The Final King Has Returned
Episode 157
The Ard World was peaceful after Phase 2 ended.
Of course, given the tremendous number of users playing Ard Saga: Second, minor incidents still occurred, but nothing had erupted with enough impact to shake the entire Ard World as before.
It was simply the Ard World as usual. Within it, users would occasionally exchange words about Phase 3.
["When the hell is Phase 3 opening?"]
["What the hell is the content even going to be;"]
["Hasn't the Great Upheaval hype died down yet?"]
Phase 3!
It was only natural for speculation and fan theories to circulate about the content of the next phase following Phase 1 and Phase 2.
The main story of Ard Saga.
There were hardly any users who weren't curious about how its end—its conclusion—would wrap up.
And the issue creators of Ard Live didn't miss that demand for hype among users.
["Alright, everyone. Phase 2 is over. It's safe to say that the Great Upheaval-related hype has essentially concluded. So then, what will the content of the next phase, Phase 3, be?"]
["You all need to pay attention to the factions. The emergence of factions—a concept above guilds! The Dark Alliance and the Holy Alliance. These two factions have divided every user in the Ard World into two camps."]
["What I'm confident Phase 3's content will be is war between the two factions!"]
["Since the external threat known as the Great Upheaval has ended, it's safe to say the time has come to determine the true victor between the two factions. Light and darkness have been mortal enemies in both the previous work and Second, after all!"]
The most plausible fan theory among them was "war between the Holy Alliance and the Dark Alliance."
This theory, first proposed by the major issue creator "Analysis King," who boasted one million subscribers, was the most convincing of all hypotheses presented to date.
As he said, since the super-massive hype of the Great Upheaval had been resolved, the only remaining major teaser was the classic one: a clash between light and darkness.
At that very time, Yujin represented the Manshin Hall, while Drakan represented the Bokma Hall, and the two factions representing light and darkness coexisted.
In this situation, there wasn't a single user who thought nothing would happen between the two, and this was all the more true since faction identity was gradually being maximized.
Therefore, Analysis King's hypothesis spread like wildfire across SNS and communities, becoming almost an established fact.
["Ah, lol, if it's war, of course our alliance wins lolol"]
["What are you talking about? No matter how you look at it, the Alliance's military power is overwhelmingly superior;;"]
And the hype that spread in this way immediately sparked a keyboard war between Holy Alliance and Dark Alliance users.
Just when the internet was abuzz with hype over Phase 3.
A live broadcast began on the official channel of Simseong Iron Stars on Ard Live.
["Hello, users. I am Sin Jeonghyeok, owner of Simseong Iron Stars."]
Vice Chairman Sin Jeonghyeok!
He, the owner of Simseong Iron Stars, had appeared on the broadcast personally.
While he wasn't on the level of Yujin and Drakan, Simseong Iron Stars was still a popular guild with a considerable fandom and recognition, so countless viewers entered the stream the moment it went live.
["The owner?"]
["If it's Sin Jeonghyeok, isn't he the vice chairman of Simseong Group?"]
["Wait, why the hell is a chaebol here?"]
["Everyone take your hands off the keyboard!!"]
Moreover, the fact that the one making the announcement wasn't the Assassin King Leira or the Axe King Paul, but someone above them—Vice Chairman Sin Jeonghyeok—caused users' attention to focus even more intensely.
Be that as it may, Vice Chairman Sin Jeonghyeok continued to deliver his prepared statement.
["For a long time now, Drakan and JDG have continuously encroached upon the Great Forest, the domain of we Simseong Iron Stars, and have constantly provoked us."]
Vice Chairman Sin Jeonghyeok.
The casus belli he had found.
It was the Great Forest.
Iron Axes and Shooting Star.
The moment the two giant guilds merged into one through Sin Jeonghyeok's capital and took the name Simseong Iron Stars, Drakan's order to conquer the Great Forest—a command given to keep them in check—had finally achieved its intended purpose.
["We, Simseong Iron Stars, could no longer tolerate the impudent provocations of Drakan and JDG encroaching upon the Great Forest, our exclusive domain, and have finally made our decision."]
Vice Chairman Sin Jeonghyeok's eyes blazed.
["Effective immediately, we, Simseong Iron Stars, declare war on JDG."]
And finally, the declaration of war burst forth.
Although it was formally a declaration of war on JDG, Vice Chairman Sin Jeonghyeok's statement was no different from declaring war on Drakan and the entire Dark Alliance, and it soon set the entire internet ablaze.
["We, Xiongmao E-sports, will participate in this war to aid Simseong Iron Stars in accordance with the bonds of our alliance."]
Adding fuel to the fire was a brief notice posted by Xiongmao E-sports on their channel and official homepage.
Simseong Iron Stars! We will participate in this war to aid them!
Users who saw Xiongmao E-sports' notice flipped out all at once.
["What? Is this a fight?"]
["Lol crazy lol Iron Stars declared war on JDG lolol"]
["Didn't these Simseong guys get crushed by Drakan-nim even back in the Milky Way days? What guts do they have? lolol"]
["Aren't they doing this because they're counting on their Chinese alliance?"]
