[V49C07] A Head-on Match (part 1)

From the Arpen Kingdom, the main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult had arrived in the Harpan Region.

“Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge!”

A swarm of people descending southwards, covering the whole plain with their endless numbers!

This main force was not only composed of combat specialists: the users flooding down into the region were from every imaginable race and profession, some of which being complete beginners who had played for less than 100 days after they first stepped foot into the world of Royal Road in Morata or Dawn City.

“It’s not every day we can join this kind of big event.”

“You’re right. This is bound to be fun.”

“Excuse me, I’d like to return home, please make way! I’ve been being swept down by the crowd for two days already!”

“I’ve also been swept down for a whole day, I was just selling some sweet potatoes! *sob* Please, guys, I beg you!”

In no time, the main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult [1] was spread over the Harpan Region like a mist at dawn. Jerome, the commander of the Second Legion, was moving his troops around and hunting the users of the Gra.s.s Porridge like a starving jackal, but it didn’t result in any visible effect. By the time they had cut down ten thousands users, a hundred thousand more had showed up to join the Porridge Cult’s ranks. Ten thousands could still be considered a significant amount, but Jerome was not satisfied: most of the users they had cut down were novices with levels below 100, and those with levels above 200 had not been easily caught. While many newbies were getting kicked around by the Imperial soldiers, the more experienced users could simply use this opportunity to run away.

“So, what are the numbers of the enemy troops?”

Inside the tent in which the Second Legion’s strategy meeting was taking place, Ronague the mage answered Jerome’s question.

“The estimated number is 70 million.”

“Sounds like they have exaggerated their population statistics to a ridiculous extent. Not to mention all those broadcasts reproducing their lies.”

“This is the statistical data obtained by the U.S. Department of Defense itself.”

“…Why the heck are those guys interested in counting the cult members?”

“Apparently, they are trying to understand the influence of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult in real life.”

A heavy silence settled inside the Second Legion’s meeting room.

The mental pressure of having to face an enemy whose numbers are greater than the entire population of many nations!

‘Even if we win this, with so many Gra.s.s Porridge users living near me in real life, would I even be able to stay in my town once they find out I’m the one who defeated them?’

‘How will I be able to go to school from now on?’

The users of the Hermes Guild tried to picture the exact scale of 70 million people in their mind … And quickly gave up.

The main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult was moving its enormous body ever closer to them. It was one thing to discuss the numbers of the tens of millions of troops and a.s.sess their power, but it was quite another to actually witness those stupefying numbers. So far, Jerome’s army had only attacked the outskirts of the enemy force as they were not confident enough to launch an all-out a.s.sault, but there hadn’t been any sign of damage. The Gra.s.s Porridge Cult was continuing their advance to the south unabated, and now the Second Legion was beginning to feel a greater threat than the one they had posed to their enemy.

“We will eventually reach our limit with this tactic. At the moment, what we’re doing cannot even count as slowing them down while our goal is to stop them.”

Even when fights broke out, the Northern users in the surroundings simply kept marching southwards. It was only a matter of time before the main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge took over the entire Harpan Region.

“As we are under such special circ.u.mstances, I suggest a drastic countermeasure… we need to find a point from where we can break through our enemy’s main troops.”

Jerome decided to rampage across the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult — a plan to move his whole army through the enemy rank, tear them apart, and immediately escape the field.

“I’m afraid that sounds too dangerous…”

“On the contrary. When we were conquering the Central Continent, the valor of our legion proved to be highly efficient, but right now the size of the enemy is simply too great.”

The main strength of Jerome’s Second Legion was its knights; during the conquest they had made significant contribution in battle by breaking through the enemy lines and scattering their formation.

“Aren’t mobility and focus-fire the specialties of our troops? n.o.body would even imagine that we will attempt to penetrate their great ma.s.s. Even if we encounter some bothersome Northern users on the way, we’ll just pierce through, not staying too long to fight them.”

“Our side will also have to suffer losses, though.”

“There will be some damage, yes, but think about what would happen when we successfully penetrate their main force. It will be a great shock to our enemy, and the Second Legion will be known as the most powerful army in all Royal Road.

