Chapter 422

Volume 45 Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Exploiter of Glory

Chapter 1) Exploiter of Glory

The villages and cities of the Arpen Kingdom started filling with people .

“Over 300 people have died in an hour . ”

“Go to the east?”

“Blocked . Everything in the area around Chestnut Forest has been turned into ruins . ”

Walking out a gate would cause residents to be murdered by Hermes Guild users or troops of the Haven Empire .

There were no safe places anywhere .

If there were no guards at the gate then they would even come forward to attack users of the Arpen Kingdom .

“These bad fellows . ”

“They killed a level 15 . They don’t care about who the person is at all . ”

Novice users under level 100 were killed .

“Don’t worry about them . The villains will be kicked out of this territory . ”

“It is lucky that I am a swordsman . I will come back in one hour after defeating them . ”

Moderately strong users tried to exit the cities but were killed .

Assassins, rangers, knights, magicians etc .  20,000 members from the strong Hermes Guild had volunteered for infiltration .

The lands of the Arpen Kingdom were wide and spacious and wasn’t divided by strong fortresses .  The Haven Empire and Hermes Guild members were easily able to penetrate the area .

They divided into groups for guerilla warfare .

The northern users had their freedom of movement and hunting taken away, making them determined to defend the villages against invasion .  The entire north had become paralyzed by the Hermes Guild’s aggressive assault .

Only three days! The national power of the Arpen Kingdom was reduced by 3% .

Large cities, castles and villages, with the exception of the very small ones in the mountains, became targets .

There was serious damage to the small villages of the Arpen Kingdom .

For the first time, the population of the residents had decreased like the Central Continent .

“What should we do? We can’t just sit down and die . ”

“Morata should be okay…”

“We will be attacked 10 times trying to get there . ”

“What about moving in large groups?”

“Our lives will be saved but think of the people left behind . And this village will be smashed after we leave . ”

“It is frustrating . ”

Users in every small village gathered but couldn’t find a solution .

Level 400 or more invaders would hide and then attack the weak .  Some Hermes Guild users were killed during the ambushes but those cases were rare .

Each village couldn’t come up with a solution to rectify the situation .

The 20,000 Hermes Guild members and 30,000 Haven Empire troops engaged in guerilla warfare outside the villages and cities .

A crisis where the Arpen Kingdom was receiving a frontal assault .

On the other hand, an incredible number of users were gathered at Morata, Vent Castle, Port Varna, Vargo Fortress and Dawn City .

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-The Haven Empire is attacking the north!

-The soldiers and users of the Hermes Guild is indiscriminately killing!

Weed heard about the invasion after finishing the sculpture for Ratuas .

All stations were talking about this breaking news and it was reported through whispers from people .

-Pale: It is a big deal . The Hermes Guild has struck .

-Irene: How could this…sob .

-Mapan: It is interfering with my ability to make money .

-Zephyr: Well…won’t the recent troubles really upset Yurin?

-Seo-yoon: I’ll go ahead and kill them .

-Yurin: Oppa . There is trouble .

-Romuna: Weed-nim . Don’t you know my skills? How many people can I burn at once with my magical flames?

-Surka: I’ll smash their bones .

The Hermes Guild were really bad people . However, Weed nodded like the movements of the Hermes Guild were natural .

“They have come!”

While acting in the Central Continent, he had been concerned that they would retaliate in a similar way .

On the other hand, the scale of their activities was too different .  The mobilization of massive troops made it impossible to stand against the Haven Empire .

“This is the difference between a poor business owner and a large corporation . ”

A large scale chicken business chasing after an egg farm!

However, this method wouldn’t be enough to kill the Arpen Kingdom .

“There is always a hole to escape from chasers . So there is no need to worry . ”

Weed decided to think positively .

The threat from the Haven Empire was quite simple .

Tricks were used everywhere in life .

Weed descended from Ratuas’ mountain and met with Mapan who was waiting .

“What is the current situation in the Central Continent?”

“Not bad . The rebels are substantial and are causing minor damage to the empire . They are persistent so the Hermes Guild is having some trouble . ”

“Mapan’s Trading Company?”

“It is maintaining a spot in the black market . The food business in the Central Continent is sluggish and needs more . ”

In the meantime, Mapan’s Trading Company had gained an astronomical amount of money .

