A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter

138th – Iiiij (8)

“Your Majesty. The number of tribes withdrawing is increasing. They are sweeping through our territory and tribes without a care.”

“That’s right. We must gather our forces and ensure internal discipline first!”

While the Arin Tribe was negotiating with the delegation and attempting a counter-offensive, Luke and his tribe, who had barely managed to retreat, were also bubbling with thoughts of revenge.

But the situation was not good. Although the intrusion of the bugs prevented a decisive battle, it was clear which side had suffered greater losses.

“Shut up. Has the message sent to the Kingdom of Baruk not arrived yet? We need more support.”

“W-well, there hasn’t been a response yet.”

Luke, furrowing his brow, grit his teeth as his underling flinched and nodded in agreement.

They still did not know that the Kingdom of Baruk had abandoned them in favor of the Arin Tribe, thanks to Rihar’s persuasion.

‘So they really did abandon us. Hah, it doesn’t matter. We are already on the brink of a great achievement.’

However, Luke had a vague realization. What the Kingdom of Baruk desired was ultimately to align strong forces with them in the grasslands.

If the Arin Tribe is stronger, it wouldn’t be strange for them to shift their allegiance. After all, there was no loyalty or trust among tribes that had long raided each other.

“But… even if we gather our strength and win again, what will we do if those Black Monsters appear once more?”

In the meantime, one of the chiefs quietly spoke up.

Everyone flinched at his words. It was a topic they had deliberately avoided, and recalling that day made their faces pale.

The unforgettable memory of that day. The traumatic encounter with the bugs, monstrous beasts, had left a strong impact in their minds.

“Their kind… knows how to deal with those monsters. Can we be sure that those wicked creatures did not intentionally lure the monsters?”

Luke finally spoke up. That day, when he fought fiercely alongside the Arin Tribe against the attacking bugs.

Luke had clashed with a bug that charged like a tank.

The grasshopper-like bug swung its spiny legs to attack Luke, who gritted his teeth and called upon his mana, striking the bug down as a great warrior ought to do.

‘A monster that shouldn’t exist.’

Seeing such ruthless acts of mercilessly tearing apart living beings, one could hardly deny it.

“Let’s conquer them and absorb their methods of dealing with those monsters.”

“Y-yes, but without trade with the kingdom, it’s impossible to gather forces and resources for reinforcements immediately.”

“An, it doesn’t matter. If there’s a profit to be made, there are plenty of fools willing to sell their guts. Get in touch with the merchant guild from the Empire that’s been showing interest in this area.”

The chiefs were startled by Luke’s strong will and tried to dissuade him, but Luke dropped an even bigger bombshell and laughed menacingly.

Once one tastes the support from the kingdom, cutting it off becomes impossible. So finding another lifeline was his thinking.

‘I heard that the newly crowned Emperor of the Empire is quite greedy. Those bastards say they’ll capture savages as savages. They will definitely need hunting dogs. I’ll gladly become that hunting dog… kuh.’

After all the chiefs left, Luke remained alone, harboring malice, and grimaced as he glanced at his injured arm.

As the bandage unraveled, an alarming sight greeted his eyes. A light wound from the previous battle with the bugs had turned black, and black veins were slowly spreading throughout his body.

He could see something wriggling inside, but Luke, already tainted, chose to ignore it.

*

“—! —-!”

‘I should have done this earlier. The results might have been a bit different.’

The method of connecting screens to create a kind of portal had, unsurprisingly, drawn major reactions from the residents.

Distances that took days of horseback riding could now be crossed in an instant. It was a remarkable technology unmatched by merely creating roads or tunnels.

“The problem is it’s filthy expensive.”

Of course, it wasn’t all-powerful. My sigh at how expensive it was came naturally due to the high point consumption. Right now, there was only one portal between Village 1 and Village 2.

If I pushed it, I could break through to the interior of the Kingdom of Baruk from Village 2, but since I hadn’t even opened the portal to Elf Village that I decided on last time, I felt it wasn’t necessary for now.

Eventually, the roads and relay stations would connect all the newly emerging bases and villages.

After all, it was just the miners and transporters doing a bit of hard work.

The human excavators and rollers crowded the area, all wielding picks to turn the earth, and when they laid down blocks mined from the game and reality into the freshly dug ground, roads or wide bridges over rivers were instantly created.

“Are you watching this?”

