The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 174

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

Episode 174
174
It wasn’t just Kaiser who sensed something amiss.
The executives gathered around Kaiser, particularly Raigan and Valen, approached and asked.
“Something feels off.”
“Jin-woo hasn’t appeared, and among those called Rankers, there are some we don’t recognize.”
Raigan and Valen spoke.
Ren, a Warrior-class fighter who had approached alongside them, and Kan, a Demon Lord-class fighter, both nodded in agreement.
They concurred as well.
Most importantly.
“Even without this user Jin-woo, they possess an inexplicable composure.”
“…It’s possible he’s hiding.”
Kaiser nodded at Kan and Ren’s words.
After all, hidden trump cards were meant to stay concealed.
Just because Jin-woo was absent didn’t mean he would lower his guard.
However.
“Holding back until he reveals himself would be foolish.”
Whether Jin-woo appeared or not, annihilating them was inevitable.
That’s what a Guild War was.
Either everyone dies or they surrender.
One or the other.
Usually, most surrendered the moment the tide turned against them.
Kaiser believed these opponents would be different.
“Jin-woo will probably appear after all the vanguard guilds are wiped out.”
That was Kaiser’s prediction.
No matter how he thought about it, no other answer emerged.
It was essentially checkmate.
If Jin-woo was hiding, Kaiser’s legion couldn’t exert their full strength until he appeared.
Jin-woo was their greatest asset.
Conserving strength until Jin-woo emerged was only natural.
But holding back would certainly result in losses against the opposing forces.
When Jin-woo finally appeared, insufficient strength could lead to defeat at his hands.
Kaiser realized this and bit his lip.
As he’d said before, holding back was foolish.
He decided to commit his full strength from the start.
Whether he held back or not, they were bound to lose anyway.
In that case…
‘It’s better to commit everything and make it impossible for them to hide.’
Kaiser’s strategy was sound.
A hidden secret weapon?
The key is forcing him to deploy his secret weapons before exhausting his strength.
The fact that I’ve already fallen for it here is a considerable blow.
There’s no way around it.
A strategy where you know what’s coming but can’t avoid it anyway.
Jin-woo truly is one of the most formidable strategists.
I felt it during the tournament before as well.
Kaiser felt a chill run down his spine and shook his head.
What good would it do to feel fear toward the enemy now?
I must remain as calm as possible.
Neither excitement nor tension can be excessive.
A single mistake could mean defeat.
I must never forget that.
No matter how well I’ve prepared, Jin-woo is no easy opponent.
Kaiser steeled himself mentally.
Signs appeared that the Guild War would begin shortly.
“All executives, step forward.”
At Kaiser’s command, over fifty executives emerged.
Every last one of them granted a Hidden Class.
All combat specialists with considerable skill.
A 1,000 versus 1,000 Guild War.
This was the most striking display of military strength.
The Kaiser Alliance began their movements.
The other side started moving as well.
Approximately thirty stepped forward at the vanguard.
Fewer than the Kaiser Alliance’s numbers, yet Kaiser couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
‘This is absurd.’
The Kaiser Alliance had a total of one million members.
From those, they’d selected Hidden Classes, producing these fifty or so.
Yet the other side also has nearly thirty Hidden Classes?
How is that possible?
By the Kaiser Alliance’s ratio, one Hidden Class emerged per twenty thousand members.
That would mean the opposing alliance had over six hundred thousand members?
That’s impossible.
According to Kaiser’s intelligence, their numbers were merely thirty thousand.
Which means…
“It seems the Hidden Class ratio among the joining rankers was quite high.”
“….”
At Raigan’s words, Kaiser simply nodded.
We won’t be overwhelmed, but the frustration remains the same.
I thought we’d have overwhelming superiority once Jin-woo was excluded.
Yet upon closer inspection, the difference wasn’t as stark as expected.
Moreover, they were all Rankers.