“Well, that sounds…”

The users who had been objecting to his idea became somewhat quiet. As the users that formed the core strength of the Hermes Guild, they had heard about the reputation of Weed and the Arpen Kingdom, but most of them had never experienced defeat until now[2] .

“It’s certainly a great number, but most of the enemy troops are weak beginners.”

“They won’t be able to stop our a.s.sault. Even if things don’t go as favorably as we hoped, we can always penetrate their ranks closer to the edges, instead of going through the center of the whole army.”

With Jerome’s repeated persuasion, other Hermes Guild users were also beginning to change their minds; it was true that the users belonging to the Second Legion had yet to be defeated.

“Those weaklings cannot be a match against our troops’ mobility. Let’s put up a memorable fight, every broadcasting station out there is watching us.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Second Legion faced the main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult in the Great Plains of Wulooph in the Harpan Region.

“Charge!”

Jerome led his troops valiantly and carried out the central a.s.sault operation as planned. From afar it looked like an extremely foolhardy strategy, but should they succeed, they would accomplish a deed that would let them leave their names in the history of Royal Road.

“Lay everything you have on the line. We are the Second Legion. With all our pride and dignity as the glorious Imperial Army, we will form a mighty spearhead that will penetrate the very heart of the enemy ranks!”

Jerome and the Second Legion rushed towards the endless stream of users that was the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult.

***

There were a lot of war experts who had backgrounds as high-rank military officials in the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult, and they knew that the outcome of the battle would greatly vary depending on the method of fighting.

“Things will get more difficult if the Second Legion of the Imperial Army keeps cutting off our limbs as they are doing now. Their strategy of spreading instability by slaughtering users all over the Harpan Region is quite dangerous to us.”

“Our users have risen for a heroic cause, but rumors will begin to spread as our advance gets delayed and more deaths occur. If the march halts, it will mean a very underwhelming end to our campaign.”

“When surrounded by such a large crowd, people easily get swayed by the change of mood. To the Northern users, the great power of the Hermes Guild can come as a shock.”

“Hmm. The Hermes Guild is indeed a formidable force, having seized control over the Central Continent. Every single one of their members is an elite soldier who has experienced at least a hundred battles.”

“Our people should already know that each user with a level in the 400s or 500s is very strong. However, not many are aware of how stunningly powerful they can become in a group without any first-hand experience.”

While the war experts were devising an operation plan for the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult, Jerome’s Second Legion was charging straight into their main force, penetrating their way through and sweeping everything in front of them.

“Ride faster. There is n.o.body who can slow us down!”

Jerome used ‘Command over the Knightly Order’, which was a war skill that increased the attacking abilities and mobility of all allies in range. The morale of the Second Region reached its full height as they pierced the enemy lines, striking the users of the Gra.s.s Porridge.

“Hahaha. I’ll cut down everyone that comes at me!”

The Hermes Guild users were running amok in excitement. Jerome and the best users of the Second Legion were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Riding on horseback, killing dozens of enemies with a single skill — this kind of intrepid a.s.sault was the very reason why they had chosen to become knights.

“They can’t attack us with spells or arrows. With their ranged attacks disabled, we can kill them with just a graze of our swords in direct combat.”

“It will be even better if they do decide to attack us from a distance. There will be far more attacks that miss than that hit us, and our enemy will quickly fall into chaos, being attacked by their own allies.”

The Second Legion sped through the main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult for more than 3 kilometers.

An army of elite troops piercing the battlefield!

As the Steel Knights could clear a path without getting tired, they hadn’t lost any of their initial strength.

“Run away!”

“No, fight! We can win this if we just hold up for long enough!”

The users of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult rushed forward to stop them, but with such a huge discrepancy in the average strength between the two sides, they were not able to drive off the a.s.saulting Second Legion.

“Block them with your s.h.i.+elds!”

“It’s no use. They are just penetrating our defense.”

Suddenly, the great crowd of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult was collapsing meaninglessly. There were some high level users sporadically appearing to join the combat, but it was not enough to stop the advance of the Second Legion. They were targeted by a focus of fire and quickly faded into grey nothingness. There were groups of thousands of novice users cl.u.s.tered together in the field, and as they could be killed by a single area-of-effect skill, they were being completely wiped out before they even had time to come up with any plans.

