CH 147

With only a few evasive movements and two gunshots, the situation was easily settled.



“I have the gist of how to fight, but…”



Leeha looked at the orc’s corpse and tilted his head.



Chain-Orc workers were level 70 monsters. And orc warriors were in the early 80s.



For  Leeha who had already crossed level 90, it meant that they were monsters that were lower leveled than Leeha from the beginning. That was the reason why they were easy to catch.



‘As expected, it’s hard to use it as a main weapon. I don’t know if it would be harder if I had two pistols.’



Leeha looked at the Needle Gun. It was named [Normal Needle Gun – Pistol] even without using the naming skill.



Of course, this meant that someone had already given a name to this type of item.



‘If I fight with two pistols, my fighting power would definitely be doubled. But the risk is too high.’



In order to level up quickly, wouldn’t he have to go to a hunting ground higher than his level?



‘A more powerful place here would be the fighting-orc village. However, there are a lot of  people there. It is hard to find a camping spot, and I wouldn’t be able to find a party with a pistol. And most importantly? ……There are trolls. I don’t think it would be easy to test this in the Sentinel Mountain.’



Fighting with two pistols against a monster that could regenerate. No matter how he thought about it, the risk was too huge.



There were too many people in the fighting-orc village. Most importantly, Leeha did not want to show the pistol to the general users.



Bombs and claymores were effective against Rising Sun because they had never experienced those types of items before. When was the last time they experienced an explosive that was installed in the form of a booby trap?



‘It’s the same with the pistol. If a video of using a pistol in close combat spreads again…’



Besides, he was famous(?) in his own right. He had to think that someone might take a video and post it on the internet.



The pistol was made to offset his weakness in close combat, but if it turned out that they knew about such a weapon, Leeha would not be able to get the timing of using it as a ‘last blow’.



‘In other words, I have to use a musket to hunt  for the time being, in order to hide the fact about the pistol.’



Right, he felt comfortable with that idea. That would be possible if  he could only solve one problem.



“I’m a complete beggar…… damn it.”



He had a test battle in the chain-orc village, but his level did not change.



He had disposed of the items he got from the Rising Sun members, and used that money to upgrade the Needle Gun, he also sold all the loot he had obtained from hunting orcs. His remaining gold was.



“6 gold and 17 silver. Huhuhuhu.With this money, I would not be able to buy a decent musket.”



If he warped back to the capital using warp, he would only have 5 gold, and if he wanted to buy a musket, he had to buy something that was lower-leveled than the Needle Gun.



‘I have felt it for a long time, but the more I  play Middle Earth, the poorer I feel.’



There was nothing left for the victor who destroyed a vicious guild that reaped huge profits on a weekly basis. He even had to downgrade his weapon.



“I am not a philanthropist. Ah, isn’t it the time for the distribution period of compensation for the damages to end?”



Leeha checked Middle Earth’s time.



The gold confiscated from Rising Sun would be returned to the victims, but the period was not indefinite.



It was impossible to deposit gold in a bank account.



‘It would be a  week in Middle Earth’s time… today.’



How much gold was left? How many victims took it?



Leeha hoped that some of it would be returned to him,just  enough that he could buy a musket or ‘Spitfire’.



‘It’s not a bad thing to get 18 gold for disbanding Rising Sun. Please, please!’



Without knowing where and what was going on, Leeha was absorbed in thoughts of gold.



“Some of them might have already received it…” 



—



“Hwahong completely ignored our proposal.”



Hyein shook and lowered his head. At his calm and polite tone, the gathered members of Byeolcho became indignant.



“Those bitches! They ignored our guild master?”



“Wow, they must be really blinded by money. That’s why you shouldn’t trust those chinks.”



“It’s not about dying together, it’s about  living together…… Ha, what a bitch.”



Sasuke was the only one at the meeting



Hyein never offered a way of coexistence nor any polite suggestions



but he did not say anything.



With a little thought he could figure out. Because there was no way of coexistence in the first place.



“T-then, what will our investments be like, Guild Master?”



“Right! How much have we put it so far?”



“20,000? 21,000 gold?” The guild members started chattering. Hyein, who listened to them, came forward and organized things.



“Of our three guilds, our guild alone has invested 21,850 gold ‘donations’ toward Dale Castle.”



Woooah…….



It was about 2.6 billion Korean Won. The donations of Dragon Knights and Seomgwang guild were not even included.



Byeolcho put in the most, but the remaining two guilds did not invest a small amount either.



How rich was the Hwahong Guild or Ram Hwayeon, that they could surpass the combined capital of the three guilds?



“I-is that irretrievable?”



“There’s no other way for Hwahong to come out like that. Most importantly, we invested in Dale Castle in the name of ‘donation’. We can’t ask for it back.”



