The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

(468) Volume 49 7 — A Head on Match

?Volume 49 Chapter 7 — A Head-on Match

From the Arpen Kingdom, the main force of the Grass Porridge Cult had arrived in the Harfen Region.

“Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge!”

The swarm of people descending southwards, covering the whole plain with their endless number.

Not only the combat specialists, there were users with every imaginable race and profession flooding down into the region. Some of them were complete beginners who had played for less than 100 days since they had stepped into the world of Royal Road in Morata and Dawn City.

“It’s not every day we can join this kind of big event.”

“You’re right. This is bound to be fun.”

“Excuse me; I’d like to return home. Please make way. I’ve been being swept down by the crowd for two days already!”

“I’m also being swept down for the whole day and I was just selling some sweet potatoes. *sob* Please, guys, I beg you!”

In no time, the main force of the Grass Porridge Cult was spread over the Harfen Region like a mist at dawn. Jerome, the commander of the Second Legion, was moving his troops around and hunting the users of the Grass Porridge like a starving jackal, but it didn’t yield any visible effect. As they cut down ten thousands, a hundred thousand more users showed up to join the Porridge Cult’s ranks. Still, ten thousands could be considered as a significant amount, yet Jerome was not satisfied; most of the users they had cut down were novices with levels below 100, and those whose levels were above 200 were not easily caught by Jerome’s troops. While so many newbies were getting themselves kicked around by the Imperial soldiers, all of the more competent users simply took their chance and ran away.

“So, what is the size of our enemy troops?”

Inside the tent in which the Second Legion’s strategy meeting had been taking place, Ronague the mage answered Jerome’s question.

“The estimated number is 70 millions.”

“Sounds like they have exaggerated their population to a ridiculous extent. Not to mention all those broadcasts reproducing their lies.”

“This is the statistical data obtained by U.S. Department of Defense itself.”

“…Why the heck are those guys interested in counting the cult members?”

“Apparently they were trying to understand the influence of the Grass Porridge Cult in real life.”

A heavy silence settled inside the Second Legion’s meeting room.

The mental pressure of having to face the enemy whose number is greater than the entire population of many nations!

‘Even if we win this, with so many users of Grass Porridge living near me in real life, would I even be able to stay in my town once they find out I’m the one who defeated them?’

‘How am I going to go to school from now on?’

The users of the Hermes Guild tried to picture the exact scale of 70 millions of people in their mind, and quickly gave up.

The main force of the Grass Porridge Cult was moving its enormous body ever closer to them. It was one thing to discuss the size of the tens of millions of troops and assess their power, quite another to actually witness their stupefying number. So far Jerome’s army had only attacked the outskirts of the enemy force as they were not confident enough to launch an all-out assault, but there hadn’t been any sign of damage. The Grass Porridge Cult was continuing their advance to the south unabated, and now the Second Legion was beginning to feel a greater threat than they had ever posed to their enemy.

“We will eventually reach our limit with this tactic. At the moment, what we’re doing cannot even be considered as stopping them although that’s certainly what we are trying to achieve here.”

Even when fights broke out, the Northern users in the surroundings simply kept marching southwards. It was only a matter of time before the main force of the Grass Porridge took over the entire Harfen Region.

“As we are under such special circumstances, I suggest a drastic countermeasure…we need to break through our enemy’s main troops from a point.”

Jerome decided to rampage across the Grass Porridge Cult—a plan to move his whole army through the enemy rank, tearing them apart, and immediately escape the field.

“I’m afraid that sounds too dangerous…”

“On the contrary; when we were conquering the Central Continent the valor of our legion proved to be highly efficient, but right now the size of the enemy is simply too great.”

The main strength of Jerome’s Second Legion was its knights; during the conquest they had made a significant contribution in battle by breaking through the enemy lines and scattering their formation.

“Aren’t mobility and focus-fire the specialties of our troops? Nobody would even imagine that we will attempt to penetrate their great mass. Even if we encounter some bothersome Northern users on the way, we’ll just pierce through, not staying for long to fight them.”

“Our side will also have to suffer losses, though.”

“There will be some damage, yes, but think about what would happen when we successfully penetrate their main force. It will be a great shock to our enemy, and the Second Legion will be known as the most powerful army of the entire Royal Road.

“Well, that sounds…”

The users who had been objecting to his idea became somewhat quiet. As the users that formed the core strength of the Hermes Guild, they had heard about the reputation of Weed and the Arpen Kingdom, but most of them had never experienced defeat until now.

“It’s certainly a great number, but most of the enemy troops are weak beginners.”

“They won’t be able to stop our assault. Even if things don’t go as favorably as we hoped, we can always penetrate their ranks closer to the edges, not the center of the whole army.”

With Jerome’s repeated persuasion, other Hermes Guild users were also beginning to change their minds; it was true that the users belonging to the Second Legion were yet to be defeated.

“Those weaklings cannot be a match against our troops’ mobility. Let’s put up a memorable fight—we are having the attention of every broadcasting station out there.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Second Legion faced the main force of the Grass Porridge Cult in the Great Plains of Wulooph in the Harpan Region.

“Charge!”

Jerome led his troops valiantly and carried out the central assault operation as planned. From afar it looked like an extremely foolhardy strategy, but should they succeed, they would accomplish a deed that would record their names in the history of Royal Road.

“Lay everything you have on the line. We are the Second Legion. With all our pride and dignity as the glorious Imperial Army, we will form a mighty spearhead that will penetrate the very heart of the enemy ranks!”

Jerome and the Second Legion rushed towards the endless stream of men that was the Grass Porridge Cult.

***

There were a lot of war experts who had backgrounds as high-rank military officials in the Grass Porridge Cult, and they knew that the outcome of the battle will greatly vary depending on the method of fighting.

