3. Weed’s Decision

Translated by EE, Proofread by Bloodadept, MrBaconator, Britsch,

Shadowlink

, Fros.h.i.+, Xandaar

Among the players that escaped through the underground pa.s.sage were Harma, Margo, Glen and Lewis. These were the ones that crossed the Bark Mountain range with Weed and Mapan.

The four of them tried to lure Weed and Mapan into a trap, but the situation turned on them and the quartet perished instead! These four then crossed over into Rosenheim Kingdom and continued their activities, robbing even the Geomchi’s unflinchingly.

These four were part of the Ica Guild, living the life of criminals and thought of new creative ways of committing evil! They were a perfect fit for the Ica Guild, lead by the Guild Master Darius.

“I never imagined such a Guild existed. They don’t care for anything other than fame and they start Guild Wars without care.”

The Ica Guild. When they hear rumors of good farming spots, they call on their guild members to seize the spot by force. They took over dungeons discovered by others, charging high fees like it was an everyday occurrence and expropriating hard to acquire items.

“This is the guild we were looking for.”

The quartet quickly rose up the ranks to the Head Enforcers of Ica Guild. As time went by, however, the growth of the guild stagnated. Because of their comparative guild size, they committed the heinous crime of trying hostile takeovers of famous guilds on the Central Continent and soon found themselves shunned by the people.

The weak should commit enough crime so as not to be caught, but the Ica Guild overextended themselves. Members of the Ica Guild were given the finger wherever they went and their recruitment naturally dried up.

The guild collapsed soon after without achieving their dream of becoming one of the great guilds. The Guild Master Darius fled Rosenheim Kingdom for the Central Continent due to so many people hating his guts.

The nefarious four also wanted to head for the Central Continent. But there were too many grudges there so they departed for the Brent Kingdom.

In the wide and open Versailles Continent, there were opportunities for crime everywhere!

They terrorized the Brent Kingdom with their evil ways and soon their situation became tenuous. Seeing that Rosenheim Kingdom was calmer, the four decided to return.

These four were feeling out the situation in Serabourg Citadel and searching out the street corners with the most merchants when the Embinyu Church invaded.

“What are we going to do?”

“We can just try to squeeze in with some group and escape. I am sure we could get out of here alive.”

When these four tried to join the escape groups, they were found out as the backstabbing quartet and were refused.

“The world is too cruel.”

“I hope to never have to see you again!”

The four backstabbers had nothing, and were left to fend for themselves against the Embinyu Church.

But then, the War G.o.d Weed appeared in Serabourg Citadel with talks of rescuing all the refugees. The mid sized guilds threw their lot in with Weed. The relief and happiness pa.s.sing through the players of Serabourg Citadel.

Just one person managed to change the mood so drastically.

“Oh, man. We are totally screwed.”

“It’s the War G.o.d Weed!”

Harma, Margo, Glen and Lewis were shattered by Weed’s sudden appearance. In hindsight, they did not know that Weed was an incredibly famous figure and only found out through their time in Rosenheim Kingdom.

“We scoffed at that he was a sculptor, but at least we got had by someone better than us.”

“Well, whatever. I got some fun memories out of it.”

The backstabbing quartet let the bygones be bygones just like that.

But after that incident, Weed went onto various epic quests! Weed was plastered all over the Hall of Fame, forums, and game channels. The four also wanted to go on adventures like Weed.

“I am so jealous.”

“Nothing is impossible for him. I’m sure if it was the War G.o.d Weed, he could demolish the Cloud Guild in an instant...”

“Even famous Guild Masters won’t dare do anything against Weed when he pa.s.ses by. Do you think they could coax the dungeon toll out of him?”

“Who would try ask for a toll fee from Weed? When a person reaches that level, everyone else should be mindful of themselves.”

The backstabbing quartet exalted the War G.o.d Weed and complimented his adventures, of course, this was only after finding out that War G.o.d Weed and Sculptor Weed were one and the same.

“Do you think he still remembers us?”

