Ark

ACT 7 Conditions of the Alliance

“Transfer?”

It fell short of Ark’s expectations. Haiyan, the user who introduced himself nodded and said.

“Yes, if you transfer the challenge to us then I’ll immediately give you 300 gold.”

“Are you able to transfer the challenge rights?”

“Didn’t you know?”

Haiyan asked in surprise.

“Not everybody who signs up wants to participate in the siege.  Half the people register because the challenge right can be bought at a high price.”

‘So that’s why all the small groups gathered?’

If they were lucky and drew the prize than they could obtain hundreds of gold. Therefore they registered for the siege even if they had no interest.

“Right. But I have no intention of selling.”

“I heard that Dark Eden is an attack group…….have you already joined hands with another guild?”

“No. I’m looking for allies now.”

“Then it would be better to sell to us.”

Haiyan said with a look of relief.

“I’ll explain it simply since you are new to Silvana. There are 50 guilds and attack groups currently in Silvana but the only forces worth paying attention to is the Hermes Guild and our Grey Wings guild. The rest of the guilds haven’t made a coalition yet. Therefore making an alliance with them won’t be easy. Did you see everyone leaving after the lot was drawn?”

Then Ark became a little embarrassed. He thought that if he won the right to challenge then many offers of alliance would pour in from other guilds.  But no one had approached him even after he left the shrine. Haiyan just laughed.

“There are two reasons for this. The first is that they can’t make a decision until they see who wins the challenge right.”

“So they can see if there is a shot at winning?”

“Of course, that could be a reason. The Dawn Blade guild has pretty strong allies.  But there is a more important reason. Three weeks has passed since the Dawn Blade guild occupied the castle. So there should’ve been three sieges. But the guild didn’t confront any of the three winners.”

“What is that……?”

“I don’t fully know why. But those guilds received the challenge right. But there is a clue. The veto power disappears if they don’t accept a challenge from another guild within the next two days.  In other words, if the Lord accepts a challenge from another guild then your right will become invalid. Do you understand?”

“Then Alan?”

“Yes, he always accepted a challenge just before the veto right would disappear. He accepted a rising guild called Hades all three times. Although we searched for them in Silvana, they managed to send a challenge to Alan all three times. Unlike the lottery, once Alan accepts the challenge then it is a 100% chance of a siege occurring. So many guilds tried to contact for an alliance request but it isn’t easy.”

‘Hades?’

With a flash, Ark realized what was happening. He had already heard the name Hades once. Sid had engraved the crest of the masked robbers into his head. It was the crest of the Hades guild.  If that’s the case…..one thought immediately came to Ark’s mind. Hades was associated with Alan. There was probably a secret relationship between the masked robbers and Alan. No, it was possible that the ghost guild was created by Alan.  Yes. Alan created a ghost guild which he pretended to accept so that he could lessen the burden of the siege! So it was impossible for Hades to accept the allied request of another guild. The last three times they gathered, they probably had a barbeque party instead of a siege.

‘Heung, that Alan fellow. He went on TV and talked about strategy exposure and other nonsense when this was the actual case. He used such a lousy method……’

Thanks to Tazza, Ark had managed to find a blind spot in the system. However, Alan was already using a much higher level fraud.

‘No, it is not all bad news.  There should be a way to prove the relationship between Alan and the Hades guild through an NPC witnessing the siege. Then there would be evidence that Alan swindled Sid.  I might even be able to get back the 300 gold taken as collateral!’

He had half given up on the 3000 gold but now there was a way to recover it!

‘But why did Alan do say a dangerous thing? Unlike is outer appearance, Alan is a snake.  He knows that the slightest slip would be fatal to his reputation. He would only trust a partner who he could control completely. Then possibly…………’

“Do you know the name of the Hades guild master?”

“I never participated in the lottery but someone told me that the name registered in the War Shrine is Andel.”

‘Indeed!’

It was clear that Alan and Andel were conspiring to keep their hold on Silvana. Anyway the alliance between Alan and Andel could be a serious problem.

‘Damn, I thought it would be settled once I received the challenge right…….’

Then, Ark realised that there were some inconsistencies in Haiyan’s words.

“Wait, then why do you want to buy the challenge right from me? If Alan only accepts the challenge from Hades then why do you want it?”

“That’s why I’m going to explain the second reason.”

Haiyan answered.

“There is a separate provision in the siege rules. If the guild leader with the challenge right dies or more than 40% of his guild dies then the challenge right would automatically disappear.  In other words, if more than 40% of Hades or Andel dies before the siege begins than his right to challenge would be cancelled.  If Hade’s challenge disappears and the Lord hasn’t accepted another challenge then it would automatically revert to Dark Wolf.”

Ark couldn’t understand what Haiyan was saying. But he understood the contents well enough. The Grey Wings was aiming to get rid of Hade’s right to challenge before Alan could accept it.  Then wouldn’t Ark’s challenge right be important? But Haiyan said that the other guilds would definitely not make an offer of alliance to Ark.

But if Ark had the challenge right then why wouldn’t they ally with him? But his question was answered immediately.

“That rule also applies to those with the challenge right.  In other words, if Dark Wolf or more than 40% of Dark Eden is killed then your challenge right will be cancelled. If that happens then this lottery will be held again.  That is why I would like to skip such difficulties by buying the challenge right.”

