The Final Boss Has Returned 81

Chapter 81

Lightwing Entertainment Building.

A darkened meeting room.

In the dimly lit room with the blinds drawn on the windows, Verda was watching a video on her laptop.

[Drakan brought eternal winter to the North for his own quest, causing harm and bringing tears to the eyes of countless people, including myself and my guild. Steel Monarch Drakan! He hasn’t changed much from the previous game. He is still a cruel and merciless tyrant. In Second, he’s just deceiving you all like a wolf in sheep’s clothing! Everyone, I, Changwang Rio, will punish his deception. Those who want to join me in judging him, come to Snow Castle. Let’s establish justice in this land together!]

Rio’s voice flowed from the laptop speakers.

Hearing his voice, Verda picked up her cell phone on the desk and made a call.

Ring…… Ring…… Ring……

The dry ringing tone ended, and an indifferent male voice echoed from the speaker.

-Employer-nim. What is the matter?

The owner of the voice was none other than the Black King Karun!

Hearing Karun’s voice, Verda spoke.

“I commend you for handling the matter with Rio well.”

-Thank you.

“Are you certain you can handle Drakan?”

-Of course. I will do my best, Employer-nim.

“Alright.”

After the short call with the Black King Karun, Verda placed her phone neatly back on the desk and smiled faintly.

Drakan!

The time has finally come to break his endlessly soaring wings.

▄ ▄ ▄

[The Northern Alliance declares war on Lawless Port.]

A short but shocking message popped up in my vision!

I logged out immediately after seeing the message, and soon I was able to grasp what had happened.

“Rio’s Northern Alliance has officially declared war on Lawless Port and JDG.”

Rio!

That bastard finally bared his fangs at me.

Unlike the past, large-scale all-out wars between users rarely occurred in Ard Saga Second.

This wasn’t because the users were striving for world peace, but because unlike the previous game, resurrection was no longer possible in Second, and the risks involved in an all-out war between users had increased significantly.

Moreover, the current in-game order was too firmly established with Eugene, the Lightwing Guild, and their alliance, the Five Eyes, holding hegemony over the Ard World.

Therefore, there was no need to take the risk of war, and above all, no faction had yet emerged that could swallow up an entire country and wield its power like in the previous game.

For these various reasons, large-scale all-out wars between users were rare, and that was why the clash between me and Rio during the Northern Expedition became such a huge topic.

But now, Rio had declared war on me.

Rio had declared war on me using the system existing in the game through a legitimate declaration of war procedure, so the possibility of Eugene intervening in this war was low.

And above all, considering who was under Eugene’s command, it was best to abandon the thought that he could be swayed.

No, I was actually suspicious.

Verda.

The mage of the Lightwing Guild, better known by her nickname, the Great Sage, Eugene’s companion, and the brains of Eugene’s group!

I suspected, no, I was almost certain that she might be orchestrating this situation from behind the scenes.

I knew that Rio would eventually point his sword at me, but he must have needed someone’s help to gather his forces so quickly and declare war.

And I was guessing that the helper was Verda.

Anyway, all the key members, including Shin Ha-yeon and Ignis, were already gathered in the conference room, and as soon as I arrived, Team Leader Lee started the presentation.

“What is the Northern Alliance?”

“The Northern Alliance is a newly formed faction. It’s an organization that has been expanded and reorganized by incorporating the Vikings into the existing Northern Tribes Alliance.”

“Vikings.”

I narrowed my eyes.

Vikings!

Those who lived in the Nordic Peninsula in the North and were rough seafarers who roamed the northern seas!

They were those who refused to join the Northern Tribes Alliance and lived independently, so it was quite surprising that they had been recruited.

Besides, Rio’s intention in incorporating the Vikings was obvious.

“He wants a naval battle.”

He was trying to engage me in a naval battle using the Vikings.

Of course, we had an aircraft carrier, and we had built additional aircraft carriers in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances after the naval battle, but if the enemy wasn’t stupid, they would have prepared anti-aircraft measures.

“That’s right.”

“So the enemy is coming by sea?”

“We can’t rule out the possibility of them coming by land.”

Team Leader Lee continued his answer.

“According to our informants, the users’ goal is JDG and Drakan-nim, but the NPCs’ goal is different.”

“What is it?”

At my question, Team Leader Lee adjusted his glasses and replied.

“Since eternal winter has come to the North, they intend to occupy the better lands of the East.”

