Volume 7 Chapter 9

ACT 9 Caretaker of the Battlefield

‘Alan!’

Ark’s eyes quickly looked around after hearing Raiden’s voice. He was soon able to see Alan wielding his sword along with the cavalry troops in the middle of the battlefield.

‘Okay, I won’t stop until I take him out this time!’

“Dark Eden troops depart, attack Alan’s unit!”

“Ah, Ark-nim. What about us?”

Baron asked in a surprised voice. After Ark led Dark Eden to destroy the Defense Tower, Baron’s attitude had a complete 180 degree change.  His personality was the type that would prostrate himself if he judged that someone was superior to him.

“Protect Raiden!”

Ark replied with annoyance and approached Alan’s cavalry troops.  Now that Alan appeared, he had no interest in Fugetsu. Alan was leading the 20 man cavalry unit as well as 100 soldiers through the battlefield. The pioneers including Jewel and Duke were confronting him. But even the pioneers of New World were pushed back by Alan and his cavalry unit.

“Ugh, what’s with these monster like fellows…….!’

“Your best dark attribute magic only did 10% damage at most to them?”

“These bastards, what on earth are their levels?”

“All 20 paladins are wearing gloves that have recovery magic!”

Then Ark jumped into the battlefield leading Dark Eden.

“Sir Cross, you and your soldiers take up defensive stances and prevent enemy attacks! The raccoons and thieves, please shoot the enemies with cannons while supporting Sir Cross. Roco, assist from a distance! And JusticeMan ajusshi, Hyungs and the Meow……take care of the fighting!”

“Okay!”

Bang bang double bang!

When Ark’s troops stormed in, a violent sound was immediately heard. Thanks to the influence of JusticeMan’s Tactics III, the NPCs followed Ark’s commands perfectly.

“That fellow!”

Cross prevented the enemies’ offensive using the shield while pointing at a priest. A bullet flew 40 feet across the battlefield. Its damage couldn’t even be compared with normal arrows! It was difficult for even a warrior to endure without dying.  Much less compared to the priest wearing robes with much lower defense.  The priest’s health quickly reached the bottom and he collapsed.

“Huhuhu, the enemy won’t stop with just this! It reminds me of the time I was stranded in the middle of an uprising! Good, the more the better!”

“It reminds me of the incident in the nightclub.”

“It’s time to show our true characters! Come on…….these beep-beep bastards!”

JusticeMan and the rehabilitation members jumped into the battle with excited faces. But it was the Meow who went through a complete reversal. Ark had not seen the Meow fight yet. While the Meow clan fought in the battle against Debra, there was no chance for during when fighting Andel. The Meow also didn’t want to go underground so they did not participate in the destruction of the Defense Tower. The cat was a really selfish species, who he had only seen eating and eating……..it was to the extent that Ark thought he brought them for no reason.

But that thought was completely blown away in this fight.

“Let’s show them why we’re called the best warrior beast species!”

“I’ll show you how an elegant cat fights.”

Suuk, sasasak, seokeok!

The Meows’ battle was truly phenomenal. They used incredibly quick foot movements that couldn’t be seen, and then avoided attacks using their flexibility before jumping across several metres to deal damage!

Yes, he had forgotten for a while-no, he just did not believe-but the Meow were descendants from Hero Maban! Once Ark switched jobs to Dark Walker, the skills he learnt were originally from the Meow. They were a naturally gifted warrior clan!

“Huhuhu, slow, slow, too slow!”

The Meow quickly avoided the sword and attacked in the weak spot. Ark looked for weaknesses using Eyes of the Cat. However, the Meow were the origin of the cat eyes.  Even if they didn’t use the skill, the Meow could just look and they would see the weaknesses. In addition, they were born with Ark’s Cat Paws. Their sharpened nails pierced the areas that the armour exposed such as neck and wrist and tore the flesh.

“What, what the? Who are they?”

“What kind of NPCs are they? First there is the raccoons firing the cannons, and now isn’t that a cat?”

“What kind of quests would you have to do to be able to hire these mercenaries?”

It wasn’t only the people in Dawn Blade, but the Hermes Alliance was also watching in confusion. But the person who had the most brilliant performance was of course Ark!