Tension gathered in Ark’s face. He noticed the threat hidden inside the message.  The only forces with power in Silvana were the Grey Wings and Hermes guild! He should’ve noticed when he heard those words. It didn’t simply mean that they had the ability to take part in a siege.  It meant that they were able to take the challenge right from other guilds if they wanted.

‘I see. Then I would have to fight them off in Nagaran!’

Ark had tried to avoid fighting with any guilds when he entered Nagaran. Since his only purpose was to occupy the castle.  There was no reason to fight with other guilds. But he couldn’t avoid it if it was a quarrel over the challenge right. Challenge right…….This small thing would be the main cause of endless battles and assassination in Nagaran. The reason why other guilds wouldn’t ally with Ark was also clear.  If they allied with Ark then they would be the target of the Grey Wings and Hermes guild who are Silvana’s biggest powers. Because Ark didn’t have the power to protect them, they would rather wait until one of the two guilds defeated Ark and then send an ally request to the winner.

Nagaran was a land of war where anyone had the opportunity to become lords they said.  However whether it was reality or a game, the number of people capable of becoming lords was only a handful. Ark clenched his teeth and inwardly thought.

‘…….I made a mistake!’

Haiyan had asked him if he had a huge guild or alliance. He had wanted to determine if Ark had joined hands with a big guild that he didn’t know about. If he killed Ark then he didn’t want to risk having a hostile relationship with the huge guild.  However, Ark answered that he didn’t have an alliance and wanted to make one. He confessed with his own mouth that he had no power behind him. It was a fatal mistake! He basically told Haiyan that there would be no trouble if he killed Ark. Haiyan had calculated all of this before he approached.

‘Alan and…….Haiyan………they use their heads unlike ordinary players. It wasn’t easy to obtain a castle in Nagaran using just power. If it was like that than the Hermes guild with the power of the pioneers would’ve occupied the castle.’

There were numerous plots and schemes! Alliances and oppositions! There were all kinds of rules in New World! Once he grasped all the rules it was possible to move carefully and survive in Nagaran.

‘I was irrational because of the money and ran to Nagaran without finding all the information, which meant I made a big mistake!’

“What do you think?”

Haiyan smiled like he was a nice person and asked.

“Have you made a decision after I kindly explained everything?”

30 users standing behind Haiyan laid their hands on their swords.  If he failed to respond then they wouldn’t hesitate to kill him! Jjak-tung and Tazza also noticed the gesture.

“What’s this? Are you going to try it?”

“Just like the rumours, this really is a lawless area. We’re actually being threatened like this in town!”

Cross and the Sylphid Knights also grabbed their swords with anger.

“Wait!”

Ark was surprised and interrupted all of them.

‘The Grey Wings are one of the two major forces in Silvana. They could probably mobilize hundreds of troops in an emergency……if it was just users then he wouldn’t care…….’

If Ark or the rehabilitation members escaped the crisis then they could just disconnect until it was time for the siege. Andel probably use such a method until the siege was imminent and then he would log in. Now Ark couldn’t use such a method.  80% of his troops were NPCs. If the NPCs escaped here then the Grey Wings guild would track them down and wipe them out.  The fatal weakness of Dark Eden was that NPCs was the core of their group. However, Ark had one last card.

“So why not ally with us?”

Yes, if the Grey Wings guild allied with them then all the problems would be solved. In a situation like this, Ark though to enter an alliance with conditions.  However, Haiyan shook his head.

“I’m really sorry. The members already chosen are very tight.”

“But ………”

“I’ll sell it. That’s the only thing you can say to us.”

‘Damn, do I really have to give up the challenge right?’

Ark ground his teeth together as he thought. If he lost the NPCs then he wouldn’t be able to achieve anything.

Bang bang double bang!

It was at that time. An extravagant was suddenly heard from the side alley. Ark and Haiyan turned their heads at the same time.

“Grey wings. What are you trying to do hiding in a place like this!”

“Kukukuk, it’s obvious. But that idea isn’t going to work!”

“We’ve already taken the wolf.”

“These Hermes guys! They’re trying to scatter ash on our hard boiled rice!”

Haiyan growled and took out his sword. The users who fired magic randomly from a side alley wore the mark of a five pointed star.

The Hermes Guild! The leader he saw in the shrine, Jewel, Duke and dozens of other people firing arrows or magic was gathered on a side street.

“It’s not necessary to see.  Kill everyone!”

Haiyan’s troops who received a surprise attack took a lot of damage.  However, the surprise wasn’t enough to make the Grey Wings crumble.

“Stop them! Don’t let the challenge right shift to the Hermes Guild!”

When Haiyan raised his voice an extra 20 people ran out from an alley.

“Sheesh, this fellow hid people here for an ambush.”

They did it in case the Grey Wings guild needed to attack Ark’s party. But the Hermes Guild suddenly appeared and everything became mixed up. Since there were 100 troops fighting in a cramped street, the fighting became confused as people were cramped next to each other.  But since they had similar numbers, the pioneers from the Hermes Guild started prevailing.

10 people from the Grey Wings guild collapsed without being able to drink a potion. Once the balance was broken, the Hermes Guild became the overwhelming side.  But the two guild’s fight didn’t have anything to do with Ark.

“This is a chance, run!”

Ark led his party and began running down the alley.

“Dark Wolf is running away. Get him!”

“Come back here!”

When Haiyan tried to run after him the leader of the Hermes Guild immediately blocked him with a shield. Haiyan’s lips curled up.

