SSG 251

by Cristae

Episode 251

Yuseong focused on the video. Of course, he continued to hold the bowl of scorched rice water.

“To explain precisely, the attack aimed at C.O.T.S. this time was different from other attacks. In previous attacks, a single city was targeted, but this time, a total of three cities were attacked.”

The streamer displayed three photos. They were pictures of the cities that had been attacked this time.

Since the locations of C.O.T.S.’s cities were not revealed, these photos were not taken by him directly.

They were captured from the videos that C.O.T.S. used when introducing their cities.

“At the time, the demons and monsters divided into exactly three groups to attack the cities. Naturally, C.O.T.S. also split their forces into three. Normally, these divisions should have been equal, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”

He manipulated the mouse again. The city pictures went down, and photos of three people appeared.

It was Python, Apollon, and Willy.

“Currently, C.O.T.S. is largely divided into the factions of these three people. But the three forces are not all equal.”

Willy’s photo went down, and the faces of Python and Apollon were enlarged.

“Originally, C.O.T.S. was a guild run in halves by these two deputy guild masters. It’s well known that the guild leader is just a figurehead. But the recent reckless raid by Apollon drastically reduced his faction’s size. So, this is what happened.”

He shrank Apollon’s photo and enlarged Python’s.

“In this situation, C.O.T.S. divided their forces into Python’s, Apollon’s, and Willy’s factions. Of course, Apollon’s faction couldn’t handle the enemies assigned to them. But surprisingly, there were few complaints. This shows how extremely hostile the relationships among the three factions are. Of course, it was agreed that if another faction—specifically Python’s—finished off their enemies first, then they would help. No matter how bad things are between them, they are still in the same guild. But Python ignored this.”

As if to emphasize Python’s wrongdoings, he displayed only Python’s photo on the screen.

“Naturally, C.O.T.S. was thrown into chaos. Even those who support Python openly said this decision made no sense. Of course, Python didn’t refuse without any justification. The enemies that attacked them—especially the black-armored ones—were so strong that even they struggled to fight them. That’s why they claimed reinforcements couldn’t come in time. But who knows.”

The streamer shrugged his shoulders.

“The black-armored ones appeared in all three locations, but why, out of all places, were only Python’s enemies so strong? According to Apollon’s and Willy’s sides, the black-armored enemies they faced were strong but just as expected. Naturally, people think Python is making excuses. The conflict within C.O.T.S., which was already getting worse as Python’s faction became dominant, exploded even further.”

He manipulated the computer again and brought up Willy’s photo.

“The war ended for now when Willy and his colleagues went to rescue Apollon’s faction. This in itself is an issue for which Python is being criticized. Willy’s faction consists of players raised through C.O.T.S.’s rookie-growing project, and with their overwhelming skills, they quickly rose to become a key force in C.O.T.S. But still, they can’t compare to Python’s faction. Yet, after defeating their assigned enemies, they went to save Apollon’s faction. So it makes you doubt whether the much stronger Python’s faction really couldn’t handle their own enemies.”

All windows on the screen closed. The camera’s focus shifted to his own face, and he began to speak with a serious expression.

“What do you all think? Was there really an especially strong attack only on Python’s side? Or was it Python’s scheme to completely bury Apollon’s faction? Either way, the disputes surrounding C.O.T.S. seem likely to intensify.”

“What do you think?”

Hyewon asked Yuseong. Yuseong poured more scorched rice water into his now-empty bowl. The scorched rice water was something Hyewon’s grandmother had brought to the table in the rice cooker itself earlier.

After taking another sip, Yuseong opened his mouth.

“There is something suspicious.”

“Suspicious?”

“Right now, it’s true that C.O.T.S. is in conflict, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It looks like C.O.T.S. is trying their best to hide it, but the conflict has flared up so much that they can’t really cover it up. People seem to think the guild could split at this rate, and if that happens, a major civil war will break out. The division of C.O.T.S.’s cities would be the trigger.”

“I see.”

He had already heard the rough atmosphere from Messiah, but he wanted to hear the opinion of a third party as well.

‘The mood is definitely ripe.’

If so, it was time to take the next step.

“Damn it!”

Python cursed. It was a rare expression of intense emotion from him, someone usually called a snake for his chilling poker face.

‘What should I do?’

He wasn’t unaware of the current situation at C.O.T.S.

Rather, as someone renowned for scheming and plotting, he understood the current situation all too well.