“Things would get more difficult if this Second Legion of the Imperial Army keeps cutting off our limbs as they are doing now. Their strategy of spreading instability by slaughtering the users over the Harfen Region is quite dangerous to us.”

“Our users have risen for a heroic cause, but rumors will begin to spread as our advance gets delayed and more deaths occur. If the march halts, then it will mean a very underwhelming end to our campaign.”

“When surrounded by such a large crowd, people easily get swayed by the change of mood. To the Northern users, the great power of the Hermes Guild can come as a shock.”

“Hmm. The Hermes Guild is indeed a formidable force, having seized the control over the Central Continent. Every single one of their members is elite solider who has experienced at least a hundred battles.”

“Our people would already know that each user of level 400s or 500s is very strong. However, not many are aware of how stunningly powerful they can become in a group without any first-hand experience.”

While the war experts were devising an operation plan for the Grass Porridge Cult, Jerome’s Second Legion was charging straight into their main force, penetrating their way through and sweeping everything in front of them.

“Ride faster. There is nobody who can slow us down!”

Jerome used ‘Command over the Knightly Order’, which was a war skill that increased the attacking abilities and mobility of the allies in range. The morale of the Second Region reached its full height; they pierced the enemy lines, striking the users of the Grass Porridge.

“Hahaha. I’ll cut down everyone that comes at me!”

The Hermes Guild users were running amok in excitement. Jerome and other best users of the Second Legion were thoroughly enjoying themselves as well. Riding on horseback, killing dozens of enemies with a single skill—this kind of intrepid assault was the very reason why they had chosen to become knights.

“They couldn’t attack us with spells or arrows. With their ranged attacks disabled, we could kill them with just a graze of our swords in direct combat.”

“It will be even better if they do decide to attack us from a range. There will be far more attacks that miss than those that hit us, so our enemy will quickly fall into chaos, being attacked by their own allies.”

The Second Legion sped through the main force of the Grass Porridge Cult for more than 3 kilometers of distance.

The army of elite troops piercing the battlefield!

As the Steel Knights could clear a path without getting tired, they hadn’t lost any of their initial strength, either.

“Run away!”

“No, fight! We can win this if we just hold up for long enough!”

The users of the Grass Porridge Cult rushed forward to stop them, but with such a huge discrepancy in the average strength between the two sides, they were not able to drive off the assaulting Second Legion.

“Block them with your shields!”

“It’s no use. They are just penetrating our defense.”

The great crowd of the Grass Porridge Cult was collapsing so suddenly and meaninglessly. There were some high level users sporadically appearing to join the combat, but it was not enough to stop the advancing Second Legion; they were targeted by a focus fire and quickly faded into grey nothingness. There were groups of thousands of novice users clustered together in the field, and as they could be killed by a single area-of-effect skill, they were being completely wiped out before they even had time to come up with any plans.

“They launched a full-frontal assault against us…!”

“I must admit that our enemy has come up with an ingenious tactic. One moment they were just cutting off the branches of our troops, and they suddenly turned to penetrate our main force in the middle of our march.”

The war experts of the Grass Porridge Cult highly regarded Jerome’s unusual measures. It was not an easy thing to do, both strategically and tactically, yet he managed to strike precisely at his enemy’s weak point. Actually, this scenario had already been considered in their earlier prediction as one of the worst possible cases, but they had no choice but to ignore it, as it was practically impossible to prepare the tens of millions of users for this kind of unexpected situation.

“It’s already late, but we need to start getting into battle formation now; send the high level users to the battlefront where they can fight against the Imperial legion.”

“It would take more than half an hour just to assemble the fighters to stand in the vanguard. Also, even when they do step forward to fight, if we throw them directly at the charging enemy we will be completely helpless to the legion’s assault once they fall.”

“This is a race against time. We might lose millions of lives here—no, we WILL lose millions of lives. No way around it.”

The Grass Porridge army, with its poor defense, allowed itself to be completely broken through when faced by the furious attacks from Jerome and his Second Legion. The Second Legion had already proven their great firepower and mobility during the conquest war of the Central Continent; and presently the effectiveness of their storming assault against the enemy that had been caught completely off guard was remarkable. The Grass Porridge Cult had some brave vanguard units like the Poison Mushroom Porridge users willing to throw their very bodies as shields when all else failed, but unfortunately they had all moved to the south before the main force.

“As our weakness has been exploited by the enemy, we have no choice but to risk some bloodshed.”

“Yes. All we can do right now is to find the second-best solution.”

They were completely unable to cope with the power and speed of the Second Legion. So, the heads of the Grass Porridge Cult decided to let their enemy inflict some damage on them. In the meantime, they prepared for counterattack.

“I will send request to the architects and other support troops.”

“Let’s show them the viciousness of common folk.”

***

These were the thoughts that dawned on the minds of the Second Legion soldiers as they sped through the main force of the Grass Porridge Cult like a gale of wind:

‘They were completely unprepared against our attack!’

‘It looks like they believed their number would scare us so much that we would never come up with a plan to assault them directly.’

All the users of the Grass Porridge did was to fall by their hands unceremoniously.

Jerome shouted to the users of the Hermes Guild following behind him.

“Are you ready to continue?”

“Yes, let’s see just how much more we can go. We’ve come too far to turn back now.”

They had advanced about five kilometers further than they had initially planned, slaughtering the Northern users all the while. Jerome and the other powerful users under his banner continued breaking through the enemy ranks, slashing swords and spears on both hands.

“Keep riding forward!”

“Show them our accomplishment! Let them know that the Second Legion is here!”

The order of knights rushed after them like a flash of lightening, killing every Northern user who had been standing transfixed with terror and shock.

