Chapter 1257: Post-War Processing (10)
A post analyzing the Subjugation Operation by imitating Ermont, then using that content for magazine sales virality.
However, the summary and analysis of the Subjugation Operation posted by the author clearly contained valuable information.
The reason the post received so many dislikes and insults was precisely because the analysis itself was of a considerable standard.
Even those who angrily commented weren’t denying that fact.
└“The author’s a total asshole, but the analysis of the Subjugation Operation’s phases 1, 2, and 3 isn’t fundamentally wrong.”
└“Most Subjugation Operation analyses and derivative research focus on phases 2 and 3; not many researchers can even touch phase 1’s instant-death pattern.”
└“Observation was cut off once The Legion entered District 49 after phase 3. Many probably couldn’t see the subsequent engagements with ordinary equipment or spellcraft.”
└“Right now, the only data on the Deepweb is the scene where Ethan Bajour and Adamant Thunder are confronting each other, and photos of the battlefield right after the Subjugation Operation ended.”
└“Truly valuable data, like this viral content, is being traded for money on the black market. Thinking about that, 300,000 cells might not be an expensive price?”
└“Even so, there are more than one or two people writing long comments below, aren’t there?”
As he continued to scroll down, analytical comments, written consecutively by time, began to appear in a line.
Each with different authors, perspectives, and insights, but with more substance than the insults from earlier.
Lennok began to selectively read only the analytical comments that were reasonably legible and cited evidence.
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└“Just to piss off the author, I’ll say it: Phase 4 was Rampage. Phase 5 was Ascension.”
“Let me preface this by saying that no one accurately knows what happened after Phase 3.”
“For one, almost everyone who entered District 49 died, and most of those who survived are being held captive in Magic Towers.”
“However, if we define the period after District 49 collapsed as Phase 4, then Phase 4 is when Adamant Thunder descends from the sphere and directly participates in combat.”
“At this time, Adamant Thunder appeared as a flowing mass of electricity, and according to those who observed it, he was completely unresponsive to communication.”
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└“I heard the same. This comment seems correct.”
└“This is the most accurate.”
└“Wow, they’re laying it all out clearly. Are you okay?”
Beneath the succinct summary, countless replies poured in.
It was one of the most upvoted comments on the post.
└“This is some dangerous info; shouldn’t you be saying all this?”
└“Why are you complaining when it’s not even your place to say?”
└“This guy’s tone is pretty annoying.”
└“Just leave it, lol. If he’s going to die, it’ll be deleted in 3 minutes anyway.”
└“Seriously, lol. Comments below are rapidly getting deleted.”
Just as quickly as comments were posted in real-time, a significant number were also being deleted.
These were likely individuals who had violated restrictions and regulations, either willingly or unwillingly, or whose information leaks had been detected.
Proof that, even at this very moment, people were dying like flies somewhere in Vulcan’s underworld.
However, among the rapidly flowing replies, there were also some relatively decent Q&A exchanges.
└“They say Phase 4 was the most dangerous pattern out of all the Subjugation Operation phases, is that true?”
└“I don’t know about that, but it’s definitely the pattern where the most high-level superhumans died. This caused a huge uproar in Yorta.”
└“Wait, were you a Military Spirit?”
└“Ghosts are on social media these days, huh.”
└“Only a Military Spirit would be able to spread secrets without worrying about dying.”
└“Already dead, so why worry about dying? Lol.”
└“Ghost comment brigades are real, OMG.”
Lennok, who had been intently watching the replies, let out an unintentional chuckle.
“……Was Yorta also observing the Subjugation Operation?”
“Well, if they have central network access, it might not be impossible…?”
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└“Since the comment above already mentioned it, I’ll add on.”
“As the replies said, I know that almost all of The Legion’s elite superhumans died in Phase 4.”
“The Deadrise Legion Commander and the Ten Seats of the Warband also all died in this phase, and the Magic Tower Flame Pillars/Elders and the Cult’s Cardinals were all wiped out.”
“At this point, the Subjugation Operation was mostly over, and virtually no forces remained.”
“This is probably why the post author skipped analysis or summary after Phase 4.”
“After Phase 4, it’s already too difficult to infer the principles of spellcraft or authority.”
“In fact, many believe that conquering the Subjugation Operation through normal means is impossible.”
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└“Holy shit, lol. That’s what they hid with the virality?”
└“That’s ridiculous; what kind of information are they trying to sell for 300,000 cells?”
└“This author hasn’t even deleted their account yet? How confident are they?”
└“If the viral magazine doesn’t have more useful content than this, they should start worrying about getting their neck slit.”
As information about Phases 4 and 5, which the post’s author hadn’t mentioned, was revealed, the number of upvotes increased.
Comments from users who quickly noticed this were rapidly following.