But just knowing the situation didn’t provide a solution.

“Hey, Pattern.”

“Yes, Deputy Guild Master!”

After gaining real power, Python had ordered Pattern to address him strictly as Deputy Guild Master in the guild, not as an older brother.

“You know what’s going on, right?”

“Of course!”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Well… If those nobodies rebel, we can just crush them all.”

“….”

Python quietly looked away from Pattern. Pattern didn’t know exactly what he’d done wrong, but he had enough sense to keep quiet regardless.

‘Yeah, I was an idiot for expecting anything from that guy.’

It wasn’t just Pattern.

None of his trusted aides could provide a proper plan.

The situation was turning so badly, but the real problem was that, when choosing people around him, he valued his connection with them over their individual abilities, which now caused side effects.

It was certainly necessary.

Ark was not merely a game, but a massive commercial product. The money Python made as deputy guild master of C.O.T.S. alone was astronomical, and just imagining how much wealth and fame he could obtain if he took over all of C.O.T.S. made it seem worthwhile.

‘Still, maybe I was too hasty.’

Just as Python began to regret what he’d done, someone burst in through the door.

“Deputy Guild Master!”

“Don’t you know how to knock?!”

Pattern yelled angrily, but the person who entered didn’t even blink.

“That’s not what matters now! Please look at this!”

It was Yuseong’s broadcast.

Yuseong started the broadcast. It wasn’t an Ark play stream, just a regular broadcast.

Once enough viewers gathered, Yuseong began to speak.

“Hello, everyone.”

<Hello!>

<Yooha!>

“First, let me say this. Sorry, but I won’t be playing Ark today.”

Disappointed comments appeared in the chat.

“I apologize again to those who were looking forward to it. But I’ve found something pretty interesting. You absolutely won’t be disappointed.”

Yuseong operated his computer and played a video.

“Some of you have seen this video, right?”

<It’s the video from when Jemeotdaero’s city got attacked.>

“That’s right. It’s a recording of when our guild Jemeotdaero fought the demons. I was the one who uploaded it.”

He scrolled through the video and stopped. Something appeared in the footage.

“When I faced this guy before, I had a slight suspicion. I felt like I’d fought him somewhere before.”

<Isn’t it just because you’ve fought black-armored before?>

“I thought that too. But after hearing something my guild leader said, my perspective shifted a bit. My guild leader thinks this black-armored is a player who, through some event, is working with demons and carrying out a demon quest. There are even rumors about it.”

<Whoa, there are rumors like that?>

<Isn’t that a super minor theory?>

“I thought so too. If my guild leader suspects it, it’s worth considering. And when I thought along those lines, someone came to mind.”

He brought up several videos on the screen.

“Before that, let me share my analysis of the black-armored. I’ve analyzed not only the ones our guild fought but also every related video I could find.”

Several black-armored figures appeared in the videos.

“If you look here, you’ll see the black-armored all fight in almost exactly the same way. Not only melee, but even ranged characters—the way they use bows or magic, they have a lot in common. These are probably the shared skills of the black-armored. That means any unique moves besides these are their individual abilities.”

Yuseong brought up the video of the black-armored with the big hammer that he had fought before.

“Now, let’s look at this person’s attack patterns. This scene, this scene, and this scene.”

Three prepared short clips played on loop.

“These are skills frequently used by close-range players. Of course, this alone isn’t enough to claim this black-armored is a player. It could just be that the new demon-side monsters are capable of using player skills. What caught my attention was this part.”

A new video appeared.

“Look at the posture when retrieving the hammer after a swing. And this leg movement before starting an attack—do you see it? Also, watch carefully the motion of the hammer when switching from offense to defense.”

As Yuseong described, the viewers focused on the videos.

“That’s possible too. But what if there’s a player with exactly the same habits and movements as this?”

<Huh?>

<????>

The viewers started to murmur. Yuseong quietly put up another video.

<Oh?>

<????>

The viewers were even more shocked. The person in the video was so famous that almost every viewer recognized him.

“I believe the black-armored I just showed you is this person.”

Mad Hammer, who had gained significant recognition with C.O.T.S.’s full support and his own outstanding physical skills.

To Yuseong’s fans, he was also known for challenging Yuseong to a duel in the past, so of course, they didn’t like him.

But they couldn’t just accept Yuseong’s claim that Mad Hammer was the black-armored one.

That was how shocking the claim was.