Ch.176Complicated Circumstances

“…What’s going on now?”

While I was busy repairing the damaged base and restoring the fleet with the compensation money, I had some awkward free time. I thought I’d finally swing my mod sword in the gallery…

But as soon as I opened the gallery window, I saw more comment notifications than report alerts.

The entire gallery atmosphere was filled with people chattering about me, which I found quite bewildering.

‘Is this what they call “goroshin” or whatever?’

From what I could see, it seemed like there was an effort to establish me as what they call a “likable user,” just as I’d glimpsed before.

But as I kept looking, how should I put it?

It felt strangely good to be recognized by others, making me feel oddly pleased.

‘Well… at least there’s no insults.’

But even so…

“Commander? I’ve reviewed that video and made an assessment.”

“Hmm, it’s really well shot.”

“This is seriously too well filmed, isn’t it? Like they know every corner of your territory.”

“…!”

“To be honest, someone who films this well and understands the situation this thoroughly is practically a stalker.”

“What.”

Learning that the identity of the mysterious anonymous user’s video was essentially s-talker footage made me feel a strange chill about both the video and the anonymous user who had created this friendly atmosphere in the gallery.

—

But while Icarus and his people were flailing about, with suspicions about the “anonymous user” who uploaded the video starting to creep in…

For those who actually created this “meme,” including the “anonymous user” who uploaded such videos, these suspicions were completely unwarranted.

Because…

“Clan Leader, isn’t this enough seasoning regarding that Icarus fellow?”

“That should be sufficient. Good work, everyone.”

“Dang, he took on five guys by himself, that’s impressive.”

Contrary to Icarus and Jessica’s suspicions, the videos praising Icarus in the gallery, as well as the subsequent posts subtly promoting him and swaying public opinion…

Were none other than the “Justice Clan” acting under Arcadia’s orders to create obsessive fan content that only Icarus himself was unaware of.

Of course, regardless of whatever excuses Arcadia might make, supporting Icarus was purely the result of personal fandom.

The Justice Clan, who never imagined their clan leader would use the clan to fully support someone higher ranked purely out of genuine fandom, analyzed Arcadia’s instructions and explanations from a truly sensible, normal perspective.

—

-[But why is our clan leader supporting Icarus from the Central Zone?]

-[The clan leader already explained it]

-[I was fighting those Humanity guys so I missed it lol]

-[It’s to check the Humanity clan by supporting Icarus, who’s ranked 3rd.]

-[Oh I see]

-[There were quite a few other reasons too]

-[Yeah]

-[We don’t have the resources to directly intervene in the Central Zone right now, and if we did, Humanity would abandon their fake war with the Loki guys and immediately advance to the Central Zone]

-[Wow, really?]

-[It makes sense]

-[So to avoid all-out war with Humanity, we’re indirectly supporting the 3rd ranked player to turn the Central Zone into a kind of neutral zone]

-[Hmm interesting…]

—

As evident from the conversations in the “anonymous chat room” operated by the Justice Clan, the clan members believed only in the big picture their clan leader had mentioned.

—

And other clan forces were feeling something similar.

Take Antares of the Humanity Clan, the main culprit in this incident.

“Haha, that damn woman.”

Their invasion of the Central Zone for power expansion had initially yielded some gains.

But unfortunately, their force recruitment plan was exposed by some solo users.

“Clan Leader, only just over 50% of the subordinate clans that invaded the Central Zone achieved their objectives.”

“And most of the solo rankers in the top 100 successfully repelled our attacks, even when we sent two or more people.”

“We couldn’t even take down a single ranker in the top 10.”

“…Weren’t they supposed to be beatable?”

Faced with fiercer resistance than expected, the invaders themselves were being driven back.

“I think Arcadia set a trap for us from the beginning.”

“The Justice Clan wanted to get back at us for defeating them.”

“Damn it.”

“Plus, Clan Leader, look at how they’re manipulating public opinion in the gallery.”

“I know. It looks like they’re either trying to bring the 3rd ranked player into their faction… or at least build a friendly relationship.”

They were interpreting the entire situation as the result of a plot by the Justice Clan and its leader Arcadia.

Of course, if the Justice Clan heard this, they would find it absurd.

Even though the Central Zone was called a den of monsters, the Humanity Clan had deployed their upper-tier users ranked between 500-1000 in the “overall rankings” – not their absolute best forces, but still significant firepower.

They had prepared thoroughly, assigning at least two people per target and launching simultaneous surprise attacks from all directions.

Yet they faced unexpectedly fierce resistance, and immediately afterward, solo rankers uploaded videos and dominated gallery opinion?

From the Humanity Clan’s perspective, they could only conclude they had fallen victim to Arcadia’s scheme.

And this sentiment was shared by the Loki Clan, who were engaged in a fun and exciting fake war with Humanity…

—

-[Weren’t these guys just supposed to be keeping us in check?]

-[Dunno?]

-[That guy already has a battleship, he’s so strong]

-[Have you forgotten the Pirate King’s battleship?]

—

…or rather, a quite intense battle.

Betelgeuse, who led the Loki Clan, and the clan’s upper echelon felt the same way.

“Huh, I thought that woman was just simple-minded, but she’s actually quite clever.”

“Indeed, we can’t let our guard down.”

It was hard to imagine that Arcadia, who had been quite straightforward since the clan’s founding, would do something like this.

But Betelgeuse, who believed in using imagination to soften the brain and break fixed ideas in such situations, discarded her prejudices about Arcadia and the Justice Clan and felt the need to be more wary of them as threatening entities.

Of course, as usual, Betelgeuse was about to quickly devise some trolling against the Justice Clan…

But just as she was about to entertain such thoughts:

“Clan Leader? The Pirate Empress is calling for you again.”

“…Huh?”

“Don’t know why, but she says it’s an important matter and needs only you to come urgently.”

“Wow, our Clan Leader must be considered an im-portant figure within the pirate alliance now!”

“Please bring back some sweet rewards this time too, Clan Leader!”

“…”

As soon as Marian summoned Betelgeuse…

Perhaps due to the “training” she had received every time Marian had summoned her before, the “Justice Clan Payback Project” that had been in Betelgeuse’s mind completely vanished.

Instead, her face flushed as she recalled how Marian had been “training” her in various ways almost daily after the incident where she had tricked one of her subordinate clans, which was supposed to guard the base, into changing their formation to clash with Icarus (who had used Marian to mess with her).

Of course, Betelgeuse showed determination and firm resolve:

‘Nnngh, but this time I absolutely will not lose…!’

Nevertheless, her lower abdomen squirming under the table was something she couldn’t help.