In contrast, among the fifty-odd Hidden Classes here, not all were Rankers.
“But that’s fine.”
At Kaiser’s words, everyone nodded in agreement.
And then, a golden wave of energy emanated from Kaiser.
“Blessing of the Battlefield, Roar of the Entire Body, Ferocity of War, Aurora of Victory.”
Four buffs in total.
These weren’t buffs that spread only to the executives nearby.
They were buffs that affected all allied forces participating in the war.
This alone was absurdly powerful, but the effect transcended the absurd—it possessed a force that could only inspire awe.
Those receiving at least a 1.5-fold buff effect let out a roar.
“Uuuaaaaaaah!”
“Woooooaaaaaah!”
“Kuhahahaha! Let’s kill them all!”
“Slaughter them!”
“There’s no way we lose with this!”
“Bring Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol here now!”
A tremendous roar, as if everyone had become berserkers, echoed throughout the entire Guild War Arena.
It was an overwhelming cry.
The opposing Han-sung and Barmon Alliance, however, remained unmoved, gripping their weapons and assuming battle stances, responding only with silence.
Yes, they had no choice but to be that way.
Kaiser thought this and offered a contemptuous smile.
Well then, let the war begin.
Go ahead and reveal your secret weapons.
With such thoughts, Kaiser shouted.
“Kill them.”
* * *
The Kaiser Alliance’s advance announced the beginning of war.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The ground trembled as if struck by an earthquake, causing sweat to bead on every observer’s palms.
People watching couldn’t help but marvel.
“Wow, is that the Kaiser Alliance?”
“They really are impressive.”
“Absolutely astounding.”
“Of course—they’ve gathered only the elite from over a million soldiers!”
“But Kaiser’s skill seems incredible, doesn’t it? Is it an area-wide buff?”
“No, it seems like a skill that strengthens all allied forces?”
“Insane! How is that even possible?!”
Everyone could only marvel at the Kaiser Alliance’s overwhelming power.
I knew the Kaiser Alliance was strong.
But having lost to Jin-woo, they couldn’t help but be underestimated in that position.
An alliance defeated by a mere handful—no, by a single person.
Of course they’d be underestimated.
Yet seeing them now, they looked like the strongest Guild imaginable.
While the spectators were all astonished.
Those watching through the broadcast were equally astonished.
But they weren’t astonished because of the Kaiser Alliance—they were astonished by something else.
-Hey! Where’s Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol?
-Huh? Really?
-Yeah; seriously missing.
I can’t laugh that hard / That’s hilarious
-No seriously? I zoomed in with a program and checked their entire side—Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol’s not there;;;
-For real?
After several people in the chat verified it.
They discovered that Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol truly wasn’t there.
-What’s going on?
-Seriously… he’s not there…
-If he’s really not there, then obviously the anti-Kaiser Alliance should lose, right?
-Looking at pure strength, they seem evenly matched—their side has all 30 rankers with Hidden Classes.
-But the Kaiser Alliance also has many rankers and 50 Hidden Classes?
-Still, this side has more rankers in number.
-No no no Kaiser wins for sure
-?????Why?
-Kaiser’s wide-area buff is insane—looking at it now, the numbers show at least a 50% increase. Turn on the analysis program.
-Insane
Everyone was running various analysis programs before the Guild War even began, checking their opponent’s combat strength.
While the raw strength seemed evenly matched, Kaiser’s buff was so tremendous that everyone predicted Kaiser’s victory.
At that moment.
A single woman stepped forward, leading the charge against the advancing Kaiser Alliance.
One could ask what a single person could accomplish.
But everyone could only swallow hard.
“Wow, is she a goddess?”
“Damn, she’s beautiful.”
“Let’s spare her!”
“Wow! Seriously damn beautiful!”
I can’t provide a meaningful translation for this text. It appears to be keyboard characters or gibberish rather than coherent Korean language.
-Whoa! I’m losing it! Losing it!
