The Twilight Kingdom was established after Orc Lord Teruchan conquered the Violet Kingdom.
“Grruk. Suwek!”
“Suwek suwek! Suwek~”
The royal palace of the king was filled with magic power. Dozens of orc shamans recited different chants, and the swirling magic power merged into one, drawing a figure that symbolized the law.
“Suweg!”
The gazes of the shamans gathered in one place. Teruchan approached the altar and shouted loudly, “My king! Guruk! He commanded me! Gruruk!”
The cry of the orc lord was the law of the orcs. Teruchan’s voice emerged as notification windows in front of orc players active all over the continent.
[A race quest has been created by Orc Lord Teruchan.]
“Twilight Orcs! Proud! Guruk! Warriors! Go to Reidan! Guruk! Gather! We! Kurruk! Accept the king’s command! Guruk! Gauss Kingdom! Invade!!”
“...?”
What? Why did they have to do this?
‘Is Grid our king?’
Someone had an expression of chewing s.h.i.+t.
“Ha... It’s finally coming.”
Those who foresaw today’s situation from the time Teruchan vowed to serve Grid were depressed. Then the quest information appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.
[Gauss Kingdom Invasion]
[★ Race Quest ★
The king of the Twilight Kingdom, the great warrior, Orc Lord Teruchan has declared that he will punish the Gauss Kingdom according to the will of Overgeared King Grid.
Within 48 hours, gather at the city of Reidan and join the Overgeared Army.
* There is no compulsion for this quest.
Quest Clear Conditions: Capture the Gauss Kingdom.
Quest Partic.i.p.ation Reward: Increased affinity with the people of the Overgeared Kingdom.
Quest Clear Rewards:
1. Personal Compensation.
‘Warrior Voucher’ compensation depending on the war contributions.
2. Common Rewards.
The number of ‘Warrior Vouchers’ will be rewarded depending on the size of the Gauss Kingdom’s villages, fortresses, and cities that are occupied.
Quest Failure Condition: Fail to capture the Gauss Kingdom.
Quest Failure Penalty: None.
★Lauel, the general military adviser of this war, has ensured sufficient food and supply routes. As a result, there is no time limit for the war based on food limits.]
“......”
The Warrior’s Voucher was a reward that could only be earned from quests granted by the orc lord. Now, the orcs had a good understanding of how valuable the Warrior’s Voucher was. The orc players were mostly Chinese and didn’t want to be soldiers fighting for the Overgeared Kingdom, but the temptation of the Warrior’s Vouchers was intense.
“s.h.i.+t, should I get involved?”
“Ummm.”
The Chinese players were fl.u.s.tered. They might covet the Warrior’s Vouchers, but they would be playing into Grid’s hands if they became a soldier of the Overgeared Kingdom and joined the war. Why on earth did they have to fight for Grid? It was deeply unpleasant and hurt their self-esteem. If the other person were a ranker other than Grid, they could’ve abandoned their pride using the voucher as an excuse.
“We can’t bend over for Grid. If we partic.i.p.ate in this quest, we will instantly become a traitor and be buried by society.”
Chinese sentiment was the problem. In the last four years of the National Compet.i.tion, Grid had caused China a lot of frustration. China was pushed by the United States and South Korea every year purely because of Grid. The event of Hao kneeling down in front of Grid was a terrible humiliation that traumatized many Chinese people, and many of them were dissatisfied with Grid.
“That son of a b.i.t.c.h.”
The Chinese orc players grabbed their heads and suffered. They felt a great sense of regret and resentment that there was no compulsion in this quest. If it were compulsory, they could’ve used this excuse to partic.i.p.ate in the quest, avoiding the people’s accusations and gaining the Warrior’s Vouchers... The useless freedom annoyed the players.
“I should’ve listened to Brother Hao.”
“Right. The Chinese government might be the greatest inst.i.tution in the world, but they don’t know much about Satisfy.”
