Chapter 218

Shortly after Seojin began to make his move…

An additional event has occurred!

An additional event has occurred!

An additional event has occurred!

The players organized into the Camilton Empire raid faced a total of three additional events.

Additional Event: Breaching the Defense Line

*To stop the malicious horde, the pride of the Camilton Empire, the imperial guard, has mobilized! A massive force is needed to break through the wall. Either break through or avoid it.

*Remaining forces: 120,000

Additional Event: Protecting the Nobles

*The nobles of the Camilton Empire are in turmoil! Some have not lost their loyalty, and some are maintaining neutrality. However, there are many nobles who have joined hands with the adventurers!

*Protect the nobles. Justification is a critical element in war. A buff will be applied to all allies depending on the number of nobles protected.

Additional Event: The Sword of the Empire

*The emperor has drawn his sword. Duke Ferret, the empire’s finest swordsman, has been ordered to eliminate all adventurers on this land.

*You must be victorious. If the Sword of the Empire is not defeated, no one can reach the imperial palace.

*A special buff, Emperor’s Will, is applied to “Duke Ferret.”

*Duke Ferret’s attack power increases by 1000%!

*Duke Ferret’s defense power increases by 2000%!

*Duke Ferret’s skill effects increase by 1000%!

*Duke Ferret’s vision range…

The key was the last event.

Breaking through the line of defense and protecting the nobles were, in practice, actions already decided upon, event or no event.

But Duke Ferret?

The battle was expected, but the buffs listed below were something Seojin had not anticipated.

‘They said he was supposed to be similar to Fyod.’

That must be true. Their skills, in theory, wouldn’t differ much.

But what was Midgard, after all?

‘It’s a game. A game balanced out. Essentially a raid.’

Seojin recalled the battle with Fyod.

It wasn’t a hard battle, but what if his strength had increased tenfold?

‘It would have been a headache. We’d have been wiped out on the spot.’

His stats had been increased ten or twentyfold.

But what about his synergy effects?

Considering all these buffs, he would be an overwhelming force, unlike any boss the players had encountered before.

However.

‘That’s why it’s a raid. Raids are made to be conquered.’

It was a game, so such outrageous stats were possible, and it was a game, so those stats could be overcome.

Seojin maintained his strategy.

-Push through with force. No need to hold back. The quicker it ends, the better.

-Even if many die?

Seojin thought for a moment.

Once the operation began, Seojin wouldn’t have a moment to spare for the opposing raid.

Just facing the Sword of the Empire required 40,000 men.

If the plan worked, great, but if it failed.

-…if about 30,000 die, pull back a bit. No, pull back as far as you can. Increase the distance from the palace. If that happens, let me know.

‘Just in case’ wasn’t just a saying.

-What if that doesn’t happen?

-Keep sending in reinforcements as they arrive. Ten thousand is the limit. Protecting our NPCs is the top priority.

-A rare moment of weakness from you.

-It’s the first Midgard raid. I can’t be there myself. You can handle it, right?

-Absolutely. Shall we start?

-Remember. Try to minimize damage to the guards. Subduing is best, and avoiding casualties is not bad.

-If we must…

-That’s truly a last resort.

Victory was paramount in war, and Seojin suggested a compromise.

The rest was up to Merhen.

And to the players, filled with anticipation for their rewards.

“Cardinal Dalton.”

“Yes.”

A man beside Seojin bowed his head.

He bore a solemn demeanor, seemingly never smiling.

Luna’s Thirteenth Month.

Among them, the strongest, the Red Moon, Cardinal Dalton was that man.

“We might all die in the process of this mission.”

“Yes.”

“The weight of death may be different for you and me.”

“Yes.”

It was an unwavering response. Seojin didn’t elaborate further. After all, everyone had their own values. It was just that Dalton’s values differed significantly from Seojin’s.

Seojin was accompanied by two people now.

One was Dalton, and the other was a deputy raid leader, a guild member of the Great Reds.

“Are the adventurers ready?”

“They are.”

“And Cardinal Dalton…”

“I am prepared.”

Seojin nodded.

A selection of only the elite among the elite, about a hundred NPCs and nine hundred players, each handed only the finest equipment. They made up the special force under Seojin’s command.

“Let’s depart.”

Merhen’s tens of thousands of players were to confront the Sword of the Empire.

Seojin’s raid squad’s mission was to penetrate deeper into the fray than anyone else.

“We’ll get as close to the imperial palace as possible. Then, we wait. Until they make a breakthrough.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

The key was to remain unnoticed by anyone.

-Raid Launched! The target is The Sword of the Empire.

-The first raid is “40,000”. 80% of the players are Valaran nationals!

-Nobles of the Empire rise against the emperor, demanding proof.

Seojin set off, scanning the articles floOdieng the gaming community.

With this response speed, it was clear that community journalists were among the raid party.

It was expected, and the situation was very positive.

