Martial Arts Returnee’s Game Broadcast

Chapter 173

1.

The concert had ended.
After a long 90-minute performance, the camera returned to the main tournament hall.

“Wow, those guys were really unbearable to watch.”
“They tried hard, but they were so pitiful.”
“The idol who said they were just doing gaming as a hobby? The Chae-kwang Girls? They were the least bad.”
“We’ve got to give it to the Yagada Girls. Their mining poses made them look like they’d been doing coal mining for years.”
“Finally! We’re in the main event!”

After the long wait, the viewers cheered with joy.
Entertainment reporters were just as excited.

“How high will the viewership for the quarterfinals go?”
“Anyway, I hope it goes up a lot. It’s not every day we get a special program like this where everyone in the industry comes together to share content.”
“Isn’t it great that the agencies gave out generous articles since they put their idols in it?”

The entertainment agencies secretly supported and paid to put lesser-known idols and singers on stage, hoping to sell them.
Thanks to Chaerin’s clever marketing strategy, the number of people wishing for the tournament’s success increased significantly.

“The tournament needs to go well, so that the singers we promoted get more airtime. Keep an eye on the articles so they don’t make any nonsense.”
“We’ll be monitoring everything during the hour after the tournament ends. Prepare press releases for those who performed. The PR team will be working overtime tonight, so be ready.”

In this heated atmosphere, Reporter Bang Ji-cheol grabbed the microphone and spoke with an enthusiastic voice.

“As the wonderful performance concludes, the athletes are recovering and preparing for the quarterfinals. What incredible matches will we see in the quarterfinals?”

Static noise

“I’m excited, but first, the blue corner…”

Static noise

“We apologize for the poor microphone quality before the introduction…”

The persistent static in the microphone started as a simple broadcast error but soon escalated when the entire building’s power began to flicker on and off. Everyone began to realize—this was no ordinary problem.
There was something different here.
Something darker and more dangerous filled the air.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“What’s going on?”
“Is it a blackout?”
“Of course, it had to happen right when the main event was about to start.”

For a moment, there was a murmuring crowd.
Then, once again, the lights came on, revealing something previously unseen in the venue.
Masked figures in strange uniforms appeared, standing at the top of the tournament hall.

“Who are those people?”
“Is this a show prepared by the Haenam faction?”
“Didn’t those guys just stumble as they walked out?”
“Yeah, it looks like it.”
“Did a rat get in or something?”

The masked figures, frozen in awkward positions, had trouble keeping their balance due to the long wait, causing their movements to be awkward.
The boss clicked his tongue at his subordinates' embarrassing display and waved his hand.

“Hmm?”

The microphone in Host Bang Ji-cheol's hand was pulled toward the boss's hand as if by instinct.

Empty Space Capture!

Haeung-eung and Baek So-cheon’s eyes gleamed.
For the former, it was a gleam of curiosity; for the latter, it was one of caution.
Empty Space Capture.
A technique that moves objects from a distance using one's internal energy, regarded as a skill of high-level martial artists in the martial world.
It was natural that both would pay close attention to it.

“Hello. I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but I bring bad news for all of you. A barrier has been deployed here in the Haenam faction. For the next hour, anyone who hasn’t been given permission by us will be trapped in this prison and unable to enter or leave.”

“You bastards! Do you know how many hours we’ve spent sweating for this tournament? You’re telling me we can’t even leave the venue now?!”

Ujiu raised his voice, pointing accusingly, but the boss only laughed eerily.

“That’s unfortunate. But the wait has been far longer for us.”

Outside the venue, countless stakeholders were panicking and watching nervously.

“Should we cut the broadcast to the network?”
“Leave it. If something goes wrong, they’ll cut it from above.”

Reporters from the broadcasting stations, caught off guard, began to broadcast the shocking event in real-time.

“Should we report this?”
“Report? To who?”
“Uh... to the association?”
“The association will probably send ascended ones from nearby…”
“Wait, so even if we report it, those inside are going to fight, right?”

The on-site viewers, unsure whether they should flee, nervously chewed popcorn from the food trucks outside Royal Club.

“What should we do?”
“Isn’t this our chance? We may have been eliminated, but if we write articles about the players who fought the villains, we’ll boost our image.”
“What if the villains are stronger than we thought?”
“Didn’t you see the lights go out? Those guys are no joke.”
“I still haven’t recovered from my injuries!”
“My back’s starting to hurt too.”
“It’s past 9. It’s time to go home.”

The eliminated players, still waiting for the tournament to end in the waiting room, started pretending to be sick.

“Guild master, don’t we need to stop them right now?”
[Let’s wait a bit longer. I’m curious to hear what they have to say.]

Haeung-eung, who should have been the most urgent, seemed excited.
The Haenam faction members were also standing outside the tournament hall, watching with confused expressions.

The boss's speech continued without interruption.

“It’s been 10 years since we were liberated from the suppression of ascended ones by the state. Yet, in this country, new power holders and new forms of violence have spread.”

