Chapter 177: Chapter 177

In the Warrior’s Sanctuary.

Verd watched from afar as the outsiders poured in like a flood.

‘So many of them are coming.’

And beside him stood his teacher, Liandor.

“Teacher, why are you here?”

“Don’t even ask… With all these outsiders flooding in… I can’t even get a moment’s rest.”

There was only one dungeon, and the number of outsiders trying to clear it was enough to form a long queue, so the entire city was literally saturated.

As a result, there were also quite a few users roaming the City of Warriors, taking on small quests.

“Don’t you have multiple residences, Teacher?”

“Those guys are roaming all over the City of Warriors. Where am I supposed to rest?”

“Really?”

“Tsk, it’s all because that guy discovered the dungeon. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have to evacuate to the Sanctuary.”

The reason the City of Warriors was so hot right now was because Hoon had discovered the dungeon.

“But it’s strange, isn’t it? How did the information leak out so that so many people are flocking here?”

“It’s obvious that guy leaked it.”

“Is it even possible to spread it to so many people in such a short time?”

“Outsiders are far beyond our expectations. What’s so impossible about it?”

“…That’s true. By the way, have you heard the news about the City of Archer?”

“Yes.”

Recently, an incident occurred in the City of Archer.

It was an assassination attempt on the ruler.

The reason Altair hadn’t opened his eyes for three months was because of a cursed herb called the Sleeping Rose.

And the spy they caught was executed on the execution platform, while the one who colluded with him was currently imprisoned in the underground prison.

“It seems like war is going to break out.”

“Probably. They tried to assassinate the leader, so it’s an issue they can’t just overlook. Markus, that damn bastard, shouldn’t have become the leader.”

“What should we do?”

“What do you mean, what should we do?”

“A war breaking out means the balance of power could be disrupted. That’s why we’ve been trying to avoid war until now.”

“Hmm.”

If that happened, the other cities would be in trouble.

If the balance of power was broken, the side with the superior strength would naturally consume the remaining cities.

“If war breaks out, we won’t just stand by and watch.”

“You’re the leader of this city. You need to make the right judgment.”

“Yes.”

Just then, Hagus, who was supposed to be on guard at the city entrance, appeared in the Sanctuary.

He looked around and then ran towards Verd.

“Leader!”

“What’s the rush?”

“Please take a look at this.”

He was holding a bundle of documents in his hand.

“Hmm?”

Verd took the documents and quickly read through them.

But as time passed, his expression grew increasingly serious.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

Liandor asked curiously.

“Please read it.”

Verd handed him the document.

“Hmm? It’s from the City of Archer.”

The City of Warriors and the City of Archer had a very poor relationship.

It was to the point where a war could break out at any moment.

And yet, the City of Archer had sent a message addressed to Verd, the leader of the City of Warriors.

“Yes. They came to us at the entrance and asked us to deliver it directly.”

“Really?”

The document started by explaining that they had no intention of going to war with the City of Warriors.

Next was about the Rogue City.

It detailed all of Markus’s atrocities.

“In short, it means they won’t let Markus get away with it.”

“But I wonder if this is okay. If they declare war like this, they’ll have time to prepare countermeasures.”

How confident were they to openly declare war instead of launching a surprise attack?

“Archers specialize in long-range combat but are very weak in close combat. On the other hand, those rogues excel in mobility and close combat. They’re also known for their stealth.”

They were completely opposite.

To launch a surprise attack against rogues, they needed to move as stealthily as possible.

“They’ve eliminated any remaining chance of victory we had.”

“Yes, I agree.”

The rogues were experts in ambushes and assassinations.

The possibility of the City of Archer assassinating Markus was zero.

“Will you take action?”

Verd shook his head.

“Not yet.”

For now, he would observe the situation.

***

“War?”

“Uh… I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

Ha-Jin and Kim Bong-Goo expressed their disapproval.

“You can refuse if you want.”

“…”

“But I’ll share the items from this key.”

“…Really?”

Jeong-Hoon nodded.

“Yes. That’s why I called you here in the first place.”

“Aha.”

“But who is this person next to you?”

Kim Bong-Goo had never met Jeong-Hoon’s mother before.

They were complete strangers.

“She’s my mother.”

“Your… who?”

“My mother. Aren’t you going to greet her?”

“Gasp! Hello, Auntie!”

His mother nodded awkwardly with a smile.

“Hello. What’s your relationship with my Hoon?”

“He’s the brother I respect the most in the world!”

His mother nodded silently.

She probably didn’t have a good impression of him because of his nickname.

“He’s a good kid.”

Jeong-Hoon said with a smile.

Then he signaled Kim Bong-Goo.

Kim Bong-Goo’s eyes wavered for a moment, but then he smiled brightly and made a motion of grabbing a steering wheel.

“Vroom vroom! I’m the Bong-Goo truck with amazing ride quality that can comfortably take you anywhere, even Auntie!”

“Ride quality?”

“Haha! It’s a joke! It was supposed to be ‘getting off’ quality!”

“You need to change your nickname.”

“If I could, I would have changed it a long time ago…”

Unlike other games, once a nickname was set in New World, it couldn’t be changed.

Kim Bong-Goo had just chosen his nickname as a joke, but seeing people’s negative reactions made him feel quite embarrassed.

“Then make sure I don’t see that nickname. If I do, you’re dead.”

“Excuse me…?”

Kim Bong-Goo was startled.

How could he hide his nickname?

But if he ignored Jeong-Hoon’s order, he would surely die.

“Just kidding. Why are you so surprised?”

“…Ahaha.”

“Anyway, about the war, our goal is to eliminate Markus von Banestar, the leader of the Rogue City.”