“Raiden……..you…….!”

“Heh, I thought that you should taste victory and then defeat.”

The leader called Raiden laughed and shouted to Duke and Jewel.

“I’ll take care of this, you two chase after Dark Wolf!”

“Come on, let’s go!”

Jewel and Duke tracked Ark while leading 20 people from their guild.  When members of the Grey Wings guild tried to block them, Duke and Jewel shot arrows and magic and they quickly collapsed.  With Raiden there, the Grey Wings guild had to continuously defend against him. Thanks to that, Jewel and Duke were able to chase after Ark without worrying.

“Dark Wolf, I won’t miss!”

Jewel’s magic attack range and damage wasn’t a joke. It extended over ten metres to steadily drain his health. Duke also used the special effect of his shoes to barrage him with arrows that decreased his health. As long as they didn’t have the level penalty of the Evil Silrion than their power was scary.

‘An encounter like this!’

Ark sent an uneasy look towards Cross. Ark, Tazza and Jjak-tung were wearing leather armour.  However, Cross and the Sylphid Knights were wearing heavy armour so their speed dropped significantly.  It was because their role was as a shield but in a crisis they were quickly overtaken.

‘Jewel and Duke have 20 guild members. Although it would be difficult, I might be able to handle those numbers. But I’ll be screwed if the rest of the Hermes Guild comes here.’

Then Cross turned his body around as they were rounding a corner.

“Damn it, I can’t do it. I’ll make a stand here. You run away!”

“No way!”

Ark let out a startled scream. However, Cross just lifted his sword with a resolute expression.

“It would be difficult to escape their pursuit anyway. In addition we are soldiers fired from the state of Jackson! I can’t stand being pursued like flies by these fellows and then dying. If I die then I’ll die with pride……..”

“Don’t be silly!”

Ark quickly grabbed Cross’ shoulders.

“Do you think I brought you here just to die in a place like this? Even if I die here, you have to live! No, I’ll revive!”

“Ah, Ark……..!”

Cross flinched and looked at Ark with bloodshot eyes. However, Ark was cursing inside his head.

‘Damn it, does an NPC have no awareness?’

His pent up anger was bursting. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that all of Ark’s power relied on the NPCs. If Ark, Tazza and Jjak-tung died then they could revive in 24 hours.  But if an NPC died once then it was goodbye forever. If was difficult enough to bring them to Nagaran from Jackson, if he lost 20 of them then how would he be able to challenge the siege? Even if Ark died, the NPC wasn’t supposed to die.

‘I’m prepared to risk my life for the NPCs!’

His anger built up but Ark hid it in his heart and spoke.

“If you sacrifice your lives for me then I really won’t be able to live with myself!”

“Ark, for us you……..!”

“You are indeed Jackson’s Hero, it wasn’t a mistake to follow you!”

“If it is for you then we’re not afraid of death!”

Cross and his party’s emotions burned even more after his words.

“Didn’t I say you couldn’t do that?  Please listen to me a little bit! Jjak-tung hyung, Tazza hyung, you know these guys are important for my goals. So accompany the soldiers and escape first! I’ll take care of the rest. If I’m on my own then I’ll be able to get out somehow.”

“I understand. Sir Cross, follow me!”

Tazza and Jjak-tung guessed Ark’s thoughts and led the soldiers down another alley. The Hermes Guild shouted form up ahead.

“They have scattered!”

“Bah, they just want to distribute our power. But our target is only Dark Wolf. Attacking his group means nothing to me. Dark Wolf has the challenge right!”

“Everyone circle the narrow alley and block his escape routes!”

The guild members scattered in all directions under Jewel’s command. Then Ark started to be hunted like a wild boar. The members of Hermes Guild were all higher level than him. Of course he had confidence of winning 1-on-1, but with them circling him there was no chance for that.  But the most intimidating members were Jewel and Duke as expected.

“Lightning Curse!”

Black lightning poured from Jewel’s fingertips. When Ark tried to run away, the AOE magic quickly expanded. The damage of wide area magic was lower than that of a single spell. Yet he still lost 300 health and had a curse hanging on him. Duke’s ‘Footprint Trace’ skill was also a problem. It allowed him to track Ark no matter where he hid in the alleys and he would inform the rest of the guild.

“Hahaha, Dark Wolf. Where did you spirit from the arena go?”

Jewel continuously shot magic while taunting him. Although his pent up anger was starting to build, there was no way for him to escape.

‘My health is already at 70%.  Even if I run away, I won’t be able to hold up for 1 minute! But in their situation there is nowhere to hide……..’

Then something popped into Ark’s head. When he entered Nagaran, he read a description of the basic rules.

‘That’s right, there are still a few rules to keep in mind even if I’m not in a siege. I should’ve thought of this before…….!’

“Summon Demon, Deimos!”

Clack clack, clack clack clack! Deimos came running with his sword.

“Sorry Deimos! I’ll waive the penalty just this once!”

Ark covered Deimos with a leather robe and kicked him while covered into the lane outside. Deimos rolled out into the lane and stumbled around as he was confused about what was happening.  At that moment, a black ray of light hit Deimos.

Ttadak! Ttadak!

“I caught you…….eh? What the?” Isn’t he one of Dark Wolf’s summons? Damn you can go to hell!”

Jewel’s face contorted as she turned around. She had kicked and shot magic at Deimos when he appeared but she immediately grasped the situation. Then Deimos grabbed at Jewel’s pants with his burning loyalty.

