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n“Hmmm…”

nWhen their deputies expressed this opinion, the top five executives of the Holdridge Group groaned because they judged it would be difficult to get their concessions this time.”

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nOne of the top executives opened his mouth.

n“Aside from that, do you think America can win first place?”

n“Yes, I’m sure. If Holdridge, Shaipe, and the US Government join hands and select a dream team of 60 members, we can definitely win 1st place. Even though China and Russia, some European and South American countries have put in great effort so far, it is too hard for them to bridge the gap between them and us.”

nAustin, the head of the Holdridge’s Intelligence Department, who was answering the executive’s question, agonized over whether to include Korea as well for a moment because one of the hottest newsmakers these days was a guy named Asirante from Korea.

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nHowever, he ruled out Korea because there was certainly a limit to an individual’s power.

n“Hmm… I see.”

nWhen Austin gave them such a background explanation, none of the participants including the top executives refuted him because it was true that America was well ahead of any other country in “Revival Legend.”

nHowever, no one thought it was possible to form a dream team because even the Holdridge Group had at least five people who wanted to join but would not belong there. They were none other than the top five executives.

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nOf course, there was a lot in this world that the tremendously wealthy could do. They could purchase top-quality equipment, but that alone didn’t help them achieve the highest level and make them stronger than anybody else.

nFirst of all, these five executives were too old. So they weren’t healthy enough to spend a long time playing games. Besides, they were very busy taking care of various things outside the game.

nAnd it was the same with the top people of the Shaipe Group and the US Government..

nThat’s why the one who achieved level 1200 for the first time was an ordinary man and not a top executive.

nOf course, it was these top executives who financially supported such ordinary men so they could level up quickly and become stronger.

nAnyway, the Holdridge Group continued a heated debate to come up with a plan to take over the No. 1 Captain position.

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nOf course, it was not just the Holdridge Group that was busy at the moment. Famous guilds in each country moved around busily to take over the No. 1 Captain position because winning this position suggested the captain was the most influential man in that country aside from the rewards.

nNorthwood Castle central square.

nThe 4th Anniversary Event Status Board.

n9 days 23 hours 27 minutes remaining.

n-Captain No. 1: numberONE and 29 others (Zenon)

n-Captain No.2: Jangsu Park and 19 others (Sungchang)

n-Captain No.3: Black night and 9 others (Team Disorderly)

nIn the central plaza, there was a huge bulletin board that could be seen from a distance, and the names of captains No. 1, 2, and 3 were already on the bulletin board.

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nOf course, there was zero likelihood that these names would be the final ones.

nI’ve never heard about Team Disorderly, but Zenon and Sungchang were familiar to me.

nOf course, Sungchang was nothing compared to Mirae, Myongjin, Daesung, Kusan, and Daeyu.

nFour days have passed since the 4th anniversary event was announced.

nAt my main house in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.

n“Mirae has made an offer to us?”

n“Yeah.”

nThe 4th anniversary event sparked quite a sensational response.

nThey were excited at the fact that even though they were not included in the 60-member squad, they would be given a reward if they got good results if one of the users ranked in the top 10 globally. It did not matter whether they numbered in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. They would all receive a reward.

nOf course, no one had the ridiculous idea that those excluded from the squad would receive the same reward as the 60 participants.

nHowever, because of the automatic reward for the participants, regardless of whether they were included in the squad or not, there was a tremendous interest in the event among many people.

nMoreover, the 60 selected in the end would be representatives of Korea.

nSince there were many people who took great pride in the game as Korean nationals, there was an atmosphere that the 4th anniversary event should not be ruined by those participants who were not qualified at all.

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nSo, Zenon, Sungchang, Sunny, Invincible Army, and other reputable guilds fiercely competed to take over the No. 1 Captain position, but there were a lot who looked at them with hostile intentions because they were not competent enough to represent Korea despite their fundamental power and national recognition.

nSo, almost 99.9% of the users said that Mirae, Myongjin, Daesung, Kusan, and Daeyu should step forward to participate in the event, arguing that only they could dispatch competent users.

nOf course, there were some who argued that it would be frustrating to see just the top five groups competing for the positions because they were all more or less on the same level.

nOf course, such complaints were always buried by other voices calling for their participation,

nAnyway, there were still 6 days left before the 60-member squad was formed, and everybody knew that Mirae, Myoongjin, Daesung, Kusan, and Daeyu would not be bystanders as far as this event was concerned.

nSo, I was surprised to hear from my sister that Mirae offered to join hands with Myongjin because I got the impression that Mirae’s initiative to make an offer to Myongjin for a coalition when all the other groups were trying fiercely to read each other’s intentions showed their possible willingness to make concessions.

nSo, for the next four days, Mirae and Myongjin were busy trying to calculate the gains and losses of such an offer. Anyway, I could not help but be surprised that it was Mirae that made such an offer first.

nThat evening in the basement study my father said, “So I decided to accept Mirae’s offer. Our new name is the Myongjin & Mirae Alliance, and we will organize a total of 30 people, 15 on each side, to take over the No.1 Captain position under the name of Myongjin.”

nThat was a big concession by Mirae.

nAs a matter of fact, the gap between Myongjin and Mirae was like night and day.

nPutting Myongjin’s name in front of Mirae’s in the alliance name was clear proof of who would take the initiative in the event. Moreover, letting Myongjin put their name on the No.1 Captain position further showed that Myongjin, not Mirae, would take the lead.

nBut I was suspicious of the Mirae management’s intentions.

nFirst of all, the Mirae Group, notorious for being in splendid isolation, made too many concessions. Second, I wondered how Daesung and Kusan would react to the coalition of Myongjin and Mirae.

nObviously, they would not sit idle, watching their rival groups forming such an alliance because they don’t want to see the No. 1 Captain position be taken away by the Myongjin & Mirae Alliance.

nAt that moment, Director Sok looked at me and opened his mouth.

n“This time we owe a lot to you, Juyoung.”

n“Pardon? What do you mean?”

nI had no choice but to be confused by his unexpected remarks because I didn’t do anything.

nAs if he already expected my reaction, he continued, “Well, let me explain. We easily had them make concessions about the name Myongjin & Mirae Alliance because they proposed first, but we had a heated argument over who would take the No. 1 Captain position.”

nOf course, someone might say it’s not a big deal to designate a representative, but it’s really important in this event because this is a worldwide event.

nSo, I could understand why they would argue, and nodded at Sok gently.

nHe continued, “When they didn’t show any sign of making further concessions, we showed them a hidden card. In other words, we told them that we would give you up in this event.”

nHis threat to Mirae certainly paid off. Of course, I know he didn’t mean it.

nSo, I wasn’t surprised at all, nor was I confused.

nThis time my brother added with a smile, “As you know, Juyoung, this 4th anniversary event is attracting a lot of attention. Even those who are not likely to be included in the 60-member squad are paying a lot of attention now. Of course, they are very much interested in the fact that if any of the 60 people is included in the top ten, they will be given rewards too. But what’s more important is that this event is also an opportunity that can show us at a glance how big the difference between us and others around the world is.”

nWhat he said was true.

nWherever I went, there was a forum in which the panelists discussed how well Korean players would do in the 4th anniversary event.

nSo, I didn’t refute my brother.

nHe then continued, “We told Mirae that we would include somebody else other than you, our family member, in the event. In other words, Dad, sister and me will participate while Mirae has four family members participating. That way, we got them to concede. We will announce to the public that we decided to rule you out from a broader point of view because you were less competent, and garner some favorable public opinion. In that case, Daesung and Kusan will have no choice but to be persuaded about our alliance.”

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