Act 4: Behind the History
ACT 4 Behind the History
“Dammit!”
Ark cursed as he exited the main tent. Sid and Shambala who were waiting outside ran towards him.
“Ark-nim!”
“Ark, what happened?”
“This whole situation is bad.”
Ark muttered nervously as he kicked a stone on the ground.
“The Schudenberg and Bristania kingdoms won’t move.”
“How come?”
Sid asked in confusion. Ark rubbed his forehead and recalled the situation that happened just then. It all began with the messenger’s report. Silvana had been attacked by demonic monsters! After receiving the unimaginable report, Ark flew straight away to headquarters.
“Commander-nim!”
“You came? Take a seat.”
The leaders had already received the notification and were meeting in the main tent. Ark was able to hear more specific details about Nagaran. Apparently hundreds of obelisks had been plunged into Nagaran. The number of demons there were 100,000. And 2 territories had fallen immediately. Ark who had listened to the general situation asked in a desperate tone.
“They’ve already captured 3 territories?”
“Because sieges were forbidden under martial law, most of the estates were empty.”
“D-do you know which territories have been occupied?”
“The news was sent from the kingdom. So we don’t know which territories have been captured.”
Haverstein said with a serious expression.
“I know there are many parts you’re worried about but wait for a bit. There is currently a meeting of nobles in progress so we might be able to figure out more about the situation.”
Then Haverstein closed his mouth.
‘Have the demonic monsters already captured Silvana?’
Ark had flown to the headquarters to check that information. Yet Haverstein was unaware of which territories had been captured. Ark became jumpy at the idea and thought of contacting the Dark Eden members. But Ark soon shook his head.
‘I can check if Silvana is safe at any time. The important thing is learning how the Schudenberg expedition responds to the invasion.’
That’s right. 100,000 demons had invaded Nagaran so it didn’t matter which territories were occupied. Even if it was still safe, it was only a matter of time before Silvana was occupied. And even if Silvana wasn’t occupied, Ark had no way to prevent it by himself. The fate of Silvana hung on what the Schudenberg Kingdom would do. And the first one to receive the decision of the Kingdom was those inside the headquarters. Ark was thinking that when something interrupted him.
“I don’t understand their intentions.”
“Why are they trying to attack Nagaran……?”
The unit leaders sighed and complained. The unit leaders weren’t the only ones confused. Currently the Schudenberg expedition was about to enter Silrinad. When the Bristania expedition arrived either tonight or tomorrow then they would begin their invasion of Silrinad.
‘With the Ark of Creation to remove the Sphere of Influence, it won’t take a long time to wipe out all the monsters. And the Demonic War will change 180 degrees when the expedition army regains Silrinad.’
That’s right. It was because the demonic monsters had blocked the users from reviving in the Sinius Principality. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that users played a large role in the wars of New World. When an NPC died it was forever but a user would just revive after 24 hours. The black obelisks had the same function of reviving the demons but the obelisks could be destroyed. Then it would be like an ordinary war. If the users from the Sinius Principality concentrated their strengths then it wouldn’t have been occupied so easily by the demonic monsters. But several thousand obelisks had hit the major cities and towns at the same time so the users and NPCs didn’t really have time before it was occupied. The users who registered their recovery places in those cities and towns couldn’t revive any more. This was the reason why the Sinius Principality couldn’t fight back and became occupied.
‘But if the military expedition regains Silrinad……’
Silrinad was the Sinius Principality’s main commercial city and the centre of traffic! There were a considerable number of users who registered it as a resurrection place. Those users would be able to resurrect. With Silrinad secured as a resurrection place, they could spread out to recapture the cities and villages and obtain more places for users to resurrect. It wasn’t just the users. Although the regular troops of the Sinius Principality had been killed, not all of them had been wiped out. All the hiding soldiers would gather at Silrinad once it was regained. In addition, if the magic tower was restored then movement between Bristania and Schudenberg would be easy.
‘When considering the future war situation, the most important thing for the demonic monsters was to defend Silrinad. If they can prevent the expedition from recapturing Silrinad then it would prevent the expansion of power. But to mobilize a high number of demons to attack Nagaran out of nowhere…….’
