The Veteran Swordmaster’s Stream (Novel) - Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Seo-jun’s eyes shone with interest as he looked at the unfolding situation and asked.
[Heavenly Demon 14: What happens if Gansu is captured?]
It wasn’t that he didn’t know, but there was no harm in double-checking.
Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei.
Capturing Hebei would end the game, and the place he attacked today was Shaanxi.
‘If it goes on like this.’
By Day 14, Shaanxi would become Demonic Sect territory, but since the Orthodox Faction would take Gansu, Shaanxi would fail to connect with the Demonic Sect’s territory and become isolated.
It would become an inland island surrounded by land.
As for why that was a problem:
[Third Elder: By tomorrow, other Demonic Sect players won’t be able to support Shaanxi. Only those who attempted to attack Shaanxi at least once the previous day can play games in Shaanxi.]
The personnel who could defend the isolated Shaanxi would be limited to those who had attacked Shaanxi at least once the day before.
Since the connection was severed, the conditions had changed accordingly.
Although this did not mean the players who had attacked Shaanxi were bound to it, it was self-evident that defending it would become extremely difficult.
[Third Elder: The Orthodox Faction will try to defend Shanxi, which directly borders Hebei, no matter how many rankers they have to deploy. That’s why we intended to go for an all-out war tomorrow, but if our connection is cut here, it will be difficult to both defend Shaanxi and attack Shanxi.]
[Third Elder: But if we try to prevent the connection from being cut here, the Orthodox Faction and the Unorthodox Faction will notice our goal.]
[Third Elder: Still, if we can just defend Gansu today, the situation will be fine. The problem is…]
[Third Elder: It’s going to be tough. The small forces we poked at the Unorthodox Faction earlier feel like a waste now. If I had known it would be like this, I would have just conserved them.]
Currently, the Orthodox Faction held the advantage in military strength.
The reason was that Seo-jun had already launched his attacks.
The Demonic Sect had already dispatched fifteen of their forces, including Dang So, while the Orthodox Faction had only defended once with three players and, upon failing, conserved those three players’ remaining matches.
‘Having a high reputation score acts as a poison in times like this.’
As a result, it was as if the Demonic Sect had overinvested in Shaanxi, making it difficult to defend Gansu.
If the Orthodox Faction had tried to defend Shaanxi instead of attacking Gansu right now, their forces would have balanced out, but…
the Orthodox Faction had exploited this point well.
[Third Elder: We’ll have to pivot our strategy.]
Pivoting the strategy, huh.
Seo-jun shifted his gaze from the private chat to the group chatroom.
-We have to make a choice quickly.
-It seems impossible to defend Gansu. If we go over there, they look ready to call in even more guys.
-Even if we are outnumbered, we just have to win more matches!
-That would only be possible if we had sixty copies of the Heavenly Demon.
-Should we pivot to targeting the Unorthodox Faction first? What are the odds of successfully attacking a region of the Unorthodox Faction similar to Shaanxi right now?
-What about forming a vanguard squad instead?
-That probably won’t work?
A vanguard squad.
‘Are they suggesting that all our remaining rankers attack Shaanxi at least once today and push it all the way through?’
Scanning the subsequent conversation, it seemed that was the case.
-Why it’s impossible: The general user base has to back us up to some extent. That doesn’t work if we get surrounded.
-Also, during an all-out war, we lack not only general users but also rankers. There are people who already finished their four matches today.
-Holding out there to buy time is also meaningless. The overall time limit of the Battleground is tight.
Ultimately, if we cannot capture their headquarters, it will all be in vain.
However, trying to modify the strategy was also problematic because, unlike other factions that had secured important regions one by one to seize high ground,
the Demonic Sect had invested solely in this strategy, and had already conceded good regions while taking bad ones, so they would start at a slight disadvantage.
Pivoting to the Unorthodox Faction seemed to hold the only potential.
If today’s attack succeeded, and thus they could end it within a few days, there was no need to insist on the Orthodox Faction.
After all, the reason they had concealed their objective of targeting the headquarters as much as possible was to prevent the remaining faction from preparing while they focused on one.
‘So it shifts this rapidly.’
Now, a decision had to be made.
As quickly as possible.
‘I guess it was a good idea to watch quietly today.’
Seo-jun thought so and sent a chat message to Third Elder.
[Heavenly Demon 14: For once, let’s conversely leak our objective to the Unorthodox Faction and utilize them.]
[Third Elder: Huh?]
Third Elder initially reacted as if asking what on earth he was talking about, but after hearing his detailed explanation, he showed quite a positive response.
[Third Elder: Hmm. I think that’s highly plausible?]
[Third Elder: Just a moment.]
After some time, another message arrived.
