The Final King Has Returned - Chapter 86
["My nape keeps tingling. That employer or whatever who hired you, I get the feeling he's trying to stab me in the back, just like during the old Infinite Yujin Church scandal."]
Drakan!
The suspicion he had casually dropped on broadcast had already been clipped and turned into GIFs, spreading across the entire internet; and just like all rumors, as it propagated, it gradually began to gain flesh.
The snowball Drakan had rolled was very small, but as it drifted across the internet, the snowball gradually grew until it became as large as a house.
["Did you hear about it this time? They say someone hired Karun to backstab Drakan?"]
["There's even a story going around that Rio was used by Karun too."]
["Isn't this Yujin's side trying to keep Drakan in check before he gets too big?"]
["Quit spewing nonsense. Are you a blind fanboy? You are one, you crazy bastard, lol. Why would Lord Yujin care about a low-tier scrub like Drakan, ah lol."]
["Welcome, sheep, lol. Hey lol, with all of Lord Drakan's experience, you think he can't see through a scheme like that? lol Do you even know how Lord Drakan became a top ranker back in the day?"]
["So where's the physical evidence? Bring proof; your headcanon is insane."]
["I don't think it's Yujin, but with king-god logic I'd guess the Infinite Yujin Church. These guys have priors, after all."]
By the time Drakan's words had become seeds that sprouted and even bloomed into flowers, suspicion had already turned into speculation, and speculation into conviction.
The Infinite Yujin Church is targeting Drakan once again!
That was the conclusion the busybodies had drawn, and in fact, the extreme fanboys of the Infinite Yujin Church had each joined the Northern Allied Forces on an individual basis to try and bring Drakan down, which severely amplified these unfounded rumors.
["Again? Allegations of collusion between Karun and the Infinite Yujin Church. Is it real?"]
["(Exclusive) The Northern Scandal: Uncovering the Inside Story."]
And the ones who bit that bait were the especially low-quality webzines among the so-called "jjirashi" tabloid game media.
Of course, it was only natural that Sin Hayeon's influence had reached the flow of such public opinion.
For the ruler of the Jeil Group, moving a mere internet game press—far below the level of major daily newspapers, public broadcast networks, or general programming channels—was an extremely easy task.
Once the media bit the bait, these rumors were reproduced and amplified, and as a result, Yujin's image gradually began to take damage.
Starting from "Can't they even manage their fandom?" all the way to "Drakan is getting done dirty like that, so where the hell is Yujin and what is he doing!"
Public opinion began to deteriorate uncontrollably, and eventually, this state of affairs reached the ears of Yujin and the Lightwing Guild members.
The Lightwing Entertainment Building.
A conference room with bright lights, an impressive place with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the heart of Seoul.
Inside the conference room exclusive to Beruda, all the Lightwing Guild members had gathered together for the first time in a while.
Silence hung over the seats where all Lightwing Guild members, including Yujin, were seated.
"Hey, Yujin, what are you going to do?"
And the one who broke that silence was Yujin's closest friend, an Over Ranker known in the Arde World by the nickname Fist King, Geunyukjjangjjangman.
At Geunyukjjangjjangman's words, Yujin opened his mouth heavily.
"Is there any confirmed fact regarding this suspicion?"
"Not yet."
To Yujin's question, Beruda answered in a firm voice.
But his heart was beating like crazy.
'Drakan, I let my guard down too much.'
Drakan!
Not only had Drakan mobilized undead to secure perfect victory in the naval battle beyond Beruda's expectations, but he had also used his despicable nature to grab Beruda by the ankles.
'How on earth did he use undead without any contribution......'
Beruda's mind was a mess.
Contribution points!
That a faction at the friendly "alliance" stage would not move easily without the price of contribution points was common sense among common sense in the Arde World.
Of course, there existed a few special relationships that circumvented this or to which it did not apply, but of all people, Drakan had formed such a relationship.
This was something that deviated from Beruda's expectations.
Anyway, since there was no putting back spilled water, there was no need to think any further about contribution points.
Since he had already obtained information through this trial and error, all he had to do was not fall into the same trap twice next time.
And there existed no physical evidence in this world that he had colluded with Karun.
Beruda did not handle matters so sloppily as to leave behind evidence.
But ironically, in the current situation, that was exactly the problem.
Because the foundation of the reputation that the Lightwing Guild and the Hero Yujin had built up until now was "justice opposing injustice" and "fair judgment."
And in the current situation where the suspicions Yujin had raised had ballooned as if compounding interest, if the Lightwing Guild took no action and the suspicions remained unexplained, it was clear that public opinion among the users would walk a path of uncontrollable deterioration.
As everyone well knew, once rumors spread they cannot be caught, but stories correcting such rumors did not spread easily.
Of course, as long as there was a solid support base called the Infinite Yujin Church, the possibility of reaching the worst-case scenario of the collapse of supremacy in the Arde World was low, but from a long-term perspective, it was a clear loss.
'There aren't many holes to escape through.'
Beruda lowered his hands, which had begun to tremble ever so slightly without him realizing it, beneath the desk.