“They launched a full-frontal a.s.sault against us…!”

“I must admit that our enemy has come up with an ingenious tactic. One moment they were just cutting off the branches of our troops, and they suddenly turned to penetrate our main force in the middle of our march.”

The war experts of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult highly regarded Jerome’s unusual measures. It was not an easy thing to do, both strategically and tactically, yet he managed to strike precisely at his enemy’s weak point. Actually, this scenario had already been considered in their earlier prediction as one of the worst possible cases, but they had no choice but to ignore it, as it was practically impossible to prepare the tens of millions of users for this kind of unexpected situation.

“It’s already late, but we need to start getting into battle formation now; send the high level users to the battlefront where they can fight against the Imperial legion.”

“It will take more than half an hour just to a.s.semble fighters to stand in the vanguard. Also, even when they do step forward to fight, if we throw them directly at the charging enemy we will be completely helpless against the legion’s a.s.sault once they fall.”

“This is a race against time. We might lose millions of lives here — no, we WILL lose millions of lives. No way around it.”

The Gra.s.s Porridge army, with its poor defense, allowed itself to be completely broken through when faced with the furious attacks from Jerome and his Second Legion. The Second Legion had already proven their great firepower and mobility during the conquest war of the Central Continent, and presently the effectiveness of their storming a.s.sault against an enemy that had been caught completely off guard was remarkable. The Gra.s.s Porridge Cult had some brave vanguard units like the Poison Mushroom Porridge users, willing to throw their very bodies as s.h.i.+elds when all else failed, but unfortunately they had all moved to the south before the main force.

“As our weakness has been exploited by the enemy, we have no choice but to risk some bloodshed.”

“Yes. All we can do right now is to find the second-best solution.”

They were completely unable to cope with the power and speed of the Second Legion. So, the heads of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult decided to let their enemy inflict some damage on them. In the meantime, they prepared for a counterattack.

“I will send requests to the architects and other support troops.”

“Let’s show them the viciousness of common folk.”

***

These were the thoughts that dawned on the minds of the Second Legion soldiers as they sped through the main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult like a gale of wind:

‘They were completely unprepared against our attack!’

‘It looks like they believed their numbers would scare us so much that we would never come up with a plan to a.s.sault them directly.’

All what the users of the Gra.s.s Porridge did was to fall by their hands unceremoniously.

Jerome shouted to the users of the Hermes Guild following behind him.

“Are you ready to continue?”

“Yes, let’s see just how much further we can go. We’ve come too far to turn back now.”

They had advanced about five kilometers further than they had initially planned, slaughtering Northern users all the while. Jerome and the other powerful users under his banner continued breaking through the enemy ranks, slas.h.i.+ng swords and spears on both hands.

“Keep riding forward!”

“Show them our accomplishments! Let them know that the Second Legion is here!”

The order of knights rushed after them like a flash of lightning, killing every Northern user who had been standing transfixed with terror and shock.

“They’re just so fast…”

“We need to stop them, but…”

The users were just standing on the spot, dazed and devastated; they could not bear the sight of dozens of their allies being murdered by a single skill. The Arpen Kingdom had faced the Hermes Guild in the past, but the speed and efficiency [3] of the Second Legion was simply too much to handle. While the Hermes Guild user couldn’t use their skills continuously due to the cost of mana and stamina, they could use them often enough to clear paths through cl.u.s.ters of users; the ma.s.sive strength displayed by the frontline units would sway the Northern users’ will to fight, and after that, all that was left to be done was for the following forces to swing their weapons and harvest the enemies’ lives.

“We’ll go even further!”

“Who would be able to stop us?!”

Occasionally, some high level users that had moved from the Central Continent to the North stepped out to face them, but they all ended up as fresh prey for the ever-charging knights. Only a trail of corpses was left behind after the Second Legion had swept past.

‘We didn’t have to worry so much. Even with their great number, they are all weak.’

