Chapter 478: Escape

At the Northern Court of the Merchant Alliance.

A black Court was located at a plain that was ten days' journey north of Winterfell. The Merchant Alliance had set up a restricted zone that had a radius of five kilometers around the court.

This was the Merchant Alliance's Control Center for the Northern Underworld.

Only the highest Judge and the highest-ranking administrative officials were stationed here.

The nine Judges here held the most power in the Merchant Alliance.

They formed the most powerful administrative group for dealing with administration, law, and military affairs.

Sherlock knew one of the Judges, Onionhead.

As a former Winterfell Dungeon Lord who survived the petrification incident, he was promoted to be one of the most powerful nine Judges.

It was due to his many years and diligence in managing Winterfell, as well as his excellent capability.

And most importantly, he had money.

In the Merchant Alliance, money was power. Anything could be bought with money.

The Merchant Alliance related a creature's capability to their earning power.

The newly appointed Judge, Onionhead, was familiar with his work.

Even his current office was decorated according to his office in Winterfell.

Onionhead sat in his chair as he looked around. He felt as though he was still a Dungeon Lord. Now, he was one of the most powerful Judges in the Northern Underworld.

"Judge Onionhead, a creature would like to meet you, but he doesn't have an appointment."

Just when Onionhead entered his office, a secretary knocked on his door and informed him.

"Who? Who is it?" Onionhead asked, but he didn't allow the creature to come in.

"He said he knows you. I told him that he can't meet you without an appointment, but he stood at the entrance and said that you'll meet him once you see this item."

Onionhead stood up, bewildered. Then he opened the door, and the secretary passed him a strange badge that had the word "Michelangelo" on it.

"Let him come in."

Onionhead pondered for a while and said, "Keep this discreet."

The secretary was taken aback, but he quickly went out. A Sludge Monster who was wearing a gray overcoat and a pair of shades came in.

Though he was trying to disguise himself, anybody could recognize him as a Sludge Monster.

"It has been a long time, Dungeon Lord Onionhead. No, I should address you as Judge Onionhead."

Onionhead felt as though the Sludge Monster knew him. He was puzzled, however, as he had never seen this Sludge Monster.

He gestured for the secretary to leave, then invited the Sludge Monster to sit down.

Onionhead didn't speak first. He was waiting for the Sludge Monster to state his intention and the reason he had Michelangelo's badge.

"Dungeon Lord Onionhead." The Sludge Monster smiled knowingly and said, "This is all a karmic cycle. We can't ignore it. The final stage of the plan is being carried out. We need your help, Judge Onionhead."

"Apologies, I think you might be mistaken. I don't intend to take part in any conspiracy or plan. I'm working for the Merchant Alliance. I'm not a conspirator," Onionhead said as he fiddled with the badge and looked at the Sludge Monster.

"Really? Why did you let me in when you saw the badge of Michelangelo?"

The Sludge Monster took down his shades and placed them on the table. He smiled affably and said, "Judge Onionhead is concerned about Michelangelo. The revival of Michelangelo is in progress."

Onionhead was in disbelief. He said, "How can it be..."

...

A group of strange Humans, Elves, and Fairies with green symbols above their heads appeared in York Territory.

They ran around in the villages of the York Territory while wearing the confident smiles of a victor. The gamers of Victoria City made every creature in the York Territory tremble.

They would enter and ransack the homes of the villagers, but they didn't take anything. Instead, they would complain, "Why aren't there any pieces of equipment? A potion would suffice."

Only the luxurious clothes, furniture, ornaments, and equipment of the nobles were taken away by the gamers. A villager tried to offer an old hen to a Victorian "officer" in order to obtain the chance to join the troops of Victoria City. It was flatly declined.

The gamers didn't keep the old hen. They waved their hands and said, "I can't accept the Chicken God. The entire village will come after me."

The Victorian "officer" was actually a Guild Chairman. When he entered the villages, many Guild members would follow him. To the villages, he looked like an officer.

As the poor villages had nothing of value to the gamers, it looked like the gamers didn't pillage them.

The image of the gamers of Victoria City was elevated in the eyes of the commoners. The officials spread rumors that the gamers were bandits that destroyed their homeland. To the villagers, it was untrue.

Only the rich nobles were in trouble.

The pillaging only lasted for a few days. The gamers found that it was useless to run around the villages and the York Territory.

That was because they were unable to return to Victoria City rapidly and obtain their Daily Missions. Hence, they were unable to get rewards and Reputation Points.

The gamers had to go to the crossroad intersection outpost to obtain the relevant Reputation Points. If the gamers stayed in the York Territory, they would be unable to complete the missions at the crossroad intersection outpost and would lose out in terms of Reputation Points. There were few gamers of Victoria City that could exchange their loot for Reputation Points and rewards. However, even if they pillaged a lot of furniture and equipment, it couldn't be compared to the rewards provided by Sherlock.

Moreover, the Revival Point was far away. If they died during exploration, the equipment would be lost in the wilderness. Not many gamers were able to retrieve their equipment or redeem their equipment at the Freedom Cities.

The competition among the gamers was intense, especially the Guild Wars and the fighting in the wilderness. More and more gamers chose to return to Victoria City and the crossroad intersection outpost to complete their missions, as these places had more game content.

Some gamers were passionate about exploration. They discovered that the Surface World map was much larger than they thought. There were many different nobles. To the gamers, these nobles were the different factions that they could interact with.

