Immoral Prince (1)
1.
[The Blue Snake looks at the White Roof. Find the Red Mirror underneath the roof. Then you will see an angular landmark. This landmark will stretch out to the left. It will fork endlessly.]
When the great battle was concluded, everyone's attention was turned towards the Immoral Prince. The Users without the Battle Tokens couldn't participate in the Immoral Prince Raid. Therefore, the only thing they could do was to decipher the words that appeared on the Battle Tokens. They tried to interpret the cryptic code, which gave away the location of the Immoral Prince.
Unexpectedly, a lot of Users participated in this endeavor, and they had fun doing it.
- Where does a Blue Snake type monster appear?
- Is it talking about the Blue Dragon?
- Dragons aren't snakes. I'm pretty sure it is talking about the Blue Giant Snake. I'm clearly right!
- ㄴ I don't think the Immoral Prince would hide at a hunting ground where a level 60 Boss monster comes out. It would make more sense to say a bear was hiding in a rabbit hole.
It wasn't really that they enjoyed it, but in truth, this was the only way they could participate in the Main Scenario Quest. Also, there was an additional incentive to solve it. The 3 guilds, who were participating in the Immoral Raid, had put up a bounty on the correct interpretation of the cryptic words. One could earn around 5 thousand dollars from figuring it out. It was more than a pocket change.
Anyways, there were a lot of hunting grounds in existence in Warlord. It was more annoying than difficult to find the location through such ambiguous hints. Moreover, a lot of the characteristics described was shared by many locations in Warlord. A mountain was a mountain, and a lake was a lake.
When the Immoral Prince Raid was failed twice, the new hints appeared on the Battle Tokens. It took about 3 to 4 days to decipher the hints. Despite knowing all of this, the teams attempted the Raid. None of the teams were able to last even an hour in the Raid. When the Raid failed, the Immoral Prince immediately left the location. The losing groups took a terrible beating in many ways.
‘They were very unlucky.’
If seen in those terms, the Stormhunters was very lucky. After the second Immoral Prince Raid was a failure, the Stormhunters was able to decipher the cryptic hints on the same day they got it.
‘I never expected the Immoral Prince to appear at a location we just found. It is said that the bread always fall on the buttered side down....’
The Blue Snake symbolized a Blue river, and the White Roof was a snow covered mountain. Everyone reached a consensus on this interpretation. However, there were about 50 locations with a blue river and a snow covered mountain.
Therefore, the crucial part was the Red Mirror, and the angular landmark. Surprisingly, the Stormhunters had found a region that checked off the two remaining requirements.
Patagonia mountain.
It was a region found recently by the Stormhunters. Several days ago, this stage had a Block Field over it.
The Patagonia mountain had a Red Lake, and a tree had been struck by lightning. The tree had been burnt to death, and it was the angular landmark. Of course, this location was very hard to find.
If the Patagonia mountain hadn’t been found and professionally investigated by the Storm Hunters, no one would have been able to find the Red Mirror and the angular landmark. Moreover, the Patagonia mountain was teeming with level 190 monsters, and it would take a long time to explore this mountain.
This was why events had turned out like this.
‘The fact that we found this place first was the reason behind our problem now. Why did it have to be this way?’
This was the reason why the Storm Queen Shir had decided to monopolize the 3rd Immoral Prince Raid run.
If it was a location everyone knew about, everyone would inevitably be watching their every move. The two other guilds would try to meddle in their business. However, the Stormhunters didn't have to worry about that. Unless there was a Judas within their guild, there was no way the other guilds would find out about their actions.
On the other hand, Hatch was very pessimistic about this raid, so these were all signs of bad luck to him.
When he saw the trees thick with leaves around the Red Lake and the presence of the burnt tree, he couldn't help, but feel very depressed.
“Hey. What's are you doing!”
On top of it all, the Storm Princess Hahui was unnecessarily trying to pick a fight with him. She possessed an unfortunate name, and she had the eyes of a fire dragon.
“What do you think I'm doing? I'm sighing.”
“ A sigh? Why?”
When Hahui gave a retort, Hatch looked at her as if she was the most pitiful human being in this world.
