The Final Boss Has Returned 159

Chapter 159

The Great Forest wasn’t a very good path for an army to advance through.

The dense forest, tangled like a maze, made it difficult to find the way, and monsters popped out at every turn. The hot and humid climate, coupled with the fickle squalls that poured down frequently, and all the debuffs that came with them, were enough to exhaust the army.

The Great Forest.

The largest jungle in Ard World was not an easy opponent.

However, the Great Forest was the only passage that Simseong Iron Stars could choose to reach the East, one of Drakan’s bases, and further on to the North, the heart of the Dark Alliance.

Of course, there wasn’t just a land route, a sea route also existed.

However, the Dark Alliance’s naval power, combining the aircraft carrier, the Ghost Fleet, the former Pirate Alliance, and the Merfolk Kingdom’s forces, was virtually unrivaled in Ard World, so Simseong Iron Stars didn’t choose the sea route.

It was because they were sure to be defeated if they engaged in battle at sea.

They couldn’t go through the Central region either.

The Central region was the domain of Eugene and the Five Eyes, and the probability of them lending a path for invasion was low.

Shin Jeong-hyeok, along with the leaders of Simseong Iron Stars, already knew that Eugene would prefer to watch his potential enemies weaken themselves through infighting rather than taking sides.

Therefore, the Great Forest was virtually the only passage for them.

And since Shin Jeong-hyeok and the leaders of Simseong Iron Stars weren’t fools, they had already prepared measures to pass through the Great Forest.

“Burn it all down!”

“Clear the path.”

That was the engineers.

Gathering existing information about the Great Forest, they devised the optimal route, and through the engineers, they burned the forest and made roads, allowing Iron Stars to continue their advance.

The leaders’ plan was to sweep through the East in one go and attack the North.

However, their plan began to go awry from the start.

“What? Drakan is leading a fleet to the South?”

Drakan.

The intelligence that he was leading the Dark Alliance’s powerful navy through the sea route to the South reached Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok’s ears.

Landing wasn’t an easy task, so Shin Jeong-hyeok was surprised by Drakan’s reckless charge, but he soon calmed down.

“It’s not unexpected.”

The Dark Alliance’s naval power was renowned for its strength.

Therefore, it wasn’t that they hadn’t anticipated a counterattack by sea.

‘Is this a ploy to disperse our forces?’

Shin Jeong-hyeok’s mind began to race.

Drakan.

The reason why he was going south with his navy, in Shin Jeong-hyeok’s interpretation, was only one.

To disperse their forces.

Since the main force of Simseong Iron Stars was here, they would have to disperse their forces if Drakan launched a counterattack in the South.

If this were a normal war, that would be the case.

But the war Shin Jeong-hyeok had waged was not a normal war.

The most important objective of this war was to capture Drakan.

Since Drakan, the war objective, was heading to their main base in the South, there was no need to continue the eastern expedition by forcefully passing through the Great Forest.

“It’s actually better this way.”

A smile spread across Shin Jeong-hyeok’s lips.

Good.

That was exactly what Shin Jeong-hyeok was thinking.

Since he was coming directly to the South to greet them, it was a situation that made him ecstatic.

‘You must have thought you had the advantage at sea, but unfortunately, I have no intention of facing you on the water.’

Shin Jeong-hyeok had no intention of facing Drakan and the Dark Alliance’s navy at sea.

In the current situation where their naval power was overwhelmingly different, it would be nothing more than a waste of resources.

Rather than presenting the enemy with a free victory, Shin Jeong-hyeok chose to strengthen coastal defenses, and under his orders, coastal cities and ports in the South had already been fortified with coastal positions and anti-landing facilities.

Drakan.

In order to properly execute a large-scale landing operation, which was said to be more difficult than a siege, he would have to break through the coastal defense line, which was spread out like a space defense.

And it was clear that a lot of blood would be shed in the process.

In the end, Shin Jeong-hyeok thought that choosing the sea route would be the worst move for Drakan, naturally leading him to his ruin.

And all he had to do was lead his army and easily deal with Drakan, who had exhausted his troops in the landing operation.

Revenge.

Shin Jeong-hyeok thought that Drakan, one of his grand goals and the most important target, was finally within his grasp.

Imagining Drakan’s troops being slaughtered as they crashed against the coastal defense line, Shin Jeong-hyeok let out a laugh of joy and said,

“We’re turning back.”

At Shin Jeong-hyeok’s single word, the Iron Stars forces immediately turned their horses around and headed back south.

▄ ▄ ▄

[The Iron Stars forces have retreated from the Great Forest.]

Ignis’s whisper echoed in my head.

As I expected, Shin Jeong-hyeok turned his entire army around and headed back south.

I laughed when I heard the news.

“Just as planned.”

Shin Jeong-hyeok.

His goal was solely to kill me.

That was all.

He must have been delusional, thinking that the Aerial Mobile Fortress would be his if he just killed me.

