A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 86

In the game, when a player wins, points are accumulated in that region according to their position, amassing Reputation Points.

Following simple rules: if the attack points are higher, the territory is conquered, and if the defense points are higher, the status quo is maintained.

Ultimately, the essence of the Battlefield was who could claim more land in a game of territorial conquest.

For the next 10 days, they would engage in fierce maneuvering, gaining and losing territories.

In such a situation, Sojun’s role was to create confusion.

Starting to charge right at seven o’clock?

What were the Demonic Cult members thinking?

Or was it their unilateral decision?

And the reaction they wanted was,

– They’re just spinning the game right away, lolololol
– No retreat, lolol
– Is this discussed?
– Would they have gotten an agreement to throw the most important force like that?

Reactions like, ‘Are they just acting out of line? It might be because of that streamer.’

“Haha. From now on, I don’t really need to succeed in defense and get bonuses. I’m just going to do what I want.”

– Is the result rushing headlong, sir? Lol
– You promised us victory…… make us win!
– Steal a lot of land from the Orthodox Faction so we can win, too.

Upon seeing the reactions, it was clear what faction they belonged to.

Sojun managed a smile and said, “The game has started.”

His vision went dark.

* * *

Four users were summoned into the waiting room of the fortress.

‘Are they all rankers?’

There was no user in “For Justice” with similar Reputation Points to Sojun.

There were already few users with similar Reputation Points, so most matches were against those slightly above average.

He wondered what kind of users he would meet with more than ten times the Reputation Points of the runner-up.

‘They probably aren’t rankers.’

The game matchmaking took two minutes.

Two minutes felt quite long, but it wasn’t much different from before.

‘Even with tremendously high scores, it’s unchanged. Right.’

It was an unavoidable limit.

Sojun smiled and surveyed his surroundings.

The team members quickly began to handle the situation smoothly.

“Hello.”

“Enjoy the game.”

“Hi.”

“Let’s assign positions first.”

“Check each other’s trait and decide what to do. Heavenly Demon Divine Art? Ah, geez. What’s this?”

Oh, right.

The recognition for the Heavenly Demon Divine Art trait wasn’t good, was it?

It was a trait Koreans didn’t use because no one could bear it.

“It’s absurd. Is it a troll?”

“I mean, why use that trash waste? Wow, they’ve chosen to Dull Perception in the sub-trait.”

“They’re doing it all.”

Everyone commented while looking at Sojun.

He realized how tormenting collective bullying was.

“Ah, I had a feeling it would be like this today. Did they try this after watching that yesterday?”

“What was that?”

“Didn’t you see the duel dojo yesterday?”

“No.”

“Wow. You didn’t see that?”

– Right? How come you didn’t see it?
– He’s losing out on life by not seeing it, lol
– But those who watched it can’t recognize it?
– From the Demonic Cult’s perspective, a game advisory popped up, lol it’s hilarious
– Today, trolls following the streamer selecting the Heavenly Demon Divine Art are going wild.

“So, you didn’t see it. I watched it on replay.”

One person didn’t know while two did.

‘There seems to be no sniper.’

So, it made sense that they couldn’t recognize Sojun.

If they weren’t major fans, how many would remember the streamer’s game ID?

And remembering a face after seeing it once isn’t easy either.

The viewers thought similarly.

– To recognize someone, there must be something striking, lol
– A unique avatar or a memorable name?
– True
– Snipers, aren’t you backing up the streamer? Quickly, act as team member 1 pretending by shooting your shot, lol

Sojun recalled the snipers he had encountered.

Perhaps ignoring them was better.

*Sigh.*

He should just focus on the game.

With a sigh, he stood at the entrance.

“Hey, hey. Look at the troll pretending not to hear.”

“Didn’t you hear all our conversation?”

“What were you thinking when you brought the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? I’d like to hear that first.”

– What was he thinking? lol
– Is this the taste of overwhelming strength?

– Insults feel free to ignore
– I have to become the Heavenly Demon

The viewers laughed and the teammates gave up early.

“Ah, it seems like we’re losing this round.”

“We can win.”

“Can’t.”

“Just enjoy.”

“He doesn’t listen, huh?”

“Can’t he do his part?”

“He’s not responding till the end.”

Ultimately, the person who mentioned breaking dojo records grabbed Sojun’s shoulder.

“Ha, troll. You think you can replicate that, humph. Wait. Why are you so handsome? Could it be… are you Heavenly Demon?”

– ????
– Haha, recognized by looks?
– Overwhelming feature = handsome face
– Damn, this suddenly annoys me
– When you’re handsome, it’s okay, viewers remember after seeing once…

“…the ID seems correct too.”

“Wow, is it really you? Wow, hello. It’s an honor.”

“Hello.”

Sojun nodded and greeted them.

“Let’s enjoy the game.”

“Yes!”

“What is that, you otakus!”

“Shut up.”

“Be quiet!”

Anyway, since they knew, he would proceed as usual.

“Then I’ll head to the central lane alone.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Why go alone in the center…”

“Oh Oh, who dares.”

“Don’t argue!”

After that, the game progressed.

Considering the balance, the four opponents were slightly better than his three teammates.

Nevertheless, Sojun easily dominated the central lane alone and won the game.

* * *

Heaven-Slayer Star glanced around.

The map of the Namgung Clan.

The command tower where JustOneCoin and various Orthodox Faction users were gathered, though not quite a command tower since they communicated using chat rooms.

『Righteous Victory』

– What should we do?
– Don’t know their targets
– Why this mess less than 10 minutes into the start
– Each win counts as 14 wins for a ranker
– Shouldn’t we block that?
– So their target is us?
– What’s Unorthodox doing?

