Ranker's Return

Chapter 813

As Hyeonu was encountering a strange story in the demon world, something strange happened in the middle world. The undead came down from the north as Hyeonu stated. Fortunately, the emperor had already given orders to the nobles. Due to this, some of the large guilds accepted the quests of the nobles and left to defend the northern cities.

However, most of the big guilds were still risking their lives to level up in the demon world. The number of large guilds that headed to the north was really small. It just wasn’t their full power. Those who deserved to be called the most elite remained in the demon world.

They couldn’t leave. It was because the moment they left, they would be eliminated from the competition. These factors came together to cause disastrous consequences.

“Get out!”

“Go to the promised point!”

“Use a scroll! Return to the territory!”

The city adjacent to the snowy mountain was in a state of pandemonium. The undead army broke through the front lines and crossed the city walls. There were very few large guilds and even a lack of core power so there was no way to stop the rushing undead. It was a disaster that took place before the army of NPCs even arrived.

[The undead are crazy.]

[What is with these undead? They were just ordinary when I saw them in the Venom Guild’s videos, but I’m throwing up after seeing them in person. We can’t keep it if the large guilds don’t come. It seems to be true that it takes less than a week to push a city?]

-Missing Yuljae: Yesterday, I was sucking honey while using magic on the walls, only to die. I won’t take questions.

-Actual Muscles: I think they need to gather to stop this. If this goes on, the north will be devastated.

-Atlantic Yachtman: Will they gather? They are all still hunting in the demon world.

-Anger Management Disorder: To be honest, shouldn’t a large guild come forward? The north is now ruined.

The moment the catastrophe that collapsed the city occurred, articles started to circulate simultaneously in all types of communities. Most of those who left messages were people who didn’t hunt in the demon world. Naturally, the presence of the undead in the middle world made them feel uneasy.

There wasn’t only anxiety. There was also a lot of real damage. It was because the more land that was occupied by the undead, the fewer fields there would be to hunt in.

People’s attention became focused and there were those who moved accordingly. A group of people where attention became money. They were called reporters.

[What are the actions of the large guilds focused on leveling up in the demon world?]

[The large guilds who don’t fulfill their duties. Let’s dig into their morals.]

All sorts of articles poured out. Some people criticized the large guilds for their complacency. Others noted the future moves of the large guilds who still weren’t moving. Meanwhile, articles about the choices of the large guilds started to circulate.

[Jin Sijong of New World: I will participate in the new undead war for the sake of others.]

[The Mano Guild will participate in the northern war according to the will of their representative.]

[The Kowloon Guild, which owns a northern territory, announced that it intends to stop the war with all their might.]

Famous guilds declared their participation in the undead war one by one. In particular, the Kowloon Guild was desperate. The battlefield would be their territory if the undead army moved further south.

“Aren’t you going to participate?” Yeongchan asked Hyeonu, who was busy eating in front of him, after reading the article that summarized the series of events.

“Me? I am busy, Hyung. There is no time for that,” Hyeonu replied while eating a chicken breast salad. Hyeonu was really too busy. He couldn’t enter the war against the undead.

‘Ah, shit.’

The pungent taste of paprika lingered on the tip of his tongue.

“In any case, there are a lot of NPCs. There is also Hyung-nim’s guild. Isn’t it enough to win?” Hyeonu spoke to Yeongchan with a slightly wrinkled expression.

“New World is definitely big. There should be a lot of priests. They are the best against the undead. Even so, it isn’t enough to control the war,” Yeongchan nodded and answered.

There was a large army made up of NPCs and large guilds, including New World, so there would be more losses to the undead army. It was just that they didn’t have the ability to control the battlefield like Hyeonu.

“I don’t see strong NPCs. The emperor doesn’t come out of the Imperial Palace and Lebron, that guy... in any case, I don’t see anything else. It is just at that level.”

“Even so, it can’t be helped. I can’t do two things at once. Yet you will lose without me? That is ridiculous,” Hyeonu declared.

His absence didn’t mean that the war to be won would be lost. It wasn’t a war that could be lost. This was a war that had to be won unconditionally.

‘It is because that is what I told Edward in the first place.’

It wasn’t just Hyeonu who didn’t participate in the war.

***

There was one person in the Black Forest who didn’t participate in the war against the undead army, just like Hyeonu.

“Raccoon, can’t you teach me a bit more sincerely?” Teika shouted at Raccoon. He received a passing score from Raccoon in the duel against Cancun and succeeded in generating the fighting energy stat. After that, he started training to learn Fighting Energy Emission.

However, it wasn’t easy. The fighting energy stat was created not long ago, so his usage of fighting energy was still immature. Moreover, fighting energy felt different from magic power. Teika had to realize the difference on his own. This was why he continued asking Raccoon like he was doing now.

