9) Pallos’s Power

[TL Note: I’ve made a change to the previous chapter that people who read it quickly might not have noticed. ‘As a special reward for the fight, all stats have increased by 120’ has been changed to ‘As a special reward for the fight, the Faith stat has increased by 120.’ This also applies to the later stat box where ‘all stats have increased to 130’ has been changed to ‘As a special reward for the fight, the Faith stat has increased by 130.’]

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Changes occurred to the Versailles Continent.

There were changes due to Weed’s success in the past. The ice covering the north were the undead army lived disappeared and cities were discovered. New ordinances sprang up, great architecture and cities were built that would leave a great impact on the Northern Continent.

A myriad of users living on the Versailles Continent encountered the changes that Wed caused. Once again, the Versailles Continent would also change if the Embinyu Church was victorious.

Arud River in the Rosenheim Kingdom.

The place where the Sphinx and Pyramid used to be was just a pile of stones after being destroyed by the Embinyu Church. Users were crouching down and hiding in this wasteland.

“Shhh! Quiet.”

“We have to remain unnoticed until the end. Let’s go slowly.”

They were users that lived in a land dominated by the Embinyu Church. They couldn’t bear leaving their hometowns in Rosenheim Kingdom. Hunting was difficult and it was impossible to live a normal life.

Users would immediately lose their lives if they encountered the inquisitors and religious fanatics. Users hid in the forests during the day and only moved at night.

The charred and blackened wastelands suddenly had flowers bloom. The entire land was recovering. The power of the Embinyu Church disappeared and the land was changing back to its past fertile state.

Grains that millions of people could eat were grown and flowers bloomed along the Arud River.

“What is this?”

The users marvelled at the strange sight and sent whispers to each other.

-Really?

-Yes. I don’t know what is going on all of a sudden.

-You don’t know? Today Weed is fighting the Embinyu Church.

-Then it is because of that?

-I haven’t seen that part on the broadcast yet. But this likely means that his adventure is successful. A real jackpot!

The pyramid was also slowly restored.

Due to the changes in the past, the deep wounds that the Embinyu Church left on the Rosenheim Kingdom, had disappeared.

Serabourg Castle returned to its original state and the ma.s.sacred royal family were revived. Villages were also restored.

The changes were just confined to the eastern part of the Versailles Continent.

The Central Continent!

It was the land with the largest number of users and residents. The conflict with the prestigious guilds ended with the Haven Empire’s victory.

As their territory widened, there was an increasing number of destruction and rebellion due to the Embinyu Church. The fanatics lived in the cities while several villages were changed into the monster production bases. The kingdoms of the Central Continent were taken over by the Haven Empire but were also p.r.o.ne to self-destruction from the Embinyu Church.

The Haven Empire was tense due to the Embinyu Church and were prepared for a war.

The Central Continent upset by war started recovering! The devastated cities and land were restored. The residents that followed the Embinyu Church or were killed by them once again appeared.

“I hope there is a good harvest this year.”

“Yes. I will make a donation to the Church of Lugh.”

Cities were prepared and residents lived again. Technology developed, culture flourished and the economy blossomed.

Weed’s actions in the warring period had caused damage to the prosperity and development of the continent.

The Central Continent was very s.p.a.cious.

The Versailles Continent was divided into the north, south, east, west and centre but the central area had a larger territory and population than the others.

The barren south beyond the Desert of Tranquillity, the frozen land of the north and beyond, the sea and islands of the east but the Central Continent had a larger population than those areas combined.

The fairies of the forest, the forest of elves, the dragon’s territory and ruins of the giants. There was a wide variety of terrain for adventures and hunting. The land dyed by the Embinyu Church’s corruption returned to normal.

The users initially had no idea of these changes.

They were gathered in the taverns to watch Weed’s adventure. But they started receiving whispers from other users.

-I’ve been on a quest to find materials at Inep Castle.

-Then?

-The Embinyu Church here was wiped out and Inep Castle returned to its original state from 3 months ago.

-Really?

Once the change was known, the users started seeing other changes.

“Please help me!”

“If you don’t follow Embinyu then you will suffer a painful death!”

The novice users were captured by the inquisitors! They closed their eyes tightly as they waited for the inquisitor to deal a fatal blow. The brainwashed knights were nearby so they didn’t even dare dream of escaping from the Embinyu Church!

