Chapter 304

Chapter 304. Holding On Is Always the Answer (2)

But how on earth did they find out?

Of course, the reason was known only to the leadership of the Walpurgis Union Clan and the parties involved.

Even Icarus, the opponent, had no idea…

In the end, the biggest reason was that the clan members’ mental state had completely collapsed due to the unexpectedly dire situation.

Of course, that alone didn’t twist the situation.

But among those whose mental state had collapsed was someone who happened to be helping the Clan Leader while looking at the Walpurgis Union leadership’s secret chat room.

That person “accidentally” saw the Clan Leader’s chat and realized that they weren’t part of some small, friendly clan…

But rather, a clan that had ambitions from the start to dominate the Central Zone, aiming to become a large-scale clan rivaling the top three clans.

“Holy crap, we’re gonna get ganged up on by the Central Zone guys, aren’t we?”

“Commander, wouldn’t it be fine with 500 members and a base?”

“Nope.”

With their already shattered mental state, this truth pushed the user to decide to desert just to save themselves.

While Icarus was busy fighting a 1 vs. 500 infinite defense battle, and the users raiding Icarus were too busy to handle it…

This user quietly retreated from the frontlines, gave their fleet a break, and then immediately posted in the gallery and spread the info in the “Solo Players’ Room,” a practical user chat for the Central Zone.

—————————————–

Title: Breaking News) Real-Time Rank 3 Group Massacre Happening NOW

Author: ㅇㅇ

Content: [A fleet engaging in the Avalon Fortress siege, captured in various angles.jpg]

It’s real.

Someone I know sent this. Looks like a clan of about 500 is focusing their attack on Icarus.

Comments:

– [500?]

– [How the hell does a clan with over 500 members even exist in the Central Zone?]

– [BS. They’d freak out if even 10 Gold Masks showed up.]

– [Turns out they hid by splitting into dozens of clans with less than 10 members each.] (Author)

– [Damn, that’s next-level insanity.]

—————————————–

<Solo Players’ Room☆>

<Notice: This room is for solos only. If you’re in a clan, announce it and leave.>

– [Guys, guys, guys!]

– [“Real-time footage of the Avalon Fortress under attack.swf”]

– [A solo ranker is getting ganged up on by a 500-member clan.]

– [???]

– [What the hell is that?]

– [A 500-member clan? Was that even possible for us?]

– [I saw in the gallery that they hid by creating dozens of clans with less than 10 members each.]

– [These guys are crossing the line.]

—————————————–

As this info spread, the Central Zone users naturally went ballistic.

– “These bastards are trying to form a mega clan in the Central Zone?”

– “For real? They’ve lost it.”

– “Crush them! Kill them all!”

Seeing comments like this, the user who spread the info started thinking they should quietly slip away mid-battle.

But… contrary to their expectations, reality turned out to be colder and more brutal than they thought.

“…Those guys who said they’d jump in if a mega clan formed, when are they coming?”

“I don’t know, Commander.”

The idea that users would gang up on any clan with over 10 members in the Central Zone was more like an urban legend.

This thought kept creeping in because the users’ response was surprisingly and ridiculously low.

“Maybe the reason such a nasty rumor spread in the Central Zone in the first place, Commander…”

“Huh?”

“Is that the Commanders themselves were too lazy to step in, so they spread it as a myth to let it self-regulate.”

“…Oh crap!”

When the adjutant posted their analysis of the suspicious situation…

The user watching the situation started to wonder if they’d been tricked by a bunch of jokesters into making the wrong choice.

Maybe they’d be exposed for spreading this info and end up being purged by the clan that successfully took over the base.

—————————————–

<Solo Rankers’ Room>

– [LOL]

– [These guys are crossing the line LOL] (Menaldu)

– [No wonder Icarus has been quiet since yesterday. This is what was going on.] (Königs)

—————————————–

But just as the user who spread the info was lamenting being tricked by a bunch of pranksters…

—————————————–

The information spread among users in solo players’ rooms, weaving through a complex network of connections, eventually reaching the ears of solo rankers.

As a result, not only those within the top 10 rankings but also most other solo rankers, who usually couldn’t be bothered to deal with such matters, saw someone trying to “exploit” what they had left unattended.

They judged this as a violation of the rule that allows them to firmly establish their position as solo “rankers” in the “Central Zone’s large clan takedowns,” which is the foundation of their authority.

In other words, they saw it as an infringement on their “authority” that could realize a gap society(?), and as they intervened, the situation began to take a dramatic turn.

The detailed process was so complex and chaotic that it’s difficult to explain in detail.

In summary, it was a large-scale propaganda campaign against the “Walpurgis Union Clan,” centered around the three solo rankers excluding Königs, who wasn’t in the Central Zone.

However, apart from the common goal of “stomping out large clans before they become hard to deal with,” the methods of the three rankers showed various differences.

For example, Laura, who had the strongest inclination to be subordinated to a clan among the three, chose to spread opinions indirectly through “connections” in the Central Zone rather than directly involving herself.

On the other hand, Indypatible, also famously treated as a mercenary exclusive to Humanity, showed a more proactive approach than Laura, mobilizing herself and her connections in galleries and chat rooms to attempt full-scale public opinion manipulation.

—————————————–

<Playground for solo players>

<Notice: Why does this room keep changing names, damn it>

-[Honestly, it’s usually better to just let it slide]

-[But isn’t 1:500 a bit over the line?] (Indypatible)

-[Yeah, agreed]

-[At least Raksha’s Rotten Water has the pretext of being in the same clan, but that’s just something beyond a takedown]

-[It’s definitely crossing the line, yeah]

—————————————–

And finally, Menaldu, who was quite intrigued by the “ban on clans with more than 10 members,” was riling up his connections and leading his fleet.

==========

Of course, some were skeptical of their agitation, while others thought it would be good if Icarus dropped out of the rankings this time.

Some even included Indypatible’s “deputy,” who thought they should help Icarus by taking down Walpurgis.

“Don’t you think so, Commander?”

“Tsk tsk, you still haven’t caught on.”

At the deputy’s actions, Indypatible shook her head and said,

“Icarus, unlike us, is a true solo style with almost no communication with other users.”

“That’s true.”

“So there are quite a few ways to deal with him? His insane ability to mobilize forces is ultimately just a way to hire a large number of mercenaries by spending a huge amount of resources all at once.”

Indypatible chuckled, saying there are plenty of countermeasures for such things.

“But then why should we confront him head-on? Just stepping back once would make him waste millions of resources in vain.”

“Ah…”

“To deal with Icarus, you just need to gather at least 10 people and engage in a long-term battle for over a week.”

“Is that so?”

“Right, drag it out until his resources run out, then just ram the remaining ships… But what if those union clans remain?”

Indypatible described on the command console how the “scale” of the union clans wouldn’t decrease, using it like a drawing board.

“Those things will stay like that for days… no, years unless the users disband them.”

“So you’re going to help Commander Icarus.”

As the deputy realized the truth(?), Indypatible nodded with satisfaction and decided to continue the agitation work.