‘Size is certainly one thing that represents the strength of an army; yet, depending on how we fight…the size can prove to be just a number.[4] ’

These were the thoughts that crossed the minds of Jerome and the users in the Second Legion. They didn’t even care about guarding the rear, because there were Steel Knights following behind and protecting them.

“We shall be a lance that penetrates the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult. Today, we become a legend!”

Jerome raised his spear into the sky and bellowed.

Although slightly fatigued, the users of the Second Legion still had sufficient amount of mana and stamina left.

“Break through the enemy lines!”

Now the objective of the Second Legion had changed to penetrating the very center of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult. They would suffer more significant loss of troops, but they would also be able to attain a more impressive battle achievement. The army that had its very core skewered by its enemy was bound to lose their morale — the troops would become afraid of their opponents and succ.u.mb to fear, thinking that they could not win the battle even if they tried.

“Let’s fight on our own terms!”

The glorious and magnificent scene of battle in which the Second Legion completely pierced through the enemy’s main force would be transmitted countless times through broadcasts, engraving the legion’s power in the memory of every viewer. Storming across a battlefield populated with an army of tens of millions of troops… it would be a truly great accomplishment.

As the advance of Jerome and the Second Legion continued, so did the chaos spreading among the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult.

“s.h.i.+eldbearers! Anyone who can use a s.h.i.+eld, go forward!”

“Everyone gather over here; we are going to set up a blocking line!”

Even when the users organized the groups of s.h.i.+eld units to stop the charging knights, Jerome and the seasoned war veterans of the Second Legion simply avoided those defense lines by diverting their routes left and right. And then they ordered some of the Steel Knights to eradicate the s.h.i.+eld units completely before following behind them.

But even while the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult was helplessly trampled by their enemy, active online chatting was still taking place on their guild channel.

– Hylon: We cannot break down like this, people. You need to keep your position and fight!

– Rectop: A moment. All we ask of you is to hold your ground for just a moment. More troops are on their way at this very moment. We have plenty of people who can fight.

– Moon Bear: We are the invincible Gra.s.s Porridge Cult. Keep your morale high!

This active chatting at least prevented the Northern users from getting overwhelmed by fear and scattering in all directions trying to flee.

In the meantime, the architects and other groups of users were working on their own task.

“Dig it deeper. Those scoundrels are bound to come this way, as they had their fun before.”

“A trap! This is all we can do right now.”

The architects dug into the ground together with the users around them. It was extremely fortunate that many Northern users carried a shovel with them, as they were accustomed to manual labor.

The trap which they were currently digging would be of no use if the Second Legion decided to just cause a ruckus inside the enemy main force and escape the scene without continuing their a.s.sault. However, if they did insist on penetrating through the whole army, they would inevitably be caught by this trap, which was set right in the central area, wide and deep.

*Katakatakata!!*

When the sound of the clattering hooves of the Second Legion was heard, a smile appeared on the faces of the architects and other nearby users.

“They’re coming!”

“Our retaliation begins here.”

The soldiers of the Second Legion tore straight through the architects and the surrounding users as well. As they had ma.s.sacred countless users so far, they did not hesitate to blast the crowd of people with their area-of-effect skills to clear their way.

But the moment they stepped on the trapped area, the ground itself began to collapse around them.

“The, the ground…!”

“It’s a trap!”

“Stop! There is a trap!”

They hastily came to a halt, but it was too late: as they had been riding at nearly full speed they were unable to stop in time. More than a thousand troops fell into the pits that had been dug in a number of places, and their formation was ruined.

There were also sharp steel nails everywhere on the ground and inside the pits.

“Keep throwing them! More!”

The Northern users nearby also scattered the steel nails they had been carrying all over the ground.

The Hermes Guild users were unscathed, but their horses were no longer able to run.

“Attack them!”

“Revenge for our fallen comrades!”

The users of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult swarmed down upon the Second Legion like a tsunami. The archers and the mages also started their vicious ranged attacks.

“Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge!”

“It’s our chance to strike them back. Everyone in the Sweet Potato Porridge squad, the time has come to enjoy the sweet taste of revenge![5] ”

“The Coffee Porridge troops have a.s.sembled as well. We are ready to move!”