But the bodies of the inquisitors suddenly turned into a grey light and disappeared like they had died.

“Why are you speaking like that?”

“Huh?”

The knights that had been brainwashed had their faces distorted from the evil. But now the knights had returned to their original appearance.

“The ground is cold so I don’t know why you are lying down there. Get up.”

The knights gave the novice users a warm hand. The number of Embinyu Church members in the Central Continent dropped sharply. Once this fact was known along with Weed’s success, the users on the Central Continent were filled with frenzied joy.

-Weed is like a real dog. The house that I owned was blown away because of him. The residents also disappeared. The damage that I suffered…sob sob.

-My shop! The city is a mess due to the demon Weed. The residents disappeared so the economy and technological development decreased. The only good thing is that it reduced the number of thieves. A hairy crab. Does he need to do this?

The users of the Central Continent criticized Weed on the bulletin boards! His activities in the warring period had affected numerous cities and users.

There was always a risk of invasion or damage in Royal Road so the users had no choice but to accept it. The conflicts between the prestigious guilds caused numerous wars and deaths. The secondary damage was limited hunting grounds and less business.

The users in the Haven Kingdom, Kallamore Kingdom and Britten Alliance Kingdom were used to adapting to a changed world. They could understand war but found damage caused by an individual’s adventure unfair.

While the Hermes Guild was originally negative towards Weed, the users of the Central Continent thought of him as an idol. The users that lost their livelihood or stores posted angry criticisms of Weed.

-That Weed b.a.s.t.a.r.d, that dirty and lethal….when I think of the damage….

-Once again, I don’t like Weed. He is someone who made me go swimming in the middle of winter. I spent the entire time in Royal Road hating him.

-I will kill Weed when he comes back. Looking for people to kill Weed!

Then the changes on the Central Continent became known to the users. The cities that fell had their population reduced by more than half.

The influence of the Embinyu Church was reduced as commercial cities were restored to its former glory as stable and safe tourist cities. The cities returned to their prosperous state from the early days of Royal Road and the development of swords and magic advanced. There was a flow of inhabitants over the entire continent as 100 new cities sprang up.

And all the users in Royal Road had a message window flash in front of them.

Ddiring!

When looking at the history books, the Pallos Empire didn’t leave a large footstep behind. But the warring period had ended ahead of schedule.

Therefore, the world was more prosperous and stable. This was an achievement that the great Weed of the desert achieved. His heroic path in the past changed the current continent.

Users rushed to delete their posts on the bulletin boards that blamed him. Whether they liked it or not, they also lived in the Haven Empire. Numerous cities that weren’t originally there sprang up although some were less civilized. In some cases, the destroyed cities came back even larger.

-Weed the G.o.d of War!

-Kyah, Weed really is out there.

-Thank you. Let’s live well in the future.

-My one-bedroom house that I used all my money on…it now turned into a manor. I don’t know how to repay this grace….

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“It is ridiculous that he really succeeded.”

Lafaye had considered hundreds of possibilities for what might happen. It was most likely that Weed would fail the adventure involving the Embinyu Church. It wouldn’t be bad even if he failed the adventure.

-The army of fanatics in Frompen has been destroyed.

-The Embinyu wors.h.i.+ppers in Rangken Castle have returned to normal people.

The Embinyu Church that they were prepared to fight just faded away. Lafaye had watched the television broadcast of Weed’s quest and was amazed at the astonis.h.i.+ng scene as Weed’s fort.i.tude and effort led to his victory.

“It is outrageous. Outrageous.”

Weed had succeeded in a hard adventure but there were consequences. The Embinyu forces that had been threatening the Haven Empire had been reduced early on. As long as big variables didn’t occur in the future, the Embinyu Church wouldn’t be able to cause any more damage.

“Really stupid.”

Lafaye gave a big large.

People should make an effort. It was the reason why a person lived and ate well.

Weed once again became a celebrity due to the success of the quest but the Haven Empire was the one who reaped the sweet fruit.

“It is like making gruel for a dog only to have something else eat it first.”

Users whose name was famous in the Haven Empire were gathered. The famous knights and users of the cities! They gained achievements in the Hermes Guild and were given high positions in the occupied territories. The so-called elites of the Hermes Guild were prepared for battle.

“We will now go to the north.”

There was a brightness at the end of Lafaye’s thoughts. The Embinyu Church or conquering the north. He thought it would be one of those two options.

