Chapter 176

Chapter 176. Complicated Backstory

“…What on earth is going on now?”

While I was busy repairing the damaged base and using the compensation money to rebuild the fleet, I found myself with some unexpected free time. I thought I’d take a break and, for old times’ sake, try dancing with a sword in the gallery. But as soon as I opened the gallery window, I was bombarded with notifications—more comments than reports. The entire gallery was buzzing with chatter about me, which honestly left me feeling pretty bewildered.

“Is this what they call ‘goryeo-shi’ or something?”

It seemed like they were determined to turn me into some kind of “popular figure,” but the more I looked at it, the more I felt a strange sense of validation. It was oddly satisfying to be acknowledged by others.

“Well, at least no one’s cursing me out.”

But then…

“Commander? I watched that video, and here’s my take on it.”

“Hmm, it’s really well-shot.”

“Seriously, it’s too well-shot. It’s like they know every corner of your territory.”

“…!”

“Honestly, if someone can film this well and understand the situation so thoroughly, they’re practically a stalker.”

“What?”

The realization hit me—the mysterious “anonymous user” who posted the video was essentially a stalker. Despite the friendly atmosphere in the gallery, I couldn’t help but feel a chill run down my spine.

==========

Meanwhile, as the people from Icarus were frantically trying to figure out who this “anonymous user” was, the actual culprits behind the video and the meme were feeling unfairly accused.

“Clan Leader, isn’t this enough seasoning for Icarus?”

“That should do it. Good job, everyone.”

“Wow, I handled five guys all by myself. I’m on fire.”

Contrary to Icarus and Jessica’s suspicions, the video that sparked all the praise for Icarus in the gallery—and the subsequent posts subtly boosting him—were actually the work of the Justice Clan, acting under Arcadia’s orders.

Of course, Arcadia had her own excuses, but her support for Icarus was purely driven by personal admiration. The Justice Clan, however, had no idea that their Clan Leader’s main goal was to use the clan to cover for someone ranked higher than herself.

From the Justice Clan’s perspective, Arcadia’s instructions and explanations made perfect sense.

—————————————-

[By the way, why is our Clan Leader supporting Icarus from the Central Zone?]

[The Clan Leader already explained it.]

[I missed it because I was busy fighting those Humanity guys lol.]

[It’s to counter Humanity. By supporting Icarus, who’s ranked 3rd, we’re keeping them in check.]

[Oh, is that it?]

[There are quite a few reasons, actually.]

[Yeah.]

[We don’t have the resources to directly intervene in the Central Zone right now. If we do, Humanity will stop their fake war with Loki and head straight for the Central Zone.]

[Wow, really?]

[It makes sense.]

[So, to avoid an all-out war with Humanity, we’re indirectly supporting the 3rd-ranked player to turn the Central Zone into a neutral area.]

[Hmm, interesting…]

—————————————-

As you can see from the anonymous chat room run by the Justice Clan, the members were fully convinced by their Clan Leader’s grand plan.

==========

And this sentiment was shared by other clan factions as well.

Take Antares from the Humanity Clan, for example.

“Haha, that damn woman.”

Their initial invasion of the Central Zone for resource expansion had some success, but thanks to a few solo players, their plans were exposed.

“Clan Leader, only about 50% of the sub-clans that invaded the Central Zone have achieved their objectives.”

“But the solo players ranked in the top 100… they’ve taken down at least two invaders each…”

“Even so, most of them were successfully repelled.”

“Not even a single top 10 ranker was taken down.”

“…Wait, didn’t you say we could break through?”

Facing fiercer resistance than expected, the invaders were on the verge of being pushed back instead.

“Just my opinion, but I think Arcadia set a trap from the start.”

“Justice Clan probably wanted to mess with us after we defeated them.”

“Ah, damn it.”

“Plus, Clan Leader, take a look at them stirring up public opinion in the gallery right now.”

“I know. They’re trying to recruit the 3rd ranker into their group or at least build friendly relations.”

Suddenly, it seemed like all of this was the result of a scheme by Justice Clan and their leader, Arcadia.

Of course, if Justice Clan heard this, they’d probably be baffled.

Even though the Central Zone was called a den of scum, Humanity Clan, a super-large clan, didn’t deploy their top forces.

They still sent a large number of upper-tier users, ranked between 500 and 1000 in the overall rankings.

They even assigned at least two people per target and launched simultaneous surprise attacks from all directions, fully prepared.

But despite all that, the solo rankers not only withstood the invasion but also uploaded videos immediately, dominating the gallery’s public opinion.

From Humanity Clan’s perspective, it was a situation where they had no choice but to believe they’d fallen for Arcadia’s scheme.

And that thought led to a fun and exciting fake war for Humanity…

—

[Weren’t these guys just supposed to be holding the line here?]

[No idea.]

[Who’s the guy who already pulled out a battleship? He’s crazy strong.]

[Did you forget about the Pirate King’s battleship?]

—

…Meanwhile, Loki Clan was in the middle of a rather intense battle.

And Betelgeuse, leading them, along with the clan’s upper echelons, were in the same boat.

“Wow, that girl seemed simple-minded, but she’s actually pretty sharp.”

“Yeah, we can’t let our guard down.”

It was hard to imagine Arcadia, who had always been quite rigid since the clan’s founding, pulling off something like this.

But Betelgeuse, who believed in breaking stereotypes by flexing his imagination and keeping his brain flexible, felt the need to discard his biases against Arcadia and Justice Clan.

He realized they were a more threatening presence that needed to be checked.

Of course, as usual, he quickly started scheming to troll Justice Clan…

But just as he was about to act on those thoughts…

“Clan Leader? The Pirate Empress is calling for you again.”

“…Huh?”

“She says it’s something important and wants you to come immediately.”

“Wow, our Clan Leader is now considered a VIP even within the Pirate Alliance, huh?”

“Make sure to bring back some sweet rewards this time, Clan Leader!”

“…”

As soon as Marian called for Betelgeuse…

Given all the “training” (?) he’d endured every time Marian summoned him…

The “Troll Justice Clan Project” that had been in Betelgeuse’s mind vanished without a trace.

Thanks to the last incident where he subtly tried to mess with Icarus by using Marian, rearranging a fleet to cause a collision, and getting scolded by Marian daily…

Betelgeuse felt his face burning, remembering how Marian had been “training” him in various ways.

Of course, Betelgeuse steeled his resolve, determined not to lose this time…

“Nuuhh, but this time, I won’t be defeated…!”

Still, the twitching under the table was probably unavoidable.