“Eliminate an NPC…?”

Jeong-Hoon nodded.

“W-wait a minute! How can we possibly take down the leader?”

Ha-Jin objected, and Kim Bong-Goo nodded in agreement.

“No matter how amazing you are, brother, their numbers will be overwhelming…”

There was a reason for the saying, “There’s no fighting against overwhelming numbers.”

If they were determined, even Jeong-Hoon wouldn’t be able to withstand them.

“Who said it’s just us?”

“Huh? Who else is coming?”

Yeo Min-Ji had returned to the guild after completing the admission process.

So there were a total of four of them left.

“My subscribers.”

“What…?”

“I posted something on the community before coming here.”

“A post?”

“Yes. We should start seeing some reactions soon.”

***

‘I’m planning to hold a subscriber event.’

A few hours ago, Jang Dae-Hwi had received a message from Jeong-Hoon saying he wanted to hold an event.

‘What kind of event?’

There were various types of events.

Prize draws.

Comment events.

Fan meetings, and so on.

They were held as a way to thank subscribers.

The number of subscribers to HoneyTube had already surpassed 2.8 million.

In fact, it was quite late to be holding an event.

But the content of the event was far beyond Jang Dae-Hwi’s expectations.

‘War.’

‘Huh…?’

Jang Dae-Hwi asked back in a dazed voice.

‘I’m going to use the war content to give away 200,000 gold.’

’20, 200,000 gold…? Hey, 200,000 gold is 2 billion won. 2 billion!’

‘Yes, that’s right.’

‘…’

‘Anyway, I’ll write a post on the community.’

Where did he even get that kind of money…?

Oh, right.

He was the guy raking in money from the Enhancement Exchange.

Jang Dae-Hwi checked the post on the community.

[Dear HoneyTube subscribers.]

– HoneyTube has already surpassed 2 million subscribers and is approaching 3 million.

Although it’s a bit late, we’re going to hold a subscriber event.

The event is simple.

Soon, a war will break out between the City of Archer and the Rogue City.

And you, the subscribers, will join the City of Archer and cut off the head of Markus von Banestar, the leader of the Rogue City.

We will select the subscriber with the highest contribution and award them 100,000 gold.

Are you disappointed that there’s only one winner?

No worries, we’ll also reward the 2nd and 3rd place winners.

They will receive 70,000 gold and 30,000 gold, respectively.

– The event starts now, as soon as this post is uploaded.

– Participation is limited to levels 201-299.

– This event is limited to the South Korean server.

After the post was uploaded, comments started appearing one by one as he refreshed the page.

└ Huh?

└ What kind of bizarre event is this?

└ War? Is it a siege?

└ Wow… 100,000 gold is so tempting

└ Crazy, he’s giving away 2 billion won at once?

└ Is there nothing from 4th place onwards? That’s ruthless lol

└ Ah… Damn, I can’t participate in the event if I’m not level 201.

└ Ugh… I’m level 189, this is so frustrating

“Wow… The comments are insane.”

In less than a minute, over 200 comments were posted.

It showed how many people were interested in HoneyTube.

“But how did he know that this war would happen?”

It was truly puzzling.

└ How does he know there’s going to be a war?

└ It’s strange lol

Quite a few subscribers shared the same thought.

But that wasn’t important.

It was an event with a whopping 200,000 gold at stake.

***

Meanwhile.

In the Rogue City.

Markus von Banestar scoffed at Altair’s actions.

“Puhahaha, that senile old man. What’s the point of realizing it now? Nothing’s going to change.”

Markus von Banestar.

He was the one who seized the vacant leadership position after the sudden death of the previous leader, Rasak von Banestar.

His first goal as the leader was to bring down the City of Archer.

‘Take Irina and install a puppet ruler in the City of Archer. What a beautiful plan.’

Seven years ago, at a conference he attended on behalf of the previous leader, Rasak, he met his destined partner.

A young girl, still years away from adulthood.

The girl clung to Altair von Askenstone’s side, never leaving him.

Markus couldn’t take his eyes off her, and the content of the conference didn’t register in his mind.

He waited for the girl to come of age, and now he was planning to welcome her, celebrating the downfall of the City of Archer.

But the plan had gone wrong from the very beginning.

He never dreamed that Altair would wake up.

‘Hudin, you dare betray me?’

He had trained them harshly since they were young, and only the most elite agents could become the leader’s Shadow.

And yet, that guy chose betrayal over suicide.

He would never forgive him.

“Leader! I have an urgent report.”

A rogue entered the leader’s residence and knelt on one knee.

Markus tilted his head in confusion.

“A report?”

“Yes! The City of Archer has started to move.”

“…Already?”

He was a bit flustered.

What made them so confident to move so openly?

“That’s not all. Outsiders are flocking to the City of Archer!”

“Outsiders?”

“Yes! It seems they intend to help the City of Archer.”

Markus let out a hollow laugh.

The numerous outsiders who entered and exited the city.

They came to his city to level up through quests.

The fact that these outsiders were stepping up to help the City of Archer meant that they were given quests related to the war.

Altair, you cowardly bastard.

You dare involve outsiders in a war between cities?

Bam!

Markus slammed his fist on the table in anger.

“Come out now.”

At his words, nearly twenty Shadows appeared.

“Yes. You called for us?”

Nell, the leader of the Shadows, bowed respectfully.

“This is an order. Head to the City of Archer immediately and bring me the heads of Altair and Hudin, by any means necessary.”

The targets were Altair and the traitor, Hudin.

“Yes.”

As the order was given, the Shadows vanished instantly.

———