The Final Boss Has Returned 149

Chapter 149

“Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok. I’ve heard a lot about that esteemed name. Although this is the first time we’re meeting like this.”

The meeting hall overlooking the Valley of Origins.

There, I smiled as I looked at Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok.

Next to me sat Eugene, Verda, Sword Emperor Argen, and Ignis and Shin Ha-yeon.

They were the top executives who came out to respond to the negotiation on our side.

Of course, I decided to lead the negotiation.

This was something that not only Shin Ha-yeon and Ignis, but also Verda and Argen agreed on.

They all agreed that I was the right person for the negotiation, and Verda even went so far as to say that I was quite useful when I was on her side.

It was a situation where we were in the same boat.

Anyway, I looked at Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok.

Shin Jeong-hyeok.

The Crown Prince of Simseong Group.

I’ve seen him quite a bit in photos and videos, but this was the first time I’d actually met him face-to-face.

Shin Jeong-hyeok’s face hardened when he heard my words.

“And you are Wu Jing?”

“That’s right.”

I looked at the man next to him.

Sword Emperor Wu Jing.

China’s only Over-Ranker and an idol to countless Chinese users.

Considering that with a single point of his finger, Chinese users worth billions could come and go, he was truly a user who could wage a human wave tactic with just one finger.

Although his main strength as the Sword Emperor was considerable, his true power came from the countless Chinese users behind him, possessing a quantity that overwhelmed quality.

No matter how powerful a ranker’s strength was in Ard Saga Second, the sheer number of Chinese users possessed the potential to render even that strength meaningless.

The alliance between Vice Chairman Shin and Wu Jing.

It was certainly dangerous, but that was all.

Once the Aerial Mobile Fortress was completed, it wouldn’t be much of a threat to me.

The Aerial Mobile Fortress Voltaha was the ultimate weapon worth that much.

“So, how much have you looked into it?”

I said with a smile, and they couldn’t readily say anything.

If they had eyes and ears, they would know.

How the current public opinion was turning.

The current users were criticizing Xiongmao eSports and Simseong Iron Stars just for attempting to ‘negotiate’.

Of course, Shin Ha-yeon and Verda must have pulled some strings to influence public opinion to some extent, but the decisive blow was Eugene personally coming forward and saying, ‘A crisis has come to Ard World.’

In the face of the crisis of Ard World, they were not only selfishly looking out for their own interests, but they were also foolish traitors.

That was the trap that Xiongmao eSports and Simseong Iron Stars had walked into on their own.

“……”

I kept silent, watching Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok trying to maintain a poker face and Wu Jing looking at me with a calm expression, and then said.

“I believe you came here for the noble cause of protecting Ard World. Isn’t that right, Eugene?”

“Yes? Yes. That’s right. Please help us.”

When I changed the subject, Eugene responded while looking at them.

At Eugene’s words, Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok’s face gradually changed dynamically.

I smiled as I looked at Wu Jing and Vice Chairman Shin.

“But if you still insist on compensation, it’s not that I can’t pay you…… ” ” I will.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Wu Jing spoke first.

Sword Emperor Wu Jing.

He’s a quicker thinker than I thought.

I thought so and said.

“What will you do?”

“For the noble cause of protecting Ard World, I will join the alliance.”

At my words, Wu Jing gave a concrete answer.

He wrapped it up in diplomatic rhetoric, but to sum it up in one word, it was nothing short of unconditional surrender.

Well, they were in a dead end from the beginning.

If they had set conditions here, they would have been branded as the worst villains in the world, weighing their own interests against the destruction of Ard World, and public opinion would have worsened beyond repair.

‘This is the power of public opinion.’

I thought, looking anew at Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok’s humiliated expression.

The power of public opinion.

I had already experienced it painfully in the previous game, but being on the receiving end and wielding it were a little different.

Eugene.

He had used this powerful force to force a one-sided trade with me.

It was a moment when I felt incredibly stupid for being blinded by the short-term goal of completing the Overlord Quest and not caring about public opinion.

The past me was foolish and stupid enough to be taken advantage of by Eugene.

“What about Vice Chairman Shin?”

Having secured Wu Jing’s consent, I looked at Vice Chairman Shin.

Vice Chairman Shin remained silent, and the black man next to him, Axe King Paul, spoke instead.

“Our boss will also join forces with Wu Jing.”

I smiled when I heard that.

“Thank you all so much for deciding to join me in this cause.”

And Eugene next to me said with a smile.

Resolution.

Very pleasant words to hear.

And it was also something that the innocent Eugene, who only pursued ideals and didn’t know much about the world, would say.

Eugene wouldn’t know what kind of thoughts I, Wu Jing, and Vice Chairman Shin had.

And he didn’t need to know.

Because in the current Ard World, he was the top ranker, he was the law, and it was his world.

But, someday soon, it would come back to bite him in the neck.

I smiled, thinking so.

The end of Phase 2 was approaching in my eyes.