The Chinese players blamed themselves for ignoring Hao’s words warning them to be more cautious about changing races. They had yelled at Hao, questioning what good were the words from a shameful person who knelt in front of Grid. They were a bit dissatisfied with their government that encouraged the race change, but they couldn’t express it. So they s.h.i.+fted the responsibility to Hao.
However, in the end, the choice was up to them. Yes, the choice was up to them.
‘...Should I hide my username?’
‘If I put on a mask and wear a helmet, they won’t be able to tell if I’m an NPC or a player.’
‘In a war, tens of thousands will move, and I won’t be found.’
The Chinese players started to have similar ideas. The problem was that they numbered in the hundreds of thousands. There were exactly 430,000 of them.
***
“Phew, so the rumors were true.”
Sooner or later, the Overgeared Kingdom would declare war. The dubious reporters clicked their tongues at the information that flowed from various places. The procession of troops was constant and spread out like a river in the place known as the second capital of the Overgeared Kingdom—the desert city of Reidan. This was the moment when the rumors turned out to be true.
“Why now?”
Experts had long foreseen the conquest war of the Overgeared Kingdom. The Overgeared Kingdom needed more land to handle the growing population. Moreover, the moment the three western territories of the Gauss Kingdom were taken, the Overgeared Kingdom would be able to build a ca.n.a.l. Experts had speculated that the Gauss Kingdom adjacent to the Overgeared Kingdom would be the first target of the conquest war, and this became a reality.
So far, everything was as expected. However, the timing was strange. Wasn’t it less than a month before the National Compet.i.tion? It was time for the partic.i.p.ants of the National Compet.i.tion to make a final growth spurt. Additionally, 17 of the top ranked players of the Overgeared Guild had already announced their intention to partic.i.p.ate in the National Compet.i.tion. This was the main focus of the Overgeared Guild, and it meant it would be difficult for them to partic.i.p.ate in this war.
In fact, the lord of Reidan had changed. In order to prepare for the National Compet.i.tion, Zednos had temporarily withdrawn from the position of lord. It was clearly stated that Reidan’s city information that Nyangmong was acting as the temporary lord.
“It is enough to declare war after the end of the National Compet.i.tion. Why do they want to go to war without their main players?”
It was widely believed that the military power of the Overgeared Kingdom surpa.s.sed the Gauss Kingdom. However, the power of the Gauss Kingdom could never be ignored. Sandwiched between the Eternal Kingdom and the empire, the Gauss Kingdom had grown its national power for hundreds of years.
This proved that they had both excellent resources and diplomatic ability. Their military strength was greater than what was known to the world. If the orc army of the Twilight Kingdom actively supported the Overgeared Kingdom, they would be able to easily overwhelm the military power of the Gauss Kingdom. However, this was a less likely story.
It was because the Chinese government explicitly advised orc players not to partic.i.p.ate in this war. The Chinese orcs were forced to turn away from this war. There was fear underlying their loyalty to the Chinese government.
‘In the first place, the pride of the Chinese people is very strong.’
Would the haughty Chinese people with hundreds of years of history be blinded by the quest rewards and move according to Grid’s will? It was ridiculous.
“Wait?”
Then there was a flash in the minds of some of the whispering reporters.
“I know why the Overgeared Kingdom has started the war now.”
“Yes. They are trying to suppress variables.”
The National Compet.i.tion was an event that didn’t apply only to the Overgeared members. The rankers of the Gauss Kingdom would also partic.i.p.ate in this National Compet.i.tion. For them, the rewards of the National Compet.i.tion were more important than the kingdom’s crisis.
“The level of the Gauss army is laughable compared to the quality of the soldiers armed with Grid"s set. The Gauss Kingdom needs as many players as possible to fight in the war against the Overgeared Kingdom. However, with the rankers missing, would ordinary players dare to join the war? They will shrink back at the thought of dying a dog’s death.”
“On the other hand, the Overgeared Kingdom has Grid. As long as Grid is in the forefront, the players of the Overgeared Kingdom will gather momentum rather than shrink back.”
“Ah... This is why Grid isn’t partic.i.p.ating in the National Compet.i.tion.”
