He had successfully captured a rare, fluorescent-colored butterfly to give as a gift to his disciple.
Bzzzzzzzz
The butterfly inside the collection jar was so beautiful that he couldn’t stop looking at it, no matter how long he stared.
"Hehe. I told you, forbidden love between master and disciple is possible if you raise the favorability enough."
The more beautiful and strong the disciple, the more demanding they are.
After working hard for years to gain the qualifications of a master and collecting a butterfly collection with a difficulty level comparable to mythical creatures, he had been traveling the country for 3 years.
If someone were to chase after their desires for 3 years, even in reality, their persistence would be undeniable.
‘I’m different from those delusional types. I spent 2 years working out in reality and leveling up in the game to become a "key-job" expert. And then another 3 years doing favorability quests!’
With 5 years of effort invested in building affection, who wouldn’t be touched?
Unless, of course, they looked like a grotesque mixture of a toad and a pig, it was possible to succeed as a "key-job"!
"Heheh. I really got lucky. If it weren’t for Lee Hae-chan, it might have taken me 10 years."
Actually, he had prepared himself for 10 years, but thanks to participating in the Silent Swordsman raid, he got lucky and earned a 3rd generation supply-type armored suit.
The butterfly dust, which caused all sorts of status effects, had no effect on him as he was piloting the steel giant!
"Just a little more, Liriana. This master will show you the ancient, glorious fluorescent butterfly!"
...Before I go, let me take one more look!
He smiled foolishly as he gazed at the collection jar.
But then, a strange armored figure appeared reflected in his jar.
‘Huh? That’s not my armored suit.’
A chill of fear crawled up his spine!
Before he could even turn his head, the arm holding the collection jar was slashed.
"AAARGH! NO, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS! I WORKED SO HARD TO CATCH THIS BUTTERFLY!"
Desperate to protect the collection jar, he pulled out a railgun with his remaining hand.
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Before he could pull the trigger, the beam sword that had swung down severed his remaining armored hand in one blow.
"AAAGH!! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?! WHY?!"
The attacker silently destroyed his armor, cutting through his shoulder and destroying his legs.
As he crawled, trying to protect his collection jar that had fallen to the ground, his desperate struggle was for naught. A beam sword slammed down into his back.
"AAAGH!"
He realized.
This was an attack meant only to inflict pain.
If the attacker had wanted, he would have been dead long ago.
"Why is this happening? Why go this far?"
[External communication connected.]
Inside the dark cockpit, violet eyes glared at him.
[Armored owner of the Great Iron Kingdom. You took something precious from me.]
"M-Mute Swordsman?!"
[Now it’s time for me to take something precious from you.]
The beam sword, pulled from his back, aimed not at the cockpit, but at the collection jar hidden beneath.
"Please don’t! Please, not this! I’ll do anything. I was wrong, please, if I lose this, who knows when I’ll ever get another one!"
[Good. If there’s hope of getting it back someday, at least the pain you’ll suffer won’t be as much as mine.]
"Nooooo!"
With a swift kick, Ha Eung Eung pushed the craft away and shattered the collection jar.
Bzzzzzzzz!
The ancient, radiant fluorescent butterfly flew around Ha Eung Eung before disappearing into the forest.
KeyJobCrazyGuy, standing there in despair, could only watch the scene with a blank expression.
His vision turned red.
[You have died.]
As she retrieved the beam sword embedded in the cockpit, Ha Eung Eung pulled the body from the now-damaged armor.
[Recovery initiated.]
Players assigned to recovery followed Ha Eung Eung.
They thought to themselves.
‘I feel sorry for him, even though he’s the enemy.’
‘This is terrifying.’
They vowed to never upset Ha Eung Eung when she was in a bad mood and to be careful with even their breathing and footsteps when around her.
- The regular content for the Silent Swordsman’s broadcasts was only Half-Demon Valley.
People had thought this way for a long time.
- Is today’s broadcast on?
- Yep.
- Wow! A great show, so sweet!
- Is the broadcast on again today?
- Yep.
- Too bad it’s not Half-Demon Valley.
- Is it Gladiator Training again today?
- Yep.
- When is the Gladiator Training season ending...
- Damn, when is Half-Demon Valley starting!
- Stop it, you bastard!
- Why is this guy like this? Why is he like this?
- When is the universe? When is the universe?
