The Final Boss Has Returned 126

Chapter 126

[Welcome to Ard Saga Second, user.]

My vision changed along with the notification window.

The place where I logged out was Snow Castle!

The capital of both the Dark Alliance and the Iron Blood Kingdom, and the starting point for human users belonging to the Dark Alliance. It was a city that had grown so large that its population was now comparable to that of most major cities in the central region.

Gazing at the panoramic view of Snow Castle, I immediately headed towards the Dark Council.

The Dark Council, the building that symbolizes the Dark Alliance!

Upon entering the Hall of Darkness within, I immediately placed my hand on the black crystal ball in the center of the grand hall.

[Would you like to use the Dark Council Remote Conference function?]

“Use.”

As soon as I spoke, translucent system windows popped up one after another.

[Please select the Dark Council Supreme Council Member to call.]

[Khalid, Grandmaster of the Black Ring Society]

[Nereus, the Merfolk King]

[Undead King]

[Idun, the Dark Elf Queen]

[Bortan, the Orc High Chieftain]

[Nosferatu, the Blood King]

[Robo, the Wolf King]

[Carlton, Grand Patriarch of the Dark Church]

Among the list of Dark Council Supreme Council Members displayed in the translucent window, I immediately pressed the Dark Elf Queen.

Because right now, she was the one I needed to see.

[Would you like to call Idun, the Dark Elf Queen?]

“Yes.”

[Connecting to Idun, the Dark Elf Queen.]

Not long after the notification window appeared, a video appeared in the air, showing a Dark Elf with striking silver hair.

I was connected to Idun, the Dark Elf Queen.

[You called, Hegemon-nim.]

“I have something to ask.”

[Speak.]

“Have you ever heard the legend of the witch in the Great Forest?”

After hearing my words, Idun fell silent for a moment, as if recalling her memories, and then continued her answer.

[I think I’ve heard of it vaguely. It’s a story about a witch who committed a grave sin a thousand years ago and fled to the Great Forest.]

“Where is that?”

[The legend doesn’t describe the exact location. Do you need to find this witch?]

“Yes.”

[Understood. I will dispatch my subordinates to search for the legend of the witch. I will report back to you when there are results.]

Idun politely replied to my words, and I smiled.

Power is indeed meant to be used at times like these.

Of course, the Great Forest was a vast field, as large as five or six kingdoms combined, but the Dark Elves were the natives who had lived in that Great Forest for over two thousand years.

If they, who could navigate the Great Forest like their own backyard, were determined to search it, they would surely be able to find the whereabouts of the witch, the ‘Last Loyal Retainer’!

Although the original intent of the quest was probably to have me enter the Great Forest and search for a needle in a haystack.

Smiling at the thought of getting the first step of the quest done easily, I said,

“Good. Then let’s move on to the second agenda.”

[Speak.]

“Are there any other factions in the Great Forest besides yours?”

[Except for a few small human native tribes and monsters living in groups, there are none.]

The smile on my lips deepened as I heard Idun’s words.

The information she relayed was something I had already obtained through the dedicated support team, but there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Great Forest.

That was because the Great Forest was that much of an unknown land.

However, since this information came directly from the leader of the Dark Elves, the natives of the Great Forest, there would be no need to doubt the reliability of the information.

“Then, good. Distribute quests related to Great Forest exploration and conquest to the outsiders. Consume the entire Great Forest. If necessary, you may request assistance from other allied races. I will grant permission.”

[Are you saying, to unify the Great Forest?]

Idun, who understood my words correctly, asked back.

Unification of the Great Forest!

That was the second order I was going to give to the Dark Elf Kingdom.

The Great Forest was a vast territory, a field teeming with monsters, but it was also a center of adventure, filled with high-level hunting grounds, unexplored areas, and undiscovered dungeons.

Therefore, it was clear that Simseong Iron Stars – the new guild born from the union of Iron Axe and Shooting Star, the two guilds that controlled the south, under the hand of Shin Jeong-hyeok – would consider it a key area of interest. And I was planning to start poking at it in earnest.

“Yes, that’s right.”

[Unification is certainly possible with our current capabilities if we invest enough time, but there is also the possibility of conflict with the outsider forces in the south.]

“They won’t be able to stop us. I’ll step in myself if necessary.”

I replied to Idun’s words like this.

The ‘outsider forces’ she was referring to were probably Simseong Iron Stars, but they couldn’t stand in my way anyway.

Because it would be to their detriment.

Of course, having the Great Forest fall entirely into our hands would also be to their detriment, so they would probably feel like they were caught in a double bind.

[Understood.]

Idun acquiesced to my words, and having achieved my objective, I ended the call.

Now that I had finished giving all the necessary groundwork instructions, all that remained was the Eastern Colony攻略.

▄ ▄ ▄

Eugene!

As soon as he and the Five Eyes announced their plans for the Northern Colony attack following Drakan’s conquest, Xiongmao eSports in the west and Simseong Iron Stars in the south, who had been cautiously watching each other, also announced their own colony attack plans, as if not to be outdone.

Of course, both guilds avoided overlapping dates with Eugene.

This was because they were well aware of the fact that Eugene’s popularity was at the highest level in Ard World.

With Xiongmao eSports setting their attack date for one day after Eugene’s chosen date, and Simseong Iron Stars setting theirs for one day before, the ones left holding the bag were the Eastern users.

