Chapter 230
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 230
Chapter Title: Episode: The Fall of Liadorph
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NPC Information
- Nickname: Balderian
- Level: 370
- Job: Crawford Guildmaster
He was Crawford Guildmaster Balderian.
Episode Quest: Prisoner
-Restriction: Entering Crawford
-Reward: Proceed to next quest EXP
-Description: Help Crawford.
The next quest was to assist this guild.
Liadorphs downfall? That was one hell of a grueling episode.
James Marcus, who had completed the episode, had stuck his tongue out in disbelief.
It was an episode where you entered Crawford and toppled the Liadorph Kingdom.
More precisely, it was the root cause of the downfall.
This episode wraps up once you bring down that powerhouse nation, Liadorph.
No one knew why such an episode had been designed.
I need to figure it out.
New World never handed out meaningless quests.
It always paid the appropriate reward for completions, and when it threw out something outrageous, there was always a reason behind it.
The episode James Marcus had cleared was basically worthless.
But among the collectible episodes, there were ones labeled hidden episodes.
Which meant this one had a hidden layer too.
Jeong Hoon brushed his hand over his dantian once.
The power that had enabled his regression.
Before claiming that power, what he had told him was certain.
There were no pointless episodesso solve it well.
Hmm, howd you figure out our password?
Balderian asked Jeong Hoon with a intrigued look.
Hed clocked that the password had been cracked by coming in with Patrick.
Got it by chance.
By chance, huh Well, whatever. So whats your reason for tracking us down?
I want to join the guild.
Denied.
Balderian didnt hesitate for a second.
The reason?
Our guild doesnt take outsiders.
Balderian grinned.
Every single quest is a nightmare, just like he said.
Even James Marcus had suffered for ages before managing to join.
With difficulty that extreme, finishing the quest was no small feat.
But Jeong Hoon had the walkthrough down pat thanks to him.
It had been such a brutal episode that it came up endlessly as bar talkimpossible to forget.
Jeong Hoon grinned right back at him.
Ill fulfill your guilds long-cherished wish.
Long-cherished wish?
Balderian furrowed his brow.
Yeah. Ill fulfill your guilds long-cherished wish.
Youre one well-informed guy.
You think I cracked your password and wouldnt know that much?
Pfft-haha, fair point.
Balderian chuckled and pulled out a single document, handing it to Jeong Hoon.
Whats this?
The document bore a bold title: Emergency Rescue Request.
In plain terms, three Crawford guild members had been taken prisoner in Liadorph, and it was a plea for their rescue.
Sender: Balderian.
Recipient: A guild member embedded as a spy in Liadorph.
Youve gotta rescue those prisoners. Mind lending a hand?
Drop the bullshit and cut to the chase.
Jeong Hoon had zero intention of grinding out every last quest like James Marcus.
Every episode had skippable sections.
Like right now.
The prisoners are fake from the jump.
If you played it straight, theyd dangle the prisoners as bait to demand a bunch of shit, and youd have to satisfy every demand perfectly just to advance.
That linear path ate up way too much time, so he was skipping it outright.
A question mark blinked above his head again.
Episode Quest: Join Crawford
-Restriction: Complete Crawford Prisoner
-Reward: Proceed to next quest EXP
-Description: Join Crawford.
Perfect.
Quest skip successful.
Jeong Hoon accepted it, and Balderian burst into booming laughter.
Youre a real riot, you know that? Fine. Let me ask one more time.
Shoot.
Whats the real reason you wanna join Crawford?
I hate Liadorph.
Hate it?
Yeah.
Short and sweet.
But enough to win Balderian over.
These guys arent Liadorph dogs.
The mighty kingdom of Liadorph.
Liadorph had invaded and subjugated the small nation of Soberion, and Crawford was a guild made up of Soberion natives.
Their ultimate goal: Liberate Soberion.
A quest all but impossible without Liadorphs collapse.
That was the source of its hellish difficulty.
Music to my ears.
Balderians lips curved into a grin.
An exclamation point blinked above his head at the same time.
He could proceed to the next quest.
Quest completed.
Acquired 4,000,000 EXP.
Next quest available.
One of the men seated there shot to his feet.
Guildmaster! Youre not seriously letting an outsider join the guild now, are you?!
Crawford was a guild for Soberion natives only.
Opposition to the guildmasters call was only natural.
Not official membership. Temporary.
Temporary?
The guild members resistance eased at the words.
Yeah. To go official, youll have to prove yourself.
Jeong Hoon cocked his head.
Prove myself how?
Didnt you say youd fulfill our wish?
A question mark blinked above Balderians nodding head.
