Chapter 597: Joseon (4)

The top search term on portal sites around the world was the Verd Territory Battle.

It was nothing unusual for the Parion Empire to swallow up a territory.

Users even joked that the second Ares was not a path to kingship, but “the road of tribute to Parion.”

Even so, the reason the Verd Territory Battle had become such a major topic was BJ Rollo.

Had such an influential BJ not started broadcasting, the unnamed soldiers would never have come.

Like a wildfire spreading faster on the wind, the arrival of the unnamed soldiers caught people’s attention, drew their expectations higher, and brought more viewers to the broadcasts.

-Dmitri is fucking insane, isn’t he?

-Yeah, he was nuts. One punch, and three or four soldiers dropped at once.

-And what about great mage Lund? He used Mana Drain to suck away all their MP, then dropped an area attack and melted them all.

-Wasn’t Tai, Thailand’s number-one ranker, insane too?

-Yeah. You could see why they call him the best assassin after Kabel.

Everyone had different tastes.

Everyone had rankers they cheered for and admired.

Then someone mentioned a woman’s name.

-Mio was the most incredible.

People all over the world were confused, but that person soon revealed the important part.

-Because... she’s still holding them off.

-The war ended, though?

-What are you talking about?

The war had clearly ended yesterday.

So what did they mean, she was still holding them off?

Everyone rushed toward a single broadcast.

There, Mio was still holding a bridge alone against the enemy.

THWIP! THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!

Her arrows continued to fly without pause.

Mio was incredible, holding off an army of one hundred thousand by herself with only a bridge between them.

-Mio is insane...

-She’s writing a legend by herself...

Every kind of media outlet, reporter, and YouTuber talked about her.

Hidden in a secluded spot, she kept drawing her bow without rest until her thimble was completely worn to shreds.

-She is the legend of archers, the hero of archers, the supreme archer.

People around the world praised her.

The original army of one hundred thousand had already fallen to seventy thousand.

Watching her stand there alone and keep holding the line, they realized just how fierce her fighting spirit was and how faithfully she fulfilled the duty entrusted to her.

The Japanese people, especially, were moved.

-Thank you, Mio...

-We will never forget this kindness.

That day, Mio’s number of fans skyrocketed.

Ironically, Mio was not holding the line because she wanted to.

What was she feeling right now?

You fucking assholes!

THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!

She was miserable.

The war ended! You were supposed to come get me!!

That was right.

Mio was still blocking the passage by herself not because she had some overwhelming sense of duty.

Verd Territory’s forces and Hyunsoo had forgotten about her.

Of course, Mio had joined the war party.

When the Parion Empire Army had flooded the battlefield, party chat had been unusable. But once their numbers fell, it had become active again.

[Mio: Guys, can I get some support? I’m still holding off one hundred thousand soldiers alone...]

[Musashi: Emergency. Hyunsoo collapsed after killing Commander-in-Chief Pedro!!! Get our benefactor to safety!]

[Mio: ...No, guys, me...]

[Musashi: Victory! The Parion Empire has acknowledged defeat.]

[Elom: WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!]

[Casuo: We did it!]

[Epic: Strike up the music!!!]

With the news of victory, hundreds of messages flooded the group chat in an instant.

[Mio: Guys?]

Naturally, her message was buried among the hundreds.

[Mio: Fuck...]

That was the reason.

THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!

Y-you fucking assholes!

Mio looked at the thimble on her hand as she continued drawing her bow alone.

[Only 5% of your arrows remain.]

[Herd’s Thimble has only 10% durability remaining.]

“...”

She was completely screwed.

She had gained quite a few Levels by fighting so many enemies, but dying here and dropping anything would be disastrous.

And the death of a high-ranker would be a crippling loss.

Her vision swam.

Just then—

[A gift from Hyunsoo has arrived.]

A messenger bird flew in.

The moment Mio saw it, her eyes narrowed sharply.

Don’t send me gifts. Send troops, idiot!!

Of course, Mio knew.