The residents saw signs of instability and war so they started to buy food .

It was common sense and natural judgement .

There was an annual decline in the grain production in the Central Continent . The rebels meant the farmers couldn’t work properly and there would be foot shortages .

Mapan’s Trading Company exported a lot of crops from the north to the Central Continent .

It would have been absolutely impossible without Weed’s prior permission!

‘The food shortage in the Central Continent is a good thing for the economy . But the long term effects will be low . ’

Despite the food shortage, the Haven Empire didn’t collapse .

Weed knew about the military nature of an empire in Royal Road .

He realized it during the warring period when he led a camel cavalry to invade the Central Continent .

‘Having a strong military power is a great advantage . Mass rebellions can be easily quelled . A strong military power can defeat any challenges . ’

If the residents and users were starving then hunting would decrease .

The inhabitants of the Central Continent might be starving and the Haven Empire wouldn’t be able withstand the ordeal .

The lowered loyalty of the residents would steadily weaken economic power .

It would fall apart just like Weed’s Pallos Empire! Historically, it dominated for 83 years but that duration was actually very short .

Weed joined hands with Mapan to export food and accumulated enormous wealth .

“The next task is aggressive buying . ”

“Buying?”

“In recent years, there has been a price drop for production facilities in the Haven Empire . ”

“They aren’t operating normally . ”

“Huhuhu . This is an opportunity . Exploiting the inhabitants as slaves…no, feed them properly in order to lure them…hum hum . Hire them at a cheap price . ”

“I will select good businesses and pour money in . ”

Weed and Mapan had a very good cooperation .

They had lifelong dreams in land speculation and investments! Taking control of the economy in the Haven Empire would give the many benefits .

Weed wasn’t a great politician but his skill in this area would be second to none .  He was capable to filling his pockets anywhere .

Still, there was a limit to the wealth of Mapan’s Trading Company .  He primarily focused on investing near the capital of the empire as well as the large cities .

Then Mapan asked .

“What about those that infiltrated the Arpen Kingdom? Huge losses every day…it is at a level that should be stopped . ”

Mapan’s Trading Company was receiving various damages from the attacks of the Hermes Guild .

Ranches were smashed and farms burned .

The production facilities in the city were safe but the prosperity of the merchants were in danger .

The travelling merchants in the kingdom suffered a loss of trade and the problem would become larger if it continued .

The small, remote villages went back to their ruined state from after the Niflheim Empire’s collapse .

The influence of the Arpen Kingdom on frontier villages reduced and they became independent again .

‘Is it really possible to get rid of those guys?’

Mapan was really curious .  Could Weed really stop the sneaky attacks of the Haven Empire?

‘I can believe it if it is Weed-nim . ’

All the users of the Arpen Kingdom were curious about this .

‘Weed-nim’s mind is excellent and he can do work others can’t . He also never seems to die . Now he will be able to overcome the situation . ’

No matter how Mapan thought, he couldn’t come up with a way to protect the kingdom from the 50,000 troops that infiltrated it .

Lafaye was a strategist while Weed lived in an inhospitable continent using tricks .

Weed and Lafaye thought about the big picture but sometimes gaps would arise .  In particular, they were surprisingly sensitive to things that would benefit them .

Weed was the first to suggest taking advantage of the confusion in the Haven Empire .  He provided the funds required to smuggle supplies from the Hermes Guild .

As a merchant, Mapan had to endlessly respect and follow him .

Weed said like it was natural .

“There is no way to stop them right away without any damage . ”

“Huh? Really?”

“This is the loophole I aimed for in the first place . The population density and military power of the Arpen Kingdom is low so there is no way to stop the damage . ”

Mapan raised his voice .

“This will destroy the kingdom in the long term . There will only be Morata, Vent Castle and Vargo Fortress left in the Arpen Kingdom . Dawn City hasn’t even been properly built yet . ”

This was a crisis that could erase the name of the Arpen Kingdom!

Mapan had invested heavily in the Northern Continent so his entire body trembled .

‘But… . ’

Mapan was alert .

Weed wasn’t a simple human!

The person who went without sleep to make Goldman .  It wasn’t right that he would look so unconcerned about the crisis of the Arpen Kingdom .

