Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 89

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 89

The shift became apparent when they discovered no one at the third Base Point they reached.
An empty Base Point. Silent surroundings.
They weren’t preparing an ambush—which meant they’d clearly retreated. It was as expected.
There was no way ordinary players could win against them.
But instinct whispered that something was wrong.
“Hmm. Let’s take the point first.”
They moved into the Base Point.
The red border marking the Base Point’s boundary shifted to violet.
“Here we are, three against one, and this is what we’re doing. Unbelievable.”
Cheon Sal Seong muttered dryly.
The red icon marking the distant Base Point changed to violet as well.
It wasn’t following the standard game rules, and the odd progression felt strange.
“Should we camp here?”
“No. We should grab the Objects too.”
Objects meant special things in the game—essential ones like Base Points and Fortresses, but also mundane things like animals scattered across the map.
Hunting such animal Objects or capturing hidden informants scattered throughout the map awarded a certain amount of Experience, though not as much as defeating soldiers in the Center.
What they needed to do now was reach level 6 as quickly as possible and settle the match.
“They don’t seem likely to come retake the point. Since there’s no reason to hold it defensively, we might as well gather what we can.”
Usually, they never got the chance to grab minor Objects.
They were too busy fighting enemies who came to seize the Base Point. Who had time for that?
“But why is this happening?”
Han Pun Man stared at the Fortress’s health bar.

[Blue: 588] vs [Red: 1,000]

Considering how rapidly it was being whittled down just moments before, it wouldn’t be strange if it had dropped to the 510s. Yet the momentum had broken, and the health remained surprisingly intact.
Had they taken a Base Point and recovered 100 health when they were at 488?
The 100 health lost when claiming a point didn’t inflict permanent damage.
If they reclaimed it, the previously lost health would recover.
Han Pun Man checked to see if they’d taken any Base Points.
Base Points A and B were still violet—still being claimed.
“What?”
Clearly Seo Jun had charged straight into the Center to open up the gap.
Surely…
“Were those soldiers just bait to draw us out?”
He hadn’t ruled out the possibility, but the streamer usually played Territory Control Battles so carelessly.
Though…
He hadn’t expected Seo Jun to suddenly activate a different stat during the duel either.
So he actually enjoyed psychological warfare?
Han Pun Man regretted underestimating his opponent and scanned the forest ahead from inside the Base Point.
Beneath the dense green canopy lay shadows.
He couldn’t see anything, but it felt like a predator was waiting in those shadows for the hunt.
“Hey. I don’t think Seo Jun is at the Center right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’ll be here soon. Get ready.”
The icon indicating the Base Point’s claim continued to spin.
The claim would be complete in ten seconds.
He would definitely intercept it, which meant the confrontation with Seo Jun was only seconds away.
What should they do next?
He’d only thought about the simple path: reach level 6 and engage. But if the opponent was coming at them like this, there was no choice but to play psychological games.
Maybe they should have stuck together from the start.
Things had gotten complicated.
“He’s coming.”
As expected.
Just as the Base Point’s claim was about to complete, a player appeared with his hands clasped behind his back.
And he even had the atmosphere locked down.
Insane.

[Seo Jun14]

Now he was an opponent who even forced strategy.

* * *

[Claiming Base Point A]
[Enemy Fortress Health –100]

[Blue: 784] vs [Red: 799]

Nam Goong Se Ga Jeom So I easily claimed the empty Base Point A.
The opponent seemed to have eliminated one of his teammates and withdrawn.
“Other than Seo Jun, what level are the other players in this game?”
To set a proper benchmark, he’d need to know the Contribution Scores of all eight players in the game, but ordinary players had no way of checking that.
“Should I grab some Objects?”
Han Pun Man usually took orders well when they were given like this, but during combat the standard was to act independently based on the situation.
He turned to face the forest ahead to gather additional Experience.
But then…
“Why isn’t that Base Point changing?”
The violet icon of Base Point B—he remembered it had turned violet before this one.
Had the opponent not withdrawn from that side?
The team chat held only one message left by Han Pun Man.

-Seo Jun. Be careful.

“What’s this?”
Did Seo Jun go to Base Point B?
He immediately checked the Fortress’s health.
Seeing the Fortress’s health, he realized his team had claimed Base Point B as well.
The enemy Fortress had taken 200 damage—that meant a Base Point had been captured.
So the reason Base Point B was still violet was that a fight was happening to retake it.
And seeing it consistently lose 5 health per second meant someone was at the Center as well.
If Seo Jun had gone to Base Point B, then now was the chance to go to the Center and kill soldiers.
But if he went to the Center and Seo Jun was there, and a hiding player retook the Base Point, that would be a loss.
It was a genuinely awkward situation.
“But the result should come quickly anyway.”
He headed toward the forest path connecting Base Points A and C.
For now, the easiest thing was to react based on what he saw.
If Base Point A changed, he’d go back. If Seo Jun had gone to Base Point B, then he’d time it right…

