“What? Global Exos would be screwed.”
The answer was a no-brainer.
“They’ll be screwed?”
“Yes and Alan will be able to avoid any problems……”
The rehabilitation member flinched and closed his mouth. Then Jjak-tung smiled and laughed.
“That’s right. Like Hyun-woo said, currently there is no way for Global Exos to stop Alan’s movements. So they had no control over his actions. That is why Alan and the demonic monsters can move freely to try and swallow up New World. In other words, Alan could use the demons to take control of a city and act as the city guards in New World.
…….He could become the absolute dictator of New World!
“He’s trying to make a situation where users can’t play the game. And there is no way for the publisher to stop them. So there is only one option if the publisher wanted to maintain New World.”
“We have to stop Alan!”
“That’s right.”
Jjak-tung tapped his fingers and replied. The atmosphere became quiet. Hyun-woo, Gwon Hwa-rang and the rehabilitation members thought about the situation. If the demons conquered New World then the users on the continent could be wiped out anytime. If that situation repeated many times then they users would obviously become dissatisfied and complain to Global Exos. They would also receive various lawsuits. There was only one way for Global Exos to stop that. It was to stop Alan from conquering New World. And they spent a considerable amount of money for that goal.
“I heard that New World accounts for 30% of Global Exos sales. Can you imagine? The annual profit of 30% of a big business would be in the thousands of billions. If a problem happened to New World then Global Exos might collapse. Billions of won was also invested in operating New World. That’s not all. Global Exos’ stocks would also be affected if something happened to New World.
“Stocks?”
“Yes, when the Demonic War started and users protested then the stocks related to New World plunged. After they announced that the war was a scheduled event, the stock price eventually returned to normal.”
That’s right. It was why Ha Myung-woo invested 10 billion won on the event. Compared to the plunging stock prices, 10 billion won was nothing.
“This is all the result of Alan’s group. Then those guys probably have a way to gain money from it. They could buy the stocks when it plunged because of the demons. Then they could have the demons retreat and sell the stocks when the price rises. If they conquered New World then there are various methods to earn a profit. They could make tens of billions or even hundreds of billions in profit.
“Tens of billions, hundreds of billions……!”
“Damn, we stabbed someone and only earned tens of millions of won a month. Meanwhile those guys can just sit back and watch the game while earning hundreds of billions of won?”
“A real villain is like this.”
Jjak-tung muttered in a pessimistic voice. Anyway, Hyun-woo wasn’t exactly astonished by Jjak-tung’s words. He had already guessed the general principles after hearing that Alan escaped overseas. It was natural. Alan was a clever criminal so he wouldn’t do something reckless. He would be aware of the risks of becoming a criminal. If his plan succeeded then Global Exos wouldn’t be able to punish Alan when he returned. If he failed he was a criminal, if he succeeded then he was a tycoon! Alan was risking his life on this gamble. Therefore Hyun-woo judged that Alan wouldn’t make any disadvantageous choices in the Demonic War. The fact that he was concentrated on releasing the Hell River underneath Silvana instead of Silrinad meant that it was important.
‘Well, I don’t care whether Alan is scamming Global Exos. But……’
The problem was that Hyun-woo would receive huge damage as a result. Alan had a deep grudge against Hyun-woo so if he conquered New World then Hyun-woo would have nowhere to run.
‘I have to do whatever it takes to stop him’
After going round and round, he eventually ended up with his first conclusion. The rehabilitation members also came to the same conclusion and shouted.
“Now’s not the time to be talking about this!”
“You have to let the Schudenberg expedition know so they can recapture Silvana!”
“I’ve already told them.”
Hyun-woo murmured with a sigh. After Hyun-woo discovered Alan’s plan, he had run from Shangri-La straight to Haverstein. And he immediately delivered the contents to Haverstein. But his response was different from what Hyun-woo expected. The Schudenberg and Bristania expeditions were still focused on the invasion of Silrinad.
“What are you saying…..?”
The rehabilitation members stuttered at Hyun-woo’s words.
“No way! They don’t care if Nagaran disappears?”
“They said it was unrelated.”
“What?”
Hyun-woo sighed painfully and recalled his conversation with Haverstein.
“What on earth? Do you not believe my information?”
“Even if your information is certain, it doesn’t change anything.”
“Why……?”
“That’s because the location is Nagaran.”
