Chapter 138: 9-Quad. The Player Hunt Begins
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138: 9-Quad. The Player Hunt Begins
“Agh!”
“K-Knights! Block them! Protect the mages first!”
“Get it together!”
With their barriers shattered by the explosion, the guild was being systematically dismantled. Caught completely off guard by the sudden onslaught of magic and martial arts, their formation collapsed instantly.
Seoun’s team kept a wary eye on the martial artists who had stormed the field, even as they continued to strike down the enemies before them. It was then that Jin Long, noting the newcomers' attire, spoke up.
Li Lingwei followed up on his words.
Slash!
Seoun blinked behind a knight who was trying to flank them, tearing through the man’s back. He narrowed his eyes.
Dump’s voice came through with a heavy sigh.
As Dump cut his briefing short to parry an incoming attack, a face flashed in Seoun’s mind.
The realization hit him at the exact moment he lunged toward the man who appeared to be the enemy commander.
Clang!
Seoun’s eyes met Ye Haoran’s as the latter thrust his Sword Aura toward the commander at almost the same instant.
Having unintentionally created a two-on-one situation, the expressions of the two men shifted in opposite directions. Ye Haoran’s brow furrowed deeply, his face a mask of blatant distaste, while Seoun’s eyes widened in genuine surprise at the coincidence.
Even in that moment of mutual recognition, their attacks synchronized perfectly, slicing into Luwain’s thigh and chest.
Clang!
Both men scowled as they realized the opponent’s armor had resisted their Sword Aura.
“Orichalcum? No. It’s something even better,” Ye Haoran remarked.
Seoun nodded, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. “Doesn’t seem to be Dragon Scale, but it’s remarkably close.”
Luwain’s face contorted with rage.
The situation felt so calculated that he couldn't help but feel he had walked straight into a meticulously prepared trap. Even as a veteran who had survived Cloyd for a long time, he had never been snared so perfectly.
Just as his pride as a player began to crack and he opened his mouth to speak, Seoun and Ye Haoran moved simultaneously.
Their coordinated assault was breathtaking, as if they had trained together for years. While Luwain struggled to fend off the Sword Aura lashing at him from the front, Seoun would slip into his blind spots with bizarre, unpredictable movements, landing heavy blows of Qi.
It didn't take long for Luwain’s seamless armor to begin fracturing.
He fought desperately, pouring out defensive and offensive skills, but he lacked the sheer power to hold out against two such formidable opponents without support from his mages.
The moment Luwain’s head fell, the two men quickly scanned the battlefield. They saw the other martial artists and Seoun’s teammates tearing through the enemies like wolves among sheep.
Among them, Li Lingwei was conducting the most efficient massacre.
Without even drawing her sword, she used her bare hands to scatter a crimson poison mist. Every time she passed a group, perfectly healthy players would collapse, clutching their throats. Whether she had brought something special from her family estate or was simply letting loose, neither her teammates nor the Sagang martial artists dared to go near her.
In the end, only an hour after the explosion, nothing remained in the area but a massive pile of supply boxes. A few had managed to escape via teleportation, but since this map didn't allow for item farming, most players lacked the necessary scrolls and were forced to fight to the death.
“Phew. Look at all this loot,” Seoun remarked.
Ye Haoran’s expression soured. Sitting in front of a box, he couldn't hide his irritation at the notification that popped up.
[Ding! You do not have permission to open this box.]
Seeing this, Seoun spoke up. “Looks like I couldn't share even if I wanted to.”
“You bastard!”
“Hey, we’re in the same boat for now. Don’t be like that.”
Ye Haoran gripped his sword tightly for a moment, glaring at Seoun, before finally letting go. It wasn't just because they shared a common goal, as Seoun claimed. Ye Haoran simply wasn't foolish enough to pick a fight with a man who was on an entirely different level than when they had last fought—especially one who possessed extra lives.
Of course, the memory of his past humiliation made him want to settle the score regardless of the consequences. However, he could feel the gaze of a young but unmistakably powerful master watching him from behind Seoun, making a reckless move impossible.
“Ah! If you really want a share that badly, you could always farm the items and then hand them over to me.”
“Well, if that’s possible, I don’t mind.”
Seoun, grinning for some reason, opened a box and tossed a sword he had picked up toward Ye Haoran. Ye Haoran’s subordinates stared wide-eyed as the knight pulled a sword out of thin air and threw it.
Catch!
[Ding! You do not have permission for this item. This item will disappear once the current game ends.]
“Dammit!”
Seoun smiled as if he had expected that reaction.
Idiot. The system blocked it; did you really think it would be that easy to bypass? They wouldn't have bothered blocking it otherwise.
Shrugging his shoulders, Seoun joined his companions in their looting spree. Unable to let it go, Ye Haoran hovered near Seoun with burning eyes. His gaze fell upon some Blue Coins scattered around the boxes, unlike the usual loot.
“Hm? What are those?”
“Oh, these? Coins you get for killing players. Apparently, you can summon a vending machine to use them…”
Seoun trailed off as he noticed the man’s interest intensifying.
