absolutely have to defend this castle.
Yeo Min-ji quickly gave the briefing.
It was the most important among the castles Hoyoung had captured.
The one located in the center, taken from Shinwa.
If they lost this castle, it would massively impact the final results.
The other two were comparatively less vital, so fewer guilds were targeting them, but this one was so tempting that even named guilds were eyeing it hungrily.
So were defending this castle?
Yes. Well send 30 people to each of the other castles, and deploy 140 here.
To hold the castle at all costs, they assigned 140 people.
That was 70 of their total forces.
Please select your defense options.
From here on, Yeo Sun-woo would set it up.
They couldnt defend with nothing.
So first, reinforce the castle walls, then install a transparent barrier in front.
They could also receive additional NPC soldiers to deploy, which could be used for defense during the siege war.
Plus, there was a defense-exclusive skill granted only to guild members who owned the castle.
This skill could only activate while defending the castle.
Take your equipment from here.
The provided gear was all Unique grade.
No special abilities, but the weapons ignored a fixed amount of the opponents equipment defense and added extra attack power on user strikes.
The armor similarly had options for damage reduction and boosted defense.
Usually composed of Rare to Epic gear, but as expected from a named guild, it was all Unique.
What weapon will you take?
Yeo Min-ji asked.
Ill take a sword and a bow.
Jeong Hoon grabbed a sword and a bow.
Shinwa Guild.
Led by Sa Jae-hyeok, Shinwa glared at the castle Hoyoung had captured, grinding their teeth.
We must capture that castle.
Yes.
Hoyoung had taken three castles.
But the other two were bonus prizes; the real game was the massive central castle.
Shinwa had successfully defended that huge castle multiple times before, but in the previous siege war, they failed to stop Hoyoungs push and lost it.
As a result, they suffered the humiliation of dropping from first to third.
That was why Shinwa was seething now.
Not targeting the first-place Dokjeon, but pulling down the second-place Hoyoung.
Every time I think about what Hoyoung did to me... Grr.
A million gold vanished in a puff, and their ranker Lee Hwarang had long been sidelined by repeated suspensions.
So they had to capture that castle no matter what.
The siege war time limit was three hours.
If they didnt capture it within three hours, Hoyoung would succeed in defense and rack up massive points.
Guild Master, preparations are complete.
Lets go.
At Sa Jae-hyeoks command, Shinwa moved out.
The only way to capture the castle was a frontal assault.
They couldnt flank it even if they wantedthe vast plains around made it impossible to approach without being spotted, no matter the direction.
In other words, it was a battle of firepower.
Up to 200 people max.
Composed of elite members, so Hoyoung would surely crumble.
Its Shinwa...
Theyre coming here?
Sylphid Guild watched Shinwa move from inside their castle.
Close enough that they might clash if things went south.
But Shinwa passed by without a glance, showing zero interest in their castle.
What? Why are they just leaving?
Sylphids Guild Master, Han Ji-ye, tilted her head.
Shinwa, who had lost first place in last months siege war.
They should be desperate to secure as many castles as possible.
Why pass this one by?
Theyre targeting Hoyoung.
From the start...?
Looks like they want to crush Hoyoung and secure first place for sure.
Once a castle was captured, it couldnt be recaptured in that siege war.
Shinwa planned to take down Hoyoungs castle first, then slowly expand from there.
The Black Moon guys are coming!
No time to think about Shinwa.
Black Moon was swarming toward the castle held by Sylphid.
They were a guild of similar rank.
And that wasnt all.
The Red Foxes too!
Red Fox, similarly ranked.
In an instant, two guilds took east and west, starting to tear down the walls.
Block them!
The siege war began.
Shinwa bypassed all the castles under attack and arrived at the one held by Hoyoung.
And that was when it happened.
Pebble-long!
With a strange voice, an NPC appeared in midair.
NPC Information
-Nickname: Ringring
-Level: 700
-Job: Event NPC
Event NPC Ringring.
Sa Jae-hyeok, about to charge at Hoyoungs castle, raised his hand to halt.
What the...?
Sa Jae-hyeok tilted his head.
Event NPCs didnt appear normallyonly during events.
Why was one showing up in the monthly siege war?
A surprise event?
That would make sense.
Ringring looked down at the baffled users and grinned.
Surprised ya? I was surprised to pop up like this too!
......
The users stared at Ringring in silence.
The siege war ground to a halt for a moment.
You must be wondering why Im here. Truth is, we were planning one more event... but uh, no need anymore.
Huh...?
Whats that supposed to mean?
The users started murmuring.
