The Final Boss Has Returned
Episode 81
Lightwing Entertainment Building.
A conference room with the lights off.
With the blinds drawn shut over the windows as well, inside the pitch-dark room, Berda had turned on a laptop and was watching a video.
["Drakan summoned an eternal winter upon the North for his own quest and caused harm. He made countless people, including myself and my guild, shed tears. Steel Lord Drakan! Between the previous game and now, he has hardly changed. He is still a cruel and merciless tyrant. In Second, he is merely deceiving you all like a wolf in sheep's clothing! Everyone. I, Spear King Rio, shall condemn his deception. Those who wish to judge him with me, come to Snow Castle. Let us together establish justice upon this land!"]
Rio's voice flowed from the laptop speaker.
Having heard that voice, Berda picked up the smartphone on the desk and made a call.
Ring, ring, ring.
The dry ringback tone cut off, and an indifferent man's voice rang out over the speaker.
"Employer. What is it?"
The owner of that voice was none other than the Black King, Karun!
Having heard Karun's voice, Berda spoke.
"I must commend you for handling the matter with Rio well."
"Thank you."
"Can you definitely take care of Drakan?"
"Of course. I will do my best. Employer."
"Understood."
Having finished the brief call with the Black King, Karun, Berda placed her smartphone neatly back on the desk and smiled faintly.
Drakan!
The time had finally come to break the wings of that endlessly soaring bastard.
* * *
[The Northern Alliance has declared war on Lawless Port.]
A short but shocking message appeared in my field of view!
Upon seeing that message, I logged out immediately, and soon afterward, I was able to grasp what had happened.
"Rio's Northern Alliance has formally declared war on Lawless Port and JDG."
Rio!
That bastard had finally bared his fangs at me.
Unlike in the past, large-scale all-out wars between users had rarely occurred so far in Arde Saga: Second.
This was not because users were working hard for world peace in harmony, but for a realistic reason: unlike the previous game, resurrection was no longer possible in Second, so the risk that had to be shouldered in all-out wars between users had increased.
Furthermore, the in-game order was already firmly established, with Yujin, the Lightwing Guild, and their allied Five Eyes holding hegemony over the Arde World.
Because of that, there was no longer any need to take on the risk of war, and above all, no force had yet emerged that could swallow an entire nation and wield its power as in the previous game.
For these various reasons, large-scale all-out wars between users were virtually nonexistent, and the fact that Rio and I had clashed head-on during the Northern Expedition had become a huge topic precisely because of this.
But now, Rio had declared war on me.
Rio had gone through proper declaration of war procedures and used an existing in-game system to declare war on me, so the chances of Yujin intervening in this war were low.
And more than anything, considering what kinds of bastards were under Yujin's command, it was best to abandon the thought that Yujin could be moved.
No, rather, I was harboring suspicions.
Berda.
The mage of Lightwing Guild, better known by the nickname Great Sage; Yujin's companion, and the brains of Yujin's crew!
I suspected—no, was almost certain—that she was instigating this situation from behind the scenes.
I had known that Rio would point his blade at me sooner or later, but to rally forces and declare war this quickly, someone's assistance had definitely been necessary.
And I was guessing the identity of that helper to be Berda.
In any case, all key members, including Sin Hayeon and Ignis, were already gathered in the conference room, and Team Leader I began the presentation the moment I arrived.
"What is this Northern Alliance?"
"The Northern Alliance is a faction created not long ago. It is an organization expanded and reorganized by accepting Vikings into the existing Northern Tribal Alliance."
"Vikings."
I narrowed my eyes.
Vikings!
Those who live gathered on the Nordic Peninsula of the North, rough seafaring men who command the northern seas!
They were ones who had refused to join the Northern Tribal Alliance and lived independently; that they had been recruited was quite surprising.
Moreover, Rio's intention in bringing the Vikings in was obvious.
"He's trying to fight a naval battle."
That bastard was attempting to challenge me to a naval battle using the Vikings.
Of course, we had aircraft carriers on our side, and after the naval decisive battle, we had built additional aircraft carriers in preparation for unforeseen events, but it was clear that the enemy, not being fools, would have established anti-air countermeasures.
"That is correct."
"Is the enemy coming by sea?"
"We cannot rule out the possibility of them coming by land either."
Team Leader I continued.
"According to our informants, the users' goal is JDG and Sir Drakan, but the NPCs' goal is different."
"What is it?"
To my question, Team Leader I adjusted his glasses and answered.
