Ranker's Return

Chapter 861

Chapter 861

Exactly three days had passed since the day of Hyeonu and Liu Shei’s solo meeting.

Hyeonu visited the capital, Yusma. Hyeonu stood in front of the gorgeous door and carefully opened his mouth, “Your Majesty, this humble Hyeonu has come.”

“Come in.” The emperor greeted Hyeonu in a lazy voice as usual.

“Your Majesty, how have you been?”

“How have I been... can I be well if I’m trapped in a small hall and just stamping a seal?”

The emperor had a particularly negative attitude.

‘He isn’t a depressed person...’

Hyeonu gulped at the negative energy exuded by the emperor.

‘It is a bit uncomfortable...’

It was difficult to start talking if the emperor wasn’t in a good mood. It was unavoidable in the relationship between Party A and Party B.

“The empire can only stand properly when Your Majesty is at peace. How about enduring it a bit more?” Hyeonu didn’t hesitate to speak obviously evasive remarks.

The emperor frowned and asked, “Do you often meet with other nobles?”

It was because Hyeonu’s words were too familiar. They were words he heard often from other nobles.

“How can I have the time to do that, Your Majesty? I am busy running around for the empire.”

Hyeonu raised both hands and waved them to express his opposition. If he had the time to do so, he wouldn’t feel so wronged.

“Is that so?” the emperor asked back with a strange expression.

“From tomorrow, we will start the war in the north again, Your Majesty.”

Hyeonu quickly changed the subject. It was better to pass over uncomfortable topics.

“The war? So suddenly? Without any preparations?” the emperor questioned Hyeonu like it was the first time he was hearing it.

“In any case, the main pillars of this war are the adventurers. It is enough to have the adventurers’ strength for the empire’s army.”

Hyeonu shook his head. There was no time needed for preparation. All that was needed was the reward from the emperor.

“Your Majesty, you just have to say one word and countless adventurers will plunge into the war of the north.”

“Yes... it is impossible to leave the imperial cities in the hands of the undead forever.”

The emperor nodded. Just then, a message appeared in front of Hyeonu to announce the creation of the quest.

[A quest has been created.]

[Restore the Lost Cities]

[The emperor has no intention of letting the northern cities be taken over by the undead army. Follow the emperor’s command to reclaim the lost cities.

Rating: SS+

Conditions: Restore the lost cities 0/???

Rewards: Experience, imperial contribution.]

“I will give the adventurers an order immediately. Reclaim the lost cities of the north.”

The emperor rose from the throne.

“I promise the duke another reward. You are different from ordinary adventurers.”

The emperor smiled and snapped his fingers. Then at the entrance of the great hall where Hyeonu had entered, a servant appeared. The servant brought a small box and handed it to the emperor.

“There is something in this box that can help you, Duke. If you gain achievements in this war... I’ll give you this.”

The emperor opened the box. The box contained a book decorated with an antique cover. There was something else, but Hyeonu could only see the book.

‘Is it a skill book?’

Heat rose in Hyeonu’s eyes.

A skill book—it would be a lie if he said he wasn’t greedy for it. In particular, the skill books given by the emperor were always useful.

‘It must be at least unique rated.’

“I will definitely restore the cities as soon as possible, Your Majesty,” Hyeonu replied with a dutiful expression.

“Duke, I only trust you. Even though I would love to go there myself...”

[A quest has been created.]

[The Emperor’s Trust]

[The emperor trusts you. Live up to the emperor’s trust.

Rating: SS+

Conditions: Restore the lost cities 0/???

Rewards: Experience, imperial contribution, the emperor’s gift.]

Another quest was created for Hyeonu.

‘I am different.’

Hyeonu felt a surge of motivation. He would receive different rewards from other players. It was a pleasant distinction.

‘I also have Suped’s request... things are going well.’

It was killing two birds with one stone.

Hyeonu’s head was already filled with thoughts about the skill book that the emperor would hand over.

***

The emperor’s quest—it had become the target of many large guilds. All of those who had been concentrating on leveling up headed north.

In the past, they wouldn’t pay attention to such poor rewards.

There was only one reason why things had changed—the divine power shown by Lebron in the West Continent. Additionally, the difference between the armed force of the West Continent and East Continent was highlighted. People realized they needed to pay more attention to the only empire in the West Continent, the Yusma Empire.

“Liu Shei, are you ready?” Hyeonu spoke to Liu Shei, the man next to him.

“I brought them all while leaving only the minimal defense force. Additionally, I used gold and temple contributions to summon the priests of the temples,” Liu Shei replied with a light sigh.

“You don’t have to be too depressed. The gold and contributions you spent now will be refilled quickly. Wouldn’t the temple contribution fill up by itself when killing the undead?”

“I can get temple contributions, but... the bleeding is big, it is big.”

“I will take care of it. Don’t think it is too much of a loss.”

Hyeonu delivered words of comfort to Liu Shei, who couldn’t hide his depressed expression. However, Liu Shei’s expression couldn’t relax. Liu Shei wasn’t having a hard time with the gold and temple contributions he consumed. It was as Hyeonu said. He could collect them back in no time. The problem was with the inside of the Kowloon Guild.

‘If those stupid guys just used their heads properly... it wouldn’t be this hard.’

