How to Survive Restructuring-Chapter 126

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 126: Siege Warfare (1)

People exchanged silent glances.

At the same time, all eyes focused on Saito.

"I just… slept well."

[So, how exactly did you sleep well? There wasn’t any attack or anything?]

"I don’t remember."

[Huh? It wasn’t a hundred years ago; it was just last night. How can you not remember?]

"…I have no knowledge of it."

'Nice answer.'

[…….]

Sera shut her mouth.

Her smiling lips twitched as if she was struggling to contain herself, and a faint vein popped out on her forehead.

She seemed thoroughly annoyed.

"That host… does she know something?"

"No idea."

At Jieun’s words, I shrugged and continued speaking.

"For now, it looks like she doesn’t know we were involved. Otherwise, she would be asking me, not him."

This time, Sera’s gaze turned toward us.

Or more precisely—toward Yura, who was fast asleep on Hanul’s back.

[...And in the meantime, our little lady here is taking a nap?]

She must have been exhausted from running around all night hunting monsters.

But since we couldn’t say that, Hanul just gave an awkward smile.

‘Hm?’

Just then, something caught the corner of my eye.

Yura, sleeping soundly with her mouth slightly open.

Hanul, swaying gently back and forth to let her sleep a little longer.

And Wei—staring at them intently.

And then.

‘His expression…’

Even when he tried to crush people with Go stones—expressionless.

Even when he lost a match—expressionless.

Even when he got trapped between Go stones and the goalpost—he remained expressionless.

But now, for the first time, his face showed emotion.

A furrowed brow.

Lips pressed tighter than usual.

And the moment our eyes met, he sharply turned his head away.

"That kid… he looks upset about something."

"It seems that way to me too."

I had no idea what had ticked off the genius with an IQ of 200, but my curiosity quickly faded.

[Alright, everyone! It's time!]

[Let’s announce the final mission!]

We had too much on our plate already.

[The final mission is the long-awaited ‘Siege Warfare’!]

[Woooow! Exciting, right?]

"A siege… so we have to defend a fortress?"

"Probably both defending and attacking."

[In a moment, each sector will receive a fortress.]

[The time limit is three hours.]

[When the time is up, the rankings will be determined based on the number of fortresses each group controls!]

"So… it’s another team match?"

"Seems like it? We’ll have to cooperate."

A few people sighed softly.

They were disappointed.

Even if their team won, they had no confidence in placing high individually.

[Oh, no, no! That wouldn’t be fun till the very end, right?]

Sera, who had been frowning moments ago, now beamed as she spoke.

[For this special final mission, all participants will receive additional training points!]

[But only according to their contribution to the siege!]

[If you want to earn more training points, you’ll have to actively participate!]

"Contribution points?"

"How will they calculate that?"

[Attacking, defending, and even supporting roles count!]

[And after the mission, each individual will receive a personal evaluation grade!]

[Sounds fun, right?]

Training points and individual rankings.

It sounded nice, but…

"Damn, so the team has to win, and I also have to get a good evaluation?"

[Exactly! So, you’ll need to strategize carefully!]

[Remember! Just because your team wins doesn’t mean you win. And even if your team loses, that doesn’t mean you lose either!]

"…What a load of crap."

With that final grumble from the team’s resident loudmouth, everyone fell silent, wearing complex expressions.

Each person lost in their own thoughts.

[The siege begins—now!]

Rumble—!

The fortresses emerged.

The fortresses we would have to defend together and also seize from others.

* * *

【'External Affairs Department's Rookie' is excitedly looking forward to the siege!】

【'Investigation Department Druid' nostalgically murmurs that this reminds them of the past.】

【'Sales Bureau Old-Timer' boasts that if he were there, he’d have conquered everything the moment it started.】

【Many observers are eagerly anticipating participant 'Lee Eunho’s' strategy and tactics!】

Amidst the roaring anticipation, a medieval-style fortress emerged, covering an area as large as Jamsil Olympic Stadium.

At the top of the central tower, a flag with ‘ROK’ written on it fluttered.

"Holy crap, why is it so big?"

