[V49C01-part2] The marching begins
When Weed connected to Royal Road, his location was in Bayar Maze.
The maze was in a mountainous region behind Vargo Fortress and was infamous for being endless: you wouldn’t be able to explore it all even if you wandered in it for over 10 days.
He heard rumors that there was a portal leading to an unknown area, but he still couldn’t find it.
“Kchem”
Weed sat down on a stone and was lost in thought. There were skulls all around him.
He left a trail of fierce battles as he traveled with the Skeletons and Death Knights.
As they were pa.s.sing through, many units of undead started to fight with monsters.
The role of a Necromancer wasn’t to surround each enemy with all undead at once.
It was to overwhelm the opposing side by spreading their numbers and endlessly summoning new undead.
“Well, what to do now?”
Weed viewed some responses on the internet forum before connecting.
Seo-Yoon’s death received a huge response during broadcasting as well, but the responses in the forum revealed the honest opinions of the public.
– Destroy the Hermes Guild!
– We have to sweep them out of the continent completely. Let’s erase them!!
– They are dangerous beings to the Versailles Continent. They dare to hurt even the G.o.ddess?!
– I’m making a list of all their evil deeds. Currently, 389 pages of A4 are completed. Download the whole file!
– I heard rumors that there are resistance movements forming in the Gradian Kingdom. I want to join it.
– Let’s bring freedom back to our land.
Users were rising like clouds, holding banners against the Haven Empire.
If Weed had said anything about fighting with the Haven Empire a few days ago, the Northern users would have been annoyed about it.
You never know when the conquest will finish and you also have to consider the possibility of being defeated.
However, after Seo-Yoon’s death, the Northern users voluntarily wanted to march to the Haven Empire and even made plans of conquest.
– Poisonous mushroom porridge. Kuhuheuk. Can there be such a death as sad as hers? For this bitterness I want to eat poisonous mushroom porridge, but I’m going to endure for today. I found something I certainly have to do, so I have to survive no matter what.
– Chicken Rice Porridge has about 1 500 000 people. Ready to fly.
– Bamboo Shoots Porridge. Troops of Earth Palace. Ready for a battle. Ready to march anytime.
– We are the Steel Porridge. Please ask us if you need any weapons or armor. We blacksmiths are making equipment without sleep. If you bring your own materials, everything will be made for free.
– We are the Fire Porridge. We also make equipment. Combat materials and supplies. Producing endlessly.
– We are the Pork Porridge. We were pushed back by the Beef Porridge, so our popularity decreased a bit. But our courage is the best. We will bravely go to the front line!
The Gra.s.s Porridge Cult that stuck to the North.
They were voluntarily asking for the war.
It was to the point where Ginseng Porridge, Acorn Porridge, Sesame Porridge, Chestnut Porridge and Bug Porridge were organizing an army between themselves and were getting ready to march to the Haven Empire border.
There were many beginners in the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult and the North had a strong tradition of adventuring. No one thought of someone dying as anything serious.
However, Seo-Yoon’s dying face when she was killed by the Haven Empire and the Hermes Guild made them want to fight.
– Let’s go.
– We are going.
– We are following.
– No matter where!
– Go, go!
– We are the unbeatable Gra.s.s Porridge Cult!
They were all comrades with the same goal and did not fear death.
The Gra.s.s Porridge Cult counted most Northern users among their ranks and was still recruiting more.
If their minds are united, even their goal to sweep the Haven Empire can be achieved.
As long as Weed or Seo-Yoon doesn’t oppose the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult’s movement.
“It’s not like it can’t be stopped.”
In any case, Northern users respected Weed..
Although Weed was fighting against the Haven Empire’s evil jobs, if he asked them not to fight, his words will have some effects.
The users of Gra.s.s Porridge Cult may be greatly disappointed, but he might even be able to stop the war.
“But I don’t want to say that.”
Weed was quick to notice things.
He had an ability to identify if a conspiracy was forming somewhere and instinctively knew if someone there was talking behind someone else’s back!
