Chapter 59: Betrayal (1)

As soon as the game started, each streamer’s faction was decided.

The Iron Quadrangle.

Designed for the special mode , this mode was created.

Four factions, each consisting of 50 players, would fight over 21 strongholds located in the center of the map.

This was not a game that could be won by skill alone.

The mode name .

In the end, the core of this game was-.

“It’s all about sowing discord, backstabbing, and timing.”

It was not a game that could be won by skill alone.

No matter how skilled the team was, there was no match for a coordinated attack.

As soon as the game started, I called the boss over.

Then, the boss, adorned with various medals on his chest, approached me.

“Chan-sik.”

“Boss… were you a ranker? Wow, your rank is…”

Next to the boss’s ID was the number 122.

It meant he was ranked 122nd in the competitive ranking.

Viewers were shocked to see this.

– More of a veteran than the North Korean gamer last time ㅋㅋ

– Look at the boss’s physique. Doesn’t he look like he was in the special forces?

–

– Crazy.

– If he charges with that physique, the opponents will probably wet themselves and fail to shoot properly.

The viewers were making a fuss, but-.

“Haha! There’s not much to do as a capsule room boss. Occasionally, I have to deal with troublesome customers. The rest is handled by my employees or my daughter.”

“Troublesome customers?”

“Sometimes, people play games while drunk. Some even try to hit on my daughter, so I handle those situations.”

Gulp.

Hearing that made my hands sweat for some reason.

No, that’s not the important thing right now.

I looked at the boss and spoke.

“Boss, it’s your first time in the Pandemonium mode too, right?”

“Yes. I watched some foreign gamers play it yesterday. The most important point is the first stronghold in the center.”

He said that while summoning a tactical map using the map function in the air.

The first stronghold.

Located in the center, it had a machine gun nest, the only heavy weapon in this game.

The boss started explaining skillfully.

“World of Battles originally includes airplanes and other strategic weapons, but in this mode, that machine gun nest is the end of it.”

“If we take that place, we’ll be attacked from all sides.”

“Exactly. But it’s a place that must be captured to move to other areas.”

Seeing him explain so skillfully, it was clear he was very experienced.

Moreover, since he even previewed it last night, he seemed to have a deep affection for this game.

I smiled brightly and asked the boss.

“What should we do?”

I had also studied this mode, particularly the .

The boss shrugged and replied to my question.

“That’s for you to decide, Chan-sik.”

Our starting point was north of the first stronghold.

To the east was Jin-hyuk, to the west was Dong-su hyung, and to the south was Sharaout.

Where we started didn’t matter.

“Let’s quickly capture the five strongholds in the north and then think about it.”

“You don’t plan to advance directly to the first stronghold?”

“If our team members were skilled, we might consider it, but…”

I said that while pointing at the viewers playing enthusiastically in front of us.

Only 10 out of 50 users were above level 10.

The remaining 40 users were newbies who hadn’t even reached level 10.

Including myself, of course.

“I don’t think our friends are particularly skilled.”

“I agree.”

“Which faction will take the lead early on?”

I expected Sharaout, the FPS veteran.

But the boss shook his head and replied.

“In a game with 50 people, hierarchy and command are always crucial. From what I heard, Sharaout also selected 49 members randomly like us. This is not a game you can win alone.”

Where did he hear that from?

Although Sharaout’s team was also randomly selected, most of them turned out to be experienced FPS players.

My viewers had kindly informed me earlier.

– Shouldn’t we form an alliance?

– Just quickly capture the first stronghold and spam the machine gun.

– First, form a coalition with Sharaout.

– Isn’t Sharaout the most dangerous?

– Yep.

The boss concluded his words, looking at me.

“I think Jin-hyuk or Streamer Kan will aim for the first stronghold.”

Dong-su hyung’s team was composed entirely of active military personnel, right?

Maybe because he had more viewers who were older.

I lightly nodded at the boss’s prediction.

