Chapter 47
The battlefield is open for three weeks, every day from 7 to 10.
In truth, it is the alpha and omega of the reason *For the Sake of the Righteous* split the factions, and the game mode where entertaining stories and famous names are born every season.
“Let's see... The Demon Cult is in the northwest.”
When Seojun selected the battlefield, a giant map of the Central Plains unfolded before his eyes.
And that land was currently occupied by the Unorthodox Faction to the south, the Orthodox Faction to the northeast, and the Demon Cult to the northwest.
“Seems like a decent assignment.”
He also felt he understood why the Tang Family was in the Unorthodox Faction.
If Sichuan, where the Tang Family resides, had been part of the Orthodox Faction, the map would have been a bit awkward.
[Would you like to participate in the battlefield?]
[YES/NO]
A window appeared, and Seojun pressed YES.
[Lead your faction to victory.]
[You can obtain rewards after the battlefield ends, based on your contribution earned in battle.]
[If you change your affiliated faction, all previously acquired contribution will be reset.]
“Hmm, where should I start from?”
Seojun examined the map.
There are two positions a player can choose for each game in the battlefield.
Attack and Defense.
Attack means selecting a territory of an opposing faction adjacent to the front line and playing a game there.
If you win that game, you gain attack points equal to your reputation.
Defense means selecting a territory of your own faction adjacent to the front line and playing a game there.
If you win the game, you can gain defense points equal to your reputation.
When the battlefield closes at 10 o'clock, the attack points and defense points earned in one territory are compared to determine whether the attack or defense succeeded.
If the territory's attack points are higher than its defense points, the opposing faction captures that territory.
“And although attack gives higher contribution per point than defense, there's no need to get too hung up on it.”
- Oh, he actually studied up, lol
- The streamer did his homework!
- Yeah, and if you succeed in defending or attacking, there's bonus contribution
- Just tell him to pick defense for the Demon Cult!
It was as the viewers said.
Only by succeeding in your chosen position can you gather at least a little more contribution.
Since you can only play four battlefield games a day, you have to make these minor choices well.
That is, if you're aiming for the 16th spot.
If you choose Attack, you can gather more contribution than with Defense, but the downside is that the Demon Cult is the underdog faction, so succeeding in attacks isn't easy.
“And if you choose Defense, the advantage is a higher chance of success.”
The best case would be to only attack and have all those attacks succeed.
But that's impossible.
- But, wait, are you serious about that 16th-place thing? Why are you so serious, lol
- Wouldn't you be serious if you were him?
- I recommend attack. The Demon Cult has never actually expanded their territory, lol
- I disagree
- Honestly, on the first day, defense is the rule of thumb
- But defense is the rule in winter though... tsk.
Hmm.
“I've made my choice.”
For now, as the viewer said, defending is the right call.
There's no way the faction's users would suddenly unite and make coordinated attacks on territories starting from the first day.
And since most people know that, they plan to at least secure basic contribution by starting with defense.
The enemy focuses on defense, and our team also focuses on defense.
It's a feeling-out phase.
So for now, it's best to go with the flow.
“I'll do defense.”
Seojun made a cautious decision.
Someone might ask if that means it will just turn into a waiting game forever, but
‘I have something to rely on.’
However, for now, he would proceed step by step.
- Good thinking.
- Fighting
- Go to Shenjiang
Shenjiang refers to the Demon Cult's headquarters.
The edge of the northwest. The deepest part of the Demon Cult's territory.
That means no front line has even formed there.
“Why are you making fun of the Demon Cult? Anyway, I'll try fighting the Orthodox Faction first.”
Seojun pressed Defense on a territory bordering the Orthodox Faction.
[Will you defend?]
[YES/NO]
The game type is Capture Battle.
It's his first time seeing the terrain.
Let's do this.
Seojun moved his fingers.
***
Seojun fiddled with a sword he had brought from the Demon Cult.
Perhaps thanks to the title of Grandmaster, he was able to take something that was simply displayed in the shop; it fit perfectly in his hand, and he liked the length of the blade.
Though there were traits that forced specific weapon use, the Absorption Great Art wasn't one of them.
More people continued to stream in.
‘All of them are Demon Cult.’
Seojun had been summoned inside a fortress.
