Emperor of Solo Play - Chapter 180

Chapter 180

Chapter 180 – Hero Slaughterer (3)

8 .

-Did you guys hear about the news from the Highwood Forest?

-L . Isn’t that the location of Hahoe Mask’s recent hunt?

-L . He is still hunting inside the Highwood Forest .

-L . Of course, everyone is aware of that fact .  It had been only couple weeks, since the Hahoe Mask uploaded the footage of him soloing the Wood Devil!

-L . No, he isn’t hunting monsters anymore .  He is hunting down Big Smiles guild members .

These people enjoyed watching Warlord .  They were also interested in the User named the Hahoe Mask .  He made their hearts flutter from excitement .  They were very interested in the activities of the Hahoe Mask, since he attempted tasks that was considered to be impossible to solo .  They cheered when he overcame the odds .

He was able to solo Boss Monster Raids, and he was doing the Main Scenario Quest by himself .  

Moreover, he was able to oppose the 30 great guilds .  These exalted organizations were almost untouchable as if they were placed high in the sky, and even the influential Underfoot guilds could do nothing against them .  

This made people become more fanatical about the Hahoe Mask .

These people were romantics .

Everyone could imagine themselves doing what the Hahoe Mask did .  While anyone could imagine doing it, the Hahoe Mask actually took action to make these ideas into reality .

This inflamed the romanticism inside the hearts of people .

-Did he declare war against the Big Smiles guild?

-L No .  He says he is out for revenge .

-L- Revenge? Against whom?

-L . Pitbull and the Hahoe Mask are friends .  Recently, the Big Smiles guild killed Pitbull .  He is avenging Pitbull .

-L . From what I heard, the Hahoe Mask didn’t touch anyone except the 10 guild members, who hunted down Pitbull .  He even apologized to the unrelated party members for intruding on the hunt .

This was the most important part of his plan .  Ahn-jaehyun had to sidestep the trappings of the romanticism his actions might evoke .

‘I like where the public opinions are heading . ’

He sipped his coffee, and he looked at the reaction caused by his actions .  Ahn-jaehyun was satisfied .

‘Yes, this is the correct answer . ’

The act of fighting the 30 great guilds had a quality of romanticism .  Everyone could imagine doing it, yet no one could do it .  Of course, even the Hahoe Mask couldn’t fight the 30 great guilds in a fair fight .

Before he had returned to the past, he had felt this truth deep within his bones .  He had made enemies of the Stormhunters guild, and this had turned the entirety of the 30 great guilds against him .  He had fought them like a crazed dog .  However, he now realized how illogical and pointless such an act was .

This was especially true for Ahn-jaehyun, since it didn’t make sense to cause a Game Over to all of his opponents, because they were wearing the same uniforms .  It was a dangerous way to play this game, and it was also stupid .

‘Nothing good will come from messing with the normal guild members . ’

Before he returned to the past, he had been very radical in his actions as the Hero Slaughterer .  He cut down anyone that got in his way .  This was why he was nicknamed the Slaughterer .  He never hesitated, and he had no mercy .

If he looked backed on it, he knew it had been a mistake .  It didn’t matter how or why he killed the Users, but in the end, they were revived from their Game Over after 48 hours .  They would be made whole again, and their animosity towards him would grow .

Basically, the hatred mounted and the number of Users he wronged increased to a point where they took action by attacking the Hero Slaughterer . .

In truth, when the Stormhunters guild announced their war against the Hero Slaughterer Hyrkan, not everyone was willing to follow their lead .  The normal guild members hated being dragged into such conflicts .  There was no reason why they would enjoy it .  It wasn’t as if killing a single User allowed them to gain treasures .  Moreover, if they weren’t careful, there was a high risk that they would suffer a Game Over .  The normal guild members were basically being forced into the hunt, so why would they like such a scenario?

However, once those normal guild members died at the hands of the Hero Slaughterer, their eyes flipped over from anger .  Even if they weren’t told to catch Hyrkan, they threw their bodies towards him .