He thought it was better to attack than to defend the territory and cities of the Haven Empire. He skipped the ha.s.sle of a civil war with the Embinyu Church and could concentrate on conquering the Versailles Continent.

The Hermes Guild had thought about unifying the Versailles Continent since the moment they started and there were only a few steps left. If the north was properly occupied then it wouldn’t be difficult to secure the east and west. They might even surrender before the army arrived.

“12 corps will be sent to the north.”

Lafaye and his staff meticulously created a plan for the northern conquest.

In the past, they faced the bitter taste of failure when trying to invade the north but they had obtained considerable data from it. There was considerable resistance from the users and their supply chain had been disrupted. The conclusion was that they shouldn’t try again with insufficient troops.

Each corps was made out of 300,000 troops so 12 corps was a tremendous force of 3.6 million! The Haven Empire consisted of 20 corps so it was more than half of their troops.

Only the Haven Empire could afford to train so many troops. It consisted of 350,000 Hermes Guild users that dominated the Central Continent and the rest were NPC soldiers. The Hermes Guild users had a variety of professions and were familiar with all types of combat. Each corps was made up of knights that raised the power of the soldiers.

When considering that they normally mobilized two or three corps to conquer a kingdom, Lafaye had gathered a very large force to invade the north. The 12 corps consisting of knights of the Haven Empire could be called an invincible army.

“Is this much required?”

“The Arpen Kingdom should only have 100,000 troops.”

Those words came from a corps commander, Bolmensori. He thought the number gathered to conquer the north was too excessive.

“We need to deal with the users of the Arpen Kingdom.”

“Even so, they are just a mixed bag of rubbish….”

In the past, Rensullot had only let 70,000 troops to the north. They didn’t return to the Central Continent unharmed but hundreds of thousands of users were killed in the north.

The Northern Continent couldn’t compete with the power of the Central Continent. Especially if they needed to fight the elite troops of the Haven Empire led by Bardray.

“It can’t hurt to be ready to fight for the unification of the continent. The north is our goal. Finish the necessary arrangements and be prepared to march in three days.”

The star players of the Haven Empire that would partic.i.p.ate in the conquest of the continent were gathered in front of the Imperial Palace.

The Hermes Guild all had the same thought about the war. They never supported the war. The size and quality of the troops was completely different compared to the north.

Bardray was directly leading the army and Weed wasn’t there to be their opponent.

‘We will always win the fight.’

‘It is good belonging to the Hermes Guild.’

The Hermes Guild users would always win the fight. Through discipline and obedience, the hierarchy of power efficiently maximized their victory.

They personally liked Weed’s adventures but understood how to divide those aspects of their lives.

Despite the great achievements Weed made in Royal Road, the Hermes Guild was obsessed with destroying the Arpen Kingdom.

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Yoo Byung-jin drank hot chocolate as he watched the exciting adventure.

“In the end he managed a victory.”

He thought it would end after the meteors were summoned but Weed persistently survived like a c.o.c.kroach.

Weed’s biggest a.s.set was his ability to survive in any environment! And his ability to govern his subordinates.

Deep wisdom and insight, trust in people, strategies and tactics. Of course, it was difficult to find any sense of responsibility.

Sometimes he was stingy but other times he showed a brave and bold imagination and he wasn’t discouraged by hards.h.i.+ps. The quest or battles might turn out unfavourable but he never hesitated.

In other words, he was no different from a human c.o.c.kroach.

“It is really hard to kill him.”

The viewers saw somewhat edited videos. Magnificent music would play or a scene would be nicely framed! Even if it was a live broadcast, there would be a time lag as it was sent from the capsule and the stations would be ready to insert advertis.e.m.e.nts.

In contrast, Yoo Byung-jin watched Weed’s raw videos and saw his struggle to live. The recorded history of heroes wouldn’t mention all of their struggles.

Life might be hard but people needed to clench their teeth and overcome it.

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“The Haven Empire moved as we expected.”

“Those guys are really quick.”

A meeting of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult! The representative of each unit, village and cities were present.

The Haven Empire contained the top ranked players of the Hermes Guild but the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult had a wide range of people of all shapes and sizes.

When looking at it from the view of the Central Continent, the level 100 users that attended the meeting would be considered beginners.

The Toadstool Porridge unit was willing to welcome a glorious death.

