Volume 58 Chapter 1.1: World Unification (1)

Weed received news during his hunt that the Arpen Empire was close to uniting the entire continent.

He had mobilized the entirety of the sculptural creatures in order to recover the levels he lost while fighting Kaybern.

"Have a taste of my power!"

Brightwing had become immensely powerful after obtaining a body crafted from the Black Dragon's bones!

"I will protect everyone. You will not surpass me. Huryah!"

Ironblood Warrior Bahamorg!

"For the sword!"

"I will hit every mark."

Knight Seville and High elf Eltin were on the move, penetrating the lines of monsters at a fearsome pace.

- Mapan: We have conquered 65% of Rosenheim Kingdom and Britten Aliiance's territories.

"We've accomplished a lot."

Weed remained in the hunting ground slaying monsters and simultaneously carried out the tasks required for total unification.

Overall, only 2 or 3% of the entire continent was yet to be a part of Arpen territory.

From the Southern Desert to the end of the North, almost all regions had recognized him as the emperor.

Dungeon Betan had never been cleared before, but even it could not prevent the advance of the sculptural creatures.

Following the creatures were a swarm of the undead.

- Mapan: We are a little delayed, as we are advancing slowly so that we will not harm the reputation of the Arpen Empire. The lords were wary at first, but are now in the process of accepting the inevitable.

"So it is the lands that we cannot merge with our territory are our concern."

- Mapan: That is correct. Those lands are under the direct control of the Rosenheim Kingdom and Britten Alliance, so we may have to exercise force and conquer them.

Rosenheim Kingdom's Castle Serabourg.

The Britten Alliance's Nehales.

The areas surrounding the capital governed directly by the king would take substantial time to conquer with cultural influence.

'Castle Serabourg...'

Weed reminisced back to when he first logged into Royal Road.

It was his first experience with virtual reality and everything felt phenomenal.

He began after substantial research, but first hand experience still felt miraculous.

Everything from striking the dummies at the novice training arena and hunting monsters outside the gate had become cherished memories.

'I advanced to the sculptor class at Litvar's Lair.'

Weed smiled faintly.

He wondered if any player who started around the same time in Castle Serabourg had become as successful as himself.

'Hmm, I guess I will get ready to head over to Castle Serabourg.'

He hunted for over a month and recovered most of his levels.

His pace was incredible, gaining over 1.5 levels each day.

His combat level increased noticeably after slaying Kaybern, but the key factors were the sculptural creatures and the undead.

The better he utilized them, the higher his hunting efficiency.

"Fight with your backs into it. Don't slack off."

"Understood, master."

"I get that a new body is great and all, but we're just hunting day and night."

"A body exists to serve and labour."

Brightwing had now joined the line of slaves.

It had a friendly personality and was even more satisfied when Weed stroked its face on occasion.

"Carlise-nim."

- Carlise: Yes! Weed, lord emperor.

Carlise of the Black Lion Guild. The great lord of Tulen had been disciplined, so to speak.

He was extremely cautious now that even the Hermes Guild merged into the Arpen Empire.

"It seems we have to conquer the Rosenheim Kingdom."

Weed could have added a few more sentences to his explanation, but he concluded quickly. He knew Carlise would understand with just a few words.

- Carlise: The Black Lion Guild will take the lead. I will have our forces depart to the borders of the Rosenheim Kingdom this instant.

"Roam-nim."

- Roam: Yes, my lord. At your service.

Suddenly, all the lords addressed Weed as the emperor.

Bard Ray once held that title within the Hermes Guild, but now it was official within the Arpen Empire. A couple of players started it and at some point it became out of order not to refer to him as the emperor.

"We must strike the Rosenheim Kingdom."

- Roam: Finally... The time has come. After the Kaybern hunt, the Roam Guild has been waiting for the day of unification."

He also kept his explanation short for Roam, conveying himself clearly.

"Let us depart for the Rohaim Kingdom."

Weed sent whispers to Mihel, Gunt and Sherwood.

- Mihel: I will lead the march. It is an honor to witness the unification of this continent.

- Gunert: I have prepared a golden chariot for your passage into war. It is hauled by 20 oxen.

- Sherwood: As I thought... The sovereign of this continent can only be you, Weed-nim.

They must all have a different heart, but were the same in that their flattery improved.

Having spent time together, they all realized that Weed loved flattery.

Of course, Weed had no intentions of providing benefits or favors for some sweet talk.

"Set course for the Rosenheim Kingdom."

- Myul: Yes! The Griffin and Wyvern unit will follow.

Weed also decided to include Myul who was a member of the Hermes Guild in the past and currently the lord of Gradian.

Aerial forces were unnecessary, but they would be a spectacular addition to the army.

***

The forces assembled near the borders of Rosenheim Kingdom.

The lords of the Central Continent brought their armies, and the Arpen Imperial Army led by Alcatra aligned in formation.

Moooo.

Prrrrr!

