SSG 255
by CristaeWilly felt his grip on his weapon tighten involuntarily.
‘Yuseong!’
The massive obstacle that had appeared in his otherwise smooth and easy life. And this wasn’t just a rock or a boulder.
It was a mountain. A mountain of overwhelming majesty like Everest or K2.
Completely different from the obstacles he’d faced before—the ones he could kick aside effortlessly.
Perhaps this whole, seemingly reckless plan was because of Yuseong.
He just wanted to surpass Yuseong, no matter what it took.
‘Here I go.’
Willy gripped his sword tightly and charged toward Yuseong.
But he suddenly stopped when a person burst forth from behind.
“Die!”
Mad Hammer, wielding his hammer, flew at Yuseong. While Mad Hammer was filled with excitement, Yuseong’s expression stayed chillingly calm as he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Thud!
A bullet struck Mad Hammer in the head. Yet, like a wild boar, he kept charging.
But Mad Hammer’s straightforward attack was no real threat to Yuseong.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Ugh!”
Unable to withstand Yuseong’s relentless shots, Mad Hammer’s charge finally faltered. Yuseong calmly reloaded his magazine.
“What are you doing?!”
Mad Hammer shouted back at Willy.
“Go at him, now! Don’t tell me you’re talking about some 1-on-1 nonsense at this point!”
“Of course not!”
He’d already used every possible tactic to bring down Yuseong. Demanding a one-on-one now? That would be utter nonsense.
Willy charged at Yuseong too. Light swirled around his sword.
Whoosh!
He slashed through the air. A sharp, crescent-shaped blade of light flew at Yuseong.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Yuseong fired at the blade of light. It shattered with a sharp, glass-like sound.
But in that instant, Willy had closed the gap to Yuseong.
“Haaaaaaah!”
Mad Hammer bellowed, smashing his hammer into the ground.
Boom!
The ground shook as if struck by an earthquake. Soldiers, monsters, even Yuseong staggered.
As Yuseong reeled, Mad Hammer moved to follow up with another attack.
Bang!
But Yuseong’s gunshots didn’t stop. Even while being violently tossed around, his accuracy never wavered.
“What a monster!”
“Don’t try to go at him alone! Attack together!”
“I know!”
Willy and Mad Hammer charged Yuseong simultaneously. Bullets, sword, and hammer flew at each other wildly.
Skills, avatar stats, and player physical ability—everything collided in a display more gorgeous and intense than any movie.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The hammer smashed the ground over and over.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sword sliced the air again and again.
Yuseong used his rifle and bayonet to dodge and counter all of it.
-Awesome!-
One viewer exclaimed.
The chat slowed to a crawl. Everyone was so entranced by the insane fight between the three that they forgot to even type.
Even players from JeMeotDaero and C.O.T.S. slowed their fighting, unable to take their eyes off the three.
Rated for physical prowess in Ark, those three were arguably the top 1, 2, and 3.
And all three, to different degrees, had gained information in Ark to maximize their stats beyond anyone else.
Watching the three truly clash was more awe-inspiring than the grandest spectacle.
But for the fighters themselves, it was pure hell.
Especially for Willy and Mad Hammer.
‘What is this?’
‘Damn it, is this even possible?’
Both were fiercely proud.
They each saw Yuseong as their rival, but it would be a lie to say they weren’t aware of each other’s strength.
At first, they’d made their marks as promising prospects for C.O.T.S., later as the strongest hands of the Python and Apollon factions.
As time went on, Willy’s superiority became clear, but that was only because his family’s wealth and connections were far better—physically, they were nearly equal.
That’s why Willy and Mad Hammer both knew just how strong the other was.
If they fought each other, no one could guarantee victory. Willy held a 60-40 edge, but depending on condition or luck, either could win.
But now, despite both attacking together, they couldn’t bring Yuseong down.
Of course, they’d never seriously practiced teamwork, so they weren’t perfect as a team—sometimes they actually got in each other’s way.
But still, having two top-level players from Ark attacking together was not something just anyone could handle, even if it wasn’t seamless cooperation.
“Hey, Willy.”
“What.”
“What is with that bastard?”
“Don’t ask me. I’m damn curious myself.”
“Win or lose, want to go to Korea someday?”
“To meet him? Why? Got business with him?”
“I just want to see if he’s really human, or if he actually crawled up from hell.”
“Heh! That’s kind of tempting. I’ll think about it.”
