SSG 254

The sudden outbreak of internal strife in C.O.T.S. Even though they had been pushed back by JeMeotDaero, C.O.T.S. was still considered one of the top powerful guilds in Ark. Naturally, the infighting within such a guild drew people’s attention.

People thought that C.O.T.S. would stay quiet for a while as they sorted out their internal affairs. Some were even happy about this, given C.O.T.S.’s notorious behavior.

However, C.O.T.S.’s next moves went far beyond their expectations.

“Hello, hello, everyone!”

Beauty Art started her broadcast and greeted her viewers.

-Hello!-

-Hello, unnie!-

-Byuha!-

“I want to just chat and broadcast like usual, but things are a bit urgent today. So, let me show you the situation first.”

Viewers filled the chat with question marks at Beauty Art’s sudden statement. But they soon grew noisy at the scene she showed them.

-What’s that?-

-It’s a war!-

-They’re declaring war on JeMeotDaero?-

-Are they crazy?-

-That’s a pretty big army!-

The viewers grew agitated at the sight of the massive army beyond the city wall. With her many years of streaming experience, Beauty Art paused for a moment to draw out viewers’ anticipation, and once the atmosphere had ripened, she revealed the enemy’s identity.

“Our enemy is YuaChimDae!”

-YuaChimDae? C.O.T.S?-

-They’re attacking?-

-Aren’t they too busy handling things inside their own house?-

“That’s right. They just seized control through a rebellion, so they should be busy sorting things out, but they sure are diligent.”

-LOL, what’s with that confidence?-

-They couldn’t beat JeMeotDaero even when they were stronger-

-Are they here for another beating?-

No one considered the situation a crisis. After all, C.O.T.S. had always lost to JeMeotDaero even when they had a strength advantage.

Now that the scales had tipped, and with C.O.T.S. further weakened by internal strife, no one thought they had a chance.

“Your points make sense. But the situation isn’t so simple.”

-?????-

-Is there something going on?-

“Yuseong said it, right? That C.O.T.S.—specifically Willy and his close associates—are connected to the demons.”

-Yeah, he did-

-When I saw Yuseong figuring people out through their habits, I thought he was nuts-

-Isn’t anyone who can do that actually crazy?-

-But it’s not confirmed yet, is it?-

-Judging by how the rebellion happened right after, it’s basically certain-

-There’s still no direct proof though-

“Ah, don’t fight! Both sides have points. We believe Yuseong, but we can’t force others to. But what if there were even more circumstantial evidence?”

-Circumstantial evidence?-

-There’s more?-

“One of our guild’s other members will probably start streaming soon, but right now, our guild is also being attacked by demons.”

-Whoa!-

-Demons too?-

“It’s four cities being attacked. Now then, Willy, who is suspected of working with demons, is attacking us, and at the same time, the demons are invading our cities again? Isn’t that a little suspicious?”

-LOL that’s basically proof-

-Anyone who still ignores the circumstantial evidence after all this must have a problem with their logic circuits-

-But isn’t it a little dangerous? That means five cities are getting attacked at once?-

“It’s dangerous, sure. But don’t worry. Who are we? We’re JeMeotDaero, the most powerful guild in Ark!”

She puffed up her chest proudly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll definitely win this battle too.”

---

Yuseong observed the enemy atop Mordin’s wall. C.O.T.S. brought a truly terrifying number of troops this time, looking like they intended to finish things.

C.O.T.S. members and the NPC soldiers following behind them.

Yuseong scratched his chin and looked at the chat window.

“There are a lot of them.”

-Aren’t you supposed to say more than just ‘there are a lot?’-

-Why are you so relaxed LOL-

-Even for Yuseong, that number looks tough-

Viewers voiced their worries all at once. That’s how intimidating C.O.T.S.’s forces looked.

Of course, if JeMeotDaero mobilized all their forces, they could match or exceed that, but JeMeotDaero was also being attacked by demons right now.

Naturally, their forces were split up. JeMeotDaero members were scattered. So viewers’ concerns were natural.

-Can’t you just give up the other cities and defend this one? Considering Mordin’s value, wouldn’t that be better?-

Some even suggested that.

“That won’t work. It’s not about pride or greed over not losing a single city. If we pooled everyone in Mordin, those guys would just stall outside the wall. The other cities would fall in the meantime. And then they’d just keep sending monsters to the other cities.”

-Wow, I didn’t think of that-

-Ruthless!-

-It’s ruthless, but it’s effective-

“So we can’t neglect the defense of any other cities.”

-Other guilds could intervene too-

“That’s possible, but anyone who tries that would get targeted by both us and YuaChimDae. I doubt anyone would risk it right now.”