‘The reward was worth going through all that trouble!’

Ark ran around the battlefield pushing back enemies. The Dawn Blade members mostly consisted of candidates.  Only they would be so enthusiastic about the game.  But he confirmed that they were only around level 150 using Eyes of the Cat. The highest level users were no more than level 150. On the other hand, Ark’s level was 159! With his darkness attribute bonus it was 222!

He was finally receiving some compensation for not sleeping a lot. Dying and then coming back to find yourself at a higher level than other users…….wasn’t that a glorious moment for all users? Of course other professions had abilities that increased the stats or gave special effects, none of them could beat Ark in a 1-on-1 fight. With his dark attribute bonus, it wasn’t even hard to fight 5 people at once. It was the result of grinding! And…….

‘That warrior is using the skill Shield Shock!’

Once Ark saw the warriors pull their shields, he was able to read their attack patterns. Thanks to the Evil Silrion, he was able to see the skills of most professions and read their attacks by looking at the special movement. Ark reflexively closed the distance, avoided the shield and attacked at the weak point. After the practical training at the gym, his transitions were so fast and sharp it couldn’t even be compared to before.

‘In the past I didn’t even dare fight against other candidates but now……..I’ve become stronger!’

He was stronger than other candidates. That meant he had a higher chance to pass the entrance examination. Since his confidence increased, Ark’s movements became livelier. The battle situation once again became strained thanks to that.  Alan became confused because he never thought that Dark Eden would have such achievements.

“Ugh, what on earth are these NPCs? Huh?”

Just then the sharp sparkle of a sword appeared in front of him. Alan reflexively lifted his sword and a sharp clanging sound rang out. 3~4 warriors died as he leapt forward and struck a blow on the shield. Rough curses flew from Alan’s mouth as he confirmed who it was.

“Ark, you bastard…….!”

Ark had confirmed that it was Alan from a distance and ran towards him.

“Why are you surprised? You were the one who called me here. Isn’t that right?”

“What are you saying?”

“Well? Didn’t you ‘dare’ me to come here?”

“You cheeky bastard! Shield Blow!”

Alan ran to him with his shield raised. However Ark quickly lowered his body and counterattacked with Dark Blade. It signalled the start of the wild clash between Ark and Alan.

Holy Knight and Dark Walker!

Two people who walked the road in different directions yet they were destined to clash.  No, if only the facts were looked at then Ark would be inferior in strength. Alan had always been ahead of him from the beginner so he was like a tough mountain pass Ark had to climb. But………..

‘Alan………doesn’t seem as strong as I thought!’

After receiving Alan’s attack, Ark felt quite confident. As Dark Walker was a hidden profession, he received a 40% bonus in the dark which was something general users would have a hard time imagining.  The bonus was how Ark had managed to defeat opponents a lot stronger than him. It was evening at the moment so the perfect for a Dark Walker.

However, Alan was not an ordinary user.  He also had one of the hidden professions. Moreover, his character was that of a hero walking in the light. He also received a bonus of course. While Ark received a bonus in the dark, Alan received a bonus proportional to the number of troops he led.  The more troops he commanded the higher his stats would rise.  And if he was on a warhorse, there was a slight boost to his damage and defense. After the bonus stats were applied, they were almost equal! The rest of it was levels and skills!

‘Alan’s level is lower than mine!’

After checking with Eyes of the Cat, Alan’s level was surprisingly lower than Ark’s. Ark was level 159. Alan was level 158.  At one time he was an opponent that Ark had to crane his neck to look up at. But after several months had passed, Ark was now ahead. It was an inevitable result.  No matter how much bonuses and experiences he got from being in a party, Alan had focused on creating a guild and capturing the castle while Ark had only focused on hunting.

Ark had continued to hunt and hunt while sleeping less.  Any turtle could overtake a rabbit if it was sleeping. Especially if the turtle had a motor attached to its foot!

‘I can win. I can take Alan down here!’