So anyway... Id like to hand out some penalties.
Penalties?
Yup! We wanted to give a few before, but they fizzled out... so this time, forcing it through.
......
What do you think, nya?
Ringring grinned while looking at one spot.
It was the castle held by Hoyoung Guild.
Whats that thing saying?
Penalty? Master, do you know what it means?
Jeong Hoon couldnt respond to Mukho and Animas questions.
The Third Chaos shouldnt start for a while yet.
In his past life, the event would happen about three weeks after this siege war ended.
That was the final chaos: the Third Chaos.
The future has changed...
For some reason, Ringringwho shouldnt appear in the siege warhad shown up, and announced the cancellation of a planned event.
...Because I stopped the chaos?
Originally, the First and Second Chaos should have brought turmoil to Earth.
But Jeong Hoon successfully cleared those absurdly difficult events, maintaining peace.
With history twisted repeatedly, the higher-ups must have started moving.
Hed forgotten for a moment, things going smoothly as planned.
Their whims were beyond imagination.
Now, shall we chat a bit?
Ringring snapped her fingers.
Jeong Hoons vision went black, then a white wall appeared.
This place?
A familiar space.
The white room where hed talked with Ringring before heading to the event venue.
Long time no see!
Ringring grinned and welcomed Jeong Hoon.
......What have you done?
Oh, its fine. The siege wars still going. Youre just passed out for a bit.
Passed out...?
Yup. Meaning, this is your dream.
Jeong Hoons eyes narrowed.
......Why did you bring me here?
What else? Before the penalty hits, I wanted to make one last bet with you. Thats why I forced my way in.
In other words, she crashed the siege war to make a bet?
Last bet?
Yup! In this siege war, make your guild take first place.
......
Jeong Hoon glared at Ringring silently.
Ehey, dont look at me like that. Im risking it too to make this bet.
Risking?
Yup. Announcing a penalty on Earth without warning. But they cant just sit by.
Jeong Hoon let out an incredulous chuckle.
Trying to unleash the final chaos like this?
Not on his watch.
If we take first, remove the penalty.
Hmm... thats tricky.
Then no deal.
Jeong Hoon turned away.
Ringring waved her hands frantically.
Wait! Hear me out. If you take first, Ill fill your Celestial Energy all the way.
Celestial Energy?
Jeong Hoons eyes widened.
Celestial Energy at 100.
The first requirement to advance beyond Legendary.
He currently had 25.
She was offering to max it out.
How bout it? Wanna try, nya?
No.
Wah?!
Add to it. Overwhelming first place.
Overwhelming first?
Yes. Well take overwhelming first, so add penalty removal. Deal?
Ringring pondered.
Taking overwhelming first in a siege war was nearly impossible.
What if you fail?
Do whateverpenalty or not.
...Fine! Overwhelming it is. Finish with at least two castles difference over second place.
Call.
Current first was Dokjeon.
Hoyoung was second now, but Dokjeon was a named guild that always ranked high in siege wars.
Theyd taken first last time by capturing five castles.
For overwhelming first, they had to crush Dokjeon and secure as many castles as possible.
Great! Good luck then!
Ringring snapped her fingers.
Vision went black, then the familiar scenery returned.
Son! Come to your senses!
His mother looked down at him with worried eyes.
Jeong Hoon slowly sat up.
Im fine... More importantly, the NPC?
Vanished suddenly.
I see...
Are you hurt? Wait... can you pass out like this in the game?
Normally, passing out triggered auto-logout and forced the capsule open.
But Jeong Hoon hadnt logged out despite passing out.
Whats the situation now?
Shinwa Guild is attacking!
Jeong Hoon looked down from the walls.
Below, warrior-class users had formed defensive lines.
Jang Ha-jin was among them, and inside the gates, thieves and martial artistsmelee typeswere hidden in stealth, ready to join when the warriors clashed with the enemy.
......Mom, we have to take first in this siege war.
First?
Yes.
Hed planned to casually farm siege points and prepare for the Third Chaos, but Ringring changed everything.
This siege war.
Hoyoung had to take first.
To do that, first repel Shinwa Guild, then capture at least two castles from Dokjeon.
Got it. We need first place, right?
Yes.
Jeong Hoon approached Yeo Sun-woo, who was directing the guild members.
Y-Yes...? First place?
Yeo Sun-woo blinked in shock.
His plan had been just to successfully defend this castle.
How about it? Ending with Hoyoung in first.
Hmm... Honestly, Id love first if possible.
He wasnt without ambition for it.
Just settled realistically.
Okay. Got it.
Jeong Hoon smiled brightly.