-I saw on their stream that they said they’d kill anyone who intervenes in this war-

-Seriously, it’s crazy with just one guild, but taking on JeMeotDaero and C.O.T.S. at once is suicide-

-And whoever wins this war will be the overwhelming top guild-

-YuaChimDae can bring the demons, so nobody wants to get on their bad side-

Basically, it was hard for any outside force to intervene.

“Looks like it’s starting.”

Yuseong pulled out his rifle. The C.O.T.S. army was starting to move. JeMeotDaero’s forces prepared for battle as well.

C.O.T.S. started advancing slowly.

-That’s intense-

-War really is all about numbers-

Since this was Yuseong’s channel, most viewers were cheering for Yuseong, but even so, they couldn’t help but be impressed by the sheer number of C.O.T.S. troops.

Watching this from behind a screen was one thing, but if they’d been in Yuseong’s place, their hands and feet would have been shaking from nerves as they tried to suppress their fear.

Thud!

Yuseong put his foot on the battlement.

As always, it fell to Yuseong to kick off the war. He aimed his rifle at the enemy and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The sound of gunfire echoed across the battlefield. An advancing NPC soldier’s head snapped backward.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunshots continued. NPC soldiers fell in droves. But the C.O.T.S. players, Yuseong’s real targets, stayed back out of range.

Instead, the NPC soldiers charged forward with a loud roar.

“Looks like they plan to use NPC soldiers as shields before the real charge.”

-LOL so cheap-

-That’s YuaChimDae for you LOL-

-Let’s understand. If thunder rumbled, these guys would go trembling to their mama’s bed LOL-

While viewers mocked C.O.T.S., Yuseong kept his eyes on the enemy.

“Fire!”

The JeMeotDaero-side NPC commander gave the order, and arrows rained down. NPC magicians cast spells too.

“Aagh!”

“Aack!”

C.O.T.S.’s soldiers fell with pained cries. Still, using their superior numbers, they managed to advance to the base of the wall.

“Fire!”

Now it was the C.O.T.S. commander’s order. Their soldiers fired arrows and magic at the wall. The wall offered significant protection, but sheer numbers threatened JeMeotDaero’s defenders.

And that fire was a real annoyance to Yuseong too.

That was when the C.O.T.S. players started to move. They cut through the NPC ranks, sprinting for the wall.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

But such weak resistance couldn’t stop Yuseong. Dodging and fending off attacks, he targeted the players.

Of course, they expected this and knew they couldn’t completely block Yuseong’s attacks. They simply hoped to delay him a bit, not foolishly thinking they could stop him entirely.

They were high-ranking players, after all.

Some used NPCs as meat shields or burned skills to minimize damage.

“Ugh!”

“Damn it!”

But they couldn’t prevent all the losses. A few rushing players fell to Yuseong’s freakish sniping skills.

Other C.O.T.S. players saw this and gritted their teeth, determined to run even harder.

Finally, some of them neared the wall. Just a little more and they’d make it. Their faces lit up—then it happened.

Kwooooom!

A massive fireball crashed into them.

“Incendiary….”

Willy ground his teeth as he witnessed this from a distance.

And that wasn’t all. The few who made it up the wall were ruthlessly cut down by other JeMeotDaero players. NPCs and even lower-level players were slaughtered quickly.

Everyone acknowledged that Yuseong was the strongest JeMeotDaero player, but JeMeotDaero was known for every member being strong.

Luckily for C.O.T.S., thanks to their strategy, some JeMeotDaero members were away defending other cities—so only about half remained here.

But even that was enough to pressure C.O.T.S.

Especially now, after the rebellion, with many players having left and those remaining—except for Willy’s close circle—having shifted sides under duress and thus lacking fighting spirit.

‘Still, we can’t fall back.’

“Charge! Break through the gate first! Once we get inside, the numbers will be on our side!”

If they could just open the gate and overwhelm with numbers, they could win.

Of course, relying solely on numbers with such desperate tactics would bring heavy casualties, but after Yuseong’s exposé, Willy and his team had no other choice.

He charged at the front line himself.

Even if he was no match for Yuseong, Willy’s physical prowess was certainly among the top three in Ark. Dodging attacks from atop the wall, he managed to dive for the gate.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They pounded on the gate. The soldiers with him did the same. Surviving C.O.T.S. players also gathered to batter the gate.

As expected of Mordin—known as the strongest of all player cities—its gate was solid. Its defenses couldn’t be compared to any of C.O.T.S.’s cities.

But everyone pounding at the gate was a notable player in Ark.

Boom!

After repeated pounding, the gate broke.

But they didn’t even have time to celebrate.

Bang!

“Guh!”

A familiar gunshot rang out. Beyond the broken gate, Yuseong was waiting, gun aimed right at them.