“The Sword Saint has come to the Empire, they say.”
A vast green forest filled with playful animals.
The woman, beloved by spirits, gazed somewhere with emerald eyes.
The target of her gaze was the capital of the Empire, Imperidium.
More specifically, it was directed towards Duke Huangyeol’s Audience Room.
Three figures engaged in conversation came into view.
Should one consider this shameless or be relieved?
—”Well… it’s certain that the Magic Lord wouldn’t find it shameless, would he?”
“If it’s Karia, that’s understandable.”
The Spirit Lord, Arne Partia.
A contractor of the Spirit King and one of the Empire’s greatest pillars alongside Duke Huangyeol and the Magic Lord.
She chuckled as she evaluated her ‘former’ friend Karia, while the Young Disciple Leo, who was communicating through the wind spirit, let out a sigh.
—”We prepared so much for meeting the Sword Saint, but it all seems pointless now.”
“There’s nothing to regret. Coming to the Empire means another opportunity has arisen.”
—”Will the Sword Saint really participate?”
“As long as our purposes align, there’s a good chance.”
Karia Matchelpid.
Once her closest friend and the great Eight Swords who helped form the current Empire.
More reliable than anyone else, she could always fight alongside Karia without fear, regardless of the difficulties.
But that was no longer the case.
—”The Magic Lord must be disappointed. The Twin Moons Lord lost his weapon and is no longer himself.”
“Just the folly of a child. Of course, he has to pay the price for his mistake.”
—”Heh~ So then, what’s left for the Magic Lord is just the Blood Fight Lord’s health…”
Now, they were in a situation even worse than one another.
“The strength of the Blood Fight Lord is indeed commendable. He is a talent Karia treasures.”
—”Is that so? Still, we are far stronger…”
“Leo.”
The green hair imbued with the spirit’s energy fluttered, revealing an overwhelming presence above it.
The wind spirit king contracted with Arne.
As the power of the spirit king connected below with the Lower Spirits, it affected Leo, who was far away.
—”…!”
“It is true that, as Leo said, the balance of power has shifted. However, achieving complete dominance will be difficult.”
No matter how much the Spirit Lord was equal to the Magic Lord.
Even with two of the Eight Swords on the Spirit Lord’s side, in contrast to the lone Blood Fight Lord,
They still couldn’t achieve overwhelming superiority.
—”…Does that mean…?”
“The Magic Lord is a being at the extreme of magic. If she decides to use her magic, problems may arise.”
For example…
“She could turn half of the Empire into a sea of flames to turn the tide of battle.”
“Making half of the nation a sea of fire.”
─”But that’s something Lady Arne can do as well, right?”
“That’s true. It would be a bit exhausting, though.”
If the Spirit King of Fire’s power were harnessed, it could engulf not just half but the entire Empire in flames, although it would require significant sacrifices and strength.
Yet, the Magic Lord who reached the pinnacle of the Magical Path was different.
“Her power is dangerous. The power of one who has forsaken reason and faith. Even if the means are unclean, that level of power cannot be denied.”
The Magic Lord had made a choice long ago.
What the end of that choice would be was something even she could not know, but one thing was certain: she had made a choice and acquired overwhelming magic.
In return, her long-time friendship with the Spirit Lord had completely shattered.
“Karia needs an overwhelming difference. A difference significant enough to make her admit she was wrong.”
─”Um… So you’re suggesting we bring the Sword Saint? It would create a bigger gap, right?”
“Not necessarily just the Sword Saint.”
“…?”
Arne stretched her hand to the sky.
A green bird that had been flying high landed on her hand.
The bird tilted its head and soon flew off somewhere.
“The Sword Saint arriving directly to the Empire means he refused my proposal to Karia. I had somewhat expected it, but, heh, it stings a bit.”
─……
“So we need to leave other paths open. Just in case the Sword Saint turns against us in the future.”
─”…Lady Lily won’t do that.”
A near-certain denial.
Leo already knew a lot about Lily and had watched from the side.
The Lily he knew would never side with the Empire.
There might have been a sliver of hope in the past, but not anymore.
She had already fought against Saintess Nea, Duke Huangyeol, and even taken the weapons from the Eight Swords.
The current Lily was nothing less than an arch-enemy of the Empire.
It seemed that Lily herself had a negative image of the Empire.
Arne shook her head with a light smile.
“As long as it’s not from the Empire’s perspective, that’s fine.”
─”…Huh?”
“Make the meeting request as the contractor of the Spirit King.”
Not as the Empire’s Grand Duke or the Spirit Lord of the Eight Swords.