However, the situation was not as simple as he thought. It wasn’t a 1-on-1 fight but a bloody battlefield with hundreds of users. Unlike Ark, Alan also had strong support in the form of his cavalry unit. If Ark pushed Alan back even a little bit then a cavalry member would rush over and attack.

“Ugh, what’s with these bastards………?”

Alan had stumbled after Ark kicked him in the knee. When he had the perfect opportunity for continuous attacks, the cavalry unit interrupted again. Meanwhile, the other paladin poured recovery magic at Alan. Of course Ark also had his health restored thanks to Roco’s help. Thanks to that both of them were unable to strike the killing blow.

‘Damn, this would normally be the time to use Blade Storm……..’

In this melee it wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Ark’s ultimate skill was Blade Storm. When used correctly, its destructive power was enormous. But to use Blade Storm he had to take a sword out of his bag. And the preliminary action to trigger it was more time-consuming than his other skills.  It wasn’t a skill that he could use against Alan.

‘I have to use a more advanced skill!’

If Alan saw any signs then he would immediately disrupt the offensive. Ark was the same as well. If he saw signs that Alan was using a dangerous skill then he would immediately disrupt it. Since they both had hidden professions, the power of their best skill would be unimaginable.  In such a situation, the person who managed to use the skill would strike the killing blow. It was like they both had access to nuclear bombs but were fighting with rifles.

‘That Ark, when did he become this strong? It’s not simply a problem of his level. Something else…….’

Alan was unclear about the situation. At that time, two unexpected variables entered the fight.

“God dammit, die! Burning Force!”

Jewel who was fighting the cavalry unit cast a spell. It was a powerful magic from a level 180 pioneer! However, it just bounced off the overlapping reflection shield that the cavalry troops created.  The intention was probably to have the magic bounce off and hit the enemy troops. But ironically, the magic flew behind the enemy line to where Ark and Alan were having their bloody battle.

“Ah, Sir Alan!”

Alan reflexively raised a reflective shield after hearing the paladin’s shout. It was an intense magic! It caused a violent impact which shook the shield.

‘Ah!”

Alan shook and fell off his horse.

“It’s a chance! That guy fell off his horse!”

“If we catch him then it’s Hermes’ victory!”

At the same time, the Hermes Alliance flocked at the opportunity. After the close fight with Ark, his health had fallen to 30%! Fortunately the 20 Holy Paladins stopped the Hermes Alliance and protected Alan.  They had swift agility! However, Alan had no interest in the Hermes Alliance.

“Ark……..!”

Alan stiffened and turned his head.  The person who was closely approaching………his nemesis, Ark!During the confusion Ark didn’t miss the opportunity.

‘Thanks to the impact from falling off his horse, he must be stiff! In this situation he won’t be able to disrupt my skill. There’s also no time for the Holy Paladins to use their recovery magic! It is the ideal chance!’

Ark ignored the attacks flying around him and shouted.

“Snake, Magic Swords!”

He didn’t want to give Alan a chance to use recovery magic.  Ark used a magic sword just in case. It was a magic sword that could be sold for 10 gold in stores!

“Blade Storm!”

Cracks spread like a spider web on the 100,000 won magic sword. Alan instinctively sensed that he was in a crisis. A formidable amount of magic seemed to be emanating from the cracking sword! In this condition he would surely die! If he died here then he would lose the castle! Panic spread throughout his body and he instinctively grabbed the nearest user. At the same time, a surprised word emerged from Ark’s mouth.

“La-Lariette!”

“Ark-nim?”

The person that Alan grabbed was Lariette of all people! Ark reflexively turned the sword. The users who were running on that side were unfortunately shredded by the 100,000 won Blade Storm. At that moment, Alan’s eyes lit up.

“What a stupid guy, Grand Cross!”

After receiving the recovery magic from 20 people, Alan used the Holy Knight’s strongest skill. Hundreds of lights shot from Alan’s sword into the sky. And it created a huge cross made of swords which plunged towards Ark. It was a holy scene, but to Ark it appeared like a reaper was swinging a huge scythe at him. And just before the giant scythe was about to pierce his neck, an angel flew in front of him.

“No!”

With her long hair flying, it was Roco who jumped in front of Ark. The black light pierced through Roco and into the ground.