It would be difficult to convince the first wave of Users to throw their bodies against him .  However, it wouldn’t be too hard to convince the second and third wave of Users .

Ahn-jaehyun applied the lesson he had learned to his current actions .

‘It is unnecessary to galvanize the regular guild members . ’

His targets had to precise .

The Hahoe Mask left alone the Users, who had nothing to do with the attack on Pibtbull .  He only attacked the guilty, since they wouldn’t be able to complain even if they were killed .

Of course, none of the Big Smiles guild members would clap their hands at the Hahoe Mask’s actions .  They wouldn’t be happy, but it would make them think .  It would make them wonder if it was worth messing with the Hahoe Mask .

This was why… .

‘The Big Smiles guild officers will now gather to come up with a plan . ’

The normal guild members will now want the higher ups to take care of the problem!

The normal guild members would choose to remain as spectators .

This was why the Hahoe Mask expressed to the normal guild members that he wasn’t the enemy .  He even saved some, who were in trouble .

He used numerous methods .  He sometimes killed his target, and he retreated quickly .  He purposefully approached a Big Smiles guild party without any of his targets included within the group, and he struck up amicable conversations with them .  He even gave them permission to contact him, and he gave encouraging words to the hunt parties .   From the perspective of the guild members, the Hahoe Mask’s words were far from sounding friendly, but they felt relieved from not being PKed .  There were even times when the Hahoe Mask had saved a Big Smiles guild member in trouble during a hunt .  He also gave them tips on how to more effectively hunt down the Wood Devils .

Everyone knew he wasn’t doing this out of pure kindness, but they were thoroughly convinced that the Hahoe Mask would only attack his targets .

‘In the past, this method wouldn’t have worked . ’

Of course, if the Hahoe Mask was someone insignificant, this would be a different story .  Every one of them would have attacked him on sight .  However, the Hahoe Mask was no longer a User that could be taken down by a single party .

This was the difference between the prior Hero Slaughterer Hyrkan, and the current Hahoe Mask .

He needed the current level of power to pull off this plan .

“Hmmm . ”

He had enough power now .  He was able to leisurely smell the coffee as he hummed a tune even as he faced an enemy called the 30 great guilds .

‘If I chase their tail like this, the Big Smile guild’s reputation will suffer .  They’ll try to catch me…  I would be very grateful if they chose to catch me using a bait and a small force . ’

The power he possessed gave him the luxury to be able to think a move ahead .

This required power, and the current Ahn-jaehyun possessed that power .

9 .

“What did you just say?”

“We’ve received information saying the Hahoe Mask had appeared within the Highwood Forest again .  I think it would be best to take a break today . ”

“What are you talking about? You want to take a break?”

“The current situation is a bit muddled right now . ”

The speaker, Jigwan, was a Level 235 member of the Big Smiles guild .  He was a Ranked User, who operated while maintaining the very high level .  This was why he was flabbergasted by his comrade’s words .

As he maintained this dumbfounded look, he lightly swiveled his head to look at the atmosphere of his surrounding .  His party members had finished getting ready for the battle with the Wood Devil .  Some refused to meet his eyes, but others boldly met his eyes .  However, all of them were in disagreement with him .

This was why he quickly realized what was going on, so Jigwan gritted his teeth .

“You guys… . ”

“We aren’t saying you did anything wrong .  You did good .  We are almost thankful that you took the initiative .  You went through with it .  At the very least, we won’t be called cowards by others before we go into battle thanks to you . ”

Jigwan had been about to erupt in rage, but his comrade shut him up by talking over him .

“No……”

“However, if a problem arises here, it’ll be a detriment to you . ”

It seemed his comrade was determined to speak his mind .  It was as if he had prepared a speech for this eventuality, so he poured out his words towards Jigwan .

“It isn’t as if the high ranking people will do anything for you .  It isn’t as if they are ordering us to form a hunting party to catch the Hahoe Mask .  If you act too hastily, you are the only one, who will suffer . ”

“Hey!”

The power of his rapid-fire words were very effective .  Jigwan was made momentarily speechless .

