Chapter 298

Chapter 298. Rogue (4)

Another immense presence briefly overshadowed the area.

Thankfully, that presence was fleeting.

The being took Temoria and Agnotia, who were amidst a fierce struggle, and left the scene in an instant.

I still managed to recognize the owner of that newly appeared presence.

“Senoa…”

I sighed, roughly pushing back my hair.

‘I can’t fathom what those gods are thinking.’

There was no way to understand what transpired among them.

This ambiguous situation, with nothing certain, was something I had grown accustomed to ever since I set foot in Bihar.

Even though I was used to it, it didn’t mean I could easily brush it off.

With my expression hardened, I gazed intently at the sky.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that Agnotia’s betrayal was exposed.’

After Temoria witnessed Agnotia using dark power, there would be no denying it.

Thinking about Agnotia being publicly executed by the other gods brought me a sense of relief.

Yet, there was some regret as well.

‘If only I could have eliminated that bitch myself.’

If I had, both the status she built and the divinity she accumulated would have been mine.

I consoled my regret as I headed towards the ground.

Once I landed, the first to catch my eyes was Rashar with a complex expression, followed by the disconcerted Greg Tembon.

‘They must have come out sensing the presence.’

Due to the earlier shock, the refugees around were now creating chaos trying to get into the fortress.

Thanks to this, the area we were in was deserted.

As I momentarily watched the refugees clinging to the fortress walls and gates, I addressed the two apostles who looked visibly confused.

“In case you’re unaware, Biharin is already collapsing. Trying to endure here by repeatedly retreating will only lead to disappearing along with this dimension. So…”

But before I could finish, the system returned.

Sensing its presence, I poured out divinity without a second thought.

Golden sparks shot high into the sky.

Fortunately, by controlling the direction of the force, there were no injuries or casualties.

Once again, the system chose to protect rather than abandon me.

After the system and causality faded, I continued the words I couldn’t finish before.

“So if you wish to live, even just a little, you should move.”

Impatient for a response, Greg moved first.

He quickly turned his body and dashed towards the fortress wall.

Rashar, who had been staring at me, soon left as well.

Finally, I let out a sigh of relief, rubbing the goosebumps on my nape.

A moment ago, causality had almost reached right in front of me.

Realizing anew that I was risking my life with this endeavor, a hollow laugh escaped my lips.

It was truly a foolish and dangerous act, but knowing it was the most effective, I deliberately chose this method.

‘The system can’t afford to abandon me.’

Having invested time to nurture a piece for this war, it was a bad moment to discard me.

‘It’s too risky to cultivate a new striker now.’

Moreover, the method the system used to train players was horribly inefficient.

To defeat a monster with 100 units of mana, a player had to possess several times more mana.

It was a loss that had to be endured to overcome the innate limits of the species.

From an efficiency standpoint, it was much better for Palao to use the status and divinity than for me to inherit and use them.

‘In such a situation, there’s no god who would willingly strip themselves to create a new inheritor.’

Knowing this too well, I caused such a blatant disturbance.

To end this clash, the system would have to declare defeat or surrender.

‘I just need to kick up a fuss a few more times, and it seems like it’ll back down.’

While I could make emotional and impulsive decisions, the system weighed more on rational judgment.

If I persistently insisted, the system would realize that backing down would minimize its losses.

Eventually, it would have no choice but to relent to my stubbornness.

‘Otherwise, I’ll keep throwing divinity into the air.’

Under normal circumstances, I would never engage in such inefficiency.

‘When it comes to beating the system, what wouldn’t I do?’

The outcome of this mental fight between the system and me was already decided.

The question was when the system would back down.

I muttered while staring at the empty sky.

“Stop being stubborn and give up.”

Just then, a post appeared on the Order’s homepage.

「Title: To All Priests and Holy Knights – Author: Yuria Vermot

Content: As the first follower of Palao, I command. Cooperate with the outsiders stationed at each fortress to evacuate the devotees.」

The Order of Palao decided to cooperate.

‘Since it’s out, the only thing left is to move.’

The posts, carrying the names of each stronghold, would serve as perfect communication channels between the players infiltrating the regions and the Order officials.

I clicked on the post regarding Chedaltman Fortress to confirm.

Thankfully, the work was already underway, led by Jordan.

– Jang: The temporary gate entrance has been set up in the Chedaltman Fortress square.

– Jordan Rodiel: I’ll send knights to control the evacuation procession.

Holy knights were assigned to monitor the refugees from flocking and to begin evacuating those nearest to the gate.

Of course, even before the Biharin crossed, some of those from Earth had already made their way over.

– Maximilian: Temple surrounded. Should I really just cut down those who come through?

This was to deter the radical factions of the Order, which still maintained intact portal features.

‘The Order of Palao’s homepage was destroyed, not erased.’

Focusing on evacuation, the system hadn’t retrieved anything.

This meant leaving behind many things infused with divinity in Bihari.

Those with analytical minds would have caught onto that.

Thus, I anticipated that the radicals would quickly move to seize the headquarters.

My prediction was not off the mark.

They went a step beyond my expectation, destroying portions that allowed portals and online communication within other Orders.