Hyein spoke calmly, but from the listener’s point of view, they would not be able to maintain a calm attitude.



“No way! No way!! I invested all my savings!”



“M-me too, I put all my salary in there!”



“I invested my marriage fund toward Dale Castle. The guaranteed profit within a year was 30%!”



Byeolcho guild members became loud and noisy.



Kijeong and Tale frowned as they looked at the nearby guild members.



“It is a matter of money after all.”



It couldn’t be helped. Tale and Kijeong were the founding members of Byeolcho, but… most of the people here were powers that Hyein had drawn to raise money for investment in Dale Castle’s commercial monopoly.



However, those who were united by profit did not have bad unity or poor attitude.



Rather, they were closer to those who played the game more thoroughly and persistently than ordinary users in order to protect their money.



“That’s why I’m telling you.”



Bang-!



Hyein, who was on the podium, slammed his hand heavily.When the guild members quieted down, Hyein opened his mouth again.



“There’s no other way than a guild war. I have already contacted the guild masters of Dragon Knights and Seomgwang guild. Everyone in the alliance agreed to not give up our interest, and money.”



“G-Guild War-!”



“Oh my god! Hwahong- Ram Hwayeon, does that mean Ram Hwajeong and Fei Wu would be there?”



“If you don’t like it, you can leave! However, keep in mind that the existing investment is non-refundable! Didn’t we all invest in it! For the potential return. If you follow the risk and go  beyond it, what awaits you is ‘Dale Castle’ which is comparable to El Dorado, the City of Gold!”



Even if only one person got out, everything will collapse like a sandcastle, that is the combination of the organization. Hyein quickly spoke before such a person appeared.



“We will not lose! We will gather those who could stand up to Ram Hwajeong and Fei Wu! For example, Shin Nara!”



Hearing the name  Shin Nara, the eyes of the guild members widened.



Shin Nara? Ranked 6? She was already a member of the Sacred Knights, but if she joined as a mercenary, she would be of great strength.



“Or ranked 8, Faust!”



“F-Faust?”



“That crazy necromancer?”



“But there are rumors that a lot of money would be needed because of the corpses! If we could meet his conditions, he might help…



The body of the guild members talking noisily shuddered. And Hyein was definitely the master of the guild.



Hyein brought out another name that would completely enrapture the guild members.



“There’s another one. I plan to reach out to the top Korean ranker as well.”



“If it’s the top-ranked Korean……”



Gulp.



The commotion subsided in an instant.



Second in the Rankings, ‘So easy’ Lee Jiwon, one of the most famous users in Middle Earth. 2nd in the world level ranking. The highest-ranking in Asia and Korean ranking.



Lee Jiwon was so popular to the extent that Middle Earth users who did not know that Korea was a country knew about Lee Jiwon’s existence.



“Of course, that’s the plan! We have to hear from them first and meet their conditions, but we should be able to do it!”



It had not been confirmed yet. They may agree or not.



However, no guild members listened to Hyein’s last words, which should have been the most important.



In other words, Hyein cleverly raised the morale of the guild members and dug a hole in which he could escape.



That was the reason why Tale and Kijeong couldn’t be happy at all even after hearing his words.



It was reasonable that they had no reason to get involved in this war.



“Do you think they will come?”



“Lee Jiwon is single-mindedly hunting to catch up with the No. 1 ranking.



He wouldn’t come. No matter how much money we give him…. If we’re talking about money anyway, he would have earned enough to play and eat for the rest of his life.”



“I agree. He is purely seeking strength. There’s no reason for him to step up in this war.”



Tale nodded his head in agreement with Kijeong’s opinion.



“Bring everyone who can help us! Although we can’t give them monetary compensation, we can give them the joy of winning against Hwahong, and the joy of being with the strongest users in Middle Earth!”—!!!



Byeolcho guild members cheered towards Hyein.



It was also true that it was intended to inspire morale. Since the investment could not be refunded, it was right to move in advance.



However, the effect that Hyein was looking for came later.



“G-good. I’ll have to call my friend.”



“Me too! This is amazing! We could even see Lee Jiwon’s face!? I should ask my friend to join our guild!”



He sold one ranker’s name to gather a hundred followers.



‘Haha, Just you wait, Ram Hwayeon, Ram Hwajeong. This time……



A sinister smile hung on Hyein’s face. Looking at it, Sasuke was barely able to swallow his dry saliva.



“Sasuke.”



“Yes, master.”



“Call Kay separately”



“I understand.”



“Yes, Hyein-hyung.”



“Ah, Kay. Are you busy with leveling these days?”



“No, it’s just. It’s the same.”



In the safe house where the guild members disbanded. That place was where Hyein and Sasuke met Kijeong.



(To be continued…)