“I’m sorry . ”

At the short phrase, Jigwan shut his mouth as if a key had been turned .

Jigwan could no longer raise his voice .  His party member’s words made Jigwan realize the underlying reasons behind the other User’s words .

‘Shit . ’

This made Jigwan more angry .

It was so clear that he would have to accept the current reality .

‘What did I do wrong!’

His anger turned towards the Hahoe Mask .

‘That damn bastard .  It is all the Hahoe Mask’s fault… . ’

At the same time, his anger moved on from the Hahoe Mask to a different existence .

‘Why are we so afraid of a single person?  Why do I have to suffer like this, because of their cowardice?’

He focused his anger on the executive officers, who lead the Big Smiles guild .

‘I’ve worked my butt off for the Big Smiles . ’

From the birth of the game of Warlord, he had gotten close to the members of this guild .  They were so close that they called each other hyung and dongsaeng .  His relationship with the other guild members spanned across a good amount of time, and this was why the betrayal hurt so much .

Jigwan wasn’t someone that would stand being treated so poorly .  

This was especially true, since his actions were all for the benefit of the Big Smiles guild .

At that moment, he thought about the last time he was treated right .

‘This would have never happened when Heh-bibin was in charge of the guild . ’

In the past, their guild didn’t have a guild master .  The executive officers ran the guild .  At the time, Heh-bibin had wielded a considerable amount of power within the guild .

During that time, Jigwan had been treated very well .  He was always given full support, and the small problems were taken care of by the guild .  The guild didn’t even ask any questions when taking care of the problem .

Heh-bibin also gave breaks to Users tired from leveling up by purposefully putting them in youtube videos or a live broadcast .  This resulted in them gaining some spending money from the appearance fee .

At the very least, he wouldn’t have been treated like a leper, because he had done something that needed to be done .

He wasn’t the only one,who felt this way .  There was a significant number of members, who shared his view .

This was the reason why they supported Heh-bibin .

‘Heh-bibin is right .  He is right about all of this . ’

This was the reason why they put their power behind Heh-bibin’s ideas .

10 .

When he heard Pitbull had been killed, Sinclair contacted the Hydra guild first .  If things went sideways here, he knew his life would get very complicated .

This was why Sinclair sent the Hydra guild a proposal .

He wanted to resolve the current situation through war of words .  They could argue over who was in the wrong through words .  He suggested that they shouldn’t worsen the current atmosphere by settling this through armed conflicts .

At the time, the tone of the conversation hadn’t been too bad .  Unlike Sinclair’s worries, the Hydra guild didn’t seem inclined to fight them head on .  They were about to bury this incident in a quiet manner .

Sinclair was sure this had all been quietly resolved . .

‘Hahoe Mask .  That damn bastard… . :

Everything turned into a mess when the Hahoe Mask made his appearance .

The Hahoe Mask started to avenge his friend’s death .

‘That little bastard .  I never expected him to act this way . ’

The Hahoe Mask used a method he had never used before .  He only eliminated his targets .  He worked in an arrogant manner, and he avenged his friend in a way that was only possible for the Hahoe Mask .

The method used by the Hahoe Mask turned out to be more troublesome than expected .  If the Hahoe Mask waged a war against the entirety of the Big Smiles guild, Sinclair would have used this opportunity to declare war on the Hahoe Mask .

Sinclair had always wanted to kill the Hahoe Mask .  If he attacked out of his own volition, Sinclair would have been thankful .

However, he hadn’t done that .  The Hahoe Mask made this into a personal revenge play .

This was now a private matter between Users .  If a 30 great guild stepped forward to interfere, the fallout would be huge .  This was the biggest problem they would face .  If they were to kill the Hahoe Mask, they would have to put up with the big fall out .  When the potential for loss was this large, no one dared to act in a rash manner .

This was why the meeting of the officers was called into order .

However, another problem arose at this point in time .

Sinclair was excluded from the meeting of the officers .

