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Chapter 146: Quick Allocation
Nickes wasn't referring to Ronin's group, but to someone else entirely.
After all, the actions of Feitan's trio had already severely threatened the lives of the players within the game. If this were the outside world, players would still have the option to flee and evade. But here in Greed Island, all they could do was face it.
With the Phantom Troupe forcibly occupying the Spell Card Shop, those who sensed the danger were pushed to extremes—they had to figure out how to eliminate the threat to guarantee their own safety.
Nickes had also been invited, and after some careful deliberation, he chose to join the crusade against them. With Nickes's support, Genthru felt even more confident.
After some discussion, the crowd unanimously agreed with Genthru's proposal, but deciding who should hold all the pooled cards became a sticking point. However, once Nickes explicitly stated that he would go to the frontlines to observe the crusade's progress, it seemed that the most trustworthy person left in the entire organization was Genthru himself.
Genthru didn't decline. Concentrating the cards into his own hands had been his strategy from the very beginning.
Still, as he looked at the binder and saw fewer than fifty Designated Slot cards, he couldn't help but mutter internally.
So few. However, managing to painstakingly farm over forty Designated Slot cards—including several extremely rare ones—in just two years of playing the game was passable.
To prevent the homicidal maniacs from tracking him, the location Genthru was heading to next was an absolute secret. Even within his own organization, only Nickes and another original member, Jispa, knew where it was.
Jispa was the top combatant of their group, but in Genthru's eyes, he simply wasn't strong enough.
After escorting Genthru to his hideout, Nickes and Jispa left with a few parting words of advice. The most critical instruction was that the moment Genthru realized he had been discovered, he was to use [Leave] to temporarily exit the game.
Over the next ten days, Nickes used [Contact] daily to ensure Genthru was safe.
If Genthru vanished from the game and [Contact] couldn't be activated, the organization members would proactively start gathering more [Leave] cards to prepare for his eventual return and subsequent escape.
Currently, the organization held four [Leave] cards, which Nickes deemed sufficient for the time being.
No one suspected Genthru's true, simplistic endgame. If the organization suffered heavy casualties, he would launch an attack to wipe out the remaining members and monopolize all the cards for himself.
With the homicidal maniacs acting as perfect scapegoats, no one would ever suspect him of killing Nickes and the others. He could even use the massive stockpile of Designated Slot cards as a foundation to build an entirely new organization.
Of course, all of this hinged on the homicidal maniacs being eliminated first.
But just as he anticipated, by inciting public outrage, the trio had only two possible outcomes: either they thoroughly slaughtered the players until the entire game submitted in absolute terror, or they would be killed by the players themselves!
Genthru settled comfortably into his hiding spot, using [Contact] to stay in touch with Sub and Bara, who were responsible for gathering intel and feeding him the latest updates.
Meanwhile, Ronin and his group finally arrived in Masadora.
There was absolutely no need to worry about bumping into the Phantom Troupe here, as the trio was still holed up inside the Spell Card Shop. This was the intel relayed by the informants Ronin had arranged in advance.
Monitoring the trio's movements was almost too easy. Their actions had long since provoked the ire of a massive number of players, making their whereabouts practically transparent.
For the Troupe members, exposing their location probably didn't matter in the slightest. As long as they gathered enough spell cards to exchange for [Breath of Archangel], they would just use it and leave the game. They didn't need to follow the rules or go through the standard motions; violently carving a path forward was the simplest and fastest method.
Upon arriving, Ronin pulled out his crystal ball and activated the Telescope Technique, granting him a crystal-clear view of the trio's actions.
Once they settled into their hotel, Kurapika immediately began laying out the strategy.
"The maximum number of Free Slots is forty-five. That means once Bonolenov finishes exchanging his cards, he'll only have a maximum of five spell cards left. That will be the perfect opening to isolate and eliminate him," Kurapika explained, marking the key points on a small chalkboard.
Abaki hadn't expected to be thrown into a subjugation mission right after joining the team. Still, she listened intently to Kurapika's analysis, determined to do whatever she could to help.
"We have to be absolutely certain he doesn't have a [Leave] card on him. Furthermore, once he's isolated, we can't give the other two a single chance to track him," Ronin pointed out the crucial flaw.
"Exactly," Kurapika nodded. "That's why the spell card we need to collect next is [Castle Gate]. It prevents other players from casting a spell at close range once. As long as we continuously use [Castle Gate], we can effectively stop them from using cards like [Accompany] or [Magnetic Force] to track Bonolenov."
"Additionally, [Shift] is another high-priority card. It's the key to splitting Feitan and Phinks. Our advantage is our numbers, which means we can hold significantly more spell cards than they can. The problem right now is that they've occupied the Spell Card Shop, so if we want to gather cards, we have to get them from other players."
"Are we going to do the same thing the Troupe is doing and just rob them?" Ronin asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kurapika shook his head. "No need. They've already provoked public outrage. If we step forward now and show enough sincerity, anyone who harbors hostility toward the Troupe will automatically become our ally."
"If a single person attacks the Troupe with a spell card, they might be able to defend against it. But if we have people stalling them with sheer physical combat, and a massive group activates their abilities simultaneously, we'll have a chance to completely strip them of every card they hold. If we handle this right, this crusade will be like a raid boss event for the players. What they get out of it will depend entirely on how much effort they put into the fight."
Ronin instantly understood Kurapika's intent.
Gathering players to attack simultaneously was only meant to neutralize the spell cards in the Troupe's possession. The ultimate key to victory still relied on crushing them with raw combat strength.
"Bonolenov is the easiest to deal with. We can temporarily banish him and ignore him. As long as he can't acquire any useful spell cards, rejoining the battlefield will be nearly impossible for him. That leaves Phinks and Feitan as our primary targets to divide and conquer," Kurapika said smoothly. With a brief analysis, he had effectively sealed the fates of the three Spiders.
"Leave Feitan to me," Ronin volunteered. "Compared to Phinks, Feitan becomes much more dangerous the more he's injured."
Meanwhile, a straightforward Enhancer like Phinks would be the perfect practice dummy for Kurapika and the others to test their skills on.
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