5) Darkness, Fear and Plague

Meanwhile on the wide plains in front of Jonas Castle, the undead army was facing against the Mapon Kingdom.

“Rise. Receive the power of the abyss and fight the enemies.”

The skeleton warriors undead Van Hawk’s ran amok at his command. The skeletons grabbed the s.h.i.+eld of the infantry and slashed with their bones. They weren’t human soldiers so the skeletons were informal in battle.

“Kill!

“Cut off their limbs. Kukikikikit!”

They gathered together and recklessly rushed. There wasn’t a coherent tactical moves as they just haphazardly ran through 7~8 horses. Arrows, magic and the sword of the knights shattered the bones until the skeletons collapsed to the ground. But after a while, they just rose again due to the power of the abyss.

“Legs, where are my legs?”

A skeleton with only the upper body attached started looking for its leg bones.

“Legs, my legs.”

Another skeleton that woke up was also looking for its legs.

“Give me an arm bone.”

“Ehh, I only have 2 arms.”

“Both of them are right arm bones.”

“Eh, really? I originally had two right arms.”

The skeletons even fought among themselves over the bones. The undead army became a mess after 5 minutes but the Mapon still couldn’t face them easily. Skeletons that obeyed Van Hawk’s commands were Death Knights or higher. They managed to reduce the soldiers of the Mapon Kingdom.

Moreover, Van Hawk directly led half of the undead knights in an a.s.sault unit! The Undead Knights consisted of Doom Knights, Dullahans and Death Knights. The Mapon Kingdom had to mobilize their magician units to block the Undead Knights.

A superpower like the Mapon Kingdom in the warring period also contained a number of highly acclaimed knights. The soldiers responded quickly and had a tight discipline. It was a kingdom that had already destroyed an undead army.

The priests could also mobilize various holy powers to block the Undead Army.

“Food is everywhere and I can freely partake in blood.”

Torido had created more than 600 vampires from residents in Jonas Castle before the battle. Moving in the middle of the night was the charm and characteristics of vampires. This was a large battle in broad daylight so they had no choice but to be weakened. Vampires fought while mixed in among the combat slaves. Their sharp teeth and fangs would cause the enemy to let go of their swords. A vampire who succeeded in drinking blood would gain significantly higher health and mana.

Simple magic was cast at the humans fighting. The Vampire Queens also brainwashed and confused the enemy. The vampires were attacked with an onslaught of arrows, magic and knights who pa.s.sionately rushed there. The almost 20,000 desert warriors were fighting relatively freely. Weed hadn’t given them direct orders so they moved freely among the Mapon and Beiner armies.

In particular, they acted to reduce the number of knights. But each kingdom had heroes in this age of war! Just like the Kallamore Kingdom, there were a considerable number of NPC heroes. The Mapon Kingdom had Rohadram! The wise magician Andre from the Beiner Kingdom!

Knight Commander of the Royal Knights of the Shar Kingdom, Rockstar who partic.i.p.ated with the allied army! These heroes were very strong.

Just Rohadram alone was a sword master while Andre was also a master in wind magic. The powerful forces on the side of the Mapon and Beiner Kingdoms were still waiting and hadn’t partic.i.p.ated in the battle yet.

“Fire at will!”

“Ugh!”

The crossbow troops of the Mapon Kingdom aimed at a target and dropped the desert warriors from the camels. The desert warriors on the ground were killed by the follow up magic, arrows or knight attacks.

The scale of the battle on the plains was far too huge. There was a time when he led 1 million orcs in the Yurokina Mountains but not all the orcs had fought at that time. Only 300,000 orcs had fought directly against the Immortal Legion.

The breadth and speed of the battle on these plains couldn’t be compared. Just a little mistake would turn the advantage towards one side. His strategy was to use the regular troops and desert units as bait. He planned to use this opportunity to throw away the fanatics of the Embinyu Church.

The soldiers and citizens left behind were watching from the walls of Jonas Castle. It was a spectacular sight!

Weed had expected this to some extent but was determined to fight alone. It helped that many elite forces focused on him. In addition, he wanted to beat the high level knights in the warring period.

“Come. If there are any knights in the Beiner Kingdom with courage then they should come challenge me!”

Weed shouted out loud. He used all his dignity and charisma to make the battlefield focus on him. In addition, his infamy was so high that it even frightened dogs and chickens in rural areas.

Weed had 41% health remaining.

Weed continued to receive interference from the magicians who caused walls of thorns to grow from the ground. He forcefully broke through all the obstacles and approached the magicians escorted by knights on horseback.

Furthermore, some magicians didn’t learn attack magic and completed short range teleportation magic. A magician could escape at a rapid pace once someone approached. He took care of the knights and waited for the next opportunity to catch the magicians. Weed was in a pleased mood now.

