#41
“We can’t have everyone die, so if the goal is to surrender, that’s what we should do. The problem is whether the Archduke will remain silent even if I surrender. It would be a shame to surrender to his ambition, so before that happens, I will replace the villagers and gather my own people to prepare for battle.”
“Did you always have a bad relationship with the Archduke?”
“okay. I died because of him nine times, nine times! If only he had died one more time, he would have lost Izzy and come here! “I committed some crime during my lifetime to be paired with a primitive species, tsk!”
“Then why did you say you would become the village chief?”
“Oh, I thought it would be okay because I had a big heart! I thought that the Archduke would get better if he mixed with other races, but who would have known that he would be so crazy! And what? “There are only beginners, so someone who knows something needs to come forward and run the village in order for the village to run. We can’t just watch while everyone is indifferent.”
Everyone’s eyes were quietly focused on Kim Gap-jun’s words. Kim Gap-jun must have been caught by a subtle gaze, and he cleared his throat.
“Well, it’s all a thing of the past! Ah, at that time, I was so angry that my business had failed! I gave up everything and took an aptitude test to play a game, but for some reason, a primitive species I only knew about came out and do you know how much trouble I had to go through?! Don’t look at me with those eyes, uh-huh! “Why is this bastard looking at me like I’m seeing a homeless person?”
“No, who said what? “Why is Mr. Pithecus causing trouble alone?”
“Your eyes are the same now! Ah, anyway, I’m not originally one of those exclusive people like the Kural people. okay? “It’s all about that damn business.”
“I’m not that weak either.”
At Sehyun’s words, this time all eyes turned to Sehyun. In particular, Lee Jae-young and Kwak Jeong-han looked a bit nervous and seemed like they had a lot to say.
“uh! “Brother, people wake up!”
Just as he was about to say something, Jaeyoung Lee screamed into Sehyeon’s ear. Thanks to this, Sehyun had to look down at the men lying on their backs, clutching their pounding hearts as their brains were pierced.
“eww… .”
“ship… I’m hungry… green onion… .”
Se-hyeon opened his eyes with a look on his face that had not even eaten blood, and as he spoke, he took out a rice ball from his inventory and handed it to the two men. My lifeless eyes, as if I was about to die at any moment, opened wide when I saw the rice balls. The obsession with all the whites revealed was scary enough.
The men gorged themselves on the rice balls in an instant and knelt down to say thank you for barely surviving. And only then was everyone able to sit around in the cramped space and listen to the men’s stories.
It was Kim Gap-jun who spoke first. Sehyun decided to quietly stay back this time.
“Well, can I tell you where you’re from?”
“ah! Yes, yes… . “We are the group that moved to the second portal among the groups that gathered because there was no empire.”
“I was a temporary resident there doing patrol work… . bump… Is there anything else to eat…? ? It’s shameless, but… I have been starving for several days and my hunger cannot subside… sorry.”
“I’ll give you as much as I can once we’re done talking, so tell me first. “Don’t we need to know what happened there to make you run away here so we can help you?”
At Kim Gap-jun’s words, the men wiped their eyes and nodded repeatedly. Then, he traced his memories and started a long story.
The story began with someone becoming the head of the village and establishing a village. The village chief was a young female user who had experience playing Ellix, and she was said to be a female warrior with a high sense of responsibility.
He was awakened to the world of combat and was more resourceful and a better race than other men in the village, so he even received full support as the village chief.
“The village chief’s race is a fighting race, but they are a race that loves nature, so they embrace all people. “For those who were unable to awaken, we worked hard in many ways to find suitable work for them and to distribute work according to their aptitude so that no sacrifices were made.”
“Everyone thought it was going so well… . Until one day someone came looking for me.”
“He was from another village too?”
“yes… . At first, they said they moved because it did not fit the character of the existing village. Our village chief said he knew and accepted the person. however… From then on, the atmosphere in the village began to change in an unusual way.”
“He was feuding with the village chief and inciting people behind his back. At first he thought he was aiming for the position of village chief… Rather, the goal was to cause a riot by lowering trust in the village chief. therefore… The original purpose was to get residents to leave… .”