Episode Quest: Investigation
-Restriction: Complete Crawford Guild Join
-Reward: Proceed to next quest EXP
-Description: Investigate the Liadorph capital and fulfill Crawfords wish.
The next quest was reconnaissance.
Its here.
The foundation of the downfall.
James Marcus had sunk about three weeks into this one alone, but Jeong Hoon wasnt about to waste that time.
He already knew the answer.
Liadorph capital.
Jeong Hoon moved while dodging prying eyes.
Security was airtight.
Theyre all gunning for the boss?
Yeah. Gotta be, after I dropped those guards on the way in.
Anima was spot on.
The heightened security was because Jeong Hoon had taken out the perimeter guards to slip inside.
He had to stay off their radar.
Jeong Hoon crept carefully to his destination: the central fountain.
James Marcus said theres a switch here.
A mechanism built to advance the episode.
Jeong Hoon plunged his hand into the water.
He released mana, and the fountain began to glow. A portal materialized above the surface.
Wh-whats that?
What the hell?
Mukho and Anima reeled at the sudden portal.
A hidden portal.
One that had always been there.
Concealed beneath the fountain, but hed simply drawn it up with mana.
Jeong Hoon planned to slip out through it.
Intruder!
Thats him!
He ran smack into the guards hed knocked out earlier.
Pain in the ass.
Hed aimed for a clean exit, but of all people, these guys again.
Jeong Hoon unleashed Celestial Steps and threw punches at them.
Gahk!
Gurk!
The guards were stunned by the sight of one punch dropping one each time.
Wh-what the hells so strongahk!
Shit! Call for backup!
Uwaaaagh!
No chance for backup calls.
They were all down in under five minutes.
Jeong Hoon strolled out leisurely.
Same moment.
Someone watched the scene from a safe distance.
Is that guy some kinda monster?
It was Crawford Guildmaster Balderian.
Soon after Jeong Hoon departed, hed followed suit to keep tabs.
To verify if the guy was trustworthy.
Jeong Hoon beelined for the central fountain and stuck his hand in.
Balderian snorted.
Theyd already scoured that fountain.
Nothing was supposed to happen.
But thenthe fountain lit up, and a portal bloomed on the water.
No fucking way!
Balderian couldnt believe his eyes.
The dungeon hed hunted high and low for had finally surfaced.
And the guy had bulldozed the guards in seconds flat before vanishing.
Time to head back.
Balderian triggered a return stone and rushed back to the guild.
Balderian reached headquarters. Not long after, Jeong Hoon returned too.
What the hell are you?
Balderian stared at Jeong Hoon, face frozen in shock.
Had a tail on me, huh?
Jeong Hoon grinned.
Truth was, hed spotted the surveillance right as he left HQ.
Hed played dumb to earn the guys trust.
Yeah. Had to make sure you were legit.
Got it. Anyway, investigations done. You saw the portal pop up at the central fountain.
Howd you pull that off?
Just channeled some mana in, and bam.
No way thats possible
Balderian trailed off.
Hed combed the entire capital himself.
The fountain was part of it, but theyd found zilch.
Hed pumped mana into it, tried every trick in the book.
Obviously. That mechanism only triggers while youre on the quest.
Strictly speaking, they were just episode NPCs.
They couldnt stray from the scriptonly the questing player could push forward.
BOOM!
Thats when it hit.
A massive explosion rocked the ground.
Showtime.
The dungeon had risen to the surface, and the monster lurking inside had broken free.
That monster would doom the mighty Liadorph Kingdom.
That was the episodes conclusion.
True to its insane difficulty, it was meant to be a slog. But with the walkthrough memorized, Jeong Hoon wrapped it up easy.
Still, he had no plans to stop there.
Heh, its begun.
Balderian grinned.
An exclamation point blinked above his head.
Now came the final quest: Evacuate Balderian and the Crawford guild from Liadorph.
Do that, and Liadorph falls while Crawford survives under Balderians lead.
Jeong Hoon blew past it.
Evacuating now is pointless.
The hidden episode on his mind.
It had to involve taking down that monster.
Guildmaster! We gotta evac now!
Balderian didnt budge.
Jeong Hoon hadnt cleared the quest yet.
Not that he ever would.
Im heading out.
Balderian grabbed him as he rose.
Huh? Whatre you on about? You deaf to that rumble outside?!
Sounds like a monster busted out of the portal. Nothing else fits that boom.
Right! Liadorphs done for nowthanks to you!
Jeong Hoon flashed a sweet smile at his manic rant.
Nah. I just hate Liadorph. Never said Id topple it.
What?
Jeong Hoon unleashed Celestial Steps and bolted from HQ.
Far too fast for Balderian to react.