Lennok watched their reactions and said, “Davi.”
“I’ve hacked the Deepweb line and found the location where the post was written.”
Davi asked, as if she had been waiting.
“Should I transmit the coordinates right away?”
“……No. If we’ve secured the location, that’s enough. That’s not what needs to be done right now.”
Lennok stroked Davi while resting his chin in his hand, moving the scroll.
“However, it’s surprising that people are digging into the Subjugation Operation this deeply. The fact that information sharing is so active… it must mean it successfully captured people’s attention.”
As he hadn’t particularly hidden any part of the process while preparing for the war with The Legion, it didn’t matter if people were talking about it.
However, it was unexpected that Vulcan’s reaction didn’t seem that bad, even though he had thought Adamant Thunder’s reputation would hit rock bottom.
He had thought it wouldn’t be strange for his infamy to shatter the floor and be buried in the basement this time, but having seen the outcome, had the opposite happened?
Just by looking at the comments below, he could tell how bizarrely distorted people’s perception of Lennok was.
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└“But looking at it this way, it just reinforces that Adamant Thunder really is insane, doesn’t it? No sane person would pull something like this against an entire continent.”
└“Can’t you tell? Even the guys who wrote the analytical comments aren’t saying Adamant Thunder is normal.”
└“Even his comrades who revere Adamant Thunder like a god don’t say he’s normal; mixing in lies like that makes the worship less convincing.”
└“How can someone have five action patterns and phase analyses when dealing with a human, lol.”
└“Just think of him as an ancient magical beast. He usually just sleeps, but if someone invades his territory, he tears them limb from limb; it’s exactly the same.”
└“Does he really just sleep quietly? If you lined up all the people Adamant Thunder killed, they’d wrap around the Central Council several times over.”
└“Yeah, seeing this Subjugation Operation, it seems he really was just sleeping quietly until now.”
└“……….”
Ridiculous comments went back and forth, but no one could refute them.
Instead, only humorous replies, half-agreeing, half-self-deprecating, were posted.
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└“I didn’t know Van was such a patient person. He could do all that, but he held back to just killing a few dozen people until now.”
└“Seriously, we almost made a huge mistake.”
└“We thought he couldn’t hold back and just lashed out, but it turns out that was him exercising restraint.”
└“After seeing the Subjugation Operation, he’s quite the gentleman normally.”
└“We almost misunderstood him as a madman who killed people for no reason~”
└“It was a misunderstanding, right?”
└“No.”
└“Alright, let’s do better.”
While there were many comments exchanging silly jokes, there were also a great number of comments offering serious analysis or considering the aftermath of the Subjugation Operation.
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└“They say it like a joke, but what Adamant Thunder did in this war is no laughing matter.”
└“Right now, there’s hardly a superhuman in Vulcan who can even replicate one of the Subjugation Operation’s five phases.”
└“Even if you brought in the Giants of the Sunlit World or the Cartel Chairman, they’d at most be able to imitate just one phase.”
└“Since Deadrise was defeated, Vulcan’s underworld now belongs to Adamant Thunder.”
└“At this point, the hegemony of the mega-city has practically been decided.”
Those who tried to guess Adamant Thunder’s whereabouts and predict his future actions.
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└“The city’s direction will change depending on how Adamant Thunder acts from now on.”
└“Are we really entrusting half the city to the madness of a crazy wizard? Where is Adamant Thunder now?”
└“They say he appeared once in District 49 after the Subjugation Operation ended and has been in seclusion ever since.”
└“It’s not strange. He always entered a rest period after rampaging through other cities.”
└“A rest period…? Saying it like that makes him sound less like a human and more like an active volcano.”
└“He’s practically a living natural disaster, after all. Though this time, he blew up Vulcan instead of another city.”
Those who were preparing for shifts in power and status within the city after the war.
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└“Still, Vulcan didn’t come away from this without some gains.”
└“They managed to take over the entire Forbidden Zone in the center of the Eastern Continent, which The Legion had occupied, including the site where 2nd Command was located.”
└“But don’t they have to hand that over to Adamant Thunder anyway?”
└“He’s the kind of guy who thoroughly takes care of his possessions, even when he’s lost his mind. He’ll never forget a harvest like this.”
└“If you look at it that way, Adamant Thunder probably already considers this city his own. He protected it by killing all of The Legion because he thought it was his territory.”
└“True. Shouldn’t they replace the Vulcan Mayor and the City Council Chairman first?”
└“So, when does the city’s name change to Van?”
“I think I’ve seen most of the worthwhile reactions by now……”
“Huh? Can’t we watch a little longer?”
Davi, who had been engrossed in reading the comments, startled and hastily scrolled down.
“L-look here! Here’s another long comment from some commendable… no, outrageous organisms trying to analyze Master’s achievements!”