“They’re just so fast…”

“We need to stop them, but…”

The users were just rooted to the spot, dazed and devastated; they could not bear the sight of their allies being murdered in dozens by a single skill. The Arpen Kingdom had faced the Hermes Guild in the past, but the speed and efficiency of the Second Legion was simply too much to handle. While the Hermes Guild user couldn’t use their skills continuously due to the cost of mana and stamina, they could use them often enough to clear paths through clusters of users; the massive strength displayed by the frontline units would sway the Northern users’ will to fight, and after that, all that was left to be done was for the follow-on forces to swing their weapons and harvest the enemies’ lives.

“We’ll go even further!”

“Who would be able to stop us?!”

Occasionally some high level users that had moved from the Central Continent to the North stepped out to face them, but they all ended up as fresh prey for the ever-charging knights. Only a trail of corpses was left behind after the Second Legion had swept past.

‘We didn’t have to worry so much. Even with their great number, they are all weak.’

‘Size is certainly one thing that represents the strength of an army; yet, depending on how we fight…the size can be proven to be just a number.’

These were the thoughts that crossed the minds of Jerome and the users in the Second Legion. They didn’t even care about guarding the rear, because there were Steel Knights following behind and protecting them.

“We shall be a lance that penetrates the Grass Porridge Cult. Today, we become a legend!”

Jerome raised his spear into the sky and bellowed.

Although slightly fatigued, the users of the Second Legion still had sufficient amount of mana and stamina left.

“Break through the enemy lines!”

Now the objective of the Second Legion had changed to penetrating the very center of the Grass Porridge Cult. They would suffer more significant loss of troops, but they would also be able to attain a more impressive battle achievement. The army that had its very core skewered by its enemy was bound to lose their morale—the troops would become afraid of their opponents and succumb to fear, thinking that they could not win the battle even if they tried.

“Let’s fight on our own terms!”

The glorious and magnificent scene of battle in which the Second Legion completely pierces through the enemy’s main force would be transmitted countless times through broadcasts, engraving the legion’s power on the memory of every viewer. Storming across the battlefield populated with an army of tens of millions of troops; it would be a truly great accomplishment.

As the advance of Jerome and the Second Legion continued, so did the chaos spreading among the Grass Porridge Cult.

“Shieldbearers! Anyone who can use a shield, go forward!”

“Everyone gather over here; we are going to set up a blocking line!”

Even when the users organized the groups of shielded units to stop the charging knights, Jerome and the seasoned war veterans of the Second Legion simply avoided those defense lines by diverting their routes left and right. And then they ordered some of the Steel Knights to eradicate the shielded units completely before following behind them.

But even while the Grass Porridge Cult was helplessly trampled by their enemy, active online chatting was still taking place on their guild channel.

-Hylon: We cannot break down like this, people. You need to keep your position and fight!

-Rectop: A moment. All we ask of you is to hold your ground for just a moment. More troops are on their way in this very instant. We have plenty of people who can fight.

-Moon Bear: We are the invincible Grass Porridge Cult. Keep your morale high!

This active chatting at least prevented the Northern users from getting overwhelmed by fear and scattering in all directions trying to flee.

In the meantime, the architects and other groups of users were working on their own task.

“Dig it deeper. Those scoundrels are bound to come this way, as they had their fun before.”

“A trap! This is all we can do right now.”

The architects dug into the ground together with the users around them. It was extremely fortunate that many Northern users carried a shovel with them, as they were accustomed to manual labor.

The trap which they were currently digging would be of no use if the Second Legion decided to just cause a ruckus inside the enemy main force and escape the scene without continuing their assault. However, if they did insist on penetrating through the whole army, they would inevitably be caught by the said trap, which was set right in the central area, wide and deep.

Katakatakata!!

When the sound of the clattering hooves of the Second Legion was heard, a smile appeared on the faces of the architects and other nearby users.

“They’re coming!”

“Our retaliation begins here.”

The soldiers of the Second Legion tore straight through the architects and the surrounding users as well. As they had massacred countless users so far, they did not hesitate to blast the crowd of people with their area-of-effect skills to clear their way.

But the moment they stepped on the trapped area, the ground itself began to collapse around them.

“The, the ground…!”

“It’s a trap!”

“Stop! There is a trap!”

They hastily came to a halt, but it was too late; as they had been riding at nearly full speed they were unable to stop in time. More than thousands of the troops fell into the pits that had been dug in a number of places, and their formation was ruined.

There were also sharp steel nails everywhere on the ground and inside the pits.

“Keep throwing them! More!”

The Northern users nearby also scattered the steel nails they had been carrying all over the ground.

The Hermes Guild users were unscathed, but their horses were no longer able to run.

“Attack them!”

“Revenge for our fallen comrades!”

The users of the Grass Porridge Cult swarmed down upon the Second Legion like a tsunami. The archers and the mages also started their vicious ranged attacks.

“Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge!”

“Our chance to strike them back. Everyone in the Roasted Sweet Potato Porridge squad, let’s teach them what a ‘sick burn’ means! ”

“The Coffee Porridge troops have assembled as well. We are ready to move!”

The entire main force of the Grass Porridge cult organized itself as per the roles of the different users in combat like some kind of a living creature, and soon it began to strike.

The Second Legion still possessed a great strength, but now they were unable to make use of their mobility, which was their greatest asset.

“We’ll just have to wipe them all off. This does not change things much.”

The Second Legion quickly repositioned itself into a defensive formation, while rescuing those who had fallen into the pits and picking up the steel nails.

They formed a circular line and the fight began, but they quickly found out that the attacks from the Northern users had become incredibly fierce in a short time; as the Second Legion was not moving any more, the more powerful users of the North were flocking to their position.

