Chapter 92: The Fall of the Royals
Bluebird nodded in satisfaction at his own work. With Lomyok being absent, the atmosphere turned back to a lively one. Sebastian, Poluk, and Lone Wolf seemed to be discussing topics related to fighting. Ratri and Rattana were talking about girlish matters. Burapha started his conversation with Ginny, though she only listened to him one-sidedly.
As for Noppakorn, he was now approaching Bluebird.
"Hey, Blue, about what we discussed last time, what will be our next course of action?" Noppakorn asked.
"Which one? Do you refer to my next plan for a banquet?"
"You know what I mean. Don"t pretend like you don"t know what I"m talking about. It"s about the Royal Armament Guild."
"Fufu, about that, don"t worry. I have initialized my plan. Well, it should take around two weeks to show a visible result."
"Have you already consulted with the boss? This is by no means a small matter. Our guild is always of neutral standpoint. Although Sila seems like a good guy, this plan of yours will make us look like we are taking his side. Our guild"s standpoint might be wavering."
"That"s not it, Nop. A majority of the people playing Monster Soul are guildless and Sila is not the only one being bullied by the Royal Armament Guild. So, our standpoint to support the majority of players still stays the same. What I did was only making a slight change in our approach. Moreover, the news that I presented is the truth."
"That depends on the spectators" point of views. Many might have a different viewpoint about what you did. What if the Royal Armament Guild retaliates? Boss will surely kill you."
"I"m sure that my plan will work just fine. Watch it, the Royal Armament Guild will fall roughly two weeks from now. About the boss, just leave it to me."
"Are you sure? Aren"t you suspended right now? Making the boss upset… this time the boss might really fire you."
"I took a break on my own to discover myself! Why does everyone always think that I"m being suspended or fired from the job?"
"Umm… I"m sure that"s because of you being yourself. Well, If you"re that confident, I"m relieved. Just take responsibility if something happens. By the way, I think I"ll join that group for now, I might get some good information." Noppakorn was no longer interested in Bluebird. He walked away and joined the conversation between Poluk, Sebastian, and Lone Wolf.
"Wha? Suddenly, I"m left alone?" Bluebird looked left and right. He couldn"t bring himself to join any group in the room. Finally, he ended up drinking alone.
Bluebird"s plan was to announce the evil deeds and defeat of the Royal Armament Guild across Monster Soul. The news would cause members of the guild to become restless. It would also encourage many players who had been bullied by the Royal Armament Guild to stand up against them.
This news might not show a visible result in a short time. However, Cross had wasted the guild"s wealth on Sila twice. The first time was when he broke several swords to keep up with Zero during the city port"s incident, and the second was when he lost tremendous gambling money to Sila. The amount was close to three million gold. Despite how the Royal Armament Guild didn"t end up in debt, Cross had to give a proper answer to the guild members, especially since his guild was a gathering of people who were all only looking for their self-interest.
Nevertheless, Bluebird"s prediction had an error. The collapse of the Royal Armament Guild happened sooner than he antic.i.p.ated. It was caused by a totally unexpected factor.
At the same time that everyone in Colossia City was having fun at the banquet, a particular man was facing the greatest crisis in his life.
Within the main branch of the Royal Armament Guild, located in the Android Kingdom Grea.
While Sila and the gang were merrily celebrating their victory in Colossia City, one of the Four Emperors of Monster Soul, Cross, was walking in stifling nervousness after hearing the bad news about the result of the battle tournament.
Venom was one thing, but he couldn"t believe that both Francine and Fargo had lost to Sila. To make matters worse, the money lost from the gambling house was enormous. The members began to demand a responsibility that Cross had wasted guild"s money on a personal matter.
"The h.e.l.l with "personal matter!" These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds didn"t object when the plan was being discussed and hoped to gain a lot of money from the gambling, but when the plan fails, they want me to take responsibility alone, do they!?" Cross lost his temper. No one could have expected this to happen to his guild.
Unbeknownst to Cross, this was just the beginning.
The door of his room was opened. One of the guild members ran into the room.
Cross furrowed his brows. Usually, to enter his room, every member had to ask for his permission first. For this member to ignore the manner, there must be some urgent news.
"What happened?" Cross asked.
"Sir Cross, please quickly open the game forum."
Cross opened his system window and visited the forum. New discussion threads related to his guild were constantly emerging and it didn"t look like they would slow down any time soon.
"What in the…?"
"There are many players demanding our guild take responsibility for the loss of their items when Miss Francine activated Sinful Oath, sir."
"Take responsibility for what? They just lost their lives in the game, didn"t they? Nothing else was lost."
"About that… everyone who died said that their level has dropped to 1. They also lost all of the items in their possession. The members of the Merchant a.s.sociation claimed that the value of their lost items is more than a million gold. They also said that they will stop at nothing before we take responsibility."
"What the h.e.l.l?! Are they making up a story? That ability doesn"t cause people to lose items."
"There are many guildless players claiming that they experienced the same thing. I don"t think they"re lying, sir, but I don"t know how this happened."
