Chapter 129 - The Seven Years’ War
translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
The ancient battlefield of Lobositz.
The wind was cold, and the fog in the air was gathering together again. Zoe’s face seemed frozen in the cold mist, his eyes wild as he looked at Wu Jin.
The youth tried to put a sincere, foxy expression on his face.
The youth’s cheeks were a little red as he tried to maintain the foxy expression.
The youth was so eager to say that he was a fox spirit who’d seduced the other party, he barely stopped short of writing six big words over his head, ‘I’m taking the blame; I’m great’.
Who would believe it?!
Zoe’s brain was in a state of confusion. He instinctively undid the safety of the gun, loaded it up with ammunition, and held the trigger, pointing it at Wei Shi––
The White Moonlight captain had a cold, grim look on his face.
He could almost imagine the moment two weeks ago, when the contestants changed bedrooms. Contestant Wei was dressed up in a backless fishtail evening dress, his aura full of charm as he knocked on the door to Little Witch’s bedroom in the middle of the night, s.n.a.t.c.hing away the 600 credit health pillow that Secretary Qu had specially bought for Little Witch!
The sc.u.m man had unexpectedly hooked up with Little Witch under his own watch! Pervert! Little Witch was only 9 years old––that wasn’t right, 19 years old!
As long as he could eliminate Contestant Wei, Little Witch could still be fixed!
There was a click.
Zoe squeezed two words out from between his teeth, “Draw your gun.”
“Captain!” Wu Jin’s eyes opened wide, and he rushed forward to try and block him. Wen Lin gave gentle words of advice from the side, and Wei Shi expressionlessly pulled out the gun at his waist, aiming at the barrel of the gun one second before Zoe pulled the trigger––
The gun shot towards the river bank nearby.
The left wrist.w.a.tches of the two men rang out at the same time, warning them for illegally fighting while the instance was being cleared up. Zoe’s gun had been sent flying, and he was expressionless as he then pulled out his bayonet at his waist. Wei Shi raised his eyelids slightly, then tossed away his gun to show fairness.
Wu Jin leapt into the middle between them, “Captain, captain!!––”
Zoe skillfully moved Wu Jin aside, and the two bayonets suddenly clashed in the humid air, causing sparks to fly. Wei Shi pressed the still dazed Wu Jin at the side into his embrace with one arm, his blade slashing out recklessly and unbridled.
Zoe paused.
A deep, angry aura rose up from behind the sniper, and Wu Jin quickly extricated himself, “Don’t! Brother Wei, Brother Wei––” It was unknown which action broke the rules, but Wu Jin’s wrist watch also rang out in warning.
The bayonets clashed once again.
Inside the instance, the continuous beeping from the wrist watches could be heard. The female contestants who’d been taking a rest and fixing their make-up in the distance stood up in surprise and discussed among themselves, “What are they fighting for? Should we also do some superficial actions so that people don’t complain about us slacking off…”
The camera that detected that something wasn’t right slowly flew back.
Wu Jin’s heart was beating quickly, but he could only watch as the big boss forced Zoe towards the bunker with a fierce, blunt pressure, the blade of his knife pressing against the captain’s neck as he spat out a few words––
“Crosson, sniper training room. Come fight.”
As soon as the camera arrived, the two of them separated like ghosts.
In the dim lighting, the exit leading out of the instance finally lit up. Wei Shi casually set aside the weapon, and the players walked out of the instance one by one. Zoe’s face was now calm, and he b.u.mped shoulders with Wu Jin when he arrived next to him, reason finally prevailing. In the distance, Wu Jin turned so that his back was to the camera, his small round face was dim as he mouthed ‘sorry’ to his captain.
“If you fight now, are you fighting for the audience to see?” Wen Lin said, “Interfering with the team’s love relationships, hm?”
Zoe turned his head away, his expression filled with a ‘don’t mess with me, I want to snipe people’ vibe.
Zoe spoke fiercely, “Give me a gun.”
Wen Lin casually stuffed the little blue flag he was holding into Zoe’s hands, “Hold this.”
The exit headed upwards, and a few minutes later, the two groups of four returned to Madame de Pompadour’s reception room. Chu Chu took advantage of the time before the plot began again to hold a short funeral for the skirt, and Vera’s ears were fully perked up for gossip. However, she only heard Wei Shi say a short k2018;I’ll resolve it’ and nothing else. The White Rose’s gaze drifted left and right, and then finally landed on Wu Jin’s cheeks in delight before s.p.a.cing outk2026;
The door to the reception room squeaked open.
Madame de Pompadour walked in gracefully like a breeze wrapped in tuberose flowers, and the messenger from Prussia followed behind her with a grim expression on her face, “Is Madame certain she won’t change her decision?”
Madame de Pompadour smiled slightly.