Not many gamers could survive the exploration, but there were a few lucky and capable gamers who made it.

A few gamers contacted the outside nobles. Due to the gamers' victory in the York Territory, the powerful combat prowess of the gamers spread like wildfire in the kingdom.

The gamers contacted the nobles and agreed to let their Guild members work for the nobles in exchange for money and equipment. More and more nobles tried all sorts of ways to recruit these miraculous mercenaries that were very affordable.

A Baron was lucky to recruit many gamers of Victoria City. The Baron's territory was next to the York Territory.

The situation was tense. The Baron was fighting with his nephew, who was the neighboring Baron, for succession of the territory. His nephew usurped his title. Though the Baron's power was inferior to that of his nephew, he didn't intend to give up. He managed to recruit 100 warriors of Victoria City. During the battle, the 100 warriors brought along hundreds of gamers of Victoria City to participate in the battle.

The courageous Victorians defeated the army of his nephew. When the gamers appeared on the battlefield screaming, the green symbols above their heads scared off most of the enemies.

Those were the warriors of Victoria City. Their notoriety was enough to scare off most people. During the battle at the York Territory, it was said that they could break deep into the enemy's skull and eat the enemy's eyeballs while smiling. They could play chess while cutting up their arms for treatment. Some people described them as monsters who could hail the winds and rain. They wore tattered clothing while releasing unimaginable Mana. There was even an ugly and naked creature who wielded a metal Hammer while emitting Sacred Light...

How could that be Human? It was too terrifying.

More and more nobles became fascinated with the warriors of Victoria City. This strange power was in a war with King Potato II, who declared he would be using his military might to take back the York Territory.

It wasn't a problem to recruit the warriors of Victoria City discreetly. Nobody knew when the King's army would attack Victoria City. Perhaps the King would use his money to bribe them?

The reputation of Victoria City was at its peak.

...

Golden-haired George rode his horse and wandered tiredly in the forest. He had nothing warm to eat for two days, only eating worms and the rabbits that he caught.

He didn't dare to barbecue the rabbit, afraid the smoke would attract the attention of the Victorians. He wouldn't be lucky enough to escape.

George's temperament had been tempered by his defeats under the Victorians. His troops were killed by their attrition tactic. The reinforcements of the Counts were also annihilated by the same tactic. Their fate was similar to his. During the final stage of the battle when they intended to escape, they were surrounded by the warriors of Victoria City. They didn't know when they were besieged, but all of their escape routes were blocked.

It was an unforgettable defeat.

George could only escape on horseback and abandon his master, the Duke of York. His pride and confidence had been shattered by the Victorians. The once-formidable Knight was now down and out.

After ensuring that there was nobody around, George heaved a sigh of relief. He secured his horse to a tree branch and dismounted, then sat down against a tree trunk.

He picked a blade of grass and put it into his mouth to chew. He didn't have anything to eat. He wasn't eating the grass, but the chewing made him feel satiated.

That was what his teacher taught him. The previously well off George didn't expect to use such knowledge.

He looked frantically for prey to fill his stomach. At that moment, he heard movements in the trees. Was there prey for him?

He quickly stood up and grasped the hilt of his sword as he looked warily at the trees in front.

He thought it was a small animal, but from its movement, its size was huge. Was it a tiger?

But there shouldn't be any tigers nearby.

Perhaps it was the Victorians?

He wasn't sure whether he should flee. From the sounds, there were at most two people. When the sounds got closer, he was sure there was only a person on horseback.

George decided to kill off this pursuer. If the pursuer survived, he would reveal his location to more warriors of Victoria City.

George grasped his sword as he hid behind a tree trunk. He had thought of many methods to kill the pursuer when he passed by. George was confident in his own combat prowess.

However, his plan was wrecked. When the pursuer rode his horse by, George swung his Longsword and slashed at the person's upper body. According to his estimate, he could avoid the horse while the Longsword would slit the person's throat.

It was only his wishful thinking.

When the horse passed by George's position, he swung his blade at the rider, but the rider evaded the attack and rolled down off the horse.

The rider unsheathed his weapon and slashed at George, who parried instinctively.

When George was about to counterattack, he was taken aback. That was the defeated Count Steamed Dumpling.

"It's you!"

The two of them looked at each other dejectedly and yelled in astonishment.

Steamed Dumpling's horse was secured next to George's horse. They sat together by the tree trunk, grabbed some grass, and chewed it in their mouths.

They shared their escape experience. During the chaotic battle, they rode on their horses to break out of the Victorians' siege. They then entered the forest to cast off their pursuers.

"Where do you intend to go?" George looked at Steamed Dumpling and asked.

"I don't know. I'll escape from the York Territory first before making other plans," Steamed Dumpling lowered his head and replied earnestly.

"It's going to be difficult. I thought of escaping the York Territory, but there were bounty notices for capturing us. The guards who were loyal to the King defected to the new Duke of York and Queen Victoria. If the guards spot us, they'll capture and even kill us."

George said, "I just escaped from the town."

"What good plans do you have?" Steamed Dumpling asked with concern.

George was a Knight who grew up in the York Territory, and he was familiar with the area.

He was definitely more familiar with the York Territory than Steamed Dumpling. George nodded and pointed to a direction as he said, "We'll go in the direction of Victoria City. Not many warriors of Victoria City can be found along the way. We'll escape from there!"