Teen guilds.
Large guilds.
Minor guilds that controlled administrative districts and regions.
A list of names and crimes they committed under the guild's banner filled the external screens.
Industry insiders finally realized that this was not just another event prepared by Haenam faction, but an actual situation.

Anyone who touches the guild will face death.

“That was the slogan of the 2040s society. The association has become a tool of the guilds, and the guilds have used power to monopolize countless benefits, repeating the crimes committed by the government!”

Some things are simply not meant to be done, even if they are true.
It is an act that directly opposes the tide of history.
One cannot act without risking their life.
It’s a dangerous act that turns the entire nation against you.
But they did it.
So, what is the association,
What is the state,
What is the world supposed to think of them?

“It’s the villain organization!”
“These are real villains!”
“Are there really people like them in today’s world?”

The villain organization.
They were almost extinct.
Weak traitors were always executed, and the guild-villain wars had ended with the guilds’ overwhelming victory.
No matter how noble their cause, no matter how legitimate their vengeance, the outcome was always the same.
The guilds win, the villains lose.
That’s what people had learned, and that’s what everyone expected this time too.

“Forceful medication for end-of-the-world treatment. Artificial monster raids to secure test subjects. The traces of missing people found in the testing grounds.”

Before they could reveal crimes far worse than anyone imagined,
Crimes far beyond industry rumors like corruption, technology theft, or sex scandals…

“In the past 10 years, anyone who didn’t participate in the guilds' crimes or tried to expose them to the public has been killed, countless times.”
“They were once members of the association, enforcers of justice, and our proud family.”
“These poor victims have been branded with an indelible mark—villains.”

With the deafening sound of sparks flying, huge initials appeared across the external screens.

“If the righteous are called villains, and those who didn’t participate in the crimes are called villains, then we proudly declare ourselves to be villains!”
“The era of resigning from public office to serve the country is over. Now, the era of walking in darkness for the righteous, the era of Black Service has arrived!”
“Here, the newly born villain organization, Black Service, has emerged. Our goal is to dismantle all the corrupt guilds, and Haenam faction will be the beginning!”

Just before the boss’s magnificent speech concluded,
The microphone slipped from his hand.

<Empty Space Capture> The technique the boss had used on Host Bang Ji-cheol, Haeung-eung perfectly replicated it.

‘It’s admirable, but we can’t have Haenam faction taking the fall.’

Haeung-eung, the guild master of Haenam faction, and the boss of the newly formed villain organization Black Service—their intense gazes collided.

‘You shouldn’t have crossed the line. What now that you’ve taken the microphone?’
‘Quite the talent. But it’s just a microphone. I’ll take it back easily!’

The boss extended his hand towards the microphone,
But when Haeung-eung raised her hand, the microphone quickly flew back to her side.

Whiz! Whiz!
Whiz! Whiz!
Whiz-whiz-whiz! Whiz-whiz-whiz!

The microphone darted back and forth between them like a pinball at lightning speed.

“What are they doing?”
“What’s with the microphone?”
“Did they stop mid-sentence?”
“Ah, I shouldn’t laugh, but this is too funny.”
“Did the speech get ruined?”

The crowd, no longer feeling serious or scared, began laughing.
In desperation, the boss gripped the microphone tightly and smashed it into the air.

“Voice Girl! Amplify my voice!”

The 8 finalists, who had been nervously watching from the stage, smirked.

“Voice Girl isn’t even a subordinate, why would she help?”
“Why not just plant villains in the tournament?”

Before they could finish complaining, the boss’s booming voice echoed.

“Haenam faction’s guild master! No matter how much you try to silence us, it’s useless.”

The 8 finalists froze, staring at Voice Girl.

“Wait, she was really a subordinate?”
“Did they really plant villains in the tournament?”
“We need to take down Voice Girl first!”

Dashman shouted, but the 8 finalists hesitated, keeping their distance, not trusting each other.

“How many more villains are there?”
“How can we trust you to make the first move?”

The distrust from the unexpected situation.
Even Dashman, who was about to act, hesitated when he noticed Whisper staring directly at him.

“Dismantle all the corrupt guilds!”

The boss’s speech resumed, and just as it was about to reach its climax, something flew through the air from the training room and landed in Haeung-eung’s hand.

‘Finally, the Silent Swordsman is making his move. He must be planning to kill everyone with his sword!’

Dashman, relieved but still unsure, soon realized that what Haeung-eung was holding wasn’t a sword, but an unexpected instrument.

‘Did he bring the wrong thing?!’

Everyone assumed it was a mistake.
With a sigh of realization, Dashman came to understand that the instrument could, in fact, be used as a weapon.

“As Haenam faction’s beginning…”

Zzziiinnn—

As Haeung-eung plucked the string, an unbearable dissonance hit the crowd, drowning out the boss’s amplified voice.

“AAARGH!”
“My eardrums are going to explode!”
“My ears!!”

People collapsed, clutching their ears.
The boss, attempting to prevent the declaration of the villain organization, hit the crowd with a sonic terror, rendering their eardrums useless and silencing them.