The opponents were the Orthodox Faction. Since he had pressed defense on a territory bordering them, this was a natural result.
Two Mount Hua Sect members, one Namgung Clan.
And lastly, the Beggar's Sect.
[Battle begins in 1 minute.]
An alert popped up, likely because all players were filled, and Seojun stood up.
“Hmm, our team has two Absorption users? Let's quickly decide who's going to point C.”
The person next to Seojun spoke first.
Capture Battle has three bases. The standard rule is to send three people to the most important central base, B, and one person each to the nearest bases, A or C, at the start.
It's not that there aren't other strategies, but this is the usual way.
However, Seojun had no intention of doing things the usual way.
Or holding the usual conversation.
“I'll go to the middle alone.”
“Hey, what nonsense are you spouting? Are you a tank?”
The user who had first spoken looked around, spotted Seojun, and checked his traits.
Seojun's chosen main trait was Absorption Great Art.
It was only natural to deduce he was a tank.
Seojun, wearing a faint smile, looked down at his teammate.
“I mean one person goes to C as planned, the rest go to A, and I'll handle B alone. Is that too hard to understand?”
“No, but...”
“Don't you know capturing three bases at the same time is the fastest way?”
- LOLOLOLOLOL crazy bastard
- His way of talking is so freaking funny
- Heavenly Demon mode on
- He's not wrong, lol, capturing three at once is the fastest, lol
- If you want to be fun, cool, and sexy, just act fun, cool, and sexy
- Of course capturing three is the fastest, lol
This is fun.
The user's cheek twitched slightly.
“No, hard or not isn't the point, you're a tank. Even if you're a skilled player, you're telling me you'll fight multiple opponents with Absorption?”
“Don't worry. I am the Heavenly Demon.”
Yes, the Heavenly Demon.
“I can see your nickname is Cheonma14, but so what? Are you trolling?”
A troll.
It refers to people who deliberately harass others online for their own amusement and self-satisfaction.
And what Seojun was doing fit the definition of a troll.
That is, only if he couldn't play the game.
“Are your eyes only capable of seeing the name?”
When Seojun said that, his ally's eyes shifted to above Seojun's head and then beside it.
“Grandmaster? What's that? I've never seen a title like that before.”
“It's proof that I'm the Heavenly Demon. So do as I say.”
Seojun stood before the gate.
[Battle starts in 10 seconds.]
[Battle starts in 9 seconds.]
.
.
.
The gate opened, and together with the soldiers, Seojun headed for base B.
Left behind, the teammates had no choice but to follow Seojun's will.
“Well, I doubt our teammates will lose a 2-on-1.”
- Keuh, proof that he's the Heavenly Demon
- Honestly, Grandmaster seems like a unique, insanely cool title, but why does it look so shabby when used for roleplaying, lol
- I'm genuinely curious, why does the streamer use polite speech to the viewers?
“Why do I use polite speech? How could I use casual speech toward all of you, my viewers?”
Of course, there are streamers who do use casual speech, but most of them are at least somewhat older.
He could also be considered old enough if pressed.
The problem is he can't prove it.
- But you had no problem speaking down to us just now???
- It's in his nature, lol
- He might have been a Heavenly Demon in his past life
- The puzzle is finally solved
‘Solved, my ass.’
Continuing trivial chatter, Seojun moved forward.
Using lightness skill while watching his stamina, he arrived before the soldiers.
And the same was true for the enemy.
A group of three enemies who had come by the book.
When they saw Seojun standing alone, they began to watch warily, as if wondering if other enemies might appear from the sides.
“Hey, why is there only one enemy?”
“Dunno. Looking at their team composition, there aren't any weird traits though.”
“An easy win? Or maybe they're throwing.”
“Anyway, those Demon Cult bastards always seem crazy.”
- For real, lol
- They really have no sense of normalcy
- As expected of the Orthodox Faction, how smart!
- What are you hypocritical Orthodox bastards saying right now!
- Lmao
The enemies chatted among themselves.
They didn't seem to be particularly wary of Seojun, who was alone.
Rather, they seemed to care more about possible teammates lying in ambush.
‘I’d better just go first.’
Seojun used lightness skill to charge in swiftly.