Wide-Area Buff-’Light and Shadow’ has been applied!

A thousand raid members disappeared into the shadows.

A buff that rendered ordinary humans incapable of recognizing them, even if they passed right by. This was the result of dozens of people using the same class of skills simultaneously.

The second raid squad advanced swiftly, and even upon entering the imperial capital, the guards failed to notice them. Every member held their breath, their faces tense with anticipation.

And near the imperial palace.

When they all squeezed into the mansion they had secured beforehand.

Ding!

The Raid: The Sword of the Empire has begun!

Merhen’s first strike team encountered the Sword of the Empire.

* * *

The situation was overwhelmingly dire.

-Healer in Party 8 has died!

-Tanker in Party 12 is down! Need reinforcements…

-The boss’s buff is not dispelling! We can’t deal any damage!

Screams of panic echoed through the chat from all directions.

Messages that a raid member had logged out kept appearing endlessly, and Merhen watched over all these developments.

‘…The damage is too extensive.’

A total of 40,000 players were deployed into battle. Yet, not long after the battle commenced, 10 percent of them had perished.

All because of just one person: Duke Ferret.

Attempting to minimize casualties, like Seojin, Duke Ferret too had positioned the guards behind him like a backdrop, facing the battlefield alone.

It was akin to a bombardment.

Duke Ferret withstood hundreds, thousands of ranged attacks all by himself.

“Hmm, truly like a real raid boss.”

And then he began to cut down the adventurers. It wasn’t merely one kill per strike. Indifferently, without any rallying cry to boost morale, with each swing of his sword, dozens of players were cut down. His figure was like that of a single sword.

He acted only with the interest of cutting down the emperor’s enemies. As gaps appeared in the raid formations, they were reorganized. But as soon as they were, more gaps appeared, and Merhen shook his head.

‘It’s like pouring water into a bottomless bucket.’

At this rate, this would be all they did until the battle’s end.

-I’m passing the deputy raid leader role to you. Please pull back and help with reorganizing the troops.

He delegated his duties to someone else.

It seemed hopeless, but he wasn’t planning to join the battle himself.

“Add some invincibility soon. And amplify my voice too. The louder, the better…”

“What are you planning to do?”

That’s when someone approached. Merhen turned to find James beside him.

“…Got to do something. That’s my role, after all.”

He looked back to the front.

It was important to keep him close, but in this situation, he couldn’t provide a solution.

‘No, he shouldn’t provide one in the first place.’

Being a developer, he shouldn’t even offer advice. It wasn’t fair to the players enjoying this moment.

“Just curious. What are you trying to do?”

“Claim the emperor is an apostle of an evil god. If they want, I’ll shove evidence right in their faces.”

“Seojin really is something else. He wouldn’t have done that.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel bad?”

“Is there a reason to feel bad?”

“No. Just in case. He would have acted differently, obviously. That would have led to a much better outcome.”

“Why did you take on this role then?”

“Because he has a far more important role to play.”

“I see.”

“…Maybe I shouldn’t do it.”

Merhen sat back down. The exchange made him rethink his approach.

Being the raid leader. The pressure to achieve something had led him to this thought, but he had instructions from Seojin.

“…If about 30,000 die, pull back a bit. No, pull back as far as you can. Increase the distance from the palace. If that happens, let me know.”

Seojin had already prepared for a ‘failure scenario’ in this raid.

And Merhen’s role?

To retreat as instructed, even in the event of failure.

-Looks like about ten thousand will fall soon. Wow, he’s really strong, isn’t he?

A message, from a guild member he had assigned tasks to, arrived.

Duke Ferret’s health had only dropped by about 20 percent.

Despite the mounting anxiety, Seojin’s retreat criterion was clear: the remaining force of 10,000.

-Keep pushing. More reinforcements will arrive soon.

After giving orders to the guild member, Merhen sent a message to Seojin.

-10,000 casualties. Duke’s health at 80 percent. Continuous healing is being applied. It will take some time for additional reinforcements. As you said, we’ll hold until 10,000 before retreating. Any further instructions?

* * *

“Instructions? What instructions.”

At Merhen’s message, Seojin chuckled and replied.

-Just handle it. Just don’t forget to protect the NPCs.

The pressure must have been quite something.

Moreover, it seemed the situation on the battlefield wasn’t too favorable.

‘Well, he needs to be taken down regardless.’

Given it was set as a quest, defeating Duke Ferret was mandatory to enter the imperial palace.

But if the situation was as Merhen reported, he wasn’t designed to be taken down in his current state.

‘Does it even make sense to have a boss that can’t be taken down by tens of thousands of players?’

Ultimately, the crux of the matter was the emperor’s Will buff applied to Duke Ferret.

‘If we can’t defeat the duke, we can’t enter the palace, and if we can’t enter the palace, there’s no way to deal with that buff.’

The situation was clear, and the solution was obvious.

“Change of plan. Immediately use all available long-range skills on the palace.”