The Final Boss Has Returned 154

Chapter 154

As soon as Drakan finished speaking, an awkward silence fell over the Shanghai Tower Sky Lounge.

To offer a chance to help!

It was an utterly insane statement, but if the specs of the Aerial Mobile Fortress in the screenshot were true, his words couldn’t simply be dismissed as arrogant.

Aerial Mobile Fortress.

In Ard World, where warfare was still primarily ground-based, with aerial forces at best consisting of wyverns, the appearance of an Aerial Mobile Fortress was a level of technology beyond revolutionary; it was an overwhelming over-technology.

“You guys don’t have any loyalty or anything like that with Simseong anyway, right? You’re just holding hands with each other out of necessity.”

Drakan continued, the corners of his mouth raised.

His words were correct.

The alliance between Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao eSports was formed out of necessity and shared interests.

It wasn’t a relationship based on deep recognition or loyalty like Eugene’s.

“Then can’t you join hands with us out of necessity as well?”

Drakan asked Chairman Wang Liwei and Wu Jing with a playful smile.

An alliance based on necessity can be broken at any time if weighing the pros and cons shows that breaking it is more beneficial than maintaining it.

Drakan knew this fact better than anyone.

After all, the Iron Blood Alliance and the Guild Alliance he had established were organizations built upon such interests.

Alliances based on shared interests were Drakan’s specialty, and he knew very well how to create cracks in their alliance.

If there’s a bigger benefit, even alliances can be betrayed!

“That’s true, but……”

Wang Liwei trailed off, looking at the document.

Unlike the new Vice Chairman of Simseong Group, who was just starting in the game, he was a veteran user who had been playing games since before founding Xiongmao eSports.

As Vice Chairman Wang, who had reached the rank of High Ranker with his own skills, he understood the value of the Aerial Mobile Fortress Voltaha written in the document better than anyone.

“If we join hands with you, what will you do for us?”

Wu Jing spoke.

As an Over-Ranker, Wu Jing already knew.

If the Aerial Mobile Fortress was truly completed, they wouldn’t be able to stop Drakan with their current power.

They couldn’t interfere with the construction of the Aerial Mobile Fortress either.

All the airships leading to the Floating Castle Voltaha belonged to Drakan, the Floating Castle Voltaha itself was also Drakan’s territory, and there was no way to know where the Aerial Mobile Fortress was being constructed.

Furthermore, it was already widely known that the altitude at which the Floating Castle Voltaha was positioned was an area unreachable by existing wyverns, griffins, or other flying monsters!

It was a frustrating situation where a nuclear bomb was being built right above their heads, and they could only watch helplessly.

‘But I can’t join Eugene’s side.’

Wu Jing’s mind raced.

The title of Over-Ranker, China’s top Ranker, Sword Emperor, wasn’t earned through playing mahjong.

He couldn’t join Eugene and the Five Eyes now.

The strong bond between Eugene and the Five Eyes was an undeniable fact, and joining them now wouldn’t yield much benefit.

‘If I do nothing, we’ll be crushed along with Simseong.’

Wu Jing had already seen through Drakan’s intentions.

No, anyone who wasn’t a fool would have understood Drakan’s intentions.

Simseong Iron Stars.

Their bitter history with Drakan was already famous enough that everyone knew about it.

Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok openly spoke of revenge and was blatantly gathering forces for that purpose.

And there was no way that Drakan, his opponent, was unaware of this fact.

It was clear that Drakan intended to use this opportunity to put an end to the bad blood that had been ongoing since the Northern War.

And if the Aerial Mobile Fortress was truly completed, they couldn’t guarantee victory in a war against Drakan.

Just as Drakan had said, there was no loyalty in the alliance with Simseong.

There were only shared interests.

Then there was no reason to hesitate in breaking the alliance.

“If you join the Five Eyes, I’ll guarantee you the same position.”

Drakan said with a smile, looking at Wu Jing.

Five Eyes!

A smile spread across Wu Jing’s face as he heard those words.

“Do you think we’ll be moved by just that?”

“If you don’t like it, then die with the Simseong guys with all your loyalty. You know you don’t have a choice, right? Let’s go over this nicely while I’m offering good terms.”

Wu Jing’s cheeks twitched at Drakan’s words.

He was right.

Xiongmao eSports had no choice.

Then, as Drakan said, they had to switch sides while their value was still high.

A brief silence fell over the Sky Lounge.

Drakan leisurely enjoyed the silence, taking a sip of the Pu’er tea in front of him.

It was a luxury he could afford, knowing they would eventually come around.

Even if they didn’t accept his offer, there was nothing they could do.

The modification of the Aerial Mobile Fortress was continuing even at this moment, and the location where the modification work was taking place was in the basement of the Steel Palace, a place where no one could easily enter.

Moreover, the means to reach the Floating Castle Voltaha were limited, and the entire castle was practically Drakan’s playground, so enemies couldn’t roam freely.