“R-Roco!”

“Ugh, our cutie!”

“Saint-nim! You…….you bastard…….!”

JusticeMan, the rehabilitation members and the thieves headed towards Alan furiously. However, the cavalry troops blocked them before they could reach Alan and Ark and a fierce battle took place. Ark turned his head slowly away from Roco with vacant eyes. Lariette looked at Ark with guilt.

“A, Ark-nim…….!”

“Damn, Grand Cross!”

“No!”

When Alan tried to use the skill again, Lariette shouted in surprise and grabbed his arm. Thanks to that it only skimmed Ark’s side but he still lost 500 health just from that.  However, the damage was not the problem. When the sword of light flew past, he had been surrounded by the cavalry troops. Ark was hit repeatedly and was forced to withdraw.

‘Oh my God, I can’t die here!’

“Slime’s Time, NO1!”

Since Ark was in a critical condition, he regretfully used the skill.

‘Slime’s Time was something I learnt when I made the Slime’s Immortality Pill.’

It was a skill which could defend him from physical attacks by 100% for 10 minutes! When he used Slime’s Time, Ark’s body was immediately covered in a smooth viscous liquid. Then Ark managed to withdraw from the paladins.  It was the perfect invincible state! Ark easily ran away from the maces flying all over the place.  However, there was a penalty for using Slime’s Time. While it blocked attacks for 10 minutes, his sword couldn’t inflict any damage. Even though he could see Alan, it wasn’t possible for him to do anything. Meanwhile Alan got back on his horse and shouted.

“Concentrate everything on your attack! Their recovery priests have all died!”

“Alan……!”

Ark was forced to just watch. While he had averted the attack on Lariette, he couldn’t forgive killing Roco.

‘But………’

Ark wasn’t so stupid that he would just blindly run up to Alan. Roco died in the game, but if Ark died here then there was no way to recover the 5,000 gold.  And……even if it wasn’t Ark, there were already enough stupid people.

“Huk, drat. Dammit!”

Bul-kkun was impaled by a spear.  In addition, Jjak-tung and Yapsab were also in a critical condition and close to dying. Thanks to their fury over Roco, they just fought randomly. But that wasn’t the problem. Roco was the only person who could use recovery magic in Dark Eden. With her ‘Gentle Reverberation,’ the recovery magic was even able to be stacked 3 times.  After Roco died, Dark Eden was immediately on the defensive. 5 Sylphid Knights had already died while 4 Meow had collapsed.  Thankfully the raccoons were still intact, but the thieves had rushed towards Roco and 12 of them died from the cavalry unit’s attack. Frankly, their deaths caused more pain to Ark than Roco’s did.

Roco would revive perfectly fine tomorrow. But once the NPCs died then it was the end. So he had put all the effect into building intimacy for nothing.  But was that all? Ark was the one who dragged them into the battle. If they were all wiped out? While he wasn’t sure about the thieves, his intimacy with Jackson’s Lord, the Meow elders and the raccoon clan representatives would be negatively affected. No, there was no need to think.  When Dark Eden started to be pushed, the Hermes Alliance that had managed to maintain its balance started to wobble.

They didn’t have a lot of recovery potions left. On the other hand, the 20 mounted troops could all use recovery magic……..

Nevertheless, Ark couldn’t attack the enemies for 10 minutes.

‘If the formation collapses then it is the end!’

“Huk, A-Ark…….!”

Then, Cross was struck by a critical hit and stumbled.

“Ah, no! Gather your energy! You might be tired but you still have strength left.  Real courage isn’t fighting for breath. Sometimes fighting to save lives is true courage! Wield your sword and shield to survive!”

Ark desperately used Nursing. Nursing was not recovery magic.  But if the spirit and courage rose then it could increase the recovery rate. And the blessing would increase various resistances and stats which would make the survival rate a little bit higher. Ark ran around the entire battlefield using Nursing.  He was immortal so none of the attacks could stop him. But once the battle situation was pushed then it started to get out of control.  Although there was a difference in power, their health and recovery potions in the Hermes Alliance were starting to run low.

“Please gather your courage. You aren’t supposed to collapse! We can win!”