An alliance was essential in this game.

It was a situation where everyone had to check each other.

Especially to capture and hold the most important first stronghold, it was better for two teams to unite.

“Let’s capture the northern strongholds first and then decide. Boss, can you divide into four squads and capture them? We will take one ourselves.”

“Sounds good.”

The boss, more experienced than I, handled this well.

He selected four users who frequently played World of Battles from our team, appointed them as squad leaders, and sent them to the northern strongholds.

Four squads, each consisting of 11 members, were formed, leaving six people, including the boss, Haechul hyung, and me, at the base.

Of course.

“Krrr.”

“Being with Our Evil!”

“Instead, let’s at least be bullet shields, heh heh.”

The other three members were public service workers.

Even the boss judged that these three wouldn’t be of much help.

I looked at the three public service workers and said,

“Hey, why didn’t you guys customize your characters?”

They had entered the game with their massive physiques intact.

Most FPS games support customization, but these three hadn’t used that feature.

In response, the three public service workers grinned and said,n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Customization?”

“Not a chance!”

“Heh heh, that’s too luxurious for us!”

“You three have become soulmates. It’s a heartwarming sight.”

“We all play Dungeon and Warrior. We bonded over game talk.”

– Hardcore game indeed ㅋㅋㅋ

– LOL

– Crazy guys.

– Today’s hilarious supporting characters are those three. No objections, right? LOL

– The average viewer ㅋㅋㅋ

Dealing with them would probably make me die of stress.

I left them to play by themselves and turned to Haechul hyung.

Haechul hyung was holding a gun, looking slightly excited.

A person who didn’t need customization.

Haechul hyung’s character looked just like him.

He hadn’t customized his character either, but the vibe he gave off was just like an active-duty soldier.

I sighed and asked Haechul hyung,

“Hyung, why are you so happy?”

Haechul hyung smiled and replied,

“Ah! It’s my first time playing with a gun like this.”

“…Didn’t you say you liked World of Battles?”

“I liked watching your streams. Wow, this feels so real. I’ve never done anything tactical like this because I’m a public service worker. This is exciting.”

…Damn.

It wasn’t just the three public service workers.

There were four of them.

Could I really rub my butt on Sharaout’s face in this game?

[10 minutes until the first elimination is decided!]

[Your team has captured N-1.]

[Your team has captured N-2…]

While I was worrying, our team successfully captured the northern strongholds.

So far, there had been no encounters with the enemy.

The game progressed in silence, like the calm before the storm.

2.

Our company gathered at N-4, the stronghold closest to the central 1 stronghold.

Since there had been no battles, there were no casualties.

As soon as everyone gathered, the boss said,

“Set this place as your respawn area.”

Capturing a stronghold allowed it to be set as a respawn point.

In this mode, all strongholds except the central 1 stronghold could be set as respawn points.

Following the boss’s instructions, the rest of the company set their respawn points.

The other teams were likely doing the same.

The time for the real battle was approaching.

Just then, a whisper came from Dong-su hyung as if he had been waiting.

– It has begun?

– Kan-Sharaout alliance?

– LOL, don’t be fooled. Kan is currently doing octopus diplomacy.

– Breaking news: Kan and Sharaout form an alliance.

– He’s just trying to trick you.

– Kan navy indeed.

The viewers’ chat was practically a cheat code.

But Dong-su hyung would have anticipated this situation too.

Alliances between Korean teams had to be wary of internal informants.

I responded smoothly to Dong-su hyung’s whisper.

“Yes, hyung.”

“Hyung?”

I thought this game was about physical skills, but it turned out to be a psychological game?

The game mode and concept were exactly the same.

Pandemonium.

A place where plots and schemes never end.

Good.

Let’s play along with Dong-su hyung’s plan.

“Where should our forces rendezvous?”

“Got it.”

Appealing to nationalism to persuade me?

Dong-su hyung hurriedly ended the communication.

“What did he say?”