Shweek!
Hahui's fist flew towards Hatch's face.
“Huhk!”
Hatch dodged the fist in fright. The fist had come very close to striking him. The fist brushed by his left cheek.
“Hey! Why the hell are you punching me for! Fuck!”
“You were having some weird thoughts as you were looking at me, right? You wanna die?”
“Bring it on. Try killing me once! Try killing me!”
The atmosphere between the two of them was turning nasty, and attention was being drawn towards them. However, nothing unfortunate happened.
“Stop.”
At Shir's single word, Hatch and Hahui turned their glares to different directions.
This was the charisma possessed by Shir. She had a worse temper than these two, so she was able to control them even through a short word.
“We'll start the Immoral Prince Raid in 6 hours.”
There was no one, who could make a retort, when one heard anger mixed in with her words.
Hatch gulped.
‘Whether I die from a beating or from a stabbing, I’ll be dead at the end. It seems I can’t avoid this.’
2.
“Patagonia mountain?”
- It is a location recently discovered by the Stormhunters guild. This is all according to Ballista's words.
“A recently found region…… In many ways, they were lucky.”
At the First Head's explanation, Chev let out a sigh as he tapped his fist on his forehead.
A ridiculous development had just occurred. This wasn't some low level administrator acting out in this way. The Stormhunters guild was one of the 30 great guilds, and they had broken an agreement they previously agreed with the Red Bulls and the Hydra guild. They had made an independent decision to do this Raid on their own. Moreover, it would have been better if the leader had done all of this for profit. However, this event had occurred, because of Shir's bullheadedness. Her actions defied common sense.
Chev was very irritated by the situation, but at the same time, he quickly accepted the situation.
‘As expected of a crazy bitch. ’
If someone else had done this, he would have been suspicious instead of being surprised. However, the Storm Queen was quite capable of doing this.
Anyways, the Stormhunters had made their decision, and they were going to carry out their mission. They would have to react accordingly.
- What do you plan on doing?
“What about your side?”
- Anyways, we only have two choices available to us.
They could either become spectators or join up in the action.
If one thought about it rationally, one could already surmise the probability of success was very low for the Stormhunters if they tried the Immoral Prince Raid on their own. The Stormhunters had sinned by offending them, so they could just watch the Stormhunters fail. They weren't required to join and help the Stormhunters.
The problem was the fact that the decisions made by Stormhunters wasn't bound by logic.
- If the Stormhunters fail this Raid, they'll never participate in one afterwards.
“That'll cause a big headache.”
If the Stormhunters guild failed this Raid, there was zero chance that they'll show any remorse for their actions. At the same time, the Stormhunters guild would immediately give up on the Immoral Prince Raid. The Storm Queen's pride wouldn’t allow for a reattempt. She probably was well aware of the consequences, yet she chose to go through with her actions.
- If the Stormhunters drops out, the Immoral Prince Raid will become very hard.
The absence of the Stormhunters couldn't be glossed over.
The two of them were watching the footage of the Immoral Prince raid as they held their conversation. In the world of Warlord, these two men were basically cut from the same cloth, and they both had an appropriate fear about the Immoral Prince.
On top of it all, only those with the Battle Tokens could participate in the Immoral Prince Raid. If the Stormhunters drops out, it would be very difficult to replace them.
If so, would it be better to mobilize now and help the Stormhunters?
However, both men were having a hard time seeing this as the right answer.
“Did you perhaps calculate the benefit cost analysis of joining the Stormhunters?”
The Immoral Prince Raid was a business decision. Their decision would change based on the calculation of the profits and losses. If helping the Stormhunters was more profitable than watching from the sidelines, they'll take appropriate actions.
- How many live tickets were sold?
“We sold as much as possible through the pre-sales. How many commercials spots did you sell?
- We've sold it all. However, we weren't able to sell it at a high rate as you guys.
Even if the two guilds helped out the Stormhunters in this Raid, they weren’t expected to lose much money. They had already sold the live tickets through pre-sale, and the contracts for the commercials had been finalized.
- We won't lose anything from helping them.
“Of course, there will be some loss, but we can request compensation for our loss from the Stormhunters.”
