Ranker’s Return - Chapter 489

Seeing the scenery of the East Continent after such a long time, Hyeonu felt it was quite impressive, as well as unfamiliar. Not long ago, it had been a comfortable area for him. Yet at this moment, it seemed as if he had come to a new city.

‘There has been a huge increase in players.’

Taeyang, the capital of the Yuxin Empire, had changed noticeably. Firstly, the number of players had increased by a huge amount. The last time Hyeonu was in Taeyang, there weren’t many players—far fewer than in Aslan, the novice village.

‘Still, it has nothing to do with me.’

Taeyang was lively, but it had nothing to do with Hyeonu. He wasn’t here to see the people. He came for the beginning of the harvest of great profits—the main scenario.

Hyeonu broke through the players and stopped somewhere especially quiet. Fewer players were seen here. It was the entrance to the imperial palace of the Yuxin Empire. A guard of the imperial palace approached Hyeonu and wondered, “What is going on?” 

“I came to see His Majesty the Emperor.” Hyeonu pulled out a gold plaque. He held it out so that the guard could see it well. This was the gold plaque that he hadn’t taken out for a long time.

“Please go in. I will inform His Majesty first.” The guards unexpectedly recognized the identity of the gold plaque. This was also different from before. At that time, no one recognized it, except for the guard captain.

“I understand.” Hyeonu put the gold plaque away and moved leisurely. The imperial palace was vast, but it didn’t take him long to reach his destination. There should be no rush as the big event was ahead.

‘How can I explain it to clear the quest...’

Considering their past relationship, the emperor of the East Continent wasn’t likely to make excessive requests of Hyeonu.

‘He would be poor in character if he says something strange here.’

In the first place, Hyeonu had done too much for them. He’d kept the emperor in power and eliminated the dangers to the empire. Hyeonu had the titles to prove it. Benefactor of the Yuxin Imperial Family and Benefactor of the Gucheon Secret Department—these two titles proved that Hyeonu had successfully ended the last main scenario.

‘I’d like to have it sealed right away...’

However, it was unlikely to end as he wished. The main scenario wasn’t that easy. Hyeonu saw a familiar building in front of him. It was where the emperor lived. When Hyeonu entered the interior of the palace, he saw guards standing there, but no one stopped him. Rather, they bowed and greeted Hyeonu.

Hyeonu soon approached the door and pushed it open. This was repeated with each following door until he reached the great hall where the old emperor was located.

“It has been a while, Earl Gang Hyeonu.”

Finally, the old emperor was revealed. He had a much better complexion than the last time Hyeonu saw him. It was bound to be like this as there were currently no concerns for the old emperor. The East Continent was peaceful.

...At least, as far as he knew.

Hyeonu took off the mask covering his face and put it away. 

“Your Majesty, it has been a while.” His voice was very peaceful and soft.

“The empire is at peace thanks to your merit. Both on the surface and behind the scenes.”

“How can it be my personal merit? It is the result of many people working together.”

The old emperor and Hyeonu exchanged cliché words. Hyeonu made small talk for a moment before pulling out the reason for his visit: “I have a letter to you from the emperor of the West Continent. Would you like to see it?”

“Letter? Personally brought here by you, Earl Gang Hyeonu?” The old emperor cocked his head when he saw the letter that Hyeonu took out. He didn’t understand why Hyeonu was carrying it.

‘It seems the West Continent is full of talents.’

The old emperor knew that Hyeonu was a great talent. Envoys between empires weren’t positions with little influence or no honor, but it was a clear waste to use such a great talent for this sort of thing.

“Give it to me. I have to read what is on it,” the old emperor said. Then he clapped his hands together, and a black shadow appeared on the ground from midair.

‘This is the feeling.’ Hyeonu could perfectly feel what he hadn’t felt before. This was because his stats were much higher than in the past. The moment he focused his senses, he could sense the people hiding all over the building and even feel their breaths.

“Here it is.” Hyeonu casually handed the roll of white paper to the black-clad man who had just appeared in front of him. The man took the paper from Hyeonu, approached the old emperor, and knelt down, offering up the roll of paper. The old emperor took it and began to read.

-As emperor of the Yusma Empire, I ask the emperor of the Yuxin Empire to become a more active ally than he is now. For example, creating an allied force against a common enemy...

“Um...” The emperor agonized over it once he’d read the letter. It was because the contents of the letter were not light. He was the emperor of Yuxin, the only empire on the East Continent, but it didn’t mean he had no one to exchange opinions with. Yuxin’s emperor was clearly in a different position from Alexander.

‘It’s hard to decide alone,’ the old emperor thought.

Alexander, the absolute emperor who held the entire empire in his hand, and the old emperor, who had just started restoring the imperial power—the difference between the two of them was like the difference between the heavens and the earth.

‘I will have to ask the Samsungga for their opinion as well.’

“This is too important for me to decide by myself. Why don’t you get the consent of the Samsungga first?” the old emperor suggested to Hyeonu.

It might seem strange to anyone who didn’t know the situation, but Hyeonu knew the current situation of the East Continent better than anyone else, so he didn’t find it strange at all.