Just as they say one word can repay a thousand-nyang debt, Drakan had wagged his tongue to saddle the Lightwing Guild with a debt exceeding a thousand nyang.
And now, a solution was needed to pay off that debt.
"As long as there is no solid evidence, we can't move carelessly either."
While Beruda was contemplating, Sharp spoke.
"But we can't just stay still like this either."
To Sharp's words, Erena, a pretty girl with cute twintails sitting beside her, answered.
Yujin watched that scene and drank some water.
It was stifling.
Drakan.
His words had persuasiveness.
Even if the rumors weren't entirely true, there were indeed grounds to raise suspicions.
But there was no clear evidence, no physical proof, and since it was still at the "suspicion" stage, even if they wanted to step forward in earnest, the justification was still insufficient.
At that very moment when Yujin was groaning within the shackles of justification and principle.
"Lord Yujin."
Beruda's cold voice shattered the silence of the conference hall.
"How about mediating a ceasefire negotiation between the Northern Alliance and Drakan?"
The Spear King, Rio, and Drakan!
Mediating the ceasefire negotiations for the war that had broken out between the two!
That was indeed the most rational measure Beruda had come up with after racking his brains.
The cause of all these suspicions was the war that had broken out between the North and East, a war he himself had manufactured in order to kill Drakan.
If that war ended, the users' interest would naturally drift away from the suspicions, and the long-term losses would also disappear.
Of course, they might take a small hit in public opinion, but it was far better than suffering massive damage where part of their support base would desert them, exactly as Drakan intended.
'I've been had again this time.'
Beruda's hidden hand beneath the desk trembled with anger.
Just one sentence!
Drakan's single line had not only ruined his plan to take care of him before he could grow, but had also driven them to a situation where it might even chip away at the Lightwing Guild's support base.
'I will repay this debt someday.'
Beruda burned with anger inwardly toward Drakan, who had ruined all of his work, and then turned his gaze toward Yujin.
When he saw the face of his beloved Yujin, who was always handsome and to whom the word "face genius" suited perfectly, the flames of anger that had flared in Beruda's heart subsided somewhat.
Whether or not he knew that a flush was rising on Beruda's face, Yujin looked around and thought.
As always, Beruda's proposal was rational, so Yujin didn't think much.
"Yeah. Beruda's proposal sounds good. I'll do as you say."
With Yujin's words, that day's meeting was concluded.
And not long after, an email in Yujin's name flew to the agency accounts of both Rio and Drakan.
It was a proposal to mediate ceasefire negotiations.
* * *
The moment Drakan won the naval battle.
Undead rose in the North, where the snowstorm continued to rage.
The Undead King!
He had moved the Legion of the Dead by Drakan's order.
The first to notice the signs was none other than a user hunting undead in the Land of the Dead.
"Huh, what's that over there?"
Today as well, in the prime hunting ground called the Land of the Dead, a warrior user who had been party-hunting skeletons, zombies, and ghouls to level up modestly saw something like a dark cloud gathering in the distance.
"Hey, take a look at that with Clairvoyance."
The warrior user said to the archer user at the ominous sight, and soon the archer user used Clairvoyance.
And the sight seen through the Clairvoyance was shocking.
An undead army the likes of which had never appeared before!
From skeletons to Death Knights, Liches, and Bone Wyverns!
Literally, countless undead were surging beyond the horizon to the point where the end could not be seen.
The archer user's face turned pale white upon seeing that.
"Hey, hey, we're in big trouble."
"What is it?"
"Undead! The undead are coming!"
"And I thought it was something new. How surprising."
"Not like that—an undead army!"
At the archer user's words, the warrior user's gaze turned toward the horizon again.
And by that point, the outline of the rapidly moving undead army had already approached close enough to be identifiable without skills.
The warrior user's face, upon witnessing that sight, likewise turned deathly pale.
"Pretty sure this isn't the time to be leveling up?"
An unbelievable sight even when seen with one's own eyes!
Watching that scene, the priest user muttered in a dazed voice.
"What are you doing, everyone run!"
The warrior user shouted and ran out first, and the other users who heard those words followed after him.
And soon after, the Legion of the Dead crossed the boundaries of the Land of the Dead and invaded human territory.
"Stop them!"
"Undead! It's an undead attack!"
"Why on earth are they—!"
A state of emergency was declared across the entire North.
The Spear King, Rio!
Having gone beyond merely executing Drakan and JDG, he had led the majority of the Northern Alliance's forces to conquer the East, leaving the North currently in a completely undefended state.
The central hub of the North, Snow Castle, had some forces remaining, but the other strongholds were practically devoid of troops!
Moreover, for the past two thousand years, the undead had not come out of their territory, the Land of the Dead, and had simply fought among themselves.
By Arde World's standards, two thousand years of peace with the undead had loosened the North's discipline, and by now, the fortresses that had once served as the front lines against the undead had all become ruins and vanished.
In such a situation, the remaining Northerners could not stop the overwhelming undead army that was suddenly pushing down across the entire North.