The Final Boss Has Returned 168

Chapter 168

After the battle on the Black Plain ended with Drakan’s victory, the situation began to change rapidly.

Not only was Simseong Iron Stars acquired by Jeil Group, but this time, Xiongmao eSports stepped forward to inherit the alliance relationship.

[We, Xiongmao eSports, have decided to continue to maintain the alliance we had with Jeil New Media, which acquired Simseong Iron Stars, since the time of Simseong Iron Stars.]

Sword Emperor Wu Jing’s announcement of the alliance succession through the official Xiongmao eSports channel was that shocking.

Jeil New Media and Xiongmao eSports, which had already become mammoth-sized forces, joined hands.

That wasn’t all.

Drakan.

He granted the ‘Faction Change Quest’ through his authority as the leader of the Dark Alliance, changing the faction of Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao eSports, which belonged to the Holy Alliance, to the Dark Alliance. This completely finalized Drakan’s consolidation of power.

Drakan immediately declared the Dark Sanctuary in the south and west, concluding his expansion of power.

All regions except the central region fell into Drakan’s hands in an instant.

[Wow lol Even Xiongmao went over lol]

[Well, Xiongmao had no choice but to join hands with Drakan lol I agree~]

[lol Except for the central region, all of it became our alliance’s land lol]

[Alliance is the best!]

[For the alliance!]

[But isn’t the alliance between Jeil New Media and Xiongmao really huge?]

[Yeah, but it’s still no match for Eugene-nim~]

[Eugene fanatics, welcome]

[Did the Eugene fanatics who write comments for free come? lol]

Seeing that, the users poured out various reactions.

Users belonging to the Dark Alliance and Drakan’s fandom, ‘Black Cows,’ welcomed this expansion of power, but users belonging to the Holy Alliance and the Infinite Eugene Church began to be wary of Drakan’s expansion of power.

Drakan.

He had already begun to slowly approach Eugene’s position, going beyond being a rookie and an Over-Ranker.

Of course, the central region was much larger than all the other regions combined, and even if all these forces were integrated, the power of the Dark Alliance was only about a third of the power held by Five Eyes and the Holy Alliance.

Therefore, Drakan was not yet in a situation where he could face Eugene head-on.

However, he had grown enough to be a threat, even with just this much.

And this fact naturally reached the ears of Verda, the brain and chief executive of Lightwing Guild.

‘Really, he keeps doing unexpected things. Drakan.’

Drakan.

What he had done this time was far beyond Verda’s expectations.

Thinking logically, no one would have predicted that Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao eSports, who were potential enemies, would become allies with Drakan after the war.

Even Verda had imagined that the two would suffer mutual destruction, but she had never imagined that they would unite.

That was why Verda had chosen ‘non-intervention’ as her strategy between the two forces’ war.

However, Drakan had turned such an unbelievable prediction into reality.

‘An impossible event if only in-game variables were considered, but if real-life variables intervened….’

If only in-game variables were considered, this was an impossible event.

But if real-life variables were considered?

It was a possibility.

Just as Vice Chairman Shin Jeong-hyeok had merged the rival guilds Iron Axe and Shooting Star with the power of money, Shin Ha-yeon might have also used the power of capitalism to acquire Iron Stars and maintain the alliance with Xiongmao eSports.

Thinking that far, Verda’s hands trembled.

In Ard World, Lightwing Guild and Five Eyes were truly the strongest.

There was no force that could rival them.

While the current forces of Drakan, Jeil New Media, and the Dark Alliance had grown enough to deal a ‘blow’ to Lightwing Guild in Ard World, the force that Eugene had built was strong enough to guarantee victory if they went into a head-on confrontation.

However, it was different in reality.

The real power that Lightwing Guild held in reality was too weak to confront the true power holders and the established powers that controlled the real world.

Of course, Lightwing Entertainment, the real owner of Lightwing Guild, was a profitable company, and Eugene was enjoying a life that could be called rich, unlike his poor past, but that was all.

Compared to the wealth and power held by the upper class, the chaebols who truly held the order of the real world in their hands, the real power that Lightwing Entertainment and Eugene held was no different from a toy.

‘But I didn’t know she would do something like this, Shin Ha-yeon.’

Verda’s eyes sharpened.

Nevertheless, the reason Verda had anticipated mutual destruction was because Drakan’s opponent was Shin Jeong-hyeok.

Because the opponent was also a chaebol, and furthermore, they were on bad terms with each other, she had never dreamed that the two forces would unite.

However, Shin Ha-yeon had somehow managed to pull off the big deal of acquiring Simseong Iron Stars, and in the end, the result was worse than if she had intervened in the war.

Thinking that far, Verda shook her head.

‘If we don’t come up with a countermeasure soon….’

The merger of Simseong Iron Stars and JDG was already spilled water, and she didn’t have the power to scoop it back up.

Therefore, she couldn’t just stay stunned in shock forever.