They dashed at Yuseong again.
It was a funny exchange—two guys who, however you looked at it, were just invaders talking like heroes challenging the Dark Lord. But they were dead serious.
To them, Yuseong was like a demon king blocking their way.
A damn strong one.
Yuseong, Willy, and Mad Hammer’s fight was the fiercest, but the other battles were just as intense.
JeMeotDaero’s players worked together with elite NPCs to fend off C.O.T.S. elite players.
Unlike the C.O.T.S. players, who never practiced teamwork, JeMeotDaero’s players had trained hard with the elite NPCs to offset their weaknesses and play to their strengths, just as Aidyn suggested.
That’s why they were able to resist the greater numbers of C.O.T.S. players so well.
But it didn’t last. Due to being outnumbered, JeMeotDaero was slowly pushed back.
-They’re losing!-
-The numbers are overwhelming-
-LOL, JeMeotDaero’s finished-
-So much for being the top guild-
JeMeotDaero’s antis jeered. Even on Yuseong’s mostly pro-JeMeotDaero channel, things looked bad.
Willy and Mad Hammer were thinking the same thing.
“Are we finally going to get one over on that bastard?”
“Don’t get distracted, or you’ll get wrecked.”
But even Willy thought they had the upper hand now. If things kept going like this, they could finally hand Yuseong his first defeat.
But Yuseong’s question made them freeze.
“Is your home safe?”
“What?”
“Don’t listen! He’s just trying to mess with us! There’s no way he has troops to send to our cities right now!”
“You really think so?”
“Of course! I admit your cities are impressive, but there’s no way you have forces left for a counterattack!”
“…You didn’t join up with Python and Apollon, did you?”
Willy looked at Mad Hammer with pity at his concern.
“What would be the point of joining up with those guys? Even if JeMeotDaero teamed up with them, the only thing they could do is die on respawn. We’ve got that handled.”
They’d prepared for this.
“…Yeah, true.”
Mad Hammer had been briefly flustered, but Willy’s logic helped him see all the angles. He wasn’t a fool.
‘It’s not like the rest of the guild would betray us.’
It wasn’t as though they had murdered anyone’s parents or sold out their country.
If you thought about it coldly, it was just a change of leadership. Most regular members had it best by sticking with Willy and Mad Hammer.
“The third factions won’t move either. If we go down, they’ll just get revenge like they announced! No one will make a move.”
Even if the guild was destroyed, the players remained. Anyone who took over now would face brutal vengeance from the remnants of C.O.T.S.
“That bastard’s trying mind games now?”
“Stay calm. He’s desperate. That means he’s out of options.”
Willy became certain he’d won the psychological battle. He thought that monster Yuseong had no card left but bluffing.
But then Yuseong’s next words left them frozen.
“The guilds whose cities you destroyed in black armor—most of them broke up, right? They all absolutely hate you now. What if I give them a chance at revenge? Do you think they’ll refuse?”
“…!”
“…!”
“If it’s not about conquering, just smashing your cities in pure hate and moving on—how would anyone even know who did it?”
“….”
“….”
“Well? Find my words more convincing now?”
A dreadful realization swept Willy and Mad Hammer’s minds.
C.O.T.S.’s city was deserted. Not even the guards who’d usually been stationed at the gate or on the walls were present.
Even the minimum patrol units had vanished, so public order would break down rapidly.
The only ones left were a few soldiers posted in case any of Python’s remnants tried to respawn and cause trouble.
Willy had risked everything on this attack.
But in the end, he didn’t really need to worry about public order or a sudden assault by the Python faction.
“Is that it?”
“Looks like it.”
A group appeared outside the city walls, arriving via teleport.
They were clearly players, judging by their speech and actions. All had their faces hidden under helmets or robes, making it hard to identify them.
But it was clear that they held intense resentment toward C.O.T.S.
“We’re finally going to get our revenge!”
“Sons of bitches, time for you to suffer for once.”
Their voices were harsh. They weren’t many; usually, such a small group would have been wiped out by city defenders before even getting close.
But now the city was almost unguarded.
And these weren’t the only ones who eyed the city with hatred.
Once again, a teleport glow appeared, bringing in another group.
“They’re here again.”
“Who are they?”
“Who cares. Probably others who got screwed by Willy.”
They ignored the other groups, staring only at the city.
“It’s time.”
“Let’s go.”
As scheduled, all the arrivals began to move at once.