"Immediately contact Francine. Ask her whether she has done anything."
"We can"t contact any of the vice-leaders, sir, be it Miss Francine, Sir Venom, or Sir Fargo. In addition to this bad news, sir, there are many evil deeds that our guild has done in the past spreading around in the game forum. Presently, our members have began to panic and many people are a.s.sembling to rebel against us."
Cross gritted his teeth. His fist smashed onto the table, causing it to break apart.
"Who is behind this?!" He shouted irritably.
"E-Er… W-We still haven"t found the source of the news, sir. It seems like it was spread by word-of-mouth in various places. Based on the speed of the news being spread, the mastermind behind this must be a large guild like the Blue Pigeon Guild, the Heavenly Dragon Guild, the Merchant a.s.sociation, the Mountain Thieves League, or the Victorious Wolves Sect."
Bad news came after bad news. Cross needed to rack his brain to find a solution to these problems.
"Heed my order. Tell every member that this month, the guild will give them double their monthly income. This will make everyone regain their spirits. As for the news, quickly find out who dares to do this to us. During this time, our guild will keep a low profile."
"B-But, our guild"s capital is not that high. Also, the war event is coming soon so we need to tighten our spending…"
"The problem at hand is regaining the trust of our guild members! About the money, we will acc.u.mulate wealth again."
"Roger, sir. In that case, I will immediately…"
Cross" subordinate still hadn"t finished his sentence when warnings in red letters emerged continuously from the guild window.
"This is… Someone is attacking us!"
The red warning meant the guild was under attack. These continuous warnings went off without any sign of stopping. Cross read through the warnings and found that every branch of his guild was asking for reinforcements.
*Boom!* An explosion resonated outside of the room. The room shook.
"What is happening? Go out and a.s.sess the situation!" Cross ordered his subordinate.
The man ran outside. However, once he reached the door, another explosion occurred.
"Ahhh!!" The unfortunate fellow was blown back from the explosion. His body was about to hit Cross. Moreover, his body was also infused with offensive magic power.
Cross was shocked but he was still composed. He drew his sword and cleaved the body of his subordinate in two. The upper and the lower body flew in different directions.
"Sir Cro-… Why?" The man couldn"t finish his sentence before turning into a pillar of light.
Cross readied his sword. He clad his body in psychic power to prepare for the battle against the incoming invader. Beside him, his system window was still flashing several guild messages, asking for reinforcements.
Then, a handsome man with white skin and slightly curly hair entered the room. He wore a tight white magic cloak. A mage staff with a dragon head was in his hand. His demeanor was elegant. The only part of his appearance that contradicted his seemingly perfect demeanor was his eyes that seemed to look down on everything.
Cross gritted his teeth, emitting more psychic power. "Montra… What the h.e.l.l are you doing here?"
Montra"s expression didn"t change. "Hi, Cross, I"m just dropping by to greet you. How are you anyway?"
"Stop talking nonsense! We are supposed to be allies until we get rid of that Sila! Why do you bring your guild to attack mine?!"
"Alliance contract is only a mere decoration, Cross. No one adheres to such a thing. I know you aren"t that innocent to not know this," replied Montra.
"You… Why now? Shouldn"t we get rid of that Sila first?"
"You"re quite a fool, Cross. Sila is only a mere tiny stone. He might resent me, but I have never and will never acknowledge him. Only people like you and Lone Wolf are my obstacles. Sila is only a p.a.w.n. The p.a.w.n that helped me witness the trump cards of my opponents."
The Big Three, consisting of the Royal Armament Guild, the Heavenly Dragon Guild, and the Victorious Wolves Sect, were influential guilds holding a balance of power in Monster Soul. Each of them didn"t dare to deal direct, significant blow any other two, fearing that the remaining figure would have a better standing point.
However, the present Royal Armament Guild was far too weak. Shueria, Fargo, Francine, and Venom weren"t around to protect it. Even the normal members were in a state of disunity. There would not be a more suitable time than this for Montra to make his move. If the Royal Armament Guild collapsed, he would be able to focus on dealing with the Victorious Wolves Sect without being worried.
"One more thing, you might have already known this, but the news of the Royal Armament Guild"s evil deeds is spreading throughout the game. I, as the guild master of the righteous Heavenly Dragon Guild, deem that the Royal Armament Guild is indeed evil and needs to be eliminated. See? I"m a guardian of justice," said Montra.
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d… Montra… your guild is even worse than mine."
"Cross, you still don"t understand. Be it righteous or unjust, it"s something decided by the one with the power - by me." Montra readied his Dragon Head Staff. "Oh, right, that Sila still has some use for me. It"s even better if he joins the Victorious Wolves Sect. That way, when I trample on him, their morale will plummet."
Cross gritted his teeth and opened his system window. Then, a particular sword appeared, replacing the previous sword in his hand.
"Montra, you still don"t realize that I still have a trump card left. Infinite Sword Tomb is a trump card I prepared to fight against qi types like Zero and Lone Wolf. For you alone, I have another trump card."