-Wow I’m going crazy, I want to join the anti-Kaiser Alliance too;;;
-Just seeing that person once is worth it!
Yuna was originally well-known, but the woman who stepped forward now was not her.
Everyone was astonished to see that this woman possessed even greater beauty than Yuna herself.
Yet no one knew her true identity.
Why had she come forward?
It couldn’t have been merely to flaunt her appearance.
While everyone pondered this, she drew her sword toward the empty sky.
Then, something appeared.
A tiny sun materialized in the heavens.
No larger than a clenched fist.
The sun, smaller even than a fireball, appeared feeble at first glance, yet its heat was so intense that one would believe it to be an actual sun.
Kaiser’s expression twisted upon witnessing it, and he shouted urgently.
“Scatter!”
Though he sensed something amiss and cried out, that tiny sun was faster.
Whoooooosh!
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
“Gyaaaaaaah!”
“Cough… cough!”
As the tiny sun erupted, a few executives managed to scatter quickly and escape its devastation, but most of the other officers and those standing at the vanguard melted away like ash and vanished.
Witnessing over a hundred casualties from a single strike, Kaiser’s eyes widened in shock.
Was there someone else besides Jin-woo who possessed such power?
But the shock did not end there.
The woman who unleashed the sun, Ren, quickly retreated to her formation, and the one who stepped forward next was none other than Yuna.
Seeing this, Kaiser shouted again.
“Defensive formation!”
Yet perhaps his confidence had made him too complacent?
The officers moved sluggishly, bewildered by the power of the sun that had obliterated over a hundred in an instant.
Frustrated by their sluggish response, Kaiser was about to shout something else when—
Flash!
In an instant, something shot forth from Yuna.
It was impossible to discern exactly what had been fired.
Judging by the bow in her hands, he assumed it was an arrow, but he could not see it.
It was far too swift.
Like a beam of light itself, it rushed toward Kaiser’s formation.
The executives, belatedly attempting to gather into a shield formation for defense—
But the arrow, swift as light, pierced straight through them.
Whoooosh whoooosh whoooosh!
“Gack!”
“Ugh!”
“Gag!”
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
Without understanding what had struck them, dozens were pierced through in a straight line.
By rough count, at least several dozen had fallen.
Though not as devastating as the initial sun that had descended, the casualties were substantial.
Watching them, Kaiser cried out once more.
“Snap out of it!”
In tandem with his shout, he activated a full-body roar skill he’d prepared beforehand, bringing everyone into a state of heightened focus.
Then he bellowed to maintain their formation as much as possible.
“Everyone, counterattack!”
Only after his thunderous command did they seem to regain their senses.
They prepared their assault.
The distance between them was still considerable.
At this moment, all those capable of ranged attacks gathered and unleashed their abilities.
Ranged skills erupted, blotting out the sky.
Just by looking at the shadow-darkened ground, one could gauge how many skills were being unleashed.
That’s when Barmon stepped forward.
As he extended his hand, a transparent barrier enveloped the entire legion.
The translucent barrier, its surface mirror-like, gradually stained itself with an ominous indigo-black flame, and the silhouette of a woman wearing a veil of bleached bone materialized.
And Barmon’s cry rang out.
“Asir’s Mirror.”
A skill of similar lineage to Jin-woo’s Asir’s Curse.
Yet unlike that, the defensive barrier that seemed to spread its effect across a vast area instantly reflected back every single skill pouring down upon them.
However, as if it were single-use, the barrier vanished after reflecting the onslaught of skills.
But the reflected skills did not disappear.
Now countless skills that had blotted the sky turned back, striking toward their very casters.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Ugh!”
“What… what is that!”
Unable to suppress their shock, they swallowed hard.
How could this possibly be happening?
Kaiser couldn’t fathom the situation unfolding before him—Jin-woo hadn’t even appeared yet, and they were already suffering such devastation.

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