“This……..cheeky skeleton………!”

Jewel struck Deimos with fists filled with magical powers. He was hit a few times with his health falling by 5% until he was engulfed in a dim light and disappeared. Ark had released the summons.  Jewel belatedly entered the alley that Ark was in. Then she followed to a side street where an embarrassed look spread on her face.

“God dammit…….!”

There was a market across from the alley. The market was teeming with numerous NPCs. Yes, Ark had thrown Deimos as bait before running into the market. There was one type of person that users couldn’t touch in the lawless area of Nagaran. It was NPCs with neutral alignment. Even Jewel with the help of the Hermes Guild couldn’t indiscriminately attack.

“Look around, he couldn’t have gone too far!”

Jewel plunged into the market annoyed. But Ark wasn’t that far from Jewel. While Jewel’s eyes were focused on Deimos, Ark released the transformation and blended in with the NPCs.

‘I’m glad that Jewel doesn’t know my true form.’

Ark sighed as he leisurely strolled through the market.

‘Anyway, this time I managed to get away.’

Ark returned to the barracks and summed up the situation.

‘Our forces alone won’t be enough to knock Alan down. I will have to join hands with one of the two main guilds in Silvana, either the Grey Wings or Hermes guild.’

There was no time. Soon the Grey Wings and Hermes would come find Ark. He had to request protection from one of them before they find him. But when he spoke to the Grey Wings they said their capacity was already full. If he looked at the situation objectively, from the fight in the alley he could tell that the Hermes guild was stronger than the Grey Wings.

‘But Jewel and Duke are in Hermes. Even if I have the challenge right, they won’t accept me as allies. Moreover, it will also be meaningless if Alan accepts the challenge from other guilds. I have to make sure that Hermes will accept the alliance…….’

A smile suddenly formed on Ark’s mouth.

‘That’s right. The answer is surprisingly simple. I’m the one with the power to call the shots.’

Ark used a ‘Feather of Whispering’ to call Jewel. Since Jewel was in Silvana, the communication connected.

-Ark? Who is Ark?

His real name was shown when he used the Feather of Whispering. Jewel only knew him as Dark Wolf so she asked in a strange voice.

-Will you understand if I say I’m Dark Wolf?

-D, Dark Wolf! You…….!

The communication link instantly filled with abusive language. But Ark just responded with an energetic voice.

-Hey, farts are a natural body function…….it will appear if a person becomes angry.

-If you’re in Silvana then I’ll definitely find you!

-Then I guess you don’t want to hear my proposal.

-Proposal? From you?

-As a pioneer do you have the right to speak for your guild? If you don’t then simply say so. As the leader of Dark Eden, I propose an alliance with the Hermes guild.

-Alliance? Ha, are you crazy? Why should we enter into an alliance with a guy like you?

-Are you forgetting that I hold the challenge right?

-That’s no big deal, if you die then the challenge will become invalid. And since you alone have the challenge then you’ll just lose against the opposing guild. We can just wait until next week.

-You must have forgotten about the Grey Wings.

-………….

Jewel was silent for a moment. It had a big effect. If he allied with Haiyan and the Grey Wings then he would have enough power to occupy the castle. And if the Grey Wings occupied the castle then it would become quite difficult for Hermes. It was an influential threat judging by Jewel’s reaction.

‘If I’m going to survive in Nagaran then I have to use my head too.’

But Jewel soon laughed.

-It doesn’t matter if you ally with Grey Wings. It won’t be accepted. Even though you have the challenge right, the situation will still be the same. You won’t be able to participate in the siege and they’ll abandon you.

-Because of Hades?

-……..That’s right. Although we’ve tried to capture them for the last 3 weeks, we were unsuccessful.  Alan will definitely accept Hades’ challenge this time. Thus I don’t have to worry about the Grey Wings joining with you.

-What if I take care of Hades?

-What?

-I’ll speak clearly. I will be able to deal with Hades. If Alan accepts Hades challenge and they die then the next challenge rights will come to me.  Do you think the Grey Wings would still decline my request?  Even if you regret it after the Grey Wings occupies the castle, wouldn’t it be too late?

-How can you guarantee that you will catch Hades?

-I can’t go into detail, but I am 100% sure.

-………I will consult with the guild leader.

Ark waited in a relaxed mood. They bit the bait that he threw.  There was no reason to become impatient. After a few minutes the expected message window popped up.

‘As expected, Raiden is the leader of the Hermes guild.’

Once Ark accepted the whisper, Raiden’s voice immediately entered his ear.

-………I heard what you said.

-The answer is?

-It depends on the requirements.

-I will form an alliance with you and we’ll participate in the siege together.  When you occupy Silvana then I will receive 40% of the proceeds every month.

-Isn’t that too much? -Silvana is still a territory that is developing. If we occupy the castle then the early investment will be more than the profits.  In addition, we have already signed an alliance with 4 other guilds.  Since I also have to distribute the proceeds to them, I will receive severe backlash if I give only you 40%.

-You’re not participating in the siege alone?

-We didn’t advertise that you obtained the challenge right. Since you talked to Grey Wing, we never imagined that you would contact us.

Heads will roll if I bring my forces into Nagaran under those conditions.

-Okay, 30%. With the condition that you will supply all the materials for the siege otherwise there is no reason to enter an alliance.