He was an unparalleled force on the battlefield where hundreds of thousands were fighting. The enemies were weak but it gave him great enjoyment to systematically fight them.

A true G.o.d of War who could sweep away more than 100 soldiers with one blow! He used all his power will no regrets.

“Knight Ometa of the Beiner Kingdom. I am the lord that rules the Yallem Castle in the Benopi area.”

A knight riding a black horse approached.

Weed didn’t know it but he was a celebrity in the warring period with a level of 500. He was almost a master of his combat technique. However, he wasn’t a master so the gap was quite big.

Weed could sense that he was strong and willingly accepted the challenge.

“Brave knight of the Beiner Kingdom, come.”

The knight rode towards him like a sharp arrow. He swung his long spear in a long series of continuous attacks! Weed felt a heavy feeling as he parried with his sword.

“Not bad considering that you are a barbarian. But the price for going against the Beiner Kingdom….”

“Beiner Exciting Sword Technique!”

“Keheok!”

The knight suddenly suffered great damage. The horse was immediately killed and the knight fell to the ground.

“That is our imperial sword technique, how….”

“I learned it a little while ago.”

“That isn’t possible!”

“No, it is possible.”

Weed was a sword master so he could easily learn techniques.

The Beiner Exciting Sword Technique acc.u.mulated the power of the enemy’s attack before releasing it in an explosion. If the attack power was strong and fast then the other side would lose their balance.

Weed used this exact opportunity to take care of the knight. The magic armour indicated that he was a knight with n.o.ble birth but he was defeated in a short period of time.

“It is my complete defeat. It is a honour to fight such a strong person.”

“Goodbye.”

An immediate attack with no mercy!

Weed felt the need to conserve his mana. His recovery speed was fast but he had many techniques that consumed a lot of mana. Based on his strength and vitality, he only needed to use basic sword skills to cause plenty of ma.s.s destruction.

He slipped into the heart of 500,000 troops. Usually strong individuals needed to be lured deep into enemy territory but Weed came by himself.

“Phat!”

“Fire. My body has caught on fire. Help!”

Undulating Flame Mark caused fire to sweep over 5,000 soldiers. The general soldiers weren’t an existence that could stop him.

Weed only paid attention to the knights, magicians, priests and shamans.

The Beiner and Mapon Kingdoms had invested a significant amount of their power into this war. More than half of the kingdom’s military power were placed at the border area. Despite that, they were just like rice to Weed.

However, Weed did receive some damage and his health was reduced to 30%.

“I don’t feel any tension.”

He was significantly harmed but it wasn’t enough to drop his combat capabilities. The Beiner Kingdom was also annoying. The archers and magicians active on the battlefield focused their attacks on Weed.

No individual would be okay when dealing with such a concentrated siege warfare. However, the magicians ran out of mana and Weed was still standing.

“Dispatch the Drake troops!”

“Lion Knights scramble!”

The pride of the Mapon and Beiner Kingdoms, the flying Drake unit and Lion Knights started to move.

The higher ranking knights were rus.h.i.+ng towards Weed. It was all for the sake of catching Weed who was the ruler of the desert.

The goal of the war was Weed and the desert warriors, not the combat slaves.

“Summon the Vine Roots!”

“Mud puddles, rise!”

“Faruin’s Curse!”

The magicians and priests used magic to block him rather than attack magic.

-The thick resilience of your skin has weakened.

-A curse has captured your feet and movement has slowed.

Strength has reduced by 4% for 20 seconds.

-Faruin’s Curse!

A priest’s curse that uses a lot of holy power and faith. Faith has to be insufficient for the curse to afflict the target.

-Diminished muscle strength!

Your muscles have relaxed so strength and vitality was reduced. Strength has declined by 6%. Maximum vitality has decreased by 3%.

Countless curses were poured on Weed but they were quickly released.

However the priests and shaman’s magic that weakened power, vitality and concentration was applied. It was for a short amount of time but 11 magic curses were applied.

“Valhalla!”

Weed gave a loud roar.

-You have yelled a shout from ancient times.

8 of the curses that dwelled in your flesh has been alleviated. Your physical ability has strengthened.

And he wore the Golden Mask of the Pharaoh. The physical defense wasn’t great but it increase leaders.h.i.+p, fame and protection against magic. A symbolic item worn by the ruler of a great empire.

“This is good enough to loosen my body. Now comes the real beginning.”

10,000 soldiers had already died because of Weed. He had also entered Van Hawk’s territory where many people had been turned into skeletons.

“Now let’s make it merrier.”

Weed pulled out a sculpture. Pulling out a sculpture in battle had two meanings. It was to either increase his stats with Sculptural Destruction or to cause a disaster.

Unfortunately for the Mapon and Beiner Kingdoms, it was the second option. He commanded the desert warriors to withdraw.