The messenger sucked in a long breath, then finally spoke in a cold voice, “What you want to do will not only turn you into an enemy of Prussia, but also push France into the abyss.”
Pompadour shook her head, “You’re wrong. I am only defending the glory of France.”
The gold gilded door was slammed against the wall as the messenger stormed off. Madame de Pompadour watched him leave, then turned her gaze to the contestants.
Her gaze finally landed on Wu Jin, and she gestured.
Two maids answered her with crisp voices, taking out the character card from beneath the vase and giving it to Wu Jin. They then turned and whispered, “This young lady also looks very lovely in men’s clothing!”, “What, how come I feel like it’s a gentleman with a special hobby?”
Wu Jin, who’d been selected as the MVP, “……”
Madame de Pompadour spoke elegantly, “This card is a gift from me. Of course, even the loser should be commended.”
The maid carefully tied up a roll of parchment and handed it to Wen Lin, the commander for the Prussian side.
“There are other n.o.bles waiting for guests in the palace. You may try your luck there. The list of n.o.bles will be my gift to you as a consolation prize.”
Wen Lin’s eyes brightened slightly as he accepted this sudden surprise.
Wu Jin breathed a sigh of relief. He’d never hoped that the captain and Brother Wen Lin would be eliminated in the second round due to their battle.
In the first round, players who’d had an advantage from the cards they’d collected would be the first to leave the dance floor and were more likely to run into each other in the instances. Fortunately, the winners would directly get a card, while the losers still had a chance to fight in other instances.
In Pompadour’s guest reception room, Zoe gave Wu Jin one last, deep look, then went out last after his team.
The fireplace crackled in the s.p.a.cious room as Madame de Pompadour made tea for the winners. Wu Jin still had his head bent over the card, rubbing it and watching as the portrait of the lady drew itself on the surface of the purple card. However, it still didn’t show her date of birth or death. This was a purple card in the state where ‘the mission hadn’t yet been fully completed’.
There was a line of small words on the back of the card––
“Accept the gift, and inherit the will.”
Wu Jin suddenly looked up, meeting Madame de Pompadour’s gaze.
This lady pursed her lips and released the mission for the second half of the card activation, “Two hours from now, I want to see the king himself give the order to fight Prussia.”
Madame de Pompadour spoke slowly, “The glory of France will be returned to us in his hands.”
A quarter of an hour later.
When the door to the reception room opened up again, Chu Chu was chattering incessantly, “What are we going to do now? Go find the King? Why do we want to fight Prussia? Aaahhh, I’m confused!”
Wu Jin swept his gaze around the corridor. His captain was indeed gone. He forced himself to focus on the instance.
“To the library?” Wu Jin suggested, “Research Madame de Pompadour––also, based on our current capacity, it’s impossible for us to see the King directly.”
In the corridor of the Palace of Versailles, countless ladies, gentlemen, and servants hurried through the palace, laughing and cheering. The fountain outside the window murmured at the King’s pleasure, and the King’s executive hall off in the distance was surrounded by three levels, both inside and outside. Bodyguards were strict about stopping any player who tried to break in.
On their wrist watches, the number of survivors dropped to 206.
Chu Chu was shocked.
“It’s because of the guns.” Vera spoke. During Louis XV’s reign, infantry spear guns were already standard equipment for the army, and it was easier to eliminate players with hot firearm weapons than with cold steel weapons.
At this time, not only Wu Jin and the other three, but many other players that they could see as they pa.s.sed by in a hurry, all had guns. To one side of the marble courtyard, there was a scattering of life-saving capsules sparkling in the sun.
The team of people walked quickly through the corridor, encountering one or two other teams of players in the library.
“Madame de Pompadour… Jeanne…” Wu Jin squinted as he scanned the rows of books. Wei Shi simply pulled out a book with the t.i.tle and handed it to Wu Jin.
The young man quickly thanked him and looked it over, Chu Chu and Vera standing to either side of him.
“She knew how to please the King in the most ingenious fashion, and Louis XV, who was tired of everything, was soon enamored with her. Because of her, he found happiness and joy again. The Marquise of Pompadour knew very well what the king wanted––”
Wu Jin turned to the next page.
“––Louis XV had lived in the shadow of his great grandfather all his life.”
“???” Chu Chu’s expression was confused, “What did the King actually want?”
“Glory, love, fame, and land expansion.” Wu Jin explained. “Louis XIV had everything, and Louis XV dreamed of having it all as well. As the successor to the Sun King, everything he did would be compared with the previous king.”
“Madame de Pompadour knew this, so she was a strong supporter of the war against Prussia. What she used to cling to the King wasn’t appearance or conversation, but rather unconditional support for the King’s ideals.”
Wu Jin quickly closed the book and looked up the Council Hall on the map.
