Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Proposal
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“Let’s move.”
“Ah, yes.”
Lee Shin, coolly extorting money from a player he'd never met before and moving on!
In truth, it was only possible because he'd anticipated this to some extent.
Arthur asked.
-You knew who he was?
‘No? I didn't know who that guy was.’
-…?
He didn't mean he'd anticipated *who* it was, but that he'd anticipated a situation like this.
It was later than he'd expected, but he had long thought that one of the players would eventually seek him out.
The Ampiri territory was a decent one within the Eteun Kingdom.
Its luster was somewhat diminished by the neighboring Edgar territory, but in reality, its size and scale were not bad.
As such, there were bound to be players and guilds settled and active in this territory, and Lee Shin figured his own vigorous activities would provoke them in some way.
“Why?”
“Because I'd be taking their spot in the contribution rankings. They'd be the ones losing it.”
“What's that got to do with anything? If the ranking is the problem, they can just get it back. By working hard.”
Can't they just work hard to reclaim it?
Jeong Yu-ra asked, puzzled.
Her words were quite sensible.
But they didn't reflect reality.
Having practically lived in the arena in the past, Lee Shin knew all too well how seriously players took their rankings.
“That's because you're you.”
“Really…?”
“Most people aren't like that.”
They usually try to steal it or kill their rival.
If they succeed, it's far more effective than competing fairly.
This tendency was especially strong among players competing for the same top ranks.
“…No, isn't that something *you* would think!?”
“No.”
‘I've actually been on the receiving end of it.’
Back in Avala Online 1, when he was just playing without knowing much, hadn't he been PK'd by a rival ranker whose spot he'd taken?
Of course, he'd paid him back immediately after resurrecting, but as it was his first PK experience, the memory remained a vivid impression on Lee Shin.
However.
‘Well, it doesn't seem to be that kind of situation this time...’
Uncharacteristically for the Eteun Kingdom, the other party was a very mild-mannered group.
When he demanded a price for the information, they had pulled out a pouch of gold before a sword.
If their roles were reversed, he would have cast a curse without hesitation and started negotiations (in the guise of a threat).
‘Did they come from another region?’
Lee Shin mulled over various thoughts.
A short while later.
“Will this spot do?”
“Yes. It's good.”
After arriving at a deserted place, Lee Shin spoke first.
“First, what did the message say?”
“It said to be cautious? That the clouds of war are gathering over the territory…”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
‘Not very specific.’
Considering Lee Shin's message stated that a territory war would actually occur and even when, this was extremely vague.
Conversely, the fact that they felt uneasy enough to seek out Lee Shin despite the vagueness meant they were quite well-informed about the territory's situation.
The Ampiri territory was a place where major and minor incidents occurred daily.
Frankly, even if a warning message appeared, it wouldn't have been strange for them to simply think, 'Oh, something's happening again,' and feel no particular sense of alarm.
One had to know in advance that the territory's situation had been unusual lately to feel anxious upon seeing this message.
And such high-level information was only available to those with connections to high-ranking officials of the territory or within the guild.
Lee Shin thought to himself.
‘Their contribution ranking must have been high.’
Or they've been bribing people in various places.
Or both.
Whatever the case, there was a high probability they were a guild with considerable influence in this territory.
Keeping that in mind, Lee Shin continued his questions.
“By any chance, were you originally active here?”
“Pardon? Why do you ask…?”
“Oh, it's nothing. It's just that if you were anxious, you could have just left. I found it a bit strange that you went out of your way to find me. You don't have to answer if you don't want to.”
“Ah, no, it's not that. It's been a while, hasn't it? I think it's been a few months since we settled here.”
‘Just as I thought.’
As Lee Shin had expected, they weren't an ordinary guild.
They were a well-established guild, at least in this region!
Thanks to this, in a brief moment, many thoughts raced through Lee Shin's mind.
‘……’
Originally, he had planned to package some moderately useless information plausibly, tell them, and be done with it.
He'd already received the money, and he figured that even if he lied, they had no way of realizing it immediately.
By the time they realized they'd been deceived, Lee Shin would have already left the territory.
Or even if they stubbornly pursued him, he could easily crush them, even a guild-sized unit, by borrowing Count Aaron's power.