Of course, I had no intention of playing along with his intentions.

[Shall we advance?]

“Advance when their retreat is more or less complete and they’ve entered the southern inland to a certain extent.”

That’s how I answered Ignis’s question.

The Great Forest.

A significant portion of the Dark Alliance’s main force remained there, and Ignis was commanding that army.

And now that I had made Shin Jeong-hyeok retreat, the second army led by Ignis would move and pressure the enemy.

If the first army I led also landed and applied pressure, the South would be attacked from both directions.

Since the enemy’s main force would surely be heavily focused on the first army I led, Ignis’s second army would be able to turn their weakly defended rear into a complete mess.

A pincer attack operation set against the backdrop of the vast southern continent.

That was the stage I had planned.

It wasn’t long until the Aerial Mobile Fortress was completed anyway, and Xiongmao eSports, as per our secret agreement, had only sent some support troops instead of their main force.

In this situation, tearing the South apart was a piece of cake.

Of course, engaging in guerrilla warfare and delaying tactics in the jungle while waiting for the completion of the Aerial Mobile Fortress wasn’t a bad option for me either.

However, ‘impact’ was important to capture the hearts of the users.

‘From now on, war cannot end with simply defeating the enemy.’

Rather than a simple victory, a dramatic and impactful victory was the kind of victory I sought. That’s because it would attract the attention of the users, the support of public opinion, and the enthusiasm of the fandom.

Unifying Ard World.

It was a necessary task to solidify that grand achievement.

Above all, I had already experienced firsthand what the consequences of pursuing only victory in the previous game were like.

The past me, who had been obsessed with victory, eventually lost everything to Eugene, was defeated, and ended up on a deep-sea fishing vessel.

I wasn’t foolish enough to repeat that damn past.

[Drakan-nim.]

Just as I was reminiscing about the bitter memories of defeat,

Shin Ha-yeon’s whisper reached my ears.

[I’ve started the public opinion manipulation that Drakan-nim instructed.]

I smiled at Shin Ha-yeon’s words.

Public opinion manipulation.

That was the spear I had prepared to divide the Five Eyes.

The content of the public opinion manipulation I had ordered was that Eugene was managing the affections of Verda, Sharp, and Elena, even though he knew how they felt.

It was about spreading that rumor with the help of Jeil Group’s power.

Eugene.

His power in the real world couldn’t even compare to Jeil Group’s, so neither he nor Verda would be able to detect Shin Ha-yeon’s manipulation.

Dividing the enemy by any means necessary.

That was my goal.

Of course, the rumor I was spreading wasn’t strictly a rumor, but the truth.

Eugene already knew that those women liked him because I had told him.

If the Lightwing Guild had been a typical organization formed based on mutual interests, this kind of rumor wouldn’t shake the organization.

It would be absurd for a crack to form in the organization due to a mere scandal when they were in a business relationship.

However, Eugene’s Lightwing Guild was built not on mutual interests, but on the strong bonds of affection between them.

And the scandal spear I had prepared was a very powerful asymmetric weapon that could shatter the very affection that bound them together.

Of course, if Eugene had the same personality as me, he could just shamelessly deny the scandal, but I knew Eugene’s personality better than anyone else.

‘He’ll never be able to properly deny this scandal.’

Eugene.

He could never properly deny this scandal.

This was because he was too good, or too much of a pushover, to put it badly.

And when the truth was finally revealed, in a situation where he couldn’t properly deny the scandal,

Eugene would meet his own downfall due to the recognition and loyalty he valued so much.

‘That moment will be the moment he falls from the position of a god to a human, and the moment the Five Eyes will be destroyed.’

Thinking that, I laughed.

Lightwing Guild.

The center of the Five Eyes.

If the Lightwing Guild collapsed, the Five Eyes would no longer be able to maintain themselves.

Sword Emperor Argen of the Breaker Guild.

I knew the character of this guy, whom I had encountered frequently, both before and during the World Revolution, almost as well as Eugene.

Argen was not as clean or noble as Eugene.

The reason he supported Eugene during the World Revolution was just a gamble, and his goal wasn’t as noble as Eugene’s, it was just about taking the position of the privileged for himself.

Therefore, Argen was a man who was sometimes selfish and diligently pursued his own self-interest, but never crossed the line.

There was no way such a man would remain in the Five Eyes when the Lightwing Guild collapsed.

Starting with the withdrawal of the Breaker Guild, the Five Eyes would surely disband.

All of this would be a typhoon brought about by the flapping wings of recognition and loyalty that Eugene valued so much.

“Well done.”

[Thank you for the compliment.]

Shin Ha-yeon’s delighted voice reached my ears.

I ended the whisper after Shin Ha-yeon’s reply.

‘By the time this war is over, the Lightwing Guild will be in chaos.’

Thinking that, I laughed.

Splash.

The sound of the waves, which I usually found dreadful, sounded sweet to my ears today.