SWNOVELXO Chapter 126
Chapter 126 – Kingdom (6)
“…”
The boy king began to read the letter he had received. That was where the problem started. The letters used by the Arin Tribe were different from those they used.
Although Rihar had interpreted it at Balun’s request, Rihar felt a shudder run through him.
“Barbarians writing letters in their own script without knowing their place?!”
“This is ridiculous!”
As expected, the ministers began to pounce on that first. Rihar shut his eyes tight, feeling a sharp pain in his head.
He himself had once thought like them, but now such letters didn’t matter. No matter how it’s wrapped in text, what matters is the content.
Things like procedures and customs are only shouted about when life is easy.
“Your Majesty, their script is sacred. It was given directly to them by their Guardian Deity. They will never give it up.”
“Hoh, intermediate mage. What is the importance of a mere god they believe in from the backwoods?”
Rihar tried to defend himself, but this time a priest with a long white beard stepped in. He was a priest of the most powerful order in the kingdom, which created priests and holy water.
“Of course, that may be true. But I have seen it firsthand. It could be a guardian deity or just a mere spirit, but that being was performing magic to take care of them. Don’t question me about the divine. I know what divinity is!”
Rihar was unable to counter the priest’s words further, so he did not challenge him. However, what was unfortunate was that it wasn’t just the priest ready to tear into Rihar.
“Is fighting strange monsters such a proud achievement?”
“If you don’t want to fight those monsters, why not just wander as you always have?”
The prejudice firmly rooted in their heads didn’t easily dissipate. Rihar, who had proactively participated, recognized the dangers of the bugs early on and realized how important the Arin Tribe’s mission to fight those beings was. Thus, every time there was such a reaction, he raised his voice to counter it.
Naturally, the atmosphere of the court was bound to heat up. Even when Rihar laid out the evidence he had brought, the mood didn’t change much.
“Enough. You are all overlooking one thing; this issue can actually be resolved very simply.”
The one who quieted that atmosphere with a single word was the king, who continued to read the letter silently, no matter if they fought or not.
“Your Majesty, please make wise decisions as you have.”
Rihar swallowed dryly, looking at that youthful face he couldn’t read.
It was that boy king who had decided to send them to the northern region, intentionally merging and rallying the grassland forces for future prospects when the empire’s situation turned grim.
Rihar believed in the wisdom with which he, although young, had seized control of the court.
“The letter ultimately states they wish to have a good relationship with us. No matter who they are and what they do, as long as they are not plunderers, we don’t have a reason to refuse them, do we? It’s not like we have an unfaithful barbarian tribe among us.”
“That’s true, but…”
“If we want to bring back more reliable and credible evidence than Rihar’s testimony, it’s better to send an official delegation.”
The mention of the delegation caused a stir among the ministers. It was the normal course, but it raised the question of who would go.
“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Rihar. It’s a great relief that you returned alive. Most others managed to save themselves as well, so we’ve passed the worst, it seems.”
“No, Your Majesty.”
After the meeting concluded and while the ministers were pondering whom to send as this delegation, the king called Rihar aside to the back of the palace.
At that moment, Rihar was already preparing himself and taking a deep breath.
“Please send me as a delegate, Your Majesty. They may feel it’s not the right time yet, but I was able to convey this news thanks to my strong insistence.”
“Seems you prefer that place over your hometown now?”
“N-no, it’s not that…”
“I know. You think the Black Monster you’re talking about is that dangerous. That’s the only thing you’re focused on.”
Rihar felt flustered, but he just gave a small smile. Yet, there was a bone behind that playful tone.
“Therefore, I don’t think what you said was a lie. So, tell me, is it true that in the land governed by Chieftain Balun, there are truly no starving people?”
When others heard Rihar’s testimony filled with prejudice, he was seeing something different. He was captivated, picturing the scenery and life of that place as Rihar passionately described it.
“While it’s terrible having to fight atrocious monsters, can we truly say we resent the morally corrupt nobles who exploit the poor more than the drought?”
“Your Majesty…”
“If we could borrow their power, wouldn’t it be possible to fight together as you said? But even if I think this way, it doesn’t mean I can act on it. In this world, things don’t always flow according to law. More effort will be needed to move the bodies of those who are tightly packed.”
The king subtly let slip his thoughts to Rihar, whom he had sent all the way to the northern area. Whether it was his true feelings or not, Rihar felt differently from the other ministers. He sensed that the king’s thoughts were somewhat aligned with his own.