“I’m afraid things are beginning to look dangerous….”

“How much longer are we going to fight here?”

Facing the fearsome amount of the enemy troops coming at them from everywhere, the users of the Hermes Guild were losing their nerves. The novice Northern users, who had looked like a weak enough bunch when they were just speeding past, were rushing towards them with a frightening vigor now that they were forced to stay put. In addition, the tens of millions of the Grass Porridge troops were enclosing the Second Legion.

The knight commanders of the Second Legion ran to Jerome.

“We cannot continue to fight in one place like this unless we’re going to kill every Northern user.”

“I know that, but…”

“We need to retreat. Right now.”

“We won’t be able to get everyone out of here. Nothing risks more damage than retreating from the very heart of the enemy troops.”

“Even so, we do not have any other choice.”

At last, through gritted teeth, Jerome gave his army an order to escape the battlefield. It was a difficult decision made under urgent circumstances, and the Second Legion’s attempt to move once again from their position was met with heavy resistance.

“They are trying to run away!”

“Take down those Hermes Guild bastards!”

“Filthy cowards. We’ve had enough. I’ll kill you all!”

With the persistent attacks from the Northern users, the Second Legion was divided in the middle, and the troops in the rear failed to catch up with the rest of the army that went ahead. Jerome and the other knights saw that, but they only had enough time to break through the encircling enemy lines and escape, otherwise the entire legion would be trapped within. Those who had been left behind put up a desperate fight, but they were eventually annihilated by the waves of attacks from the Northern users. The overall damage amounted to half of the entire troops of the Second Legion, on top of losing more than thirty percent of the Steel Knights. As the Steel Knights were extremely difficult to subdue by any means, the Northern users came up with yet another solution.

“Bury them!”

They resolved the situation by digging up more holes in the ground and letting the Spirit Masters to fill them with water.

Overall it had been a very hard-fought battle, but the final outcome was reported to be the major victory by the Grass Porridge Cult, as one of the Hermes Guild’s core military forces suffered a massive damage, while the Grass Porridge Cult just lost a large number of beginners.

Since this battle was also relayed to audiences by the broadcasting stations, it considerably set back the Hermes Guild’s plan to turn the table to their favor after the defeat of Bar Khan.

***

Weed joined the marching Desert Warriors in the Great Plains of Ills.

“My brothers. I trust you’ve been well?”

“Welcome, Little One. Go command our army.”

“Your army? How could I take such a responsibility when there are you and other brothers above me…”

“Hehehe. All we want is to fight as much as we like.”

Geomchi and the other masters and trainees were more than willing to entrust Weed with the right of command; they knew, by experience, that letting the clever ones do all the hard work yielded far better outcomes.

“Then I shall appoint you as the Minister of National Defense of the Arpen Kingdom, master.”

“Oh. That’s nice.”

“I believe that role would be perfect for a strong person like you. Brother Geomchi2, you will be the Minister for Foreign Affairs.”

“Ahem.”

“And Brother Geomchi3, please take the role of the Minister of Warfare”

“Umm. Okay.”

Weed distributed plenty of government positions to his brothers and master; he created new public post for 57 ministers and governors, 301 directors, administrators, presidents and admirals, and to the other remaining brothers he gave the position of knight commanders. Of course, this did not mean that Geomchi and other brothers would be actually charged for the administrative matters of the Arpen Kingdom. All he had to do was to come up with something for their name cards.

‘True, my brothers have always been rather fond of being in the positions of power.’

A few of his brothers were a bit greedier and asked him to give them more authority.

“The thing is, I’ve been seeing this girl for some time now, and I need to have something to say when she asks what I do for a living and…as you know, I don’t have much to write in my resume.”

“Understood.”

Weed conjured up some nonexistent institutions on the spot and put his brothers in charge.

– The Versailles Continent Peace Committee

– The Arpen Kingdom Monster Extermination Society

– Dragon Hunters’ Association

– Sculpture Art Association

– The Society of Dungeon Crawl Specialists

“Thank you. You are such a fantastic brother.”

Winning the good graces of Geomchi and the other brothers was easier than snatching candies from the kids next door.

During the couple of days when Bard Ray was fighting the Immortal Legion, Weed paraded around the southern regions of the Empire with other Desert Warriors.

“Hooray!”

“Please liberate the Haven Empire as soon as possible, Weed-nim!”

“Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge. It’s an honor to meet you, Weed-nim.”

The users of the Central Continent greeted the Desert Warriors Weed had brought with him with passionate cheers. If it had been a war in real life they would have had to kill and steal from the civilians for food and money, but this was the world of Royal Road. Whenever Weed entered a city with the Desert Warriors the users of the Central Continent came to join them, so the lords of the Haven Empire had to make a hasty escape.

Ding!

Your territories are being expanded at a remarkable speed.

War Achievement unlocked! (Note: The Korean text is closer to “achievement accomplished”, but it sounds a bit redundant and I thought “achievement unlocked” sound more like a gaming term. Please let me know what you think.)

All the stats related to combat will increase by one point.

You have obtained the title, ‘The Owner of a Vast Land’>

“Weed-nim, I’m Komnyang, just a nobody. Would it be okay if I fight with you?”

“Sure.”

“It’s an honor to join your army. I’ve had such high admiration for you for a long time.”

During his time as the Great King of Desert, he had recruited surrendering soldiers and commoners by force to turn them into his combat troops. But now the users of the Central Continent were voluntarily seeking him to join the Desert Warriors. Eventually he managed to assemble an army ten times bigger in size than the one he had when he left the desert.

“Little One. You have such an extraordinary commanding ability. What is it that enables you to gather such a large number of subordinates?”