“Let’s sneak past him. If we mingle with the people, it should be okay.”

The backstabbing quartet mixed in with the residents and escaped through the underground pa.s.sage. As soon as they surfaced, loud roars could be heard with the sight of an Ice Troll fighting against the Karaclops. The sight of Weed commanding the Death Knight and Vampire Lord over the battle was too epic to describe.

“Hurrah for War G.o.d Weed!”

“We are eternally grateful for him rescuing us.”

*****

Weed recklessly thrust himself into the Karaclops flank. He looked as if he had lost his sense!

“Aaaaah!”

“Weed-nim, Nooo!”

Players screamed out in fear.

The mere sight of these ma.s.sive Karaclops thumping on the battlefield was dizzying. It was terrifying and awful to just think about being grazed by the horns or being flattened by its broad legs. The players thought Weed would be quickly run over and get killed, but Weed was perfectly fine between the gaps of the herd of Karaclops.

“Move out of the way!”

“The Ice Troll went that way!”

The Embinyu Archers and Shamans were powerless to act as it was difficult to target Weed with the Karaclops in the way.

“There was this method!”

Weed was a person who lived comfortably in this world through petty tricks. Even the Geomchis acknowledged this point, that Weed adapted to any battle quickly and improvised fantastical battle strategies and tactics.

“Catch me if you can!”

Regardless of Weed’s large size, he cleverly moved in between the Karaclops’ sides. Weed moved underneath the belly of the Karaclops as they dashed toward him with their horns lowered.

KUEEEEH!

With the Karaclops hustled together, they impeded each other from showing their full might. And on top of that, whenever Weed pa.s.sed by, the cold aura spread to their legs and hindered their movements.

Even then, Weed did not just scamper around dodging the attacks. This was what they call the perfect opportunity to hunt and grind for experience!

‘There are monsters spread out everywhere, I have enough strength and vitality, and there are plenty of priests backing me up.’

While this wasn’t a party, when Weed’s health fell into critical levels there were over 100 priests ready to use Healing Hand.

“Let’s have some fun!”

The spear in Weed’s hand shook as if it was about to break. Through the Sculpture Destruction supplementing the Ice Troll’s strength, the steel spear began to bend as it was swung with incredible power.

You landed a critical hit!

Crus.h.i.+ng Blow!

The Karaclops collapsed.

You landed a critical hit!

Piercing Spear!

Karaclops defense has been ignored and it’s leg has been pierced.

“Hyaaa!”

Weed used the abundant strength of the Ice Troll and fought viciously in between the herd of Karaclops.

You landed a critical hit!

Momentary Herculean Strength has been activated.

Crus.h.i.+ng Blow!

Karaclops is no longer able to battle.

Seeing the Karaclops beaten to the ground by Weed, the boss monster came running. Compared to the other Karaclops, the boss monster was ma.s.sive, at over 9 meters and its eyes and horn shone dangerously. It was the alpha male Karaclops at level 420! The ground shook from its steps and they could be felt by all.

“It’s just a bigger version. The bigger they are the more sluggish them became.”

Seeing that Weed was currently an Ice Troll, it was hypocritical of him to say so. Regardless, it was now a match between him and the boss monster. Prolonging the fight held no advantage and no matter how risky it was, he had to win as fast as possible.

Weed stood on top of the hill, waiting for the right moment when the galloping alpha Karaclops would slow down.

‘I only need to dodge at that one moment.’

When the alpha male was within range, Weed ran into the herd of Karaclops. The alpha male couldn’t bear to trample on its own species and came to a stop, s.h.i.+fting its upper body.

This was the moment Weed was waiting for!

You landed a critical hit!

Momentary Herculean Strength has been activated.

Piercing Spear!

Alpha Male Karaclops has been wounded.

As its name suggested, a single blow was nothing to a boss monster.

Weed rounded the alpha male and continued to attack.

PU-UK!

PA PA PA PA!

You landed a critical hit!

Additional 29% damage was inflicted.