So Ark used Nursing even when he got a sore throat.

Then……..a miracle literally happened!

The Miracle Nursing was successful.

You have understood the deep sorrow of the heart on the battlefield.

The battlefield is a trench of endless sins. In the place where the importance is placed on a sword and shield, you have used your power to heal the wounded. With hundreds of enemies to fight, it takes great courage to heal instead of fight. Your heart has considered that saving lives is more important than killing. Thus you have given an impression of a strong attachment to life to many soldiers. You will also get a chance to save their lives.

* Due to the success of miracle nursing, all stats increase by 1.

* Affection increases by 10.

* Fame increases by 50.

* Alignment towards Good increases by 50.

* The defense of all allies increases by 20% for 2 hours.

The Miracle Nursing was a success and you have acquired the title ‘Caretaker of the Battlefield.’

Fame as a Caretaker has increased, so you will receive praises from many soldiers.

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

* Fame increases by 50.

Thanks to miracle nursing, the defense of the Hermes Alliance increased by 20%! But the miracle didn’t end there. His Nursing skill which had stopped at 290 increased to 300! Nursing was now an advanced skill.

Thanks to your sincerity and caring, your Nursing skill has risen.

Nursing (Advanced, Active): You can take care of the patients for a long time and use various treatments more effectively.  In addition, the performance of any type of potions has increased by 30%. <When used on a patient, energy and courage increases by 50%. Mana consumption: 10>

* Advanced Nursing bonus effect: Great Sacrifice <Your desire to save as many patients as possible has increased the effects of all medical treatments to the extreme (If you use all the recovery potions in your bag then the recovery effect is given to your surrounding allies. It is impossible to choose the number of recovery potions. The effect changes with the number and rating of the recovery potions.)>

= Minimum trigger limit of 10: Minor recovery effects on allies within 10 metres.

= 50~100 potions: Intermediate recovery effects on all allies within a 100~200 metre radius.

= More than 100: High recovery effect on all allies within 300 metres. (Every additional 5 recovery potions used will increase the range by 5 metres and recovery amount by 50.)

‘Great Sacrifice!’

Ark looked at the message window with bemusement. An advanced magic that recovered 800~1000 health was only possible with holy magic. If he used Great Sacrifice then he might be able to reverse the battle situation. But that thought was overwhelming to Ark. It had a reckless penalty where he had to use all the recovery potions in his bag!

At the moment he had 107 potions in his bag! 100 of it were the intermediate potions he took from Raiden. It cost 2000 gold to buy 100 intermediate potions in shops! Yet he had to use it to recover the health of the people here…….!

‘I’ve received 100 potions thanks to Raiden! Why now………..?’

How could he possibly use it in this way? Were they purposely taunting him by giving him 100 potions and then making him use it like this? Even if he hit someone, it wasn’t possible for him to kill them.

‘But if this siege fails then there would be no other opportunity to defeat Alan. Then Sid………’

HIs 5000 gold was confiscated because Sid was trapped in jail! Of course 5000 gold was a lot more than 2000.

‘I may regret this decision! But…….I can’t lose to Alan! Yes, I’ll just have to extort more out of Raiden. But first I have to turn this siege around!’

Ark convinced himself and shouted with a voice filled with tears.

“Great Sacrifice!”

His bag automatically opened and 100 potions rose into the sky.  The potions formed into a huge jar before scattering around the battlefield.

‘Ah ah ah, my 2000 gold…….!’

Ark shed tears like a waterfall as he looked at the scattering potions. All that money gone. All that money certainly had a huge effect. The health of the Hermes Alliance began to recover at a tremendous pace. The effects of advanced Nursing were also successfully applied! The defense and health recovery was immediately converted to combat power.  But the Hermes Alliance didn’t use its powers to attack immediately.  It was the first time that they had experienced such an absurd situation.

“Eh? Why has my defense increased?”

“The Miracle Nursing effect it says, what is that?”

“What is with the huge jar just then? Was there such a potion?”

“Do you know? This might be a pioneer’s skill that we are seeing for the first time.”

“Indeed, there are a lot of pioneer skills that we don’t know about.”

