The Final King Has Returned
Chapter 41
As expected of a Legendary-rank quest, even the mid-quest settlement was satisfying.
Added to the ever-pleasant notifications of leveling up and stat increases, there was even a new War Chariot skill!
Especially since the newly obtained War Chariot skill was useful for the upcoming war, I smiled, feeling even better.
“Thank you, Guardian Beast.”
While I cheerfully swiped away the translucent notification window before my eyes, Nereus—who had obtained the qualification of king—expressed his gratitude to the Kraken, then rose from his seat and walked toward me.
“Thank you for aiding our Fishmen, Contractor.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“But you must know better than anyone that I will not stop here?”
At Nereus’s words, I nodded, and Nereus continued.
“Now that I have been acknowledged as having the qualification of king, I shall convene a tribal council, announce the Kraken’s resurrection, ascend the throne, and rally the eight tribes under royal decree to reclaim the throne stolen from us by those Merfolk scum.”
A resolute will was visible in Nereus’s eyes.
War!
At last, a full-scale kingdom reclamation war would unfold.
“Will you help me, Contractor?”
“Of course.”
I nodded at Nereus’s words and spoke.
“However, I also need some time to prepare. Could you delay the tribal assembly until then?”
Preparedness averts peril!
I knew very well that thorough preparation was the shortcut to quest success.
Moreover, the rank of the quest I was currently undertaking was none other than Legendary rank!
I couldn’t expect to simply gather the eight tribes, wage war, easily defeat the Merfolk army, and reclaim the kingdom’s territory.
Besides, while undersea exploration or raids were one thing, war—especially war under the sea—was uncharted territory, even for someone like me who had gone through mountain battles, water battles, and aerial battles in the previous game.
A war beneath the sea! It was certain to be a first in the Ard World, and countermeasures were needed.
Thus, I needed time to prepare.
“Very well. I shall wait. Inform me when your preparations are complete, and I shall assemble the tribes.”
Hearing Nereus’s words, I whispered to Sin Hayeon that we should hold a meeting, then logged out of the game immediately.
Now, I had to devise a strategy.
* * *
The Church of Infinite Yujin!
This group, referring to Yujin’s fandom, had originally been formed by those drawn to Yujin’s charisma and popularity as he stood alone against the Guild Alliance through the Rebellion Quest before the World Revolution.
But the times being what they were, and since Yujin—whom the Church of Infinite Yujin followed—was undertaking a Rebellion Quest against the Guild Alliance, the Church of Infinite Yujin ultimately had no choice but to support Yujin and raise the banner of rebellion against the Guild Alliance.
The Guild Alliance!
A cartel of ten massive guilds including Steel Lord Drakan and his guild, the Iron-Blood Alliance, it was a solid organization, and they ruthlessly suppressed any users who defied them.
Ordinary users who were not members of the Guild Alliance were taxed so heavily that it would make their backs bend.
Normal users had to pay enormous entrance fees every time they used dungeons, hunting grounds, and gathering sites like mines.
That wasn’t all.
The Guild Alliance essentially held the economy of the Ard World in one hand.
Most production facilities and resources, including workshops that produced equipment and mines, were in their grasp, so it was only natural, in a way.
The Guild Alliance, which had unified the continent, recouped the war funds it had expended through economic monopolies and user exploitation, amassing enormous wealth, and at its pinnacle stood the top ranker, Steel Lord Drakan.
The World Revolution was a grand event that Yujin had incited against this backdrop, and behind such a Yujin stood the Church of Infinite Yujin, the fandom that followed him.
The Church of Infinite Yujin served as a bridge between Yujin and ordinary users, condensing and organizing their anger.
They formed a revolutionary army, finally smashed the Guild Alliance and the Iron-Blood Alliance, and defeated Drakan—the invincible top ranker and the Conquering King who had unified the continent.
Thus, the World Revolution became a myth written together by the users, Yujin became a top ranker, and even after the revolution, the Church of Infinite Yujin consistently supported Yujin and became his strength.
Of course, as they rose from underdogs to top dogs, the organization’s scale grew excessively, and toxic fans latched on, causing the image of the Church of Infinite Yujin to plummet from vanguards of revolution to a toxic fandom steeped in elitism, but...
In any case, they not only sent infinite support toward Yujin and the Lightwing Guild but were also one of the major axes that dominated current internet public opinion.
In any case, the place currently serving as the main stronghold of the Church of Infinite Yujin was the Gaeum Cafe portal site.
The official fan cafe established after the World Revolution, ‘The Church of Infinite Yujin,’ boasted a whopping two million members!
Based on that massive number of people, the Church of Infinite Yujin had also set up branches and headquarters in the game world, the Ard World, and communicated with one another.
Though they lacked the in-game entity of a guild, the Church of Infinite Yujin possessed all the necessary components—branches, headquarters, passionate members, and organizational leadership—leading users everywhere to speculate that their forces were on par with the Ten Great Guilds.
The Eastern Branch of the Church of Infinite Yujin.
At their branch in Fran, the capital of the Gasan Kingdom, high-ranking executives of the Church of Infinite Yujin’s Eastern Branch, including the Eastern Branch Chief, were currently gathered in a meeting.
“I assume everyone has heard the news of Drakan.”