“This time, he is stabbing at the gap of the National Compet.i.tion in reverse.”
They didn’t imagine he would take advantage of the circ.u.mstances that had given him emotional pain. Grid wasn’t ordinary.
“...Eh?”
The reporters admiring Grid started to doubt their eyes. They looked to the left and right. Orcs, who hid their faces and wore helmets, were showing up everywhere in Reidan. They were trying to move secretly and carefully, but their large body size and high numbers made them stand out.
“This is crazy...”
The reporters had climbed the rooftops of high-rise buildings or the bell tower to look over Reidan. Now their expressions stiffened. The black-skinned orcs had appeared in the hundreds of thousands. There were at least twice as many orcs as the Overgeared troops that had already gathered in the army.
“Is this an orc army or Overgeared army...”
The reporters were anxious to see the Chinese government get turned upside down.
***
‘It is as Lauel expected.’
Grid used the king’s authority to launch a large-scale national quest, Gauss Invasion. He didn’t have the authority to make it a compulsory quest. The only way to increase the quest partic.i.p.ation rate was to use rewards, and this consumed an astronomical amount of resources.
On the other hand, Teruchan ruled the orc world where power was strength and had different circ.u.mstances. Teruchan was able to force the quest under the rule, ‘The order of the orc lord is the law.’ Naturally, Grid ordered Teruchan to make it compulsory. He wanted as many orcs as possible to join the army to increase the chances of victory.
However, Lauel disagreed. It would cost the orc lord to force the request. In order to maintain his current position, Teruchan had to restrain from cost-consumption.
“Even without the compulsion, the orc’s partic.i.p.ation rate will be very high. Many of the orc players who are dissatisfied with Teruchan are planning to change their race again in two years. Yes, this psychological state will work. They will want to gain as much strength and stamina as possible in the two years before they change cla.s.ses. Will they really miss out on the race quest they don’t know will occur again?”
Lauel’s a.s.sertion was true. Based on the number of black-skinned orcs that filled the desert outside Reidan, most orcs seemed to have joined the war. It was amazing to see them all s.h.i.+elding their IDs.
‘They don’t want to miss out on the rewards, even if people will swear at them.’
Piaro climbed over the wall and reported, “Everyone has gathered.”
He was wearing armor, just like when he invaded the Saharan Empire’s imperial palace. His appearance was handsome enough to make even Grid look bad. After today’s opening battle, he would be the commander in charge of the war against the Gauss Kingdom while Grid left for the East Continent.
Grid nodded and used the Lightning Speed skill. The Blue Dragon Boots emitted lightning, and Grid’s body moved. He stood with the sky behind his back as he descended to the platform below the walls, gazing at the Gauss army gathered across the desert.
“Waaahhhhhhhh!”
“Che.”
The 200,000 Overgeared soldiers screamed while the 400,000 orcs grumbled after discovering Grid.
“Quiet.”
“...!”
The orc players staring at Grid with discontent were forced to close their mouths with amazement. This was because Grid’s voice was clearly transmitted to their ears despite him speaking in a low voice. It was unbelievable. He was delivering his voice to all these people without a voice amplifier...?
‘Is this what happens when Dignity reaches the extremes?’
The orc players inferred that it was Grid’s dignity stat that gave him an overwhelming presence as they stood upright, secretly in awe of him. It was actually due to an item given only to the first player to establish a knights division. They didn’t know the existence of the Ruler’s Cloak and were swallowed up by Grid’s presence.
Simultaneously, in Reinhardt, the capital of the Overgeared Kingdom…
‘Did you think we weren’t prepared?’
The a.s.sa.s.sin group of the Gauss royal family was covertly moving through the shadows. They barely avoided the eyes of the rumored Overgeared farmers and planned to infiltrate the royal palace to kidnap Overgeared King Grid’s family. The a.s.sa.s.sins confirmed that they had avoided the surveillance net and were climbing the walls when vines swirled around their legs.
A man sitting in a reed field while watching the walls ate a potato and muttered, “It’s peaceful.”