-Donât lie.
-It is fishing. Go somewhere else to do that.
-It isnât a lie. It really dropped.
-Canât you look at the other big guilds? It isnât just one or two rankers who received the quest. ã ã ã ã ã
-Really? The Lu Kuan Guild is really messed up... This is definitely a character deletion.
The viewers continued chatting even when Hyeonu remained silent out of surprise at the news.
-By the way, why isnât Alley Leader saying anything?
-Did he meet with the emperor before the live stream? Otherwise, there is no way a kill order would come out.
-Right. The live stream shows only the East Continent. It seems he plans to unveil the West Continent later on A-World.
-Then his design collapsed, so he is having a mental breakdown?
-The emperor is magnanimous. He just gave a killing order right away.
The viewers had all types of speculations when they saw that Hyeonu was silent.
âI didnât meet with him...â
It was just that none of their guesses were right. Hyeonuâs first meeting was with the emperor of the East Continent. In fact, it would be ridiculous to meet the emperor of Yusma first.
âThings happened on the East Continent. It is stupid to issue a kill order on the West Continent...â
Of course, there was a possibility that the Lu Kuan Guild would flee from the East Continent to the West Continent. However, even assuming that, it was right to come up with a solution first in the East Continent where the incident happened.
âI have to pass over it for now.â
âThe kill order has already been issued. It is indeed fast. Everyone knows how trusted I am, right? I am such a person. A very scary person.â Hyeonu started to speak with a natural smile. There were no signs of embarrassment at all on Hyeonuâs face.
âThen the Lu Kuan Guild has lost its footing on both the East and West Continents. The city they have taken as a territory will be recovered. They wonât be able to access any city, and they will have to doubt that any player they meet will be aiming for the bounty around their necks.â
Hyeonu continued to smile. He kept smiling and talking even when it wasnât something to smile about.
-I have goosebumps.
-With a simple smile, he blew up a mid-sized guild that was on the verge of becoming a large guild.
-It isnât blown up. Itâs deletion...
-Lu Kuan must first disband the guild before thinking about what to do.
-Still, the kill order will remain even if they disband, right? At that level, it is aiming for them individually.
-So they have to quit and start again...
The viewers couldnât help getting goosebumps at Hyeonuâs cold behavior. They realized again that the person who acted like a fool in front of them was actually so cold-hearted at times. It reminded them of the events when the name Alley Leader was born. He had smashed a few guilds and mercilessly stepped on those who challenged him. The process was terrifyingly sharp.
Hyeonu moved boldly without hesitation.
âI will end the unpleasant story here. It isnât a good thing in many ways. From now on, as a surprise event, we will enter the Alley Leader A-World Channel and I will send items randomly.â
Hyeonu smiled brightly and erased the image the viewers just saw in their minds. He was once again imprinted in their heads as a light-hearted man.
***
After the live stream, Hyeonu naturally pulled a return scroll from his inventory and tore it. Hyeonu disappeared and reappeared in Yusma, the capital of the Yusma Empire.
âI need to meet the emperor.â
He wasnât very flustered because something like this had already happened before. Even so, he needed to know how things were flowing. He had to formally thank the emperor. He didnât know what the emperor intended to do, but the emperor helped Hyeonu as a result of it. Naturally, Hyeonu had to show his gratitude for that.
âYour Majesty, can I come in?â Hyeonu stood in front of the great hall of the emperorâs palace and announced his appearance to the emperor.
âCome in,â a voice filled with boredom rang out from inside.
Anyone could tell it was the emperorâs voice. Hyeonu entered the great hall cautiously. He tensed up and hardened his expression.
âI greet Your Majesty.â Hyeonu carefully bowed toward the throne where the emperor was sitting.
âRaise your head. Iâm not on the ground. Why are you only looking at the ground?â
At the emperorâs words, Hyeonu hurriedly raised his head and looked at the emperor.
âYou came because of the kill order? Otherwise, there is no way the marquis would come to the imperial palace voluntarily.â The emperor came out strongly from the beginning. He immediately threw a fastball at Hyeonu.
âWhy from the beginning?â Hyeonu let out a few small coughs at the heavy verbal strike that hit his solar plexus.
Then he spoke to the emperor with a slight smile on his face, âYour Majesty... you judged me as such a person...? I must do better in the future.â
Hyeonu repeatedly thought, âAm I crazy?'
However, it only echoed in his mind.
âReally? Then Iâm looking forward to seeing how often you come to visit. I believe in you, Marquis. You will stick to your words no matter what.â The emperor had a much deeper smile than the one on Hyeonuâs face.
âI was fooled.â Hyeonu realized that he had fallen into the trap that the emperor had dug. It was just that this realization came too late. The emperorâs trap was like a swamp. It was over the moment he stepped into it.
[A quest has been created.]
[Meet the Emperor]
[Periodically visit the emperor as you have sworn to him.
Rating: F
Conditions: Meet the emperor once every 10 days 0/1.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Rewards: Experience, progress to the next quest.]
âWhat is this...?â Hyeonu frowned slightly when he saw the quest window in front of him. He wouldâve cursed several times if he wasnât in front of the emperor.
âYou are stating the obvious. I am even more flustered. Of course, I should visit Your Majesty often.â Hyeonu spoke words with an amount of sincerity that wasnât even as big as an ant.
âIâm looking forward to it.â The emperorâs gaze was fixed on Hyeonuâs eyes.
