The love and war drama intuition of the Angel Guild unfortunately came to an end not long after.
I reluctantly tossed the remaining popcorn into my mouth, and Laguiel sighed in relief, seeing me return to normal, and turned to face forward again.
Cough. “Anyway, Lady Lily, welcome to the Angel Guild.”
Michael, who seemed a bit dizzy but calmly greeted us.
Although the drama portrayed him as somewhat overshadowed by Gabriel, this Michael is one of the top contenders in Deoen.
A user who is undeniably the strongest, apart from the Sword Saint and Leo.
Of course, there’s a vast difference between him and those two—like the sky and the earth. Still, he had something special that the others lacked.
Guild.
With the title of the number one Guild Master in Deoen, he possessed far more resources, buffs, and stats than others.
At least in guild battles, he would be several times superior to the rankers of the same single-digit level.
Of course, Leo and the Sword Saint are exceptions.
Being an outlier is an entirely different matter.
“You must have seen several kingdoms on your way here; how were they?”
“Pretty good, actually. I liked it.”
While Talikal was the same, the Eden Federation in the northern region was managed well, making it quite pleasant to behold.
Especially the Shabbes Kingdom, where Gabriel was, was filled with smiling people without a sick person in sight.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me ask you directly.”
The eyes of Laguiel and Gabriel focused on Michael.
Gabriel also listened seriously to what Michael had to say, seemingly unaffected by the earlier quarrel.
“I’d like to recruit Lady Lily into the Angel Guild. If you join, I promise you’ll get the position of High Angel and plenty of support. Of course, we won’t interfere with your personal broadcasts at all.”
Though the Guild Master may be that kind of person, his skills and management are exceptional. I guarantee that.
…Unrelated, huh?
“Gabriel.”
“Hmm? That’s true. Michael.”
Gabriel smiled softly before turning her gaze to me.
“If you join, I promise to give you the best treatment. Well, you may not like it, but it could be more than just a guild and guild member relationship—a new connection.”
“Hmm…”
Tap. Tap.
My fingers tapped on the round table.
Like the ticking of a clock, my tapping echoed across the table.
Thud.
“…Since you asked directly, I’ll also speak directly.”
“…?”
“?”
“What do you mean?”
Laguiel asked.
I glanced at her and then looked toward Michael.
I looked at her once and then at Michael.
“I’ll join the Angel Guild’s siege war as a temporary mercenary. Depending on the situation, I might invade the Empire.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I don’t know if support will be needed, but I have a feeling it won’t. As long as the Angel Guild guards the Eden Federation well, there shouldn’t be any issues.”
At that notification-like statement, all three archangels at the round table froze.
The silence was broken by Gabriel.
“…If that’s how it is, I can’t accept it. Lady Lily is strong enough, and we welcome her, but not the Empire.”
“……”
“The Empire cannot win. More than anything, this siege war is a competition among users. There aren’t any users in the Empire who can participate in a siege—”
“Why not? There are both of them right here.”
In the Empire, rumored not to recruit users, there are two very famous users.
Leo and the Sword Saint.
“Both of them hold the title of Marquis and are ‘participants’ with castles.”
“…But wouldn’t it be better to attack someone else rather than those two who are just sitting there? Rather than taking on such a formidable foe that is hard to tackle…”
“Hold on, Gabriel.”
Michael raised a hand to interrupt Gabriel.
Given how serious the situation was, Gabriel stopped speaking without any objections or grievances.
“Lady Lily, since you’ve said that, there must be something to it… Lady Lily.”
“Yes.”
“Did you perhaps come with some information?”
At Michael’s question, doubt appeared on the faces of the two archangels.
What do you mean, came with information?
Isn’t Lady Lily here because she was interested in the Angel Guild?
But after hearing Uriel’s words earlier, Michael started to think differently.
Lady Lily, who had shown no interest in the Angel Guild until now.
When Raphael gave her ten million, she suggested having a big match or meeting later, but it’s been months and he’s never heard of them meeting since.
The same goes for Laguiel during the mock siege war.
It was the same during the world boss subjugation; there hadn’t been a single contact until suddenly she shows up with this talk before the siege war starts?
‘There’s something going on.’
With his extensive experience in guild management, Michael could only think that there was definitely something behind this.
And it surely wasn’t about wanting money or positions.
Reassuring that thought, Lily nodded her head.
