Ranker's Return

Chapter 675

“Should I turn it on or not?"Hyeonu asked Kim Seokjung, the man by his side.

“If you want to turn on your stream, turn it on. It is all up to you”Kim Seokjung answered immediately without thinking about it. In any case, everything was up to Hyeonu. Hyeonu wouldn’t turn on the livestream just because Kim Seokjung asked, nor would he not turn it on if that was what Kim Seokjung wanted.

“Yes, but… there is still something that is a bit ambiguous.”

Hyeonu was still worried. Should he turn on the stream?

‘It doesn’t matter if I only turn it on today, but…’

After today, he would have to turn it on two or three times, and the problem would grow. It was obvious that viewers would use this time as a pretext to demand a next time.

‘I will adjust the date.’

Hyeonu found a solution. It was to flexibly adjust the stream date instead.

“I will turn on the live stream today and end my streaming for this week. In any case, we will only arrive at the next city next week.”

“That is a good idea.”Kim Seokjung gave Hyeonu a thumbs up.

‘I will turn it on right away because the emperor will arrive soon,’ Hyeonu thought.

This was the reason why he was able to leave the main group with Kim Seokjung and the others. Hyeonu led the advance team responsible for the search. The advance team separated from the main army to prepare for unknown problems. They didn’t encounter any danger while reaching a distance where the walls of Tendmul were visible. In the middle, the demons and demonic creatures came over, but it was a common hunt. It wasn’t enough to affect the progress of the main scenario.

‘Is there a noble in Tendmul?’

The moment the problem of the stream was solved, another topic filled Hyeonu’s mind. The noble who ruled Tendmul had died at Hyeonu’s hands.

‘Earl Kalea died at my hands. I killed another one when I visited before…’

It was possible that the vacancy that occurred again was already filled now.

‘Did they send someone because they don’t know the whereabouts of the ring?’

After killing Earl Kalea, Hyeonu didn’t get the ring symbolizing the master of Tendmul. It wasn’t a situation where he could pick up items. Then when he visited Tendmul again with Reina, he killed an earl and got a ring.

‘They sent it once, so the probability of them sending someone again will be greater.’

In Hyeonu’s mind, he was already leaning toward the hypothesis that there was currently a noble in Tendmul.

‘This time, I need to be active in the fight.’

There were more than 5,000 ranker\'s, so it wouldn’t be hard for them to kill a demon earl. However, Hyeonu had no intention of sharing the rewards with them.

‘I have to give them the small things and take the big things.’

Even if he didn’t directly take the small things, 10% of the rewards would belong to Hyeonu. It was necessary for him to swallow the big things alone.

‘I need to do it before anyone finds them.’

“Then I’ll get ready to stream, Hyung-nim.”

Hyeonu hid his sinister heart and was ready to turn on the stream.

[Main scenario in the demon world with Alley Leader.]

The title of today’s livestream was a very ordinary one.

\'Alley Leader\'—these words alone made all the difference.

There was only a black screen that had yet to light up, but Hyeonu’s live stream already attracted millions of viewers.

-Hey, it’s on.

-It is a huge profit.Alley Leader has turned on his stream.

-So is this the week’s fourth time?

-Would he still be Alley Leader if he does it today and tomorrow?He will be resting tomorrow.

-Right?It is too bad.

-Still, where else can you see the scenario here?

The viewers continued their conversation without paying attention to whether Hyeonu’s screen was visible or not. After all, it was a familiar thing—a live stream without any lights.

‘I can turn it on now.’

Hyeonu confirmed that a moderate amount of viewers were gathered and switched to the streaming screen straight away.

-Okay, we’ve entered.

-Now it will truly start.

-By the way, why is it so chilly around him?

-It seems the main army hasn’t joined yet.

-Didn’t they say they are almost there?

The viewers chatted as they looked at the screen that started to come alive. Hyeonu saw the chat window and tried to speak. Just then, someone called out to Hyeonu.

“Hyeonu. They’re almost here. It will be around 20 minutes.”It was Gang Junggu. He came with news of the main army.

“Already? That is faster than I thought.”

The arrival of the main army was faster than Hyeonu expected.

‘How fast are they coming?’

It was too fast.

“The emperor picked up the speed. I think he is doing it again.”Gang Junggu was talking about the scene where all the rankers were running when they attacked Penn previously.

“The emperor knows the exact location of Tendmul. He seems to be getting faster.”

“Once the emperor comes, will he start attacking right away?”

“Probably. I think we will start the siege right away after a simple maintenance.”

Hyeonu also remembered the time when they attacked Penn. Based on the emperor’s temperament, he would definitely attack Tendmul immediately.

“Brother, are you going to rest again this time? Conceding is good, but you don’t have to bear so many losses alone. Who would say anything?”Kim Seokjung placed an arm around Hyeonu’s neck. Kim Seokjung was very concerned about Hyeonu resting during the last Penn siege. He thought it was because Hyeonu was conscious of public opinion.

“What damage? I’m not the type of person to watch out for things like that, Hyung-nim. Why are you being like this?”Hyeonu smiled and shook his head at Kim Seokjung’s worries. In fact, Hyeonu hadn’t received any damages; there were only huge gains. Nevertheless, the only two people who knew about it were the emperor and Hyeonu.

“Well, if you say so… I should believe it. Do you want to have some fun?”