Haverstein replied with a heavy look. That’s right. It was the reason the Schudenberg Kingdom didn’t seriously consider Hyun-woo’s words. Originally Nagaran was an area that the Three Kingdoms fought over. But the Three Kingdoms became tired of the endless competition and called for a ceasefire before agreeing to give the buffer zone to the foreigners. In other words, it was an area not owned by any of the kingdoms. The foreigners who became the Lord of the territory had to pay taxed but it was split between three countries so the money wasn’t that much. There was no reason for them to stop the invasion.
On the other hand, the Sinius Principality was definitely money. That’s why the Schudenberg and Bristania kingdoms embarked on an expedition to take it back before it was destroyed by the demons. They could receive enormous compensation from the Sinius Principality. No, in some cases the marching army might even be able to increase the land of their respective kingdoms. It was why both kingdoms poured an absurd amount of money into the expeditions.
“That’s why I’ve been told to keep on marching. What would happen if the Schudenberg expedition suddenly exited after joining up with the Bristania expedition? We’ve only just managed to take the initiative in leading the expeditions in the Sinius Principality. Even if the Schudenberg expedition reclaims Nagaran, it isn’t a land that Schudenberg can insist ownership of. We would end up losing more than we’ve gained.”
“But if the Hell River is unsealed then it won’t just by Nagaran that is submerged. According to the records, it has the power to strength the demons and their magic……”
“Have you forgotten?”
Haverstein interrupted the conversation and looked at him.
“The Schudenberg expedition has the Ark of Creation.”
Hyun-woo’s body instantly stiffened. That’s it. The Ark of Creation which was able to get rid of the ‘Sphere of Influence!’ If the Schudenberg Kingdom had that then they didn’t need to fear the threat of the demonic influence anymore. No, if the demons became stronger and the Schudenberg Kingdom had the Ark of Creation then Schudenberg Kingdom could exert an influence on the entire continent. Therefore the Schudenberg expedition just dismissed Hyun-woo’s report. In the long run, Hyun-woo finding the treasure had become a burden to him. However he still couldn’t give up.
“But Alan knows we have the Ark of Creation. Yet his purpose is still to unseal the Hell River. That means even the Ark of Creation can’t prevent it.”
“Is there anything which proves that?”
“T-that……”
Hyun-woo was speechless from Haverstein’s question. That’s right. It was just Hyun-woo’s guess. Hyun-woo couldn’t answer Haverstein so he just sighed and shook his head.
“……I’m sorry.
The rehabilitation members instantly became angry when Hyun-woo explained.
“Is there nothing we can do?”
“Then contact Lariette and tell her to leave with the Ark of Creation!”
One rehabilitation member clamoured with an angry voice. Hyun-woo shook his head. Hyun-woo had also thought about that at first. However, the aristocrats of the Schudenberg Kingdom wouldn’t be so lenient. After the Ark of Creation was used the first time, the soldiers thought of Lariette as a goddess and protected her. Even Hyun-woo had to go through several checks in the game before he could meet with Lariette.
‘Although I say that Lariette was protected…..’
It wasn’t that simple. To be exact, it wasn’t ‘protection’ but ‘surveillance.’ The Schudenberg nobles knew about the power of the Ark of Creation through Haverstein’s report and kept a close eye on Lariette and the prophets.
“High ranking people are the same whether it is reality or the game.”
“So? What about Lariette? Even if the NPCs are watching, isn’t Lariette a user? If she is threatened then can’t she just end the connection?”
“I’ve also thought about that……”
Ark sighed and shook his head. Hyun-woo had also thought about threatening the Schudenberg Kingdom like that. However, the situation wasn’t that simple. The Ark of Creation was a key item in the Demonic War. And it wasn’t just the expedition who was interested in the treasure. Global Exos wanted the Demonic War to end and were also looking at the Ark of Creation eagerly. And Lariette was one of Global Exos’ candidates. So Lariette had already provided information about the Ark of Creation and Global Exos had negotiated with her. Lariette had accepted the conditions and now she didn’t go to work but just concentrated on the game and using the Ark of Creation. There was no way Hyun-woo could convince her to use it for his benefit. Although her existence did help his cause.
‘It is thanks to Lariette-nim that Schudenberg promised some military supplies…….’
Hyun-woo had been despondently leaving headquarters. Then he heard from behind him.
“Wait a minute!”
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