Chapter 832: December 18th: The Treacherous Phantom Flower, The Reward Is Gold and Silver Treasures
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Ugh, what a pain.
That was Payabusa's honest impression.
"Karintou-san charged at a Raid Monster and Eighthold fell? Seriously?"
All-Night Knight Karintou. The very player who had established a rock-solid defensive line at Eighthold through full-time login durations worthy of her name had left to challenge the Tormenting Great Green Edge, breaking the equilibrium of the turf war.
The direct cause of this was undoubtedly the fact that the Raid Monster attacking the opposing faction had been defeated. In Payabusa's estimation, he had thought they could maintain the deadlock for another two days, but the subjugation had happened far too early.
Furthermore, there was information stating that the central figure behind the subjugation of the Raid Monster "Smoldering Great Crimson Wings" was currently heading to subjugate their side's Raid Monster in a blitzkrieg without a moment's pause.
"If they're going out of their way to hunt our Raid Monster for us, I wouldn't mind giving them an escort, but......"
Even if they were called Raid Monsters, during this event, they were basically just massive lumps of "Game Over" marching towards them. Having the enemy faction go out of their way to clean up an existence that brings a hundred harms and not a single benefit would normally be cause for celebration...... but from All-Night Knight Karintou's perspective, it was like watching someone else swoop in, pack the feast on the table into Tupperware, and take it home.
After all, it's a well-known fact that she prefers PvE over PvP; ending the event without being able to interact with a Raid Monster at all must have been unbearable for her......... even so.
The rapid subjugation of Eighthold by the Former King Faction, who had launched their assault "immediately" following Karintou's departure. While the "information" that they had launched a blitzkrieg against the Tormenting Great Green Edge was spreading, the subjugator of the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings was nowhere to be seen.........
"......Did we get handed fake information via pigeons?" [*1]
The possibility was high, but simultaneously low. It was a fact that the Smoldering Great Crimson Wings had been defeated, and it was a verified fact that the number of players challenging the Tormenting Great Green Edge had increased. In other words, in terms of whether the information coming from the listeners had credibility, one could say the possibility of the information being falsified was low.
But even taking that into account, the situation was moving with eerie precision. The Smoldering Great Crimson Wings was defeated at the exact moment the battle lines had deadlocked, the offensive against the Tormenting Great Green Edge began exactly when Karintou's patience was nearing its limit, and Eighthold was suppressed immediately after Karintou left......... It all meshed together far too perfectly for it to be a coincidence.
Payabusa had experienced his fair share of the sour and sweet in life, and he had felt the moments when a situation shifts. But regarding the flow of this battle, if he had to compare it... yes, he couldn't help but feel a premonition like the turning of a gear.
As if the turning of one gear had caused various other gears, large and small, to all interlock and begin turning in unison...... that kind of premonition.
"Besides...... we still haven't seen so much as a shadow or a shape of them〜〜...... I was absolutely sure they'd show up for the Raid Monster battle at least."
Right now, players of ShanFro who didn't know that name were in the minority, and arguably, it was the name of the most famous player at the moment, known even to those who didn't play ShanFro.
The player "Sunraku," who had proven the accomplishment of defeating four Unique Monsters through a broadcast that was a lump of pure credibility.
They had acquired the information long beforehand that he, or perhaps she (information was tangled so it wasn't clear), was siding with the Former King Faction, but they couldn't be found anywhere. If it was simply a matter of them not logging in due to real-life circumstances, then there wouldn't be a problem (though it would be unfortunate......... in terms of stream content).
The problem was if they were logged in but doing something beneath the surface. If that involved this Kingdom Turmoil event, it could lead to a fatal defeat, and if it involved something else, another Unique Monster or a different Raid Monster might be defeated somewhere unknown.
"A pain to deal with if they're there, a pain to deal with if they're not......... how should I put it, they're like the buffer unit inside a group of insanely annoying random-encounter trash mobs〜"
If they're there, they'll whittle down your resources pointlessly, but if they aren't, the empty slot will just spawn a different strong enemy anyway, so it's actually better if they are there. Realizing this analogy was a bit too convoluted, Payabusa silently rendered a scathing verdict and decided not to use it on stream.
"Besides, we're basically playing Rook-and-Bishop-down here......... Man, if I only knew their login status or at least whether they were participating in this event at all, I wouldn't have to struggle like this."
A streamer is like a tuna that dies if it stops moving. While his partner just playing silently was enough to generate content, Payabusa needed to keep talking. Since he never found it painful, the profession of a Streamer really was suited for him............ though whether as a cost or an occupational hazard, the percentage of time he spent talking to himself had increased significantly.
To begin with, the biggest reason Payabusa had launched a blitzkrieg on the first day was also to see how that specific player would move. However, the result was a swing and a miss; which wasn't a problem in itself, but with absolutely no word from them, it naturally led to suspicion.
In fact, Payabusa's prediction was somewhat accurate; one would have to wait until the 20th for 'Sunraku' to do something flashy.
"Mmmm......... I mean, it's not like I'm a tactician or anything~...... Leading the charge or organizing things is fine, asking me to be Kongming is just an impossible game."
He had wanted to leave that sort of thing to the GUN! GUN! Mercenary Corps, but all of them were currently in hiding within Thirdrema. According to the information shared among the members of the Streamer Frontline, they had boldly declared that they would launch a simultaneous uprising at 23:59 on the 18th and completely suppress Thirdrema by the end of the 19th......... but from Payabusa's perspective, having the group most familiar with warfare leave the front all at once was something he honestly wished they wouldn't do.
That being said, the Streamer Frontline was, as the name implied, a gathering of streamers; what came first was getting good content for their own channels. Even if his mouth split open, he couldn't possibly tell them "never mind, don't do it" after they had spent days in hiding just to gamble on urban combat in Thirdrema. After all, Payabusa himself was the one looking forward to it the most.
"............Yeah, I really can't ask them〜〜〜〜"
They ranked higher than complete strangers but slightly below friends—it was precisely because of that level of relationship that there were things he wanted to say but couldn't.
───Is someone perhaps leaking information to the other side?
Something like that...... a question that would be incredibly rude if he was wrong, was something he couldn't possibly say out loud.
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<<.........Ah, hello?>>
".........Hey. The fact that you're calling me, does that mean what I think it does?"
<<I'll skip all the pleasantries............ Yeah, it's about the reward.>>
".........And?"
<<They said it's an 'OK'.>>
"I see............ that's good."
<<I've said this over and over, but I really don't think you needed to ask me in such a roundabout way. That person basically never turns down a challenge anyway.>>
"Hahaha............ Well, it's not quite like that. This is a kind of taking responsibility, in a way."
<<Is that......... so. Anyway, they said the current...... Unique Scenario they're doing seems like it'll wrap up by the 19th, so they'll be waiting in Eleventar. That guy is basically not participating in this scenario at all anyway, so you don't need to worry about being attacked from behind.>>
".........Right. I understand, thank you...... Let me thank you again, Kei-kun."
<<No problem......... Ah, just one piece of advice, or a warning really...... no, this is actually incredibly rude of me but,>>
"Hmm?"
<<Please, have fun. If you're going to 'try to win' against her...... against Sylvia Goldberg, that is the most important thing.>>
".........I'll keep that in mind. Well then."
<<Yes, excuse me.>>
Author's Afterword
An Adabana (phantom flower/treacherous flower) is a flower that bears no fruit.
There's no way there could be someone, not just from day one, leaking information to the Streamer Frontline since the day before the event started, right?
Translator's Notes
- [1] Pigeon: Refers to viewers who carry information back and forth between different streamers. I'm not entirely sure about this one.
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