[Alley Leader’s Marathon Experience (feat. Battle Royale)]

Hyeonu’s stream title was the most appropriate representation of the current situation. Currently, Hyeonu could barely accept his situation.

‘Monsters.’

The emperor and Lebron took slow and light steps like they were walking. Yet every time the two of them took a step, they moved dozens of meters. Hyeonu summoned Tang-E and used the buffs to chase the two men.

‘What type of war is this?’

Of course, it was a war. However, his opponents were the emperor and Lebron, not the demons and demonic creatures. He had to run if he didn’t want to lose the two people.

-This is the main scenario, right?

-Is it like a hidden camera?

-Why keep running?

-Since the NPCs are running, the players are also running. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

The viewers laughed at the rare skit of thousands of rankers running around. People who didn’t know what was going on were busy laughing after finding out the details.

-So why is it a battle royale?

-Why? Just take a moment to look.

-Look at the demonic creatures over there.

-What demonic creatures?

-You will know once you see it.

At this moment, a group of demonic creatures appeared. The demonic creatures attacked the rear of the gathered players. Apart from those forced to fight the demonic creatures, the other players continued to chase the emperor and Lebron.

-Do you see?

-This is a battle royale.

-If you are in the back, you will fall behind.

-Forced to fall behindㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ.

-This is why the streaming title is called battle royale.

‘Still, there isn’t much time left.’

Hyeonu pulled out Baler’s map from the inventory and opened it. The map displayed his current location in white.

‘It will take around an hour to reach Penn.’

The result of running for more than half a day meant they were able to reach the vicinity of Penn in 15 days. It was six days shorter than the expected three weeks. Of course, this was the result of running without a break.

‘If this were in reality, I would have no feet left.’

Hyeonu had an absurd imagination. It would’ve been impossible to come all the way here without these thoughts. The others had many friends and colleagues to talk to, but Hyeonu only had Lebron and the emperor.

‘I would rather do this alone than talk to those two.’

The two people weren’t suitable for conversation at all. It was inconvenient. He didn’t feel comfortable with them, so he was unable to speak properly. Naturally, Hyeonu just shut up. Thus, the three of them rarely talked while they ran. The emperor opened his mouth that had been firmly closed and said, “There isn’t long left.”

"Is that so? If I have to live like this for a few more months... I really have no confidence in your estimate, Your Majesty,” Lebron grumbled. It was like he'd forgotten he was in front of the emperor.

“Then you can go back. When did you ever only move with my permission?” The emperor imposed no restraints on Lebron’s actions.

“How can I leave Your Majesty alone in a dangerous place? The nobles of the empire might want to eat me alive if they find out.”

“Who would blame Duke Lebron, the best swordsman of the empire? If they don’t want their territory to become a ruin overnight, everyone will shut their mouths.”

The emperor was right. None of the nobles could raise their voices before Lebron.

“I swung my sword so lightly as a young man... How could anyone be scared of me?"

"On the day when the Knights of Keon came for them, they were all wiped out, without even ants left in their family...” The emperor once again spoke about destruction.

“Isn’t that because Your Majesty told me to do it? I have been wronged. Everything was for the empire.”

Lebron felt wronged. Why did he see blood as he roamed the continent? It was all because the emperor ordered him to cut off the rotten parts of the empire.

“Me? I don’t remember... I’m getting older too.” The emperor shook his head as if he had never heard of it.

Seeing this, Lebron's hands trembled.

‘The nobles aren’t afraid of the emperor...?’ Hyeonu wondered inwardly. At first glance, it was hard to understand. However, Hyeonu soon figured out what the situation was like.

‘The emperor should show tolerance, but Lebron doesn’t need to.’

The emperor was literally the emperor, the ruler of the empire. Many things were required of him. Among them was the need for tolerance. He couldn’t always go out in an upright manner. Sometimes, it was necessary for a gentle embrace. The nobles believed this and occasionally lent a helping hand to the emperor. Of course, it was within a very limited range.

Meanwhile, Lebron was the sword of the empire; he had to wield his sword. Moreover, he was a duke. A duke was below only one person and stood above 10,000 people. No one dared to say anything to Lebron unless it was the emperor.

Just then, Hyeonu pointed at the walls in the distance and said, “I can see the city walls over there. I think we need to slowly stop and organize the battle lines, Your Majesty.”

“I’ll do so.” The emperor abruptly stopped moving.

Naturally, Lebron beside him also stopped walking. Hyeonu, who was behind the two men, also stopped. The three of them were able to stop naturally. It was a different story for those running behind them. In particular, the further behind they were, the harder it was for them to stop.

"Aaaack!"

“Crazy!”

“Don’t push!”

This was pandemonium. It wasn’t the demonic creatures and demons threatening the rankers but themselves. They hit each other and rolled onto the ground.

-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ What is this?

-This is the danger of an emergency stop.

-Is this how Alley Leader is getting rid of them without any effort?

-The competitors are rolling on the ground~

This sight was conveyed to the viewers through Hyeonu’s live stream, and they laughed at the rankers. The scene was too ridiculous.

