Chapter 163

The equilibrium was shattered. It wasn't just the chat that exploded upon Seojin's revelation.

"That Anti-Mainstream was Blue Dragon all along?"

"His gaming style did seem familiar."

Kim Daegi, a reporter for the gaming community site Popple, casually responded to his team leader's question. Whether the claim was true or not wasn't the main concern.

"I'll try to get an interview. If we side with him and lend him a hand, he'll probably look favorably upon us."

"Use my device."

"If I succeed…"

"A hefty incentive. Get that interview, no matter what it takes."

Kim Daegi stood up from his seat. Just a few lines of an interview would garner more views than a month's worth of other articles. But he knew better than to just shove a microphone in someone's face.

'With some buffs, I can last a few minutes. Even against Ironblood.'

Fitting for a gaming community reporter, his Midgard character level was close to 170.

"Daegi!"

"Yes?"

"You can use all the company-provided items."

These items, like buff potions, were usually reserved for dungeon raids and required approval for use. With overwhelming support from his team leader, Kim Daegi logged into the game, heading for Valaran's capital to join Seojin's raiding party. Similar scenes unfolded at other community headquarters.

"I'm off!"

* * *

"Our team's going on a business trip! Keep sending idle people our way!"

Prominent reporters flocked to the game. Those who were working in-house on the battle between Seojin and Robert logged in, and those who were chasing minor news quickly took their seats at their launchers.

Meanwhile, the Valaran community was ablaze.

-Logging in. Be there soon.

-Really? Blue Dragon?

-For realsies, only Blue Dragon would know that

-Who's Blue Dragon, you nerds~~!!

-You play Midgard and don't know about Blue Dragon??

The excitement was incomparable to before. The speed of posts and comments was similar, but the content had shifted dramatically. Meaningless posts disappeared, replaced by discussions about Blue Dragon.

-Holy crap… I should've guessed Blue Dragon would be playing Midgard

-Didn't he just start? What's he been doing for a year?

-Thought he quit because of a reality check?

-Well, he reached the top and then vanished instantly.

Blue Dragon, who once actively enjoyed the game, disappeared without a trace. He had completed legendary quests, collected every obtainable item, and was celebrated by NPCs in every nation under the name Blue Dragon. Though many speculated, no one knew the real reason for his disappearance.

Now, with Seojin declaring himself as Blue Dragon, the reactions of players watching the broadcast between him and Robert had drastically changed.

-But Robert's reaction is hilarious LOL

-Isn't that admiration in his eyes? LOL

-What are Ironblood going to do now? Based on the forums, looks like everyone's logging in to join LOL

-Thinking of taking a half-day off work right now LOL

-If it's Blue Dragon, it's safe… The guy's got a lot of experience

Blue Dragon wasn't just anyone. He was a figure with no interest in kingdom management, or so they thought. However, if he did intervene in Valaran's management, things wouldn't get worse; they were likely to greatly improve. Blue Dragon's reputation carried that much assurance and trust among the gaming community.

Of course, there might have been rumors that people change, but hadn't Seojin proven himself time and time again? He had crafted and shared strategies for the most bizarre plays, and on Churai Island, he had shared numerous achievements with a multitude of players. Even the image, now visible beyond the camera, perfectly matched the vague yet imagined image of Blue Dragon by the players.

From this moment on, Seojin's only perceived weakness, his lack of experience, had vanished.

"What I'm doing now is a quest. Driving Ironblood out of the palace and reinstating the rightful heir to the throne. As you might know, such quests usually offer huge rewards and worthwhile achievements, right?"

After revealing himself as Blue Dragon and providing minimum proof, Seojin continued:

"I'll accept everyone who arrives within the next 30 minutes into the arty. Whether or not you've just reached level 100, or haven't completed the Tower of Qualification, it doesn't matter. As long as you can enter the capital, anyone's welcome. Oh, wait a moment."

Rachel, the knight leading the Royal Shadows, approached Seojin and handed him a thick scroll.

"Something interesting just came in. This is actually the key to this whole situation."

Viewers, who were about to log in, turned their attention back to the broadcast.

* * *

The Shadows of the royal family.

Before the battle really began, Seojin had assigned them a different task. Specializing in espionage, assassination, and intelligence extraction, these NPCs, fittingly named shadows, excelled in missions suited to their skills.

"Rachel, any casualties?"

"Only minor injuries."

"You've done well. What about the adventurers guarding the place?"

"We've dealt with them all."