Even if they did suffer a loss, they could ask for compensation from the Stormhunters. Of course, they would have to succeed in the Immoral Prince Raid to do this.
- Are you ready for the Raid?
The next problem was the preparation for the Raid.
“I can finish all preparation in 10 minutes.”
The preparation had been finished a long time ago. Both sides had gathered a team of professionals that were qualified to participate in the Immoral Prince Raid. They had been passing time by training and leveling up at the hunting grounds.
All the equipments and consumable Items that would be used in the Raid had been prepared. The two guilds even synced their hours of operation. Everyone logged in and logged out at the same time. Everyone slept for the same amount of time. All the participants had also received a checkup.
If one worried about the preparedness of the Hydra guild and the Red Bulls guild, it was basically an insult to them.
It wouldn’t be bad to join the Immoral Prince Raid in secret with the Stormhunters.
However, they couldn’t be satisfied from just participating in the Raid. They had to find a way to maximize their profits.
- If I’m to come up with a plan, I’ll probably let the Stormhunters go first. We enter afterwards, and each team will find and destroy the relics. I think that’ll be for the best.
“Should we use the Stormhunters as bait?”
- If we use the Stormhunters as bait, we will be able to destroy 2 relics... No. The Stormhunters would also have to form a team that’ll destroy the relic, while they occupy the Immoral Prince. If we are lucky, we can use the Stormhunters as bait, and we’ll be able to destroy at least 3 relics.
They were going to use the Stormhunters as bait. Aside from whether the hunt is a success or not, the bait would suffer the most damage. This was why the bait was also called the sacrificial lamb.
If the three guilds worked within the framework of the agreement, no one would have been used as bait. No one wanted to be the sacrificial lamb.
However, the Stormhunters guild was the first one to break their agreement. Even if the Stormhunters guild was used as bait, they couldn’t officially express their dissatisfaction.
Of course, they’ll probably express their anger through the unofficial channels, but the Red Bulls guild and the Hydra guild was on equal standing with the Stormhunters. These two guilds had no reason to be scared of the Stormhunters.
“I would like to read a more detailed description of the plan.”
- I’ll send it to you immediately. However, I want you to tell me about the Hahoe Mask first. I won’t be able to make a complete plan if his information is absent.
“I'll contact you again in 10 minutes.”
After exactly 10 minutes, Chev sent the First Head a message. It was a very short text message.
[The Hahoe Mask will join up later.]
Chev, who was sending the message, did not have a happy expression on his face.
3.
Shir was leading from the front, and 25 members from the Stormhunters guild were following her in a straight line. The angular tree was to their left, and each member of the group put a distance of 2 meters between each other.
It happened 10 minutes into their walk.
Shir was the first one to disappear from sight. Everyone followed her example as they followed after her, and they all disappeared from sight.
Hatch was at the end of the line, and at some point, he lost sight of all of his comrades. However, Hatch didn't feel any confusion.
‘Good.’
Instance Dungeon.
The battle with the Immoral Prince was a content that can only be done by selected Users. Moreover, a defeat meant the annihilation of the whole Raid Party.
The Users in front of him had entered the Instance Dungeon one by one. Moreover, the Users in the front was informing the others of what was happening through the Voice Talk.
At that moment, Hatch knew this was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He turned his head to look backwards.
Hatch sensed something.
Hatch sent a signal towards the location where he sensed a presence.
- Hey! Hatch! Where are you? If you don’t want a beating, hurry up and come in!
At that moment, Hahui's sharp voice was heard in Hatch's ears. Hatch put on a sour expression as he walked to the other side of the barrier where everyone had disappeared to.
[The barrier's power was rendered useless by the Battle Token.]
Hatch heard the Announcement in his ears, and he immediately stepped forward. He disappeared like the others.
Hatch had felt two presences. One was the Hydra guild's Eighth Head Natal. The other was an expert named Two Kims, who represented the Red Bulls. After they looked at each other once, they started to speak in a low whisper.
“The Stormhunters entered the location of the battle.”
This was the final stage of the second Main Scenario Quest. The final battle with the Immoral Prince had just started.