The Final Boss Has Returned 185

Chapter 185

The moment Sword Emperor Argen met his death at the hands of Drakan’s sword.

All users watching the scene through Ard Live and TV simultaneously erupted in cheers.

[Sword Retard is dead LOLOLOLOL]

[Seriously, why did he try to mess with Drakan-nim LOLOL]

[LOLOL Tried to freeload off SI Games and got screwed LOLOL]

[Guuuuuuuuuurp!!]

[Feels like I lost 10 years worth of weight!]

[Gonna sleep like a baby tonight LOLOL]

[So refreshing!]

Sword Emperor Argen!

The traitor who tried to sell Ard World to SI Games was finally dead!

Users rejoiced at this fact, transcending factions and fandoms.

[Did you see Drakan’s physical abilities?]

[Seriously, Sword Retard couldn’t even compare.]

[Are they even the same rank? LOLOL]

[Even among EX-ranks, there’s a difference in class; How dare trash like Sword Retard try to compare himself to Light Drakan-nim LOLOLOL]

The next topic of discussion was the one-on-one duel between Drakan and Argen.

The first ever confrontation between EX-rank users since the launch of Ard World Second!

As it was a suddenly arranged duel, it was only natural for users’ attention to be focused on it.

But the result of the duel that unfolded was completely one-sided.

This was because the difference in physical abilities between the two was enormous.

Drakan!

He consistently overwhelmed Argen with his overwhelming physical prowess, and in the end, Argen met his death without even being able to put up a proper fight.

Steel Monarch Drakan.

It was a match worthy of revisiting his reputation as the only user who fought on equal footing with Eugene and his only rival.

[Wow LOL Honestly, I didn’t think Drakan would be this good;]

[Drakan’s still got it LOL]

[Form is temporary, but class is permanent;]

[Honestly, I think I understand why the black cows are fans of Drakan.]

[I’m already a black cow. Moo~]

And naturally, public support for Drakan had grown even stronger.

Drakan.

The fact that his true power, which had only been rumored until now, was finally revealed was a huge hook that was enough to capture the hearts of users.

As users were debating the outcome of the war and the topic of the duel between Argen and Drakan.

Drakan and Eugene, the parties involved in the war, divided the Sword Emperor’s territory in half through negotiations.

This was the moment when the Two Kingdoms Strategy that Drakan had proposed to Verda at the Korean Table d’hôte restaurant was finally realized, and the moment when Ard World was truly divided into two factions: the Holy Alliance and the Dark Alliance.

During the negotiation process, Verda tried her best not to give up the Sword Emperor’s territory, and although she had to concede half of it, she succeeded in defending Central Fortress, the key metropolis in the region.

It wasn’t a bad outcome for Drakan either.

By taking half of the Sword Emperor’s territory, he had secured a foothold in the central region.

He now had a blade that he could thrust into the belly of the central region at any time, so it could be said that both sides were somewhat satisfied with the territorial demarcation.

Following the territorial demarcation, both sides embarked on a large-scale recruitment and merger of the remaining Troika members.

[(Exclusive) Unprecedented Three-Way Merger: Lightwing Guild, Arcane Guild, and Blue Phoenix Guild to ‘Share a Pot’]

[(Exclusive) Great Sage Verda: “We will forget the past and move towards a new future.”]

[Hero Eugene: “Now is the time to prepare for the future.”]

The first to move were Verda and the Lightwing Guild.

Verda succeeded in pulling out the Arcane Guild and Blue Phoenix Guild, which were contractually bound to SI Games, by adding loans to the company funds she had accumulated.

With Verda’s successful three-way merger, the Five Eyes managed to rebuild their power, albeit partially.

However, the revived Five Eyes, or rather, the Lightwing Guild, was no longer the equal, horizontal alliance it once was.

It was a vertical relationship with the Lightwing Guild at the top and the Judgment Guild, Blue Phoenix Guild, and Arcane Guild under its umbrella, and all of this was Verda’s doing.

Verda, she could no longer tolerate any further defections.

Of course, Drakan wasn’t just sitting back and taking it either.