It wasn’t Weed’s concern if the undead army, the vampires or combat slaves were involved in the disaster. He was also confident that his sculptural lifeforms level and defense was high enough for them to survive.

“I hope that they all die. Great Disaster Nature Sculpting!”

-A Masterpiece Sculpture.

A fearsome havoc will be exerted that can kill you. Even so, do you want to use the skill?

“Yes”

-You have used Great Disaster Nature Sculpting.

20 Art stats have permanently disappeared.

20,000 Health and Mana has been consumed.

All stats have been temporarily reduced by 15% for 3 days.

Affinity to Nature has fallen. Great Disaster Nature Sculpting can only be used once a day.

When a great calamity is called upon, fame or infamy can be increased depending on the damage. It is possible to die in the middle of the disaster so be careful.

There had been many disasters in the meantime but this occasion was special. It wasn’t a fire, lightning strike, floor, earthquake or storm.

The proficiency of Great Disaster Nature Sculpting had risen so he could now mix two disasters together. The nature of the disaster this time was a thick darkness that caused fear and a plague.

Darkness came down and quickly covered the entire army and Jonas Castle. Suddenly nothing could be seen.

It would’ve been okay if this was a peaceful place to relax. But this was the battlefield where anyone could die. Arrows were in the process of being shot or enemies were fighting against each other when the darkness descended.

Chang chang!

“Aaack!”

The sound of screams and fighting could be heard in the darkness.

“We’re on the same side!”

“Who are you?”

“Embinyu Church, forever!”

“The glory of the desert will cover the continent.”

“Strike!”

“Archers, don’t fire your arrows.”

“Come to me now!”

The Mapon and Beiner Kingdoms had been entangled with the combat slaves. They were all close to the enemy.

“n.o.body move!”

The knights tried to take command but it didn’t work. They couldn’t see so could only depend on their hearing. The knights couldn’t blindly swing their swords or fire arrows.

“Uaaack!”

Screams spread through the battlefield like wildfire. A few people swung their swords because they were scared by the screams and attacked their own colleagues.

‘Kill….!’

‘I need to kill in order to live.’

‘Kihihi, I don’t hate things like this. It is an opportunity. Who will know?’

Their chests started hurting as the fear rose. And some heard unknown voices.

Weed destroyed a Masterpiece sculpture of colleagues being attacked by invisible soldiers. Evil spirits were attached to the soldiers and whispered mischief. The spirits could easily effect those with weak mentality and concentration. They would become berserk or harm themselves.

An unknown plague spread quickly. The knights and priests had high resistance but the common soldiers quickly collapsed with red spots all over their body.

“Don’t miss out on this opportunity, Undead Army!”

Van Hawk gave a majestic command. His image when commanding the undead was completely different from when he was being hit by Weed. The skeletons started shaking.

“Oh scary, scary. They think they can kill me!”

“I believed in humans. It is tough to live in this world alone.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“But we are already dead.”

“Ah, your words are right.”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

The skeletons weren’t as affected by the feeling of fear. They weren’t alive so their feelings were frozen. They didn’t fear plagues or death.

“My vision. Why can’t I see anything?”

“Why do you need to see?”

“Isn’t there a veil of darkness?”

“But we don’t have any eyeb.a.l.l.s?”

“Wait a minute, let me touch… None?”

Anyway, the skeletons weren’t panicked but they still didn’t follow commands. The biggest disadvantage of the lower ranking undead was their bad intelligence.

Van Hawk ordered again.

“Skeleton archers, fire your bone arrows!”

“Shoot?”

“That’s right, that’s right.”

“Where should I shoot?”

“Wherever I feel life. Just shoot the living?”

They were frozen so they could feel the warmth and vitality of humans.

“What about our allies?”

“What does it matter?”

“Ah, yes. Hihihi.”

“Attack.”

“Anybody is fine.”

The skeleton archers pulled out bones from their bodies and fired. The bones flew up and hit the bodies of the soldiers struggling in the darkness. They didn’t distinguish between the slaves, Mapon Kingdom or Beiner Kingdom. The humans tried to respond but they couldn’t find the right direction in the darkness.

“My ribs are empty. There is no leg bone. Finally I have to shoot my skull.”

“Bye everyone…”

The skeleton archers that fired all the bones in their bodies were destroyed! Half of the dead bodies rose again due to Van Hawk’s power. The skeleton archers attacked humans in the vicinity.

“Hihihi, this body still has a lot of bones left.”

“Die, just die.”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

The skeletons in the middle of the battlefield caused more confusion. In addition, the soldiers and knights were wielding swords against each other. Even the magicians and archers attacked randomly.

The slaves and undead were fighting among themselves. It was like everyone gathered on the plains were attacking each other in a fit of madness.

The sight made Weed sigh deeply.

“I think I was too short-sighted.”