-However, he seems very close to the emperor and Duke Lebron.

-He is speaking formally, but it is almost like talking informally.

-I thought the atmosphere was horrible, but it wasn’t the case.

The viewers quickly shifted their attention from the rankers to the emperor and Lebron. It was natural since they were NPCs that were rarely met or were close to impossible to meet.

“Tsk... They can’t even control their bodies...” Lebron clicked his tongue when he saw the players tangled up together.

He was like a person who thought he hadn't done anything wrong. Hyeonu looked at the city walls and carefully asked the emperor, who showed no signs of action, “Your Majesty, are you going to battle personally?”

“If I go... wouldn’t they dislike it?” The emperor turned and looked at Hyeonu.

“I think it is likely. There will be less things they can obtain. They might feel it isn’t worth the time it took to get here.” Hyeonu’s word were closer to a fact than a guess.

Penn would be destroyed the moment the emperor stepped out.

Damanos, who wasn’t weak among the demon kings, had knelt down in front of the emperor without being able to resist.

‘It will just be a massacre.’

How could Penn resist the emperor when it didn’t even have a noble?

“The emperor shouldn’t handle everything just because he is capable. It is the emperor’s role to create capable people. Right, Marquis Gang Hyeonu?” The emperor smiled.

Hyeonu got chills when he saw the smile, but he remained calm on the outside.

‘Uwah.’

“I’ll keep it in mind, Your Majesty.”

As Hyeonu and the emperor were talking, the scene of the accident became organized to some extent. The priests of each guild came out and cast treatment magic. Then they took their original formation again. In addition, those who were left behind in the middle started to catch up in succession.

-From Gang Junggu: Hyeonu, it is over. We’ve all arrived.

-To Gang Junggu: I understand, Hyung-nim. The battle will begin soon, so please be prepared.

-From Gang Junggu: Yes, don’t worry. I’ll do well on my own.

After hearing from Gang Junggu that all the players participating in the main scenario had gathered, Hyeonu approached the emperor. He told the latter, “Your Majesty, the adventurers are all ready.”

The emperor closed his eyes and slowly turned away.

“All adventurers, listen up.” The emperor’s voice resonated through the area. “This is a test. Cross the walls in front of you and prove that you deserve to be part of the expedition representing the empire.”

The moment the emperor’s words ended, the same message window appeared in front of thousands of players. A quest was created.

[Prove Your Qualifications]

[Capture Penn, the first demon world city. The noble that governs the city is absent from Penn.

Rating: MS

Conditions: Occupy Penn 0/1, kill the demonic creatures 0/???, kill the demons 0/???.

Rewards: Experience, imperial contributions, the acknowledgment of the emperor (in case of failure, you can no longer participate in the main scenario).]

Murmurs started to flow among the players who checked the contents of the quest window.

“It is over if we fail?”

“We don’t even know how many monsters there are?”

“However, there are no nobles. It is just a tough hunt without any boss monsters.”

At first, they panicked, but they soon regained their calmness. The absence of a noble—this sounded like a boss monster wouldn’t appear. It meant there would be no monsters strong enough to threaten them. In other words, it was a quest that could be completed without much difficulty if they fought while distributing their magic power properly.

“Please gather all the guild masters!” a man shouted loudly.

Then people in colorful clothing gathered beside him. At one glance, it appeared they numbered over a hundred. The gathered people made a small circle.

“As you can see from the quest window, cooperation is needed this time. It is all over if it fails. If we leave the emperor’s sight... It isn’t just the imperial contributions we’ve built up so far; we might also be at risk.” The man called for a temporary ceasefire.

Of course, there had never been an open fight during the main scenario, but everyone knew there was a strange atmosphere here. It was even weirder not to know because they acted like they would fight right away just by looking into each other’s eyes.

“I’m not stupid. I can tell this much.”

“Tell me if you want to fight. I will end it here before going. I can’t let my back be uncomfortable.”

"Instead, the surviving side will have to fight us too. I don’t need fools who can’t tell the time and place.”

Several of the gathered guild masters spoke boldly. They had something in common. They had a personality that could be called hot-tempered or reckless, and they were better at PvP than anyone else.

At their peak was Kim Seokjung.

“Since we’ve all agreed, let’s come up with a strategy to attack Penn. I hope everyone remembers one thing. Any action comes with a responsibility.” Kim Seokjung left these words and returned to the place where the New World members were gathered.

The moment Kim Seokjung left, all the other guild leaders returned to where their guild members were and started to work. Moments later, thousands of players started running toward Penn at the same time to clear the emperor’s quest. However, Hyeonu stayed motionless beside the emperor and Lebron. He just watched the rest of the players.

-By the way, why isn’t Alley Leader going?

The viewers saw it and questioned Hyeonu. He could get huge rewards if he moved. So why wasn’t he moving?

‘There is no boss monster.’

He would only be able to get rewards for small fries.

‘I need to rest at times like this.’

“It is a moderate concession. If I have to do everything from A to Z... wouldn’t it be too unfair?” A nice smile appeared on Hyeonu’s face.