Episode 124-Kingdom (4)
“I never expected it to be real.”
After going out and killing the bugs that appeared near the neighborhood, I came back, washed up and sat back down on the soft chair, feeling throbbing muscles here and there.
The first thing I saw as I hurriedly looked at the screen was not the fierce battle taking place in the north, but Lihar crossing the plains on a short horse.
Rihar, who started running towards the southwest, which had been unknown to the residents who had been active in the northeastern part of the grassland, became an excellent scout and was uncovering an incredibly large territory on his own.
Rihar, who had become an ally to his bones since the last fortress defense battle, rode his horse non-stop with the help of local tribes who seemed to be neutral, perhaps because they already knew each other, and finally showed me the end of this grassland for the first time.
‘It’s a castle.’
[Kingdom Border Zone (1)]
At the other end of the screen that Lihar entered, there was a castle. The typical stone castle, which looked a little different from the achievements the residents built using their abilities in the game, was not a castle built by tribes in the grasslands.
“–, —!”
Lihar used some method to announce his arrival to the people in the castle in advance. When he arrived at the castle on a tired horse. The people in the castle, who were already busy, opened the gates and welcomed him.
‘Are they similar to us?’
While Lihar was talking to them, I looked closely at the inside of the castle and roughly guessed what this kingdom called the Southern Kingdom was like.
Although it was not full-body armor, the soldiers were well-equipped with metal armor, had high castles, and were well-equipped with various weapons, including ballistas.
“Is this really a cannon?”
[Catcher Tom]
One thing that surprised me was that there were often cannon-like objects placed throughout the castle. Watching the people labeled as catchers manage it, it didn’t seem to work by magic.
I, who had never expected that there would even be gunpowder weapons, smiled and continued to look at this new civilization.
I looked at the village and the northern fortress through different monitors from time to time, but I lost track of time. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had looked at another power in such detail.
[Exhaustion, mild dehydration, inflammation]
“ah.”
Meanwhile, after confirming that Lihar was in dire condition, I quickly prepared an anti-virus program. There are quite a few achievement points earned thanks to Lihar. This is because it revealed a new land and confirmed the existence of new forces.
Couldn’t we just invest 100 points in Rihar, who made such a contribution?
“—!”
When I healed him from various debuffs, Rihar must have sensed it and sat down on the spot and looked up at the sky and shouted something.
Even though I couldn’t hear what those words meant, the meaning seemed to be conveyed. He who once fought with us as an enemy was now a loyal follower who trusted me.
‘I think the story went well. It will probably move further down like this.’
I smiled contentedly at him. Lihar, who had the status of a wizard who moved under secret orders from the kingdom, was an excellent scout who moved on his own and provided me with information that was difficult to obtain.
If I leave it like this, it will expand my horizons to the heart of this kingdom that I didn’t even know existed.
Right now, even if you get that information, there’s only so much you can do, but being able to look into the opponent’s base from one seat is a huge help, no matter if the situation is good or bad.
‘But it will take a few more days.’
Of course, it took more than a few days to ride like crazy from the northeastern grassland where the residents were located to the border fortress.
It was going to take some more time for me to be able to look into the details of the kingdom through Lihar.
***
“Wizard. Are you okay?”
“Oh yeah. “It’s nothing.”
When he turned the screen again and went to look towards the village. Richard, who recovered from all fatigue and injuries and regained his condition, got up from his hesitation.
Those around him were in a state of hesitation with embarrassed faces when they saw Rihar suddenly expressing his gratitude to the sky.
‘He is watching me. He must be telling you to succeed in your mission.’
As expected, Junyoung’s consideration further strengthened Lihar’s loyalty. Rihar, who received a strong shock for a short period of time, already has more faith in the guardian deity than most Arin people.
In that situation, having received such grace, there was no longer any way to stop Rihar.
“Faster! Let’s go faster!”
“Oh, I understand!”
As soon as he recovered, Richard boarded a carriage heading to the royal capital and urged the driver. The carriage, running along the well-paved road leading to the royal road, crossed the road like a gale, just as Rihar had hoped.
‘If we continue like this without saying anything, it’s obvious that it will become noisy again. Then time will drag on, and if time goes by, it will be dangerous for those who are fighting the black monsters.’
Richard, who was anxious, did not stop there. Once again, he called his servant, a crow, and sent it flying into the sky to convey his words.
Rihar first sent a crow to his close friend and colleague in the royal capital. It was to announce this news to the government and royal family through that person’s mouth.
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‘What if I don’t believe it?’
There was definitely a feeling of just-in-case. If you think about it calmly, it was a story so absurd that it could honestly be dismissed as a delusion.
In the worst case, they might not be believed even if you testify to everything you saw and heard.
“Guardian God, please help me.”
