“Last year’s Empire…”
“Yes. There are not just a couple of those kinds of people; there are more than you’d expect.”
In the past, the Empire waged an “Occupation War” using “Siege Wars.”
One of the characteristics of a Siege War is that “if you break the core, you occupy the castle systemically,” allowing the Empire to simultaneously seize dozens or even hundreds of castles.
Of course, part of the reason they couldn’t approach was that the Empire’s soldiers were incredibly powerful compared to the users, but the systemic occupation was the biggest factor.
“I may have stopped it, but…”
If I hadn’t intervened, most of the continent’s land would have fallen into the hands of the Empire.
“People realized that Siege Wars are not just events to fight over castles because of last year’s incident.”
“Mm.”
“No matter how much authority the existing lord has, if you just break the core, the authority changes hands.”
Last time, we only had to stop one Empire, but this time, there are dozens of them.
Of course, compared to the past Empire with strong figures like Leo, the Sword Saint, and the Eight Swords, they’re not in the same league. However, recently, users with strong powers and abilities have been increasing significantly.
Just look at the newly emerging “Rookies.”
Surely, for the guild masters holding onto the castles, there couldn’t be a more significant issue than this.
“Um.”
“I see.”
“Yes. And the bigger problem is that guilds without castles are also trying to target this Siege War. They plan to forcibly occupy the outskirts’ castles before trying to take the others…”
“So, what do you expect?”
Though she’s been complaining a lot, the Master of the Magic Tower in front of me is quite a powerful figure.
Ranked 9th among guilds and 36th individually.
In terms of might, she can hold her own against top rankers, and the mages under her command are on par with average rankers.
If they were to be taken, they wouldn’t easily give up; at least, they shouldn’t be in a position to be “taken from.”
She lowered her head.
“I’m not asking for strength. We’ll fend for ourselves and will attack if we want to. We won’t occupy any castles, though.”
“Um.”
“Instead, I hope Lady Lily will prevent excessive occupations, just like last year…”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Huh?”
Neris, who had been talking seriously until now, suddenly looked dazed.
She seemed caught off guard by a completely unexpected request.
Neris couldn’t restrain her lost hand.
“W-well, Lady Lily is for world peace…”
“For world peace…”
“Me?”
“You did raid!!”
Boom! Neris stood up from the table again.
Of course, she still couldn’t make a scratch.
I chuckled and waved my hand.
“Sit down.”
“Anning…”
“That’s right. If we don’t stop the disaster, the Deoen world will be in danger. It had to be stopped.”
World bosses like the Kraken or Demons put the existence of the world at risk if not stopped.
Though I wondered if the Raccoons managing Deoen would really just let it be, considering the damage was enormous, we had to stop it for now.
But right now?
“Occupying castles and being occupied. Isn’t that what’s happening now?”
“……”
“Wars are always happening. Just because we’re exterminating Banded doesn’t mean they vanish.”
The Empire was just active in full-scale wars; small-scale wars and pillaging were endlessly occurring.
Even before my return and now, nearly two years later.
“I can’t stop every war in the world. Although there was a time I wanted to…”
That was nothing more than a fantasy like a utopia.
It took me nearly 10 years to realize that fact.
‘It could’ve taken longer.’
Neris kept her mouth shut but soon opened it again with a puzzled expression.
“…That’s true, but.”
“Right?”
“Even considering that, isn’t Lady Lily incredibly strong? Honestly, she seems like she could control everything just by sitting there.”
“……”
“She can see the entire map, so she could shoot spears from afar, or even just moving one of her subordinates would be enough…”
“That’s the problem.”
“?”
People always said I was strong, but in reality, the difference between me and the users last year wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought.
At most, it was just Leo or the Sword Saint, but they could still stand against me.
They could cut, stab, and slice my skin.
Especially enemies like the Magic Lord or Duke Huangyeol were quite dangerous for me back then.
‘But now?’
As long as the Raccoons weren’t my enemies, fighting with users was meaningless.
“I feel like this fight isn’t suitable for me.”
“Yeah, that’s true…”
“If I intervene, it will affect the entire continent. Everyone will fight constrained by the unnecessary excessive actions I’ve set as standards.”
Like pieces moving on a chessboard.
If I wasn’t going to keep doing it forever, controlling without taking responsibility was worse than not controlling at all.
There is no control without responsibility for what you do.
“I really don’t want to do something like that.”