The users that started in the Arpen Kingdom had the opportunity to grow up with the place. But quite a few lords and guilds had migrated from the Central Continent to the north.

After the founding of the Arpen Kingdom, the n.o.bles and lords had grown on a large scale. Culture expanded in most of the areas due to the will of the residents and many users who partic.i.p.ated in the direct growth of the kingdom were promoted to lords.

The users would partic.i.p.ate in village development activities, public donations, bribes and completion of certain quests. High level users who recently came from the Central Continent were greedy for a higher position.

‘We will build a new home for our guild in the north. There will be many opportunities for the development. Mountains were mines are likely to exist and wide fields where grains can be grown.’

‘I’m not interested in war so I will become a lord through achievements. And once I become a lord, I will invade other lands.’

‘Well, that is cool. Can’t I earn money if I become the lord of a city?’

There were many myths about the north and it didn’t have any civil wars. The Arpen Kingdom was self-regulated but the general users didn’t allow this.

A lord who waged war over land would have the lowest popularity! Even novice users would avoid their village. There were numerous development opportunities so there was no benefit to cause a war.

Moreover, the users in the north was extremely complex and diverse. Level 300 users rapidly grew in the north while level 400 users could be found around Morata and other areas. The Haven Empire had swept through the Central Continent so many users came over.

The high level users could lose a lot of levels and fame in the war. For that reason, the lords of the Arpen Kingdom developed cities, towns or villages according to their preference.

The rapid development of the Arpen Kingdom was due to the effort of the regular users as well as the lords. It was a miracle how ruins around Morata could change into a village in just one week or a month.

“How many people has the Haven Empire mobilized for the invasion?”

“There are at least 11 corps moving.”

“Hrmm, that is a lot.”

Lafaye and the members of the Hermes Guild went through a lot of effort to gather intelligence. But there was no need for the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult to do that.

It was easy for regular users to see the movement of the army. The Gra.s.s Porridge Cult members had already reported the activities of the Haven Empire.

Apart from their bad relations.h.i.+p with Weed, the Haven Empire was trying to conquer the continent. The north knew that they would someday invade and were prepared.

“It isn’t easy to deal with them, even if they are only moving half of their troops. Those troops could be called the flags.h.i.+p of the Haven Empire so we need to gather as much people as possible to fight.”

The users that crossed from the Central Continent talked about the defeats they experienced. The Haven Empire would generally win by mobilizing more troops and equipment.

Lafaye’s general tactic was to overwhelm the opponents with the scale of the army as the battle progressed.

The betrayal of the Allied Forces was also ridiculous. They said they would do their best before the fight but someone became helpless after being fooled by excellent tactics.

The Hermes Guild didn’t just have strong users. The leaders also knew how to display their abilities to the best potential.

“They systematically a.n.a.lyse the whole picture. In the end, we were forced to admit defeat as they weren’t an opponent we could face in the first place.”

A user from the Haven Kingdom said.

He had once been a fairly active and recognized member of a prestigious guild in the Haven Kingdom. But after it was occupied by the Hermes Guild, he couldn’t endure it and moved to the north.

The users of the Haven Kingdom revealed all types of dirty tricks and sneak behaviour that was used.

“They are really dirty and lousy b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.”

“I couldn’t live my life!”

They gossiped about the Hermes Guild for a while before the meeting progressed again. They already came to the conclusion that they needed to fight for the north.

“What if we intercept them on Rupoi Plains like before?”

“Those guys will also be thoroughly prepared. It won’t turn out the same way again.”

“In my experience, they will chose various paths to reach us.”

“Thousands died just against 70,000 troops. But this time, millions of people are coming. The strongest users of the Hermes Guild will be heading here.”

“How many people can we gather to face the Haven Empire?”

“Even if we give a total mobilization order, not all of them can gather…. In fact, I don’t even know how many people belong to the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult.”

“A decisive battle on the plains will only benefit the enemy.”

The meeting continued to heat up! As it continued, only the strength of the Hermes Guild was displayed. They were exceptional in battle so that only Weed could defeat them.

However, Weed was currently on a quest in a different time zone and it didn’t seem like it would conclude in a short amount of time.

“Let’s see how many users we can gather.”

“We should at least stop the Arpen Kingdom from being decimated before Weed-nim returns.”

The next morning, posters were placed at every gate in the north stating that the Haven Empire was going to invade.

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