[(Exclusive) Saintess Elena, Fist King MuscleMan, Death King Python Announce Transfer to Iron Blood Alliance]

[Lightwing’s Three-Way Merger ‘Counterfire’? In-Depth Analysis of Iron Blood Alliance’s Massive Recruitment!]

Saintess Elena, Fist King MuscleMan, and Death King Python, the former Chief of Staff of the Breaker Guild, who had crossed the point of no return in their relationship with Eugene!

Drakan had recruited these three Over-Rankers.

The big news that Eugene’s former companions had joined the opposing faction quickly spread across the internet through articles, and the internet communities, which had been lacking any significant topics since the end of the war with the Sword Emperor, were ablaze with discussions about transfers and mergers.

[Who do you think would win if Eugene and Drakan fought?]

[Obviously Eugene, seriously LOL The Alliance has more users than the Dark Alliance, Drakan would get crushed;]

[What are you talking about? Didn’t you see him crush Sword Retard just recently? LOL And who joins the Alliance these days? All the newbies come to the Dark Alliance LOL]

[Don’t talk nonsense about the Dark Alliance LOL So I guess the number of Over-Rankers in your Dark Alliance is greater than ours in the Alliance, right?]

[Quality over quantity, idiot. As expected of the filthy Alliance scum, no matter how much Eugene acts up, he can’t stand against Drakan-nim LOL]

[Can’t communicate with those Dark Alliance guys;]

The Holy Alliance and the Dark Alliance!

Now that Ard World was divided in half, the fandom war between the black cows and the Infinite Eugene Church had spread to both sides, continuing to erupt sporadically.

Everyone knew now.

Phase 3.

The one who would end the chaotic era and seize the Mandate of Heaven in Ard World and the management rights of Miracle Entertainment would be either Drakan or Eugene.

The calm before the storm.

As this precarious peace continued, the first to strike was Verda.

[(Exclusive) Xiongmao Group, the Backer of the Iron Blood Alliance?]

[(In-Depth Analysis) The Close Relationship between Xiongmao eSports and Drakan.]

Verda.

She launched a media offensive against Drakan through public opinion manipulation.

The issue Verda raised was Xiongmao eSports, the ally of the Iron Blood Alliance!

While both Lightwing and the Iron Blood Alliance were operating independently without external support, investment, or sponsorship, Xiongmao eSports was the only guild with a ‘parent company.’

The fact that Xiongmao eSports and Drakan’s Iron Blood Alliance were allied was a perfect relationship for amplifying rumors and scandals.

Led by articles from several gaming news outlets known for their gossip, and with the Infinite Eugene Church manipulating online opinion under Verda’s direction, public opinion of Drakan began to deteriorate uncontrollably.

[What? Is this for real?]

[Drakan took Chinese money?]

[Oh LOL Chinese dream LOLOL]

[Seriously LOL He said he wouldn’t receive external support, but in reality, he’s dreaming the Chinese dream LOLOL]

[If Drakan wins, wouldn’t Miracle become China’s?]

[Crazy; That’s terrifying;]

Moreover, the fact that the target was ‘China,’ of all countries, further fueled public opinion.

China’s cultural censorship, which censors even skeletons, was already infamous among netizens and gamers worldwide.

The news that such a country might take over Ard Saga Second, the most influential ‘god game’ in the world, was bound to turn gamers against Drakan.

[Thought it was Drakan, but it was actually China-Drakan LOLOL]

[We need to banish the Chinese dream;]

[Seriously LOL Does it even make sense for an individual to acquire a company? This is definitely backed by Chinese money.]

[As expected, you can’t change a person LOL Control-khan’s true colors are showing LOLOL]

[Where are all the black cows? Did they run away LOL]

[Traitor-khan LOLOLOL]

[He took down Sword Retard, and now Traitor-khan is trying to be a traitor again LOL Disgusting LOL]

The small seed that Verda had sown soon turned into a giant snowball, and subsequently, a massive avalanche began to engulf Drakan relentlessly.