-I understand. I’ll agree to 30%. But there is a condition.  You’re sixth in command.

And not everyone can participate in the siege.  The right to sit on the throne is only given to the representative in command of the guild.  And if a representative dies in battle then the right goes back to the next guild leader in command. In other words, all the representatives ahead of you will have to die before Ark can be given the command right.

Ark wasn’t interested in being a Lord in the first place so he just nodded.

-Okay, but if you occupy the castle then you should guarantee that I can come and go as I please.  Also you have to protect Dark Eden from the Grey Wings guild until the start of the siege.

-That is natural in an alliance.  Then the talk is over. Pick a place. We’ll both come alone to sign the contract.  However, the agreement will only become effective after you deal with the Hades guild.

After a few hours, Ark exchanged alliance agreements with Raiden.

In accordance with the guild master Raiden, Hermes will join the alliance.

Details: If the Hermes Guild occupies the manor than 30% of the proceeds will be distributed to Ark every month. This part of the contract is only relevant when the Hermes Alliance occupies the castle. The conditions of the alliance will begin showing once Dark Eden takes care of the Hades guild.

‘Hrmm, I’m somewhat uncomfortable?’

Ark looked at the alliance agreement with uncomfortable eyes. He wasn’t sure but 30% of the proceeds from the castle was probably a considerable amount of money. Frankly, Ark thought that receiving 10% would’ve been a success. But they promised 30% very easily. The pioneers possessed a lot more information than Ark. There may be some ulterior motives.

‘But that can’t just easily break the alliance agreement that both of us have agreed to. In addition, they also have agreements with other guilds.  They won’t be able to openly betray me.’

Ark signed the contract.

“Okay, now we’re riding the same ship. You might have a bad relationship with Jewel and Duke but I’ll tell them to bury the petty grudge in this situation. Our enemy is Alan.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Ark and Raiden shook each other’s hand. Ark to reclaim his money, Raiden to occupy the castle……

‘Okay, now I just have to draw out Andel.’

But it was not an easy matter. With other guilds looking for him, Andel won’t show up so easily. Of course, if Ark showed up then with Andel’s character it was likely he would approach first.  But to do that, Ark had to catch Andel’s attention first. He was worried for a while before he came up with a brilliant plan.

‘If he wants to challenge Alan then he’ll have to stop by the Shrine of War. If he’s there then I can easily catch his attention.

Ark went back to the square in front of the shrine. Then he summoned Dedric.

“You called, Master?”

“Yes, hit me until I tell you to stop.”

“Eh?”

Dedric looked at him with a stupid expression.

“D-did I do something wrong?”

“No, it’s not that. Don’t make irrelevant remarks and just hit me.”

Dedric tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying.

“Huhuhu, Master. Do you regret abusing me?”

He was really simple……..Ark didn’t feel like arguing so he just nodded.

“Well, it is like you said.”

“Okay, then should I do it later?”

“Do you want to annoy me?”

At that moment Ark crumpled. Dedric’s fist had hit his stomach. His breath got stuck in his jaw. He was careless since the appearance was like a child. But his level was quite considerable so his fist was quite hard. He told his summon to do it but once he was hit he felt quite dirty. However, Ark pushed down his anger and endured it. When Ark showed no reaction, Dedric immediately began to hit Ark in earnest. He seemed to be releasing all his sorrows as he hit him again and again……..Ark’s face quickly became swollen. While Ark was being beaten up by a kid in the middle of the square, users began to gather.

“What the?”

“That child doesn’t seem to be a user……why is a NPC beating up a user?”

“Is this also a quest?”

“What kind of quest would require being battered like that?”

The users looked at Ark with astonishment.

‘Okay, people are beginning to gather.’

This was Ark’s purpose.  An astounding scene like this would gather people’s attention. With so much attention focused on him, even Andel would become interested. This was to ensure that the opponent would approach Ark first. It was more efficiently than trying to find a guy that was hiding. But it wasn’t the only reason that he was being hit by Dedric.

When he endured for a while, a message window popped up. Resilience increased his resistance to blunt force! The way to increase his resilience was to be hit with blunt force. The reason he called Dedric was because Deimos used a sword. Since fists belonged to the blunt weapons category, he thought that being hit would increase his resilience stat. It increased his stats and attracted Andel’s attention. It was the strategy of killing two birds with one stone!

But even so…….

“Hehehe, Master, die!”

Ark’s face changed as Dedric became hyped up and swung his fists like crazy.

‘This kid, is he really hitting me this ignorantly? He’ll see in the future.’

Ark vowed revenge inside his heart.

‘Kukukuk, foolish bastards………’

Andel smirked as he looked through the pile of mail. Although he hadn’t connected for a week, the day before the siege he temporarily connected to send a challenge.  Meanwhile alliance requests or threatening letters to abandon the challenge had piled up. The most irritating letters were sent from the Grey Wings and Hermes guilds.

‘As expected, Alan is too smart.’

As predicted by Ark, Alan had created the phantom guild Hades. The guild consisted of 150 people.  It was a small guild that concentrated on attacking.  In order to refuse the challengers, he had created a ghost guild and placed people he trusted there. It was a clever method used to exploit the siege rules.

‘Now we just have to connect tomorrow and spend the time drinking alcohol.’

Andel finished the procedure and exited from the Shrine of War. That was when he noticed the crowd of users that were chattering in the nearby square. Andel became curious and peeked through the crowd before suddenly hiding his face.

