Chapter 698
The Palazzo Hotel, located in Las Vegas.
Jinhyuk and the members of the Veteran Corporation, who hadn’t received formal invitations, had settled in there.
“Even so, didn’t you go a bit too far smashing him?”
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue while looking at Alice.
Honestly, it was chilling to see her turn a guy into mush just for brushing against her shoulder.
“You should be grateful I didn’t kill him. How dare a lowly, foul-smelling creature graze my royal body.”
“Anyway, your temper… tsk. Have you already completely forgotten what we said about not drawing too much attention?”
“I, I remember it too!”
Alice shrieked.
Despite her words, she looked quite flustered.
Of course she’d feel guilty, having forgotten something they’d drilled into her ears until they were calloused.
“But it’ll be fine, right? Honestly, I didn’t even hit him that hard. Did I do something terribly wrong?”
“Enough. That guy won’t be able to say you hit him anyway.”
The pride of rankers and the interests of the major guilds were as clear as day.
It was also predictable what kind of excuse that European idiot Kiyov would come up with.
“Are you saying he’ll keep quiet?”
“No, more than that…”
Jinhyuk glanced toward the door.
It was about time for the doorbell to ring.
There was a reason they’d deliberately left plenty of traces and booked this flashy, extravagant five-star hotel.
Right then.
‘Ding-dong!’
A cheerful chime rang out.
‘He’s no gentleman.’
He came at an incredibly perfect timing.
“Is it the foolish Saintess or the foolish Sword Saint?”
Alice tilted her head.
They had agreed to rest in their respective rooms until dinner, so there was no reason for anyone to come at this time.
No other person came to mind.
At least, that was what Alice thought.
Jinhyuk let out a soft chuckle and approached the door.
‘Clunk.’
As the door opened, a familiar face with a deeply troubled expression appeared.
It was Kiyov, a ranker belonging to Europe’s Dreadlord.
Next to him was Ivankovich, wearing a face like he’d eaten something rotten.
Just as expected.
‘My intuition has almost reached the level of prophecy. Even I get goosebumps thinking about it.’
“Well, well. To what do we owe the honor of such distinguished guests gracing our humble abode?”
Jinhyuk laid on the flattery thick.
“You look as if you knew I would come.”
“You must be in a very difficult situation. Besides, I thought the only way to clean up the lie was to come to us.”
“…You are correct. Thanks to that, our necks are on the line.”
Kiyov let out a long sigh.
He had told Mayer it was the doing of the American Titan Guild, but it was a lie that would be exposed with a little digging.
At best, it was a temporary measure that would last only a few days.
In the end, to survive, he had to turn the lie into truth before the little time he had left ran out.
For that, the cooperation of Jinhyuk and the Veteran Corporation was an essential prerequisite.
“Since Seo Jeonghee was there, you probably said you clashed with the American side, right? So we just need to act like we’re their pawns?”
“…Astounding.”
An earthquake ran through Kiyov’s pupils.
He inadvertently revealed his inner thoughts thanks to Jinhyuk’s sharp insight.
“That’s right. That’s precisely the help we need. I will convey the detailed plan, and if you just act accordingly—”
“Hey now.”
Jinhyuk cut him off.
“Do you people have no sense of business ethics?”
‘It seems they still haven’t properly grasped who’s drowning and who can save them.’
Maybe it was the ingrained habit of throwing their weight around, but that wouldn’t fly here.
“First, if we help you, you should state what you can offer in return. That’s the chivalry of the martial world. If you just try to solve your own urgent problems without consideration, what does that make me?”
“What do you want? If it’s money—”
“I have more than enough of that, so I don’t need it.”
‘What I want is information.’
How this tournament was structured, the combat strength of each guild and the characteristics of the rankers, and how the current interests were aligned.
‘I need as much high-level information as possible—things ordinary players can’t grasp.’
“Kgh…”
At the one-sided demand, Ivankovich showed signs of discomfort.
“Understood. We will provide everything.”
Kiyov raised a hand to stop Ivankovich.
“Ah! And I’ll decide the plan and how we move. You guys will do as I say.”
‘BAM!’
The moment those words ended, Ivankovich kicked the door.
‘BAM BAM BAM BAM… BAM BAM BAM CRASH!’
Shattered fragments flew across the living room and embedded themselves in the opposite wall.
“This is utterly unacceptable. We came here originally to make an offer to that girl or that guy named Chun Yoosung. You nerds who only know how to use your heads should know your place and stop acting up.”
Ivankovich laid down the law, pointing at Alice and Chun Yoosung, who had come after sensing the commotion.
He thought the two who had shown their presence earlier were the core members of this group.
“Ah, I see. So I looked like the lowest one?”
‘If that’s what you meant, you should have said so sooner.’
Jinhyuk, smiling brightly, slowly approached Ivankovich.
Jinhyuk was a full head shorter than the giant man.
Yet there wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his steps.
“What foolish humans.”
“…May you rest in peace.”
Even though he openly stated they weren’t beneath him, Alice and Chun Yoosung didn’t deny it.
By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
‘Swoosh…’
A clamorous yet serene killing intent spilled out.
“…Ghk?”
Ivankovich’s face, which had been full of bluster just moments ago, contorted in horror.