Then Ark shouted in a threatening noise.

“These damn slow beep—! Why are you just standing around chatting?”

Even though he had just wasted 2000 gold on their recovery. Why? His spirit heated up. Even though 1 minute and 1 second had passed, they were just standing around discussing the 107 potions that had scattered! Those stupid idiots haven’t even grasped the situation……..Ark’s resentment echoed through the battlefield in the form of curses. However, he didn’t use intimidation for the effects. He really felt like cursing deep inside. It was a situation which caused Intimidation to have the best effect.

-‘Intimidation’ has triggered a critical effect!

The intimidating effect couldn’t affect his allies.  Thanks to that the Hermes Alliance wasn’t affected but the members of the Dawn Blade coalition became frightened and had the morale decreased.  Lowering morale in a battle had a significant impact on overall combat power. The laws of reality were also applied to the game.

‘Intimidation’ has lowered the courage and morale of all Dawn Blade coalition members in range by 30%.

Morale affects all troops no matter the size of the party.  The most important role of a commander is to raise his troop’s morale, if the moral of the troops under the commander falls then the effects of ‘Command’, ‘Leadership’, ‘Tactics’ and ‘Strategy’ will also fall until morale is recovered.

<The influence of the Dawn Blade commanders has decreased by 30 %.>

The morale of soldiers was clearly important in a battle. If there was high moral then the commanders could move the soldiers, but once moral falls then any strategy or order would fail.

‘Intimidation can also be utilized in such a manner!’

It was indeed New World!

It was the miraculous effect of the combo of Advanced Nursing and Miracle Nursing! Therefore while the stats of the Dawn Blade members fell, the Hermes Alliance had their defense raised and health recovered. Thanks to the negative effect on the enemies and positive effect on allies, their combat power doubled.

“Their attacks have weakened!”

“With our increased defense and health, now is an opportunity!”

“The cavalry unit has also run out of mana! Now is the chance to beat them!”

The Hermes Alliance who had its spirit recovered shouted and ran. The cavalry troops who had constantly used buffs and healing magic had run out of mana.

“Catch Alan!”

“Inflict our sorrow on the mounted troops!”

With their high morale, the Hermes Alliance had cornered the cavalry troops.

“Sheesh, the catapults are already ruined. Retreat!”

Alan had exquisite timing…….he had used the opportunity to inflict a blow that increased his chances of winning the siege to 70%. But thanks to Ark’s Miracle combo, he had no choice but to retreat.

“God dammit, it should’ve ended then……..!”

Alan clutched his fist tightly. The Hermes Alliance had been halved. While one Defense Tower had been destroyed, Noel and Hamanechi were still stuck at the other one. The game should’ve been decided. He should’ve clinched it. However, he missed the chance because of the absurd potion jar.

‘Fortunately, the summoners and catapults are destroyed so the walls should remain intact……..’

If Noel and Hamanechi destroyed the tower then they would join the battle. Then he could no longer be confident of victory.

“Alan-nim.”

He turned his head to see Lariette walking from behind with a tired face.  She was not the only one tired, the users had been playing the game for 20 hours. Then Alan remembered what happened on the battlefield and quickly explained.

“Lariette-nim, I apologise about what happened before………”

“That’s enough. It happened.”

Then Lariette hesitated before saying.”

“I have something to say to Alan-nim.”

“Please say it.”

“No matter the results, after the siege I will withdraw from the guild.”

“Yes?” What is that……..is it because of what happened just now?”

“No, it’s not that. I’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

“For a while? Did you forget? If you’re with me then you can pass the entrance examination. I’m someone who will definitely pass so Lariette-nim will pass as well!”

“That’s right. I originally joined Alan-nim because of the examination. But…….that’s not all. I also wanted to meet a good person and play this game happily. I had hoped that partner was Alan-nim. But……..”

Lariette shook her head with a regretful expression.

“I’m not amused right now.”

“A fun game? I don’t see how that has anything to do with passing the exam!”

“You still don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand? Me? It is Lariette-nim that doesn’t understand a thing.”

“You never know.”

Lariette sighed and turned around.