“A stroke of sheer lu-I mean, I give them a vision.” (Note: The original word in Korean is actually closer to “illusion”, which makes weed’s method of uniting common folk under him sound a tad bit more cruel. While that fits Weed’s cynical character better, I think he is trying to look like a nice person to his master here, so I changed the word to ‘vision’. Any feedback is welcome.)

“A vision?”

“Yes. A vision of changing the world by their hands. A person can live on even if they’re starving in a semi-basement room full of cockroaches, as long as they have hope.”

“You mean a dream.”

“Yes. I make them believe that when everyone unites their strength, they can make a change.”

Geomchi made a content smile, apparently proud of his pupil. After some time he asked again,

“But what if we cannot make a change after all that…?”

“Well then that’s just that; there’s nothing we can do when we are living in such an uncaring and crappy reality, is there?”

Two forces were attacking the Central Continent: the Arpen Kingdom from the north, and the Desert Warriors from the south.

‘Hermes Guild started early with their dictatorship and exploitation. Looks like the public sentiment is on my side, because I haven’t started any of those yet.’

The actual amount of the users in the Central Continent was much greater than the known number. Some of them hadn’t been online for the last couple of months, but returned after getting the news of Weed and the Desert Warriors coming.

“Hooray for Weed!”

“Please save us. We want to make Royal Road into a pure and happy game.”

From its early days, Royal Road had enjoyed unprecedented popularity among the crowd. Anyone who had some amount of money bought a capsule, enraptured by the fun and pleasure of exploring the new world of adventure. People ran into the capsule room whenever they had time, even just for a short while. One could say that Royal Road became part of the new culture that connected the people around the world. Out of those numerous users, a portion of them had already come to the North, but the rest of the users staying in the Central Continent also willingly joined them. Every time they passed through a city, an enormous amount of new troops joined their ranks. Weed did not order them to fight. Rather, he just let them decide their actions by themselves. Driving off the Haven Empire was a gigantic goal; even the people who followed to just watch the others trying to achieve that goal could become a big mental pressure to their opponents.

‘And it is not like they will listen to me even if I do give them orders. I don’t have people who can monitor their behavior all the time.’

There was one thing that he had learned while he was working in labor market: when you have ten people in the same room, three or four of them were bound to slack off. And there was simply no use in scolding them; no matter what you do, those who work hard will always work hard, while the slackers will always slack off. Try to pester them into working, and they will ignore your lectures even more enthusiastically.

“Weed-nim does not want anything from us.”

“I know…’leave however you like’, those words just sound so cool…”

The users who had gathered to drive off the Haven Empire cheered even more at Weed’s indifference.

“I haven’t participated in a war before…I can just shoot arrows from behind, right?”

“I have some healing skills. I’ll make sure I don’t accidently kill you.” (Note: The original sentence in Korean is “I won’t kill.” I’m not sure in what context this person is saying that line; he might be saying that he just wants to heal the wounded and not join the fight, or that his healing skills are very clumsy and he might accidentally kill those who he’s trying to heal. I took the latter interpretation simply because it sounded funnier, but let me know what you think.)

The users who hadn’t had much experience in fight also began to step forward, one by one.

“Can I really have a free cup of coffee if I join here?”

“When can I get the coupon for cakes?”

“…?”

And there were some users that spoke of the things Weed had no idea about.

It wasn’t what Weed had intended, but this war was having a big impact on the real life as well. The number of members of the Grass Porridge Cult was enormous, and they were used as a marketing tool by various corporations.

– The Liberation War of Versailles Continent! A free coffee for anyone who joins the battle!

– We are having a One-Plus-One (Note: A Korean way of saying ‘buy-one-get-one-free’.) event for fried chickens. For Grass Porridge Cult members only.

– We welcome the new members of the Grass Porridge. Free entry to the swimming pool if you can certify your membership with flowers in your hair!

– Half of the normal service fee and free breakfast for any users in the Fungus Porridge group visiting Sin-na Hotel.

– Bug Porridge. The time has come to feast on some cheap grilled tripe!

Not only the corporations, the small shops and restaurants in the neighborhood were also using similar marketing strategies just as enthusiastically.

Grass Porridge ice cream, Grass Porridge burgers, Grass Porridge fried chicken, Grass Porridge Topokki, Grass Porridge Jokbal, Grass Porridge Gamja-tang…

(Note: Grass Porridge Topokki - Stir fried rice cake, spicy and sweet. Very common snack/street food in Korea.

Grass Porridge Jokbal - Dish of seasoned pig’s feet. Also very common delivery food in Korea.

Grass Porridge Gamja-tang - A stew/soup made with pork back bones.)

“It feels like things have gotten more excited after the Grass Porridge Cult has gone to war.”

“I know, right? I hope they fight more often.”

Even elementary school children walking around the neighborhood were now chanting ‘Grass Porridge, Grass Porridge’; the influence of the cult in the real life was threatening to exceed that in Royal Road.

“Bring down the tyranny of the Haven Empire!”

“For freedom, for truth, for the Grass Porridge Cult!”

The users of the Hermes Guild who had defeated the Immortal Legion were making an appearance in a broadcasting studio.

“We had to risk our own lives when we were fighting against Bar Khan. With corpses and ghosts running about everywhere, there was no such thing as a safe zone.”

Boemong the Giant Knight—A man in his late 20s with a calm sort of demeanor in real life, he was having an interview on the CTS Media channel. Han Seung-bin, a former actor and the host of the program, continued with his questions following the script.

“I myself play Royal Road but I have never joined these kinds of large battles, so I’m very curious; did you ever want to just flee?”

“No; I never once thought of such a thing. We could not afford to lose this war. For the peace of the Versailles Continent, I mean.”

Beside him were four other users of the Hermes Guild waiting for their turns. The next interviewee was Arkhym, who had even lost his life during the battle.