Unlike the first time, when he’d been caught off guard, this time he had come fully prepared.
He had planned to at least show his strength if things didn’t go well.
Sacred Relics, unique items, and various Mana supplements…
He had come in full gear, as if he were about to participate in a large-scale raid.
However, it was all futile.
Even if he had received support from every guild-level Sacred Relic, the result wouldn’t have changed.
“Do I still… look beneath them to you?”
Naturally, he had thought the silver-haired girl and the man named Chun Yoosung, who used a sword earlier, led this group.
But he was wrong.
‘Shudder!’
‘The level is different.’
No, it wasn’t just the level; the very dimension of seeing and hearing was different.
The master leading Dreadlord, Lore Gray.
The Grand Archmage of the Titan Guild, Shasha.
They were EX-class superhumans who had reached a realm he didn’t dare judge…
But Ivankovich couldn’t even begin to picture those two defeating this man.
Kiyov, too, was busy trying to steady himself, trembling uncontrollably at the unbelievable sight.
‘For someone like this to have remained unknown until now…’
For what reason had he lived in seclusion?
Despite being able to enjoy all manner of wealth and glory, why?
Moreover, the intention to participate in the War of the Stars at this precise timing was also impossible to read.
Whatever the case, an EX-class—no, perhaps an even stronger being—had begun to move.
“It seems we tried to avoid a fox and ended up in a tiger’s den.”
Kiyov shook his head from side to side as if resigned to everything.
“If you just guarantee our safety, we will do anything else you command.”
And so, new pawns had arrived.
—
While Jinhyuk smoothly led the situation.
The psychological warfare between America and Europe was escalating beyond sharpness, reaching an extreme.
It provided the perfect pretext for the two guilds, who were already looking for any opportunity to undermine each other.
Already, in many dungeons and labyrinths within the Tower, casualties were mounting due to their covert struggles.
“Dreadlord targeted the Mana Stone mine on the 15th floor that we were monopolizing. One A-class, five B-class, and 26 C-class and below are combat ineffective. The Mana Stone mine was also destroyed to the point where mining will be impossible for the time being.”
“The strategy for the Lewis Coldmain Ruins, which we’ve invested three months in, has also become uncertain. They must know that place is essential to form ties with the Third Force, the Twelve Zodiac Gods.”
The twelve Divine Beasts that possessed mysterious power.
And the Coldmain Ruins were the major premise for gaining the help of the strongest ape in one-on-one combat, who reigned above them.
One of the tasks that must succeed for the future of humanity.
A great undertaking involving countless efforts was on the verge of becoming a bubble with this single incident.
“They’re becoming more and more blatant.”
“They’re openly provoking us; we can’t just not respond! We must do something!”
“Let’s use this opportunity to take Gray’s head. That madman’s head.”
The rankers of the Titan Guild raised their voices one after another.
The middle-aged man in a white tuxedo at the center tapped the table repeatedly with his finger.
One of the EX-class, codename Shasha.
A Grand Archmage who could use not only ninth-circle magic but also magic from other dimensions, standing at the pinnacle among all existing magic-type players.
The epithet ‘The One Closest to a Dragon’ was no exaggeration.
“I understand what you all want to say. However, all things have their proper order. We cannot strike at the very top without solid evidence.”
It was true they needed to deal with the Dreadlord bastards behind this, but before that, they had to handle those who caused this trouble.
By capturing and interrogating the ones who took the request, they could learn more detailed inside information.
Once everything was revealed, they could finally point their sharpened spearheads toward the Dreadlord bastards.
‘Whoosh!’
Flames surged, and the faces of the members belonging to the Veteran Corporation rose up.
Beneath them, detailed personal information created based on the given information was written in letters of fire.
“Are these the ones?”
“Yes. Those bastards killed all my personal mercenaries. They definitely used dirty tricks.”
Seo Jeonghee nodded.
Only intense killing intent swirled in her eyes.
“If they even dared to touch Director Seo Jeonghee, it seems we must assume they have the backing of a major guild like Dreadlord.”
To pick a fight not even inside the Tower, but openly outside…
They had no intention of letting it slide.
They were determined to make them feel the price of touching the world’s greatest power down to their bones.
Right then.
“While eliminating them is up to you, Shasha-nim, you must concede at least one of them to us.”
Other figures hidden in the shadows revealed themselves.
Their stark white uniforms, marked with red crosses, were particularly eye-catching.
The most alien and unpredictable fanatics among those of the modern era.
They were inquisitors, all composed of apostles of Eden.
“The great Archangel Raphael has commanded. To judge the Corrupted Saintess Teresa du Laurentia. We have come here to fulfill that sacred duty.”
They would not forgive anyone who interfered.
Fanatics bound by absolute faith in God moved for only one goal.
And that was—
“Of course.”
It wasn’t a bad story for the Titan Guild either.
If there was an annoying point about the unheard-of guild called Veteran Corporation, it was Teresa du Laurentia and Yoo Yeonhwa, the granddaughter of Yoo Cheonyeong.
If they were offering to remove one of them, the Titan Guild had no reason to refuse.
“This time, many interesting things are going to happen.”
The War of the Stars would be held soon.
Various stages and events meticulously prepared by countries around the world.
With numerous strong participants, the probability of unexpected accidents was bound to be high.