“Even so, don’t you have a perfect measure to defeat them?”

“Of course .

“That…can you please tell me?”

“Huhuhu . ”

Weed gave a low laugh .

“When thinking about it, it isn’t that complicated . I am afraid when first meeting a bear in the mountains . But then the bear will come home as a chunk of money . ”

“Huh?”

“There is nothing to throw away . Some damage can’t be avoided but…the Arpen Kingdom won’t be smashed apart . ”

Mapan scratched his head .

The merchants including Mapan and Gamong had helped the north prosper .

Yet it was still in the beginning stages . The people were settling into major villages and productivity started to increase .

Despite the Arpen Kingdom spreading across the north, there was a vast majority of empty land between villages .

The entire north could be said to be the territory of the Arpen Kingdom but there were some villages that didn’t belong to it .

There were merchants who barely managed to climb up the mountains to open trade routes .

It would be fairly difficult for the Hermes Guild users to enter cities like Morata .

Destroying mines or granaries wouldn’t really give a big blow .

The mines were in a situation where the majority of them couldn’t be developed due to lacking manpower and transportation links .

The Northern Continent had very fertile farmland .

Despite the decline of the Niflheim Empire, the fields still yielded a lot of food .

“The bear might cause some damage but I will eventually eat it . ”

“You mean…”

“We will exploit those guys . ”

A firm declaration of exploitation!

Weed’s eyes went moist as he recalled the short history of the Northern Continent .

“Culture expansion in the Morata area keeps increasing . I couldn’t sleep properly for a month while trying to figure out how to exploit the people of the Arpen Kingdom .

“……!”

He had thought about exploitation plans in advance .

Weed had some serious concerns as a king . He walked the streets to find some method of exploitation .

“Tax raise? Then people will hate it . Complaints will immediately explode . How can I reduce the difference between the Northern and Central Continent?”

It was impossible to reduce the differences between kingdoms with taxes .

Weed indifferently said .

“I couldn’t increase taxes so new residents have been accepted in order for the kingdom to grow…but it would take a few years even with our best efforts . ”

There were some positive factors regarding the north of the Versailles Continent .

The blessing of the Freya Church, fertile land and the people were scattered after the Niflheim Empire .

Nevertheless, the kingdom was started from scratch so it would take a while to surpass the prosperity of other areas .

Merchants such as Mapan invested early on in the kingdom and their role was very important .

“You want to exploit the Hermes Guild?”

“In the Central Continent, I was surrounded by enemies and needed to be careful when hunting the Hermes Guild users . I barely got a great income from Knight Myul . A good chance like that doesn’t occur often . But there are only a few of them in the Northern Continent . Now I am even more committed . It will be good to hunt those people scattered through the Northern Continent . Even though there might be some damage to the kingdom . ”

The Hermes Guild were the objects of exploitation .

Weed looked at them as a source of food to raise his combat skills and level .

Those people still didn’t know much about his sculptural lifeforms . The sculptural lifeforms had the ability to find the Hermes Guild members hiding in the mountains and fields .

The hell dog Cerberus’ sense of smell and Golden Bird’s mobility and wide field of view were just some examples .

If he used Sculpture Transformation and Time Sculpting then fighting them would be a piece of cake .  Moreover, they were murderers so killing them would get a lot of experience and loot .

For the time being, he was going to aggressively hunt the Hermes Guild .

“But what about the damage to the Arpen Kingdom’s users?”

“Kids have to grow up through fighting . ”

“…… . ”

“Even if some die, they will still recover . Don’t calculate the damage as a headcount . There should be thousands of beginners dying . And I’m only telling Mapan-nim this because I trust you…”

“Huh?”

“Huhuhu . After the northern users die, they will have to purchase equipment to replace those they lost . We can’t hold those people back . From the kingdom’s point of view, this is an opportunity to receive taxes . ”

“Heeok!”

Mapan was filled with sincere admiration .

Weed was a king who calmly thought of how to exploit the people who received damages .

“What about the reduced economic power of the kingdom?”

“For the moment, the economic power will reduce but the merchants will be eager to resume trading . In the first place, we don’t have that many manufacturing facilities . ”

This was the sad reality!

