by Park Saenal
***
Ares really liked Grid’s nature. In addition, he determined that the strength of the Overgeared Guild and the Overgeared Kingdom was necessary in the long term. This alliance might be forced, but he hoped it would last a long time.
Thus, he met Grid with sincerity.
“It is still insufficient?”
Ares Castle, the central training ground. Ares unveiled the 10,000 new troops he trained.
“My Fostering Strong Soldiers skill is only level 2, so I can only give 20 types of attributes. The starting level of the soldiers is only 200. Well, it’s much better when compared to the starting point of the armored elite troops. Hahaha!”
“…”
Grid’s group and the Ares Army guild had gone to see the soldiers. Ares’ behavior of revealing his skills and new army to others was absurd.
“D-Did you lose your mind?”
Scott screamed out too late. He couldn’t understand why Ares was revealing his hand to Grid and the Overgeared members. Ares shrugged.
“They’ve already grasped some of my abilities. Why bother concealing what will be revealed over time? It’s better to know early and be smart. Kelkelkel!”
“Hah… Sigh…”
Scott breathed roughly and let out a deep sigh. His usual cool appearance was gone. His face was so haggard he seemed like he would collapse. Grid asked a question in this awkward atmosphere.
“Distinct attributes? Is this the skills they can learn?”
“Let’s see… Things like advanced Riding Techniques, advanced Heavy Armor Mastery, intermediate Weapons Mastery and beginner anti-magic shields. Oh, there is also the beginner Charge. There are quite a few? A lot of skill slots are filled because I put in two advanced skills.”
“…This isn’t a joke?”
In Satisfy, there were two ways for a player to train an army.
The first was to build a barrack in a territory where they were a lord. Then capital and people would be invested to train soldiers. Depending on the level of the barracks, the level and skills of the soldiers produced varied. It was like a famous game one century ago, XtarXraft. It was convenient to use resources to produce soldiers but they had the disadvantage of a low level and low skills level.
Secondly, a player could directly train or instruct his NPCs to recruit and train soldiers. It took a lot more work because they needed to take care of everything. It was time consuming and money consuming. But the soldiers could choose the skills they wanted to learn and the level of the soldiers steadily rose during the training course.
In conclusion, Grid raised soldiers using both the first and second method. The soldiers produced using the first method were placed in the lower units such as security forces. Meanwhile, the soldiers produced with the second method were trained as elite troops. In particular, the soldiers trained by Asmophel and Piaro were guaranteed to acquire high levels and various skills.
But separate characteristics were difficult to artificially give. There were many cases of it occurring naturally during training. For example, Piaro’s soldiers were given the attribute of ‘120% increase in adaptation rate to rice fields terrain.’ In any case, this was the conclusion.
‘Even the soldiers directly trained by Piaro and Asmophel can’t acquire dozens of different types of attributes, and advanced skills are impossible.’
The skills were learned from the beginner level and steadily grew. That was a soldier. Yet Ares’ soldiers had advanced skills from the beginning.
Ares’ ability was great.
“A scam… You’re truly great. But wouldn’t big skills have constraints?”
“I will keep it a secret since it’s too disadvantageous for me. Haha!”
“…No, you should tell me. I thought you were broad-minded.”
“I am broad-minded and thorough.”
“…”
In no time, Grid was at ease talking with Ares. It was like they were old friends. Jishuka, Euphemina, Pon, and Regas showed great interest in Ares’ words. On the other hand, the Ares troops were confused.
‘What’s he thinking?’
The Overgeared Guild were people they could rely on. But it was impossible to rely on them forever. One day, there would be a confrontation. Yes, they were potential enemies. Why was he giving out information so freely?
‘Grid is also Kraugel’s friend!’
It was likely that Ares’ information would get exposed to Kraugel and this was disadvantageous in many ways. Ares asked Grid after examining the faces of the concerned members.
“How about it? Won’t it be overwhelming if your items are added to my army?”
“Hoh…”
What if the strongest army trained by Ares was using the strongest armor that Grid produced?
“The empire? We will chew them up. Of course, it isn’t possible right now. Haha!”
He wanted to obtain the legendary blacksmith Grid. Ares sincerely hoped. He believed that the strongest army no one could go against would be born the moment his power was combined with Grid’s power.
“Let’s be friends.”
Ares laughed and held out his hand. At this moment, he was radiating a dignity comparable to Grid. No, maybe it was even more than him. The common neighborhood uncle disappeared like it was a lie and a big bear-like threatening body approached.
‘As a specialist in training and commanding soldiers, it’s natural to have a high dignity stat.’
Grid wondered what his class was. Grid put aside this question and shook Ares’ hand.
“Okay, let’s get along well.’
***
The Belto royal palace.
“The little scum, they’re too slow.”
The person sitting on the throne wasn’t the king. It was Agnus, a man with pale skin and green hair.
Spin spin.
A gem-encrusted circular object was being spun in his hands. The crown that symbolized the Belto Kingdom was turned into a mere plaything. The Belto king watched this without any anger and carefully asked Agnus.