Above all, their forces weren’t clearly superior to his, so even if they attempted a terrorist attack on Voltaha, it would only serve as a good justification for war.

Drakan, who could wield the full force of the Dark Alliance, was confident in facing the Simseong and Xiongmao alliance even without the Aerial Mobile Fortress.

But their situation was different.

They couldn’t guarantee victory even if they started a war now, they couldn’t stop the completion of the Aerial Mobile Fortress, and if it was completed, they were guaranteed to lose.

The aroma of Pu’er tea tickled Drakan’s nose.

“What should we do?”

A candid voice emerged from Wang Liwei’s mouth.

If they were just an independent guild, he wouldn’t have hesitated to pressure them with real-world capital.

The wealth that Xiongmao Group amassed from the vast Chinese continent was immense.

However, since the other party was also Jeil Group of Korea, a conglomerate that had accumulated wealth and power comparable to Xiongmao Group, simply applying pressure with real-world power was impossible.

In the end, all that remained was to comply with their demands.

Drakan smiled and replied to Wang Liwei’s words.

“Instigate a war between Simseong and us.”

Wu Jing’s nerves tensed at Drakan’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“A week from now, take this information to the Simseong guys, show it to them, and incite Vice Chairman Shin by telling him that Drakan must be eliminated before this weapon is completed. Then they will definitely wage war on us.”

Drakan finished speaking and smiled.

Simseong Iron Stars.

If he leaked false information about the Aerial Mobile Fortress through their ally, Xiongmao eSports, they would definitely bite this bait.

They weren’t stupid.

They would surely know that they would be defeated if the Aerial Mobile Fortress was completed.

So they wouldn’t be able to resist biting this bait.

‘To start the Great Plan of Rebellion, I need to clean up the back first.’

Drakan thought to himself.

The Great Plan of Rebellion!

To eliminate a giant like Eugene, he needed to thoroughly clean up his surroundings first.

And the target Drakan chose for this cleanup was none other than Simseong Iron Stars.

Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok.

If he proceeded with the Great Plan of Rebellion while leaving that guy, who was constantly aiming for his throat, alive, the risk of being backstabbed by Iron Stars was incredibly high.

‘The Great Plan of Rebellion must be carried out cautiously.’

Drakan didn’t want to leave even a single risk factor.

And to do that, he had to eliminate Simseong Iron Stars, who were constantly aiming for his back.

Of course, if Simseong Iron Stars were opponents who could be reasoned with, Drakan wouldn’t have felt the need to resort to such drastic measures as war.

War should always be the last resort, and even if they won, it was obvious that they would suffer losses.

Drakan, whose forces were already lacking compared to the Holy Alliance, didn’t want to unnecessarily weaken his power through war.

However, Simseong Iron Stars were an entity that couldn’t be resolved without war.

Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok.

Drakan didn’t believe that he, whose towering pride had been trampled upon, would back down with mere negotiations.

Therefore, the only path left for Drakan was to wipe them out completely through war.

“Then what happens to us?”

“This alliance is a secret, and until the war begins, you must appear to be allies with them on the surface, so you’ll have to endure a certain degree of sacrifice. It’s war. However, there’s also the option of sending useless or troops that need to be eliminated under the guise of a pretext. The decision is yours.”

Drakan smiled and answered Wu Jing’s question.

Drakan’s proposal, in simple terms, was to become spies.

And not just one or two people, but the entire guild acting as spies – an absurd notion!

However, the power of the Aerial Mobile Fortress was strong enough to make that absurd notion sound like a realistic alternative.

Wu Jing calculated in his head.

The scale of Xiongmao eSports was enormous.

This was because Xiongmao eSports was a guild where the best players from all over the vast Chinese continent gathered.

With so many people, there were inevitably factions within the guild who harbored ambitions for Guild Master Wu Jing’s position.

Especially after the Broken World quest, when the power of Rankers increased dramatically and the position of the next Over-Ranker began to be openly discussed, these ambitious users started to become more active on the surface, unlike before.

If he could eliminate a few of these factions through this war, it wouldn’t be a losing proposition for Wu Jing.

After finishing his calculations, Wu Jing spoke.

“There are plenty of talented individuals in our vast nation who are willing to jump into the fire for Xiongmao eSports, so that’s not a problem. However, I hope you won’t forget that after the war is over, you will treat us as equals with the Five Eyes.”

“I promise. You’ll clearly understand what it means to be the head of a snake, no, the head of a tiger, rather than the tail of a dragon.”

Drakan said, and Wu Jing understood the meaning of his words and smiled.

“Whether you become a snake or a tiger facing a dragon, we’ll be watching from the sidelines for now.”

Wu Jing said, extending his hand, and Drakan grasped it.

The two smiled as they shook hands, and thus concluded the secret meeting at the Shanghai Tower.