He could tell how severe the damage was just from the noises. But the core of this calamity was that nothing could be seen on screen.

“I need to consider the audience!”

This would be a considerable hindrance when it came to broadcasting it. But sometimes this could stimulate the imagination instead. A tremendous amounts of casualties had already occurred among the Mapon and Beiner Kingdoms.

??????????????????????????

Merchant Gamong and Merchant Mapan!

They were the two most famous merchants in the north.

“Mapan’s trading company is the best.”

“No. It is my pleasure to be considered a symbol of the north.”

“Mapan’s company has luxury goods. I’m surprised at the level of the equipment.”

“You are the owner of Gamong’s trading company! n.o.body can beat Gamong when it comes to low-cost quality goods.”

The two players compared their companies.

Mapan had invested in farms, ranches, mines, restaurants, stores, inns, smithies etc. since the early days. He greatly contributed to the growth of the Arpen Kingdom.

He had fixed contracts with many tailors and blacksmiths and constantly maintained a supply of high quality goods. It was expensive but the features were worth the price! Gamong started the period of freely trading in the north. Starting from Vent Castle, she actively helped develop trade routes between cities and villages with no strings attached. Her level was low but she was unchallenged when it came to food deals. She dragged 4 ponies and hundreds of novice beginners to trade.

“Now, let’s go! Be careful not to fall to the rear and get lost!”

-You have brought a large quant.i.ty of food to Pegi that was suffering from a poor harvest.

The stagnant population growth has been alleviated as birth rate increases by 400%.

Bring dolls that children love and a festival will take place in the village.

“I heard the story about your visit to Pegi Village. Other merchants wanted to do business with me but I was looking for Gamong. Do you have any olives?”

“Ah, thank you very much. I’ll add two more as a service. And if you are in a hurry then you can purchase it from other merchants first.”

Her wonderful reputation spread widely through the NPCs more than the users. Therefore a huge amount of NPC guests came to the outskirts of Morata to shop. Gamong also managed to open up Vent Castle and the population grew until another village was opened.

Gamong could even be found in stores in out of the way coastal villages. They were small villages with huts that would require adventurers to wander deeply in the mountains for a few days. There were tears in the village whenever Gamong discovered them.

“This is a real merchant.”

“I’m envious of her popularity. A merchant is a profession like a resident.”

“Successful trades can built intimacy and eventually you can become as famous as adventurers.”

Even other merchant users respected Gamong. It was thanks to her that starving villages disappeared from the north. Gamong played a huge role in the rapid development of the Arpen Kingdom.

“That is my target. A merchant with a keen eye and credit rather than level.”

“I will sweep away all the money in the north and then brag as the money piles up!”

Users received inspiration about how to raise their merchant character by looking at Mapan and Gamong. The arts, tailoring, adventures, elemental magic and necromancy were all taking off in the north. As people who received envy from users and were considered the representatives of the merchants, Gamong and Mapan had a fateful encounter. The Earth Palace and surrounding plains there were established in the Arpen Kingdom!

Two people who came to see the land and open a store stood facing each other.

‘Mapan-nim is the best merchant in the north. His magnificent jaw and stomach is indeed wonderful.’

Gamong was envious of Mapan. Mapan’s reputation had already been established when she started in the north.

-Mapan has a lot of money.

-Mapan is the land speculation expert.

-Mapan who doesn’t receive bribes or kickbacks.

Some people were jealous of his relations.h.i.+p with Weed but it was mainly his ma.s.sive investments. Mapan already owned many stores when Gamong had just finished her 4 weeks in the city.

‘I am a customer who will buy goods from here later.’

The dream of being a merchant while working in a grocery store. She felt like Mapan was a fairy tale prince.

‘That triple folded neck fat is my ideal type!’

‘Ah, pretty cute….’

Mapan also had similar thoughts.

A number of complex reasons wasn’t needed when a man fell in love. It was enough if they looked good in his eyes!

Hwaryeong, Irene and Bellot. There was a wide variety of beauties around Mapan that he didn’t like. He didn’t care about overly flashy appearances with a pretty face. If he did then he would’ve liked Hwaryeong or Bellot! Like a man, Mapan spoke first.

“It is a pleasure. I’ve heard a lot of stories. I am Mapan.”

“Ah….yes, yes! I am Gamong. Pleased to meet you.”

“Excuse me, would you like to go have a drink? I’ll buy it.”

“No, I have delicious wheat porridge. Would you like some?”

Gamong pulled out a steaming packed lunch from her bag. Mapan thought this made her look even prettier.

“Tasty. Wookeok wookeok!”

Gamong and Mapan glanced into each other’s eyes before quickly eating the porridge.

‘That type of neck really looks as good as I imagined.’

‘Ah, prettier the more I see her….’

This was the beginning of love.

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