You landed a critical hit!

Additional 58% damage was inflicted.

You landed a critical hit!

Additional 93% damage was inflicted.

You landed a critical hit!

Additional 127% damage was inflicted.

A consecutive critical hit attack!

The Wyvern Knight’s steel spear shattered as it’s durability ran out.

The spear that endured till now broke and shattered. Weed quickly packed the broken pieces into this backpack and took out two different spears. The one he acquired when he fought the Wyvern Knight. The other was the Fire Lance spear he received as a gift from the elder Exper at the farewell party at the ancient dwarf city Thor.

“Enjoy your beating, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

Still, the boss monster’s defense was formidable. After dis.h.i.+ng out a few attacks with the spear from the Wyvern Knight, the tip quickly broke off and the attack value dropped.

Weed took the Fire Lance spear and leaped into the air near the alpha Karaclops. Taking the spear, he stabbed it into the monster’s body, stomping on it to force the spear deeper into its body and using it as a springboard to propel himself higher on top the alpha male.

“This is the end!”

The alpha Karaclops finally succ.u.mbed to Weed’s barrage of attacks at its back and died standing. The monster had extraordinarily high health,defense, vitality, and agility, but it was no match for Weed’s tenacity.

Your level increased.

You have laid the Alpha Karaclops of the Embinyu Church to rest.

Through this great accomplishment, your fame increased by 285.

Charisma increased by 1.

Strength increased by 2.

Faith increased by 2.

Weed’s message window kept peppering him with notifications.

You have acquired the Karaclops large horn.

You have acquired the Embinyu symbol.

The horn could be used to make a good bow or a sculpture out of it.

KUUUUU!

As the alpha male perished, the herd of Karaclops began to retreat. Though the Embinyu Archers and Shamans tried to force them to fight, the Karaclops didn’t look back as they continued with their mad escape.

“Whew, we barely escaped from that crisis.”

Weed turned back and saw that only a fourth of the refugees had managed to escape yet. Their speed slowed to a crawl when they had to climb over the hill.

“At this rate, it will take about a day or two for these refugees to reach a safe haven under the Rosenheim forces.”

In the distance, the Seraboug Citadel was slowly being demolished and soon the ma.s.sive army of the Embinyu Church would be hot on their trail. When this happened, it would become considerably more difficult to help the refugees escape.

The number of refugees that needed to be rescued for Selina’s quest to be successful was unknown. But just saving portions and leaving the rest to fend for themselves against their pursuers left a bad taste in Weed’s mouth. He had too many bad memories of being ha.s.sled by creditors and loan sharks!

Van Hawk, Torido, Seo Yoon, and the players all gathered around Weed. Residents of Serabourg Citadel who were soldiers or hunters in the past, also came forward.

“Weed-nim! We entrust our fate into your hands. We are prepared to lay down our lives, so please lead our family to safety!”

“I am the Knight Odgar! It’s been a long time since I have picked up a blade, but I shall pledge myself anew to the lord of Morata. I shall fight against the Embinyu Church with you.”

Hunter Jenkins and 430 others have joined the battle.

You can lead them in the fight against the Embinyu Church.

Retired Knight Odgar, 7 other senior knights with 894 former soldiers have pledged themselves for battle.

You can now command soldiers with high loyalty.

Weed’s face, which was already dark, fell further. The hunters had nothing to defend themselves with. A few had hunting bows but most were empty handed! Even the old knights and soldiers, had virtually no armors or s.h.i.+elds or swords. They were only armed with basic farming equipment and kitchen knives.

“With my luck, what else could I expect?”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing.”

For the elite forces of Serabourg Citadel to be made up of such a ragtag band...

‘They would be of no help against the Embinyu Church.’

Weed soberly dissected the current situation.

“At the current rate, not many people will come out alive. The first to be killed will probably be the elderly and the children when their stamina runs out.”

There was a limit of how many Weed or Seo Yoon could protect under their wings. And the Embinyu Calvary or the demons would cause a wholesale ma.s.sacre.