“I’ve never seen those coins before. A coin that can be turned into items on the spot via a vending machine? But what is a ‘vending machine’?”
Seoun rolled his eyes for a moment before giving up and explaining it as it was.
“Ho? Is that so? This should be quite a sight.”
With Ye Haoran crossing his arms as if waiting for a demonstration, Seoun had no choice but to take out the coins he had gathered.
[Ding! Would you like to summon an Item Vending Machine?]
The moment he pressed the 'O' button, a large vending machine glowing with blue patterns appeared before him. The machine displayed thirty rows of items, with ten items in each row.
As Ye Haoran examined the items one by one with curiosity, Seoun’s teammates, having finished their looting, began to gather around as well. Seoun also began scanning the items, finding quite a few interesting options.
Ye Haoran’s subordinates watched the scene with bewildered expressions, unable to comprehend what was happening. Eventually, one of them approached Ye Haoran, who was engrossed in the display.
“Um… Master? What exactly are you looking at?”
“I’m looking at this. Can’t you see it?”
When Ye Haoran answered without even looking back, the subordinate’s brow furrowed.
“I heard some strange voices during the fight. And all the corpses we killed have vanished… Could we be under some sort of sorcery?”
Ye Haoran’s expression hardened as he turned to his subordinate. “What did you hear?”
“Something about ‘permission’ from ‘Cloy-something’…”
Seoun chimed in to provide the answer.
“If a person of this world kills a player, they are granted participation rights for Cloyd.”
“What?!”
Ye Haoran paused to process this before speaking again. “Then why can’t these men see the vending machine?”
Instead of Seoun, Juriel offered a hypothesis. “Perhaps it’s because they aren't regular players?”
Ye Haoran nodded, finding her explanation plausible. “That could be it.”
Accepting the answer, he turned his attention back to the vending machine, dismissing his subordinate. “Just wait there. I’ll explain later.”
A smirk played on his lips as he pointed to an item. “I’ll take this one.”
Seoun, hiding his unease, feigned ignorance. “Take what?”
Ye Haoran turned back to him with a thick grin. “My share of the loot. We killed at least half of them, but I’ll settle for just this.”
Seoun’s eyes twitched slightly as he saw the man point to a Divine Artifact of the Sword God, priced at 80 Blue Coins.
There were many other items Seoun had his eye on. In particular, the 'Diamond Body' for 400 coins was a new type of item that reinforced the physical body itself—something he desperately wanted.
But he couldn't take back his word. And it was true that without Ye Haoran, the outcome of the battle would have been uncertain.
“Sigh.”
With a heavy sigh, Seoun pressed the item. A notification confirmed the coins had been deducted, and the machine glowed.
Clunk!
A plain-looking sword dropped into the bin. Seoun picked it up and handed it to Ye Haoran with trembling hands. Ye Haoran accepted the sword without any restrictions, his smile widening as if he had expected this. Seoun let out another sigh, his last bit of hope crushed.
Shring.
Ye Haoran drew the sword slightly, feeling the energy radiating from the blade. Satisfied that he had made the right choice, he sheathed it.
“Well, I suppose this is enough to settle our past grudge.”
“Don’t bring stuff that happened in the game into reality. Don’t be so petty,” Seoun replied shamelessly.
Despite Seoun’s remark—considering he was the one who had put an arrow through Jurokuana’s forehead out of a grudge from the first round—Ye Haoran kept his smile.
“I have a rough idea of what’s going on now, so we might run into each other again. Don’t give in to temptation.”
Seoun and his team nodded as Ye Haoran gave them a serious, humorless warning. Watching the man disappear with his subordinates, Seoun led his team back to the village to regroup with Lyle and Rimin.
*
The words of Jang Do-cheon, the former Murim Alliance Leader, carried immense weight. No matter how absurd the claim, coming from his lips, it could not be ignored.
Even in a room filled with the current Alliance Leader and high-ranking officials of the Murim Alliance—the pinnacle of the Righteous Faction—no one dared to deny or question the words of the man known as Yugok Ipseon.
“If what you say is true… the situation is grave indeed.”
The current Alliance Leader sought confirmation one last time.
“I know it is hard to believe, but this is what this old man experienced personally. I hope you will act quickly. I have no wish to burden the Alliance or its leader, but the circumstances forced my hand. For that, I apologize.”
As Jang Do-cheon bowed his head in apology, every martial artist in the room, including the Alliance Leader, stood up abruptly and offered a respectful fist-and-palm salute.
“P-Please, do not do this!”
In terms of seniority, Jang Do-cheon was a peer to the current Alliance Leader’s great-grandmaster.
“Immediately incorporate all martial units into a subjugation force. Scour the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk and begin the purge…”
As the Alliance Leader hesitated on the next step, the strategist standing beside him spoke up.
“It would be wise to inform the Unorthodox Alliance and the Three Stars as well, and request their cooperation.”
“Ah, yes. Do so.”
Jang Do-cheon interjected once more.