The Arpen Kingdom didn’t have many facilities to be destroyed in the invasion . Even if the Hermes Guild users swarmed the mines, most of them weren’t operating anyway .

The current focus on production in cities like Morata was sufficient for the moment .

Approximately 70% of the Arpen Kingdom’s economic power was gathered in 3~4 places .

“The Hermes Guild members are damaging the users of the north . The northern users can take care of themselves . ”

Mapan was puzzled .

“In a situation where the kingdom is receiving damage, isn’t it natural for the king to lead troops to stop the enemy?”

“The residents can stop them . ”

“……?”

“The kingdom was originally like this . ”

A highly exploitative method .

The king was becoming more and more vicious .

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Weed gathered his sculptural lifeforms and took action .

He was planning to eat a hot meal!

“Everyone go and find people from the Haven Empire . ”

“Kakakakat . I understand . ”

“Kuoohhh!”

Bingryong and the wyverns mobilized with a violent blast .

“Hunt . Kill them all . ”

“Melt them all . Show the humans how savage a dragon can be . ”

Phoenix wanted to play with fire . Imugi was a high quality fake dragon .

Imugi and Phoenix flew high to search over a broad area, with Golden Bird and Silver Bird following them .  They used little birds to search the mountains .  Cerberus sniffed near the cities while the crocodile Nile monitored the rivers .

A monitoring system using his sculptural lifeforms! They could cover the entire Northern Continent .

There were Hermes Guild users in remote mountain areas that were waiting for people to pass .  Naturally there were many players lurking around paths that a lot of northern users would take .

“Hunt them when you find them! Go!”

Bahamorg, knight Seville, Gernika and Eltin jumped towards the busy locations .

They attacked the Hermes Guild users and Haven Empire troops blocking the major roads .

‘They divided into smaller units for maneuverability and to ensure secrecy . If so, giving directions isn’t necessary . They just need to kill . ’

Weed went to the best hunting grounds in the Arpen Kingdom .

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“How many died today?”

“50 or so?”

“20 people from the guild…isn’t that too much?”

“No one important was killed . There were some level 30 people sent to the north . ”

“Still, I am having fun slaughtering . Huhu . ”

There were four Hermes Guild users hiding in the mountains .

This was a road where people would need to pass in order to travel between villages .

Chirp chirp .

A cool breeze was blowing and birds crying in the mountains . The natural environment was beautiful but they only had one interest .

“I had a good time on the Central Continent…but this is the true taste of pillaging . ”

“Even finding half a dozen people in one day is a big hit . ”

“We have to hit them appropriately . There sometimes be some high quality users passing here . ”

The four Hermes Guild users had already killed more than 200 people but they failed to meet any strong opponents .

The northern users maintained a close cooperation .

Once news of the raids emerged, the fearless beginners were still active but the high level users started hiding .

“Shouldn’t we wait at a hunting ground?”

“That is troublesome . Attacking at the hunting grounds could be dangerous . We can kill a lot of people here . The excitement of wiping out people . We can easily kill the defenseless northern users . ”

The Hermes Guild users shared a leisurely conversation .

Dududududu .

They stopped as the ground suddenly vibrated .

“Something is coming . ”

“Just one?”

“They seem to be riding a cow…”

The Hermes Guild users leapt into the bushes .

It was so they could jump out for an ambush!

A person riding a yellowish bull was urgently heading towards them .

The users whispered in low voices .

“The equipment?”

“Not bad . It is at least level 400 . ”

“Jackpot . The reward we’ve been waiting for…”

“We will pop out at the same time . ”

The Hermes Guild users carefully examined the equipment .

Then they looked at the bull’s eyes . A wide and solid chest, thick thigh muscles and elongated horns gave it an intimidating appearance .

It was twice as fast as a horse . The man and bull came up to them in an instant .

“We can’t miss this chance . ”

“Everybody ready . ”

The Hermes Guild users prepared to pop out .

Then the man brandished his sword in their direction .

“Moonlight Sculpting Blade!”

Light emerged from the sword and flew towards them . The Hermes Guild users were frozen by the unexpected counterattack .

“Long range attack?”

“Wait a minute…he knows that we are here…”

“This isn’t the time to talk about it . Quickly avoid it!”

Kwa kwa kwang!

They scattered as the light from the sword smashed into the spot where they were .

