Chapter 262 — Reverse City (14)
Perhaps because he had just been facing off against the boss entity—Deus, he couldn't find words in response to the ridiculous atmosphere they were generating.
On one side, the future of the entire virtual reality was being discussed, while on the other, cody-laced personal broadcasts were underway—he had no choice but to feel that way.
You could say the sense of disconnect he had felt early on from individual broadcasters facing the Steel Legion without knowing any of the circumstances behind it all ca across even more deeply now.
'···Still, this is better, I suppose.'
But such an impression did not last long.
Whatever he might say about it, Baek Woohyun felt that the outward appearance of laughing it off lightly like this was better than the heavy and bitter inside story.
Wasn't that the very reason he had crossed over from 'that side' to 'this side' in the first place? Even if he had ended up logging back into 'Reverse Planet' in the end.
In that sense, he thought he ought to get along better with those people from here on.
The backstory tangled up with Isaac and Deus, along with 'Reverse Planet,' was a matter unto itself, but he also had to keep in mind the ti after everything had passed and concluded.
He was saying he would treat the very act of mingling with individual broadcasters as rehabilitation practice—a way to stay rooted in a peaceful everyday life.
'In order to do that—'
A suitable plan soon took shape in Baek Woohyun's mind.
He could hash it out with Jeong Nayeon and the other 'Reverse City' operators with a bit of discussion.
He figured she would probably not refuse. Hero 'Star Rain' had her activities restricted for the ti being, just the sa as Villain 'The End.'
'Well, let keep an eye on that side first.'
"The boss mob appeared———!"
-Well, it appeared quite a while ago actually lol
-Hm? But why is it coming out now?
-It was up there fighting Hackphysical
-That's not Hackphysical. That's Villain The End
"What, the boss mob? Where?!"
"Looks like it's heading toward where the common mobs are gathering!"
The boss entity—Deus, who had rallied every Steel Legion unit from the surrounding area as well as other zones, was spotted by the individual broadcasters in an instant.
It was an entirely natural outco: not only was it far larger in build than ordinary or higher-ranking units, but it was flying prominently through the sky and commanding subordinates.
It also helped that the Steel Legion units they had been facing had withdrawn per the boss entity—Deus's orders, giving the individual broadcasters so breathing room.
Like that, the individual broadcasters who had spotted the boss entity—Deus gradually converged on one place. Even those who had been guarding other zones were no exception.
There was not a single person who didn't know that towards the end of events of this kind, a boss raid tended to unfold alongside a large-scale battle.
Since the Steel Legion units they had been facing were moving under orders anyway, eliminating the need to hold their positions, their movent was quite natural.
Kiing.
"···Hm?"
There were individual broadcasters who noticed ordinary units occasionally flying off sowhere one by one, but they only cocked their heads to the side without taking particular action.
In terms of atmosphere, a final showdown against the boss entity was about to get underway, and there was no room to spare attention elsewhere.
The fact that there were only a handful of them at most was also a factor.
[······.]
""······.""
-It's ti for the boss fight!
-Seeing everyone gathered all together, there really are a lot of them
-The fact that even more people are supposedly coming in the future is legendary
-If that happens, just gathering and fighting would already crush all the other content
The Steel Legion and 'Reverse City's' individual broadcasters facing each other in a heavy silence.
With nearly a thousand people combined on both sides, viewer admiration followed. It was not easy to see a scene where this many people gathered in one place.
Even the fact that everyone aside from the Steel Legion was an individual broadcaster brought joy to the viewers.
[Steel Legion, attack!]
"Let's gooooo———!"
""Uwoooooo!""
Kwagwagwagwang—!
The battle that unfolded at last was indeed spectacular, befitting a final showdown.
Just imagine the scale of the supernatural ability techniques unleashed all at once by hundreds of heroes and villains. Flas surged, winds raged, and the earth heaved.
The firepower of the neutral faction, ard with firearms, was no less impressive. Amid a hail of bullets, explosives detonated ceaselessly.
And that wasn't all—the Steel Legion side, while modest in terms of offense, more than made up for it with the ferocity of their explosions when destroyed. Each was fiercer than most supernatural ability techniques.
Not only did they blow everything within a radius of several ters into oblivion, but even those farther away were knocked down by the shockwave—no further description of their destructive power was needed.
So much so that so on the 'Reverse City' side were even focusing on pushing them back rather than eliminating them.
Kiing!
Kwaaang—!
"Keep pressing forward!" "Just a little more, let's go! We're almost done!"
"They're not sending any more out!"
-The enemy is starting to run short on numbers
-Looks like no reinforcents
-Oh, did we get them?
-Voodoo activated imdiately
"Ammunition delivery! Co and get it!"
"Anyone in need of treatnt!"
"Any chance I could get a revival?!"
What had appeared at first glance to be an evenly matched battle gradually tilted toward the 'Reverse City' Alliance side as ti passed.
Unlike the Steel Legion, whose total unit count was fixed, the 'Reverse City' Alliance mbers could receive treatnt and return to the field imdiately even if they fell.
Even if they died instantly on the spot, after so ti had passed they could co back to life with the revival cost tacked on as debt.
It eventually reached the point where the 'Reverse City' Alliance, in turn, was pushing back with sheer numbers against the Steel Legion that had been pushing with sheer numbers.