“I need to think outside the box. Something big to pull the attention of the Embinyu Church someplace else.”

The king and the royal family had surfaced from the underground pa.s.sage and were fleeing elsewhere, escorted by the Knights and Magicians. They had already managed to shake of their Embinyu pursuers and were some distance away. Very soon, the Embinyu Church would turn their gaze onto the refugees.

Weed needed to somehow to make the Embinyu Church give up their chase...

“I need a bait. A bait that would make the Embinyu forces forgot about everything else. A bait strong enough to buy as much time as possible. Hmm… I wonder where I can find something like that?”

Weed reminisced his ill-fated relations.h.i.+p with the Embinyu Church. Not only did he crush their plot in the Northern Continent, he rid the world of Feylord the head of their 11th sect. The Embinyu Church must be sharpening their swords for revenge.

“If I show up in front of the Embinyu army as bait, would they call it a divine intervention?”

The Embinyu Church would definitely go after Weed. The great army formed in part by the forces that burned the Serabourg Citadel to the ground, the cultists, the demons, the Embinyu’s Dark Priests and Shamans would all be after Weed.

“I never knew he would come up with such an idea…. ”

“As expected, he is Weed-nim.”

“Weed-nim is going to sacrifice himself as bait to save us!”

“Uwaaaaaa!”

Weed murmuring to himself was inadvertently heard by the players and spread throughout the entire refugees, raising their morale.

Hope is surging through the refugees of Seraboug Citadel.

Morale increased by 89%.

With renewed strength, the refugees ran faster over the hills to escape.

“Please hurry grampa.”

“Yes, dear child. I must not waste this precious life that Weed-nim sacrificed himself for. Let’s hurry!”

It was confirmed. Weed was now the bait to entice the Embinyu Church!

"....."

Refusing now would reduce morale to rock bottom and make their escape even more difficult. Weed could feel the heavy weight of all these eyes sparkling with hope on him.

The young players and newbies did not have much to lose even if they died. They were acting similarly to the spectators Weed sold peanuts and squids, it seemed they were staying behind to watch.

“This will be exciting!”

“I was always curious how good Weed-nim was in a fight.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. The cultists and the Karaclops were only warm ups for Weed-nim.”

This was the side effect of exaggerated false rumors! The players had huge expectations of Weed.

‘Well, for the quest to succeed a bait was needed anyway.’

Thinking about it, Weed knew there was no better decoy than him. He had the skills to survive and had a finely honed battle senses. But, to become a live sacrifice was against everything he stood for.

‘Snap out of it. If I get shaken by this much, I will never become rich. I need to throw away these kinds of thoughts if I want to succeed.’

Weed gazed at the the inferno that was Serabourg Citadel.

“See how he’s looking down at the Embinyu forces with such cold eyes. I think he’s really going for it!”

Weed shook his head left to right.

“He’s stretching his neck now. Is he going off to fight now?”

Weed fingered the Fire Lance spear he was holding. Because of the fight with the alpha Karaclops, it’s durability fell considerably.

“It looks like he's going to fix his spear before going!”

There was no excuse left for Weed. If he turned back now, the disappointment will be palpable and people would curse him. Of course, he could live on ignoring what society thought of him.

‘They do say that if they heap curses on you, you live longer… What if I just accept all their criticism...’

That’s that. There was nothing more to it.

But for the quest to succeed, Weed would need to step forward and save the refugees. It was only a matter of time till the Embinyu forces would be after the refugees. And with Weed’s ident.i.ty being exposed, the confrontation between him and the Embinyu Church was inevitable as they would throw everything against him. The results were the same in the end whichever direction he took.

“I will lay down my life first.”

“It has been an honor that I could die gloriously on a battlefield.”

The hunters and the knights chimed in.

Weed shook his head.

“You do not need to fight next to me. Escape to a safe haven.”

“We cannot do that! If it’s not because we are weak then let us choose an honorable death.”