“Alan-nim’s thoughts on the game are completely different from mine.”

“Lariette-nim, wait a minute!”

“Anyway, I’ve told you about my intentions. Then…….”

“Damn it, why on earth? How are you dissatisfied?”

The sound of something hitting the table could be heard. However, she already couldn’t hear it.

‘In such a situation……..he didn’t attack me.’

Lariette closed her eyes for a moment and remembered the situation. It was just something that happened in a game. To die or live wasn’t a very important issue. And yet, at that moment her heart was fluctuating. Ark stopped his sword. Why? She wanted to know the reason. She became tired from thinking about it so deeply. But the feeling when he stopped the sword and then the emotion that she felt when she looked into his eyes, she wanted to know what it meant.

‘I want to ask him. After we meet……I want to ask……’

However, if she was with Alan then she would have no chance to ask the question. So she decided to leave. After she became free then she would like to ask…….

“You need 100 more intermediate potions?”

Raiden asked in an astounded voice. After Alan retreated to the castle, Raiden was reorganizing his troops for a counterattack.

“It was because of the enormous potion that you evaded a crisis just now! That was a skill that I used!”

“It was a skill that you used?”

“Yes, and it used my 100 intermediate potions! You can ask the people surrounding me if you don’t believe it. You promised to supply me with the necessary materials for the siege so give it to me!”

Raiden nodded after a moment.

“Okay, then I’ll give it to you.”

“R-really? It’s not a lie?”

Ark asked again. In fact, he hadn’t expected much. But he was giving it obediently. Damn, if he knew then he would’ve said 300.

“Since you defeated the Defense Tower, you were more useful than expected. So you’ve qualified to receive it. But now right now. After we win the siege then I’ll calculate it. I’ve used almost all the guild funds on the siege. I can’t afford to pay for that many potions if I lose the siege.”

“Well……….I guess I have to concede that much.”

“But it is frankly worrying. Alan ruined our catapults. Since our summoners are also dead, I don’t know if the castle walls can be broken in time……”

Raiden said with a sigh. If the special siege weapons broke down then users wouldn’t be able to repair it.  And since this was a siege battle, NPC craftsmen wouldn’t have been hired. But Ark just grinned and said.

“Okay, I can resolve that.”

Ark and Raiden moved towards where the catapults were.  Then he immediately had the raccoons inspect it.

“It should take half a day.”

“If it is half a day for NPCs then that is 2 hours. Is that enough time to reorganize the troops?”

“They can fix it?”

“Of course.”

Ark nodded and made a circle with his fingers.

“But the cost of repairs is 50 gold. 20 catapults means 1000 gold.”

Raiden muttered under his breath.

“That greedy bastard……..he’s also charging for the repairs?”

“Doesn’t everyone have to eat? If you don’t want to then don’t.”

“I understand. Then a credit note……”

“I don’t want empty promises. Shall we sign a contract first?”

The reason that Raiden was being so obedient was his need to win the siege.  Since he was willing to sacrifice everything to win, it was a golden chance for Ark.  Once he regained the money from Alan, he would’ve also obtained Raiden’s.

Merchant’s agreement.

<Contractor: Raiden=Ark>

If the Hermes Guild Leader Raiden wins the siege, once he becomes Lord of Silvana he will give Ark 100 intermediate potions as well as 1000 gold for the repair cost of the catapults.

In the end, Raiden drew up an agreement through a merchant in the Hermes guild.

‘I’m a bit uncomfortable but I had to do it…….’

Raiden had no other choice.

‘I’ve secured 3000 gold!’

Ark’s heart rate rose at the sight of the contract. It was money that would pay for war costs.  It wasn’t a few hundred old but thousands of gold. After making up his mind to knock Alan down, that was the biggest problem. He’ll say it again. War costs a lot of money. That means that people who go to war will spend money like it was water. Thousands of people would have their money rolling on the ground. Then wasn’t there a chance for him to obtain some extra funds in this situation?

‘Yes, I’ve thought of everything.’

Although there were still a few hours left in the siege, Raiden was busy making plans to occupy the castle. Therefore he was paying no attention to where Ark was resting inconspicuously.