-Seo Jun wait—
-OK going to C

So it was true after all.
Indeed, what ordinary player would challenge for the Base Point against two rankers?
He could see traces of Cheon Sal Seong frantically tapping the virtual keyboard during combat.
He quickened his pace toward the Center.
‘Why didn’t I think of Seo Jun going for the cut?’
Probably.
Because that streamer had relied entirely on his physical ability and just charged in recklessly until now?
Regardless, he made the optimal judgment he could at this moment.
If you can’t prepare, then adapt well—that’s enough.
‘There’s probably just an ordinary player at the Center.’
As he left the forest path and entered the open ground, he saw an enemy player processing soldiers.
And simultaneously.
The color of Base Point A behind him changed from blue to violet.
Someone was attempting to claim the Base Point.
‘I figured there’d be someone hiding near Base Point A. So I just need to dispatch this Center player quickly.’
But as he drew his sword and approached, the opponent simply turned and fled.
He returned to the Base Point beside the Center with a dissatisfied expression.
“I’m taking this Base Point, yeah?”
The distant enemy nodded and gave a thumbs up, and he scratched his head awkwardly.
They’d lost Base Point A and now held Base Point C.

[Claiming Base Point C]
[Enemy Fortress Health –100]

[Blue: 746] vs [Red: 784]

Currently, the enemy held 1 Base Point while they held 2, so maintaining the status quo was already an advantage.
However, that enemy player who’d been killing soldiers at the Center was still a factor, so until now things had been roughly even. But that was just shut down.
Experience went hand in hand with Fortress health. If they could just drag out the time, they’d find themselves in a winning position.
His teammate seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
He began eliminating soldiers.
Then an alert sounded.

[Seo Jun14 → Han Pun Man]

He was startled at how quickly news of his teammate’s defeat reached him.
And now free from death, Han Pun Man left him a message.

-Cheon Sal Seong still up, so kill soldiers quick

Seconds later, another alert appeared.

[Seo Jun14 → Cheon Sal Seong]

Not still up anymore.

-Damn he’s strong can barely hold on
-Seemed like he took the point on purpose then made us choose to fight instead of run

Base Point B would be lost.
If Seo Jun now headed for the Center?
“I’d better get back to Base Point A.”
If he got caught here, the enemy could activate all 3 Base Points again.

-Nam Goong go to A quick there’s another player at B and Seo Jun just left

He barely eliminated a couple of soldiers before he had to turn back.

-OK heading back

* * *

The Orthodox Faction’s Fortress.
“Got hit with the split move. Smart thinking.”
With only one opponent, they’d threatened both Base Point A and B simultaneously.
If they’d predicted Seo Jun would come to Base Point B, they could have sent one player to each location and secured the advantage.
“I underestimated them.”
But the game wasn’t over yet.
“That’s right.”

[Blue: 498] vs [Red: 976]

Currently, the enemy held all 3 Base Points, and Nam Goong Se Ga Jeom So I was back at Base Point A, attempting to reclaim it.
In a word: disadvantageous.
Reaching level 6 had turned out to be this difficult.
What should they do next?
Han Pun Man’s mind raced, but no viable strategy came to mind.
After all, they’d never actually strategized or played a game assuming they’d automatically beat one ranker while facing three others.
They should have imagined this scenario at some point.
‘Yet he’s still toying with us.’
The man was sharp.
He wondered if this had been premeditated.
“We need to regroup.”
“Right. Let’s aim to safely reach level 6. Seo Jun seems to be stopping us from doing that anyway. He even set Traps.”
Traps.
From the moment he first watched Seo Jun stubbornly hunting soldiers, he’d already fallen into the Trap.
“Then let’s head to Base Point A… Wait.”
As Han Pun Man continued monitoring the Fortress’s health, he felt both confusion and unease coursing through him.
Their Fortress health was decreasing far too slowly.
Nam Goong had arrived at Base Point A, so Seo Jun should have reached the Center too.

[Blue: 623] vs [Red: 876]

Surely not.
Han Pun Man turned to look at Cheon Sal Seong with an ominous expression.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“I think we’ve been had.”
“How do you mean?”
Most likely.
Seo Jun hadn’t gone to the Center.
Instead, he was heading here directly from Base Point B.
Because.
Thinking it through, even he would have done the same.
“Blocking the Entrance.”
He began murmuring to himself.
“When we respawn outside the Fortress, we get 3 seconds of Invincibility, right? We can’t run backward either…”
“What does that even—”
Then Han Pun Man exploded in frustration.
“Ah… this guy plays the game like a jewel, for real!”
The Cheon Ma Divine Art.
Nerf the damage and movement speed, please.

* * *

-How much INT did you pump into this?? lol
-Nah this guy reading the angles against rankers lol so sick
-The Future-Seeing Boy!
-Zhuge Seo Jun is insane
-Zhuge Seo Jun ㅇㅈㄹlol

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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