“Have you ever thought that it isn’t because I can’t teach, but that you can’t understand it?” Raccoon replied with a sullen expression. He didn’t think that the way he taught was wrong. \His younger brother, Dakan; his son, Cancun; and even Hyeonu—in the meantime, no one had failed to accept Raccoon’s teachings. There was only a difference in speed between individuals.

“Hyeonu, that guy knew immediately. You...” Raccoon cocked his head and looked strangely at Teika.

“It is because he is a ridiculous monster. It isn’t like you don’t know this. Why are you like this?” Teika couldn’t stand Raccoon’s comparison and shot back.

There was no comparison with Hyeonu. People and monsters were different. They shouldn’t be placed on the same line. Teika was making this point clear.

“Of course... then how about this? There is one way to be able to use fighting energy...” Raccoon made a proposal to Teika in a soft voice that didn’t suit him.

“Do you really have such a method? If there is an amazing method then of course I should do it. What is there to be hesitant about?” Teika replied joyfully.

He naturally had to give it a try if there was a way to use such a difficult skill.

“Become an orc,” Raccoon’s reply was shocking.

“Huh? An orc?” Teika asked with a startled expression.

‘Did I hear it incorrectly?’

Become an orc. They were difficult words to accept.

“Yes, become an orc. Then you can use fighting energy naturally. How about it?” Raccoon drove in a wedge at Teika’s question.

Teika didn’t hear it incorrectly. He heard it right.

“Even if I can handle it well... is that possible?”

Teika had an expression of disbelief. It was the first time he heard about being able to change species in Arena.

“It is possible. You can change species by going to the temple. Will you change it?”

Raccoon nodded. It was possible to change species. It was magic created from a war that happened a long time ago. It was to reduce the power of their opponents and increase their own power.

‘What should I do?’

Teika was distressed. To be honest, Teika didn’t have that large a support base in the empire. He was active on his own and rarely got involved with nobles. The lack of a guild to belong to was one of the big reasons.

“I will do it. It is enough if I can be strong.”

Teika quickly made a decision. He decided to become an orc.

‘The gap with Alley Leader will decrease if I become an orc.’

There was only one goal. It was to become stronger.

“It is a good choice. Originally, you would’ve had to go through rigorous verification, but... you are the first one, so I’ll do it right away as a commemoration.”

“Thank you, Raccoon,” Teika thanked Raccoon for saying that he would change the species without any conditions involved.

“Once you become an orc, you will be known externally as my disciple. Therefore, you have to try harder and get stronger faster.”

Raccoon smiled.

‘I got a good errand boy.’

The smile was very similar to that of the emperor or Lebron.

***

The war against the undead became fiercer with every passing day. The small parties of the large guilds, the players who hunted in the north, and the forces of the Yusma Empire were joined by reinforcements of the Yusma Empire and many more large guilds.

The front line was greatly enlarged. In the process, the Yusma Empire lost two more cities. The first city was taken due to unexpected tactics. The enemy turned a lot of the nearby monsters into undead to increase their numbers and charged all at once.

The second city was taken because bone dragons appeared. It wasn’t just one or two, but a huge four. The advance of the powerful undead army, led by four bone dragons, took the city away without much resistance.

By this time, public opinion started to form in each community. All the large guilds hunting in the demon world had to participate in the undead war. In the beginning, Hyeonu’s name was mentioned the most. The next most talked about story was a sense of crisis.

Wouldn’t Arena be ruined if the undead couldn’t be stopped? The purpose was to pressure the large guilds to participate in the war.

[If Alley Leader had come out a bit earlier, then the cities wouldn’t have flown away.]

[I don’t know what the hell he is doing. Shouldn’t he stop leveling up and join the war? It doesn’t have to be dramatic.]

There was even public opinion criticizing Hyeonu. It was said that it was too much for him to take a back seat and watch. It was written that Hyeonu’s poor hero mentality caused three cities to fly away. However, it didn’t take long before this public opinion was covered by other content.

“The boss monster of the undead army is related to the demon world. As you can see, I am in the demon world right now. I’m not just trying to kill the enemy in front of me. I am trying to deal with what is behind them. I also know that there is a lot of damage. I will definitely participate in the siege defense of the next city.”

The moment Hyeonu turned on his livestream and revealed what he was doing, public criticism died down.

[I believe in Alley Leader.]

[I don’t think our Alley Leader is sucking on honey alone. Ah~ definitely not. He is always at the forefront of events.]

Yet even talk about Hyeonu didn’t last long in the community. It was because an incident occurred that was several times more shocking than Hyeonu’s announcement.