Chapter 226: The One Who Takes Everything for Himself (1)

“I’ll let Cheonhwa attempt the Fritz Siege first.”

Everyone froze at Vulcan’s declaration. It wasn’t just the members of Cheonhwa who were stunned; the Warriors’ executives were equally shocked.

What?

Though the rankers from the Warriors quickly recovered their expressions, they weren’t skilled enough to escape Seol Eun-Yeong’s sharp gaze.

Even his own side didn’t know he was going to make this move?

The Fritz Castle was a location both Cheonhwa and the Warriors had been eyeing eagerly. Whoever controlled the castle, which was connected to the Suver Canal, would gain effortless access to trading routes.

Normally, the order to attempt the siege was determined by the king of the country to which the territory belonged. As a result, the Warriors had secured the first attempt, with Cheonhwa lined up second.

But he’s offering that first attempt to us? Why?

Of course, the Zatan raid was important. It wasn’t some common monster they could encounter in any field. It was the raid boss monster destined to conclude Main Episode 2.

Considering how the Cheonhwa guild, once a name known only in Korea, had soloed Veghas—the Episode 1 boss—and risen to a world-class level, Zatan was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

But that’s only if the raid succeeds.

No matter how important Zatan was, as she thought, it was a story that only mattered if they succeeded. If the Warriors sacrificed the Fritz territory and still failed the raid, it wouldn’t just be a simple loss of one thing.

If the Warriors failed to conquer Zatan, the next turn would naturally go to Cheonhwa. And with Cheonhwa’s current lineup, unless their members were secretly involved in backend dealings or something equally absurd, it was impossible to imagine them failing. Above all, they had the monster player, Yoo Ha-Rin.

“Boyd,” Seol Eun-Yeong muttered while still staring at Vulcan.

Then, Boyd stepped forward and whispered, “Dubo just contacted me. He says they’re done.”

“What did he say?”

“They’re tracking the movements of all Wizard rankers, as well as magic Swordsmen. They even investigated non-mainstream magic damage dealers, like Bards. No abnormalities.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, I didn’t investigate myself, so I can’t say for certain, but if it’s Chief Dubo, he’s reliable.”

If one were to doubt the intelligence-gathering capabilities of Dubo, a former FBI intelligence division member, then there would be few left in the world to trust. In short, it meant that no top-ranking magic damage dealers had been hired by the Warriors.

Thinking about this for a moment, Seol Eun-Yeong asked Vulcan, “You’re not going to go back on your words if you fail the raid later, are you?”

Her tone was still cold as ice, but the hostility had lessened, replaced by a more businesslike demeanor. It subtly conveyed that she was viewing Vulcan not just as a competitor but as a business counterpart.

“Of course not. If you’d like, we can sign a contract.”

“Alright. Boyd, bring the documents.”

“Got it.”

As Boyd quickly pulled out a blank contract from his inventory and began filling it in, Vulcan put on a reluctant expression.

“What’s with that look?” Seol Eun-Yeong asked.

“No, I was just thinking you are incredibly thorough. My apologies if I was rude.”

“It’s nothing.”

Seol Eun-Yeong crossed her arms and reviewed the document Boyd handed her, then passed it directly to Vulcan.

“Check it.”

“It’s fine.”

The two masters quickly signed the contract, and it began to glow.

Ding!

[The Covenant Document begins to shine.]

[The Solarian God will oversee the covenant between Seol Eun-Yeong and Vulcan to ensure it is upheld.]

A Covenant Document was sold by the Solarian Church for 10 gold per copy. The document imposed severe penalties the moment its terms were violated, making it virtually impossible to break.

Of course, the penalty's severity could be adjusted between the contracting parties. However, Seol Eun-Yeong didn’t touch that section in the contract. It was partially to observe Vulcan's reaction, but he signed it without a moment’s hesitation.

He must really be confident about something if he’s going this far...

With each holding a copy of the Covenant Document, Seol Eun-Yeong looked at Vulcan with a troubled expression.

“So, you’ll take Fritz, and we’ll take Zatan,” Vulcan said.

“Unless someone fails, of course.”

Vulcan looked at Seol Eun-Yeong, who was practically cursing him, and chuckled. “

Oh

, by the way, can I say something?”

“What is it?”

Vulcan held up the Covenant Document. “The order for the Fritz Siege was personally dictated by King Beoruk, so forfeiting midway isn’t an option. It would hurt our guild’s image, reduce our contribution points, and lower our reputation.”

"Are you trying to backtrack now that the contract is sealed? It’s too late. Besides, the Covenant Document should already include details about that," Seol Eun-Yeong immediately retorted with a sharp gaze.

Both Vulcan and Seol Eun-Yeong were correct. Since the order of the siege attempts was determined by the king himself, it couldn’t be traded or sold at will. If such actions were discovered, it would result in a massive reputation loss and penalties.

However, if a guild believed they lacked the capacity to succeed, they could

forfeit, a

nd the method was straightforward.

“It’s written there that all you have to do is send one member for the siege attempt,” Seol Eun-Yeong said.