“I was already planning to do so. This time, I’m also aiming for something. I’m going to fight hard.”

This time, Hyeonu couldn’t afford to rest like the other day. He had to act like his usual self in order to find the demon noble.

“That’s good. Hasn’t it been a long time since we’ve fought together?”Kim Seokjung smiled. However, Hyeonu poured some cold water on Kim Seokjung\'s anticipation.

“That might be a bit hard… I think I will be going around in a busy manner.”

“Is that so? Then do your business and come over. There is plenty of time.”

The viewers heard the conversation between Kim Seokjung and Hyeonu and commented on it.

-Is he aiming for something?

-Is there another quest?

-Excuse me, please communicate with us.Can you tell us what you are aiming for?

-What is the point of knowing?Are you going to tell your guild?

-Eh, get lost, spy.You can get the information on your own.Don’t make it obvious here.

The viewers fought among themselves. It was because the informants of the large guilds, often referred to as spies, had unintentionally revealed themselves. Regular viewers disliked most large guilds as their actions were quite big. Naturally, not even New World could escape this threat. Therefore, ordinary viewers had great hostility toward to the intelligence gatherers and miners of the large guilds.

Regardless, Hyeonu had no idea of the situation in the chat window. It was because the emperor had just appeared before him.

“This war is so trivial. Marquis, what do you think?”The emperor had his unique bored expression. As a result, Hyeonu suffered from the illusion that the emperor was burying himself in the throne.

‘He\'s already like this? It was just a while ago that he was stuck in his room. Has he forgotten?’

Hyeonu quickly tried to dismantle the circuit before the time bomb called the emperor exploded. It would be a headache if the emperor moved recklessly.

“Why don’t you lead the battle, Your Majesty? You will feel some entertainment if you take action personally.”

Upon hearing Hyeonu’s words, the emperor turned his head to look at the walls of Tendmul in the distance.

-The main scenario is a small entertainment for someone.

-Don’t you know the emperor’s power?It is right that it is entertainment.

-That’s true. He just smashed a demon king.

-Honestly, he seems to be a balance-destroying NPC.

-Alley Leader is equal in front of him.

-Then how much is Lebron?

-Lebron is also very good.It isn’t a joke if you watch the old videos.

-Still, the emperor is stronger, right?

-There will be no answer as to whether Lebron is as strong as the emperor.

-It is a game where the NPCs are the main characters.

The viewers shifted their attention to Hyeonu and the emperor’s conversation. They were no longer interested in the intelligence gatherers of the large guilds. It was many times more beneficial for the viewers to look at the emperor before them now.

“If I head out today… what about tomorrow? How will I quench my thirst after that?” the emperor said.

‘Then what do you want me to do?’Hyeonu sighed inwardly, but he never revealed it on the surface.

“If you are worried about that… how about enduring it a bit more? As time passes by, there is a higher possibility that a demon king or duke will appear. You can move your body then, Your Majesty.” Hyeonu offered another solution. Since the emperor was already enduring it, he might as well just endure it a bit more.

"Hrmm… That would be good, but… It is a dilemma.”The emperor looked at the walls and closed his eyes.

As the emperor and Hyeonu were chatting, the other players started to arrive.

Lebron looked around and informed the emperor, “Your Majesty, it seems like all the adventurers have arrived.”

“Is that so? Then let\'s start. Marquis, lead the adventurers to occupy the city. I will endure it for now,” the emperor said.

After that, he turned around. He turned his back to Tendmul, showing his determination not to go.

“I’ll clean it up as soon as possible.”Hyeonu bowed and slipped away from the emperor’s side.

He immediately found Kim Seokjung and told the latter, “Hyung-nim, you can start straight away. The emperor’s permission to attack has been granted. There will be no separate procedure this time. You have already received the quest.”

Kim Seokjung heard Hyeonu’s words and moved his lips to send a whisper. Not long after Kim Seokjung sent the whispers, the guild members of New World started to move in unison. At first, no one noticed. However, New World was the guild with the highest number of members, so it was inevitable that they stood out the moment they all began to move.

“What?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Something is strange. Everybody, get ready to move.”

The quick-witted people gave orders to their guild members. They felt there was something meaningful in New World\'s movement. Kim Seokjung finished the whispers and raised a hand to Hyeonu’s shoulder before saying,“We will go in a cheap manner as well.”

“I will give you a gift at the end of this scenario,” Hyeonu said.

“A gift? What is the gift?” Kim Seokjung cocked his head at Hyeonu, who suddenly mentioned a gift.

“Hyung-nim, aren’t you the master of New World?”

“Yes, the master of New World where Alley Leader is located.”

“Aren’t you the second player who got a title after me?’

“Yes, I was the second.”

“So does it make sense for you to still be a viscount? I’ll make you an earl. I’ll give you all the contributions I’ve gathered.”

Hyeonu would get the permit document after attacking Tendmul. Considering the imperial contributions that could be obtained until the end of the main scenario, Kim Seokjung could easily rise to an earl.

‘If there are any contributions left, Junggu hyung-nim should be raised to one as well.’

The amount of care Kim Seokjung gave to Hyeonu was too much for Hyeonu to receive the rewards alone.

“You don’t need to do that… Still, since it is a gift, I won’t refuse.” Kim Seokjung once again placed an arm around Hyeonu’s shoulder.