“Eh, t-that guy is…….!”

The person who was creating an amazing scene in the square was…….Ark. Andel reflexively hid his body and looked at Ark.

‘What is he doing here…….aha, right. Alan was correct. If we beat the dog then the owner will come out……..he must’ve listened to Sid’s circumstances and came here. But why is he acting like that in the square? No, I don’t care. This is my chance! My knowledge of Silvana is similar to that of my home town. Once you’ve caught my eyes then it is the end!’

Andel grabbed his sword tightly. He wanted to just run out and cut him down right there. But Andel wasn’t stupid. He had already identified the tremendous growth of Ark in Cairo. On the other hand, Andel hadn’t really raised his level. He had almost never connected to the game in Silvana in order to hide his identity. Although he didn’t know why Ark was being beat up by his summon, but he was definitely not weak. Anger alone could not kill Ark.

‘How should I do it? Should I summon the entire guild? But if he gets away in the meantime……..’

While Andel was thinking that, Ark recalled his summon and crossed the square.

‘Ark, if he leaves Nagaran then it will be a problem…….but he knows my face……….’

Andel quickly arranged for one of his guild members to chase after Ark. Ark sneaked out of the town. And he arrived at a small camp after walking for 20 minutes. At the camp 10 people were gathered. They were JusticeMan and the rehabilitation members.

“Was it impossible?”

“I didn’t think that Alan would be the Lord already. Now that Alan occupied the castle, I can challenge him to a battle but the odds aren’t in my favour.”

“It’s not possible. Although we lost 3000 gold, it isn’t possible to fight him. Since it will become troublesome if Alan knows we’re here, let’s just organize patrols before we leave.”

“Yes………”

Ark replied with a grumpy face.

The news was immediately conveyed to Andel.

“Leave?  Bah, do you think I will let you leave freely? Although you might have freely came in, I won’t let you leave that easily. Once everyone is gathered then I’ll use this chance to pay back my humiliation! Contact all the guild members and tell them to gather immediately!”

“But the siege is in 24 hours. Did you forget that Alan told you to stay hidden? If something happens………”

The guild member spoke in a worried voice. However, Andel was already too far gone to listen.

“At most they only have between ten and fifteen people. Nothing will happen.”

“But aren’t the Grey Wings and Hermes guilds looking for us?”

“Do you think I’m a fool? I received a call that the Grey Wings and Hermes guilds are fighting in another village.  Now is the ideal chance. If anyone in the guild kills these guys then they will receive 50 gold per person.

“50 gold?”

The guild member Nolan murmured with surprised eyes.

“If you’re still worried then I’ll request Pegasus as backup.”

“But it’s better to report to Sir Alan first…….”

“Do you think I’m just Alan’s follower? Can’t I decide anything by myself?”

Andel snarled and glared at the guild.

“There’s no time. I don’t know when these guys will leave Nagaran. If he knows that the opponent is Ark then Alan won’t have a problem with it. I’ll take all responsibility so quickly make the preparations!”

“……….I understand.”

The guild member broke the contact and mobilized the emergency contact line. At the same time, a bat attached to the window grinned and flew into the sky. The bat flew through the evening sky until it reached Ark’s camp nestled in the woods. The shadow was Dedric! Dedric perched on Ark’s shoulder and said in a voice filled with laughter.

“Kikikik, Master. That dumb child is making preparations to kill you.”

“Okay, the prey has bitten the bait.”

Yes, this was Ark’s plan. Andel wasn’t likely to be alone. After leaving the village, he secretly summoned Dedric and ordered him to keep watching Andel. At the same time, he contacted Hermes and asked them to have a guild battle with Grey Wings. Therefore Andel could attack Ark with ease. Andel was irrational and moving like he expected.

“The preparations to catch the rat are finished.”

“Andel……is only a warm-up.”

JusticeMan grinned and replied.

“Everybody move carefully. It will become troublesome if they notice and run away.”

A group of soldiers moved silently though the dense woods and gathered in one place. It was Andel and the ghost guild Hades. Although he used the emergency contact line, he was only able to gather 100 members in 20 minutes.  But against 15 people, that was more than enough.

‘I’m not going to miss this time.’

Andel glared at the campfire visible in the distance. He had been humiliated in Cairo one month ago! He couldn’t forget the humiliating scene of Ark and the rehabilitation members surrounding him and using scrolls before killing him.

‘This time I’ll carve a memory that you won’t be able to forget into you!’

100 people were gathered so it was natural for him to win. The question was how to kill them. Although he couldn’t use scrolls because of the rules of Nagaran, he would use every method to give them a shameful death! Andel moved his troops and surrounded the camp carefully. In the distance, the form of 10 people could be seen between the flickering lights.

‘Huhuhu, those disgraceful guys just leisurely chatting without knowing that they’re going to die soon……..’

“Now. Attack!”

100 Hades members rushed the camp while shouting wildly. The ten people in the garrison flinched and turned their heads. And in the next moment, they fell to the ground and waved their hands frantically. It was crazy. While they were lying down on the ground, they just disappeared into the earth.

“What, what the?”

“Did they just burrow through the ground run away?”

“They also have burrowing skills?”

The guild members looked at the mounds of earth with astounded eyes. However, they couldn’t afford to be surprised. 15 torches soon flew through the darkness from the top of the hill. The torches fell onto piles of twigs placed around the campsite. They fell onto oil with flames quickly spreading everywhere.