He could feel how things were going through instinct.
‘Seo-Yoon… she wouldn’t have died for no reason.’
She even rode Wy-3 to the battlefield and still lost her life.
‘Even though Seo-Yoon tends to be kind, she’s not an idiot.’
If you looked at her ability to gather information during the Lord of the Desert quest or considered the way she governed the Arpen Kingdom temporarily, you would have to say she was incredibly smart.
Just like how Weed was skilled with money and had the ability to break through a crisis, Seo-Yoon didn’t miss even the tiniest of details.
She was able to quickly understand the flow of a problem and was able to identify the regions of the Arpen Kingdom that were going the wrong way while finding correct solutions.
Even though she obviously knew that she would die, she still went to the Haven Empire. Why did she do it then?
Seeing the responses of everyone, Weed understood the reason.
‘For me. For the Arpen Kingdom. To stop the growth of the Haven Empire.’
At the moment, Weed hesitated to use the death of Seo-Yoon.
Since she was like part of the family, he didn’t want to use family’s death for his success.
‘Using her death for success is the worst thing to do. It would be better to have the Arpen Kingdom fall.’
If Weed had known about this unimaginable plan, he would have done anything to stop her. However, Seo-Yoon already died.
He was worried whether it was right to stop the situation that was already caused by her death.
‘Seo-Yoon sacrificed herself for me. But is it right to make her death worthless?’
While thinking about that, Weed made a decision.
It wasn’t his or Seo-Yoon’s fault. The matter needed to be resolved first and he would just make the Haven Empire or the Hermes Guild take the blame.
‘It’s alright. At times like this, you use the “bad guys.” The people who are always cursed get cursed more and the people who are praised get praised more.’
***
The Haven Empire’s Northern area.
There was much tension in the city Ilsram which shared its border with the Arpen Kingdom.
“They are coming.”
“The scouts?”
“They don’t have such a thing.”
“So how did you get to know about it?”
“Watching the broadcasts. On all of KMC media’s channels, all the Northern users are marching.”
Members of the Hermes Guild gathered at the Lord Castle of Ilsram city. There were twelve members from the administrative office among them.
“Turn on the broadcast.”
“Yes. I will turn on KMC media.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s my favorite.”
“…”
The large crystal ball hanging on the Lord Castle’s wall was lit.
You can watch the television on it by using a charged mana stone or by using a wizard’s mana.
– Looks like there’s no end to them.
– It’s impossible to count the numbers.
– Surprisingly, those troops that are marching are only the first part.
– The first part?
Gulp.
Hermes Guild members, who were watching the crystal ball, felt a cold sweat run down their backs.
“At least over 100 000.”
“Ah… my head. It’s the end. They are coming to our city.”
– The Gra.s.s Porridge Cult’s manpower is very impressive. When is the main force is coming?
– That’s not even the leading group. It’s only a part of the Acorn Porridge.
– It’s my first time hearing about the Acorn Porridge.
– It’s a small part of troops in the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult. I heard that the Bugs Porridge is marching to the nearby villages and conquering their major facilities at the moment.
– Did you say Bugs Porridge? Ha ha ha. What an interesting name.
– They can’t be treated as a joke. Bugs Porridge uses pitch-black swords and armor.
– Is the uniform their special feature?
– Yes. They are the rulers of the night who regularly hunt in the dungeons. It is said that they are the masters of a.s.sa.s.sination and battle.
– I heard that there are users who have different jobs as well.
– The bug trainers. They raise insects and can control them as subordinates… But there’s no further information about them.
– How?
– For some reason, the people who saw the bug trainers don’t say any word about them. Looks like we will be able to see them for the first time at the battle of Ilsram.
“Kchem”
Lord Alto almost bit his tongue.
Even if they only welcomed the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult, the outcome of the battle can be imagined if they were to fight.
‘The Bugs Porridge!’
Truth be told, Ilsram fell short of the Central Continent’s standards.