The boss asked, and I replied with a smirk.

“He suggested an alliance. I accepted. You know?”

“Yes.”

The boss and I had discussed this before the game started.

It was true that our team’s overall skill level was lower than the others.

Since we picked randomly.

But we had one special weapon that the other teams didn’t.

A very special weapon.

In this kind of game, no company would be stronger than us.

As soon as our conversation with Dong-su hyung ended, we left only the 1st squad at the N-4 stronghold and headed straight for the central stronghold.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!

A battle was already taking place on the east side of the central stronghold.

From the sounds, it seemed like Jin-hyuk’s company and Sharaout’s company were engaged in combat.

In the meantime, we quickly began capturing the stronghold, and before long, it fell into our hands.

[You have captured Central Stronghold 1!]

[Four machine gun nests are activated.]

[You can view the surroundings of the stronghold through installed cameras!]

The importance of the central stronghold in this game wasn’t just because of the machine gun nests.

It also allowed visibility over the various bypass routes formed around the central stronghold.

In other words, it meant we could easily monitor enemy movements.

As our team captured the central stronghold without any resistance, numerous hooks from the viewers started flooding in.

– ???

– What’s this?

– We captured the stronghold so easily?

– What???

– This isn’t what Kan had planned, is it?

While the viewers were constantly typing hooks, I looked at the boss and said,

“You know, right?”

“Yes, I’ll take one squad with me.”

With that, the boss took one squad and left the stronghold.

Soon after, Dong-su hyung’s forces arrived at the stronghold we had captured.

Dong-su hyung was even camouflaged with frog cream.

As soon as he arrived, he opened his arms and looked at me.

“My brother! I never thought you’d trust me this much, haha. Other teams probably didn’t expect us to contact each other through Haechul hyung.”

At those words, Haechul hyung, who was beside me, scratched his head awkwardly and smiled.

The unique weapon our team possessed.

It was the connection we had with the other teams, except for Sharaout’s team.

If streamers communicated directly, there was a high chance their strategies would be exposed.

Of course, they could temporarily stop their broadcasts and contact each other via internet calls.

But if two streamers stopped broadcasting at the same time?

Wouldn’t it be obvious?

However, our team had two people who had connections with the leaders of the other teams.

Boss, who was close to Jin-hyuk.

Haechul hyung, who was close to Dong-su hyung.

By using these two, we could talk behind the scenes over the phone.

It could be staged to look like an urgent call.

Thus, Haechul hyung had already conveyed enough information to Dong-su hyung.

“Jin-hyuk’s team looks like they’re struggling. Should we help them first? Or should we loot Sharaout’s empty base?”

“Oh, I like looting empty bases, hyung.”

“Alright, then let’s abandon Jin-hyuk and loot Sharaout’s empty base. We’ll split the stronghold… hold on a minute.”

[Kan’s company’s E-4 stronghold is under attack!]

[Kan’s company’s E-4 stronghold has been captured by Jin’s company and Sha’s company.]

The sudden news echoed loudly.

With the system message filling my view, Dong-su hyung’s face twisted grotesquely.

Haechul hyung, standing next to me, spoke awkwardly to Dong-su hyung.

“Sorry, Dong-su.”

“…Haechul hyung?”

Dong-su hyung, not understanding the situation.

I gave him a light smile.

“Hyung, I said I like looting empty bases.”

“That base…”

“Of course, it’s your base, hyung. You know I love you, right?”

“You, you!”

I never said whose empty base I would loot.

Dong-su hyung.

I’m always grateful to you, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t do this to you…

“It’s for the stream, hyung… you’ll understand, right?”

Someday, I’ll kneel and apologize sincerely to Dong-su hyung.

But not today, hyung.

“Kim Chan-siiiiik!”

With Dong-su hyung’s desperate cry, his forces, losing their retreat, began to charge towards our stronghold.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!

With the sound of gunfire filled with emotions, our company’s first battle began.