The single-handed sword in Cross" hand was engraved with ancient characters. The blade was golden and the handle was pitch black. The blade was shaking by itself as if it was a living being who met its mortal enemy.
A smile was still hanging on Montra"s face and his tone was still as scornful as ever.
"Dragon Killer Sword… You"re right. With this sword, my Dragon Heart skill will be rendered useless. Moreover, if a member of the dragon race like me is killed by it, my rank would be demoted by two ranks. It hasn"t been seen in Monster Soul for quite some time. I didn"t expect it to end up in your hands."
Dragon Killer Sword is among the first S-grade equipment that was discovered in Monster Soul. The reason behind its disappearance was because of its own ability. This sword was a mortal enemy to dragon race. It had its own source of magic power. In addition, the wearer would temporarily obtain an increase in stats as long as it was held. However, its significant downside was, once the owner of the sword dies, the sword will be transferred to the one who killed them. If the owner was killed by a monster, the sword will be transferred to that monster until someone kills that monster and obtains the sword. Thus, there was a period of time when players fought among themselves to get their hands on the sword. Most of the owners didn"t dare use it, while the ones who did died shortly after. Then, the sword disappeared from the world.
Cross needed to spend a great deal of money and two years to find this sword.
"That"s right. I saw the fight between you and Lone Wolf. If you can"t self-resurrect, you"re not much of a threat."
"That"s quite true. The current me may not be able to win against you who is holding the Dragon Killer Sword. However, I"m not alone."
Two more men entered the room. The Dragon Killer Sword started shaking more at their presence.
The first man was a plain-looking man with a cold expression. His brown hair was in a clean pomade-style, showing his forehead. His eyes were clear and shone with magic power. The most noticeable point of him was that he wore a metal arm guard on both of his arms and ankles. Every one of his steps was firm and confident.
The other man was smiling. He wore a tight red magic cloak with black lines. His eyes were red like a flame. His long, red hair was fluttering in the wind. Propped on his shoulder was a giant black sword. Despite how it looked heavy, this man could walk like it was weightless.
"We"re done outside," said the brown-haired man.
Montra nodded. "You two, who will fight against Cross?"
The red-haired man stepped forward. "Just leave him to me, Montra. There were only weaklings out there. Kawin even killed almost all of them."
"Can"t help it. You"re too slow," said the man named Kawin.
"Leave him to me, Montra. Please, please, please. You"re still undergoing your Dragon Ritual, aren"t you?" The red-haired man begged for the fight as if he was a kid.
"Fine, Revin. Please finish the fight within ten minutes though," said Montra.
"Alright! That"s it!" The man named Revin stepped to the front of Montra and Kawin. He pointed his heavy sword at Cross. "Oh? Dragon Killer Sword? Well, whatever, let"s get started. I only have ten minutes for you."
Cross didn"t act hastily. He summoned another sword in his remaining hand. "Are there just three of you?"
"Yeah. Actually, just me alone should be enough for this place. However, these two didn"t allow me," said Revin.
Cross was stressed. He had never seen these two men before. Based on the way they talked to Montra, it seemed they were not Montra"s subordinates but friends.
"Who the h.e.l.l are you? Why haven"t I heard of you before?"
"Ara~ We have t.i.tles too, you know? It"s just that we haven"t made any public appearances yet. That deaf guy is Kawin, and I"m Revin. Normally, we are known as the Earth Monarch and the Flame Monarch."
"The Two Monarchs of the Heavenly Dragon Guild?" Cross entered a battle stance. "Anyway, all of you are still members of the dragon race, aren"t you? As long as I have this sword… plus…"
Infinite Sword Tomb
Ten swords floated in the air before scattering, leaving only their remnants made of psychic power.
"Although there are only ten of them left, they are more than enough to kill magic types like you."
"Ah? Wait! What? Why?" Revin"s eyes were wide opened.
Cross grinned. "It"s too late to give up now."
"Why…?" Revin was still in a daze. "Why do you seem so weak? Your move is also similar to mine. Hahh… I won"t stand out this way."
Kawin, who was standing in the rear, said, "One minute has pa.s.sed."
"Kawin, we better wait outside." After Montra said that, he went outside, followed by Kawin.
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!" Cross was mad that he was being looked down upon. The enormous psychic power emitted from each floating sword. The building began to shake.
"That should be it. Come on, come on, I only have nine minutes left. Please entertain me."
Revin spun the heavy sword in his hand as if it was weightless. The temperature in the room became hotter as if it was on fire.
In fact, flames were actually starting to light up all over the entire building.
"Underworld Flaming Blades."
Tens of blades made of flame were floating in the air. That was the last time Cross could see Revin"s figure clearly.
Revin"s body was on fire. He dashed toward Cross as if he was a comet. His speed was comparable to expert qi-type players.
At the same time that the fireworks in Colossia City were fired into the night sky at midnight, the Royal Armament Guild collapsed. However, Sila exited the game around one o"clock so he didn"t hear about this.
He would realize that there was a big change in Monster Soul the next time he logged in.