“Right. That’s a method commonly used by other guilds too. I was just curious, though.” Vulcan grinned and asked, “What if the one person we send for the siege actually succeeds?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Seol Eun-Yeong scoffed, thinking it was a joke. “Well, if one person does manage to conquer Fritz, we wouldn’t have any complaints.”

After all, it wouldn’t violate the terms of the Covenant Document.

Satisfied with her response, Vulcan nodded. “As expected.”

"This was more anticlimactic than I expected,” Seol Eun-Yeong muttered.

Then, she whipped her head around and commanded her guild members, “Everyone, retreat. Cheonhwa will begin its raid attempt only after the Warriors fail their attempt.”

After glancing at Vulcan, she offered them good luck out of courtesy. “May it be your best raid, with no regrets.”

“Encouragement from a beauty,

huh?

I’ll do my best,” Vulcan replied with a soft smile.

***

“Master, should we start looking for a nearby mental hospital or something?”

As soon as the Cheonhwa guild departed, the Warriors' executives surrounded Vulcan and shouted.

“

Aaahhh!

We’re doomed! Completely doomed!”

“Why on earth did you give up Fritz territory?”

“That’s prime land our sponsors were eagerly waiting for! What are we supposed to report to them?”

“Prime land? It’s more than that—it’s double prime! No, maybe triple!”

Standing in the middle of the executives whining like children, Vulcan let out an awkward laugh.

“Everyone, calm down first...”

“Calm down? Do you even realize what happens to us if this raid fails?”

"We have a lot to lose right now. Do you think we’re in The Nine Guilds or part of the top three for no reason?”

“Damn it, you just keep saying you hired a reliable player but won’t tell us who. That’s why we’re freaking out!”

“Why are you even keeping it a secret until raid day?”

“Because you guys are terrible at keeping a poker face,” Vulcan replied.

He looked at his subordinates, now speechless, with a satisfied expression and finally said, “Unknown. Kai. Rank 1. That’s the identity of the player I’ve hired for this raid.”

Everyone wore expressions of shock at the reveal of the mercenary’s identity.

Even Steed, Vulcan’s trusted confidant, looked at him with disbelief and barely said, “Master—no, Vulcan hyungnim—is your head all right? Seriously, are you in your right mind?”

“

Hm?

” Vulcan tilted his head at the unexpected reaction from his guild members.

But that was just the beginning. Their reactions grew even more intense.

“Our guild already has plenty of top-tier physical damage dealers. Why in the world would you hire Unknown?!”

“Let’s be honest—our guild lacks Wizards, not Warriors. And one of Zatan’s minions, Radus? You, Steed, or even I could handle him.”

“And didn’t you say you were looking for a needle to pin down that damn Duras?”

“What good is being first ranked? That bastard’s a Paladin! He uses a sword!”

“We’re doomed... We’re so doomed! This is the end for us!”

“Hello?

Oh

, is this the Genesis guild? About that scout offer you secretly made to me, I’d like to hear the details...”

Vulcan quickly calmed the guild members who had fallen into a state of panic.

“Everyone, calm down. I’ll explain everything.”

“Explain?”

The guild members perked up their ears.

Vulcan looked at the group, now staring at him with eager eyes, and said, “At first, I thought of hiring Unknown for publicity.”

“

Ah

, to stir things up a bit?”

“Exactly. In the past, Cheonhwa collaborated with Yoo Ha-Rin during the Veghas raid. You all know how much synergy that created without me even saying it.”

“Well,

yeah. That was incredible. It felt like the screens were on fire back then.”

“No one expected a permanent solo player to temporarily join forces with a major guild for a raid...”

"In short, Master, you were hoping we could enjoy a similar effect this time?"

“Correct. And I aimed to use someone even more famous now than Yoo Ha-Rin—Unknown—for noise marketing. However...” Vulcan’s expression turned complicated. “When I personally reached out with that proposal, Unknown revealed a different ambition.”

“Ambition?”

“To be honest, I was originally planning to hire the Wizard player, Haken, to take down Duras.”

“Haken? You mean the guy who used to be with Black Bee? The Ice Needle, Haken?”

“Yes. He’s a frozen Wizard who hasn't been affiliated with any guild since Black Bee disbanded. I was planning to recruit him for this raid, but then Unknown said this.”

Vulcan raised three fingers.

“Publicity, Duras, Radus. He said he’d handle all three himself.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Sure, a Paladin has a bit more magic damage mixed into their abilities than a pure Knight, but they’re still leagues below a proper Wizard.”

“But the Unknown I know doesn’t make empty promises. And if he succeeds?”

“Well...”

The response from the players would be explosive. It would be far beyond the impact Cheonhwa and Yoo Ha-Rin had created.

“That would certainly make an incredible impact.”

“But if he fails, we bear the risk.”

“Remember, the bigger the risk, the greater the reward. There’s no such thing as a risk-free investment in this world.”

Just as Seol Eun-Yeong predicted, Vulcan had staked everything on this raid.

If we succeed, no one will call us part of the top three anymore.

The sole top guild among the world’s Nine Guilds—that was Vulcan’s ambition and greed. And the dice, born of his ambition, had finally started to roll.