“Do not worry about the Unorthodox Alliance; they have likely already been notified. Jindok Valley has made its move.”
“I-Is that so? Then we shall contact the Three Stars immediately to request their aid.”
The strategist responded quickly to the Leader’s command. “I shall send messengers to Sagang Province, Hwaryeong Fortress, and the Ice Empress Castle.”
This was the decisive moment when the existence of Cloyd was officially revealed to the world of Murim. Only two hours after Jang Do-cheon’s arrival, ten thousand warriors of the Murim Alliance set out for the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk.
Furthermore, messenger pigeons were dispatched to sects across the land. Throughout the entire Murim, martial artists were rising to hunt down the 'Players' in the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk.
*
“L-Lord… what did you just say?”
Ju Chil-bong, the Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance (Saryeon), couldn't believe his ears. He was speaking to the Master of Jindok Valley, an uncle-figure and distant relative.
“I said the commoners of the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk are being slaughtered even as we speak. There is no time for long explanations. We must move.”
“Ahem! Everyone, out. I wish to speak with the Valley Master in private.”
At Ju Chil-bong’s command, the executives of the Unorthodox Alliance filed out.
“Uncle! What is the meaning of this?”
Ju Chil-bong felt a tightening in his chest as he looked at the man who had suddenly appeared with such nonsensical claims. Ever since helping him rise to the position of Alliance Leader, the Valley Master had never spoken to him so informally in an official capacity. Ju Chil-bong searched for some hidden motive.
“Chil-bong. There is no ulterior motive. There is not a single lie in my words. This is no ordinary matter!”
“Is this about Lingwei? I heard rumors she married into some nameless family… but that wasn't my fault!”
“You brat! It’s not about that! I don’t fully understand what kind of game this is either. But everything that is happening is real. Why would I make up a lie that will be exposed so soon unless I’ve gone senile?!”
Ju Chil-bong’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Uncle, the balance of power between the Three Stars and the Murim Alliance has been unstable lately. How can I move the martial units protecting the Alliance at a time like this? It might be misunderstood as us starting a war in the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk.”
“The Murim Alliance has likely already begun to move. Yugok Ipseon will have acted. We have no time to worry about petty squabbles. If the casualties among the commoners continue to rise…”
Ju Chil-bong grew even more conflicted. He could sense the genuine urgency in the man’s voice; this wasn't some ploy to undermine him.
Has he really gone senile…
As he was thinking this, a voice came from outside the door.
“Father, I have something to say.”
It was the voice of Ju Chil-bong’s youngest son.
“Sa-bok. Later…”
Slide!
Despite not being given permission, the youngest son entered the room. Anger flared in Ju Chil-bong’s eyes. But before he could speak, his son spoke first.
“I have heard the situation from the Seventh Pillar. I have taken the liberty of coming here to confirm that everything the Grand-Uncle says is true.”
'Grand-Uncle' was the affectionate term he used for the Master of Jindok Valley. Before the bewildered Ju Chil-bong could speak, Ju Sa-bok began to recount his experiences in Cloyd. When he revealed his Subspace Ring, an impossible artifact, Ju Chil-bong had no choice but to believe his son’s words.
“S-So, the reason your martial prowess improved so suddenly was…”
“It was all thanks to the elixirs I obtained as items there.”
“Heh! Well, I’ll be…”
“Chil-bong. There is no time. The foundation of the Unorthodox Faction lies in coexistence with the commoners. No matter how we dress it up, we must never forget that our roots are there.”
“I know…”
Following his heavy response, the Unorthodox Alliance mobilized eight thousand warriors and dispatched them to the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk.
With two of the largest organizations in Murim—the Murim Alliance and the Unorthodox Alliance—sending their main forces to the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk, rumors were bound to spread. The news spread as if it had wings.
By the time the rumors reached every corner of the land, the remaining two 'Stars' also dispatched their warriors. In particular, the appearance of the Fire-Ice Squad from the Ice Empress Castle—a sect composed entirely of women—marked their first foray into the world in thirty years.
Tens of thousands of martial artists converged on the Eight Provinces of Gangbuk to hunt down the players.
*
[Ding! Major Monsters have appeared.]
The sudden notification caused Seoun and his team, who were in the middle of a battle with enemy players, to narrow their eyes.
[Boss Monster: Murim Alliance Leader Di Wuqiang. Rewards for a successful hunt: 500 Blue Coins, Lightning Mind Technique, and Divine Sword of Fire Spirit.]
[Buff Monster: Saryeon Leader Ju Chil-bong. Rewards for a successful hunt: 500 Blue Coins, God-Sealing Flowing Water Art, and a special 100-day buff.]
[Epic Monster: Heavenly Demon, Leader of the Sun and Moon Divine Cult. Rewards for a successful hunt: Sun and Moon Divine Art and Immortal Spirit Pill.]
Crunch!
Nam Sa-gwang, having just crushed the head of the last enemy, looked at Seoun with a grim expression.
“What does this mean?”
Seoun, his face equally dark, replied.
“It means those three are interfering with the Operator’s intentions.”