Golden Experience

Chapter 182: “Ururu Impact”

“Not allowed, it said. But an event, huh? Not the right time for that now.”

The system message was an announcement for the third official event.

For the next week, meaning for approximately 10 in-game days, an event would take place.

It seemed like the event would involve an attack from the sky, likely the assault of the [Archangel] calamity. According to the Vampire Count, Blanc’s acquaintance, the Archangel calamity seems to be a fairly young calamity.

If that’s the case, then this Archangel calamity is undoubtedly the sixth calamity. In other words, this is one of Rare’s senpais.

According to the system message, the angel attacks were expected to be around ?2 in strength, weaker than most areas dominated by Rare. The Tore Grasslands were only ?1, but even that was deliberately kept subdued.

So, the only place to consider defense was the city of Rifure.

The residents of that city were merely kept by Rare without being under her control, and she couldn’t openly defend with her proud monsters. However, there was not a complete lack of defense capability.

The city’s main patrol force could be strengthened through Riley, and in case of emergency, Rare herself could take on the defense using Mare’s body. Moreover, Mare could already fight alone quite effectively. If the opponents were around ?2 in strength, they wouldn’t be a threat.

But what’s the intention behind introducing a cooperation-recommended event at this point?

Even if the administration said, “Let’s set aside our differences and cooperate”, monsters and angels are equally enemies to NPCs who have been living in this world since before the game service started. On top of that, the devs’ intentions will not be conveyed to them.

If they really wanted to make it happen, they could use abilities like [Spiritual Wisdom] to communicate. However, the fact that Rare currently hears nothing implies that the administration has no intention of doing so. In other words, for the administration, it doesn’t matter how the NPCs behave.

And players are facing the same problem.

The former goblin she defeated a while ago—the mysterious goblin mummy player—probably never revealed his identity to anyone. It’s likely because if it spread, some players would actively target him, or some players actively proposing to collude might emerge, causing troublesome situations.

In that case, it’s unlikely that monster players would approach human players for cooperation. Moreover, discovering the identity of an unrevealed monster player would be difficult for other players.

However, the administration probably anticipated that much.

Even so, the intention behind such notation was probably to warn players and NPCs alike that there’s a possibility of being attacked by angels regardless of their race, so be cautious.

“I think it would be fine to say that plainly. Maybe they’re afraid of causing panic or something if they explain it straightforwardly.”

But for now, there are other things to do.

A formerly-Hiers rural town was attacked by Portree.

The reason is unclear, but it seems all the residents were killed, and the city was effectively taken over.

According to the player who posted on SNS, there was no prior notice or anything.

I won’t dwell on the morality of that act.

It’s the same for what Blanc did in Erfahren and the capital.

However, unlike Blanc, who is a player, if the ruler governing a country deliberately attacks and takes over another country’s city, stationing troops there, there must be some purpose behind it.

Normally, you’d think the purpose is invasion.

There hasn’t been a war on this continent for a long time, but there’s no particular aversion to war. This is evident from the fact that minor conflicts between cities have occurred from time to time.

Certainly, every country operates independently within its borders, and there is no reason to invade another country.

But that doesn’t mean war is only caused by poverty.

Portree is a small country compared to Hiers. It’s probably because of its low population, but it’s unclear whether the Portree citizens truly accept that fact.

Perhaps they have been eyeing the neighboring land since ancient times, divided from their country.

If that’s the case, the invasion might not be the goal, and this consideration adds some credibility to the idea.

In that case, what would they do after subduing this rural town?

If the goal is invasion, they would undoubtedly advance. After all, there is no longer any “nation” to stop them.

So, it would inevitably come. To the former Hiers Kingdom, to its capital.

“So, before that happens, I have to stop them. It’s known that the Hiers capital was taken over by the calamity. In other words, this means I’m being challenged.

My next mission is to crush the Portree Kingdom within the week leading up to the event.”

?

“Soooorry.”

“…It’s fine, really. Well, it was an unfortunate accident.”

I remember that during the recent tea party, Lyra mentioned something about dispatching bandits to neighboring countries and engaging in covert activities.

I never expected that it would backfire and affect Hiers.

I could hear the details from Lyra, who suddenly appeared unannounced at Rifure.

It seems the root cause was the bandit operations that Lyra had dispatched to neighboring countries.

Portree, a town near the border, was attacked by bandits, and they assumed that the bandits came from within the Old Hiers territory.

Just that wouldn’t be enough to determine if the bandits came from Aural or Hiers, but regardless of which, if retaliation against Aural were to happen, it could escalate into a full-fledged war between nations.

Of course, Lyra doesn’t desire that outcome. If it comes to that, she would likely find a way to settle it peacefully. However, Portree doesn’t know that, and they can’t risk provoking Aural without proper knowledge.

On the other hand, Lyra seems to have a good grasp of the military and strength of Portree and neighboring countries, analyzing it through the posts on the SNS of the players in each country.

This bandit incident might also be a way for her to verify her analysis.

In any case, Portree, rather than facing Aural, or more accurately, human species nations, sought an outlet for its frustration and chose Hiers, which is under “Other Regions” and no longer a human species nation.

While the cause was the bandits sent by Lyra, it doesn’t change the fact that Rare is being underestimated.

Lyra may not be too concerned about it, but for Rare, reputation is important. Even if it’s for self-defense, it’s a matter of life and death to underestimate someone who stands behind a dojo that ultimately sells strength.

“It was an unfortunate accident, but we need to settle it.”

“Nah, it’s just a game, can’t we let it end there?”