["Seems like it lolololol their Chinese shield is working great lol"]
["Ugh, disgusting;;"]
["Hey, but if you look at them encroaching on the Great Forest, isn't Drakan in the wrong this time?"]
["Yut"]
["Welcome, Yutqui"]
["Simseong alt?"]
["What did Drakan-nim do wrong lol this is absurd lol since when is the Great Forest their land lol it's ownerless land lolol"]
Hooked by the massive teaser of a war between great powers, all users collectively took the bait, and the Ard forums burned all day long with war-related hype, but there was almost no public opinion supporting Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao E-sports.
Only a few Chinese users defended them; the vast majority of users supported Drakan.
["Drakan-nim will win this time too, for real"]
["Honestly I'm a Yujin cultist but I agree with the above comment lol"]
["How would Drakan lose a war?"]
Drakan!
The bastion of public opinion he had built up was finally beginning to show its effect.
In that very moment when internet opinion was overwhelmingly tilting toward Drakan.
A broadcast began on Drakan's official channel.
["I heard that Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao E-sports have declared war on me and JDG."]
Drakan appeared the moment the broadcast began.
With a composed expression, he calmly recited the news of the declaration of war.
["They're saying the Great Forest is theirs? That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard. Hearing that developing unexplored territory is wrong was a creative piece of bullshit I've never heard in my entire gaming life."]
Soon after, Drakan scoffed at the casus belli Vice Chairman Sin Jeonghyeok had put forth.
The Great Forest was unexplored land! Strictly speaking, Drakan's words were true.
The Great Forest was nobody's domain.
It was merely a field belonging to the southern region, and thus was only implicitly considered the domain of Simseong Iron Stars, who held hegemony over the south.
["Wow, look at Drakan's confidence lolol"]
["But Drakan-nim is right, for real. The Great Forest is unexplored land lolol"]
["Creative bullshit lolol going hard lololol"]
["Confidence explosion lolol"]
["This is exactly how Drakan should be lolol"]
["This is why I root for Drakan, for real"]
["User 'Drakan is the Best' has donated 100,000 KRW."]
["User 'Black Bull No. 1' has donated 40,000 KRW."]
And viewers who heard Drakan's statement all flipped out.
No matter how right he was, no one had expected him to go this hard against a vice chairman of Simseong Group.
Drakan's honesty, his habit of throwing fastballs no matter who his opponent was, caused chat—and of course, donations—to start exploding continuously.
Ignoring the chat's reactions, Drakan continued speaking.
["Anyway, I'm not the type to shy away from a fight that walks up to me, so I'll accept that war. Make sure you don't end up whining and regretting it later."]
With those words, the video cut off.
Drakan! The news that he had accepted the war without any negotiation shook the internet once again.
["Wow lolol Drakan is a total manly man lolol"]
["He's gone crazy lolol"]
["He told them not to whine and regret it later lololol"]
["Bet Simseong and Xiongmao are stinging right now? Bet it's chaos over there?"]
For users who had been bored out of their minds due to the lack of major hype, the clash between Drakan and Simseong Iron Stars—the two forces—felt exactly like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert.
In that very moment when the entire Ard World was turned upside down by the war hype between the two forces.
["Guild 'Simseong Iron Stars' has declared war on guild 'JDG'."]
["Guild 'Xiongmao E-sports' has declared war on guild 'JDG'."]
A notification window popped up before the eyes of every user logged into Ard World.
Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao E-sports!
The two great guilds, bound to each other in alliance, had officially declared war.
Normally, this would be where the notifications ended, but this time, it didn't stop there.
["Ard Saga: Second Phase 3, 'The Advent of the Turbulent Era,' is beginning."]
The start of Phase 3! The existence of the notification window announcing "The Advent of the Turbulent Era" was enough to bury every single teaser that had appeared until now.
"'The Advent of the Turbulent Era'?"
"Phase 3 is starting now?"
Turbulent Era! By dictionary definition, it meant a chaotic world, but its actual meaning was the Warring States period, where wars of blood washing blood continued unceasingly.
At the appearance of the word "Turbulent Era," not only the users but even the parties who had declared war were bewildered.
A turbulent era, of all things, now?! What the hell was this madness?
But whether the users were bewildered or not, the notification window popped up additional explanations about Phase 3 to all users currently logged into Ard World, as always.
["The Hive Mind, the mastermind behind the Great Upheaval, has vanished, and the threat from the other world has disappeared."]
["But that alone does not mean all conflicts in the Ard World have been resolved."]
["The threat of the Great Upheaval paradoxically gave birth to numerous warlords, and they are beings who cannot coexist under the same sky."]
["Though the warlords are many, there is only one throne existing in the Ard World."]
["Only the true hero who defeats their enemies, conquers the lands, and goes on to unify the Ard World and bring the Turbulent Era to an end will be granted the qualification to sit upon the one and only throne."]
The moment the explanation ended.
All users in the Ard World realized immediately.
That Phase 3, The Advent of the Turbulent Era, was the path to the ending, the final phase of Ard Saga: Second.
And that the method to do so was none other than unifying the continent.
And so, the war between Simseong and Drakan was hurtling toward an unknown direction due to the sudden appearance of Phase 3.