Hyeonu continued to smile awkwardly. Then he recalled why he came to meet the emperor.
âThe kill order... Thank you. Your Majesty is thinking of me.â Hyeonu bowed politely.
âOf course, I should take care of it. You have shown a lot of loyalty toward me and the empire. There is no loyalty without payment. No, even if there is, it wonât be eternal. Marquis, I want you to keep that in mind.â The emperor waved his hand at Hyeonu and gave light advice.
It was about the art of using people well.
âI will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.â Hyeonu bowed again.
âIt is okay to talk like this.â
The emperorâs advice was useful for human relationships. There had to be a clear exchange unless they were blind relationships like a parent and child or friends. This would allow the relationship to continue without becoming twisted.
âWhen will they arrive in Phinis?â The emperor followed up with a question.
âIt hasnât been decided yet. I donât think I can bring them as I like... It seems the exodus will begin only when all the people moving from the different speciesâ side are gathered,â Hyeonu replied. It was a simple question, so it was easy to answer. He just stated the facts.
âIs that so? I hope it doesnât take too long.â
âI will try my best.â
âThere is no need to overdo it. It is just that accidents wonât happen within the empire.â
Hyeonu was confused about how to react to the emperorâs words, which seemed to go back and forth.
âWhat rhythm should I follow?â
âI understand, Your Majesty.â
Even so, he gave the same answer like he was a parrot.
âBy the way, donât I have to explain about the kill order?â The emperor smiled at Hyeonuâs answer and changed the topic of the conversation to something that Hyeonu might be wondering about.
Hyeonu shook his head and answered, âNo, Your Majesty. How can I wonder about such a thing?â
He didnât have to come here to know this. The important thing was that the emperorâs eyes and ears had already reached deep into the East Continent.
âIs that so? Then I can move on. You donât need to know this now. You will naturally find out over time...â The emperorâs voice gradually lowered in volume. The last word wasnât heard by Hyeonu at all.
âThen letâs stop here. Isnât it time for the marquis to be busy?â
Hyeonu was about to say something to the emperor when the emperor issued an order to Hyeonu.
âI will see you again, Your Majesty.â Hyeonu immediately escaped from the emperorâs palace.
***
In the cold glacier zone in the northern part of the West Continent, there was a huge mountain. To be precise, it wasnât a mountain but a mountain range. Mountains of snow and ice that seemed like they would never melt were gathered in a row. Right now, there were people climbing it.
âWhere are we supposed to go? Is the map right?â A woman in a priestâs uniform that was as white as the mountain spoke in a sharp voice filled with annoyance. The others didnât speak, but they didnât look good either.
âIt is right. The map isnât right,â Kalen dismissed Roseâs complaints lightly. The map was accurate. There was nothing wrong.
âThe problem is that it is an old map, so it seems to be different from the current domain. Just be patient for a bit more. Weâre almost there,â Kalen comforted the other guild members. Now it was really in front of them. The rewards for completing the quest would become the foundation for them as they moved forward. They had to get it, even if it meant struggling like this.
âThen we should be patient. It is impossible to go back now.â Crimson, the man with the giant body, nodded.
There was no turning back for them. They had to keep going forward.
âYes, Iâm the only one impatient.â Rose smiled sarcastically.
Crimson didnât miss this and teased Rose, âDonât be too hard on yourself. What can you do when you are born like this?â
âWhat?!â
âStop it. There is no time to waste.â Kalen quickly sorted things out.
There was no time for them to bicker. The destination was right in front of them.
âLetâs go.â Crimson picked up the coffin on the ground and prepared to move again. The Venom Guild ended their short break and hurriedly started moving. Footprints started to be engraved again on the snow mountain. They walked for another two or three hours. Then the Venom Guild found a giant ice altar. At the same time, there was a message window announcing the completion of the quest.
âLook here.â
âWhat should I do with the coffin?â
At Crimsonâs question, Kalen calmly instructed, âPut the coffin down on the altar,â
Only Kalen had received the quest, so he was the only one who knew how to move from here.
âI understand.â Crimson placed the coffin on the ice altar as Kalen instructed.
âOpen the lid of the coffin.â
Then he opened the coffin. After that, something amazing happened. White smoke rose from the ice altar and surrounded the coffin.
âWhat?â
âWhat is going on?â
The Venom Guild instinctively raised their arms and covered their eyes at the appearance of the tremendous amount of smoke. The smoke quickly subsided. In the midst of the disappearing smoke, a person emerged.
âWhere is this place? Why am I here? Definitely...â The identity of the person was an adult man.
The man groped his body like he couldnât believe this situation was happening.
âThe corpse lives.â
âIn fact, it wasnât a corpse. It was just asleep?â
âWhat happened?â
The Venom Guild members were in shock. It was because the manâs appearance was the same as the corpse lying in the coffin.
Kalen emerged from the shock and asked the man, âWhat is your identity?â
âWho are you? My name is Edward.â The man raised his head and looked at Kalen with a dignified expression.
âEdward?â Kalen cocked his head at the name that was somehow familiar.
âIt seems that thing on your shoulder isnât a decoration. You seem to know my name. Yes, I am Edward, the second imperial prince of the empire.â
The identity of the man was Edwardâthe leader of Alkyl and the final boss of the 5th main scenario. In addition, the identity of the man standing in front of the Venom Guild was the one who met his demise under Lebronâs bombardment.