Officially, the King of Stories’ soldiers had participated in the battle, so Hyun could not deploy his own army.

He probably sent arrows.

She assumed he had sent at least a few arrows.

Should I be grateful even for this? They said the nation of Hyun wasn’t doing well financially, either.

Mio wore a bitter smile, but the moment she checked the gift, her eyes went wide.

[You have acquired 20,000 Arphasna Arrows, Unique grade.]

“A-Arphasna Arrows!?”

Arphasna.

They were arrows made from a special material found on the Japanese server.

Their value was dozens of times higher than ordinary arrows, and their Piercing Power and range were absurdly high.

They did not break easily. After sweeping through every enemy, they could be recovered and used again.

And arrows were not the only thing inside.

[You have acquired the Gauntlet for a Shining Hero, Legendary grade.]

What is this gauntlet? It’s completely tailored to me.

Divine Archer Mio and Hyeji had distinctly different strengths and weaknesses.

Hyeji overwhelmed her enemies with high Accuracy and Destructive Power.

Mio, on the other hand, had a range nearly twice that of ordinary users thanks to her various enhancement effects.

She could also move in secret like a sniper.

The sound of her arrows was faint, and she possessed countless skills that could conceal her position.

But her fatal weakness was Destructive Power.

Unlike Hyeji, she could not blow apart an enemy’s head in a single shot.

Yet this gauntlet—

Arrow Destructive Power increased by 60%, Piercing Power increased by 40%...

It suited her perfectly.

It was as though someone had looked directly into her character window.

How?

Mio shuddered.

It was true that everyone had forgotten about her.

Musashi and the others had seemed completely unaware she even existed.

But it was clear that Hyunsoo, after waking up, had continued watching her, understood her strengths and weaknesses, and crafted this for her.

“...”

It was precious.

An artifact that let her surpass her limits.

Hehe.

Sticking out her tongue with a smile, Mio found that the thing she had once said playfully—Then I’m your daughter—no longer bothered her at all.

THWIP-THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!

The speed at which she killed her enemies more than doubled.

Had she been an NPC, Hyunsoo would have received a notice like this.

[Your Intimacy with Mio has surpassed MAX.]

One by one, Hyunsoo was gathering people to his side.

And Mio was not the only one.

BJ Rollo had refused the Parion Empire’s quest.

Now, an extermination order had been issued against him by the Parion Empire, leaving him hunted.

Haa... Let’s not regret it.

He thought that, but it would have been a lie to say he had no regrets.

Then—

[A gift from Hyunsoo has arrived.]

[1,000,000 Gold.]

Rollo, whom Nell had merely persuaded, let out a quiet laugh.

I’ll have to do a lot of broadcasts for the nation of Hyun from [N O V E L I G H T] now on.

Of course, he was narrow-minded and biased.

That was why he would make special broadcasts that praised the nation of Hyun with complete bias.

All across the world—

[A gift from Hyunsoo has arrived.]

[A gift from Hyunsoo has arrived.]

[A gift from Hyunsoo has arrived.]

The unnamed soldiers turned Hyunsoo’s name over in their minds once more.

There was another reason they felt even more grateful toward him.

The nation of Hyun can’t be doing well financially, either...

He’s broad-minded...

He’d share even his last bite...

Those with a certain level of influence knew that the nation of Hyun had been struggling financially.

Because they believed Hyunsoo had the kind of mindset that would share even his last bite, they felt even greater gratitude.

But they did not know.

Hyunsoo was trembling with excitement.

I’m rich.

The nation of Hyun.

Hyunsoo had become rich.

It was difficult to understand.

Why?

The reward for Kingdom Quest: Final Battle had only been five hundred thousand Gold.

Yet suddenly, the kings had begun discussions, and King Ruma had sent twenty million Gold.

That was twenty billion won.

And what was the combined value of everything the other kings had sent?

With the grain and minerals included, it came to roughly forty billion won.

The things Hyunsoo had given the unnamed soldiers did not even amount to one-tenth of that.

