Chapter 353: Episode 353_The Final Battle (4)

7.

The day of the decisive battle drew near.

Kenji’s guild, which had been preparing out of sight, finally appeared and drew their swords as promised. Despite the Emperor’s stern warning, they brazenly pinned holy crosses to their shoulders, calling them the Mark of God.

The Liberation Army!

No one knew where such a corny name had come from, but the continent was soon flooded with a sea of crosses.

No matter how many people had been swayed by Simin’s schemes, for those who had believed in God since birth, it was far easier to keep faith in the god they already knew than to embrace some rational doubt.

And in response, the Empire moved as well.

No matter what excuses or lofty justifications they used, the fact remained that they were spilling blood for their own interests. But having come this far, what did any of that matter?

They had agreed to fight and had raised their armies.

The right to decide who was right or wrong was now a privilege reserved only for the victor.

Thus, the war everyone had been waiting for finally began.

*

It started on Kenji’s stream.

Less than a minute after the broadcast went live, five million people had connected. An hour later, more than thirty million viewers were watching simultaneously.

It was proof that Fantastic World was a game enjoyed by people all over the globe, and the numbers showed just how many had been waiting for this one war.

No matter how many players a game has or how much interest it draws, this level of attention was frankly absurd.

Fantastic World was as vast as Earth itself, and few players cared to know everything happening across the entire continent. Most thought that even events in a neighboring kingdom had nothing to do with them.

And yet, here they were.

Especially since Kenji’s stream was free.

And above all, Simin hadn’t even started his stream yet.

—Damn, he’s dripping with style.

—That pure white robe with the cross is sick.

—Look at the gear he’s wearing underneath; it’s practically glowing.

—That’s at least Unique-grade.

—Where did he even get all that?

—You didn’t know? The rumor is that every Unique-grade item or higher that drops these days ends up in Kenji’s hands. He’s the one who drove up all the prices. Don’t even get me started on the gold exchange rate.

For all these reasons, Kenji’s stream exploded in popularity, and the viewer count kept climbing.

—Is this viewer count for real? Why isn’t it dropping?

—He’s literally just walking and it’s still going up, lol.

—It’s a workday in most countries right now. Guess there are a lot of insane office workers out there.

And once the real fighting started, that trend only intensified.

—It’s starting.

*

The first target was a kingdom—not particularly small, not particularly large, but one that had long been loyal to the Empire.

A barrage of indiscriminate bombardment rained down on them. It was truly indiscriminate, in every sense of the word.

Even though the kingdom had sealed itself tight behind its walls and thoroughly prepared its defenses, the bombardment left them no room for a single proper countermeasure.

"Meteor. Ice Age."

Hell fell from the sky.

It was magic so close to a natural disaster that humans had no way to resist it.

Led by Dino, the Legendary Archmage, they showcased more vividly than ever just how devastatingly powerful such a mage could be on the battlefield.

With a single spell, an entire castle was reduced to scorched earth.

What was even more terrifying was that Dino showed no sign of strain while casting such spells.

—Isn’t that completely broken?

—Wow, I can’t do anything but stare in awe.

—The war’s over before they’ve even really fought.

—Is this even a war the Empire can win?

—Nah, the Empire still has the Mage Tower.

—Even so, I don’t think they can beat that. Dino is basically a walking Mage Tower.

—Can’t argue with that.

—Plus, he’s swimming in money, so he’ll never run out of mana. That means he can spam those spells forever.

Whenever his mana looked like it might dip, he restored it with prepared potions.

If that still wasn’t enough, he could just send in the troops.

What a comfortable war—no, what a comfortable hunt.

Through the broadcast, Dino proudly showed the entire world the impact a single outstanding mage could have on the battlefield.

The price of that display was victory.

Kenji’s army, having so perfectly and overwhelmingly devoured the first sacrificial lamb, gained boundless trust and morale.

’We can win.’

Of course, the Imperial Army had also mobilized, and the Empire had plenty of talented people of its own. But on the surface, at least, the situation clearly favored Kenji.

People believe what they see, and they go wild over it.

The people of the continent, who had divided themselves and staked both their world’s fate and their own lives on a side, could not take back their choices. But the players were different.

—Guys, do we need to switch sides?

—Simin hasn’t even shown up yet, though...

—Even if he does, can he really beat this?

—Simin’s got a dragon, remember.

—From what I’m seeing, even a dragon won’t change much.

—I’m gonna watch a bit longer.

—Whatever happens, Dino’s gotten way too powerful. A Legendary class plus money... he’s earned his reputation.

—If you look at it that way, Simin has two Legendary classes.

—But he’s not a combat type. In a war, combat classes seem way more advantageous.

—Man. Which side am I supposed to pick?

The outcome of their choice would determine the rest of their gaming life.

Even setting aside the long-term consequences, the amount of EXP and the quality of rewards they would receive in this war would change drastically depending on which side they joined.