"This is a fortress? It’s different from what I imagined…"

It wasn’t a picturesque, fairy-tale castle.

Its walls were towering—so high that even craning your neck, you couldn’t see the top in one glance.

Each of the fortress’s four corners and its center featured round towers.

The issue was that the walls had conspicuous protruding blocks—practically inviting people to climb them.

"They expect us to scale these, huh?"

"They’ve designed it so we have to fight like animals."

Because that would be more entertaining.

For them.

[The time limit is three hours.]

[If you occupy the magic circle at the top of the central tower for 10 seconds, the fortress ownership changes. Rankings will be determined based on the number of fortresses held at the end of the time limit.]

"So that’s the central tower? The one with the flag?"

Some people were curiously touching the fortress walls and gate.

But—

"There’s no time for sightseeing. Open the gates!"

"Ah… Y-yes! Hyung!"

There was no time to waste.

[Countdown begins!]

「02:59:59」

The countdown had started.

"There must be a way to get onto the walls. Find it!"

"Here! There’s a ladder!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Scaling the ladder swiftly, we found cannons lined up along the battlements.

Square-cut walls.

Evenly spaced cannons.

Protruding footholds in the stone.

After scanning everything at a glance, I shouted—

"Twenty people!"

"Huh?"

"Each of you, take charge of a cannon in the east, west, north, and south, with twenty people per cannon! And..."

The distance between each cannon was about 5 meters.

If there were twenty people in a line, there would be gaps between them.

"Where are the people who were responsible for long-range attacks yesterday?"

"Here!"

"Me."

Jieun, the tattoo artist with yellow hair, and the couple who had been shooting arrows from Namsan Tower, along with others, all raised their hands.

Was it seventeen people in total?

"Go to the east, west, north, and south, four people each. You need to prevent the enemy from climbing the walls."

"Got it!"

"Oh, Jieun, just a moment."

Just as I was about to continue giving orders while holding Jieun back.

"Hey, hey, hey! They're coming!"

"...Damn it! Why is everyone coming at once?!"

"They seem ready for a fight?!"

Roar—

A beast-like roar accompanied the approaching hundreds of enemies.

Ding-

A message arrived.

[The 'Great Game' of the Strategist 'Wei' has been activated!]

"Great Game? Again?!"

"Hey! The Go stones are falling!"

"Huh? But it's not over here?"

Screech—

A black Go stone was placed between Wei's index and middle fingers and dropped onto the ground.

Boom—

One.

Boom—

Another one.

"What is that? Why is he placing them like that?"

"There’s no one over there..."

"Damn, what’s that kid up to?"

Stones were being placed at regular intervals along the outer perimeter of the walls.

"It looks like he’s trying to surround the entire fortress."

"What? Why would he do that?"

The Strategist, the Great Game, the black Go stones surrounding us.

'This is… … .'

Ha.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

I see.

What kind of skill does that guy have?

“Is he... trying to build a house?”

"Build a house... you mean?"

Yes, a house.

The essence of Go.

[The Strategist 'Wei' is attempting to 'build a house'!]

[Completion... 6%, 7%]

"What’s going on? Is this for real?"

"His Go ability... this is insane!"

Whether it’s black or white stones, if you trap the opponent’s stones and enclose them, that area becomes your 'house.'

Once you build a 'house,' you capture the opponent's stones within it.

"If all sides are blocked, it’s over."

"Wait, so does that mean we're the white stones?"

Jiwoong asked with a pale face, understanding my words.

"Probably."

[The knight 'Wei' is attempting to 'build a house'!]

[Completion... 9%, 10%]

"Then what about the white stones surrounded by black?"

Jiwoong swallowed nervously and continued.

"...Wait, what happens to us?"

His face was full of fear, and it wasn't just him.

Everyone around him was scared.

This was an ability they’d never seen before, so it was even more terrifying.

But...

"19 lines."

"Huh?"

What we've seen so far with Wei’s ability has strictly followed the rules of Go.

That means there must be limitations to this immense power.

"The Go board has 19 horizontal and vertical lines."

"Huh? Why does that matter?"