From the highest seat at the long table, a middle-aged man in robes—Rexas, the Eastern Branch Chief of the Church of Infinite Yujin—spoke in a heavy voice.
“His growth rate is no joke right now. Moreover, public opinion in the East has already shifted from our Lord Yujin to Drakan—to that bastard whose very name is disgusting to utter!”
Rexas slammed the table with a livid expression.
His cheeks trembled.
To Rexas, who had once stood against the Guild Alliance alongside Yujin during the World Revolution, the old rankers—especially Drakan, who had been the pinnacle of the old Guild Alliance—were truly an irreconcilable enemy.
Besides, while it might have been a different story in another region, the region where Rexas served as branch chief was the East!
It was JDG’s sphere of influence and the stronghold of the fandom fervently supporting Drakan, who had recently risen as the idol of the East.
With the situation turning out this way, from the Church of Infinite Yujin’s perspective, they were suddenly in a situation where they were surrounded by enemies on all sides.
“Members from other branches are laughing at our Eastern Branch behind our backs. They’re saying we failed to stop Drakan—what the hell have we been doing!”
Recalling the executives from other branches whispering behind his back during the recent general meeting of the Church of Infinite Yujin, Rexas let out a long sigh.
The Church of Infinite Yujin was a massive organization.
It was impossible for such a massive organization, with as many as two million official fan cafe members, to be free of factions and internal strife.
From the toxic fandom that had completely ruined the Church of Infinite Yujin’s image to the light fandom that simply supported quietly, they existed separately, and of course, due to the nature of the massive Ard Continent—known to rival the supercontinent Pangaea in size—regional factions existed as well.
Already boiling over because of Drakan, having heard the back talk as well, Rexas’s rage gauge was currently at a level that would pierce the sky and fly off into space.
“Moreover, in reality, he has joined hands with Jeil E&M, and in the Ard World, he has contracted with a Demon God and is undertaking a quest presumed to be the Dark Apostle Quest! This means he could once again become Lord Yujin’s rival in the future!”
At Rexas’s rage, the executives fell silent.
Drakan!
Yujin’s past rival, a villain already defeated, one of the many enemies Yujin had overcome.
Yes.
Until his return, he had merely been a figure of the past.
But not anymore.
He had joined hands with Jeil E&M, which Yujin warily kept an eye on, and was growing frighteningly by rallying the support of new-generation users who had never experienced Drakan’s era and Eastern users who had suffered under the Pirate Coalition, using the Reclamation of the Lawless Port as an opportunity.
Of course, even so, Drakan was still far from being able to approach Yujin’s position.
No, Drakan’s position was currently worse than that of an ordinary ranker.
But Rexas had fought against Drakan on the frontlines of the World Revolution, so he knew him.
Drakan!
How fearsome and wicked a man he was!
In Rexas’s eyes, even if Drakan didn’t reach a position equal to Yujin’s later on, there was a high possibility he would become a stumbling block hindering Yujin’s path.
Perhaps Rexas felt this even more keenly because he was the branch chief of the Eastern Branch, where JDG and Drakan held public opinion tightly in their grasp, and not some other branch.
And for Rexas, a fanatic of Yujin, that was an unbearable future, a reality that must never come to pass.
In the heavy silence, one executive spoke cautiously.
“Then shouldn’t we stop him now?”
“How?”
“That disgusting, filthy bastard may have tremendous name value and notoriety, but his personal strength still remains at the level of a promising prospect, not even that of a ranker. Moreover, the contents of his quest have already been revealed. It is precisely to resurrect the Kraken and rally the Fishmen to wage war against the Merfolk.”
At the executive’s words, Rexas’s expression brightened slightly.
He was right.
Drakan!
That fool had summoned the Fishmen at a port swarming with users, so the contents of his quest were already mostly known.
“And so?”
“As you know, his quest entails something that usually takes a long time. For someone of his low level, clearing the quest will inevitably take a while. So if we seize that window and somehow make contact with the Merfolk to wipe out him and the Fishmen in one fell swoop while they are still preparing?”
The executive’s eyes sparkled, and the gazes of everyone present, including Branch Chief Rexas, focused on his mouth.
“That disgusting bastard’s name, too! Will end right then and there.”
As the executive finished speaking, Rexas replied, stroking his chin.
“A fine plan indeed. But how do we find the Merfolk?”
His method was certainly a fine strategy.
Save for one thing.
Unless one excluded the fact that finding Merfolk on the vast open ocean—or rather, beneath the sea—was harder than finding a Mr. Kim in Seoul!
“I shall take care of that.”
At Rexas’s question, another executive raised his hand.
“I am a Contractor of the Sea Goddess. And according to legend, the Merfolk are a race belonging to the Sea Goddess as well, so I shall go to the temple, offer a sacrifice, and pray to ask the Goddess for a way to make contact with the Merfolk.”
Direct communication with a god!
In the previous game, this would have been dismissed as nonsense, but after reaching the Second, it had become not nonsense but a practical possibility for users to communicate directly with Transcendents such as gods or Demon Kings.
It was now common for gods to bestow oracles and quests, or for one to gain information through sacrifices.
“Excellent. Splendid! Then let us do just that, and kill him.”
As Rexas nodded and replied to the executive’s words, madness dwelled in his eyes.