Still, it felt too good to keep such sweet tips all to myself.

This isn’t a competition. I told Lee So-Yeon how to create a kind of portal by replacing desktop files.

Having gathered various experiences and constructed a kind of guide, she would surely package and explain this well to help other users.

-This is definitely an incredible method. Perhaps because not many have reached the file replacement stage, I hadn’t thought of this.

“It’s not without problems. Since the portal doesn’t distinguish friend from foe, if a portal connected to the base opens, it could lead to big trouble. It would be better to keep some distance from the base.”

-That’s true, but the benefits are too great; I think it’s absolutely necessary. I’ll sort this out and let everyone know.

Having publicly revealed her identity and stepped into the limelight, she acted as an intermediary, sharing the information I gave her as I intended.

It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Though a daughter of a powerful family, she had quickly risen from obscurity to prominence, making news and appearing on broadcasts frequently, solidifying her fame and reputation.

Thanks to her, I was free to roam behind the scenes as I desired.

She would grumble about having no time to sleep while running around with her laptop, balancing management tasks, but I just laughed it off.

After all, I knew that despite her words, that life was exactly what she had wanted.

-But there are those who are suspicious. They believe I couldn’t know all this.

“That doesn’t really matter. What’s important isn’t that.”

I paid little mind to those who doubted my existence. I was confident I wouldn’t be caught.

That was the life I wanted, combining both my ambitions and responsibilities.

‘Is everyone living as they wish?’

It was a sudden change I could never have imagined. I opened my computer without a thought and found myself swept into this, just like the residents who had also migrated into the screen.

Intertwined with them, merely a part of society, I had changed significantly.

On paper, I was a low-level employee hired by Lee So-Yeon’s company, but in reality, my clicks carried important matters involving the lives and destinies of many.

“–, —.”

“—? –.”

And such changes were being experienced in real-time by the residents within the desktop.

The ongoing battles and wars against monsters were relentless. Yet, the majority wore bright expressions. Even I, oblivious, could tell they had hope rather than despair.

Every meal time, they filled their bellies with abundant food and diligently honed their skills in their assigned tasks.

Their appearances were remarkably improved, even to my eyes.

Once living in makeshift tent houses and struggling to draw water, they now inhabited sturdy homes built properly and were undertaking massive projects, building roads and digging ditches effortlessly.

‘Once chosen, there’s no escaping it.’

When they had been unaware of the bugs’ existence, I had already taken an interest and fondness for the residents who had suddenly appeared on the screen.

So I decided to consider it fate. Sure, there were times I felt wronged and flustered, but even if I could rewind time and change the outcome, I would still make the same choice.

‘Once I clear out Luke’s remaining forces, will the entire grassland be ours? And if we maintain good relations with the kingdom to the south, there may be no need to fight the surrounding forces again.’

What Barun was currently focused on was overtaking and consuming the tribes Luke had previously occupied.

Small units were dispatched to negotiate with the tribes, and most of the smaller tribes acknowledged that the Arin Tribe was stronger and willingly submitted.

They were all talented individuals. I had helped those with potential realize their true talents by inserting them into the game.

“—!”

Of course, there were also those who would not comply easily. Some fiercely resisted their allies, holding hands to fight back.

Barun used force against those. The law of the grasslands was that the strong govern the weak. In that process, my direct involvement proved to be a considerable aid.

‘The combat strength is indeed rising.’

From my overhead view of the map, I could see things they couldn’t. For me, meticulous ambush strategies were somewhat pointless.

As I sent our soldiers to the supposedly perfectly laid ambush, confusion ensued among the enemies, leading to combat with our forces, and the outnumbered enemies fell like rotten logs.

“—!?”

“–!”

The residents, witnessing my control for the first time, widened their eyes in awe at their own bodies.

It wasn’t because my micro-control skills were exceptional. Just as the guide suggested, their combat strength was evidently increasing as I cleared campaigns.

In the midst of chaotic skirmishes, I frequently saw our side accidentally attacking each other, but none of those under my command ever experienced such mishaps.

Having confirmed that those I designated as troops were safe even from friendly fire, I instinctively felt that I had to enhance this ability further.

“The north is still quiet. Is it finally calming down?”

With the nests cleaned and pushed back across the river, the northern region was now peaceful, so I must refine as many games as I can during this tranquility and opened multiple games on my monitors with familiar dexterity.

This was my everyday life.