The Steel Legion's unit count had fallen to less than half of what it was at the start of the battle, while the 'Reverse City' Alliance had only lost about twenty percent.
And even that number kept returning to the battlefield one after another, having revived with debt attached.
[Steel Legion, provide support!]
[Steel Legion, provide support!]
Kiiing—!
It was at precisely that mont that the boss entity—Deus, who had been commanding the Steel Legion, entered the fray.
From the boss monster that stepped forward with a sound of movent clearly on a different level from other units, an intense sense of pressure overflowed.
Even the damage sustained here and there through its battle with Baek Woohyun looked like battle scars worn by a seasoned warrior.
"The boss is moving!"
"How about those of us who are confident in their abilities step up and hold it off?"
"For now, I don't think that's !" "I'll make a special exception to yield this ti!"
-Yielding this one ti, as if lol
-If you think it's you, co out
-What if we all just gang up on it together?
-For real, there's no party size limit, so why bother going out in small groups
"Good grief, I suppose I have no choice but to step up here!"
"H e r o a p p e a r a n c e!"
"Saying 'hero appearance' yourself is a bit···."
Against the boss entity—Deus, the 'Reverse City' Alliance reached for the traditional approach to major boss monster fights from 'Reverse Planet' and various other gas.
To put it simply, those among the hundreds who were confident in their abilities began launching a coordinated attack on the boss entity—Deus outright.
They knew all too well that taking down a boss monster in a one-on-one fight was only possible for a monster like Baek Woohyun.
"······."
"···Will it be alright?"
Jeong Nayeon, who had at so point approached Baek Woohyun as he watched all of it standing on the rooftop railing of the Villain Alliance building, posed the question.
She seed genuinely uneasy about the combat ability of the boss entity—Deus, which had put up a reasonably even fight against Baek Woohyun—though it had been driven off in the end.
All you had to do was look at the way she was drawing her supernatural ability to its fullest, as if ready to intervene quickly should things turn badly.
"It'll be fine."
Baek Woohyun answered Jeong Nayeon, who was showing her unease, in a calm tone. It was a tone imbued with certainty that there would absolutely be no problem whatsoever.
And for good reason—the boss entity was under Deus's control, and Deus would never ruin 'Reverse City,' which he considered Baek Woohyun's hobby.
Therefore, her worry was pointless. The boss entity—Deus would find the right timing, be defeated by the 'Reverse City' Alliance, and make its exit.
[······!]
Kii, ing!
"Now! [Devouring Despair]!"
"[Wrath of the Storm God]!" "[Thousand Bolts of Lightning]!"
Kwaaaang———!
Baek Woohyun's prediction was exactly right.
The boss entity—Deus, which had fought on desperately while sacrificing even its own Steel Legion units, was swept away not long after by the 'Reverse City' Alliance's onslaught.
An explosion on a completely different level than ordinary and higher-ranking units—fitting for its correspondingly different sound of movent—erupted, and all that remained at the end was nothing but iron scrap.
The 'Reverse City' Alliance had at last seized victory against the Steel Legion.
[Notice] The [Steel Legion Invasion] event has ended
"···! We won! Uwaaaa!"
""Waaaaa———!""
-Hell yeahhh lol
-Thought we were going to lose when the Villain Alliance started trolling at the beginning
-For real lol, I thought they were going to get steamrolled
-Honestly, Hackphysical stepping in was a cheat key lol
When the notice that the [Steel Legion Invasion] event had ended was announced, the 'Reverse City' Alliance let out a roar of cheering.
In this mont of being drunk on victory, distinctions like hero or villain or neutral faction did not exist. There were only comrades who had fought together against a great enemy.
Tomorrow, once the imrsion wore off, they would scatter again by faction—but at least for now, that was how it was.
'ㅇㅇ' has donated 1,000 won!
[FYI: these people now have to pay off the debt they accumulated during the battle]
-Whoa, is that for real?
-The city will cover it lol ···right?
-They used the Hackphysical card once in the middle, so apparently not
-aning the revival costs are all debt too
······Perhaps the ti when they scattered by faction would arrive sooner than expected.
Giving everything to protect the city was giving everything—but the debt that had to be repaid as a result of that still had to be repaid regardless.
"Still, for a sudden event, this wrapped up pretty well!"
"Yeah. It did."
As Jeong Nayeon said, the [Steel Legion Invasion] event was certainly quite good. Even if the developnt wasn't smooth, the result was clearly good. Even more so when you looked at things internally in finer detail.
'Reverse City' was structured with the Hero Association vs the Villain Alliance, with their support factions and the neutral faction layered on top. It was a server that ran on two major factions clashing over every little thing.
As a result, even while knowing that the rivalry between factions was scripted WWE-style, people occasionally got into genuine argunts. That was inevitable as long as all the participants were people.
This event had perfectly sealed those hairline cracks. By joining forces against a powerful external enemy and defending the city together, it had completely filled in emotional rifts that might otherwise have deepened.
The possibility of real fights born from over-imrsion had been fully suppressed right at the sprouting stage. In the process, there were even what you'd call iTube monts—entertaining scenes.
Even the community's reaction was extrely positive. 'Reverse City's' buzz was already through the roof, and on top of that, the Steel Legion—which was openly related to 'Reverse Planet'—had made an appearance.
✪ Brain Speculation) The Steel Legion this seems like a plot hook to
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