“France under Louis XV wasn’t suitable for war.” Wu Jin explained to his teammates, “The Seven Years’ War started from the Battle of Lobositz, which was originally a war between Prussia and Austria. Austria turned to France for help––Louis XV had plenty of reasons to refuse, but his ambition swayed his decision.”
“He wanted France back at the top of Europe, the same way the Sun King had in his days––found it, the Council Hall is in the North Wing!”
Vera took the lead in opening the door. Wu Jin thanked her, and followed his other teammates outside. “Most of the n.o.bles in Versailles are in the anti-war faction. If Louis XV wants to start a war, someone must act as the sharp knife for him. Madame de Pompadour was the knife. She seized the opportunity to change from ‘mistress’, to the King’s political partner.”
“Her political skills were so sophisticated that not only was there n.o.body in Versailles who could go up against her, even Frederick, the King of Prussia, feared her.”
Chu Chu’s mouth dropped open, “Then… did they ultimately go to war?”
Vera nodded in Wu Jin’s stead.
Chu Chu was curious, “Did they win?”
Vera spread her hands, “In the Seven Years’ War, France was the biggest loser. If it weren’t for Madame de Pompadour’s proposal to start the war, France would still be ahead of England even now in the 31st century.”
“We’re here.” Wu Jin pushed open the door.
They all looked up in unison. The Council Hall was brightly lit, and it was clear that the program team had put it up after the ball. Six chairs were set up neatly at the bottom, and the highest of which was the throne in the middle.
Royal power was above that of the parliament. The King’s power was higher than everything else.
“Louis XV accepted parliament’s proposals, but the King had the decisive vote.” Wu Jin stuck himself up against the gla.s.s window and spoke softly, “One of the things the king did after he took office was to emulate the Sun King as the prime minister, even if he didn’t have the ability to act as one.”
Behind the six chairs were six locked entrances into the council chamber.
“Six chairs, six votes.” Wei Shi spoke.
Wu Jin nodded, “In order to have the King sign the order for war, we need to grab at least half the chairs, preferably four of them.”
Wei Shi looked down at the wrist watch, “One hour left.”
Chu Chu abruptly came to a realization, “Are we going to fight? Wait a minute, shouldn’t this war not be fought––”
Vera comforted her, “We’re only doing things for the sake of the cards. Remember, in this game, we aren’t the partic.i.p.ants in history. Rather, we’re witnesses to history.”
Wu Jin nodded. He lay there against the window, and his thoughts floated towards the captain again. He wondered if the captain was still angry, if he’d found the instance, if he’d found a gun yet, if he’d eaten yet, if he was cold…
Wei Shi reached out to pluck Wu Jin off the window and gave it a glance, “Why did you stick yourself there?”
Wu Jin: “!!!” He cleared his throat, and put on a serious act, “Let’s set up an ambush over two of the doors before the other players arrive.”
Vera was surprised, “Aren’t we s.n.a.t.c.hing four doors?”
Wu Jin felt for the window frame, “Find two big cabinets and block the doors and windows. Don’t let the other players see. We can’t guard four doors, so we’ll steal two of them first!”
Hundreds of meters away, on the 3rd floor of the Palace of Versailles.
Zoe, who’d been the target of Wu Jin’s thoughts, sneezed. His eyes were gloomy, and he was holding the green card he’d just received, one that represented a baron with modest status.
Wen Lin: “Still angry?”
Zoe looked at the list of n.o.bles and didn’t say a word.
Wen Lin: “Not talking?”
Zoe looked through the list again from beginning to end.
Wen Lin: “Eh, not angry anymore?”
Zoe suddenly slapped the list onto the table.
The female teammates who were using a copy of the book as a table mat for their meal, were both surprised.
Zoe stretched out a hand for the book.
His teammates handed over the greasy book.
“These, these, and these.” Zoe circled almost all the n.o.bles on the list. “They are Pompadour’s political enemies.”
Wen Lin nodded, then suddenly spoke up, “You can’t want to––”
Zoe knocked on the list with his knuckles, “Little Witch and Contestant Wei only have one card, and it’s in Little Witch’s hands. If they can’t obtain a second n.o.ble card, then only one of the two teams will be able to qualify.”
Zoe’s eyes turned cold, “I want to see if Contestant Wei will take Little Witch’s card.”
“If he dares,” Zoe spoke while rubbing a hand over the handle of his gun, “I’ll find a place and snipe him out of the game.”
After that, Little Witch will see through this sc.u.m man and come back to the White Moonlight family’s warm embrace!
“If he doesn’t dare, then after he’s eliminated and demoted, he can pack up and move out of dormitory 701!”
Juurensha: Overprotective parent Zoe! With Wen Lin in the back still being like, mah, mah, it’s okay.
xiin: Zoe in mama mode is soooo funny, and yeah, juu’s right, i love how Wen Lin’s so calm about it all