“Even in a game. In fact, precisely because it’s a game. It’s not like an NPC known as a calamity would quietly sit back and let someone mess with their territory.”

“Territory? Rare-chan, you hadn’t done anything to that conquered town yet. You didn’t even know it existed, right?”

“And I know it now.”

” You’re just trying to get it out of your system!”

In any case, it’s certain that the fist of retaliation has already been swung back for the counter.

I will use it to evaluate the new forces that had just rolled out.

I threw Ururu, who had been enhanced without ever being deployed. Threw not in the military sense of causing a clash, but in the physical sense.

Ururu was [Summoned] and dropped above the relevant town.

Ururu, seemingly heavier than in its Elder Rock Golem era, blew away most of the town’s buildings with just the impact of its fall.

The enemy soldiers seemed considerably strong compared to the Hiers soldiers I had trampled over before, and even with the shockwave blowing away the buildings, most of them survived.

Afterward, Ururu obediently stepped on them one by one as ordered.

Some managed to damage Ururu’s legs in a counterattack. Inflicting damage on Ururu, made entirely of Adamas, means they possess weapons of Adamas level or higher, or they have some skill that can override weapon performance.

I gave up on [Appraisal] since they were already crushed, but if they’re that strong, there’s a high chance they’re someone’s [Subordinates]. We might meet again someday.

There were also those who aimed directly at the chest temple with magic or arrows. It’s a blatantly important part, and their judgment was not wrong.

However, hitting the moving Ururu, and moreover, threading through the pillars of the temple, is not an easy task.

Moreover, even if they scored a hit or two, Ururu wouldn’t fall immediately. A hit was like a drop in the bucket.

If they knew the folklore about a mythical being called Talos, they might have considered targeting the heel as a weakness, but NPCs like them wouldn’t know. Moreover, Rare herself doesn’t know if it has an actual weakness in the heel.

To defeat Ururu, they would need to somehow put it in a downed state, expose the weakness in its chest, launch a concentrated attack, then aim for another downed state when it recovers, and repeat the process. Such bosses are common in other games, so players would likely adapt quickly. But, at least for the commander stationed in this town, it seemed impossible.

In any case, the town was reduced to ruins, and the first step of the retaliation was complete.

If there are no remaining residents in the town, there’s no point in leaving it standing. It’s not close to the territory of monsters, and it’s not particularly active in trade with other places. It was a small town that engaged in agriculture, buying only essential goods like salt from merchants. Since there seem to be no remaining residents, there is no special value.

Even if they were to rebuild and recruit new residents, using the skills of this world, it would be faster to build from scratch than to repair half-destroyed buildings that could be attacked by enemies.

“The town that was attacked and conquered has already been crushed. They probably noticed my reaction, so it’s too late now.”

“I wonder how they’ll respond. They didn’t come here initially because they didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, I suppose.”

“They came here to compensate for the loot Lyra took from them by looting from another place. Since doing it to Aural would cause an international issue, they came to what is considered lawless territory here.”

In this continent where governance at the city level has become commonplace, it’s quite impressive to label it lawless territory just because there’s no national leader. In a world where the concept of basic human rights seems absent, such detailed matters seem pointless.

In essence, it means that as long as there’s a license to loot, anyone can attack anyone at any time.

“Truly barbaric. As someone with a High Elf background, it’s embarrassing.”

“Oh, right. That’s true.”

“In any case, if it’s already too late, let’s teach them what ‘law’ means to these barbarians.”

“An eye for an eye, or something like that?”

“No, starting with more fundamental things. What I’ll teach them is the world’s oldest existing legal code. I believe murder and robbery were punishable by death. If the perpetrator is from the national army, the mastermind would be the national leader, and the king would face capital punishment.”

“The Ur-Nammu Code, huh… By the way, if that’s the reasoning, wouldn’t I be the first to be judged?”

“That’s fine too, but it’s something the affected ones should do. It’s not my concern. Lack of execution is worse.”

“Vigilante justice! You were talking about the law…”

Lyra wants to be judged, perhaps. But sorry, there’s no time to deal with Lyra.

However, there should be that artifact in Portree’s capital.

If I attack without a plan, I could end up repeating the same mistake as last time.

“But even if we attack, the artifact is troublesome.”

“Oh, that thing. It feels more like it just scatters annoyance around rather than giving an advantage in battle. Doesn’t it react indiscriminately except for a few predefined individuals you set?”

The remaining Hiers artifact taken from Lyra and posts on the forum commemorating the calamity subjugation also mentioned such characteristics. If Aural’s artifact is similar, then it’s safe to assume that all artifacts, or rather the legacy of the Spirit Lord, have the same specifications.

If the Spirit Lord, who held a grudge against the current royal families of the six nations, created them, it wouldn’t be strange if they spread curses indiscriminately.

“The artifact itself has a clear form, so wouldn’t it be enough to avoid getting close once you find it? Or maybe take it before activation?”

Certainly, if you know about it, there’s no need to approach it willingly.

“Or maybe that’s it. Basically, we just don’t have to get close to the capital. It’s most rational to send someone who won’t be troubled if they die, right? You like that, right? Doing things rationally?”

The way she puts it is irritating, but indeed, Rare likes rational things.

Occasionally, she does irrational things seeking romance or atmosphere, but those are just exceptions. Like putting curry in laksa or Fukujinzuke.

“…I wanted to test my own skills too. Well, can’t be helped. Although, in the sense that it would have a significant impact if I die, most of my higher-ranking subordinates would be troublesome. Ururu’s test is already over… Oh, there was one more. Someone who’s strong, even though they don’t have any subordinates.”