“Huk, f-fire!”

“It is a trap!”

The guild members became surprised and fled in every direction. The health of the guild members near the flaming branches quickly decreased.

“Oh my God!”

“What in the world is this?”

“Hahaha, you rookies. This is because of fire attack!”

Then, a massive body appeared on the hill. JusticeMan! That’s right. JusticeMan was the one who thought of all these strategies.  Using fire to attack was a fairly advanced strategy that not many users could put into action. It was a skilful thing to be able to think of using physical laws to deal damage to the opponent. But JusticeMan had led one of South Korea’s SWAT teams. He was talented enough to memorize and implement several highly advanced strategies.

Thanks to New World, he got a chance to use the highest level skills in the ‘Tactics III’ textbook.  And because the reformed thieves voluntarily obeyed him, his skills kept on climbing. JusticeMan also received a title for the first time.

You have built a lot of experience and have reached the level of Great Commanders in tactical combat operations. You will be able to conduct your allies with more precision while making the opponents even more confused.  A Great Commander will improve the survival rate of his allies.  Those who know you as a Great Commander will send you overwhelming support.

* As a title bonus all stats will increase by 2.

* A 50% bonus to the reliability of your subordinates is applied.

* Fame has increased by 500.

* The attack, defense and hit ratio of your allies as well as the success rate of the operation will increase by 10%.

* As a Great Commander you can use various strategies, with 100% damage added to the general damage.

<Corresponding Strategy: Cutting off water supply, Fire attack, Ambush, Surprise attack, Rushing, Scattering and Siege tactics.>

The additional bonus of ‘Tactics III’ piled up.

In a group battle, the bonus was applied to those who changed professions and well as the unemployed. And in the case where skill effect of the attack leader and unit commander was the same, according to the rule the skill with the more advanced level was applied. Therefore, JusticeMan’s tactics skill was applied to Dark Eden’s attacks. JusticeMan use his tactics skill to plan the strategy that would be the most effective.

The raccoons disguised themselves and run away by burrowing through the ground when Andel approached. The troops from Dark Eden were waiting on top of the hill to use the fire attack. Since JusticeMan received the title of Great Commander, the effect was enormous. The common chemicals could confuse the enemy but it wouldn’t do that much damage. However, under the Great Commander the strategy was enough to deal fatal damage.

“It will cause quite a sting.”

“Where did you learn nonsense like this…….!”

Andel shouted in a loud voice.

“Brace yourself, they don’t have that many people so just ignore the fire damage. Decrease their numbers by sheer force!”

Andel climbed up the hill leading his guild. However, trees started rolling down the hill before they could completely climb it. The raccoons had prepared it in advance using the ‘Wood Harvesting’ skill. Thanks to that, the members of Hades guild had their health steadily drained.

“Those bastards! Warriors, press forward and push them back!”

The warriors built a shield after Andel’s command and stopped the trees. Then JusticeMan smiled and raised his voice.

“Ark, it’s your turn!”

“All troops load you cannons!”

40 soldiers suddenly sprang from the side. The whole group was composed of thieves and raccoons. Ark was already aware of the weaknesses of NPCs after the first time he led them. The weak point was that if the NPC died once then they were gone forever!

Of course, he was prepared for sacrifices during the siege but he wanted to increase the survival rate as much as possible. So he came up with the method of teaching the NPCs ‘Cannon Shooting.’ Ark used the funds from the rehabilitation group to commission plenty of cannons from the raccoons. Unfortunately, Cross’ party and the Meow couldn’t learn it since they were limited by their profession. But the thieves were still unemployed so 30 of them mastered the skill ‘Cannon shooting.’ It was also possible to utilize unemployed people.

Tu tu tu tung!

The 40 soldiers fired the guns at the warriors. Even though it was block by the shield, the cannons still had the destruction option.  The durability of the shields quickly fell until the warriors couldn’t use it anymore.

‘Fighting the warriors isn’t necessary.  Since the craftsmen NPC mixed the powder together, the effect has increased!’

This was information he learnt from leading the raccoons in the Underground World. Andel’s whole body trembled as he shouted.

‘Dammit, dammit, dammit! Why do these fellows always interfere when I’m about to kill that guy? What are these guys? This time I won’t just give up! Ignore the cannons and attack! Kill that guy!”

Andel rushed in blindly with his guild. Since the NPCs were equipped with cannons, they would find it difficult to fight against the Hades guild.

‘If I think about the siege then protecting the NPCs is the top priority!’

“It’s Hyung-nims’ turn!”

“Yes, I was waiting for it!”

“Gather your courage. The earth is your friend and will always protect you.”

The rehabilitation members’ defense rose thanks to Roco’s ‘Protection Song.’ Ark also raised their stats and courage using ‘Nursing.’ Thanks to the overlapping buffs, their defense rose rapidly.  Meanwhile, the warriors had just managed to reach the top of the hill.

“Bastards, go to hell!”

“Riposte!”

Ark blocked the sword of a warrior.

“Summon Demon, Deimos! Use your defensive stance and attack the enemy!”

Clack clack clack!

And he immediately used his ‘Intimidation’ skill.

“Where are you swinging your sword so arrogantly? You’re just like a Salrabi Eurachacha!”

The guild member became stiff and stopped his rush.  However, it was only a beginner skill while the Hades member was level 130.