▄ ▄ ▄

The moment Xiongmao eSports and Simseong Iron Stars joined, the largest user force ever, surpassing even the Revolutionary Army of the past, was born.

All the users of Ard World finally united under one banner.

Although it was only a temporary alliance, the words ‘destruction of Ard World’ made it possible.

Even now, countless users were crossing the dimensional gate to the Primeval Plateau to fight the Hive Mind.

The place where so many users were concentrated was the Territory of Conquest.

The heart of the enemy, where the Hive Mind resided.

[You have discovered the Territory of Conquest.]

[Territory of Conquest]

-The Territory of Conquest is the heart of the Conquest Legion where the Hive Mind resides, and the area governed by the Great Unifying Will. The Great Unifying Will, the Hive Mind, can command countless monsters as its limbs, and can launch powerful attacks anywhere and anytime within the territory through its mental power.

[Defeating the Hive Mind will also eliminate the Territory of Conquest.]

[First Discovery Bonus!]

[All stats increased by 323.]

Drakan erased the First Discovery message that popped up in front of him.

This First Discovery message was also his.

Eugene.

It was thanks to him readily conceding it.

In Drakan’s view, he could see a huge biological building with a giant brain attached to it in the distance.

That was the Hive Mind.

The Conquest Lord, the cause of the Great Cataclysm, and the boss of Phase 2.

‘Hive Mind.’

More information than expected had been accumulated about the Hive Mind.

Starting from the records found in the alien ruins left by the ancient inhabitants, and combining the information obtained by capturing the Alpha Mind and other subordinates of the Hive Mind, the Hive Mind was truly a monster beyond measure.

The Undead King, the most powerful monster known in Ard World.

The Hive Mind was equal to or even more powerful than the Undead King.

The Unifying Will that commands countless life forms.

Just by exercising a fragment of the power of that will, the Hive Mind could manifest powerful authority on the ground.

[The Hive Mind is watching the invaders.]

[The Hive Mind unleashes a Psychic Storm.]

Psychic Storm!

The wide-area debuff skill possessed by the Hive Mind! It was a powerful wide-area skill that not only lowered stats but also caused various debuffs such as stun, confusion, and blindness by exercising the powerful mental power possessed by the Unifying Will.

Countless users, including Drakan, who had entered the Territory of Conquest, all hesitated at once.

But at that moment.

Light descended from the sky.

[The Dark God’s blessing protects you.]

[The power of the Psychic Storm is greatly reduced.]

[Resistance successful!]

[Stats have not decreased.]

The Dark God!

And the Goddess of Light! The Transcendents of the Pantheon and the Demon Court protected them from the Psychic Storm.

Seeing that, Drakan smiled.

On the other hand, the Hive Mind was flustered.

The Transcendents of the Otherworld.

It had never dreamed that they would personally step in and block the attack.

The Hive Mind.

Although it was a powerful monster, strong enough to usurp the Conquest Lord’s position, even so, it was on a different level from the true Transcendents, so it couldn’t confront them head-on.

Transcendents.

To deal with them, his superior and the leader of Gehenna, the Overlord, had to come.

But the Overlord was not in a state to step in right now.

The Overlord, the leader of Gehenna.

He was resting in the heart of Gehenna World to recover from the wounds he sustained in the ancient war.

He could wake up someday, but not right now.

Of course, if he borrowed the hands of other Lords, he could block the intervention of the Transcendents, but the Hive Mind had no intention of doing so.

The four Lords of Gehenna, although they were subordinates of the same Overlord, were more like enemies than allies, in a competitive relationship.

Now that the Overlord was asleep, there was no one to unite the four Lords.

[I can’t fall like this.]

The Hive Mind’s Great Will resonated.

I can’t fall like this.

Power was imbued in those words.

The subordinates who inherited the Hive Mind’s indomitable will sprang out of the ground and rampaged.

Countless and diverse monsters appeared and rampaged, and the users were not particularly fazed by the sudden appearance of the monsters.

From the beginning, the vanguard, including Drakan, consisted only of high-level users who were rankers or above and had experienced all sorts of battles.

There were no users here who were inexperienced enough to be flustered by a sudden attack.

The users skillfully dealt with the monsters, and the Hive Mind watched them and thought.

[If interference doesn’t work, I’ll have to resort to physical force.]

Mental interference doesn’t work!

Then all that was left was to use physical force.

Psychic Storm was just one of the many skills the Hive Mind possessed.

There were still many means left to defeat these invaders from the Otherworld.

And above all, if it could just buy time, this war would be its victory.

If only the countless expeditionary forces dispatched to the outer dimensions could return successfully, it could wipe out this handful of invaders from the Otherworld in one fell swoop.

[This is my world. Disappear, invaders from the Otherworld!]

The Hive Mind’s powerful will resonated throughout the entire Territory of Conquest.

At the same time, the dark clouds that had filled the sky began to churn violently.

[Judgment of Will.]

Judgment of Will.

The Hive Mind’s Great Will transformed into a physical force similar to lightning and plunged into the ground like a spear.