[Third Elder: I informed Manoeja as well, and they said let’s go for it. Let’s do it!]
Instead of a manager, Manoeja reportedly roleplayed a concept where he was a descendant of the Zhuge Family who was kicked out of the family and came to the Demonic Sect.
That wasn’t the important part.
Manoeja was one of the figures drawing up the big picture along with Third Elder.
Therefore,
[Heavenly Demon 14: Then contact the Unorthodox Faction right away.]
his opinion was adopted.
***
Red markers repeatedly appeared and disappeared across numerous regions, but there were also regions where they remained persistently without vanishing.
The region of the Orthodox Faction that Seo-jun had captured the previous day.
And the place where the Orthodox Faction rankers were deployed in large numbers today.
Currently, a large number of rankers were stationed in Gansu.
‘Are there about forty Orthodox Faction players?’
Although the Orthodox Faction initially deployed about ten players, when the Demonic Sect tried to defend, they sent in more.
When the Demonic Sect added corresponding personnel, the Orthodox Faction deployed all their remaining forces here.
‘The Demonic Sect is short by about ten people.’
By tomorrow, it was half-confirmed that Gansu would be taken away, and thus Day 13 drew to a close.
The next day.
Seo-jun turned on the community forum while preparing for the stream.
It had now become quite a natural routine.
Perhaps because it was a profession that thrived on attention, keeping up with things was helpful.
It was also just fun.
[Battleground Day 13 Summary.]
[Guys, what happens if our retreat line is cut?]
[The Orthodox Faction’s Counterattack!]
[Since they couldn’t block the Heavenly Demon lol the Orthodox Faction cut off his supplies lolol]
[Demonic Sect followers, do not worry. The Heavenly Demon will handle everything himself today. We just need to follow him.]
[But the Demonic Sect finally showed their true colors]
[The Orthodox Faction must have breathed a sigh of relief.]
[The fact that the Heavenly Demon counted as fourteen players worked disadvantageously in a subtle way.]
[Ah, if only he had streamed longer yesterday, we could have seen the streamer getting flustered, what a shame (ggb)]
Even though he hadn’t streamed much yesterday and a day had passed, talk about him appeared frequently.
Suddenly, Bangju’s words came to mind.
That the players here were crazy about masters.
What gamer would dislike someone highly skilled, but the atmosphere of For Chivalry was rather unique.
Seo-jun thought so and clicked on a post that piqued his interest.
[But the Demonic Sect finally showed their true colors]
==
Look at those Demonic Sect bastards desperately defending Gansu to prevent the connection from being cut.
It means they were targeting the headquarters, lol.
Heavenly Demon <– This guy was an insidious bastard who pretended not to coordinate with the Demonic Sect while secretly following their directives.
==
It was true.
That the Demonic Sect had tried to defend Gansu with all their remaining forces this time meant the connection was that important, so one could easily infer that they were targeting the headquarters.
Furthermore, the one who created that path was Seo-jun, and because he had pretended not to cooperate well so far, calling him insidious was accurate, despite the negative nuance.
However,
Seo-jun smiled as he read the comments.
Were they all Demonic Sect members?
-Ahem. The Demonic Sect was surely following the Heavenly Demon's directives. And please correct 'insidious' to 'smart.'
-No manners toward the Heavenly Demon. What do you mean by 'this guy,' you bastard
-The streamer simply went forward and cut down those who blocked him, and the Demonic Sect formulated their strategy accordingly.
It wasn't that.
Next, he clicked on the subsequent post.
[The Orthodox Faction must have breathed a sigh of relief.]
==
If they hadn't cut it off yesterday, they would have had an all-out war right in front of Hebei, where the headquarters is, today, right?
This would be a problem even if they won.
Because if the Orthodox Faction and the Demonic Sect engaged in an all-out war, the Unorthodox Faction would gradually claim other regions.
Although people might not have felt it much because the Demonic Sect had been struggling, the Battleground was a three-way war anyway.
A three-way war where if two fought with all their might, the remaining one would win by reaping the benefits of the conflict!
So the Demonic Sect guys are the crazy ones. What are they trying to gain by targeting the enemy headquarters?
Do you guys have some grudge against the Orthodox Faction or something?
==
It was a post that assessed the situation well, and the first comment on it was as follows.
-Yes.
Those two letters seemed to imply a lot of meaning. Something like sorrow and joy?
Now, it was time to turn on the stream.
Seo-jun entered the capsule.
Closing his eyes and opening them, the world transformed.
After immediately entering his private channel, he adjusted the streaming settings.
The stream title was:
[Anyway Demonic Wins]
Although there seemed to be people who wanted to see what he would say at this point after taking a blow, he chose the same stream title as yesterday.
[Starting the stream.]
