The Final Boss Has Returned 147

Chapter 147

“To successfully complete the raid, we need the cooperation of the other two factions.”

Drakan made up his mind.

He decided to drag the other two factions in with a drowning man’s tactic.

If they succeeded in the raid as it was, ultimately, it would be like giving the other two factions the spoils of war, and Drakan couldn’t stand that.

It wasn’t simply because of the childish reason of feeling envious.

Eugene.

Drakan’s goal was to defeat him and stand at the apex of Ard World, and he couldn’t just let some random bastards snatch away the fruits of his labor at this point.

So, the others had to bleed too.

“As expected, Drakan-nim and I have things in common.”

Whether Drakan knew what he was thinking or not, Eugene smiled brightly as soon as he heard Drakan’s words.

In stark contrast to Drakan, who had made the suggestion out of extreme selfishness, Eugene had the unbelievably pure thought that they should all work together to prevent the world’s crisis!

‘Drakan-nim has truly changed from the past.’

Eugene thought with a smile.

Drakan.

He must have completely broken away from his past self.

Eugene knew better than anyone else about the Drakan of the past.

The Drakan of the previous game was a monster born of selfishness, who only pursued his own interests to the extreme.

If Drakan hadn’t really changed, if his personality was the same as before, he wouldn’t have mentioned including other factions in the raid.

He would have definitely brought up the idea of attacking the Hive Mind, no matter the sacrifice.

But Drakan suggested including other factions, and this served as an opportunity for Eugene to once again confirm, albeit subtly, that Drakan had changed.

Of course, unlike Eugene’s thoughts, Drakan’s true intention was that he couldn’t die alone, but there was no way Eugene could know that.

Thus, at the moment when Eugene’s opinion, born out of pure goodwill and kindness, and Drakan’s opinion, born out of extreme selfishness, coincidentally aligned, the conclusion of the meeting was set.

Now it was time to discuss the method.

“Then how do you intend to bring them in?”

The moment Eugene and Drakan’s opinions aligned, the first to speak was Sword Emperor Argen.

Argen wasn’t happy with this situation.

It wasn’t good enough that a big shot like Drakan had joined the raid, and now it seemed like other riffraff would be joining as well.

High risk, high return!

The greater the risk, the greater the reward!

This was the absolute law that had governed Ard World from the previous game to the present.

Quests that were notoriously difficult and arduous, dungeons that seemed impossible to conquer at first glance, offered greater rewards upon successful completion!

Any user who considered themselves a gamer knew this law.

And if they could monopolize this quest, where the ‘destruction of Ard World’ was at stake……

The return would be beyond imagination.

That’s what Argen thought.

Therefore, Argen had reluctantly accepted Drakan, but he was skeptical about accepting any more factions.

Sharing a limited reward with others wasn’t something he desired.

However, Argen didn’t strongly oppose it.

‘But it takes two to tango, and unless they’re fools, the chances of them refusing to join are high.’

The other two factions.

Xiongmao eSports and Simseong Iron Stars. He thought it was unlikely they would join.

They were weaklings who couldn’t handle high risk, high return, and therefore, it was clear that they would need a lot of promises to join the alliance.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t budge.

Especially the fact that Simseong Iron Stars had a grudge against Jeil E&M, led by Drakan, was practically an open secret.

The possibility of Simseong Iron Stars joining hands with Drakan was practically non-existent.

‘That Drakan wouldn’t bring them in by paying an excessive price.’

Argen laughed inwardly.

The alliance negotiation suddenly came to mind.

Not only did he demand the rights to the Mythical grade item, but he also demanded equal treatment, and Argen had no choice but to accept all of his unreasonable demands despite being present at the negotiation.

Of course, if his demands had truly crossed the line, Argen would have broken off the negotiation, but he couldn’t because he had taken the maximum benefit, subtly pushing the boundaries without crossing them.

He was a daylight robber who robbed you blind while smiling innocently!

That was the image of Drakan at the negotiation table.

But having such a Drakan as an ally felt like gaining a thousand troops and horses.

‘To think that the day would come when I would trust Drakan.’

Argen thought so and smiled faintly.

Anyway, the problem of how to recruit them remained unsolved.

And it would likely remain unsolved.

Just as Argen was thinking that……

“That’s not too difficult.”

Contrary to Argen’s expectations, those words came out of Drakan’s mouth.

Twitch.

Argen’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“Not difficult, what do you mean?”

“If we appeal to their goodwill, they will have no choice but to join our alliance voluntarily.”

The moment he heard those words, Argen’s stomach churned.

Drakan.

He understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

‘Is he going to threaten them with public opinion?’

Public opinion.

