Chapter 129: Collision (4)

[Breaking News! War Declared on the Black Bees?]

[Regular Players Deliver Justice to Vulture Party!]

[Players Are Furious at the Black Bee Power Trip!]

[“The Elven Forest Will Be Free for All,” Firmly Declares a High-Level Player.]

[Will the Tyranny of the Top 10 Guilds Survive?]

Countless articles filled with provocative words were scattered across the sea of information, and all these articles had one common term: Black Bee.

As if a dam had burst, or a river had overflowed, the pent-up anger of normal players toward Black Bee erupted like a volcano fueled by this incident.

“They don’t know their places...” Sting, the master of the Black Bee guild, muttered with a cold gaze.

Messages were pouring into his chat window, updating him on the stances of rankers and various guilds. Even at a glance, the volume of messages was substantial. It was proof that many had never looked kindly upon Black Bee.

They're all swarming in like hyenas, seeing this as their chance.

However, Sting didn’t lose his temper. He was irritated but he maintained a calm expression as he sank deeply into his chair.

This might actually be good. We can use this opportunity to eliminate all those with hostile stances.

He considered them no more than moths drawn to a flame and his message window was steadily filling with a real-time list of individuals to deal with.

But first, there's something I need to take care of.

Sting opened a chat room he had joined long ago but hadn’t used in months.

[Sting: I have something to say about this situation.]

It was the chat room for the masters of the top ten guilds, a very secret space, unknown to the public.

Even though they were competitors, there were times when they needed to join forces or negotiate, and this chat room was created for those occasions. Therefore, copying or screenshotting the messages from this chat was impossible.

This was why Sting posted his message in such a place, and the responses were immediate.

[Vulcan: I saw the articles. You had it coming.]

[Katherine: I knew this would happen someday. The signs were there from the beginning, idiot.]

[Sandro: Saw your big face on the community main page. Photoshop has come a long way.]

“These bastards, who do they think they’re making fun of...?”

Gritting his teeth, Sting glared at those fanning the flames, but that was only for a moment.

He quickly massaged his furrowed brow as someone asked,

[Xao Lin: So what did you want to say?]

[Yoshiatsu: Get to the point. I’m busy.]

The individuals in this chat room were the busiest people around.

Knowing this well, Sting kept his message short.

[Sting: No one needs to get involved. We’ll handle it ourselves.]

[Vulcan: Good. Then we’ll stay back and watch. But the moment we get dragged into the mess...]

[Goliath: We'll have no choice but to act. We’re not going down with you.]

[Minerva: ...Same goes for us.]

Fine.

Sting didn’t want to request help from the other top ten guilds anyway.

They wouldn’t help me even if I asked.

That much was easy to infer because if one of the top ten guilds found themselves in his current situation, he wouldn’t help them either.

So it’s better this way.

Sting was confident.

As long as none of the other top ten guilds get involved...

No matter which ranker or guild from Under challenged him, he believed that Black Bee’s power alone was enough to crush them.

***

"Pour it and drink up!"

"

Hahahaha!

It feels like a weight that's been on my chest for ten years has finally lifted!"

"Did you see Vulture’s face earlier? Looked like he was chewing on dung! We should have taken a screenshot of that!"

"Now we can hunt in the western region that’s closest to the base camp and full of monsters."

The players at the base camp were celebrating with toasts and cheers. Today, every one of them was a hero. Of course, they were all aware that Black Bee would likely retaliate, but there was no sign of regret on their faces.

Exactly, this is right.

An eye for an eye. Whether or not one could stand up for oneself determined whether they were respected or ignored.

Kai slightly nodded as he leaned against a tree stump and watched the player.

The start is satisfactory. Eight out of ten.

It would have been perfect if there had been more players on their side and if they could have taken down one of Black Bee’s core members. However, given that not many players visited the Elven Forest, this was impossible.

The main prey here, treevagos, are quite difficult to handle unless you’re a Wizard.

It had high immunity to physical attacks and excellent health regeneration. So, unless one had fire-based attacks, hunting there was inefficient.

Players over level 200 naturally seek efficiency first.

Despite this, players continued to visit, form parties, and explore this area for a simple reason.

It’s the forest of elves.

Elves were a mysterious race often featured in fantasy novels and movies. The pure desire to find their village and be the first to set foot there drove many high-level players to this location.

Though it doesn’t seem like they’ve had much success.

Unlike Kai, who had a map to the village, they had to navigate blindly. That too, while dealing with tough monsters like treevagos.

Perhaps that's why they followed my lead better than I expected.

The players here weren’t solely focused on leveling up. They were gamers who wanted to realize their fantasy dreams. That’s why, when Kai touched on the dissatisfaction they harbored, it exploded.

Kai viewed this situation positively.

Black Bee’s image was already at the bottom among the top ten guilds.

Then this incident occurred, and Black Bee’s image plummeted within hours.

“Actually, it’s worse than rock bottom.”