It was an incredible profit.

And Hyunsoo began acting like a nouveau riche who had suddenly come into money.

“Ehehehe! Flex! Time to flex!!”

He started spending money wildly like a nouveau riche!

*****

The King of Stories remembered.

“Our king is frightened in the middle of a great crisis. He is facing an army of five hundred thousand with only a handful of soldiers... Isn’t that how legends begin?”

The King of Stories had replied,

“Why does a legend have to begin every day...? Couldn’t it stop beginning already?”

“...”

At the time, Nell had pressed their lips tightly together, and the King of Stories had sighed.

Still, the King of Stories was happy to see the nation of Hyun changing.

It seemed the nation of Hyun had earned an enormous amount of money from this victory.

Hyunsoo’s nation was growing endlessly stronger, and its name was spreading farther and farther.

The granaries overflowed with food, and new buildings gleamed.

The territory had expanded, and new residents were settling into their new home.

Only a few months...

In that short time, he had built such a splendid nation.

Watching it all from the side, the King of Stories gave a bitter smile.

The new age is coming.

In that age, he was someone who should step aside.

Did Hyun know?

The King of Stories’ intervention had not come from the belief that he would always be able to help.

When will it happen?

Ares was a fair god.

Because he had broken the rules and acted freely to help Hyun, the story would now race forward.

It will not take long for the Parion Empire to find Story Island.

That was the natural order.

The users could not understand it.

Only the King of Stories, who had lived for so long, knew.

Can I endure it?

He looked down at the Twin Dragon Sword.

The reliable allies who had made it possible for him to fight the Great Archdemons in the past were gone now.

Even Kkokko, who had fought beside him, had been left behind for the descendants of the new age.

But—

Our hero.

The sight of Hyunsoo handing him the Twin Dragon Sword that day was enough.

Step. Step.

The King of Stories began walking back.

Then—

SKREEEE!

A Myriad-Mile Bird flew down.

“Ha ha. Are you giving me a ride?”

The King of Stories smiled warmly.

He looked at the Myriad-Mile Bird with sorrowful eyes.

After today, he would no longer see it again.

From now on, he had to erase every trace leading to Story Island and continue preparing to fight alone.

And he would never visit the nation of Hyun again.

WHOOSH!

At the familiar flare of flames, the King of Stories slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he had returned to Story Island.

Then his expression turned puzzled.

“...”

Before him, along the shoreline—

Tens of thousands of Dragon Fire Cannons had been completed and set in place.

What is this?

When he turned around, his old hut, which had been on the verge of collapse, had been repaired until it looked spotless.

A territory...?

Behind it, a small territory had been built.

When he turned his head again, dozens of newly built Turtle Ships were docked beyond the sea, displaying their magnificent forms.

At the very front stood one Turtle Ship painted red.

[It is a Legendary ship.]

It was a newly built ship.

Then the King of Stories spotted a man.

Hyunsoo.

Hyunsoo had flexed every bit of his money and spent it all like a nouveau riche.

With that money, he had transformed Story Island into a new home.

Two hundred thousand people who had settled there had already moved into his small territory.

And Hyunsoo stood at the head of an army of one hundred thousand.

“You were going to shoulder everything by yourself again without telling us, weren’t you?”

Standing before the one hundred thousand troops drawn up in perfect formation, Hyunsoo rubbed the back of his nose and gave an embarrassed smile.

“SALUTE!!!!”

The hundred thousand troops Hyunsoo had brought into this new world saluted the King of Stories.

Receiving that salute, the King of Stories felt that Story Island’s story was about to begin again.

Smiling as he looked over everything, he spoke.

“This nameless island needs a name. You should give it one.”

For centuries, it had been a land with no name.

It had only been called Story Island.

But now, it needed to find its true name.

Hyunsoo thought it over for a moment, then chose a simple name.

“Joseon.”

The place Admiral Yi Sun-sin had tried to protect with everything he had.

“That is the only name I can think of.”

And so, it became Joseon.