The team consisting of an assassin, a ranger, and two knights from the Hermes Guild flew in different directions .

It was an avoidance movement arranged in advance .  But it was proof they hadn’t met a true hunter yet .  Rather than scattering, it would have been better to come together to face the one person!

Weed riding on Yellowy rushed towards the ranger .

“Why me? Dammit!”

The ranger tried to attack but Yellowy’s speed was too fast .  He avoided it and aimed an arrow at Yellowy .  He intended to briefly knock down the bull and join up with his colleagues .

Pusyuk!

He shot the arrow but Yellowy put strength into his hind legs and leapt like a tiger .  Yellowy’s dash didn’t slow down . Weed’s sword came closer .

“Heriam Fencing . ”

Pukeokwack!

The attack power could increase depending on the speed of the bull or horse .

The poor defense of the ranger meant that he died after three consecutive attacks from Heriam Fencing .

“I died in vain…”

The ranger changed into a grey light as Weed swept past him .

He picked up the loot in 0 . 1 second .  He was an expert at speedily collecting items . After the attack, his movements were as smooth as water while picking up the loot .

Weed was satisfied by the item in his hand .

‘A leather helmet . The start is good!’

Yellowy didn’t stop and immediately rushed towards an assassin .

The assassin profession were experts at fast, short-distance movements . But they had some limitations in long distance movement .

“Shit . ”

The assassin had seen the ranger be killed in an instant .

The prerogative of an assassins . Concealing themselves before attacking .  It was also beneficial to disappear during a fight for a surprise attack .

There was also a possibility of them not showing up again .  The penalty of losing their lives was much higher than any other profession so they had ways to hide their bodies…

Weed and Yellowy suddenly appeared in front of him .

“Chiit! Poisonous Dual Swords!”

Each hand held a poisonous dagger .

The users of the Hermes Guild had a quick reaction rate .

“The effects of the attack as well as the poison will reduce his health by half!”

The assassin said that to make the opponent shrink back .

Weed just lightly moved his upper body like he knew the attack was coming ahead of time .

“Ehh?”

Pu shu shu shuk!

Heriam Fencing lightly slashed his body . An assassin had strong damage but low defense .

Weed had used Sculptural Destruction into strength in order to raise the hunting speed .  He wasn’t holding Red Star since a different sword was enough .

“Kwaaek!”

The assassin was killed and he collected the loot before it even touched the ground .  Collecting the loot was an art in itself .

There were only the two knights remaining . They stood shoulder to shoulder facing him .

“The bull is Yellowy . ”

“Then he is Weed, the God of War . ”

Bardray’s only match, the man who killed many Hermes Guild users in the Central Continent .

More recently, he had killed Knight Myul so the two knights felt like they had no chance of winning .

“Our luck was bad today . ”

“However, we might appear on broadcast . We will be killed by a famous person . ”

Both knights gave up on fleeing from Yellowy .

“Chahat . Weed, the God of War . I will compete with you proudly!”

The knights jumped at Weed simultaneously .

“Ummoooooo . ”

Yellowy kicked his legs against the ground, retreated or sped up depending on the knights .

Yellowy’s agile moves at a short distance . It was a rare experience but the knights were familiar with the battlefield .

The knights threw the weight of their bodies into every attack .

Yellowy made their attacks obsolete while Weed mercilessly used Heriam Fencing .

-The 1st consecutive attack has succeeded . Agility has increased by 27% .

-The 2nd consecutive attack has succeeded . Strength has increased by 48% .

-The 3rd consecutive attack has succeeded . Agility has increased by 51% .

-The 4th consecutive attack has succeeded . Destructive power has increased by 44% . The enemy has been neutralized .

-The 5th consecutive attack has succeeded . The enemy has perished .

Heriam Fencing was used a few times and the enemies lost their lives .

Since Weed appeared, it took less than a minute to hunt all four people .

“Yellowy, let’s go to the next place!”

Other Hermes Guild users were hiding nearby .

They secretly hid in the ground but the birds hunting worms found them .

There were 470 murderers in the Hermes Guild who volunteered to go to the north and split into elite teams .

Their names were infamous even in the Central Continent .

“Weed!”

“The enemy has appeared . ”

They were formidable opponents even for Weed and Yellowy .