The entire main force of the Gra.s.s Porridge cult’s battle formation changed as the battle went to fit the roles of the various users , like some kind of a living creature, and soon they began to strike.

The Second Legion still possessed a great strength, but now they were unable to make use of their mobility, which was their greatest a.s.set.

“We’ll just have to wipe them all off. This does not change things much.”

The Second Legion quickly repositioned itself into a defensive formation while rescuing those who had fallen into the pits and picking up the steel nails.

They formed a circular line and the fight began, but they quickly found out that the attacks from the Northern users had become incredibly fierce in a short time: as the Second Legion was not moving any more, the more powerful users of the North were flocking to their position.

“I’m afraid things are beginning to look dangerous…”

“How much longer are we going to fight here?”

Facing the fearsome amount of the enemy troops coming at them from everywhere, the users of the Hermes Guild were losing their nerves. The novice Northern users, who had looked like a weak enough bunch when they were just speeding past, were rus.h.i.+ng towards them with a frightening vigor now that they were forced to stay put. In addition, the tens of millions of the Gra.s.s Porridge troops were enclosing the Second Legion.

The knight commanders of the Second Legion ran to Jerome.

“We cannot continue to fight in one place like this unless we’re going to kill every Northern user.”

“I know that, but…”

“We need to retreat. Right now.”

“We won’t be able to get everyone out of here. Nothing is as dangerous as retreating from the very heart of the enemy troops.”

“Even so, we do not have any other choice.”

At last, through gritted teeth, Jerome gave his army the order to escape from the battlefield. It was a difficult decision, made under urgent circ.u.mstances, and the Second Legion’s attempt to move once again from their position was met with heavy resistance.

“They are trying to run away!”

“Take down those Hermes Guild b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!”

“Filthy cowards. We’ve had enough. I’ll kill you all!”

With the persistent attacks from the Northern users, the Second Legion was divided in the middle, and the troops in the rear failed to catch up with the rest of the army that went ahead. Jerome and the other knights saw that, but they only had enough time to break through the encircling enemy lines and escape, otherwise the entire legion would be trapped within. Those who had been left behind put up a desperate fight, but they were eventually annihilated by the waves of attacks from the Northern users. The overall damage amounted to half of the entire troops of the Second Legion, on top of losing more than thirty percent of the Steel Knights. As the Steel Knights were extremely difficult to subdue by any means, the Northern users came up with yet another solution.

“Bury them!”

They resolved the situation by digging up more holes in the ground and letting the Spirit Masters filingl them with water.

Overall it had been a very hard-fought battle, but the final outcome was reported to be the major victory for the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult, as one of the Hermes Guild’s core military forces suffered ma.s.sive damage while the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult just lost a large number of beginners.

Since this battle was also relayed to audiences by the broadcasting stations, it considerably set back the Hermes Guild’s plan to turn the tables to their favor after the defeat of Bar Khan.

***

Weed joined the marching Desert Warriors in the Great Plains of Ills.

“My brothers. I trust you’ve been well?”

“Welcome, Little One. Go command our army.”

“Your army? How could I take such a responsibility when you and other brothers are above me…”

“Hehehe. All we want is to fight as much as we like.”

Geomchi, the other masters and trainees were more than willing to entrust Weed with the right of command; they knew, by experience, that letting the clever ones do all the hard work yielded far better outcomes.

“Then I shall appoint you as the Minister of National Defense of the Arpen Kingdom, master.”

“Oh. That’s nice.”

“I believe that role would be perfect for a strong person like you. Brother Geomchi2, you will be the Minister for Foreign Affairs.”

“Ahem.”

“And Brother Geomchi3, please take the role of the Minister of Warfare”

“Umm. Okay.”

Weed distributed plenty of government positions to his brothers and master. He created new public positions for 57 ministers and governors, 301 directors, administrators, presidents and admirals, and to the other remaining brothers he gave the position of knight commanders. Of course, this did not mean that Geomchi and other brothers would be actually charged for the administrative matters of the Arpen Kingdom. All he had to do was to come up with something for their name cards.

‘True, my brothers have always been rather fond of being in positions of power.’