[Seriously, why is there no one in the East?]

[JDG was there, but they went North~]

[Did Drakan abandon the East? lol]

[Eastern hellgate opened, crazy.]

[Lawless Port is safe, come to Lawless Port.]

[Think I should leave the East;]

[What are Drakan and JDG doing;]

[Drakan leveled up and went North, why are you looking for someone who’s not there lol]

[Look at those idiots who supported Drakan and got abandoned lol. Seriously, that trashy X-rakan, they shouldn’t have supported him so much lol]

[It’s karma lol]

Chaos continued to reign in the East.

Not only had the colony fallen on top of the capital of the Gasan Kingdom in the East, causing the kingdom to collapse, but the monsters pouring out of the colony were roaming all over the East day after day.

The Eastern users, who had initially rejoiced at the increased number of monsters to hunt, were now starting to avoid the fields as the number of monsters increased exponentially.

In this situation, the local lord NPCs, who were supposed to be exterminating the monsters in the field, were busy defending their own territories from the onslaught of monsters.

The fact that the safest area in the East was Lawless Port, which had the Black Ring Society and the Pirate Archipelago at its back and could receive regular supplies through trade with the North, spoke volumes.

In such a situation, the Eastern users were either escaping the East, settling in Lawless Port, or voicing their growing discontent while searching for JDG and Drakan, who had left for the North after having their roots in the East.

Just then, as public opinion in the East was becoming increasingly turbulent.

A live broadcast suddenly started on Drakan’s official channel without any prior notice.

As soon as the live stream of Drakan, the representative user of the Dark Alliance, began, countless people started to join.

[Greetings, my black cow friends.]

Drakan, who started the live stream with the now-familiar phrase “black cow friends,” immediately got to the point.

[To cut to the chase, the Dark Alliance, including myself and JDG, is currently preparing for an Eastern expedition. Even though I’m currently in the North, I haven’t forgotten the East.]

Eastern attack!

As soon as Drakan brought up the main point, the public opinion in the chat window flipped in an instant.

[Light Ra-kan]

[I believed in you, Drakan-nim ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[Seriously, where did all those people who were saying Drakan-nim’s personality was trashy yesterday go? lol]

[They probably went to the Infinite Eugene Church lol]

[Yoo-quis got caught trying to instigate, huh? Pathetic, huh?]

[Wow, finally;;]

[As expected, only Drakan-nim cares about the East……]

[But isn’t it the same time slot as Eugene’s in a week?]

[Of course, as black cows, we should watch Drakan-nim’s broadcast, duh]

Drakan!

He finally declared the Eastern Colony attack!

With that fact, the discontent that had been threatening to surface was quickly quelled under the leadership of Drakan’s fandom, the black cows, and the chat window was filled with a relay of praise for Drakan.

And among them, there were also chats expressing concern about Drakan’s bold choice of the same time slot as Eugene.

That was only natural.

Eugene and the Five Eyes were, after all, the factions that held hegemony in Ard World, and it was a fact that their popularity was immense.

Of course, it wasn’t that Drakan, the dedicated support team, and Shin Ha-yeon were foolish enough to schedule the attack date without considering such variables.

Drakan, seeing the chats expressing concern for him, said,

[Worried because it’s the same time slot as Eugene’s? Why worry about that? As Alliance users, you’ll naturally watch the Eastern attack, right?]

The Dark Alliance!

Stimulating a sense of belonging to the faction!

Even though Eugene was a top ranker, he was ultimately just the representative user of the Coalition.

Then, wouldn’t it be better for him, the representative user of the Alliance, to counter that by appealing to the sense of belonging to the faction by matching the time slot!

That was Drakan’s aim.

[Oh lol]

[Drakan-nim is right~]

[Wow, Drakan-nim is reacting to the black cows’ chat again after a long time;;]

[Is he actually a tsundere?]

[Let the Coalition cowards watch Yoo-jin’s broadcast lol]

[If you’re an Alliance user, please watch Drakan’s broadcast]

[For the Alliance!]

[Seriously, aren’t those watching Yoo-jin’s broadcast Coalition spies?]

Drakan smiled inwardly as he watched the chat being flooded in real time.

He had received reports that the number of users with a sense of belonging to the faction had surged after the Northern Colony attack, but this was the first time he had witnessed the reaction firsthand.

[The Eastern Colony attack will be conducted in two separate offensives. The Eastern Army, centered around Lawless Port, will be led by JDG and Ignis, who will arrive on transport ships from the North, and the Western Army, which I will personally lead with the forces of the Dark Alliance.]

Drakan continued to explain the strategy he had planned in advance through the broadcast.

[Those who wish to participate in the attack from the East, gather at Lawless Port. JDG, Ignis, and the Black Ring Society will lead the way.]

Lawless Port!

Drakan planned to use Lawless Port as a base for the Eastern users, forming the Eastern and Western Armies to pressure the Eastern colony from both sides.

Even though the Eastern forces were currently the weakest among all the regions in Ard World, they were still a force to be reckoned with if the Eastern users were to unite.

Drakan’s strategy was based on the fact that if the Black Ring Society and JDG, the most well-preserved forces in the East, were added to the mix, they could be reborn as a sufficiently powerful force.

[Then, I’ll see you at the Eastern Colony.]

With those words, Drakan ended the broadcast, but the bait he had left behind became a tidal wave that engulfed the entire internet.