“The value of this group of quite high . Yellowy . Let’s go . ”

“Ummoooooo!”

If he deemed the opponent too strong then he would retreat .

Their equipment was designed for secret infiltration so they couldn’t catch up with Yellowy .

“The God of War ran away . ”

“Kuhahaha . That is good to see . ”

However, he summoned his sculptural lifeforms and came back for a rematch in less than 2 minutes .

The knight Seville and Gernika who had good defense were in the vanguard while Weed moved from side to side on Yellowy .  The wyverns were plaguing the enemies from the air .

It wasn’t a surprise that the Hermes Guild users lost their lives .

“You cowardly people who came here! This is the method of Weed, the God of War?”

“There is no cowardice in fighting . Only winning matters . ”

Weed took their remarks as a compliment .

If there was a dangerous moment then he would use a secret sculpting technique .

“Moment Sculpting!”

Moment Sculpting was an ultimate technique that stopped the world .

The Hermes Guild users were literally slaughtered .

He had still fought somewhat carefully until he learned Moment Sculpting .  Others might think he was fighting recklessly but Weed calmly calculated the odds .

A top ranked team from the Hermes Guild was different from monsters and normally couldn’t be touched .  In addition to high skill proficiency and level, they were users properly equipped with weapons and armour .

Even Weed who knew how to fight properly would find them daunting .  Weed was always worried about being hit by curses or spells .  Or he wondered if they dug a trap in advance .

All hesitation in a fight disappeared after learning Moment Sculpting .

‘I can’t actively use it yet . I need to conceal it so that the Hermes Guild can’t analyze it . ’

Weed only briefly stopped the world and took advantage of it to appear behind magicians and priests .

If the Hermes Guild users lost their magicians and priests then they wouldn’t be able to last long .

-Thanks to mastering handicraft, you have learnt how to do an upper strike with the shield .

-The sword technique of the Romanak area has been acquired . A simple sword style mainly focusing on strength . The skill proficiency has immediately increased to intermediate level 2 after learning it . Three knight attack skills have been learnt . Split Far Away:  A splitting technique that gathers mana around the sword . Close enemies will be pushed away and you can attack enemies within 20 metres . 3,500 mana is consumed . Strike the Land: All enemies within 6 metres will temporarily lose their balance . 1,470 mana is consumed . Strength Competition: The knights of the Romanak area enjoy boasting of their power . When pushing against another sword, 24% more strength will be displayed . 410 mana is consumed .

He had the ability to learn other combat skills .

Weed accumulated quite a lot of techniques based on various weapons .

“In many ways, it is good that I mastered handicraft . I can obtain skills much faster . ”

A sculptor wasn’t a combat profession so he had endlessly doubted it .

Weed was close to a natural fighter after mastering handicraft .

His spear mastery also reached intermediate level 3 .  Weed could now wear the Sealed Thunder Spear that was Myul’s symbol and this made fighting much easier .

He could hit a few enemies with every swing of his spear . The spear attacks had a strong force .  He would use wide area skills when his mana was full to increase his hunting speed .  An electric shock would pour into the body through armour and weapons .

He was able to freely attack on Yellowy and it felt like he became at least 30% stronger .

“I need to earnestly improve spear mastery . Master handicraft will have more worth in the future . ”

He would also become a sword master .  He had achieved it during the desert quest so it was only a matter of time .

He first needed to pour all his time and effort into mastering sculpting .

Weed raised his level in one day . He reached level 442 and 443 in record time .

The invading Hermes Guild users were quickly destroyed .

He worked diligently and got rid of 150 people in one day .

“The income is really high . There are prey from the Central Continent scattered everywhere . ”

He raised his experience and combat skills .

Apart from his level and skill proficiency, his overall attack power had increased due to mastering handicraft .

The best growing method was humans instead of monsters . While the Arpen Kingdom was faltering, Weed was improving himself .

“Who knows what will happen in the future . I will surely become stronger and earn more money . ”

He had already collected enough money to eat and live . However, he became greedier the more money he had .

It was because he knew the joys of spending money .

“I will later live in luxury with my family . ”

This was Weed’s new goal for gathering money .

Real estate speculation and then wealth inheritance! Being able to live in luxury while old was the goal .