Episode 141 – Evidence of development (1)
“When you do rough work, there can be conflicts. “Of course, the association does not intervene in personal affairs, but if the matter spreads too much and hunting activities are disrupted, we have no choice but to step in.”
After we returned to the village after punishing the instigator. Brandt said something meaningful to me. It wasn’t wrong.
Because they are not just NPCs, but people who live in this land. If order gets disrupted and you start to suffer losses, you can’t just sit still.
“I know. In this case, it’s okay for you to take revenge. But you don’t want it to escalate, right?”
What he asked me to do was not to escalate the matter any further. We didn’t intend to do that from the beginning, but this matter was now out of our hands anyway.
We’ve done enough, so unless other people have wild ideas, things won’t get any bigger.
‘It’s complicated. Now we have to engage in diplomacy with the forces in the game.’
I took my hand off the mouse for a moment and sighed.
Some users, including Soyeon Lee, are gathering information to create a ‘recommended game guide’ for new users, and it seemed like this should also be taken into consideration.
This may not necessarily be the only drawback, but as the number of places involved increases, the number of things to pay attention to increases and the burden also increases.
In this regard, the games I felt comfortable with were ones that guaranteed complete freedom like sandbox crafting and had no factions to tie into, or games that had clear chapters and didn’t require deep involvement with local factions, like Dark Blood.
Of course, you have to consider everything, including difficulty level, characteristics, and items worth obtaining.
“—.”
Meanwhile, the paladins approached me. Now that the mission is complete, it’s time for them to go back. They performed their duties well.
As expected, they thoroughly punished the enemy who threatened their allies with great force. For some reason, I felt like I would be called about this often in the future.
‘You’ll get used to it with practice.’
I waved them out of the game. Instead, hunters were brought back into the game and hunting activities resumed.
“–, —.”
“huh? “Did you say it was a gift?”
And it seems that hunters have been thinking of their own methods.
As I quietly watched, they began to mingle more actively with the local hunters. It’s about making connections.
It seemed like the cause of this situation was analyzed as excessive competition and isolation. Anyway, getting along with the locals is essential. If you build good relationships with people, there is nothing wrong with it, so it is a good method.
“I should consider it too.”
After laughing bitterly, I also decided to change my strategy a bit. If we continue to replace personnel like we are now, the rapport we have built with the locals will be in vain, so we decided to only partially replace them.
There are already good examples.
These are Naru and Dune, the first hunters. The two people, who were in a higher-ranking area, were steadily working as hunters there.
And next to him was Tina, a local from NPC. She was attacked by a bug that appeared in the game world, and after she recovered, she actually worked as a party with two people to catch mutants.
They will work together to deal with the mutant monsters in the game, as well as any bugs that may appear. With Tina shooting the bow and the two of them taking charge of the lineman, the combination is quite high.
It was definitely the ideal picture I wanted.
‘How great it would be if it were like that in real life.’
I chuckled and closed the game window. In the village, the returning paladins are resting and many residents are wandering around doing their jobs.
It’s not like I can look into their minds one by one, but it’s clear that they’ve already been through everything and that the reason they work so hard is to survive.
In the end, what I hope for is the same, so I hope that the surrounding powers will cooperate well. And these feelings did not just apply to the screen.
The same goes for this world I live in. In particular, this is a place where bringing in paladins to punish them doesn’t work.
***
“Look over there. “The delegation is back!”
“Yeah, I see. But why are there only three!?”
The northern fortress of the Baruch Kingdom where the delegation left. A soldier watching the north from a watchtower spotted something and shouted.
The garrison commander, who soon heard the news and rushed over, saw something and his eyes widened. A group of men and horses were running towards this place.
There were no carriages or carts, but the red flag waving in front of it was clearly the flag of the kingdom.
“Unbelievable. “Hurry and open the door!”
The garrison commander, who recognized the deputy minister riding a horse, was frightened and opened the gate of the fortress. The survivors of the mission who managed to arrive under the escort of friendly tribes were all pale from exhaustion.
In particular, the Vice Minister was in a state of poor health, as if he was about to die at any moment.
“What on earth happened?! No way, they…”
“It’s not like that. But it’s true that we’re the only ones who survived, so hurry up and get on the wagon. “It must be reported to the court.”
The garrison commander was astonished to hear that the delegation had been wiped out and only three survived, but the vice minister, who had neither the time nor the energy to tell them in detail, ordered them to quickly prepare a carriage.
The three crumpled their exhausted bodies into the carriage and immediately set off for the royal road. Even though he was told to take a break, the vice minister directly refused on the grounds that it was urgent.
“It’s obvious they’re bone disease.”
