Chapter 296: High-Quality Entertainment Show (1)

Kai’s unexpected live stream ended with a staggering 4.2 million viewers. Naturally, the response was explosive, and it became prime material for journalists to write about.

[No.1 Ranker Kai, once again exuding the aura of an absolute force.]

[The man who cooked 12 rankers in just 12 minutes.]

[The Unknown Effect proves itself once again—active community users increased by 42% after the live stream.]

[Why do former Black Bee and Titan guild members oppose him?]

Articles with provocative headlines, tempting anyone to read them at least once, flooded in. Naturally, just reading these articles wasn’t enough to satisfy the public.

-Did he really one-shot each ranker per minute? LOL

-His movements are pure art. And it was even a live stream with no edits or anything

└ Unknown’s Perspective

-I’m a guy, but after watching his stream yesterday, I think I’m falling for him...

-Forget this—I’m going back to binge-watch the entire Unknown series.

-Why hasn’t Unknown released a new video lately :(

└ New video? Yeah, right. He got a little famous and lost his edge, now he’s just doing entertainment shows. Don’t expect too much from him.

The so-called Unknown Effect was in full force, and his name was mentioned everywhere. Some even saw this event as a blessing amidst a drought.

-Alright, let’s resume our debate from yesterday.

-First place still goes to Yoo Ha-Rin, right?

└ What are you talking about? Chris is obviously stronger than Yoo Ha-Rin.

-Wait, weren’t you all saying Kai was number one just yesterday?

-Oh, he’s been excluded because he doesn’t belong in a mere celestial tier.

These were people who ranked and evaluated the skills of rankers. After this event, they didn’t just place Kai at the top—they elevated him beyond the heavens, straight into the Andromeda tier.

The overwhelming power and gap in skill he displayed against twelve top-rankers. And on top of that, the way he stood there unfazed, without a single drop of sweat after the battle. That was more than enough to justify their decision.

-Unknown is just too cool.

-I wasn’t even a fan before, but after that video, I’m hooked.

And for those newly captivated by him, a certain message found its way into their inboxes.

[Hello! Do you like Unknown? I’m a huge fan too! You can join us in discussing everything about him at the official fan club...]

Like devoted followers gathering believers, the managers of Unknown’s Official Fan Club continued expanding their numbers. With over 1.7 million members, it had already become a massive force of influence.

-The variety show featuring Unknown airs in two days!

-I can’t wait to see what he’s really like!

└ No matter what, I’ll love him anyway

The entertainment show that Kai had filmed at the Sanctuary of Corruption was just two days away from its broadcast.

***

Boom!

A thunderous roar echoed deep within an underground cave.

Boom! Boom, boom!

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The sounds came from Goliath, who was slamming his fists against the cave walls like a raging gorilla.

After repeatedly striking the walls, he suddenly turned his head. "I thought you said you erased all traces perfectly?"

The one who responded was Sting, who was sitting nearby with an irritated expression. "I did."

"You sure about that? Then how the hell did that bastard figure out it was us and come after us?"

As Goliath questioned him accusingly, Sting's eyes sharpened as he shot him a piercing glare. "Are you questioning my skills?"

"It’s not a question. It’s a fact. He came after us immediately after the incident."

"Don’t talk bullshit. Even the tower masters of the Wizard Tower wouldn’t be able to track my skills back to me.”

"Bullshit? Did you just call what I said bullshit?"

As the tension between the two escalated, the guild members turned pale and pressed themselves against the cave walls.

In the end, Raos, unable to watch any longer, stepped in to break them up. "Please, calm down, both of you. If we start fighting among ourselves in a situation like this, the only one who benefits is Kai."

Kai. At the mention of that name, Goliath and Sting both scowled and turned their heads away.

"Even tearing him apart wouldn't be enough."

"Did you watch the stream?"

At Sting’s question, Goliath gave a single nod. "I did."

"Honestly, you and I could probably take on twelve of our guild members and win. However... winning that easily, in just twelve minutes? That’s impossible."

Struck by the objective assessment, Goliath kicked a stone in frustration. "Damn it! That’s what pisses me off the most. We got hit, and we couldn’t even hit back."

It was the first time in his life that he had felt so utterly powerless. Just a few days ago, he had been eagerly counting down the days until their revenge, which only made the bitterness cut deeper.

As the two men sat in heavy silence, radiating an air of gloom, the guild members felt like they were sitting on pins and needles. What finally saved them was a single message that arrived at just the right moment.

"

Hm?

"

"This is..."

Of course, the message wasn’t sent to the guild members. It was directed at the two masters.

After checking its contents, the two men looked at each other.

"No way..."

"You too?"

Realizing they had received the same message, their minds immediately started racing.

[Xao Lin]

The one who had messaged them both at the same time was none other than the master of the Black Dragon guild.

***

[Goliath has entered the chat.]

[Sting has entered the chat.]

As soon as the two entered, the person who had been waiting for them spoke.

[Xao Lin: It’s been a while. How have you both been?]

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

[Sting: Get to the point.]

[Xao Lin: Still as impatient as ever, I see.]