"It means that since an eternal winter has come to the North, they intend to occupy the eastern lands, which are more hospitable than the North."
"I see."
If Team Leader I's words were true, this was not a simple all-out war between users.
The North and the East!
It was no different from an all-out war between two regions.
I looked around the people seated in the conference room and smiled.
"How dare he declare war on me? I must have been acting like a bit of a pushover lately."
Steel Lord Drakan!
To think that he would dare declare war on me, who boasted an undefeated record until losing to Yujin during the World Revolution!
Among those who had dared declare war on me first back in the previous game, none had won against me except Yujin.
It seemed I had been acting quite the pushover all this time.
"Enemy movements?"
"Currently, the enemy's vanguard has departed from Snow Castle, and the extreme fandom of the Infinite Yujin Church is participating in the expeditionary force in large numbers. And it is known that the Black King, Karun, has joined the expeditionary force."
The moment I heard Team Leader I's words, I was completely convinced.
'Berda is definitely behind that bastard, Rio.'
Berda!
She was certainly behind those Infinite Yujin Church bastards heading north.
Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that the extreme fans of the Infinite Yujin Church had voluntarily joined the expeditionary force since they had hated me from the start.
But the fact that the North's war preparations had finished so quickly as if someone had helped them, and above all, the fact that the Black King, Karun, had joined the expeditionary force.
All the circumstantial evidence pointed to Berda.
I soon pieced together the clues and deduced the situation.
'She hired the Black King, Karun, to manipulate Rio—who is burning with vengeance—from behind the scenes.'
The Black King, Karun!
The pinnacle of dark gamers!
He had been a member of the Ten Strongest alongside me in the previous game as well, so I also knew him quite well.
He was a thorough dark gamer who would do anything for money, but at the same time, when it came to matters involving money…….
For example, he was someone who kept his word thoroughly regarding matters such as his employer's identity.
The only time such a bastard had supported a value other than money was the World Revolution.
The fact that one of the Ten Strongest, a superpower from the previous game, had supported the World Revolution had been a hot topic among users at the time and had also served as a catalyst for more users to join the revolutionary army.
In any case, since he was the Black King, Karun, it wasn't that surprising that he and Berda had joined hands.
He was the type to do anything if you paid him from the start, so Berda might have simply hired him with money.
"And this is still just an unconfirmed rumor, but there is also talk that Rio's Northern Alliance has joined hands with the Mermaid Kingdom."
I nodded slightly at Team Leader I's following words.
The Mermaid Kingdom!
The information I had obtained during the Fishman Quest that their base was in the northern sea flashed through my mind belatedly.
The recruitment of both the Mermaid Kingdom in the North and the Vikings.
Only now did the connecting links start coming together in my mind.
"So that's why he showed the ambition to confidently challenge me to a naval battle."
At the time of the naval decisive battle, there had been two elements that allowed me to gain the upper hand against the Pirate Alliance.
One was the aircraft carrier, and the other was the fishmen.
Pirates had been completely annihilated, unable to put up even a struggling cry, by our fleet's strength, which mobilized wyverns and fishmen to conduct joint attacks from the air and under the sea.
Aircraft carriers cost an enormous amount of money; they were such massive things that even a top ten guild would find them burdensome to build.
Shin Hayeon had poured money in like crazy, so I had been able to build two additional aircraft carriers even after the naval decisive battle, but the opponent probably had at most one even if they had built it in secret.
But underwater combat power was different.
Aircraft carriers could somehow be resolved with money, but submerged combat power, including fishmen, was not a problem that could be solved with money.
Yet Rio had solved that by joining hands with the Mermaid Kingdom.
"What do you plan to do moving forward?"
Ignis asked me.
Rio—that bastard—had also declared war on JDG, so Ignis and I were in the same boat.
Well, we had been passengers on the same ship from the start anyway.
"For now, since they threw the first punch, we should issue a statement as well."
Since that bastard threw the first punch, we had to take some action on our end too.
The Black King, Karun!
And the extreme fandom of the Infinite Yujin Church!
It was a composition that openly showed who was behind it, but that didn't mean we had any reason to sit still and take it.
"What do you plan to do after that?"
I smiled at Ignis's question.
"The North will have become an empty house, so we'll raid the North."
The North!
I intended to seize the North, left empty after they had departed.
Because if the contents of the oracle quest I had received from the Demon God were true, the moment I seized the North, the game would basically already be over.
I smiled, recalling the contents of the oracle quest I had received from the Demon God after clearing the Dark Elf Quest not long ago.