The rise of development, economy, and technology was low. As for the population, most of the users left for the North, so it was empty.
But still, Alto made a grin and smiled.
‘People should know how to stand in line.’
He became a lord in the Hermes Guild just because they offered money. And when the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult offered him a position, he accepted it without thinking twice.
It was a betrayal to the Hermes Guild, but he could just cross over to the Arpen Kingdom.
“There is nothing good left in the Haven Empire, so what?”
He provided secret bases and transportation routes after accepting bribes.
‘There’s no reason for us to be robbed by the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult. My disaster will pa.s.s onto the other lords.’
Lord Alto finished his thoughts and quickly stood up.
“Let’s prepare to welcome our guests.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Clean the rooms in the inns… The Lord’s Castle won’t be enough. Let’s at least put a mattress in the hallway. Catch some bugs for our guests who train insects as well.”
***
Northern users were flocking to the Harpan area.
There were lots of banners of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult, but there were also some users that wanted revenge and crossed the border.
As soon as Seo-Yoon died, the users gathered by themselves and without preparation for the war, they started to march south.
“Let’s sweep it all!”
“It’s a conquest. A conquest.”
It was a completely new experience for the users who started at the Arpen Kingdom and Morata, but to the users who were kicked out from the Central Continent, crossing the Forus River made them remember the past.
“We came back to the Central Continent’s land from where we were kicked out of.”
“At that time it was only us, but now lots of users have gathered.”
During the establishment of Morata, many users from the Central Continent crossed over to the North in order to avoid the Hermes Guild’s persecution.
Now, the Northern users couldn’t be ignored because of the increased number of their comrades.
Although their levels weren’t high, they believed in each other while gathering strength and the area turned into a new country.
As the Arpen Kingdom grew, the users who escaped from the Central Continent found a new hope.
It was the hope and dream of Royal Road being a happy world.
Since the real world was so difficult to live in, there would be more users who would fall for Royal Road.
However, power dominated everything even in this new world. Many users were afraid of this power, but Seo-Yoon’s death caused the anger that was held in by them to explode…
Not because a beautiful woman and the Gra.s.s Porridge Clan’s G.o.ddess, died, but because of what she represented.
“Let’s do what we can do. It’s troublesome to stay in a place like this for a long time.”
“Yes, since many users are gathering, we shouldn’t take too long.”
Users that escaped from the Central Continent were confident in their own combat strength.
When they moved to the North because the Hermes Guild chased them out, they weren’t well. But to forget that sadness, everyone in the Arpen Kingdom was absorbed in hunting and completed quests.
They became much stronger than before and wanted to show their skills in the Central Continent.
“If the village is small and there is no deployed army, let’s invade it by ourselves.”
“Those with a knight position in the Arpen Kingdom are heading this way, so it will be easy to conquer.”
“Let’s put the users with high infamy at the back. It’s not good to cause troubles. If you cause troubles, Arpen Kingdom’s reputation will drop.”
“Between us, there aren’t many people with high infamy. Well, it was a bit different back when we were in the Central Continent. So rest easy”
Ddiring!
—————————————————————————————————————————-
< Conquest of the territory!
The knight Lwee Yali conquered the Bekan village.
The 876 people happily agreed to become residents of the Arpen Kingdom.
From this moment onward, this land will be known as a part of the Arpen Kingdom as long as it is not occupied by an enemy army and there are no uprisings. >
——————————————————————————————————————————
Lords of the Haven Empire surrendered all their villages, mines and farms and gave up on defense.
The activities of the Bugs Porridge and high level users were transmitted through the Gra.s.s Porridge network: it was the Porridge Security Conference (PSC).
While the marching soldiers collected information, the leaders of the porridge units led the armies to conquer other major cities.
“Gra.s.s Porridge! Gra.s.s Porridge! Gra.s.s Porridge!”
“Blow the gra.s.s reed with all your strength.”