[Sting: We’re not exactly on friendly terms to be making small talk.]

[Xao Lin: You never know what the future holds. Honestly, I still can’t believe the two of you are working together.]

[Goliath: Enough with the introduction.]

Seeing Goliath and Sting’s clear displeasure, Xao Lin got straight to the point.

[Xao Lin: At least you two agree on something. Fine, I’ll be direct. Let’s form an alliance.]

At his sudden alliance proposal, Sting and Goliath both fell silent. Xao Lin was the master of the Black Dragon guild, which had over twenty million members. Teaming up with him would bring advantages, not losses.

[Sting: The conditions?]

[Xao Lin: The execution and command of the operation will be handled on our side.]

[Goliath: Just say it outright. You want us under your command.]

It was called an alliance, but in reality, it was no different from Xao Lin trying to bring them under his rule. However, Xao Lin remained confident.

[Xao Lin: If that weren’t the case, why would I even bother offering you an alliance? Do you seriously expect Black Dragon’s twenty million members to serve you?]

[Goliath: You call that a reasoning?!]

[Sting: ...]

While Goliath fumed with rage, Sting remained silent. As much as he hated to admit it, Xao Lin was right. Sure, both he and Goliath had Mythic classes. But put simply, that was all they had.

On the other hand, Black Dragon... as a single force, is the strongest in MID Online.

For starters, the guild's sheer size was overwhelming. China had the largest population in the world. Moreover, the Chinese government strongly emphasized nationalism and instilled a sense of unity among its people from a young age. As a result, the tendency for Chinese players to band together was stronger than in any other nation. And Xao Lin was the one who used that instinct to create a massive mega-guild in

MID Online

.

"Goliath. Calm down."

"Calm down? Did you not see what that bastard just said? He’s calling it an alliance, but he just wants to use us like dogs," Goliath retorted angrily, trembling with clenched fists.

"How amusing. Wasn’t the Titan guild’s motto "survival of the fittest”?"

Goliath scowled at Sting’s remark. After all, the Titan guild had always functioned under the philosophy that the strong took everything.

"So you’re saying we should obediently bow our heads and work under that Chinese bastard?"

"Of course not. Just like he wants to use us, we’ll use him."

"... Use Black Dragon?" At Sting’s words, Goliath’s expression shifted, intrigued.

"Yes, use them. Think about it, why would he suddenly want to recruit us now?"

"That’s because..." Goliath trailed off, unable to respond.

Right now, he and Sting were nothing more than background extras making Kai look even more impressive. Nothing more, nothing less. A quick look at the online community forums showed countless posts mocking them.

"The reason he’s offering us an alliance is for justification."

"Justification?"

"He’s been aiming to expand into the Kingdom of Rashion for a while now."

At Sting’s words, Goliath’s expression cleared, and he nodded. "Now that you mention it, Xao Lin has shown interest in the Libertia territory before."

"Exactly. Black Dragon is under heavy criticism in the Kingdom of Aldebaran for their reckless sieges and monopolization of hunting grounds."

Black Dragon’s headquarters was located in the Kingdom of Aldebaran, not the Kingdom of Rashion. This meant they couldn’t freely attack Libertia. If they crossed the border under the Black Dragon name, it would escalate into an all-out war between the Kingdom of Aldebaran and the Kingdom of Rashion.

"Ah, so he wants us, as citizens of Kingdom of Rashion, to act as his front while he secures his justification."

"... Don’t tell me you really hadn’t figured this out yet."

As Sting scolded him, Goliath snapped back, "

Hmph

. Sitting around analyzing things like some scholar isn’t my style."

Despite his grumbling, Goliath reconsidered his stance after hearing Sting’s explanation.

"If Black Dragon supports us... it’s not a bad deal."

"Besides, Xao Lin doesn’t know what classes we’ve acquired."

At Sting’s words, a grin spread across Goliath’s face. "That’s right. So we grow our strength under Black Dragon’s protection."

"It’ll be the perfect safe haven."

Sharing a sly smile, the two men resumed typing on their virtual keyboards.

[Goliath: Now that I think about it, I may have been too emotional earlier. I apologize.]

[Sting: We’re interested in the alliance proposal. We’d like to discuss the details further...]

[Xao Lin: A wise choice.]

Their conversation continued late into the night.

***

"They're not here."

After finishing the battle, Kai mounted Mimic in its wyvern form and carefully scouted the Illusory Forest. However, he found no additional members of the Revenge Guild within the forest.

That means... either there’s a dungeon hidden somewhere in the forest, or they’ve already escaped. It has to be one of the two.

It was disappointing that he hadn’t managed to capture Sting and Goliath, the most important targets.

"But it can’t be helped."

Even with Sky Watcher, he hadn’t been able to track them down, meaning that, at least for now, there was no way to find them with his current abilities.

A bit disappointing, but the warning was more than clear.

The scene of him executing Senji with a dramatic final line had already spread across the internet, creating countless parodies and GIFs.

"Mimic, let’s head back."

"

Kiruk, kiruuk!

"

At Kai's command, Mimic flapped its wings powerfully and soared out of the forest sky.