“As Arne Partia, the contractor of the Wind Spirit King.”
─”Will that even work?”
“Absolutely.”
Arne looked up confidently, her gaze turning upwards.
The Wind Spirit King stood silently, eyes closed since his earlier appearance.
However, unlike his quiet stance, he was sweating nervously.
Leo still hadn’t noticed anything amiss.
‘…Is it really her? Then why…?’
She is not an Outsider.
■
The day after viewing Yena’s castle.
Yena had fully prepared defensive items and various buffs.
I heard there are several items with coercive powers like ‘Hit Guarantee’ that can block almost any force.
Installing everything cost nearly ten million won.
‘It definitely seems efficient, but…’
The average Joe won’t even be able to breach these defensive items and will have to turn back.
But somehow, I can’t shake the feeling that rankers in the top 100 would have no trouble at all.
Just look at Yena, she was wandering around the castle like it was her own backyard, even without a protective system.
For the record, Yena suggested joining her for the Siege War.
I have neither a guild nor am I a lord.
In reality, if I want to participate in the siege, the only option left is becoming a ‘mercenary.’
Unless I’m planning to seize a castle right away, I have to attach myself to someone’s faction or join as a mercenary.
Because of this, not only Yena but countless guilds that already own castles were offering me deals.
They asked me to join their guilds or please, join as a mercenary.
No matter how weak the guild is, the moment ‘I’ join, it would become the strongest contender for victory.
Some even offered to just hand over the castle outright.
‘Those managers must be having a tough time.’
Receiving over a thousand emails a day, it’s only bound to get worse because of the siege war; filtering through all that will be a hassle.
I might have to give them a bonus soon.
“Hmm…”
Anyway, I put off Yena’s proposal for now.
There was no particular reason.
‘It’s just a bit of a slaughter show.’
Due to Yena and -Yes- Guild’s characteristics, they’re not going to attack the top-tier guilds like Black Moon’s ‘Black Moon’ or the Angel Guild’s ‘Eden Federation.’
Unlike the simulated sieges where there were exact troop matches, real siege wars have imbalanced combat from the start.
-The -Yes- Guild has over three times fewer members than Black Moon.
The Eden Federation is, quite literally, a federation, making it pointless to compare numbers.
No matter how strong Yena is on her own, she can’t defeat an army.
‘After all, Yena is not Leo.’
Besides, the Eden Federation is in the North, Black Moon is at the far West, and Yena’s guild is in the South.
With such distance between them, the possibility of attacking each other is even slimmer.
And attacking other renowned top-tier guilds would also be a tough task.
That said, I can’t just show up anywhere and start occupying territories.
The viewers might find it entertaining to see mass slaughter, but I’m not one to prefer such things.
It would be fun to just go on a killing spree, but that’s not really my style.
“…Now that I think about it, there are quite a few castles in the Empire─”
Ding-dong.
The sound of a Discord call cutting through my random thoughts.
Was I in a call?
“?”
─ Boss, amazing news! Incredible news!
“I don’t think it’s that amazing this time.”
They always say it’s amazing.
White Autumn firmly denied it and uploaded a video in the Discord chat.
An ogre split in two…
“…Is this, by any chance, Lord Sword Saint?”
─ It’s epic! Lord Sword Saint returned today. Right after he arrived, he sliced up a field boss and casually headed to the Empire; it’s spreading like wildfire in the community…
“You’re saying Lord Sword Saint went to the Empire?”
At this time?
White Autumn responded as if it were obvious.
─ Yep. The area near Debra is part of the Empire, right? Which kingdom isn’t near Empire land, anyway?
“……”
─ Wow, but isn’t it amazing? A level 90 field boss gets taken out in one hit. Ah, of course, compared to you, it’s like comparing it to a toenail, but…
He chose to show himself a week before the Siege War.
It could just be a simple return, but the situation feels a bit off.
The Empire acted like they were going to start a war before capturing Sugarado, sending main forces including Leo and the Eight Swords to the snowy mountains.
‘And we’ve lost the Twin Moon’s weapon. We captured Sugarado, but it didn’t really pay off.’
I had a feeling something would blow up after it all ended, but the Empire retreated without doing anything as promised.
Too passive for the moves of a continental loser like the Empire.
But what if that wasn’t the case?
What if their goal was to bring back the Sword Saint from the start?
‘Leo. Sword Saint. And Siege War.’
Everything clicks into place.
I confirmed the message from Deoen that solidified my thoughts.
The message had been bothering me since earlier…
[Leo
▶ Want to come break the castle with me?!]
I wonder how many hours Leo has been online to write this.
I’m really curious.
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