“Snake, from now on go around the battlefield and swallow whatever you can.”

Ark commanded Snake but he also gave a few precautions.  In Nagaran, the probability of users dropping items was less than 1%. In addition, there was a high probability that only potions would drop from the bag. So Ark didn’t consider it at all until he destroyed the Defense Tower, and then he changed his mind.

Improved Crossbow (Magic)

Weapon type: Crossbow

Attack: 15~35

Durability: 55/70

Weight: 20

User restriction: Level 80 or more

The latest modifications have been made to the traditional crossbow. The frame of the bow has been replaced with steel smelted using special techniques, increasing the damage and range of the crossbow by 3 times. However as it if heavier and more difficult to use, the shooting speed will decrease a lot.

<Option: Attack +5, Range +20 metres, Firing Speed -30%>

While attacking a bunker, one of the archers had dropped a crossbow.

‘Yes, the probability of dropping items in Nagaran is low. But that doesn’t mean that it absolutely won’t drop!’

Even if it was 0.1%, there were still 4000 people. Wouldn’t the items start dropping once the body count piles up? In addition, only high level players participated in the siege! With luck, there was a huge probability of hitting at least one jackpot!

Fortunately, everyone’s nerves were focused on the end of the siege. If they saw him looking around dead bodies then a stir would be caused. No, even if he saw items fall he wouldn’t dare pick it up. But if it was Snake, no one would notice it snooping around the dead bodies.

‘This is a huge opportunity to take the items!’

“Ssak ssak ssak!”

Snake boldly moved through the gap between corpses. Ark was in a situation where he couldn’t afford to lose any money.

‘After all, money is money………that Alan, I won’t forgive him for killing Roco!’

Ark’s rage once again built up in him during the resting period. Anyway…….it was another reason why he couldn’t forgive Alan. The Hermes Alliance had suffered a lot of damage during the attack. Hermes and the Silver Moon guild had lost 40% of their forces while Fugetsu and Dark Eden had also received considerable damage. In JusticeMan’s party, Roco and 6 rehabilitation members had died with only 4 surviving. Out of the 70 NPCs, 30 had died from Lancel Village and Jackson. After Roco died, the rehabilitation members started rampaging, causing their formation to collapse and more individual combat. Since Dark Eden’s level was low, it was too premature for them to take part in individual combat.  It was understandable considering the war.

‘Although the deaths of the NPCs weigh on my mind, it is okay since the elders expected there to be some casualties. The war has been quite profitable, so I should pay attention to maintaining my troops.’

While they were repairing the catapults, Ark took off their clothes and headed towards the well. Even a 1% increase in defense would raise the survival rate.  Thus he used his laundry skill to increase the defense of leather armour by 5% for 4 hours. All the skills he learnt had a use somewhere.  Roco was dead but he could maintain the additional effects of laundry since Ark learned the skill off her. Well thanks to the circumstances, Ark had a happy smile on his face even while washing dozens of armour.

“Everything’s sorted. Now all that’s left is to win the siege. And I will knock Alan down and become rich. Washing dozens of clothes is such a wonderful feeling! Hahaha!”

Alan had led a unit and appeared directly. The results of the siege hinged on his survival. Hermes had a huge problem when they couldn’t attack Alan. However, the attack failed thanks to Ark and he retreated after receiving a huge blow. And Noel and Hamanechi haven’t even joined up with Hermes yet. As soon as they destroyed the defense tower than the chances of winning was 6:4. No, since Hermes was superior it would probably 7:3.

“It’s possible to win. No, I have to win. Sid’s 5000 gold is hanging on this! And the 3000 gold from Raiden! That is 8000 gold from this war. In addition, there are the 30% proceeds from the castle! All those things are mine once I beat Alan. I have to do whatever it takes to win!”

But…………Ark was only thinking about Nagaran. There were other things happening in the world that wasn’t visible to his eyes.  It was unclear just how much money this huge battle would take.

The remaining time was only 7 hours!

A bad relationship with Alan. And a battle worth 8000 gold! The final phase of the siege where deceit and betrayals were swirling was beginning.

TO BE CONTINUED

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