“I summoned all the troops that were deployed in each fortress. It’s now possible for the enemy to advance to this place without any interruptions… Isn’t this dangerous?”
The fortresses were defense facilities built in important military places. The value of the fortresses in a war was great. It was the most suitable facility to repel the enemy. Yet Agnus closed all the fortresses. The enemy could march without a hitch. The Belto king and his men couldn’t understand Agnus’ intentions.
Agnus replied to them.
“You want to know why I gathered all of the kingdom’s military power here?”
“Y-Yes.”
The emblem of a pink rose on Agnus’ chest kept capturing the eyes of the officials. The rose symbolized the empire’s second greatest power, the Red Knights, who were under the command of Empress Marie. The Belto king and officials was certain that Agnus was a close aide. It was honestly surprising that he came to help them. It seemed right for them to survive under a power they despised rather than being killed by a traitor.
Unfortunately, Agnus wasn’t a person they could depend on.
“I want them to come here as quickly as possible.”
“…?”
“Isn’t it boring waiting? So I opened the way. Come quickly. Kukuk~ the more bodies there are, the more convenient it is.”
“A-Ahh…”
This was the reason they sacrificed so many battlefields on the way to the capital? The Belto Kingdom’s officials shook. Their faces were red from repressing their anger as Agnus told them.
“As soon as the enemy arrives, don’t resist and open the gates. Throw the people and soldiers to the enemy. Okay? Kik! Kilkik! Puhahahat!”
“T-This is ridiculous…!”
In the end, some nobles couldn’t bear it and rose from their seats.
“You’re insane! I can’t believe that you’re acting according to Empress Marie’s will!”
“That’s righ
t! Don’t resist the enemy and open the gates? Throw the people and soldiers to the enemy? What is this nonsense…! Heeok?”
The nobles fell silent. It was because Agnus summoned a lich.
Clack. Claack. Clack clack clack clack.
The lich was wrapped in a cloak and emitted terrifying magic power. They didn’t know why, but they immediately felt like running away from here.
“Kill them.”
Agnus commanded.
Kuaaaaang!
The lich fired magic at the nobles.
[You have killed the nobles of the Belto Kingdom.]
[Baal’s Contractor is one who brings out the fundamental fear in humans.]
[The Belto royal family and remaining nobles don’t have any animosity against you as they have become more frightened.]
[Some people have overcome their fear. They mean to resist against you.]
“Kik? Kill more.”
Kwarururung!
The name of the lich who continued to kill following the will of his master was Mumud. Mumud had no face as a skeleton, but he seemed to be shedding tears.
Chapter 657
Chapter 657
“Isn’t it strange?”
The Ares Army had to occupy a total of 13 fortresses before arriving at the capital. It was a big war. The occupation difficulty of the fortresses were so high that the Ares members and Grid’s group were quite nervous. It should be a tough fight. But for some reason, all the fortresses were empty. All the fortresses on the way to the capital were empty, without even one rodent.
“What’s the reason for clearing the fortresses?”
“Have they already given up on the war?”
The fortresses were strategic points. There was no better base than a fortress to stop the enemy. Yet the fortresses were vacated? It was difficult for Grid to understand. He could only interpret it as the Belto Kingdom giving up on this war.
On the other hand, the Ares Army had a different hypothesis.
“The royal family thinks that Ares’ new army destroyed the elite armored troops.”
Yes, the Belto royal family didn’t know about the involvement of the Overgeared Guild. On the other hand, they knew about Ares’ Fostering Strong Soldiers skill. From the standpoint of the Belto royal family, it was natural to attribute the deaths of the armored elite troops to Ares’ new army.
“The royal family has clearly seen it. The armored elite troops raised their level and strength in real time in the war against the empire.”
“Fortresses are efficient enough to defend with a small number of people, but they will eventually succumb to overwhelming power.”
“It’s clear that the Belto royal family is afraid that our new elite army will defeat the troops deployed to each fortress and become stronger.”
“Thus, the king gathered all the troops in the capital and planned to intercept us at once.”
“Um.”
Ares nodded as he listened to the opinions of his people. It meant there was no disagreement.
“They acted wisely in their own way.”
The level of Ares’ new army, the ‘Iron Wheels,’ was still only 200. It was higher than the average soldier level of the Belto Kingdom, but their number was only 10,000. Ares wanted the level of the Iron Wheels to be higher and planned to use the conquest of the 13 fortresses as a means to level them up. But that plan was gone. The 10,000 level 200 Iron Wheels would have to go to the capital and deal with an army of 130,000 at once.
‘Hrmmm… I’m a little annoyed because the plan has become a little twisted.’
But it wasn’t serious enough to be frustrating. Ares had 30,000 troops in addition to the Iron Wheel soldiers. He was confident that he could lead them well to victory. It was natural, but the Iron Wheels also possessed the characteristic of ‘recovering all resources when levelling up’ like the armored elite troops, so the Iron Wheels could fight infinitely on the battlefield. It was okay as long as they weren’t hit by someone with an unusual attack power like Grid, Jishuka, or Euphemina.