“Bar Khan was revealed to be much stronger than it was initially predicted; what do you think was the most important factor for your victory?”

“We won because we were the Hermes Guild, simple as that. We could have avoided the battle, but we chose to face them in the Valkis Castle to minimize the damage to users, even though we knew that we would be at disadvantage.”

From the monitor screen that had been set up in front of the host and the guests they could see the comments the viewers were sending in real-time.

-Kuko: Dragged into a fight in a rush, more like, and they barely won.

-Beldegar: Wow…some thick skin they’ve got, lying like that. They fought in the Valkis Castle only because they wanted to minimize damage to THEMSELVES.

-3BottlesCognac: I don’t care how they won. Ask them about the Haven Empire going down.

-DefenseStat3: For the peace of the continent? What rubbish. It was them who started all of it first, wanting to destroy the Northern Continent.

-WoongDingWoongDing: The Hermes Guild is the cancer of this game. It’s paradise in the Arpen-liberated regions.

-JohntheSkeletonWarrior: I’m going to move to the Arpen Kingdom if both the Britten and Harpan Regions get conquered.

– Keru: Don’t worry. The Haven Empire is in a huge crisis now. They could collapse very soon.

– Calm_and_Composed: I joined the Grass Porridge Cult, too!

– No_Study: Grass Porridge is the way to go. The Haven Empire is just a setting sun now.

“…”

From these broadcasting monitors, the Hermes Guild users confirmed that users had already lost their interest in the battle against Bar Khan. It was quite the opposite of the result they had expected, which was to take back their leadership over the Versailles Continent by defeating Bar Khan.

‘But why? The viewers were so generous with their cheers and praises whenever Weed was on adventure!’

There were some important difference between the Embinyu Church and Bar Khan, although both were powerful forces that had swept the whole continent into chaos. Because of the Hermes Guild’s quick handling of the situation, there was very little damage the Immortal Legion had inflicted on common users, nor were there many people who had actually seen the undead army in person. The Hermes Guild wanted to blame Weed for causing this whole mayhem, but that would put them in a rather ridiculous position because he wouldn’t have revived Bar Khan if it hadn’t been for the Shadow Army of Palma in the first place.

‘We did all the hard work, but Weed is snatching all the fame from us.’

The users who had participated in the battle against Bar Khan were unhappy, but Lafaye and other heads of the guild were pondering over the situation seriously.

“We didn’t expect things would go this badly…the users of the Central Continent are so willing to move over to the Arpen Kingdom…”

“We might as well assume that the users in the regions conquered by the Arpen Kingdom have all joined their side.”

It was fortunate that they succeeded in driving off Bar Khan and his army, but they had to suffer considerable damage to the Second and the Fifth Legions. The Haven Empire was gradually losing its restraining power to control over the other users. They lost their dominion over the regions taken by the Arpen Kingdom so easily, and things were not better in the areas where the Desert Warriors’ laid their march. What they found even more bitter than having the Empire’s hands and feet cut off by the enemies was the fact that the local lords assigned by the Empire itself were welcoming their conquerors wholeheartedly, going so far as to holding festivals for celebration.

Those lords were just trying to find a way to secure their livelihood, but from the Hermes Guild’s point of view, it felt as if there were traitors throughout the entire territory. With so many common users not hesitant to take the Arpen Kingdom’s side on top of that, the guild was having a great sense of crisis.

“Overall, Weed and the Arpen Kingdom are using a strategy too clever for us to handle. It seems every step they take is based on an exhaustive prior planning.”

“Indeed, that looks like the only possible explanation. The enemy is coordinating their limbs with such meticulous precision.”

“I suspect Weed himself is managing and holding firm control over the top authorities of the Grass Porridge Cult, and as their users are voluntarily seeking to do their part, it is difficult for us to respond to their quick actions in time.”

Since the Hermes Guild users had little understanding of how the Grass Porridge Cult worked. Recently they started to suspect if this all had been all part of Weed’s grand scheme.

The expression on the faces of Bard Ray and other users who had lost their lives fighting Bar Khan was also quite grim. Bard Ray was still indignant about the fact that he did not even get to finish Bar Khan by his own hands after such a desperate fight.

“We’ve always thought the Haven Empire has been going easy on the Arpen Kingdom, but now that we have actually fought them, their military strength is nothing to sneeze at.”

“I don’t think it can be called a proper fight. There are simply too many unexpected factors!”

Boemong complained, but Lafaye answered bitterly.

“Considering that strategy and popularity are part of their power, now we need to admit that the Arpen Kingdom is indeed a formidable enemy. In addition to that, in terms of the abilities to manipulate media and turn the public sentiment to their favor, their competence surpasses ours by far.”

“But what about our own military strength?”

Someone in their midst protested, but Lafaye only gave another light sigh.

“Right now, too many users are turning their backs on us.”

“But for what reasons? We’ve lowered the taxes over the Central Continent and relieved many restriction measures, haven’t we?”

“Because they just don’t trust us that much.”

“…”

The lords found themselves at a loss for words, as they had only agreed to those user-friendly measures to appease the public for the time being and had been intending to get back to the original state once Weed and his Arpen Kingdom get dealt with.

“Things will get far more disadvantageous to us as this war continues. Should we suffer a few more defeats and lose all our troops, then…”

Lafaye did not finish his sentence, but everyone knew what that would mean; the Hermes Guild without its armed forces—it would be like a gladiator thrown into a pit of beasts with his limbs cut off.

It was not very fair to put the blame on Lafaye’s poor strategic decisions or errors of judgment, after all this time; it was true that his commanding abilities had been less than perfect since the conquest of the Central Continent, but that was mainly because of Weed constantly acting beyond their predictions. Only after taking some hard hits were they beginning to realize that any other person would have just as much trouble dealing with Weed and the Grass Porridge Cult.