A few of his brothers were a bit greedier and asked him to give them more authority.

“The thing is, I’ve been seeing this girl for some time now, and I need to have something to say when she asks what I do for a living and… as you know, I don’t have much to write in my resume.”

“Understood.”

Weed conjured up some nonexistent inst.i.tutions on the spot and put his brothers in charge.

– The Versailles Continent Peace Committee

– The Arpen Kingdom Monster Extermination Society

– Dragon Hunters’ a.s.sociation

– Sculpture Art a.s.sociation

– The Society of Dungeon Crawl Specialists

“Thank you. You are such a fantastic brother.”

Winning the good graces of Geomchi and the other brothers was easier than s.n.a.t.c.hing candies from the kids next door.

During the couple of days when Bard Ray was fighting the Immortal Legion, Weed paraded around the southern regions of the Empire with other Desert Warriors.

“Hooray!”

“Please liberate the central continent from the Haven Empire as soon as possible, Weed-nim!”

“Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge. It’s an honor to meet you, Weed-nim.”

The users of the Central Continent greeted the Desert Warriors Weed had brought with him with pa.s.sionate cheers. If it had been a war in real life they would have had to kill and steal from the civilians for food and money, but this was the world of Royal Road. Whenever Weed entered a city with the Desert Warriors, the users of the Central Continent would come to join them, so the lords of the Haven Empire had to make a hasty escape.

*Ding!*

Your territories are being expanded at a remarkable speed.

War Achievement unlocked![6]

All the stats related to combat will increase by one point.

You have obtained the t.i.tle, ‘The Owner of a Vast Land’>

“Weed-nim, I’m Komnyang, just a n.o.body. Would it be okay if I fight with you?”

“Sure.”

“It’s an honor to join your army. I’ve had such high admiration for you for a long time.”

During his time as the Great King of Desert, he had recruited surrendering soldiers and commoners by force to turn them into his combat troops. But now the users of the Central Continent were voluntarily seeking him to join the Desert Warriors. Eventually he managed to a.s.semble an army ten times bigger in size than the one he had when he left the desert.

“Little One. You have such an extraordinary commanding ability. What is it that enables you to gather such a large number of subordinates?”

“A stroke of sheer lu — I mean, I gave them a vision [7] .”

“A vision?”

“Yes. A vision of changing the world with their own hands. As long as there is hope, people can live on, even if they’re starving in a semi-bas.e.m.e.nt room full of c.o.c.kroaches.”

“You mean a dream.”

“Yes. I make them believe that when everyone unites their strength, they can make change happen.”

Geomchi made a content smile, apparently proud of his pupil. After some time he asked again,

“But what if we cannot make change happen after all that…?”

“Well then that’s just it. There’s nothing we can do when we are living in such an uncaring and c.r.a.ppy reality, is there?”

Two forces were attacking the Central Continent: the Arpen Kingdom from the north, and the Desert Warriors from the south.

‘The Hermes Guild started early with their dictators.h.i.+p and exploitation. Looks like the public sentiment is on my side because I haven’t started any of those yet.’

The actual amount of users in the Central Continent was much greater than the known number. Some of them hadn’t been online for the last couple of months, but returned after getting news of Weed and the Desert Warriors coming.

“Hooray for Weed!”

“Please save us. We want to make Royal Road into a pure and happy game.”

From its early days, Royal Road had enjoyed unprecedented popularity among the crowd. Anyone who had some amount of money bought a capsule, enraptured by the fun and pleasure of exploring the new world of adventure. People ran into the capsule room whenever they had time, even just for a short while. One could say that Royal Road became part of a new culture that connected the people around the world. Out of those numerous users, a portion of them had already come to the North, but the rest of the users staying in the Central Continent also willingly joined them. Every time they pa.s.sed through a city, an enormous amount of new troops joined their ranks. Weed did not order them to fight. Rather, he just let them decide their actions by themselves. Driving off the Haven Empire was a gigantic goal. Even the people who followed to just watch the others trying to achieve that goal could become a big mental pressure for their opponents.

‘And it is not like they will listen to me even if I do give them orders. I don’t have people who can monitor their behavior all the time.’