‘Heh-bibin……  I’m sure that bastard planned this . ’

First, Sinclair wasn’t officially an executive officer .  It was true that he was the best ace inside the Big Smiles guild .  However, by definition, the guild master, and the two sub-guild masters were considered to be the executive officers .

Right now Sinclair had no choice, but to wake up to what was going on .  This incident had the fingerprints of Heh-bibin all over it .

Heh-bibin had been treated like a useless sack of wheat until now, but it seemed Heh-bibin had found a way to amplify his voice .

Heh-bibin’s voice was strengthened by the opinions of the regular guild members .  Heh-bibin hadn’t been overt about his actions .  He had been a huge advocate for those guild members, who had killed the Pitbull .  Heh-bibin spoke numerous times about the guild needing to protect these guild members .

Everyone, who hunted Pitbull, probably stood on Heh-bibin’s side .  On top of it all, the users operating within the Highwood Forest would also side with Heh-bibin .  These were high level Users, who were over level 230 .  They were the main fighting power of the Big Smiles guild .

‘The machination being played by Heh-bibin is no joke . ’

If one thought about it, Heh-bibin’s actions were chilling, amazing and a bit ridiculous .

This was only a game .  

Why would he do such an act over a game?

This thought brushed by Sinclair’s mind .  Of course, Sinclair immediately rejected such notions .

‘This game wasn’t a joke from the start . ’

Warlord wasn’t a simple game .  The makers of this game and the people, who played this game, invested excessive amount of assets into Warlord .  Too many things were shoved into this game .

This game was supposed to be run and managed by the AI, but now it had become a completely different game .

“Tsk . ”

He clicked his tongue, and Sinclair organized the complicated thoughts inside his head .  He simplified the situation .

‘If we choose to catch the Hahoe Mask, we have to go all in .  If we decide not to catch him, we have to be bold in our negotiations with him .   If we put together a half-assed team of 100 guild members to hunt him down… . ’

He hoped the meeting of officers would avoid choosing the worst option .

The meeting of the officers came to an end .

11 .

“Brooks .  Why are you agreeing to such a ridiculous proposal?”

When the results of the meeting was declared, Sinclair spoke in an accusatory tone towards Brooks .

-Both Apollo and Heh-bibin made a fuss, so what can I do?

“Apollo?  What are you talking about?”

-Apollo is supporting Heh-bibin’s decision .  If I have to oppose two sub-guildmasters, I need a good reason .

“The reason……

-Are you saying we should accept the death of the eleven members, who participated in the Pitbull hunt?  We can’t give everything to the Hahoe Mask .  What would happen to my name?  The normal guild members are treating the Users, who attacked Pitbull, like heroes .

At the mention of heroes, Sinclair snorted .

“They aren’t heroes .  Does that mean the Hahoe Mask is the Hero Slaughterer, since he killed them?

– Heh-bibin maneuvered to bring this about .  In truth, I can’t do anything about it now .  We have to put this to rest by killing the Hahoe mask .

Sinclair barely kept himself from snorting again .

“We are going to kill the Hahoe Mask?  How are we going to do that?  Do you really think you’ll be able to kill him with only 100 Users?”

-This is different .  We have 11 surefire baits that will net the Hahoe Mask .

Sinclair had a thought when he heard those words .

‘They succeeded in convincing Brooks . ’

Brooks was trying to convince him, and Sinclair knew he wouldn’t be able to talk Brooks out of this .

In the end, Heh-bibin had been successful in his plot .  He pulled Apollo to his side, and he had convinced Brooks .

What would happen next?

Heh-bibin will push himself to the fore again .

“Anyways, I’ll have nothing to do with this venture . ”

-If the Killer doesn’t join, there will be a lot of talk .

“It would be worse to fail with me included in the hunt .  You should leave me out, so there will be an excuse if you guys fail . ”

-Do you really think we will fail?

Sinclair knew Heh-bibin wouldn’t be satisfied with his victory .  When one succeeds in turning the table, one wants something more than just turning the tables .  Heh-bibin will try to create a situation where others cannot turn the tables against him .