“Ginseng Porridge. Before the battle takes places, let’s enjoy the bowl of 13 years old Ginseng Porridge that the Elves cultivated.”
There were units with more than a million marching Northern users.
They were great people individually, even though there were others who grabbed more attention and were either Arpen Kingdom users or former Central Continent users.
The users who were on Royal Road and other people online were watching the march of the Northern users.
It was obvious that all broadcasting stations decided to air this scene live.
The first city was Ilsram!
Lord Alto opened the castle’s gates and welcomed the Northern users.
“You did a great job at traveling such a long way. We welcome all guests who reached Ilsram.”
At the castle gates and inside the castle, Northern users were pa.s.sionately welcomed.
Lord Alto even invited bards to have a concert.
The Haven Empire lords who were in the Harfan region were shocked by that scene.
“He betrayed the Hermes Guild?”
“Well, there wasn’t much he could do. What are we going to do?”
The problem wasn’t that the Arpen Kingdom easily took over Ilram city, but that the Northern user’s attacks would soon be directed straight at them.
At that moment, the Hermes Guild was also troubled.
“I have to send an army to stop the Northern users. But it takes time to build up good soldiers.”
Lafaye and the commanding officers of the Hermes Guild did not have enough time to prepare a countermeasure.
He had to gather troops, provide supplies for the battle and find ways to move to the North in order to attack.
It wasn’t as simple as walking around with swords like how the Northern users were doing.
“We can’t afford to lose our dignity by having the Haven Empire’s territory be invaded.”
“Honor and spirit. We can’t lose these things.”
“Won’t the lords endure somehow? Since there are many troops of the Imperial Army stationed near the Arpen Kingdom. ”
“First, let’s send reinforcements quickly.”
In order to match the Northern users, they had to gather more troops.
Even before the Haven Empire army’s arrival, Northern users were spreading around the Harpan region.
“We are the Poisonous Mushroom Porridge!”
“The Barley Porridge arrived.”
“Supporting troops of the Beans Porridge has arrived.”
“The Sweet Potato Porridge, the Stone Porridge and the Crab Porridge are waiting.”
Even though the Harpan region was at the edge of the Central Continent, it still had strong fortresses and city walls.
Since the Northern users were hurrying to cross the city walls without having any weapons and gears, hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives pointlessly.
On the other hand, on the Haven Empire’s side, more people were alive than dead.
“Everyone focus and work together. The enemies are weak and don’t have any grand magic or siege weapons. This place won’t collapse!”
The Hermes Guild members who led the Imperial Army were confident.
As long as Royal Road’s special mana and magic arrows existed, enemies of any sizes could be stopped.
Usually, the defending troops of siege warfare should be attacked by troops three times their size to fall. Depending on the situation, even troops hundreds of times bigger might not be able to make them fall.
The Hermes Guild members were antic.i.p.ating the battle since they could achieve new records for warfare.
“Let’s use the Feather of Lightness.”
On the Northern user’s side, there was a suggestion from the native air troops.
This item can be called a special product from the city Lavia.
This item can make the body’s weight as light as a feather and give the ability to fall from a high place to the ground without harm.
Although it can’t be used during the battle, it was useful while taking over a fortress in a mountainous region.
“But the Feathers of Lightness aren’t good to use in a battle, right?”
One member asked a question.
“Right. Since you are flying slowly, you are an easy target.”
“That’s a big drawback.”
“It will be alright if we use it during the night. They will still try to respond somehow, but if about 100 000 people were to jump over the fortress wall, some of them are bound to land. Those can infiltrate the fortress while the others act as a diversion.”
“I don’t know. Well, even if this plan fails, we will find another way.”
Just like that, 100 000 people were sent.
The Northern users decided to move as planned since they thought it was going to be amusing.
An operation in the middle of the night!
The Haven Empire responded with fire arrows and magic attacks.
It was inevitable that there wasn’t enough firepower and especially since they were nowhere close to the middle of the Central Continent. They only lasted till the following morning.
It was the victory of the Northern users.
(To be continued…)