‘According to reports from players who infiltrated Gemal, the homepages of four Orders were destroyed.’

Palao, Karlos, Finelpenia, and Senoa.

Among them, except for Senoa, the other three Orders had their portions destroyed by other Orders.

‘In Senoa’s case, one of the high priests destroyed the homepage portion before committing suicide.’

It seemed like a measure to prevent useful features from falling into the hands of the radicals.

Consequently, only three portals were functioning properly.

‘Even the moderates appear to hardly use the community since it can be accessed by anyone.’

It’s possible to engage in private discussions by utilizing the Private Comment feature.

The headquarters dictate portal installation and closure, so all portals on the frontlines were unusable.

‘Still, you never know.’

If, perchance, talk about the evacuation leaks, those who monopolize the portal function might cross over to confirm things.

Allowing them to surreptitiously join this evacuation effort was unacceptable.

I had clearly delineated what to bring and what to leave behind.

And I had no intention of changing that delineation.

‘I’d rather abandon the evacuation altogether than bring those bastards along.’

With cold eyes, I briefly glared in the direction of the temple before closing the post about Chedaltman Fortress and checking one from Habon Fortress.

– Im Namkyu: Entered Earth with the fairies and Rice Cake.

Im Namkyu, who had been living with the fairies even before the gate was closed, had left a comment.

‘I didn’t expect him to be associated with Palao.’

He had failed the entrance exam multiple times, living without an affiliation, and finally joined when I infused divinity to increase Order of Palao’s selection.

Though his Talent wasn’t exceptionally great, his perseverance was truly commendable.

That’s why I entrusted him with the evacuation of the fairies, who had no choice but to wait.

‘Things are indeed proceeding well.’

From the three front-line strongholds and even the troops and commanders in the fortresses behind them, they had begun their evacuation.

They all had witnessed and heard what transpired after the outsiders left.

They were ignored every time they sought help from the radical faction and the royals and nobles in Gemal.

Because of this, they realized that staying here would only result in serving as cannon fodder for those occupying Gemal.

‘Therefore, I will only take along those abandoned on the outskirts.’

The more dangerous the frontlines become, the more those I had to leave behind would flock to the safest place, Gemal.

I would leave all of those who had gathered there and depart Bihar.

I couldn’t completely exclude the potential harm to innocents in this process.

‘I have to endure it.’

That was my envisioned limit.

I indeed wanted to save as many Biharin as possible.

‘But that doesn’t mean I wish for Earth to be endangered.’

Those nauseating hypocrites coiled within Gemal, even if saved, would sell out Earth when given the chance.

They might engage in power struggles or conspire with Earth’s politicians to bring about an even bigger issue.

There’s no shortage of potential for them to side with the traitors, even to the point of overflowing.

‘I cannot take those foul ones along.’

This was the biggest reason why I conducted the evacuation operation in secrecy from the Biharin and why I hadn’t rushed to rescue them after the gates closed.

I waited for the division among the Biharin, specifically the Order affiliates and the elite.

Some might criticize me for weighing matters of life, but no matter the criticism, I had no intention of retracting this decision.

‘Ensuring that the people saved don’t end up on a fast track to annihilation is my priority.’

While emotions may be necessary to recognize a problem, making rational choices should take precedence in resolving it.

Appealing to emotions by crying won’t solve any problems.

‘So I have no regrets.’

Just when I was reaffirming my decision and choice resolutely,

「The Trait Capitalism becomes active.」

「The system shifts to a supporting role. Supporting player Kang Hyunwoo.」

「The Trait Capitalism has been renamed to Rogue.」

Without sensing any presence, a new message appeared.

The system had sent a signal of surrender before I wasted any more divinity.

‘It’s faster than I thought.’

Feeling a profound sense of relief, I stifled a sigh.

The manner of surrender wasn’t particularly to my liking, but there was no need to provoke the system with harsh words.

I spoke as casually as possible.

“Since you’ve made up your mind, leave the gates open for a while. There are still many people to evacuate, so don’t even think about doing something foolish.”

The system’s presence finally approached.

It seemed to wait patiently from afar, fearing I might resort to wasting divinity and pulling more stunts for intimidation.

Now that the threat had subsided, it came near.

Though it had surrendered, the system apparently hadn’t cooled off its anger.

Boom. Boom.

As evidence, the system stamped around me menacingly.

Yet, it wasn’t powerful enough to cause me any real harm.

At most, it might bruise me a little—essentially venting frustration.

It didn’t seem to be satisfied merely with that, so it popped up a new message.

「The Trait Rogue has been renamed to Damned Rogue.」

“Please, enough. I have no intention of saving those garbage people along with the others. I’m cutting them off and taking…”

「The Trait Damned Rogue has been renamed to Damned Roguish Rogue.」

“You cheeky…”

「The Trait Damned Roguish Rogue has been renamed to R. O. G. U. E.」

“… I’ll just stop talking.”

With a furrowed brow, I covered the message window with the Order’s homepage.

I didn’t care what the Damned System called me. I had succeeded in bending its will and imposing my own, and for now, that was enough.

Damned Rogue