When united, it was a force more fearsome than anything else.

Drakan was now trying to wield that power.

Appealing to their goodwill.

Originally, it would have been an absurd notion.

The world wasn’t a naive place where people would be moved by such goodwill.

But in this case, it was different.

The destruction of Ard World!

In front of this enormous issue, Drakan and Eugene were the ones who had taken the moral high ground.

From their efforts to speed up the stagnant progress of Phase 2 by conquering the Valley of Origins, to establishing a forward base in the Primeval Plateau and building the Grand Temple, users naturally assumed that Drakan and Eugene’s ultimate goal was the Hive Mind.

In such a situation, if Eugene and Drakan publicly asked them for ‘help’ in front of all the general users?

It would be a ‘request for help’ in name, but in reality, it was practically coercion.

15 days.

Within that short timeframe, if they refused the publicly sent request for help, the backlash from public opinion that the two factions would face would be truly unimaginable.

Perhaps the two guilds would be destroyed before Ard World.

“Drakan-nim is right. If we sincerely ask for help, they will surely open their hearts and fight together with us for the great cause of protecting Ard World.”

Whether he knew what Argen was thinking or not, Eugene accepted Drakan’s words at face value with a satisfied expression.

Appealing to goodwill!

That was the method Eugene, who believed in human goodwill, wanted the most.

Ard World.

To protect this virtual world, which was even called another world, they too would risk their characters’ lives and help them.

That’s what Eugene thought.

‘To think that these words would come out of Drakan-nim’s mouth.’

At the same time, Eugene was slightly surprised.

Drakan.

He wasn’t doubting the fact that he had reformed.

He had definitely changed from his past self.

But even so, Eugene thought that he had a personality closer to Verda than himself.

A person who doubted first rather than believed.

That was Drakan.

But the current Drakan was different.

He believed in human goodwill like himself and said that if they sincerely asked for help, they would respond with sincerity, before Eugene himself had even said it.

‘Drakan-nim. You have finally come to believe in the sincerity of humans.’

Eugene smiled with satisfaction.

If you believe in goodwill and show sincerity, you can influence anyone.

He felt proud of the fact that Drakan, who was once his enemy, agreed with his thoughts.

Receiving Eugene’s satisfied smile and sparkling eyes, Drakan clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘He seems to be making another pointless misunderstanding.’

Thinking so, Drakan said to Eugene,

“Yes. So let’s ask for help right now. With sincerity.”

A smile hung on Drakan’s lips as he spoke.

Drakan.

His drowning man’s tactic had finally begun.

▄ ▄ ▄

Broken World.

The joint base of Xiongmao eSports and Simseong Iron Stars.

In the conference room at the center of the base, a voice echoed.

“If we don’t conquer the Hive Mind within 15 days, Ard World will be destroyed. It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?”

Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok.

He logged in as his in-game character and said this with a laugh.

“Let those self-righteous people handle the world’s crisis. We’ll just sit back and enjoy the show.”

The one who agreed with him was none other than the leader of Xiongmao eSports, Sword Emperor Wu Jing.

Wu Jing, who had the appearance of a neat middle-aged man, sat with a single Dao sword at his waist and looked around.

“Our time is coming soon.”

Wu Jing muttered as he looked at the map of Broken World and Ard World in the center of the table.

Our time.

That’s right.

They were biding their time.

No one present here thought there was a possibility that Ard World would actually be destroyed if the Hive Mind raid failed.

Five Eyes and Jeil E&M.

The two most powerful factions in Ard World, who were also rivals, had joined hands. At this point, the Hive Mind raid would end in success.

It’s just that they would have to shed a lot of blood in the process.

“Yes. Our time is coming soon.”

Vice Chairman Shin smiled as he looked at Wu Jing.

Vice Chairman Shin only realized the boundless value of this game, Ard Saga Second, after logging in.

Along with that, he also clearly understood why Shin Ha-yeon was so obsessed with obtaining Ard World.

‘To think she was trying to monopolize this honey pot, I can’t let that happen.’

Vice Chairman Shin smiled as he thought so.

The game, which had started as a simple revenge against Shin Ha-yeon, was now aiming for something more.

Hegemony over Ard World.

Because Vice Chairman Shin had realized its value by starting the game.

‘Of course, for the time being, I’ll have to cohabitate with these Chinese bastards, but the hegemony over Ard World is worth it.’

Vice Chairman Shin thought so and looked at Wu Jing, and Wu Jing also looked at Vice Chairman Shin and smiled outwardly.

‘I don’t know how long I’ll have to stay with these Korean bastards. But right now, I need them.’

Just as the two factions were dreaming different dreams……

A video was quietly uploaded to Ard Live.