Bard Ray thought to himself.

‘Black Knight…could it have had any effect?’

For a Black Knight, there were quests that involved suspecting and lowering the loyalty of his subordinates and the residents. He had actively cleared those quests in order to improve his own martial strength, but now the Empire was quickly losing its influence even before the actual loss caused by those quests starts to take effect. Bard Ray asked the people around him in a heavy voice.

“Who has the solution to this current situation?”

Lafaye kept silent for a long moment, receiving everyone’s gaze; but as no one spoke out, he opened his mouth again resignedly.

“The most failsafe action would be to retreat to the Haven Region. If we let them take the conquered regions in the Central Continent and fall back…we would be able to divert their attention elsewhere.”

“…You call THAT a solution?”

Arkhym asked, his brows raised; to him it sounded like an extremely absurd idea, especially thinking of the time and effort the guild had put in order to take control over the Central Continent.

“This is the most effective and safe way. The popularity of Weed and the Grass Porridge Cult would not last forever. After they get hold of the major lands in the Central Continent, the common users will inevitably be divided and fight each other, so we’ll just have to build up our strength for several months in the Haven Region over which we have the most secure dominion.”

“…”

The heads of the Hermes Guild understood his intention, but nobody was able to step forward and openly agree to this suggestion. Withdrawing their forces would mean that countless lords would have to give up their territories, so their protest would be severe. As the Hermes Guild had been funded by a lot of external sources, it was also very important to be careful not to offend their investors.

“This is the best option in my opinion, but it will also be quite impossible to execute.”

Lafaye shook his head, admitting that he himself had given up on this strategy; this was indeed a plan that was very difficult to carry out, even with his influence and Bard Ray’s resolution.

“The second best solution is to buy some time while concentrating our war effort on defense.”

“Would buying more time make the situation better for us?”

“While engaged in the defensive war, we’ll have to do everything we can to ruin the reputation of Weed and the Grass Porridge Cult, such as spreading rumors, bribing and media manipulation.”

The atmosphere became ever more serious. Only a while ago it had felt like the whole Versailles Continent was in their hands, and suddenly they found themselves pondering the possibility of defeat.

“We haven’t even had any proper fight yet…Can’t we just resolve this through battles?”

Boemong drew out his sword and stuck it into the ground. At this proposal, a flame sparked in the eyes of the other Hermes Guild users as well.

Battles!

As the ones who had spent all their lives chasing after strength and power, they simply could not tolerate their current position, repeatedly getting beaten and damaged.

“There is just no chance of us losing if we assemble all of our strongest forces in a big showdown.”

“Absolutely right. We’ve already defeated Bar Khan, let’s go up right now and fight. Fight, and show them the strength of the Empire again.”

Lafaye also sensed the heated mood among the other users.

‘Maybe this really could be our breakthrough…there’s certainly a limit to what we can do by just trying to play clever.’

They had gained dominion over the Central Continent with their brains, but still have suffered big losses because they had also earned the public’s resentment in the process. As a nation that seized its power through wars, there was no more room for the Haven Empire to step back.

***

The Hermes Guild had issued their proclamation.

-Royal Road is the new world for people to live their dreams. From its beginning, many users started the game dreaming of a new world, and they have constantly improved themselves since, while finding joy and pleasure in the life on the Versailles Continent.

Now, the Central Continent that has only just started to gain stability after many wars and conflicts among various forces, the land that is the living foundation of all of us, is shaken by the invasion from the North.

The Hermes Guild hereby declares that it will face this threat with determination, in a full-frontal battle. We will not allow this war to destroy the numerous cities and villages where the users live; in order to prevent any more disorder and damage, the Hermes Guild will send its full forces riding to the Garnav Plain.

To Weed, and the Arpen Kingdom: if you have courage enough to face us, accept our challenge without hesitation.

Power against power.

If you want to take away the territories of the Haven Empire, then you must prove your strength first.

This bold proclamation was hung in every each castle and city of the Central Continent. Through the breaking news delivered by broadcasting stations, the common users also came to know about it, and soon it was spread among most of the users of Royal Road.

“Whooaa. A full-frontal battle?”

“This is crazy. Are they really going to have an all-out war?”

“With all those rankers who don’t even show themselves often in front of common folk, plus all the troops that fought in the battles when they united the Central Continent?”

“But that means…whoever wins this fight will unite the whole continent, right?”

“I’m not sure about that, but…the Grass Porridge can afford to lose this kind of battle, whereas the Hermes Guild would have absolutely no future if they lose, wouldn’t it?”

“I don’t think this is going to be only advantageous for the Grass Porridge either. If Bard Ray and all other top-rank figures are going to join the battle, it would be hard to stop them with the human-wave tactics.”

In every town square and tavern, there was a boisterous chat going among the users.

“One barrel of beer on the Hermes Guild winning!”

“My bet’s on the Grass Porridge Cult. They are the true legend with no record of defeat. They have never lost until now.”

“But the battle’s taking place in the Central Continent. It’s not going to be so easy for them, the circumstances are different.”

“It’s difficult to tell how the battle will turn out. Think of the Shadow Army of Palma, and Bar Khan. We just can’t know what kind of tricks they will pull out of their sleeve.”

“Weed will raise another disaster, too.”

“How’s he going to clean up all the mess afterwards, then?”

“Dunno. But that’s why it’s going to be so exciting.”

“Wow…I’m dying to see it.”

The Garnav Plain was located in the east of the Haven Region, and the south of the Harpan Region. A vast flatland, it was an ideal place for a large-scale battle, and no kind of dirty trickeries would be allowed there.