Then what?

“From Heh-bibin’s perspective, he has nothing to gain from the plan succeeding .  Please use your head, Brooks . ”

In the end, the buck stopped with the guild master .  Brooks would bear the responsibility of all actions taken by the guild .

-You really think of me as an idiot .  I brought about a war with Triple Wings alongside the Hands guild, yet you treat me like this .

“I spoke too harshly .  I apologize . ”

-No, you don’t have to apologize .

The conversation ended there .

Eleven Users were facing a Wood Devil .  It was quite common to come across the sight of a party hunting down a Wood Devil .  However, this party’s composition was very unique .  Seven of the 11 Users were Strikers .

Of course, a Wood Devil Raid needed a high number of Swordsman class Users, but seven Strikers was most definitely a unique composition .

Maybe this was the reason why the Wood Devil hunt wasn’t going well .

Moreover, a good number of Users were having a hard time focusing on the Wood Devil hunt .

“What about the Hahoe Mask?”

“I don’t see him yet . ”

“Be on your guard, but let’s focus on the hunt . ”

“Be careful!  If we are killed by the Wood Devil, this was all for naught!”

Their conversations was the proof .

In reality, they weren’t gathered here to hunt the Wood Devil .

They were bait .

After the meeting of the officers, the decision was handed down to the troops .  They had decided to hunt down the Hahoe Mask .  This was why this hunting team was formed .  This team would simultaneously be a bait and a weapon pointed towards the Hahoe Mask .

The plan was simple .  If the bait was taken, the Hahoe Mask hunting team would move in .  If the bait was left alone, they’ll announce that the Hahoe Mask’s absence meant he was conceding defeat .

“I hope the Hahoe Mask shows up today… . ”

The seven Users, who were placed into the party as bait, waited for the appearance of the Hahoe Mask .  They were confident in this plan .  If there had been no preparations, it would be very difficult to kill the Hahoe Mask .  However, they had made thorough preparations for the appearance of the Hahoe Mask, and they really believed they would be able to take him down .

Shweee!

Two Wyverns appeared above their heads .

Hwah-roo-roo!

One Wyvern was made out of flame, and the other was made out of bones .  It was the Wyvern Fire Golem and the Bone Wyvern .  The two Wyverns dove downwards, and it was a scary sight .  However, the eleven Users welcomed the appearance of the two Wyverns .

“It’s the Hahoe Mask!”

“He is finally here!”

“Be careful！”

“If needed, just disengage and run away from the Wood Devil!”

Two Wyverns landed on the ground .  However, that was all they did .  The two Wyverns just  looked at the eleven Users, who were battling the Wood Devil .

‘Huh?’

‘What the hell?’

They had expected a terrifying offensive attacks, and this unexpected situation made the eleven Users flustered .

“What’s going on?”

“Should we run away?”

They were still battling the Wood Devil, and the Users were unable to assess the situation .  They were asking for an answer .

However, the one to give the answer wasn’t one of their comrades .

“Ah .  You guys are all gathered here .  Hello . ”

Hahoe Mask made his appearance as he gave his greeting .  He cleared his throat then he paused before taking out a paper .  The paper held the drawing of a Pitbull Terrier’s face .

“This is my friend .  He said my act of revenge serves no purpose .  He said he forgives you all .  I came here to tell you that .  Have fun with your hunt .  I hope you received a good drop . ”

Hyrkan turned his back after speaking, and he left the battlefield with the Bone Wyvern and the Fire Golem in tow .  He headed towards the north .

“W…What the fuck?”

This was too unexpected .  In such a situation, the announcement from the Voice Talk broke them out from their stupor .

-Hahoe Mask is going north .

-The bait team will retreat to the back .

-The Hahoe Mask hunt team has to take down the Hahoe Mask at all cost .  Use all methods available to you .

The Hahoe Mask hunt team started to move .

‘Ah, wait a moment . ’

‘Hahoe Mask is……:

In such an urgent and unexpected situation, none in the bait team was able to comprehend what had just happened .