Since his level was low, a basic battle began.
The user wearing clothes embroidered with red flowers on their sleeves drew a sword.
***
“I wonder what that guy from earlier really does?”
“Right.”
‘CoconutIsGood’, who had talked with the user possessing a strange manner of speech and an odd roleplay concept called Cheonma14, deeply empathized with his teammate’s question as they headed toward A.
Seriously, what does that guy do?
“Couldn't he be a veteran?”
“A veteran? No way... veterans don't dress that normally.”
CoconutIsGood kicked off the ground and let out a sigh.
The basic condition of a veteran.
Their appearance must be bizarre.
Running around in nothing but underwear, or painting their whole body purple.
The Demon Cult especially had many such people.
Perhaps it was because the Orthodox Faction had an image to maintain, and the Unorthodox Faction was full of manly men.
In contrast, the Demon Cult's image was...
How did it come to this?
CoconutIsGood's eyes grew moist.
He had come to the Demon Cult because he liked the Heavenly Demon.
But what was this?
Full of purple underpants villains.
And the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was a trash skill no one used.
“Still, the Grandmaster title seemed rare. Considering he's roleplaying, there's a chance.”
“And so he goes to a 1v3 with Absorption? Right. Oh wait, I could just check his account level.”
CoconutIsGood pulled up the interface window to check Cheonma14's account level.
Then he was struck with shock.
“His account level is practically a newbie... well, that figures.”
“Huh?”
Sigh.
“Ha. Should I just head to base B now...?”
A strong impulse to turn around and play by the book surged within him.
“No. Let's at least secure A first. It's 2-on-1, so if we take two bases and start from there, we might be able to turn the advantage if we do well.”
Fortunately, his teammate next to him calmly held him back.
“Alright.”
The two fell silent.
Slicing through the strange silence, they arrived at the base.
The Namgung Clan user, who had arrived first due to the short distance and was already capturing it, was startled when he spotted them.
“What the hell, I wondered if they'd really come separately? Demon Cult, what are you doing?”
The enemy retracted his hand from capturing and drew his sword.
After all, capturing automatically stops once a fight begins.
“Right.”
Standing opposite the base at a slight distance, CoconutIsGood's hands were dyed black.
His build was characterized by fighting with his hands instead of a weapon.
“We don't know either. So hurry up and hand over the base!”
The Absorption Great Art user beside him charged in first, and he followed.
They naturally positioned themselves to surround the enemy from the front and back, applying pressure.
Unless one has eyes on the back of their head, it's normally difficult to notice attacks coming from both directions.
Thus, the enemy tried to move around and avoid being encircled, but failed.
“Ah, shit, you're making the game dirty. Why are you coming here and jerking around?”
Clang!
The Namgung Clan member cried out as he barely blocked the ally's attack.
And CoconutIsGood’s eyes caught the back of the enemy, inscribed with the characters Chang Cheon (Blue Sky).
“We don't know either, so just give up!”
The black-stained hand shot forward.
No matter how skilled, if you don't notice, you cannot avoid it; unless there is a difference in power, being outnumbered means being at a disadvantage, which guarantees you'll be hit.
Yet this bastard's skill level was such that he seemed like he could win even one-on-one.
It was only natural for the enemy to fall.
“I’ll capture the base.”
“Yeah.”
CoconutIsGood opened the interface window again.
It was because he needed to check the battle situation to know how to act.
“Hey, you think you're going to win doing that? Don't you know the middle is ultimately the most important? You Demon Cult sons of bitches.”
The downed enemy waiting to respawn shouted, as if aggrieved from the very start.
It was understandable why he'd be dumbfounded.
Nodding inwardly, CoconutIsGood examined the interface window.
“Yeah, so I'm thinking about what to do now... Huh?”
Why are the enemies all dead?
He checked the alert window to find out the cause.
[Cheonma14 --> Jeon Jaehun]
[Cheonma14 --> Gilbadak]
[Cheonma14 --> Ibyeoreseo Ibyeol]
[Hero has emerged!]
What the.
He muttered, as if unable to understand the reason.
“What the heck is going on?”
And the fallen Namgung Clan user beside him seemed to have checked his own interface as well, because his voice came out as a strange, faltering sound.
“Ugh...”