"It means the Chinese fortress is empty. Since the Go board has been set up on our side."

"Wait...!"

I nodded at Jiwoong, whose eyes widened, and then shouted towards the people inside the walls, not the approaching enemies.

"Everyone, listen up!"

[Command (Lv.2) skill activated!]

[The survivors’ group is waiting for the leader's command!]

"This mission isn't just about stopping them!"

"What should we do then? We need to block the Go stones!"

"We’ll split into three groups. Group 1 will defend the walls! Group 2 will defend the gate! Group 3 will attack!"

[The survivors trust the leader's strategy!]

[Current loyalty: 65%]

"Anyone with a strength stat of 20 or more, go to Group 2 for gate defense! Group 1, your first priority is dealing with the Go stones, second priority is stopping the attacking enemies!"

"Looks like it’s time to use some strength. Let’s go!"

In the chaos, it’s likely that the 2,000 troops won’t be able to handle their individual tasks properly.

So, we’ll divide the roles.

[The survivors entrust their bodies to the experienced leader's tactics!]

[Current loyalty: 70%]

"Bora! Go up to the walls. Push or destroy the black stones as far as you can."

"Okay, brother!"

"Group 1, follow Yoon Bora’s lead on the walls!"

Now, for the final part.

"You all come with me. We’re going to attack the fortress."

"Got it!"

After selecting the people for the attack group, I scanned those left behind to see who would stay and fight at their positions.

Then...

"Park Gongchan."

I selected the person who would protect the precious ground.

"Can I leave it to you?"

"I won’t let even a soccer ball get through."

And I soared into the air.

Towards the genius Go player’s Go board.

* * *

"There! Wei, I found him."

Jieun pointed to the top floor of the central tower and shouted.

Thanks to Yura, we were hidden, but I lowered my voice so we wouldn't be detected.

"There's no other entrance. We have to go through that window."

"Hyung...! If we go through there, we’ll be hit with a barrage of attacks!"

Through the large window, I peered into the central tower, which was quite crowded.

'Twenty-two guards in total.'

All the familiar guards who had appeared throughout previous missions were inside.

The elites were stationed here to protect Wei, while the rest were either guarding the walls or sent to attack other castles.

Alright then.

"Third Eye, activate."

Let's give it a try.

The new eye.

[‘Third Eye’ activated!]

Aching—*

A sharp sensation spread through my brow.

I instinctively frowned.

And then—

'!!'

The world lost its light for a moment.

Flash—!*

Then, it returned.

Like an unknown eyelid opening from below, the light and colors slowly seeped back in—

Except for one person.

'This is...!'

A soft blue glow emanated from Wei’s body.

A glow visible only to my eyes.

──┤ Strategist Wang Wei ├──

[Great Game (Lv.17)], [House Building (Lv.9)]

────────────────

A blue window.

Great Game and House Building.

Just as I suspected.

Then, let's take a look at the others beside him—

Flash—!

'…Huh?'

The man who always stood by Wei’s side like a bodyguard.

'Did he always have such abilities?'

No, has such an ability ever existed?

──┤ Swordsman Sun Ming ├──

[Intermediate Swordsmanship (Lv.2)], [Sword Energy (Lv.4)],

[Sword Aura (Lv.1)]

────────────────

"Sword Aura..."

Sword Energy and Sword Aura.

Just by the names, I could already picture his abilities, and I clicked my tongue in disapproval.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

Then, my teammates reacted immediately.

"Huh? Did you just say Sword Aura, kid?"

"Eek! W-We have to fight against lightsabers now?!"

"Lightsabers? That kind of ridiculous ability exists?"

"Woong?"

Startled by Jihun and Jaehyuk's reactions, even Jieun let out an exclamation, making Yura blink her big eyes in confusion.

"That’s completely monstrous..."

Monstrous, indeed.

But.

"It doesn’t matter."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"I've already figured everything out."

"…!"

I've seen through every little detail they don’t even know about themselves.

And more importantly—

"We’re the real monsters here."

"!!"

"Let’s go."

Sword Aura or whatever, they won’t even be able to cut a single strand of our hair.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]