‘The mission has become heavy.’
All in all, it meant there was a glimmer of possibility. Rihar steeled himself for the mission’s success.
*
“Hm, so I guess they still don’t believe it?”
There was someone who seemed to have made a firm resolve, able to observe Rihar and those around him. That was me.
I was able to closely inspect the kingdom’s residents through the display revealed by Rihar.
Of course, just like the residents who spent their entire lives on the grassland, I knew nothing about that world, so observing did not yield much insight… but at least one thing was clear.
‘That kid who looks like a king seems more serious and different.’
It was precisely the distinction made by the Master Program: allies marked in green and enemies in red. Most of the people Rihar interacted with were neutral or red.
As of now, besides Rihar, there wasn’t a single ally.
In truth, it was already known that persuading those already followed like R’tai and Rihar to become allies may not be easy, but as things stood, it felt like I had nothing to do in this land.
At least I could break the desktop. But if they didn’t believe me and I did something rash, it would just turn into a terrible terror of the Evil God.
‘I need to wait for a while.’
I decided to trust Rihar and wait. What we needed most right now was to quickly increase our power.
This wasn’t just simple conquest or absorption. If there were allies we could trust and work with, that alone would be enough.
With so many enemies to fight, it felt essential to turn at least one more into an ally.
“–, —!”
‘Are those guys seriously planning to attack again?’
The bugs were annoying, but the most troubling were those guys causing a ruckus in the central grassland.
Chieftain Luke. He believed he was the one to unify the grassland, perhaps having forgotten the last defeat of the expedition army, as he was moving his army again to threaten us.
“I appreciate the justification you provided.”
I smirked as I turned the screen to the west village that was currently under construction.
There was no way I was building a new village in the land ruled by Garhan without reason. It was akin to showing intent to expand.
Indeed, many tribes that had scattered due to Luke’s attack were now gathering back there, their castle walls built high.
I too felt the need to expand and sought to support it actively, but just as I was pondering how, Luke moved first.
Well, then we could just execute what we do best. Defend against the enemy’s attacks and then retaliate.
‘Crazy guy, does he plan to end this before the castle is finished?’
The problem was that Luke would never fight a losing battle.
They started to accelerate their movements. It was clear they aimed to attack before the west village was completed.
“—!”
Seeing that Barun seemed to think it was impossible to finish construction before the enemies arrived, he began gathering soldiers separately.
There were many who had absorbed along the way, so the scale was not small.
“Are they really planning to fight openly in the plains?”
The area around the village was a flat plain, with nothing else around. If the miners and transporters are mobilized, it would be possible to create barriers over a large area, but Barun seemed ready for a direct confrontation, gathering both words and soldiers.
‘Feels a bit uneasy.’
In a hurry, I decided to build at least low-level defense turrets, believing they needed to arm themselves further. The subordinates brought in by Luke were well-armed warriors, undefeated in battle.
I had a gut feeling that if we fought like we had before, the damage would be immense. Moreover, we couldn’t pull all the soldiers from the northern region.
[Dragon Soldier Armor, Baskasaurus Helm…]
“Quite the knowledgeable little raccoon, aren’t you?!”
So what I prepared were precisely these. Equipment made from stronger mutant by-products.
The craftsmen and merchants in the first village had begun to cough awkwardly and limit sales whenever they saw my face, yet the artisans and merchants in this new city were still unaware of our reputation.
“–? –.”
“Y-you need that much?”
It seemed Dune responded to the quantity on my behalf. The artisan who was bragging about the equipment looked shocked as if he hadn’t expected such a response, eyes bulging as he stuttered.
‘We might not be able to arm every soldier, but at least some.’
I transported the gathered supplies to the village with the help of Naru and Dune. And I delivered it all straight to Barun.
Barun stared in awe at those pieces of equipment, feeling a stronger magic power emanating from them, compared to the ones he had originally worn.
‘Not enough. New strength, more strength is needed.’
The points were lacking, and the parts that needed power were overflowing. Overcoming that was the role I needed to fulfill. While pondering, I decided to progress to Chapter 4 of Dark Blood with Riena during the downtime.
This time I was aiming not just for Riena’s growth but something else as well. In Chapter 4’s hunting mode, the new class Paladin was unlocked.
Perhaps those warriors who awakened that class would play a key role in the upcoming battle.
“Let’s hurry. It’s not like we’re new to this.”
I nodded at Riena, who had entered the game after a long time. She seemed to understand, smiling faintly as she began to walk.