“……”
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└“Just one more thing about the Subjugation Operation.”
“There are many leaks related to Phase 4 here because most superhumans found it impossible to clear that pattern normally.”
“There was a separate reason why the Subjugation Operation went all the way to Phase 5 in the first place.”
“That’s the part that those currently researching or uncovering the Subjugation Operation are most focused on.”
“Why did Adamant Thunder not end the war in Phase 4, but drag it out to the fifth phase to finish it?”
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It was a rather sharp question, but the replies weren’t very positive.
Perhaps because it was closer to an ambiguous topic with no clear answer rather than providing definitive information.
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└“Is this some kind of debate that ends by leaving room for thought at the end?”
└“We don’t need any preachy questions like that. Just give us a clear answer.”
└“If you don’t answer now, I’m buying that 300,000 cell viral magazine from the author.”
└“Calm down; you’re too excited.”
└“This guy is truly insane.”
└“Isn’t he the craziest bastard in Vulcan, lol?”
└“Adamant Thunder, lol.”
└“Gagameon, lol.”
└“Sakia, lol.”
└“Olivera, lol.”
└“Vista, lol.”
└“Ermont, lol.”
└“Ermont, get the hell out, lol.”
└“Gagameon, are you perhaps… older?”
“Hmph… such trivial organisms.”
Davi snorted, her eyes sparkling.
“To be having so much fun among themselves without me… how outrageous!”
“No, it’s not particularly outrageous.”
Lennok hugged Davi, who was twitching as if she were about to connect to the Cybernetic Space, and quickly scrolled down.
It was to distract the excited Davi, but below, an even more provocative debate was unfolding.
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└“Forget all that complicated stuff, just tell me who the strongest person in Vulcan is right now.”
“We need to know who to bow down to if we want to live a little longer in this shitty city.”
“So, is Adamant Thunder definitely stronger than Cheonbeon this time?”
“……Oh.”
Three powerful sentences that made even Lennok momentarily impressed.
Below the comment, which was barely three lines long, thousands of replies were streaming in.
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└“Cheonbeon? Is this bastard really crazy?”
└“Look at that language, lol. Really trying to bait a reaction.”
└“Wow… the Deepweb has gotten so many new users.”
└“Who was that again? Are they talking about that flame wizard who picked a fight with Adamant Thunder and got beaten like a dog?”
└“He fought him one-on-one, beat him up, and sent him back, but comments like this are still appearing?”
└“It’s just bait, asking an obnoxious question to get a reaction. Are there really only new users here?”
└“Comparison should stop at the point where he kicked away a commander position and ran away from The Legion’s military parade.”
└“Seriously, who cares about a wizard who didn’t even participate in the Subjugation Operation?”
“……”
As the replies started to spiral and intertwine, users began creating separate comment threads to continue their arguments.
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└“Huh? But you have to admit that Cheonbeon was the only wizard who could contend with Adamant Thunder.”
└“That’s what I’m saying. These guys here are trying to force themselves to deny even undeniable facts.”
└“Can we stop with the ‘only one who survived Adamant Thunder’ thing? It was just a coincidence of circumstances; there’s no room for overestimation.”
└“Cheonbeon advanced to the Central Front before Adamant Thunder and even caught the Conjunction Spell Master, didn’t he? Don’t you know the Order Alliance is gunning for him?”
└“If you’re going to say that, then let’s say Cheonbeon’s defeat to Adamant Thunder was also just a coincidence of circumstances. Why is everything a coincidence?”
└“Are you guys all really crazy? Are you seriously comparing Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon even after seeing the Subjugation Operation?”
└“Precisely because of that, there’s room for serious debate. After all these years, only Cheonbeon has achieved similar results.”
└“It’s not well-known in Vulcan, but in the Central Front, stopping the Nether King’s Gabihaeng is as highly regarded an achievement as killing a Conjunction Spell Master.”
└“This is true. The fact that the Warband is even considering headhunting Cheonbeon, who isn’t even a psychic, says it all.”
└“The Nether King? Wasn’t he a loser who crashed into Jinwa and committed suicide?”
└“Take that back.”
└“Are you Cheonbeon? Why are you so excited?”
In an instant, the flow of replies veered towards the Nether King, and people who wanted to debate Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon again started new comment threads.
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└“Honestly, I don’t want to talk to people who still compare Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon even after seeing the Subjugation Operation.”
└“After reading what the main post said about what Adamant Thunder did with his Magic Tower, do those words still come out of your mouth?”
└“No matter how much the Cheonbeon supporters rage, the outcome won’t change. Adamant Thunder is already a Transcendent, so what does it matter?”
└“It was a battle whose outcome was decided years ago, so stop trying to force this discussion, damn it.”