Rihar muttered absentmindedly as he watched his crow flying into the distant sky. Without realizing it, Rihar was already truly believing in the god followed by the barbarians in the far north.
“Wake up, Lebert! Wake up! It’s the north. “This is what happened in the north, where the fate of our kingdom depends on it!”
“Uh, huh?”
Perhaps as a result, Rihar’s crow fortunately flew to its destination without resting across the narrow ground without being attacked or falling.
“Did you hear the story?”
“I heard. “It’s going to be a little noisy today.”
Early moning. According to the procedure, the central ministers gathered one by one to the palace where the king was. The meeting, which was convened earlier than usual, had already become known.
“Well, no matter what happens in the north, let’s just stay still and not get involved…”
One of the ministers grumbled. This is because the story that will be the subject of today’s urgently convened meeting is actually one on which there was a difference of opinion even among them.
In fact, it was a policy strongly influenced by the king’s influence to send a small number of people to the north to establish new trade and interact with barbarian tribes they had never encountered before.
“Didn’t you hear the details?”
“I don’t know that. Because the report was immediately sent to His Majesty.”
The urgent news delivered late at night was delivered directly to the king through the royal wizard. Thanks to this, the ministers do not even know what is happening.
They started talking a lot, but the moment they entered the palace, they closed their mouths and stood in their respective seats.
“Your Majesty is coming.”
Soon their king appeared, just in time. Although it was tiring and early, he appeared with everyone’s attention and sat down on the throne with an expression no different from usual.
“I was told to keep it secure, but I think everyone secretly heard what it was about anyway.”
Soon a loud voice rang out. The boy king, who was still young and had bright blonde hair, immediately captured the mood with his sharp eyes, despite his innocent appearance.
“But even I haven’t heard the details yet. “Rihar, the royal wizard who was carrying out a secret mission, is rushing here now, but Lebert will report the information that was organized in advance through the messenger.”
“Everyone knows what’s going on in the north.”
At his words, the royal wizard Lebert, who had been forced to wake up after meeting Lihar’s servant last night, brought a wad of paper and stepped forward.
“Why are you wearing a bandage on your head?”
“Are you hurt?”
Lebert, who was wearing a bandage on his head, which had been pecked and bleeding so much by the crow’s urging, sighed as he listened to people whispering at him.
“In the north, we have entered into a deal with an up-and-coming chieftain named Luke. As intended, he was a chieftain with excellent military power, and he paid us a fair price by purchasing a huge amount of weapons and supplies.”
Lebert began his explanation. Externally, it was an ordinary trade, and only a few ministers knew the truth, so the explanation completely omitted the part about the wizards’ cooperation, including intentionally inciting wars of conquest and plunder.
“Even when Luke became warchief, he never stopped expanding towards his surroundings.”
“Anyway, the barbarians…”
“I don’t know how to save it, so I spend everything, so I always run out of food.”
The ministers clicked their tongues and sighed or laughed at Lebert’s explanation. It was a natural reaction considering that it was normal for the barbaric and barbaric tribes of the grasslands to plunder and fight with each other whenever they had the opportunity.
“In the meantime, Luke’s tribe, which was collaborating with us, was defeated by a tribe from the northeast whose existence had not been revealed until now. In the process, our wizards were unable to escape and were all captured by them.”
“W-what!?”
“You’re captured! “You mean the wizards we sent!”
However, everyone was shocked by the next words. Something happened that could not be compared to simply barbarians fighting each other.
“Their name is the Arin tribe, and Rihar, a mid-level royal wizard who was dispatched as a representative, was taken prisoner and got to see for himself what kind of people they were.”
Even though others started the game, Levert remained calm.
In fact, there were many more shocking contents left behind than this.
‘Rihar, are you sure this is all true?’
Lebert blankly read the bottom of the report while the boy king was yelling and silencing the ministers.
No matter how much I read, there were only stories written that I could not believe.
“They already have tens of thousands of people and are living in castles that are taller than the fortresses of their allies. Castles and fortresses are equipped with turrets that automatically track and fire at enemies.”
“They are all armed with high-quality steel weapons, but they are also armed with special weapons that are even more powerful. Numerous dwarven artisans are collaborating with them.”
“They communicate using their own writing, have many warriors and wizards, and even have wizards who can cast great magic.”
Content that will have a big impact with just one sentence. But these were nothing compared to what was underneath.
“The guardian deity they believe in and follow is real and gives them countless incredible miracles. All of the above are miracles related to that guardian deity.”
“They fight against terrible monsters called black monsters. The black monsters, who destroyed the shrouded dwarf kingdom with countless armies that covered the sky and the earth, are spreading out to the continent and invading. They are fighting those monsters for all of us. “I’m fighting.”
Lebert’s hands were shaking as he read the report. Now, no matter what reactions were going on around him, all Levert could do was read the letters in front of him.