“The most important thing right now is protecting your families. Return to your families and live happy lives.”

Are you giving up command of the hunters and the soldiers?

“I alone, am enough for this battle.”

The hunters and the soldiers have rejoined the refugees.

Honor stat has been created.

Honor: As a n.o.ble, doing righteous acts will increase this stat.

Honor has a great influence on the resident’s loyalty and diplomacy.

It will also be a great help when trying to recruit free knights.

Honor stat increased by 2.

Weed decided to fight alone. But Seo Yoon, Van Hawk and Torido accompanied him down the slope.

“Protecting the citizens is an obvious duty for a knight.”

“I will be able to drink all the blood I want.”

"......"

*****

The Embinyu Church looted and burned Serabourg Citadel.

“Take everything! These are treasures to be offered to the G.o.d of Embinyu.”

“Rosenheim Kingdom that has forsaken Embinyu will fall.”

The Dark Priests of the Embinyu Church were looting with their demons before all of Serabourg Citadel burned down. Thanks to the demons the historic palace of Rosenheim Kingdom disappeared from the face of the earth.

Once this job was done, it was most likely the Embinyu Church forces would scatter throughout the surroundings, hunting down the escape groups and the refugees.

Then, a loud voice was heard!

“I, Weed, have come. Embinyu Church, bring your best against me!”

Belloni, the head of the 9th sect was looting the private office of the king. He was peering through the window, looking down from a high place with the palace burning all around.

Over the collapsed walls, stood Weed, Seo Yoon, Van Hawk and Torido. Weed had fearlessly returned within the boundaries of the Serabourg Citadel! While it wasn’t a far distance, it was still smack dab in the heart of Embinyu forces.

“Weed is the highest priority target for the Embinyu Church! Servants of the Embinyu Church, kill that human!”

*****

The Morata’s artist’s eyes were sparkling as they couldn’t keep their eyes off the crystal orb.

“Ah, this is amazing.”

“My hand is getting sweaty just by watching this.”

“I even forgot to drink my beer!”

The excitement began the moment Weed started to lead the refugees out of Serabourg Citadel. As always, Weed’s adventures sucked people in. Thus, even though Weed was a Sculptor he was still one of the greatest figures for all the artists.

‘If I make this scene into a sculpture...‘

‘Drawing this will be awesome. This composition is to die for.’

This became a great source of inspiration for the painters and the Sculptors. Already the Sculptor Guild was discussing their plans to erect a huge statue of Weed. If they could just make it, there would be no greater fame. It could even become the next attraction of the city!

And from a single battle, poured out countless scenes for the painters to draw.

“I think the scene where he was battling in the dungeon was cool.”

“The speech he gave to the refugees as an Ice Troll wasn’t bad.”

“What about the part where he fought in mid-air while riding on the frozen Wyvern?”

“Well, that was spectacular. But there is going to be something much better from now on.”

“Yeah! Declaring themselves in front of the Embinyu army. If only I was with them there...”

The Painters immediately planned their concepts they wanted to draw. Considering the huge amount of paintings about Weed that would be produced, they were already planning to host an exhibition on this.

And in a small part of their hearts, they were lamenting. They could just imagine the excitement, their hearts beating as if they were in Weed’s spot right now!

Besides the artists, players with other cla.s.ses were also focusing on the crystal orb.

These were Bards and Dancers!

“Observe carefully. This will be our next play.”

“What would the t.i.tle be?”

“Weed’s stand against the Embinyu Church?”

“No, no. ‘The Saint of the Continent Weed’ sounds better.”

The Dancers and Bards in Morata were preparing to host a grand play of Weed’s adventure. They never ran out of idea’s when they chose Weed as the main topic as wherever he went, thrilling events happened.

The residents of Morata were also watching the crystal orb.

“Our lord is really different.”

“I hope he comes back safely. He mustn’t get killed by the Embinyu Church.”

Morale of Morata’s residents increased.

Loyalty of Morata’s residents toward their lord is at the maximum state.