└“No, I’m not denying that Adamant Thunder is stronger than Cheonbeon, okay? Instead, as Adamant Thunder’s evaluation has risen, Cheonbeon also needs to be re-evaluated.”
└“Seriously, finally someone reasonable has appeared. Why can’t people understand this?”
└“But why does Cheonbeon’s evaluation have to come as a package deal when evaluating Adamant Thunder? Is he some kind of launchpad?”
└“Wow, Cheonbeon got his ass kicked by Adamant Thunder, but he’s getting re-evaluated by using Adamant Thunder as a booster, lol.”
└“Just stop forcibly associating him with Adamant Thunder. Is this a sport? Does there have to be a rivalry for it to be popular?”
└“Didn’t you know? Everyone comes here to fight over these kinds of topics. You should declare your side and join in.”
└“Yeah~ the Cheonbeon support faction will fall apart without you~”
└“This is where people with no real skill pretend their insights are sharp.”
└“Rating things is always the easiest thing in the world, lol.”
└“If you don’t like it, why don’t you just leave the Deepweb?”
└“Alright~ that’s the template.”
“It’s chaotic……”
Lennok massaged his forehead and looked back at Davi.
“It feels much more crowded than before. Was the Deepweb always like this?”
“Hmm… it doesn’t seem much different?”
Davi tilted her head.
“Perhaps it feels a little different because I used to filter and show Master only the interesting parts?”
“……Alright. Let’s stop here. It seems pointless to continue.”
The comparison between Adamant Thunder, who specialized in lightning magic, and Cheonbeon, who specialized in flame magic.
It was true that there was a significant power gap between the two identities Lennok used, so there was no need to deny it.
Even if those fiercely debating such topics on the Deepweb didn’t know the full story, Lennok had no reason to worry.
He had logged in to check public opinion and reactions after the Subjugation Operation ended, but it took longer than expected.
Of course, there weren’t no noteworthy reactions or new pieces of information in the process, but—
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└“Are there only idiots here? If you want to find a Transcendent to compare with Adamant Thunder, you should look at Pandemonium, not Cheonbeon.”
└“I get what you mean. You’re talking about that Manipulation Spellcaster with the grotesque mask, right?”
└“Was his name Victor? Everyone who secretly watched the Subjugation Operation from up close only talked about him.”
└“In just a few days, the information fees related to Pandemonium have skyrocketed dozens of times. That must mean demand for them surged right after the Subjugation Operation ended.”
Stories about Victor mixed among the rapidly exchanged comments.
As he had held no small significance in the Subjugation Operation, those with keen observation skills would surely know about him.
Especially since Lennok, in his identity as Victor, had confronted the Incarnation Body outside District 49.
Those who had closely watched the Subjugation Operation must have indirectly perceived that moment.
The atmosphere suggested that information about Victor was being traded among insiders.
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└“He was already known on other continents as a key figure in the Well Operation or the Kabahim Air Raid – a monster.”
└“Those who knew, knew long ago. Only the ignorant idiots who don’t care about the outside world are seeing him for the first time now.”
└“Bullshit, lol. You’re saying everyone knew that Manipulation Spellcaster, no matter how strong, could even briefly contend with Adamant Thunder?”
└“If everyone knew that, then why the hell would the information fees for the Demonic Conflux suddenly skyrocket like this, lol?”
└“These ‘I told you so’ types really make me want to slap them.”
└“Are you a current Pandemonium member? Is this bastard Ermont?”
“It’s time.”
Watching the Deepweb wasn’t uninteresting, but it was almost time for his appointment.
One of the tasks Lennok absolutely had to handle after the Subjugation Operation was drawing near.
Just as Lennok thought this and was about to close the screen and stand up.
Suddenly, comments below the post began to update in a frenzy, causing it to start loading slowly.
“Huh?”
Davi was momentarily surprised by the phenomenon of extreme server fluctuations within the Deepweb.
The central network traffic, which had just stabilized, instantly became heavy, creating an unsettling sensation as if it were surging.
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└“Holy shit, it’s here.”
└“Wow, lol. The Subjugation Operation ended three days ago, and now they’re finally crawling out. What were they doing all this time?”
└“Damn, they must have been deeply contemplating the rankings. Don’t complain unnecessarily.”
└“If you complain and they don’t raise your rank, are you going to take responsibility?”
└“Lol, how did they know there was an uproar about Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon and show up right on time?”
└“I’ve got 37 alternate accounts ready. Just wait.”
└“Admin, ban this bastard.”
└“Party time~ Party time~ Party time~”
“……Could it be.”
Rankings. The Deepweb users’ reaction, more fervent than passionate.
Only after refreshing the popular posts list on the Diamond board did Lennok understand the answer.
(new!) [Title: Eastern Continent Superhuman Power Ranking 2.0]+4328