It was silent, but it felt like he could hear the cogs turning in everyone’s minds.

Normally, he would have acted alone to achieve the first place and left the Orthodox users alone, but this season was different.

For reference, the NamgungClanStoreOwner was watching silently beside him.

They weren’t the only ones.

Since the race for first place no longer held meaning, the attention of top users naturally shifted to the triumph of their forces.

The balance of the Demonic Cult was also well-matched, making this battleground expected to be more intense than before.

– Currently, the Demonic Cult is moving with Heavenly Demon alone.
– From the streaming observation, it seems like he’s acting on a whim.
– Impossible lol, he’s bluffing.

Mm.

Everyone was working their brains hard!

– Unorthodox folks are challenging the Demonic Cult.
– Do they think the Demonic Cult is targeting the Orthodox Faction?
– Let’s capture other Demonic Cult regions.
– Is defending feasible?

JustOneCoin replied,

– A bit tricky. Eventually, the rankers’ resources are roughly equivalent, but even if 14 go in to balance the scales, there’s no guarantee of winning everything.
– What if we beat the Heavenly Demon ?
– Possible?
– Multiple people engaging him?
– If we aim for that and Demonic Cult members match as reinforcements, it’d be 2 v 2 for the rankers, and losing means we’d have to give up the region directly.

Hm, that’s true.

The Demonic Cult might aim for that.

Heaven-Slayer Star had an idea while drawing parallels to eating popcorn.

But,

– Why would it match as 2 versus 2?
– Hey.
– Shut up.
– Don’t speak.
– Just bark if told, bite if commanded.
– This is the Orthodox Faction, lolol
– No! Sirs! Just one word of advice: why do you think matching Demonic Cult rankers together would lead to 2 versus 2? With Heavenly Demon’s Reputation Points so high, wouldn’t the matching system pair with two rankers and one Heavenly Demon?

After a brief pause, JustOneCoin, sitting beside him, blurted, “Oh?”

Following this, chat exploded.

– … Oh? Maybe?
– Oh?
– Is it possible?
– Ganging up on him?

They quickly grasped the situation.

It was a first, so they hadn’t realized!

– Sniping after the second round ends.
– You had the brain for that.
– How many are going?
– Even if possible, sending four rankers yields a benefit. Beating Heavenly Demon with four rankers equals setting back 14 people defeating him; it’s a must-do, given the expectations.

Sending four is worth it.

Four against one, albeit a tremendous challenge, yields great results.

– However, if that area gets breached, we only have three regions left before reaching our base. It’s the shortest route. Why not safely defend? Let’s watch today.

The time was 7:10 PM.

Without discerning the enemy’s intentions, the streamer had already wrapped up two rounds, urging their decision.

Having just conquered a game with the Dull Sword, now compelling decisions even in this…

He was truly the mastermind of gaslighting.

– What base, lololol
– Let’s block them.
– So how many?
– Maybe try sending two? Uncertain of the outcome.
– Safe with three.
– Too damaging to pride.
– 3 versus 1, lololol
– Anyway, go for it
– Heading in.

Perhaps all the Reputation Points Sojun had gathered were about to become useless.

* * *

Sojun re-entered the game from his previous location.

“Not taking a break? Why bother? Let’s handle it quickly.”

– Orthodox Faction, are you going to just let this slide?
– How does the game end in a few minutes, lol
– Of all things, innocent ordinary users dying in front of the fortress.
– They say the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, unlike the Absorption Technique, doesn’t allow health recovery, so it can’t reach the fortress? Well, just don’t get hit! Wow!

As Sojun pondered how long it would take this time…

*Ding-ding.*

The game message popped up, accompanied by chat.

– Oh? Something flashed?

Sojun checked the map immediately before him.

The Battlefield’s map was the divided Central Plains by the game company.

Each force was divided into 12 regions, not too many but somewhat complex.

‘South was Unorthodox. Northwestern from the north is the Demonic Cult. East is Orthodox.’

The map displayed which user was initiating a game in which region.

A special symbol appeared in areas where high-ranking users matched, allowing one to click it to see the ranker’s nickname.

In about an hour, likely, red symbols all over the map would confuse things.

Right now, it was quiet.

Sojun was targeting the northern regions.

The shining indicator among regions touching both the Demonic Cult and Orthodox Faction was clicked by Sojun.

He saw the ID HeavenlyDemon14.

And new Orthodox users appeared.

“Three people? That’s quite a crowd. They’re defending.”

『Heaven-Slayer Star』
『NamgungClanStoreOwner』
『JustOneCoin』

-Legend
-Wow, amazing
-They really mean it
-So many famous names coming, lol extraordinary

With that, they couldn’t remain still.

In less than ten seconds, the allied reinforcements had already been discussed and added.

-The support comes quickly here, too.
-Let’s let Orthodox folks taste our 16 servings!
-This is a proper Battlefield!
-Great!

『Tang So』
『Bandit King』
『Heavenly Demon』

3-against-3.

The viewers were thrilled about this new configuration.

‘Well.’

Sojun was skeptical.

The matching system might not perceive Sojun as equal to another ranker for a team.

The Demonic Cult understood this.

Nevertheless.

The game began.

“Let’s go.”

Even if the rankers weren’t matched as allies and worst-case scenario became 3-against-1.

Sojun smiled and prepared himself.

“A 3 against 1? Let’s try to win.”

-What’s with those names of the Demonic Cult reinforcements? lol
-Surely they’re abnormal
-Heir of the Tang Family and King of Bandits, lolololol
-When did the Unorthodox and Demonic Cult merge, lololol?

Well, indeed.