“The Empire will soon invade. With the Sword Saint.”
The beginning will be the downfall of the Eden Federation.
■
“The Empire’s plan is simple. They will occupy all the castles using the Sword Saint and the Eight Swords, then push in their troops.”
“Since the castles are already taken, the Empire can enter without bloodshed, and even if the defeated troops try to lay siege afterwards, we can easily hold them off. Well, it’s obviously easier to defend than to attack in a ‘Siege War’.”
“We won’t mind if the users come to challenge us later. They no longer have castles, and even if they somehow get one back, they won’t be able to stop the Sword Saint and the Eight Swords.”
Moreover, with Deoen ranked 1 and 2 on the same side.
Defeat is absolutely impossible.
Before long, the five Archangels, including Uriel and Sandalphon who rushed in with urgent news, focused on my words.
“… So the Empire intends to wage a ‘Conquest War’ through the Sword Saint, utilizing the Siege War system and the Empire’s might.”
“””…….”””
“It’s almost impossible to stop them. No matter how powerful you all are, the opponent is ranked number one and the Eight Swords.”
Even the strongest guild, Deoen, ultimately cannot overcome an outlier.
The very notion of ‘strongest’ was only possible because the top two had given up on that path.
If Leo and the Sword Saint had taken an interest in guild management from the start, the Angel Guild would never be in its current position.
Uriel gaped, unable to close her mouth, stammering.
“Is… is that really true? It can’t be…”
“I received this information from a reliable source.”
Leo and Naphras.
Even if Arne is trustworthy, those two definitely are.
Especially Naphras; he wouldn’t lie about anything related to spirits.
Swiftly, a hand rose from one side of the round table.
“Please speak.”
“It’s Sandalphon. Are those two including Lord Leo?”
Among the users affiliated with the Empire, there’s another monster capable of overthrowing the nation besides the Sword Saint.
The master of five attributes, Spirit Sorcerer Leo.
“That’s right. However, Lord Leo is on the other side, so he won’t be coming to the Eden Federation.”
The only Sword Saint is what we should be worried about.
The expressions of the Seven Archangels shifted intriguingly.
It’s a relief not to have to face Leo, but there’s still a strong adversary left.
Especially since the Sword Saint has much less known about him compared to the well-documented Leo, who makes appearances in various places.
Furthermore, after a year away, the Sword Saint will be even more veiled in mystery.
Michael nodded, raising his hand.
Michael nodded and raised his hand.
“Then why is Lady Lily helping us?”
The Angel Guild was completely unaware that the Empire was about to invade.
The Empire was secretly preparing for war, and the first move was the entry of the Sword Saint and the Eight Swords, so the Empire’s troops, including the Knights, hadn’t budged an inch.
It meant they definitely couldn’t have realized it.
In reality, everything the Angel Guild was preparing was merely for the sake of other guilds; they were gathering preparations against numerous enemies instead of for the strong.
“If we had welcomed the enemy without knowing, we would have crumbled in no time. Of course, we wouldn’t have just sat idle; we would have launched a counterattack immediately, but we would have already lost about four or five kingdoms by then.”
If that had truly happened, even the Angel Guild would have found it difficult to manage.
I looked at all of them.
I don’t like the ‘Angel’ Guild.
The Celestial Race that tormented me for a lifetime.
Just hearing that name raises my disgust, and I feel a surge of anger as if I should grab a spear and hammer right away.
But these guys are different.
“They’re neither Celestial nor using the name of the Celestial Race.”
What they’re using is the power that the System refined.
The names they use are just borrowed from Earth’s mythology.
Above all…
“It’s a price.”
I am a person who has no choice but to pay a price.
“…A price?”
“I have business with Lord Sword Saint and the other Eight Swords. But for now, there’s no special justification. There’s no guild to carry out the Siege War, nor a castle.”
But even I have a way to participate in the Siege War.
“What I need is the ‘Name’ of the Angel Guild.”
The first target of the Empire is the Kress Kingdom, guarded by Laguiel.
The Angel Guild and the Empire are bound to collide, and only the Angel Guild can withstand the wave I am about to create.
“Every action I take will influence the Angel Guild. Perhaps I might become eternally hostile to the Empire.”
“…That.”
“But at least, the Angel Guild won’t fall.”
Even if it ends with the fall of the Empire.
‘I’m experimenting with spirits.’
I need to meet the Magic Lord.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