Not only the Chinese allegations, but even past mistakes Drakan had made during the previous game, such as the Control incident, were dug up and ridiculed. Verda smiled as she saw him being dragged through the mud.

‘This time, you won’t be able to escape.’

Public opinion.

Since his return, Drakan had shown an unusual obsession with public opinion.

He had been brought down by ‘public opinion’ during the World Revolution, so his obsession wasn’t unfounded.

‘But that very public opinion you value so much will become the noose that leads to your downfall.’

Verda trembled as she looked at the laptop screen.

Drakan.

Just thinking about what she had suffered at his hands made her teeth clench.

She still remembered how he had repeatedly outmaneuvered her, not only thwarting her schemes but even turning them against her.

But this time, it would be different.

The allegations of Drakan’s Chinese funding were not something he could easily shake off.

Like the Sword Emperor, Drakan would be labeled a traitor and suffer a blow to his public image, and the Iron Blood Alliance he had built would collapse just like it did six years ago.

‘Your struggles have been quite commendable, but Drakan, you can never defeat us.’

Verda clenched her fist.

The Mandate of Heaven in Ard World.

She could clearly see it falling into Eugene’s hands.

Verda’s media offensive wasn’t simply aimed at dismantling Drakan’s support base.

It was also aimed at securing the justification for the final war that would decide the fate of Ard World.

And Verda’s public opinion manipulation was a success.

Users were venting their anger over ‘Traitor-khan,’ following ‘Sword Retard,’ and this would soon become the justification for war.

Not just any war, but the seed for the final holy war to protect Ard World.

As always, Verda believed without a doubt that Eugene would be the ultimate victor of the war. She closed her laptop and rose from her seat.

Now that she had secured the justification, it was time to formulate a concrete war plan to take down Drakan.

▄ ▄ ▄

The users’ opinions reached Drakan’s ears immediately.

However, Drakan laughed confidently even as he saw the worsening public opinion.

“They’re playing cute, Verda.”

Verda.

Her attacking him by linking him to Xiongmao eSports was one of the strategies he had predicted from her, and unfortunately, Verda was acting exactly as he had anticipated.

And Drakan had a joker card that could turn the current situation around in an instant.

A card he had prepared a long time ago.

This was the reason why Drakan could laugh leisurely despite the uncontrollably worsening public opinion.

‘But even so, it’s just a meaningless struggle.’

Drakan put his smartphone in his pocket and looked out the car window.

The cityscape of Seoul, densely packed with skyscrapers, was reflected in Drakan’s eyes.

“We’ve arrived.”

Soon after, the black sedan Drakan was riding in stopped.

Drakan got out of the sedan through the door opened by the driver.

The tallest skyscraper in Seoul.

Jeil World Tower came into his view.

Drakan straightened his suit and showed his ID to the security guards guarding the front of Jeil World Tower.

“Identification confirmed. Welcome, Drakan-nim.”

After receiving greetings from the security guards, Drakan took the elevator and arrived at the Grand Hall located on the upper floors of Jeil World Tower.

Shin Ha-yeon was standing in front of the Grand Hall, which is used for various large-scale events.

“It’s been a while, Drakan-nim.”

Shin Ha-yeon, wearing a dark blue dress reminiscent of the night sky, matching her dark blue hair, bit her lip.

Drakan.

After their fake breakup, she had a lot to say to him, whom she was seeing in person after a long time, but Shin Ha-yeon was a person who knew how to distinguish between public and private matters, so she didn’t say it out loud.

Because now was not the time.

Instead, she held out her hand to Drakan.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Drakan took Shin Ha-yeon’s hand and entered the Grand Hall.

And there, countless people were sitting at their respective tables, looking at Drakan.

Not only high-ranking officials from Korea, including chaebols and politicians, but also representatives of global corporations from all over the world, including the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Germany, Japan, and Australia, as well as personnel directly dispatched from each country’s government, were there.

And the moment Drakan entered the Grand Hall holding Shin Ha-yeon’s hand, their eyes were all focused on him.

Smirk.

Drakan smiled confidently as he received their gazes.

Now, it was time to completely overturn the game.