This was the part that confused Ark and the unit leaders.
“Their purpose might not be Nagaran itself.”
Then a unit commander who was carefully locked in thought said.
“Nagaran is an area which borders to the Bristania and Schudenberg kingdom. Then aren’t they occupying Nagaran in order to intimidate both countries and seal the expedition’s movements while the gather monsters around Silrinad?”
“It is a strategy to intimidate us and seal our movements?”
Haverstein narrowed his eyes and murmured. If they thought like that then it was possible to understand the movement of the demonic monsters. Nagaran was an area which bordered the three kingdoms. In other words, if they occupied Nagaran then it was possible to advance into any kingdom. The aristocrats of Schudenberg and Bristania would have no choice but to feel uneasy. If they judged that protecting their own kingdom was more important than freeing the Sinius Principality then they might recall the expeditions to prepare for an invasion. The armies would have no choice but to return to their home kingdoms. Like Haverstein said, it was a strategy to threaten the body and seal the arms! But another leader said in a sceptical voice.
“That makes some sense. But can the demons really move that strategically?”
“Didn’t we have a hard time capturing Pabiun Fortress because the demons showed surprising tactics?”
“But they didn’t show those type of movements after that. We spent three days moving here. If the demons knew the importance of Silrinad then they should’ve responded earlier. But they haven’t used such good strategy anywhere else.”
“Then what do you think their aim is?”
“That……”
The leader who objected sighed and closed his mouth. In the end, little progress was made in the meeting.
“It is difficult for us to accurately judge the situation in Nagaran. Anyway, I will connect with the kingdom and ask the opinion of His Majesty. His Majesty will decide how to respond to this problem.”
Eventually Haverstein forced the problem onto the King. After that, the magician in charge of communication used a crystal ball and connected to the kingdom. The aristocrat meeting had already been held and they finished discussing how to cope with the situation. When the communication was connected, the conclusion of the meeting was passed on.
If the intention of the demons was to tie the ankles of the expedition then there was no reason to be fooled. The nobles also didn’t have to deal with the demonic monsters so they didn’t respond sensitively to the threat. In addition, the demons had stopped their movements after capturing Silvana, Radon and Beiku. Even if they wanted to threaten the other kingdoms, there was enough time to build a line of defense. The military expedition could focus on recapturing Silrinad.
“T-then Silvana has been captured?”
Sid shouted with a pale face after hearing the explanation.
“Don’t say it again!”
Ark shouted with a displeased expression. Ark had felt utterly gloomy after hearing the news. Then Shambala asked in a sarcastic tone.
“What will you do? Will you die now that your territory was taken away?”
“The estate hasn’t been completely lost.”
Ark scowled at Shambala and declared sharply. That’s right. The demonic monsters hadn’t taken the ownership of Silvana away but just occupied it. The rule that the three kingdoms set was that only those who won in the siege would claim ownership. And Ark was the proper Lord of Silvana. If he drove the demons away then Silvana would be returned to Ark. So there was still hope that Ark could regain Silvana.
‘Hopefully the demons didn’t do too much damage when they occupied it.’
Shortly after receiving the message, the Continental Commerce Firm was the first thing that came to his mind. Even if he managed to take back Silvana, the place where his current supplies for the expedition were stored was the Continental Commerce Firm. The goods from Seutandal had been shipped and stored in the Continental Commerce Firm. If the Continental Commerce Firm was attacked by the demons and the supplies destroyed then Ark would become bankrupt. But luckily the demons didn’t attack Silvana from outside. They had driven the black obelisks around the castle and attacked. When the demons concentrated on the castle, the staff of the Continental Commerce Firm managed to obtain the supplies in the warehouse and escaped.
‘The NPC coalition members are also safe.’
Naturally all the users who protected the castle had died from the monsters. But the users could resurrect. The problem was the Meow, Wolrang and Eastern Nation NPCs in the coalition. If they died then it would be a fatal blow to Dark Eden. But fortunately the coalition members had followed Ark’s instructions and had been training in the secret dungeon. Therefore they didn’t know the castle was being attacked until Ark contacted them.
“But…….”
Ark murmur