Because of this, those watching for analysis were far more on edge than those watching just for fun.

They wanted deeper, more concrete comparative data.

—When’s Simin turning on his stream?

—Hurry up and start.

—At this rate, he’s going to get wrecked.

Simin, whom they so desperately wanted to see, gave no answer.

8.

It was much later when Simin finally made his move.

By then, the war had devolved into a quagmire, with the tide turning in favor of Kenji and the Great Temple.

Several kingdoms had already vanished from the map, their names erased.

The situation had tilted so far that people were saying the war would be over in a month.

People were saying that even if Simin finally showed up, there was no way to turn the tide. It had only been two weeks, but the damage was already too great.

That was when he appeared.

The longer they had waited, and the more the balance had tipped, the more all eyes were on him.

The moment the notification for his stream went live, the news spread across the globe. Those who had been waiting rushed to purchase access.

And of course, as always, Simin was beyond anyone’s expectations.

—??????????

—Admission fee: $2,000?

—......

—What the hell.

Just when people thought he couldn’t possibly surprise them anymore, he did.

People had speculated the minimum would be $500, and some had even joked it might be $1,000—but no one had imagined he would jack it up to two thousand dollars.

Naturally, the backlash was fierce.

—He really thinks his viewers are walking ATMs.

—This is what happens when you indulge him. There’s no end to it.

—Even if I had the money, I wouldn’t watch.

It was a perfectly natural reaction, and a necessary one. If they didn’t push back now, anyone could predict what would happen down the line.

Since the day he started streaming, his viewing fee had never once gone down.

But the viewers’ boycott didn’t last long.

His stream had never been about interacting with viewers anyway, and everyone knew this broadcast was different.

Besides, a few die-hard Simin fans had already paid the two thousand dollars and entered the stream.

—You guys have to watch Simin’s stream. It’s insane.

—Why? What’s so insane about a two-thousand-dollar stream? He’s going to fight Kenji eventually; we’ll see him if we just wait.

—No, no, this is on another level. He’s literally just waiting in some weird, deserted forest, but just watching him stand there feels worth the two thousand dollars.

—Stop bullshitting.

—I’m serious. Ah, where is this place? I feel like I’ve seen it before. I’m sure of one thing, though: it’s not a battlefield.

—I went in too. What is this? The way he’s moving... it feels like he has a completely different play in mind.

As expected, Simin’s stream caused a huge stir from the moment it began, but in the end, those who were going to watch paid up, and the broadcast started without a hitch.

*

It was dazzling. It shone with a brilliant light.

They were in the middle of a dense forest filled with towering trees so tall that not a single ray of sunlight could reach the ground, yet the area around them was bright as day.

The source of that light was Han Simin and his party.

“Everyone’s here, right?”

“Wow. Seeing us all together like this, we really are one big family now.”

“How many of us are there?”

Han Simin, Specialist, and the friends who were now practically family stood together.

Light poured from their armor and weapons, all of it the same shade of red. The crimson glow was so brilliant it took one’s breath away.

“You’ve worked so hard.”

“Hard? Please. I went crazy and dumped every last won in my account into this. Making a few +15s is the least I could do.”

“You’ve really changed,” Yeseul remarked. “Back in the day, you would’ve agonized over using even a single Enhancement Stone.”

“It still hurts, even now,” Simin muttered. “I’m only doing it because I have no choice.”

Every piece of their gear was +15.

While Kenji had been making his preparations, Simin had been readying his own trump card.

The effect of fully leveraging the traits of his Legendary classes and his own abilities was, even at a glance, overwhelming.

Of course, no one knew better than Simin that this alone couldn’t decide the war’s outcome.

“Damn Kenji, he somehow knew and started sweeping up all the gold, so I ended up spending way more money than I’d planned.”

“Gold’s at $200 now.”

“If I’d been the only one buying, I could’ve kept it around $180... Haah.”

If anything, Kenji had prepared even more thoroughly than Simin.

It was known that Kenji had stopped buying after securing a certain amount of gold, but in reality, he had continued purchasing quietly while Simin was also buying. This was the biggest factor behind the rapid spike in gold prices.

As a result, the gold exchange rate had broken past $200 and was even being discussed on the 9 p.m. news.

There were even people claiming they had become landlords off "gold stock" investments.

In less than two weeks, the price of gold had risen by more than $50.

Most of the money in his bank account had gone up in smoke, but he decided not to dwell on cash he had never even gotten to touch.

’I can always earn it back.’

His main sources of income—his buildings—were still standing strong, and his stream would continue to refill his empty bank account.

Only one thing remained: victory.

For that, Simin pulled out another trump card.

“There’s no way we can win this war head-on. One way or another, we have to go where there’s still a chance.”

With those words, a massive Gate opened in the deserted forest.

“Whether it’s a door to hell or not... we’ll only know once we go through.”