She had to come up with a countermeasure.

‘Now Drakan will slowly reveal his ambition, the moment to strike his neck is now.’

Verda’s eyes shone.

Drakan.

Verda knew his ambition very well.

It was clear that he wanted to defeat Eugene and become the master of the world once again.

And Verda had no intention of giving Ard World to Drakan.

Even considering the ‘ending’ that came with seizing hegemony in Ard World, and the rewards hidden behind it, she had to prevent the terrible event of the Mandate of Heaven going to someone like Drakan.

Fortunately, Drakan had made a big mistake this time.

Only the Eight Great Guilds were powerful enough to aim for the Mandate of Heaven in Ard World!

However, Drakan had not only merged and allied with the three guilds excluding Five Eyes among the Eight Great Guilds, but he had also converted them to the Dark Alliance.

He had gathered his ‘enemies’ in one place.

Furthermore, the goal of Phase 3 was the unification of Ard World!

Since Eugene had also decided to be flexible to see the ending, if Verda spoke well, it would be possible to declare war on Drakan first.

‘Unifying the forces, that will be your biggest mistake. Drakan.’

Verda smiled as she thought so.

A blessing in disguise.

As the saying goes, a crisis is an opportunity. Thanks to Drakan uniting the forces, the complicated power structure of Ard World had been solidified into a two-sided structure of Drakan vs. Eugene, Holy Alliance vs. Dark Alliance. A shortcut had been opened to reach the ‘ending’ of Phase 3 after eliminating all enemies with a single war.

Of course, Drakan must have done this to build up his forces to challenge for hegemony, but he probably hadn’t expected that it would become a noose that would tighten around his own neck.

If the Holy Alliance and the Dark Alliance waged war now, it was natural that the Holy Alliance, which had overwhelming power, would win, and Verda wasn’t foolish enough to refuse the meal that had been set before her.

Thinking that far, the smile on Verda’s lips deepened.

Now, all that was left was to finally expel Drakan, who had been a thorn in her side, from Ard World.

Thinking so, as Verda was about to get up from her seat.

Buzz!

Verda’s cell phone, which was placed on the desk in the darkened conference room, rang.

Verda picked up her phone and checked the screen, and her expression immediately hardened.

[(Exclusive) Famous Ard Saga Second user Mr. A embroiled in ‘cheating’ controversy.]

It was the moment when the dagger thrown by Drakan pierced Verda’s back.

▄ ▄ ▄

Lightwing Entertainment CEO’s office.

Although it was called the CEO’s office, this place, which was used as Eugene’s personal space, had an unusually cold atmosphere.

“Is this, true?”

Sharp.

One of Eugene’s colleagues and a famous Over-Ranker elf archer user known by the nickname Divine Archer.

And one of the three colleagues who liked Eugene, a woman famous for being a ‘tsundere.’

Her expression was grim.

And Eugene, who received her question, remained silent.

“I’m asking if it’s, true…. Eugene.”

Sharp said so and placed the tablet computer on Eugene’s desk with trembling hands.

There, articles related to the cheating controversy, the comments below them, and the numerous rumors derived from them were displayed in a stark manner.

[Who is Mr. A?]

[-Hey, who doesn’t know that?]

[-It’s obviously that person lol]

[-So who is that person?]

[-Open your notepad]

[-It’s Eugene]

[-Wow lol This person doesn’t seem to be afraid of getting sued lol]

[-What is this IP? It’s an IP I’ve never seen before lol]

[-They’re a local from Asgard lol]

Of course, the article mentioned an anonymous user Mr. A, but the rumor that Mr. A referred to Eugene spread like wildfire and had already become an established truth.

From the Ard Forum to SNS and even Ard Live!

The entire internet was buzzing with talk about the cheating controversy.

And seeing that, Eugene’s face hardened.

“This is….”

A rumor.

He couldn’t say that.

Of course, as a top-ranked player in Ard World, there hadn’t been no attempts to slander Eugene.

It was familiar for absurd rumors to circulate, and Eugene had always thoroughly explained why those rumors were false and even taken legal action.

But this time, he couldn’t do that.

Because the article was true.

Eugene.

It was a clear fact that he had chosen to ignore the feelings of the three women while knowing their hearts.

“Why can’t you speak?”

Sharp bit her lip as she watched him.

In fact, she already knew.

The reason Eugene was delaying his answer was that he wasn’t used to lying.

As Eugene’s colleague and someone who loved him, she knew this better than anyone else in the world.

A bitter taste started to rise in Sharp’s mouth.

Eugene bit his lip.

Sharp.

He couldn’t lie to her, his colleague and one of the people who liked him.

But if he told her the truth, he felt like the scenery he had been protecting would crumble.

Cold sweat began to pour down Eugene’s forehead like rain.

Sharp looked at Eugene and remained silent, and after a long silence, Eugene finally spoke.