“I see.”

If Team Leader Lee’s words were true, this wasn’t just an all-out war between users.

The North and the East!

It was no different from an all-out war between the two regions.

I looked around the conference room and smiled.

“How dare they declare war on me? I guess I’ve been acting like a pushover lately.”

Steel Monarch Drakan!

How dare they declare war on me, who boasted an undefeated record until I was defeated by Eugene during the World Revolution!

Except for Eugene, none of the bastards who dared to declare war on me first in the previous game had ever beaten me.

It seemed I had been acting like a pushover lately.

“What are the enemy’s movements?”

“Currently, the enemy’s vanguard has departed from Snow Castle, and a large number of the Infinite Eugene Church’s extreme fandom are participating in the expeditionary force. And it is known that the Black King Karun has joined the expeditionary force.”

The moment I heard Team Leader Lee’s words, I was completely convinced.

‘It’s confirmed that Verda is behind that bastard Rio.’

Verda!

She must be behind the Infinite Eugene Church bastards heading North.

Of course, it’s also possible that the Infinite Eugene Church’s extreme fandom voluntarily joined the expeditionary force since they hated me anyway.

However, the fact that the war preparations in the North were completed quickly, as if someone had helped them, and above all, the fact that the Black King Karun had joined the expeditionary force.

All the circumstantial evidence pointed to Verda.

I soon pieced together the clues and deduced the situation.

‘She hired the Black King Karun and is manipulating Rio, who is burning with revenge, from behind the scenes.’

Black King Karun!

The pinnacle of Dark Gamers!

He was also a member of the Ten Strongest like me in the previous game, so I knew him quite well.

He was a thorough Dark Gamer who would do anything for money, but at the same time, he was someone who kept his promises when it came to matters involving money……

For example, he was someone who thoroughly kept his word about things like the identity of his employer.

The only time that bastard supported a value other than money was during the World Revolution.

The fact that one of the Ten Strongest, a super-powerhouse from the previous game, supported the World Revolution became a hot topic among users at the time, and it also became an opportunity for more users to join the Revolutionary Army.

Anyway, since he was the Black King Karun, it wasn’t surprising that he and Verda joined forces.

In the first place, he was a guy who would do anything for money, so Verda could have hired him by paying him.

“And this is still an unconfirmed rumor, but there’s also talk that Rio’s Northern Alliance has joined hands with the Merfolk Kingdom.”

At Team Leader Lee’s next words, I nodded slightly.

The Merfolk Kingdom!

It suddenly occurred to me that during the Merfolk quest, I had obtained information that their base was in the northern sea.

The Merfolk Kingdom located in the North and the recruitment of the Vikings.

Finally, the missing links seemed to be connecting in my head.

“So that’s why he’s so confident in challenging me to a naval battle.”

There were two factors that gave me the upper hand in the naval battle against the Pirate Alliance.

One was the aircraft carrier, and the other was the Merfolk.

The Pirate Alliance was completely annihilated without a single word of protest against the combined might of our fleet, which attacked from the air and underwater using Wyverns and Merfolk.

The aircraft carrier was definitely expensive and a large item that even the top ten guilds would find burdensome to build.

Thanks to Shin Ha-yeon pouring money like crazy, I was able to build two more aircraft carriers after the naval battle, but no matter how much the enemy hid and built them, they would only have one at most.

But underwater power was different.

The aircraft carrier could be resolved with money somehow, but the underwater forces, including the Merfolk, weren’t a problem that could be solved with money.

But they had solved that by joining hands with the Merfolk Kingdom.

“So what are you going to do?”

Ignis asked me.

Since that bastard Rio had also declared war on JDG, Ignis and I were in the same boat.

Well, we were already passengers on the same boat, but……

“First of all, since they struck first, we need to issue a statement as well.”

Since they threw the first punch, we need to take some action as well.

Black King Karun!

And the Infinite Eugene Church’s extreme fandom!

Even though it was obvious who was behind it, there was no reason to just sit back and take it.

“What are you going to do after that?”

At Ignis’s question, I smiled.

“Since the North is empty, we’ll raid the North.”

The North!

I was going to take over the empty North that they had left behind.

If the contents of the Divine Quest I received from the Demon God were true, then the moment I took over the North, the game would be as good as over.

I smiled as I recalled the contents of the Divine Quest I had received from the Demon God after completing the Dark Elf quest a while ago.