As Robert rallied Ironblood' members across Valaran, their headquarters, needless to say, was emptied. That's where the elite of the elite were stationed, closest to the royal palace. During the battle, Rachel had thoroughly scoured through Robert's minimally guarded base.

"Thanks for your hard work. Report back to His Highness and focus on treating the injured. You know the location, right?"

"Yes." With a nod, Rachel vanished like a shadow.

'To think they would return so quickly… even it was empty.'

Satisfied, Seojin unrolled the scroll, finding more than he expected. The gravity of the situation was no joke.

Securing the royal palace, dealing with the nobles planted by Ironblood, and turning the founding king into an ally—while these steps were crucial, the real key lay in winning the players' support.

No matter how powerful Ironblood or the king is, they can't stop a horde of players attacking together.

Individually, these players might not pose a threat, and they seldom united. But given the right trigger? No matter how strong, a minority can never withstand the onslaught.

"Amazing, isn't it? I knew some of it, but to think that it was to this extent…"

-What's so amazing?

-Hurry up! I'm getting dizzy here!

-Show us quickly, we need to log in!

-What on earth is it, you're keeping us in suspense!

"This is…"

Seojin unrolled the scroll in front of the camera.

"… is from the headquarters of Ironblood. It contains all the lies and secrets they've been hiding. Some are against NPCs, but…"

Rolling up the scroll, Seojin stopped at a section labeled Operations at the Community.

"There are manipulations against users too?"

It detailed strategies to divert players from key rewards. The Ironbloods concealed major events, not hesitating to obliterate an entire base town if necessary. For example, Berne, which Seojin had revived, was among them. The loss of an early base town meant all potential rewards from it were gone.

"Even pushing inefficient items as valuable, and manipulating auction prices. Wow, I didn't think about the auction house. At this rate, there's no place in Valaran untouched by Ironblood, huh? No wonder Valaran was always overpowered by other countries."

Seojin casually revealed these shocking details. In Midgard, Valaran was a minor nation. The overall growth of its users was low, and even the NPCs weren't particularly strong. And now, Seojin laid bare the reasons for this weakness.

"And remember when Ironblood wrote about why Valaran is weaker than other nations? Something about its geographical location in Salevania, et cetera."

As soon as the fuse was lit, the bomb started a chain reaction. It wasn't just one or two things that Robert had spread around. The players, shocked, had more bombshells dropped on them.

"Ah, there's more. The NPC who allied with Ironblood this time, Duke Merrychild, was using black magic. It's rare for NPCs to become corrupted, but the demon he contracted was of legendary status."

That indicated a player's, or rather, Ironblood's intervention.

"But if the king uses black magic, the state of the nation… Wasn't there something about that in the back story written on the game's website? About kingdoms falling into ruin after the royalty dabbled in black magic."

Seojin's words, gently blaming Ironblood, were broadcast continuously. They were the kind of remarks that would infuriate the parties involved. Members of the coalition working hard in the community started to react.

-Isn't this too much fabrication? Is there any proof that scroll came from there?

-Just looking at how he tried to sway the founding king, it's clear he's a liar.

-Would Ironblood leave their base so defenseless? Even if empty, it wouldn't be that easy to break into.

"Sure, the shadow of the royal family being nearly level 200 made it possible, but this alone isn't enough evidence, right?"

Seojin needed one final blow, and he had prepared it long ago.

"In Darkin County, there's an old stable about 170 meters from the back gate. If you move the haystacks aside, there's a passage underground… Just search for 'Resistance Guild Member' right now!"

This seemingly out-of-context shout, however, captivated the audience. Seojin also brought up another broadcast on his screen.

The broadcast titled 'Resistance Guild Member' was set up in advance by Bigfoot. His position was that of a sniper. Through his zoomed-in view, the alliance members of Ironblood hurriedly escaping from the barn floor were clearly captured.

"They must have been in a hurry. Those are the alliance members of Ironblood I just mentioned. Keep following the camera, and if you're nearby, you can check it out yourself."

The players in the broadcast were visibly panicked, unable to make a decision. If someone were to arrive now, their affiliation with Ironblood would be unmistakably revealed. They couldn't log out yet, as there were still many secrets left unhandled.

"That's enough of that."

Seojin turned off the broadcast. He had poured fuel on the already piled-up kindling and tossed a lit match on top. It would now burn brightly on its own.

"Until the raid party is formed, shall we see how the strongest adventurer in Valaran fights?" Seojin shifted the focus to Robert's broadcast. It was enough to fill the brief content gap, as Robert was being relentlessly pummeled by King Sephiro in the broadcast.