“What the? Do you want to eat shit? Shut your dirty mouth.”

“Shall we finish this?”

“My hair shrivelled from listening to such bad words.  Kill this guy!”

Ark was immediately surrounded by 10 people from the guild.

“Aren’t you acting rashly because of some rude words? I’ll make shabu-shabu out of you and eat it.  These beep-beep bastards!”

A different standard of swearing emerged from behind Ark. The people listening could only hear an endless stream of abusive language! Combined with the menace contained in his voice, the guild members couldn’t help flinching and stiffening their bodies. Hae Gyeol-sa threatened them with his advanced intimidation skill. The skill of the founder was indeed different.

“Amazing. Making 20 people stiffen at once…….!’

Ark looked at Hae Gyeol-sa with admiring eyes. However, that wasn’t the only surprise. 100 versus 83. The number was similar but Ark had the burden of protecting the NPCs. The Meow and Cross’ soldiers were stationed in the back which was why only Ark and the rehabilitation members engaged the warriors. Of course it wasn’t an easy battle. Since they hadn’t fought together for a while, he had no idea about the combat capability of JusticeMan and the rehabilitation group.

The rehabilitation members also didn’t have a profession yet and just fought in their own style. But when they used their unique skills then the situation completely changed. They were able to learn those skills because they were unemployed so it was a strange battle style!

‘I was worried about their levels…….but I never thought the battle would be like this!’

Bul-kkun preferred building up his power and hitting.  So he trained his body……..so after several months, he raised his body’s defense by 50% and learnt the unique skill ‘Impenetrable Skin.’ With the addition of his high quality equipment, his defensives abilities were unimaginable.

“Hahaha, is that it? I don’t even feel a tingle!”

Bul-kkun was able to fight against 3~4 people alone. On the other hand, as an ex-conman Jjak-tung used ‘Fraud’ and ‘Art of Communication’ to create a skill called ‘Quarrel.’

“Hey, didn’t Andel say something like he just had to feed you to obtain your dog like loyalty? Aren’t you just cannon fodder? Look, Andel is telling you to attack while he’s just watching from behind.”

“S-shut up, ooooooh………!”

The warriors became confused by ‘Quarrel’ and swung their swords wildly. However, none of them could compare to the deviant character of Tazza.

Tazza raised his character in a way that Ark couldn’t imagine. Since he was a former gambler, he invested a lot of points into luck. Thanks to that, his strength and stamina were only around level 70~80 when his actual level was 100. On the other hand, he had 500 points in luck. It was a really abnormal character! In the beginning it was a useless character. However once it crossed 500 then he gained an unimaginable ability.

His luck stat now had an influence on his evasion and critical hit probability. With his high level equipment, Tazza’s evasion and critical hit probability just increased even more.  Thanks to that, Tazza could avoid most attacks when counterattacking with a critical hit.

“Hey, I’m over here. Stupid!”

Tazza rushed forward and received all the attacks.  If it hit then he would’ve received 800 damage. But he avoided most of the attacks and had to drink even less recovery potions than Bul-kkun.

But the most helpful person was none other than the former pickpocket Yapsab. Ark attacked 10 people until his health decreased to 30%.

“Eat this!”

Yapsab watched from afar and suddenly threw a recovery potion. After a lot of practice, Yapsab learnt the skill ‘Throwing Potions.’ When the potion vial broke and it touched Ark then his health was restored.  While money was a problem, the skill was similar to having a priest as an ally. It was skills that people couldn’t get if they just trained conventionally. While the rehabilitation members had played around in the beginning, eventually they raised characters that suited their dispositions.

Ark and the rehabilitation members attacked from the front while the NPCs shot from behind.

The Hades guild eventually collapsed one by one. Since they were hastily summoned they couldn’t prepare a lot of potions.  Andel shouted after half his guild had died.

“Send a distress signal to Pegasus!”

It was Andel’s last resort! One of the guild members shot a flare into the sky. Alan had created a new ghost guild Pegasus which Andel had waiting nearby. Although it was a small guild with only 50 people, it would be enough to turn the situation around. After a while, the sound of 50 users running through the woods was heard. Andel’s face brightened.

‘That’s it. Ark! No matter how much you try, you’re in the palm of my hand!”

“Really?”

Ark smiled and shrugged. Andel’s eyes widened as he saw the players that were approaching.

The crest on the arriving player’s chest was not the winged horse symbol of Pegasus. It was a silver moon! The Silver Moon was a guild allied with Hermes who was chasing Andel. Thanks to Dedric, Ark already knew about his plan and set up an ambush with Silver Moon at the place where Pegasus was gathered. Andel finally realised the situation.

“You, you………bastard. Don’t tell me the Hermes guild…….”

“Don’t you understand yet? Don’t tell me I’m smarter than you?”

“Son of a bitch!”

Andel rushed forward and tried to attack him. However, Andel was already no match against Ark. He mercilessly kicked him! Andel flew backwards from the kick and was stunned. The moment Andel flew back, his guild members began to flee in different directions. But Silver Moon had been waiting for this moment for 3 weeks.  They blocked the escape in an orderly fashion and took care of the remnants.

“Now, what should I do with you?”

Ark pushed his face in front of Andel’s nose.

“You………you bastard……..! Don’t think that this is the end of it……….”

“Thank you. I have no intention of finishing it like this.”

Once again Andel was flattened into a rice cake by Ark.

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