There was one thing that he had learned while he was working in the labor market: when you have ten people in the same room, three or four of them were bound to slack off. And there was simply no use in scolding them: no matter what you do, those who work hard will always work hard, while the slackers will always slack off. Try to pester them into working, and they will ignore your lectures even more enthusiastically.

“Weed-nim does not want anything from us.”

“I know… ’live however you like’, those words just sound so cool…”

The users who had gathered to drive off the Haven Empire cheered even more at Weed’s indifference.

“I haven’t partic.i.p.ated in a war before… I can just shoot arrows from behind, right?”

“I have some healing skills. I’ll make sure I don’t accidently kill you[8] .”

The users who hadn’t had much experience in fight also began to step forward, one by one.

“Can I really have a free cup of coffee if I join here?”

“When can I get the coupon for cakes?”

“…?”

And there were some users that spoke of things Weed had no idea about.

It wasn’t what Weed had intended, but this war was having a big impact on the real life as well. The number of members of the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult was enormous, and they were used as a marketing tool by various corporations.

– The Liberation War of Versailles Continent! A free coffee for anyone who joins the battle!

– We are having a Buy One Get One Free event for fried chickens. For Gra.s.s Porridge Cult members only.

– We welcome the new members of the Gra.s.s Porridge. Free entry to the swimming pool if you can certify your members.h.i.+p with flowers in your hair!

– Half of the normal service fee and free breakfast for any users in the Fungus Porridge group visiting Sin-na Hotel.

– Bug Porridge. The time has come to feast on some cheap grilled tripe!

Not only the corporations, the small shops and restaurants in the neighborhood were also using similar marketing strategies just as enthusiastically.

Gra.s.s Porridge ice cream, Gra.s.s Porridge burgers, Gra.s.s Porridge fried chicken, Gra.s.s Porridge Topokki[10] , Gra.s.s Porridge Jokbal[11] , Gra.s.s Porridge Gamja-tang[12] …

“It feels like things have gotten more exciting after the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult has gone to war.”

“I know, right? I hope they fight more often.”

Even elementary school children walking around the neighborhood were now chanting ‘Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge’: the influence of the cult in real life was threatening to exceed that in Royal Road.

“Bring down the tyranny of the Haven Empire!”

“For freedom, for truth, for the Gra.s.s Porridge Cult!”

(To be continued…)

Notes from the translator

[1] One of the major problems I had with translating this chapter was that there were SO many of these same words repeated over and over in the entire chapter. I tried to add as much variation as I could, so I hope I did a good enough job to make them not sound too redundant…

[2] There are two very similar lines in the s.p.a.ce of less than a page (this one and the one starts with “it was true that the users…” a few sentences after). I just wanted to make it clear that the original Korean text was also like this.

[3] The direct translation of the original text would be something like “speed and capability of breaking through (the enemy)”, but it sounded too long and awkward so I changed it a little bit.

[4] This is very indirect translation. The literal meaning of original text is something like ‘…we can make it (the size of the troops, I a.s.sume) very laughable’, which I think means that the size of the army could become an easily-dismissed factor based on how they fight.

[6] The Korean text is closer to “achievement accomplished”, but it sounds a bit redundant and I thought “achievement unlocked” sound more like a gaming term. Please let me know what you think.

[7] The original word in Korean is actually closer to “illusion”, which makes weed’s method of uniting common folk under him sound a tad bit more cruel. While that fits Weed’s cynical character better, I think he is trying to look like a nice person to his master here, so I changed the word to ‘vision’. Any feedback is welcome.

[8] The original sentence in Korean is “I won’t kill.” I’m not sure in what context this person is saying that line; he might be saying that he just wants to heal the wounded and not join the fight, or that his healing skills are very clumsy and he might accidentally kill those who he’s trying to heal. I took the latter interpretation simply because it sounded funnier, but let me know what you think.

[9] A Korean way of saying ‘buy-one-get-one-free’.

[10] Stir fried rice cake, spicy and sweet. Very common snack/street food in Korea.

[11] Dish of seasoned pig’s feet. Also very common delivery food in Korea.

[12] A stew/soup made with pork back bones.