The vice minister, who felt the palace getting closer and his physical condition worsening in proportion, let out a laugh. All I could think was that I had to hurry up and spread the news like this.
“Is it possible to persuade the ministers?”
“That’s enough. What we saw and heard. “If I just tell you that, there’s nothing left to say.”
The Vice Minister shook his head resolutely at the worried words of Lihar, who had already experienced failure once. Dividing factions into fights and waging a war of nerves to get more budget are all possible only in times of peace.
The evidence they wanted was sufficient. Those who experienced it all with their own bodies were proof.
The Vice Minister gritted his teeth, saying that he would force them to believe even if they tried hard not to believe.
“I already heard the brief news, but I need to hear the details. “Everything about how we lost people and what we saw and heard.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Soon they were able to stand in front of all the court officials, including the king, and say what they had brought.
The eyes of those who were surprised to hear that quite a few members of the delegation had all died and only three returned alive began to widen as they began to speak.
“The black monsters are truly a disaster. “I can’t even imagine what would happen if they suddenly appeared in the empty plains and appeared in the kingdom’s capital.”
Stories about the bug are now starting to spread beyond the grasslands where it originated.
The gathered ministers were agitated by the vivid testimonies of the survivors, who recalled the monsters they had encountered right in front of their noses.
I had already obtained intelligence that the large army mobilized by Luke had been destroyed in the fight against the Arryn people, but I passed it over as an exaggeration, saying that there was an attack by monsters mixed in during the process.
In addition, the Deputy Minister and Leo certified that everything about the Arin people that Lihar testified about was true. Plus the fact that they are progressing much further than when Lihar left.
“They are already building large cities, numerous villages and fortresses. Although the work is not yet finished, it has already surpassed what can be called a major shortage.”
“So you mean they will create a kingdom?”
“This is an opportunity, Your Majesty. “If we can be deeply involved from the beginning in the kingdom they want to establish, we will have a trustworthy ally in the North.”
The delegation strongly advocated an alliance with the Arin people. It was clear that they would become the strong force that would unify the region anyway, so the idea was to build a good relationship from the beginning.
Some ministers objected, asking if it made sense to form an alliance on equal terms with barbarians, but the Vice Foreign Minister did not even listen.
“If they are really preventing the monsters that are rampant in the north, I don’t think there will be any problem.”
‘It would be better if they drew the empire’s attention.’
The boy king had already changed his mind. Although his intentions were not pure, he still saw the Arin tribe as a good business target.
“As long as we give them what they want and we get what we get, I don’t think there will be any problem.”
“Hmm, that’s right.”
“If it’s just trading…”
There were a small number of ministers who were extreme, and most of them were careful to get what they could if there was a benefit. The proposals of the Arin people brought by the delegation seemed to be passed with good results.
“Your Highness, please provide them with artillery support. “You need it to fight the black monsters!”
“???”
It was then that someone exploded a large bomb.
It was such a shocking statement that even the boy king, who had been absent-mindedly thinking about other things for a moment instead of secretly yawning at the ending atmosphere, widened his eyes.
“What do you mean, guard leader?! “Gunpowder is a top secret!”
“They didn’t ask for that in the first place?!”
Naturally, criticism poured in from all directions. Even Lihar and Vice Minister, who were members of the same delegation, were embarrassed. However, Leo, who committed an unexpected action, had already made up his mind.
“The number of black monsters we saw in person was less than 300 at most. But they were monsters wearing hard armor all over their bodies. “These monsters, which even the toughest barbarian warriors could not easily deal with, were enough to disintegrate the 10,000-strong group.”
“Is the wall they are protecting so unsafe without gunpowder weapons?”
“There are defensive turrets that were given down by what they believe to be their guardian deity. However, they testified that the scope and area where monsters appear is gradually expanding. “More support will be needed to protect that large area.”
In response to the king’s questions, Leo calmly expressed his thoughts.
It is a clear fact that as the scope of the Arin people’s activities increases, the area where bugs appear also expands.
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More people were needed to stop the bugs, and the Arin people, who wanted more land for more people, had no choice.
“No matter what, it doesn’t make sense. “You’re giving gunpowder to barbarians.”
“That’s right. “It’s not worth considering.”
But there was strong opposition. That’s why gunpowder weapons are so valuable. It was also a strategic weapon that could be a powerful weapon in times of emergency.
Although it differed depending on the tribe, it was unacceptable to hand it over to barbarians who were like enemies.
‘Do I really have to hand over only the gunpowder? If you feel uneasy about giving gunpowder, shouldn’t those who can use and protect it also go with you?’
However, as the king fell into thought for a moment, his thoughts were a little different from others.