‘I think the balance is right,’ Hyeonu agreed inwardly.

“I understand, Your Majesty. It has been a while since I visited the Samsungga.” Hyeonu nodded and accepted the old emperor’s suggestion. Then a new quest window appeared in front of Hyeonu.

[Samsungga’s Consent]

[The old emperor of the Yuxin Empire wants to know the Samsungga’s opinion before he gives his consent. Get the Samsungga’s consent for the alliance.

Rating: MS

Conditions: Chen Long of the Samsungga’s agreement 0/1

Rewards: Experience.]

‘The rewards are quite...’

It was too little. This was an empty can. Even level 1 quests gave a wider range of rewards than this one.

‘I believe I will get a great reward when I come back.’

Hyeonu smiled and closed the quest window. He hoped that the emptiness of the present would turn into a reward in the future.

“This issue is crucial. Can I leave immediately, Your Majesty?” Hyeonu asked.

“Of course, Earl. Give my regards to the leader. It has been two months since we’ve had contact.”

Hyeonu frowned slightly at the old emperor’s words. The absence of contact for two months implied the old emperor didn’t know what was going on.

‘It feels a bit eerie?’ Hyeonu thought. 

Nevertheless, he said, “I understand, Your Majesty. I’ll be back after meeting with them.”

Hyeonu exited the imperial palace of the Yuxin Empire in an uneasy mood. He immediately took the mask out of his inventory, put it on, and tore a scroll.

***

Linakalu—it was the best vacation spot in the East Continent as well as the city with the most players. Simultaneously, it was also a city with a powerful NPC force called ‘Southern Star’.

‘Southern Star is Samsungga.’

Hyeonu was familiar with Linakalu. People laughed and talked as he walked through the market, passed through the shopping center, and arrived at a place surrounded by a huge fence.

‘I don’t have to go through the guards.’

Hyeonu didn’t head to the main gate. In the past, he had to enter through the guards due to his lack of ability, but he now had the confidence to enter the Samsungga directly. To be honest, it was actually because he was afraid of wasting time. He didn’t like having to wait for the guards to break the news.

‘It isn’t because the rewards are shit.’ Nope, it wasn’t because he wouldn’t get anything but experience… Absolutely not. 

Hyeonu jumped off lightly from the ground and crossed the fence with a perfect landing where not even the smallest sound was produced. Right when landed, he lightly kicked off from the ground. It was a rapid movement like that of the wind blowing.

‘This place has also changed a lot.’

The inside of the Samsungga had gone through a major transformation. It was much more colorful than when Hyeonu visited in the past. Entering the deepest part of the Samsungga, Hyeonu returned to the place where thousands of people had fought.

‘Where is he?’

He had ventured so deep into the Samsungga, but he still didn’t see anyone who could be Chen Long.

‘Is he in the building?’

It was possible. When Chen Long was a guard, he never left that small house.

‘I think it will take a while...’

It would take some time for Hyeonu to find out where Chen Long was located—however long it would take to get information from nearby NPCs.

‘They’re coming.’

Hyeonu threw himself on one of the trees that rose high around him. Three or four men dressed as guards approached the spot where Hyeonu had disappeared. One of the guards stopped and asked, “Did they appear today?”

Another guard raised his hand with an urgent expression and covered the mouth of the guard who had just spoken. “Be careful with that mouth. More than five people have already disappeared.”

“I’m sure it is the Yeokcheon Group. This secret incident couldn’t be done by anyone but them.”

“Chen Long has disappeared with the household. Who can stop the bad luck?”

The other guards whispered in very small voices that were hard for anyone to hear. Their expressions didn’t look very good; they seemed very unhappy. The guard who spoke first let out a harsh breath and brought it up again: “Do you think the Yeokcheon Group is capable of hitting inside the Samsungga?”

His voice wasn’t particularly small.

“Please be quiet if you don’t want to die,” another guard silenced him. This guard looked scared.

“What am I doing wrong? Does it make sense that I can’t even say this?” The first guard continued to raise his voice.

Hyeonu listened to the conversation from the tree.

‘Things are becoming strange...’

He couldn’t escape from his uneasy foreboding. The misfortune came as he expected. This quest really felt like he was stepping on shit.

‘I can’t believe I have to clear this difficult quest while only getting experience...’

Hyeonu was sighing at the sad reality when the situation under the tree changed rapidly.

“I told you to watch your mouth...” one of the guards said.

‘Did the Yeokcheon Group appear?’ Hyeonu bowed his head and looked down. ‘The number of people is the same...?'

No one new had appeared. Their clothes were all the same, and the number of people was exactly four.

‘Perhaps...?’ Something popped up in Hyeonu’s mind. Then the situation unfolded as if to prove it.

“How are you...”

“How? I was originally part of the Yeokcheon Group. I gave you a chance many times. You are the one who kicked it away.”

Surprisingly, the identity of the Yeokcheon Group member was the first person to block the outspoken guard’s mouth.

“Then die.” The man pulled out the sword he was carrying at his waist. He was attempting to swing the sword when someone crushed his shoulder.

“Well, I don’t think that can happen?” It was a man in a dark red mask—Hyeonu.