People often thought rock bottom was the end until they saw the depths beneath it.

Black Bee is finished. They’ll never recover from this villain, trash image, not in a million years.

Kai was certain as he browsed the community. Dozens of Under guilds and hundreds of rankers were leading the charge in condemning Black Bee’s tyranny. Naturally, the response from regular players, who had no connection to the rankings, was even more intense.

If they manage to recover from this, I’ll bow down to them.

As Kai chuckled to himself, the other players approached and offered him food.

"Hey, what are you mumbling to yourself on such a great day?"

"You're a Cleric. You're not like the Necromancer over here."

"Are you dissing Necromancer players now?"

"No, I was dissing you."

Eventually, Kai was dragged along by them, drinking and enjoying the festive atmosphere. No matter how much they drank, they never got drunk on

MID Online

’s beverages!

This explains why people have work parties in MID Online nowadays.

It was cheaper, and they could eat and drink three times longer than in reality. Plus, there was no hangover the next day, which was one of the reasons why so many managers were drawn to

MID Online

.

“

Phew

, but I’m a bit worried. What will Black Bee do next?”

“What can they do? They were in the wrong. They would probably apologize, wouldn’t they?”

“Apologize? Them? One of the top ten guilds? No way...”

“Look at reality. The Under guilds and rankers are beating them up right now. No matter how strong Black Bee is, can they really ignore everyone and keep playing? They can’t.”

Overhearing the players' conversation, Kai turned his head.

...Could Black Bee really keep playing while ignoring them all?

Of course not. No matter how strong Black Bee was and how skilled their members were, this incident proved that one hand couldn’t block ten.

In other words, this is a pretty serious situation for Black Bee.

For them, this incident wasn’t just a passing storm. It was a severe typhoon that could shake their position and standing as one of the top ten guilds, since many players and guilds had shown that they no longer recognized Black Bee as one of the top ten guilds.

Can Black Bee really come out from this storm?

Kai’s quick-thinking mind immediately came up with an answer.

There is one way.

They had to become true villains.

After all, Black Bee has nothing left to lose.

Their image was already in the dumpster, loaded onto a garbage truck, and buried in a landfill.

They would need to crush all those opposing them and rule through fear.

If they could do this, Black Bee could maintain their current position as one of the top ten guilds, as opposing them would mean certain death.

“But still, no way...”

As Kai was trying to deny that scenario, someone shouted, “This is insane! Black Bee has lost it!”

“They’re challenging everyone they see in the field to duels, rankers and guilds alike!”

“It’s not PK, but...”

“That’s what makes it scarier! They follow you around, spamming duel requests and stealing monsters until you accept.”

“Are they like spoon killers or something? That’s chilling.”

“Because of this, people are frantically deleting their posts and comments criticizing Black Bee.”

“

Ugh

, then regular players and solo rankers will all shut up.”

“Damn it, those persistent bastards! I can’t believe they pulled a move like this when it all seemed over...”

The players' faces showed frustration, grumbling, and anxiety.

Watching them quietly, Kai left the place.

“I started this, so I’ll have to finish it.”

Then, he began searching through his contacts.

***

Boyd, sitting on the sofa in the office, looked at Seol Eun-Yeong, who was pacing around, and asked, “How are you going to handle this? Milady, please answer!”

This was already the tenth time he had asked the question. Nevertheless, she continued to cross her arms and rest her chin on one hand, lost in thought.

What should I do?

It was indeed a difficult decision. Subtly, the Cheonhwa guild was regarded as the strongest and largest in Korea, as they had recently solidified their name on the world stage by successfully completing the Veghas raid.

But we still don’t have...

They didn't have anyone with overwhelming skill. This was the reason Seol Eun-Yeong was always on the lookout for talent.

If we had attempted the Veghas raid alone, we would have likely failed.

At that time, they had received help from Yoo Ha-Rin. Some even joked that it wasn’t Cheonhwa that succeeded in the raid, but Yoo Ha-Rin.

We don’t have a reliable ace.

Seol Eun-Yeong intensely felt the absence of an ace who could represent the guild. Usually, the aces of the top ten guilds were their masters. However, Seol Eun-Yeong, the master of Cheonhwa, was a thorough commander type.

I can’t be the ace.

Her gaze slightly shifted toward Boyd, and then came out a sigh.

“W-what? Are you having some very rude thoughts about me right now?”

“Quiet.

Tsk.

Useless,” she lightly silenced Boyd’s complaint and helplessly sat down in a chair.

If we could just declare war on Black Bee and defeat them with strength...

It wouldn’t be impossible to secure a spot among the top ten guilds. In fact, it was almost guaranteed, since Cheonhwa guild was already ranked at the top among the Under guilds.

“We have no choice. We’re still too unprepared. This time, we should also...”

Just as Seol Eun-Yeong sighed and continued speaking, her message window chimed.

[I’m contacting you after seeing your community post.]

It was a message from Unknown.