The knights riding on top of bulls was a unique sight, distinctive of the Arpen Imperial army.

"That is the Arpen army."

"It's my first time seeing them."

The crowd of players made Alcatra feel embarrassed.

He attacked the North as a member of the Hermes Guild and after that, he joined the forces of the Arpen Kingdom.

He was in charge of the kingdom's army, putting loads of effort on increasing the number of forces and training but he never got the chance to participate in a large-scale battle.

The expectations were that they would be annihilated in less than half a day if they were to match up against the Hermes Guild.

Nevertheless, many of the Northern players acknowledged Alcatra's dedication.

With the Kaybern incident alone, he defended against the monster legions in each region of the North and saved countless villages.

"Thank you, Alcatra-nim. We survived thanks to you."

"It's my duty. We will exterminate the monsters in the region and move on to the next."

"You sure are busy."

"The North is the homeland of my heart."

The Arpen Imperial army recently expanded quite significantly.

Many knight players joined and whenever a battle broke out, they came riding on horses or bulls and participated spontaneously.

Knights could earn hefty amounts of contribution points and reputation just by joining a battle, so a crowd of them gathered for the upcoming war.

"After we end the Rosenheim and Britten Alliance, the Arpen Empire will unite the continent"

"Conquer, conquer! Whoo!"

"There is little territory left and it would be a shame not to unite the continent. The two kingdoms are also wishing for it."

"You're right on that."

The knights felt proud to be under the wings of the Arpen Empire.

If the empire were to become the first to accomplish total unification, they expected that a special achievement would be awarded for them as well.

- Kuuuuuaaaat!

Myul's Griffin unit could be seen in the sky. There were no threats after Kaybern's death, so even the baby Griffins tagged along.

"The baby Griffins are so cute with their little wings."

"I want to raise one. It would be so nice if I was capable of feeding them properly."

The players gathered in front of the Baroc Mountain Pass that stretched over the border of Britten territory.

Many players were waiting for the Arpen army to advance over the borders of the Rosenheim Kingdom.

"When is Weed-nim arriving?"

"I don't know... I think it's about time."

It was that moment.

- Kraaaaagh!

A violent roar echoed and soon, humongous birds almost the size of dragons appeared above the peak of the Mountain Pass.

It was a group of wild Baraags!

They were sculptural creatures left by emperor Geihar, truly outrageous creatures in combat.

The players noticed Weed riding on the back of a Baraag.

"It's Weed-nim!"

'He's finally here."

The knights of the Arpen army aligned on the ground began shouting.

"Our Lord and Emperor is here."

"Everyone, shout out and cheer."

"Hoo-ah! Hoo-ah!"

The Imperial forces numbering approximately 300,000 deafened the ears of everyone around with their shouts.

Adding in all the knights, the numbers were even higher.

Prrrrr!

Even the bulls trembled their lips and welcomed their emperor.

"Please give a speech!"

"Sing. A song of war!"

The cheers of the players was a huge commotion.

The war against the Rosenheim and Britten Kingdom was close, but the outcome was predetermined.

They would have won regardless of Weed's appearance, but since he mobilized such a large force, he wanted to display a fine figure to the public.

Weed also fell into a state of excitement and began singing.

He raised the key of the song with the first note, ignored the beats and belted out in a coarse voice.

- I had a dream since I was a kid.

The dream to be well off.

I wanted my back to be warm,

I wanted to feed myself so much that I cried deeply.

His song was a mess, but it certainly carried his emotions.

His past of hunger and years of trying in desperation.

- What was I?

I didn't know anything.

I didn't know the reason to keep living.

I knew for sure that pride could not feed my stomach.

Crying was a luxury.

Tears make you weak.

Run. Run.

I beat down a monster.

Clobber it.

This is my bread and butter.

Du-dum! Du-dum!

Someone hit the drums in sync.

The bulls rode by the Arpen knights waved their tails and danced as if they were responding to Weed's song.

- Arpen Empire, ruler of all the lands under the sun.

Eat some chicken,

Farm the lands.

Roast the pork belly,

Sell your products.

If you want a refreshing glass of beer, hunt for it.

If you live diligently, good things will come.

Life is all about the grinding.

"Ah..."

"I don't understand. The lyrics are too deep."

"I'm not sure, but I think he's thinking about his past and giving a message about living to the best of our abilities."

"I think that's the idea, right?"

The players listening to Weed's song felt like guessing a short answer question in language class.

But, the song was not over!

- Oink-oink, Quack-quack, Cock-a-doodle-doo!

An awesome, beautiful world.

Even in hardship, let us walk together.

Sing joyfully.

Live on.

Parents who embrace their child.

Don't forget the warmth,

Live, live and keep living.

Tears dropped from Weed's eyes.

Tears that only squeezed out when he yawned flowed while he was thinking about his past.

No matter the hardships, he bore them all. But, there were people vivid in his memories who he could never call upon again.