No one could have expected that he would continue playing Gladiator Training non-stop for an entire week, turning into such a malicious act.
- Is this for revenge?
- It’s Lee Hae-chan’s fault for killing Cloud Dragon.
- Lee Hae-chan is the culprit, yeah.
- If we kill Lee Hae-chan, we get Half-Demon Valley, right?
- Maybe?
- Logging in to Gladiator Training right now.
- Lee Hae-chan raid ON
Public sentiment is as fickle as a reed, shifting with the wind and flipping with the reverse wind.
As the Silent Swordsman turned Gladiator Training into regular content for revenge, many viewers flocked to participate in the interactive event, starting to boil with frustration.
"Why give us armor when they just steal and destroy it, you damn bastard!"
"Haechan, at least protect the armored owners!"
"Seriously, are we not getting any after-sales service because of you?"
Lee Hae-chan’s popularity plummeted day by day.
Even Lee Hae-chan had his own excuses.
"Hey! If you were in my position, would you just go on a raid and cover for someone who got caught alone?"
- LOL
- Anyway, take responsibility!
- Bwaaaah! Waaahhh!!
There was a way, though. Lee Hae-chan had a plan.
"Hey, for now, just hold out near the capital! It’s your fault for going out to hunt while that crazy woman is roaming!"
Cloud Dragon’s Dragonheart.
It would take time for the Armored Taeyang to digest this massive energy.
Concentrate key forces in the capital, which is densely packed with important facilities, and focus on several key regions to secure minimal defense capabilities.
"Master, the corporations are refusing to contribute to the defense."
"Those cowardly bastards!"
"According to the cyber guards, if they align with the Great Iron Kingdom, they say there’s no escaping the Silent Swordsman’s sword."
"We gave them armor and firepower, plus priority for new armor purchases, and they backstabbed us?"
Lee Hae-chan was understandably frustrated!
How could it be that even after a successful raid, the losses were greater?
"...Actually, this might be for the best. It’s time to cleanse these greedy bastards. Promise free land to the corporations who refused cooperation."
"Are you serious, Master?"
"They’ll get greedy once they have land of their own. Even the most foolish of creatures will fight to defend their home."
"Aren’t they despicable?"
"Of course, they are. But listen, disciple. Sometimes, it’s better to give up a worthless treasure to protect a more precious one, even if you end up losing it all."
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"Just focus on digesting the Dragonheart for now. Armored Taeyang, your survival, and that of the Great Iron Kingdom, are my most valuable treasures."
"Master’s grace is like the vast sea. As long as you’re here, even that powerful demon lord will kneel someday."
In the midst of it all, Lee Hae-chan even managed to control his disciple’s loyalty!
His cunning shone through in various ways.
"Fine, while you’re at it, release the armor production formula. The price will drop, but what matters now is buying time in the provinces."
His plan led to success in the end.
"1500 pyeong of factory land, free of charge? How can we resist?"
"Even if it's Lee Hae-chan’s land, we can’t tolerate the destruction of our own land. Send patrols and security requests to the local players!"
"Speed up armor production! Even though it’s a 3rd generation supply model, armor is strong! If we build military power now, we’ll be able to rule the Great Iron Kingdom when the time comes!"
As the corporations began leading local defenses and starting their own armor production, the defense rate rapidly improved.
Armored owners, who had previously been attacked alone, now formed 10-person squads and went out into the field, gaining just enough time to request support.
"It’s working! We’re finally getting reports on how they’re moving!"
The position of the Silent Swordsman’s elusive guerrilla forces began to be pinpointed, little by little.
With the defense posture solidifying and a dense search network expanding, the situation had completely changed from before, when they had been plundering everything they encountered!
"Silent Swordsman, it’s time to end this guerrilla war. The enemy’s vigilance is rising, so we can only gain so much now."
At Eom Gil-dong’s right-hand man’s advice, Ha Eung Eung nodded.
She had retrieved enough armor for the power boost.
Moreover, there had been another hidden goal in this guerrilla operation from the start, aside from just retrieving armor.
"Hehe~ They really gathered nicely. Clumsy♡ Stupid players♡ There’s no way regional warlords are stronger than raid forces♡"
The scattered enemies had now grouped together in large, manageable clumps in each region.
Now, they wouldn’t have to bother with guerrilla warfare. The time had come for a full-scale war and a large-scale assault.