***
"Ah. You're isolated in Shaanxi with me, and since you're so scared, you want me to hug you? Thank you for the donation. You're banned."
-lololol
-A 100,000 won hug request gets denied!
-Lately, there are so many kids who keep donating just to get banned
-Where do you think you're touching lolol
-Someone post this on the drama board. As a donation scam lolol
As always, of course, he didn't actually ban them.
Surely they wouldn't post this on the drama board over something like this?
['Ya' donated 10,000 won!]
[What are you going to do today?]
Finally, the donation alert he had been waiting for popped up.
A question about what he was going to do going forward.
The reason he had been waiting for this question was simple.
'It's because of the general players who can play games in Shaanxi.'
Since general users were uncontrollable variables that were impossible to include in calculations, they were treated as constants.
However, if they united well, they could become a major force.
Granted, it came with the condition that utilizing them in the constantly shifting regional situations had to be possible.
It was not a matter of popularity or communication. It was a matter of command.
But what if the goal was simple enough to require no command at all?
His first scheme was precisely that.
"Hmm, you seem curious about what I'll do, could you happen to be a spy?"
Seo-jun first broke the ice like this.
-A spy? Catch them!
-lol it must be an Orthodox player who came to tea-bag
Refers to the act of provoking anger by repeatedly crouching and standing over a defeated opponent.
Another term for it was bad manners.
['Ani' donated 10,000 won!]
[I'm in Shaanxi following you, and I want to mimic you, that's why]
The person who donated seemed aggrieved.
However, Seo-jun knew that the person sending that donation and laughing in the background was actually Third Elder.
"Is that so? Why do you want to mimic me?"
Seo-jun asked despite knowing the answer.
The viewers answered on his behalf.
-lololol I followed as well
-Because I want to be together
-From the Demonic Sect's perspective, we can't resist this
['WithStreamer' donated 10,000 won!]
[Getting trapped in Shaanxi while attacking together is the greatest achievement of my 25-year life!]
Seo-jun checked the donated ID. This wasn't Third Elder, but an ordinary viewer?
-ikr lol
-ikr lol
-ikr lol
-Is this the feeling of soldiers following their lord into the jaws of death!!!!
"Is that so? I'm going to play a bit late today, so wait for me then."
Chats expressing agreement rose from the Demonic Sect players.
The Orthodox players asked him if he was scared.
After Seo-jun engaged in some banter and reminded them a few more times, the time was up.
"It's 7 o'clock. Let's look at the results first."
The results of the fights from the previous day began to reflect on the map.
Gansu was captured by the Orthodox Faction. There was no surprise.
However, due to the fierce resistance of the Demonic Sect, the Orthodox Faction had also consumed a lot of forces, and taking advantage of that gap, the green territory of the Unorthodox Faction, which claimed other regions, expanded.
Small miniatures owned by each faction appeared on the regions and fought.
After the outcome of the battle popped up, the region was dyed in the color symbolizing the victorious faction.
"The Unorthodox Faction took their shares evenly."
This was why they shouldn't engage in all-out wars with each other.
Yesterday's fight between the Demonic Sect and the Orthodox Faction could be called a semi-all-out war, and the Unorthodox Faction reaped all the benefits alone.
"Oh? The Orthodox Faction is queuing immediately this time."
A red marker immediately appeared on the rearranged map.
On Shaanxi, where he was located.
It couldn't be the Demonic Sect, so it was definitely the Orthodox Faction.
But…
[AchillesGun]
[DutyOfOrthodox]
[7777]
[RamenIsTasty]
.
.
.
Surprisingly, that number was fourteen.
Seo-jun narrowed his eyes.
I see the intention.
"It seems they are determined to take Shaanxi back."
The reason they deployed such a large number, exactly equal to his capacity, at once.
Probably, meaning they will consume this much resource here, so don't bother trying to defend Shaanxi and take benefits elsewhere instead.
It was as if they were saying, 'Defending it is impossible anyway, right? And it's not like you are actually trapped with no choice.'
In other words,
"It is a slight concession as well as a provocation."
A provocation telling him to be satisfied with this and get out of Shaanxi.
Seo-jun laughed.
He didn't know who thought of this, but
'they will probably regret it.'
-Streamer, those guys are cocky, let's go crush them?
-Just give us the command, hyungnim! We will defend!
-They think they can definitely take it? Disregarding us general users?
-Well… we are worth disregarding, aren't we?
-True.
-Should we just leave Shaanxi?
Although he hadn't expected them to act like this from the start,
"Let's take it easy, everyone. Initiating the attack first is originally what the weak do."
Seo-jun did not take any action.
Leisurely ignoring chats that asked why he had been initiating attacks immediately at 7 o'clock until now.