***

In the meantime, the officers in the Emergency Situation Room of the Grass Porridge Cult had heard the proclamation but simply laughed it off.

“That is just a nonsense. An all-out war against the Haven Empire? There really might be over one hundred million troops gathered in one place, then. How can such a thing be possible?”

“Currently we are far more popular than them, and time is also on our side. If we just start to take over wider regions and increase our population gradually…”

“The Arpen Kingdom’s territory is ever expanding. At this rate, we can take firm root in the Central Continent.”

From a strategic point of view, all they had to do was to simply ignore the proposal of the Hermes Guild. However, the reactions of the intrigued public were getting more and more excited.

– Weed and Bard Ray! Who will be the strongest user?

– The Haven Empire’s entire troops to be assembled.

– The Greatest battle in history expected to start soon.

– Who would be the winner of the prize offered by Unicorn Inc., the developer of Royal Road?

The broadcasting stations, which had been friendly towards the Grass Porridge Cult so far, were also announcing the proclamation of the Hermes Guild as the main news. Even the general opinion among the lowest-rank members of the Grass Porridge Cult itself inclined towards fighting.

“Finally, Weed-nim and Bard Ray will face each other in person. What fun it would be…”

“No. It is too dangerous.”

“They are challenging us directly and we’re not going to accept it? When we can liberate the entire Central Continent once we win?”

“The Hermes Guild and the Grass Porridge Cult are already at each other’s throat. If we must clash against them someday, now is the best time, when the circumstances are in our favor.”

Even the users with some influence in the Porridge Cult were having difficulties reaching a consensus among themselves.

The important factor now was Weed’s decision.

If Weed suggested they fight the rest of the Grass Porridge Cult would follow; likewise, if he objected, they would accept his decision, albeit rather disappointedly.

Weed got the news of the proclamation while he was plundering with the Desert Warriors.

In this current state the Central Continent had been turned into a battleground, he was able to fight while moving his position around to anywhere that was more advantageous, be it the Ritten, Harpan, Britten Regions, or the Great Plains of Ills. As a Necromancer he summoned a large number of undead, inflicting damage on the Hermes Guild while pursuing some profits in the process—an ultimate form of a dirty tactics. Even so, the rate at which his power was growing was beyond the imagination of others; all the hard and manual work he had done until now was finally in the process of bearing some fruit.

“When you bring your spoon to a well-advertised feast, there’s not much to eat, more often than not.”

Using his common sense he made a quick decision and was about to ignore the Hermes Guild’s taunt, but a few telephone calls were all it took to change his mind.

“You mean my appearance fee is…What? Are you serious?”

Weed, Bard Ray, and the greatest battle in the history of the continent in which the two people lead their own armies into war.

In order to purchase the broadcasting right so that they have a chance to directly observe Weed’s behavior, the broadcasting stations were quickly making their offers.

“We are willing to pay you up to about 500 million won.”

“500 million? That much?”

An amount enough to make his heart beat faster.

“Yes, as there are a lot of callings from advertisers…and as you would know, the broadcasting time will be quite long once the battle begins. We’ll need to film the preparation process as well.”

“Right. That’s true.”

“So, we will pay you 500 million for 10-hour broadcasting time.”

Top-class celebrities were paid 500 million with a single shooting of an advertisement; taking into account Weed’s fame as well as the influence and profit they would gain through this broadcast, this was actually a very good bargain for the broadcasting companies.

After a few minutes, other broadcasting stations started to call.

“Our company has prepared 800 million for you. We’ll also pay you 10% advertisement fee.”

“The KMC Media is willing to accommodate your needs as much as possible; 1.2 billion, and 20% advertisement fee on top of it.”

“This is the CTS Media. I won’t say much. 2 billion, what do you say? We are open to negotiation for the advertisement fee as well.”

Seeing his appearance fee jumping up several hundred million won at a time during the course of a few calls, Weed’s sense of reality was losing its usual sharp edge a little.

“Hmm…This feels similar to when I sold my account of the Magical Continent. Suddenly money doesn’t feel like money anymore.”

Up until this point, the broadcasting stations still thought that the chance of the full frontal war breaking out was not high. They doubted that Weed would take an option that could put him at a disadvantage, and even if he accepted the challenge, it could always be cancelled during the preparation process. The Hermes Guild might come to a wiser decision, too. An incredible number of Northern users were descending towards them currently, but rage is an emotion that fades with time. If the guild decided to let the Northern users take a portion of their lands and buy some time rather than fighting them at the height of their spirit and strength, the Haven Empire might get a chance to stabilize itself. As it was impossible for the Northern users to stay indefinitely in the cities and the territories of the Central Continent and defend them, a tactical retreat would be a more advantageous choice in the current situation.

Despite all these factors, the broadcasting companies still proposed moderate amount of appearance fee, just in case. If this greatest battle in the history of the Versailles Continent really did take place, the companies would be willing to pay any amount of money for the broadcasting right.

Extra deals came in from the executive directors of the CTS Media.

“If the war does break out, its viewing rate would be the highest for several years from now. The advertisement fee would also set a new record…in that case we need to get a hold on him even if that means we’d have to give him the entire profit of the program, to promote our company.”

“Depending on how we cover this war the very class of our station may change. We need to get Weed!”

They have already figured out Weed’s obsession with money; with several phone calls that the broadcasting stations had made in haste, Weed decided to fight the Hermes Guild.

‘I just need to win this battle, and I’ll own a building…I can buy a building in a middle of a city.’

The dream he had had ever since his childhood: making real estate investments, and owning a building! A life free from the worries about money, just making a living by taking monthly rents from the tenants.

“They say sometimes there are battles that you cannot avoid in your life. I guess this is it for me.”

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