“……”
“And besides, if I did that, I’d get totally roasted. What are you gonna do? Scold me?”
“Eh? To Lady Lily? No way.”
“I’m serious.”
Back in the past on Kiki Island, when I cleared a dungeon with a master, so many people flooded in.
Of course, I cleared up the misunderstanding, but if I hadn’t, the number of people criticizing me would definitely have multiplied by ten, no, a hundred.
Neris stood up.
“Then what if!”
“?”
“What if we attacked Lady Lily? It wouldn’t happen, but her territory is so vast, right? What if we hit the castle at the far end…?”
“Then what…”
Hmm.
“I guess I’d just have to slap you once.”
“…Slap?”
“Yeah.”
It might hurt a little, though.
■
At the same time, somewhere in the east of the continent.
Inside the ‘Jebera’ royal palace, which had been destroyed by numerous guilds working together, dozens of guild masters were gathered.
Their name was the ‘Medium and Small Guild Alliance.’
Just last year, most of them were unknown guilds that couldn’t even break into the top 100, but the Great Cataclysm caused a lot of changes.
Guild masters who couldn’t even make it into the top 1,000 had suddenly risen into the top 100, becoming a force no one could ignore in the area.
While most users had improved, the most noticeable change was only one thing.
Clunk!
Returnees who had faced trials and quests in another world had returned.
The door opened, and a man in a black robe walked in.
He had a long black sword strapped to both sides of his waist, and his level was a staggering 120.
The alliance leader of the medium and small guilds, standing with a massive lion behind him, greeted the man with a smile.
“Ah, you’ve come? Black Sword? What’s the answer?”
“I’ve got a definite answer. He said he absolutely won’t participate.”
“Are you sure? He’s not joking about participating?”
“He’s not the type to lie. Based on what he’s shown until now, I’m sure.”
“…If that’s the case.”
He grinned, revealing his bright white teeth.
The plan is getting more and more perfect.
As the alliance leader chuckled, a girl hugging a doll next to him sighed.
“That’s creepy.”
“Ayane, that’s just prejudice.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“Anyway, it’s confirmed, so we’ll proceed as planned. Everyone knows that, right?”
“Okay~”
“Of course.”
“Hehe… I’m looking forward to it.”
Numerous guild masters nodded, each answering in their own way.
A multitude of guild masters responded, nodding their heads.
At first glance, it seemed more like a reaction from NPCs than users, but that wasn’t surprising.
After all, isn’t Lily—who competes for first place along with the Heavenly Horse—also a bit odd?
If they hadn’t been broadcasting, I’d have thought for sure they were NPCs.
In that regard, the guild masters here were quite ‘noble.’
“As long as you don’t mess with Lily, she won’t interfere. Of course, the Empire and top rankers like the Heavenly Horse and Leo have no interest in participating in the Siege War.”
“Can you try and say that more nicely?”
“The Angel Guild is silent too. So, it’s just the large guilds left, huh?”
“Exactly! Moreover, they’re in a divided state! There’s nothing that can stop us now!”
“There’s nothing! Nothing!”
“…You guys are really out of your minds.”
The girl with the doll, Ayane, let out another sigh.
“And it’s not just those guys, you know? What about ‘them’?”
“Oh, you mean the existing rookies?”
Before the Medium and Small Guild Alliance, there was a group called the ‘Rookie Alliance.’
To be precise, it was more of a collection of personal affiliations rather than an alliance, and they were quite powerful during the ongoing Demon Raid.
They were core members of the Challenger Alliance that included Lily back then.
They were still active until recently, but the sudden disappearance of three core executive members, including Jackal, led to their quick disbandment.
For reference, some members of the Rookie Alliance had joined the Medium and Small Alliance Guild.
Ayane was also a former member of the Rookie Alliance.
The Alliance Leader chuckled casually.
“Once the execs are gone, the remaining scrubs can just be swept away.”
“Still, Jackal and Rest are a bit scary.”
“I’m more worried about Shark. I never expected them to suddenly vanish, given their potential.”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re stronger now, regardless of whether they ran away or quit.”
The Alliance Leader clenched his fist tightly.
From him, an aura of beasts began to emanate.
“First, we’ll take the entire east. Then, we’ll gradually expand our territory and consume the rest. That’s it.”
“What if someone interferes?”
“We’ll handle it together.”
“What if Lily interferes?”
…Then.
“…We’ll have to take appropriate measures.”
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