A riot was an event that occurred when more than 80% of the village residents were dissatisfied and staged a coup. When an event called a ‘riot’ occurred, it became possible for residents to leave the empire without permission from the village chief or the king.
The deserted residents were not buried with the king even after his death. It literally becomes freedom.
Therefore, when a riot broke out, the Archduke killed the king with his own hands before the people of the empire left. Although the exact reason has not yet been revealed, the public’s speculation was that he did not want his race to flow to another empire.
Of course, the people of the empire who left in the riots could immigrate to other empires, and it was also possible for other empires to scout them and take them away.
“It was just an intelligent village hunt.”
“Is this different from not using force?”
Kwak Jeong-han, who was sitting reverently on his knees, frowned and asked. Kim Gap-Jun let out a long sigh and crossed his eyebrows as if he was in pain.
“There are many ways to hunt in a village. The easiest way is to deliberately cause a riot and when the distrust of the people reaches its peak, pretend to be a hero in another empire to quell that anger, gain their trust, and absorb the people of the empire into your own empire.”
“that is… If that doesn’t work, are you going to resort to force?”
“Draw. This is something that many empires do to show off. They force the king to surrender through military suppression and absorb the residents into their empire. But… Isn’t that good… .”
Kim Gap-Jun gently rubbed his chin with a somewhat pensive expression. He knows it too. The chaos that happens when an empire absorbs an empire.
“Anyway, so what do you mean there’s a riot in your village now?”
“Oh, no… . Fortunately, before the riot broke out, the village chief’s supporters came forward and stopped the coup. The man was expelled from the village. the problem is… “Two days later, an airship was deployed to the village.”
“Aircraft?! “Did you say it was a special airship?!”
At the sound of the airship, Gapjun Kim jumped up from his seat. Sehyun was also surprised. Only Lee Jae-young and Kwak Jeong-han were sitting together, looking at the men with heavy expressions.
“Is the airship dangerous?”
“No, what on earth does that fin know? Airship Moller?! Oh, there are a lot of things that appear in that game! Floating in the sky, shooting cannons and doing shit!”
“… “It took about three minutes for our village to collapse and surrender.”
“Everything is burning and falling apart… So many people are sacrificed… I had no choice but to run away… .”
In an instant, anger seeped into Huo Jeonghan’s eyes. These shiny eyes followed an unknown location. His fists were clenched.
“Four huge creatures surround the village and open fire… “What can stop that small town?”
“We know we are selfish… I know, but what can I do? Because I really thought I was going to die, my body started acting on its own and I ran away and ran through the forest in a hurry to survive… Somehow. I feel pathetic and resentful… That’s the only way… I can’t do it… .”
The men spoke while wiping away their tears with the backs of their hands, as if they were remembering how angry they felt that day. They sobbed and said that after five days of hiding in the forest and being in fear, they escaped and came here.
Gapjun Kim let out a long sigh. Looking at the wrinkles on his forehead, he felt like he had aged by several decades.
“… If they come with an airship, there is no answer here either. Do you think we have cannons now? Any place with airships would be at least a mid-level empire, wow! “I’m sure you’ve already harmed a few of them.”
“Then what should I do?”
“What should I do? What should I do?” “I have no choice but to surrender or pack my bags and move.”
Sehyun also touched her forehead with a troubled expression. It’s so hard to get addicted right now that you’re dying, but to make matters worse, this situation is even worse. Moreover, there was something difficult about completely trusting their words.
“What evidence do we need to trust you?”
“yes?”
“Um, you mean us?”
The air in the room changed at Sehyeon’s words. Sehyun asked with a pale face, as if she was touching her forehead.
“You who say that are asking whether we can trust people. I mean, it has to be packaged nicely. But if you are from the invading empire, your location will be revealed and there will be an uproar here as well. Do you just believe it?”
“okay! “Hey, spit out all the rice balls your brother gave you!”
“Yes, it’s true! Why do we come here and make up such things about what kind of abilities we have? !”
“Please believe me… ! We really… .”
“Did you guys come here via portal?”
