I Gave Up Being Stronger-Chapter 218

“He is trying to buy time! You know that, right?”

This was kind of like putting up a smokescreen. By emphasizing that they knew Grandel was stalling for time, Cha Jin-Hyeok and Han Sae-Rin had feigned urgency, conveying to Grandel that they didn’t know much more than that. However, what Sae-Rin, the Absolute Ruler, aimed for was something more.

‘I need him to perform well,’ Sae-Rin thought.

Jin-Hyeok was intensely carrying on with his Play. Creating a suitable tension and sense of crisis for his livestream, he was carefully controlling himself not to overwhelm Grandel even by mistake. He was doing his best. It was a much more difficult and sophisticated act than simply smashing heads.

‘Song Ha-Young, it’s your turn now.’

Sae-Rin could not see Ha-Young, but she knew in her heart that Angel Girl was already in action. While Jin-Hyeok was at the forefront, putting on a fierce and splendid performance, the core of the strategy was in Ha-Young’s hands.

Wang Yu-Mi set the title of the livestream to ‘Disturb From East, Strike From West’.

They had planned to create a disturbance in one direction so that they could attack from another. Grandel, focused only on Jin-Hyeok, had failed to notice Ha-Young, who had secretly infiltrated the altar where the black arms were fluttering.

Her heart was pounding.

‘I have to steal the most valuable thing.’

Among the various horrible things placed on the altar, she had to steal the most valuable and horrible one. She had already discussed it with Sae-Rin and Jin-Hyeok.

“The Mountain Madman is said to have a chronic heart problem. That’s why Grandel helped Hwa Ta level up so that the latter could cure the chronic disease. And since Grandel is moving so urgently despite not having Hwa Ta, he must have solved the problem.”

Sae-Rin continued, “There might be something related to the heart. That could be the key. But this is just an assumption. Ha-Young, see for yourself and make your judgment. I trust your intuition, Angel Girl.”

“Summoning such a dark magic entity must require sacrifices, right? What about stealing all the sacrifices?” Ha-Young asked.

“That won’t work. First, if you try to steal too much, it will be noticeable. Grandel will catch on. Second, Jin-Hye—no, Chul-Soo is hoping that the army of the Mountain Madmen will be summoned.”

At this point, an ordinary Player would have asked, ‘Who would think like that?’ But Ha-Young was not ordinary.

“...Ah! You’re right.”

She knew that the army of the Mountain Madmen had to be summoned for Chul-Soo’s Eltube channel. She understood that this would lead to high-quality content.

Ha-Young had succeeded.

‘The heart. That’s it. I did not expect the heart to be out in the open like that.’

The synergy of the commander’s insight and the field agent’s experience was perfect.

‘I just have to steal that.’

Thanks to Jin-Hyeok doing his part so well, Grandel did not notice Ha-Young’s thievery at all. The army of the Mountain Madmen would eventually be summoned with the chronic heart disease uncured.

***

Dozens of magic circles engraved with various magical symbols formed in the sky.

Grandel burst into mad laughter. “Kahahaha!”

Soon, monsters with red fur emerged out of those magic circles.

Jin-Hyeok tensely narrated, “Their overall appearance is... similar to that of gorillas, except that these creatures have very thick fur.”

Grandel leisurely said, “That’s right. They are the Mountain Madmen. You can check their Levels with your Broadcaster’s Clairvoyance, right?”

“Yes... Their Level is... 217.”

That was a considerably high Level by the Earth Server’s standards.

“Magic circles are constantly being created. The Mountain Madmen are revealing themselves from within!” Jin-Hyeok said in a trembling voice. He seemed genuinely tense. In reality, though, he was trembling a bit out of excitement.

-Wow, how many are there?

-At least, a few hundred, it seems.

-Isn’t this dangerous for Chul-Soo, no matter how strong he is?

-I think he needs to run away and gather allies to fight them.

Even the viewers who knew Chul-Soo’s prowess were worried about him. The momentum of the Mountain Madmen, who were now beginning to form ranks, was indeed tremendous. Having set foot on the ground, the Mountain Madmen swung their vicious muscular arms and cut down the surrounding trees. The trees bent helplessly, and the surroundings soon became flat.

-They clearly look like warrior-type monsters.

-Their resistance and attack power seem incredibly strong.

-Chul-Soo, there is no winning against sheer numbers. Better to run for now.

Yu-Mi relayed these viewer reactions to Jin-Hyeok in real-time.

‘I don’t know why, but this doesn’t hurt my pride.’

Had he still been a Swordsman, his pride would have been hurt, but now, he felt okay. It meant that the tension was being portrayed well.

Savoring his victory, Grandel said, “I will devour you. I will become you, and you will become me, living a beautiful life together!”

Lined up behind Grandel were hundreds of Mountain Madmen, their sinister red eyes glowing menacingly. They growled with a sound that filled the air with a pungent stench.

“Chul-Soo, retreat,” Sae-Rin said.

Of course, this was part of the script. Jin-Hyeok, Sae-Rin, and Yu-Mi had planned what to say at this moment beforehand.

“I will tell you to retreat at the right moment. We will decide what to say based on the reactions of KimKnowItAllTV’s viewers. If the viewers are worried about you, I will say ‘Chul-Soo, retreat.’ But if they are excited and cheering for you, I will say ‘Retreat, Chul-Soo.’”

Sae-Rin’s words were the cue. As per the agreement, Jin-Hyeok took a step forward instead and said, “No.”

