It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

chapter 49 There Are Limits to Freedom of Expression

—

The chat was filled with insults towards the donator, rogue support, and shields for Lee Yena. It was a scene unimaginable until recently.

Considering that viewers had flocked in just to insult a broadcaster who stuck stubbornly to the bizarre concept of only playing rogue characters, it was even more surprising.

Perhaps it was affection born out of hatred. Or maybe they were angry because, despite everything, they had grown fond of the broadcaster.

The level of insults being thrown in the chat was excessive, given that the person had only made a few insulting donations.

Yet, Lee Yena, the target of the insults, just listened to the consecutive donations and smiled softly.

Then, with the sound of scribbling and in a languid voice, she responded.

《Trolling… Trolling wouldn’t be fun. I always do my best.》

Whether she was being insulted or defended, her tone and voice remained consistent. However, was she secretly feeling something?

A post-it note with the words ‘Rogue bashing results in bans’ appeared next to the makgeolli bottle.

The word ‘ban’ was underlined in red.

《There are limits to freedom of expression. This is the first rule of this broadcast, so please abide by it.》

『Insult me, but don’t insult the rogue』

『This is true love』

『Is this really the first rule?』

『Unbelievable LOLOLOL LOL』

It was the first rule from a broadcaster who never reacted to borderline sexual remarks or blatant insults.

As everyone laughed it off, finding the situation somewhat amusing,

-IWantToPunchGetDevoured has donated 1,000 KRW!-

【Limits to freedom of expression LOLOLOL There’s no limit to the freedom to smash the heads of rogue players~ If you want to open chests so bad, go spend money on gacha in mobile games instead of crawling into KoK~】

The donation, filled to its character limit, rang out once more—

And the chat was brimming again with harsh insults aimed at the donator.

Regardless, Lee Yena raised a bowl of makgeolli leisurely, clinked it against the camera lens, and with a slight smile, spoke in a calm voice.

《IWantToPunchGetDevoured-nim congratulations on being the first permanent ban. Oh, but…》

The sound of gulping down the makgeolli was followed by the tapping of keys.

《Even though I’m mostly a viewer, getting banned like this feels quite… unfair. So, even if someone has done wrong, I don’t want them to leave without a chance to argue their case.》

With a click of the mouse, the broadcast screen adjusted to show the viewer list, reducing the camera’s size.

《But giving someone who intentionally committed a wrong a chance to explain themselves also seems a bit odd. There’s a saying that even if you don’t hate the crime, you should hate the person.》

Around 1,400 viewers, many with rather peculiar nicknames.

Lee Yena scrolled up and down the viewer list, then brought up the viewer selection roulette on the screen with familiar motions.

《So- is there anyone who would like to defend that person? If not, I’ll choose a public defender. Even heinous criminals need a lawyer.》

She waited a moment, watching the question marks fill the chat, then began spinning the roulette—

《Ah. But a public defender… might do a sloppy job. You know how it is in movies, right?》

《So if the defense fails, the public defender will be banned too. The duration will depend on the defense.》

With a clicking sound effect, an unfortunate viewer’s nickname appeared on the screen.

《Alright, cutTheRogues (CutTheRoguse), please start defending IWantToPunchGetDevoured (FuckAhttaBrokerWannaPunch). You can defend them verbally or opt for trial-by-combat if you prefer.》

『LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOL No way』

『As long as it’s not me~~』

『Let’s go for trial-by-combat~』

『What kind of trial-by-combat with someone who took down a Challenger LOLOLOL LOL』

『CutTheRogues: No』

『CutTheRogues: That guy is just an evil bastard』

《Yes… So without your help, both you and the defendant will be permanently banned. A shame, isn’t it…》

Lee Yena, genuinely lowering her voice as if she felt sorry, began mixing the prepared batter and vegetables.

《Please start your defense. I’ll be frying one sample chive pancake.》

『CutTheRogues: No damn it why me』

『CutTheRogues: Hey』

『CutTheRogues: What have I done wrong?』

《Defense.》

The Silver user CutTheRogues, unable to choose trial-by-combat, left a dismal defense stating, ‘Even a Silver player knows that rogues are troll characters, so why can’t someone curse while watching the broadcast?’ and exited the chat amidst a barrage of insults.

As everyone cheerfully chanted ‘As long as it’s not me’, the roulette spun again with a cheerful sound.

『???』

『Why the roulette again』

『Are the chive pancakes done?』

『Let’s just do a mukbang』

『No way』

『Show us at least the finished chive pancakes』

《Isn’t it a bit cruel to force someone who already failed to defend another to defend themselves? So-》

-Click.

《HomeStayOut, you’ve been chosen as the public defender.》

Thus, a second public defender was forcibly selected to defend the failed public defender.

《Now please start defending CutTheRoguse.》

Without any break, the chain of enforced collective responsibility continued.

《Anonymous401294, you understand, right? Start your defense.》

It continued until Revan, known as Lee Shihoon, logged in with their secondary account and was chosen as the fifth public defender.

*

“Ah.”

Revan, or Lee Shihoon’s small hobby was cooking and watching cooking streams.

A small pastime started by watching and trying to replicate popular chefs’ cooking videos on G-Tube. Naturally, he was lured to Lee Yena’s broadcast by the tag claiming it to be a cooking show—

Frustrated by not seeing a single second of actual cooking, he couldn’t help but log in with a secondary account and leave a few chat messages.

Unable to endure watching the ingredients drying up on screen, Revan decided to leave for the kitchen with the thought, ‘I might as well cook myself.’

When Revan returned to his broadcasting booth with a perfectly cooked kimchi pancake, the third public defender had already been selected.

He should have left then.

《Anonymous401294? Choose between words and swords.》

He briefly considered, ‘Should I just run?’

After all, the account Revan was using was a secondary one, used solely for watching streams and unlinked to his main identity.

Recalling the anxiety he felt during the first broadcast, his instinct told him to turn off the broadcast immediately.

However,

‘… I do have an unused alt character.’

Revan hesitated, hands hovering over his keyboard. His competitive spirit was the problem.

The intense frustration and sense of defeat he felt after being completely outplayed by GetDevoured, Yena, during the last build-improvement broadcast were still fresh in his mind.

A crushing loss he’d never imagined facing at the Master tier.

For someone with such a strong will to win, like Revan, it was a hard experience to let go of. If KoK was a one-on-one fighting game, he would have relentlessly hit the ‘Retry’ button.

But KoK was a team game, and there was no guarantee that a rematch would yield a satisfying victory. So he tried to dismiss it as just another occasional loss.

However, watching Yena wipe out viewers in her duel streams—

He couldn’t help but think. What if we faced each other one-on-one, in a straight duel?

It’s a battle where warriors have the advantage.

Last time, his excessively aggressive build’s vulnerabilities were exploited, leading to his defeat—but with a proven, balanced build, a rematch might go differently.

And so—

《Defense.》

Yena’s voice cut through his thoughts, and Revan, almost entranced, responded.

『anon_401294: Sword.』