The other dragons of the Kowloon Guild—they were the problem. They wanted to keep the benefits they always received, no matter the guild’s problems.

‘They want to hunt more? Crazy bastards. Don’t they know that it is over for them if the guild is ruined?’ Liu Shei felt his stomach swelling like oil was boiling when he remembered the conversation a few days ago.

“Looking at your expression... it seems the problem lies elsewhere?” Hyeonu smiled as he spoke to Liu Shei.

“No, my heart is just upset because I am thinking about going to war.”

Liu Shei hid his worries. He didn’t want to reveal his weaknesses to Hyeonu. It was because he didn’t know how one complaint would come back to him later.

“Well, I won’t ask any more questions then. Let’s go right now.”

Hyeonu didn’t ask any more questions. He respected Liu Shei’s will.

“Alley Leader, you are actually the leader of this expeditionary force. Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“I’m not the leader. Isn’t the leader of this army the Kowloon Guild, Liu Shei?”

Hyeonu euphemistically rejected Liu Shei’s offer. However, Liu Shei didn’t give up. He made the same suggestion to Hyeonu again.

“No, it is right for Alley Leader to be the leader. It might be different if there are no NPCs, but aren’t there many NPCs?”

The reason Liu Shei delayed with Hyeonu was due to the NPCs. Hyeonu’s influence was absolute over those who were borrowed from the temple, as well as the soldiers of the territory. In particular, he was no different from a hero in the territory thanks to his performance in the last war. He had a higher status than the lord, Liu Shei.

“Then I’ll do it.”

In the end, Hyeonu couldn’t resist Liu Shei’s repeated suggestions and nodded. Hyeonu climbed the wall and stood with the well-arranged NPCs.

“I am Gang Hyeonu, a duke of the Yusma Empire. In the past, the empire lost several cities to the invasion of the undead. However, we ended up stopping it. Today, we are gathered here to reclaim the cities that were taken away. It will be dangerous. It will be hard. Nevertheless, we will get them back. Our land.”

Hyeonu’s voice rang out loudly. As Hyeonu’s words continued, the expressions of the NPCs changed slightly little by little. It was from a composed expression to an angry expression. In the end, their vigor exploded like a blazing fire. However, the reactions of the players were different from the NPCs. They were more surprised than emotional.

“Did he say he was a duke?”

“Is a duke right? When did that happen?”

“Didn’t he say he was a marquis in the past?”

“How many promotion permits are needed to become a duke?”

“Won’t the imperial contributions be a lot? Is it possible to collect it alone? New World must’ve run out last time when promoting Jin Sijong to earl?”

A duke—the impact of these words was enormous. The players gathered here were players with the highest levels in Arena. Due to this, the feeling of being able to approach this realm was even more different. It was an unknown territory that players couldn’t reach.

“As expected of Alley Leader...”

“What type of relationship does he have with the emperor? Collecting imperial contributions so quickly...”

“There is talk that Alley Leader actually received this quest as well.”

"How far is he going to go...?”

The gaze of the rankers watching Hyeonu wasn’t much different from the viewers looking at him. It was like they were looking at something unknown.

“Let’s leave now, Liu Shei.”

Hyeonu descended from the city walls and approached Liu Shei.

“Okay, we will go straight away. My guild members will follow.”

Liu Shei turned around and gestured to the guild members standing behind him and nodded to Hyeonu. Hyeonu also looked at Liu Shei and nodded. Then he turned and walked toward the gate. Hyeonu was walking alone only to suddenly look behind him. Liu Shei was shouting. The moment he made eye contact with Hyeonu, he quickly moved toward Hyeonu.

Hyeonu nodded slightly before turning to walk toward the outside of the castle again. Then he whispered in such a low voice that no one could hear it. “Turn on the live stream now. Let’s move as we have already planned. There is no need to match it tightly, but try to match it as much as possible. It is a script we created for this reason.”

Hyeonu’s work started now.

***

“I understand, Alley Leader.”

Kalen moved quickly after being contacted by Hyeonu. He prepared for the live streaming with his hands while nagging at the other guild members with his mouth.

“You haven’t forgotten what I said? From today onward, for around a fortnight, you have to move as if you are on air. Got it?”

Perhaps it was because he repeated the same thing over and over again, but the expressions of the Venom Guild members were impudent as they listened to Kalen’s words.

“Stop it. Are we children?”

“Even a three year old child would understand if spoken to like this.”

“It is stuck in my ears. Did I hear it in my dream? ‘Crimson, keep your mind straight. Mask your words. Understood?’ Sigh.”

The Venom Guild members started to grumble at Kalen.

“I’m saying this because I am worried. This is Alley Leader’s request. If you screw up, it is over, over! You know how scary that guy is.”

However, Kalen still wasn’t relieved. This was more serious than ever before. They had to be more cautious than when they were working for money, and they had to succeed.

“I know, I got it. It will be hell if we fail,” Rose replied with a bitter smile.

They had obviously succeeded in coming out of the shadows into the sun. However, bigger shackles than ever before were fastened to their ankles.

“Then I’m going to turn it on right now. Think about it once more in your head.”

Kalen finished speaking and clapped a few times. Then he looked forward and smiled slightly. “Hello viewers, it has been a while. This is the Venom Guild.”