‘And there are no such monsters in the Belto Kingdom.’
Those three monsters were currently on Ares’ side. It was reassuring. He thought that no matter how he fought, he couldn’t lose this war. But Ares wasn’t distracted. In a war, he could rule perfectly. The mild-mannered uncle transformed into a god of war.
“Shall we go and trample on the animal that opened its mouth without knowing that its guts are pulled out?”
“Ohhhhhh!”
The Ares Army didn’t need to be wary of the fortresses and sped up their march. They headed to the capital without a hitch.
***
“Breaking news! Urgent breaking news!”
The media all over the world, including South Korea and the US, were turned upside down.
Immortal. They introduced themselves as Agnus’ followers and sent a message.
-Today, Agnus will slaughter the Overgeared King and the God of War. Agnus will reign as king of the living and the dead.
Agnus. A person known to have one of the first epic classes who was shrouded in mystery. He never made any public appearances. This was the first time. However, it was publicly known that Agnus was strong. It was due to all the rankers who claimed to have been killed by him.
‘Crazy!’
He was someone who slaughtered a player just because they were standing on the street. It was natural for the attention of the world to be concentrated on him after he used the media to show his presence. In addition…
‘The target of his massacre is the Overgeared king Grid!’
Most people didn’t know about the ‘god of war.’ But even a five year old child knew who the Overgeared King was. Overgeared King Grid was one of the most famous and influential people in the world!
“He declared that he would kill such a big person!”
“Agnus! He truly is as mad as the rumors say!”
“Send people to the Belto Kingdom right away! Be prepared to write this scoop and don’t miss anything!”
***
『 At 10:24 a.m. in Korean time, an email arrived at media companies all over the world. Today, Agnus will slaughter the Overgeared King and the God of War. Agnus will reign as king of the living and the dead. As you all know, Agnus is the first epic hidden class and is currently 5th on the unified rankings… 』
『 We must focus on the expression of ‘king of the living and the dead.’ In the past, some people speculated that Agnus’ class is a lich. In other words, he’s likely to be immortal… 』
『 Veradin, who identified himself as Agnus’ follower, was named a genius of the 10 Rookies and is now 1st in the necromancer rankings. The fact that he is following Agnus shows how great Agnus is… 』
『 Immortal. There’s a high probability that it will be an undead army with Lich Agnus and Necromancer Veradin. They are probably the strongest group of players after the Overgeared Guild. He wants to use Overgeared King Grid as a target to prove his strength. 』
『 But does he stand a chance against Grid? I don’t think so. Agnus was only the 7th ranked player before Kraugel and Yura disappeared from the rankings, despite being the first epic hidden class. Of course, the 7th ranking isn’t low. But I don’t think he has the talent to reach the top-class players classified as geniuses. 』
『 I agree. The class called lich is supposed to exercise overwhelming power based on infinite power and survival, but Agnus’ nature itself will have limitations. He would be much lower than Kraugel if they share the same class. It’s arrogant to declare to the whole world that he could slaughter Grid, who only Kraugel has beaten. 』
Most of the media focused on the confrontation between Grid and Agnus. There was little mention of the mysterious God of War.
But those who had knowledge were very interested in the God of War. One of them was OGC’s director, Lee Gookrae.
‘The God of War… He can’t be a smallfry if he’s called a god.’
Director Lee Gook
rae was curious about the identity of the God of War. While the other broadcasters were focused on Agnus and Grid, OGC had the sense that they should obtain information about the God of War and tell viewers about it.
***
“Unbelievable!”
The capital of the Overgeared Kingdom, Reinhardt. Lauel heard the news late due to being connected to the game and felt a chill go down his spine. Agnus? That crazy monster stood on the side of the Belto Kingdom to stop Ares?
‘No!’
They were caught up in the fight between Agnus and Ares. Grid would be tired and at a disadvantage if he collided with Agnus without any preparations.
‘How did this work become twisted so suddenly? No… I was played from the beginning.’
Veradin of the Immortal Guild.
Lauel belatedly realized.
“Veradin…! This is all your work! You predicted we would hold hands with the Ares Army!”
Veradin was a figure that Lauel was on guard against since his days as part of the 10 Rookies. Lauel thought of himself as the best genius in the world, but he had to admire Veradin’s brains and cold-hearted thinking.
‘The worst evil from my past life…!’
Lauel was convinced. Veradin expected the Overgeared Guild and Ares to hold hands and made a plan to destroy both at the same time.
‘It’s difficult to predict what traps will be set in the Belto Kingdom.’
Lauel sent Grid a whisper.
-Grid, come back right now…!
It was before he could even finish speaking.
-Why? Is it because of Agnus?
-…!!
***
Let’s go back to a long time ago, before Immortal’s message was spread to the media around the world.
“What’s this situation?”
The Ares Army and Grid’s group arrived at Belto’s capital. They were thinking about how to break through the formation of 130,000 troops, only to become surprised. It was because the gates to the capital were open, as if they were welcoming Ares. Even the walls were empty.
“A trap?”
“If this is a trap, it’s the most insignificant and stupid trap in the world.”