He lifted the Rule Breaker. Currently, the stream was showing the scene from the perspective of a third-person drone view. Chul-Soo looked like a mere fly standing alone against a tsunami.

“If I retreat here?” Jin-Hyeok did not explain further. Being too emotionally dramatic could be overdoing it. Instead, Jin-Hyeok let the viewers imagine, and they were moved by their conclusions.

-Chul-Soo has already witnessed numerous civilian casualties.

-He can’t just stand by and watch more civilian harm.

-Chul-Soo: If I retreat here, what about the city of civilians behind me? That’s why I can’t retreat. Even if I can’t fight them by myself.

-In intense places, one must be intense. —The IntenseMan.

-I’m touched! ^.~

Chul-Soo pulled out a golden card. It was the Mythic-Grade Card. For added flair, it had been slightly upgraded by Katrina of the jewelry workshop, using gold thread. The upgrade cost a whopping three hundred million Dias. It didn’t improve the functionality of the card; it just made the card prettier.

“I need to stop this.”

Grandel was pleased with Chul-Soo’s desperation. He extended his hand and commanded the army of the Mountain Madmen. “Charge, my army! Bring him to me. Do not kill him.”

Simultaneously, Sae-Rin said, “Chul-Soo, activate Broadcaster’s Barrier.”

Chul-Soo deployed Broadcaster’s Barrier with all his might. “Fire the Babylon Cannon.”

Far away, a thick beam of plasma laser shot out. It was the Babylon Cannon, known as the strongest firepower in battles where one individual had to defend against an army.

***

Lee Hyeon-Seong, who had earned the nickname Weak Anus Destroyer, was somewhat dissatisfied. “Why do we have to follow Chul-Soo’s orders?”

“For the public good,” Maria answered.

Convinced by the mention of ‘public good,’ Hyeon-Seong eventually agreed.

Maria continued, “And don’t forget that Chul-Soo is practically the real owner of the MK Foundation. We have the privilege of receiving full support from the VIPs of the Trinity Club because of Chul-Soo’s help. It is rare to get this much support so easily in any Server.”

“I know that... But I was just worried it might be too dangerous for Shin Yu-Ri.”

“Don’t worry. The Wood King will be dispatched to protect Yu-Ri.”

“Wood King?”

They had assigned Mok Jae-Hyeon to protect Yu-Ri.

Yu-Ri smiled. “Hyeon-Seong, don’t worry. I am happy to have a chance to shine.”

“...okay.” Hyeon-Seong could not directly look at Yu-Ri’s face. Whenever he saw Yu-Ri, his heart raced and his face felt hot. The thought of Yu-Ri being involved in a dangerous operation made him a bit worried.

“Thank you for worrying about me,” Yu-Ri said.

“...It’s nothing.”

The very act of talking to Yu-Ri was overwhelming for Hyeon-Seong. That made him even more frustrated.

‘Why does Yu-Ri even like that crazy guy? Chul-Soo is a madman!’

Although Yu-Ri had never directly said she liked Chul-Soo, it was clear to Hyeon-Seong, who liked her. She definitely had feelings for Chul-Soo, whether she thought of him as a mentor, a benefactor, or a romantic interest. In any case, Hyeon-Seong was incredibly jealous.

‘Hmph! I will just have to become stronger! Then she would notice me, not Chul-Soo.’

Hyeon-Seong decided to shed his weak and ridiculous nickname of Weak Anus Destroyer. With a firm resolve, he muttered to himself.

‘I will become the Powerful Anus Destroyer!’

***

Babylon Cannon was the ultimate weapon of the artillery Yu-Ri had handled. When she used it, she transformed into a giant cannon, capable of firing a shot with tremendous destructive power. Before Jin-Hyeok’s regression, this ability had made Yu-Ri, who led the Demigod Alliance, notorious as one of the worst villains.

Jin-Hyeok attached a link to a video he had previously livestreamed.

[“This violent Skill is perfected through a combination with a superior defensive-type Mystery.”]

Yu-Ri’s defensive Mystery, the Iron Dome, and her offensive ability, the Wrath of Nemesis. The combination of these two realized the walking siege weapon, Babylon Cannon. The Babylon Cannon was so formidable that it devastated the area it targeted.

A hazy cloud of dust rose. It seemed that the attack had torn the skin of the seemingly robust Mountain Madmen, and some even bled, but none were killed.

“Hmph! Chul-Soo, I have analyzed how you stopped the Ant Queen,” Grandel said.

When summoning the Mountain Madmen, Grandel had paid special attention to resistance against artillery attacks. Although the monsters’ attack power was slightly weakened due to him increasing their resistance to artillery attacks, it did not matter to Grandel. This was enough to conquer the Earth Server.

“Your artillery attacks are powerful but have a long cooldown and lack precision!”

The Mountain Madmen began to spread out, slowly encircling Chul-Soo.

“Even if another artillery attack comes, it won’t matter. By then, I will have already swallowed you!” Grandel looked toward Sae-Rin and sneered. “It seems that you have transitioned to a Ruler.”

“...”

“I was just like you when I thought I was smarter than anyone else, Playing at the top of their heads.”

“...”

“Bad luck for you. If it were a few years, no, a few months later, the situation might have been different. But you are too much of a rookie, and the limits of a rookie Ruler are clear!”

Sae-Rin bit her lip. Although it was intentional from her, Grandel, intoxicated with a sense of victory, just giggled.

Sae-Rin signaled Jin-Hyeok

‘Now’s the time.’

This was the true beginning.

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