But if the other party was an influential group, the story changed.
Their value as a potential asset grew in proportion to their influence.
It seemed he could use them in a better way rather than just deceiving them.
“Actually…”
“Yes.”
After a short but deep deliberation, Lee Shin swallowed the words he was about to say.
Instead, he revealed the truth.
“The truth is, a territory war is about to break out.”
“A territory war?”
“Yes. It's only a few days away. It'll probably happen within three days.”
“Ah, I knew it…”
“?”
Tae-yoon sighed.
However, his reaction was much calmer than Lee Shin had expected.
It wasn't 'What, a territory war out of nowhere!?!?' but more of a 'So it's finally come' kind of feeling.
Lee Shin asked, puzzled.
“You don't seem very surprised.”
“To be honest, I had an idea ever since the message popped up. There have been so many ominous rumors about the neighboring territory recently…”
“That's true.”
“Yes. I was hoping it wasn't true, but it seems it's come to this after all.”
“You were hoping it wasn't true?”
“It wouldn't matter if we were guaranteed to win the territory war, but no one knows how it will turn out, right?”
Just as he said, the Ampiri territory's military strength wasn't particularly solid.
The problem was that if the Ampiri territory lost the war, all the guild funds and contribution points tied to the territory would be wiped out.
It meant losing everything they had built up solely for the main quest.
For Tae-yoon, that was an unacceptable outcome.
“……Sigh. So I'm really torn right now. Whether to leave this place or stay and see.”
“Oh dear, I see…”
Lee Shin nodded as if in sympathy.
But of course, he wasn't genuinely consoling him; he was thinking something else entirely.
Thoughts about the upcoming territory war.
‘……’
In truth, Lee Shin wasn't particularly worried about the upcoming territory war.
The military strength of the two territories was about the same anyway, with no significant absolute difference.
All Lee Shin had to do was watch the battle between the two territories and join the side that seemed likely to win at the right moment.
Since the Edgar territory's forces overwhelmed both, that alone would be enough to easily sway the tide of battle.
However, there was one variable: the players.
Unlike NPCs, players could resurrect even if they died.
Of course, they would drop one level, but compared to NPCs who died and vanished permanently, it was a stretch to say their combat power would drop enormously.
In other words, after just three days, they would return with their strength intact.
And right now, the number of players in the Eteun Kingdom was increasing due to the main quest.
To a degree that the word 'explosive' wouldn't be an exaggeration.
What if, in this situation, rumors of the territory war were to spread?
What if countless players heard those rumors, flocked to the area, and joined the war?
Then, a result that deviated from Lee Shin's calculations could occur.
And that could be considered the only real variable in the territory war.
A variable with a low probability, but one that could cause Lee Shin a major headache if it happened.
However, Lee Shin thought the player variable was unavoidable.
How could he stop them if they decided to come?
Not even a GM could do it, let alone Lee Shin.
So he was just going to let it be, but…
A good idea suddenly came to mind.
‘My premise was wrong.’
What if it wasn't about stopping them from coming, but guiding them to come to the side I want?
Wouldn't that be entirely possible?
“Mr. Tae-yoon.”
“Yes?”
Having organized his thoughts, Lee Shin called out to the still-pondering Tae-yoon.
Then, he shared a part of his personal information with him.
“Actually, this is who I am.”
<Territory Diplomat>
A diplomat of the Edgar territory.
Can handle various diplomatic affairs on behalf of the lord.
“A diplomat?”
“Yes.”
“I see. …So?”
Tae-yoon asked, blinking.
It was surprising that a mere player had secured the position of territory diplomat, but he wondered what this was all about so suddenly.
‘…Is he bragging?’
“That's not it. You said you were anxious about the territory war.”
“Yes.”
“Then why not come to our territory instead? If you do, I can help you get settled.”
“……!!”
Tae-yoon's eyes widened at Lee Shin's words.
A third option had suddenly appeared in the dilemma of fighting or leaving!
And it was an incredibly tempting one.
“How can you help?”
“Well, in various ways. But I can't just help you for free. There's one condition.”
“What? Ah…”
Tae-yoon's face fell into a disappointed expression the moment he heard the word 'condition'!
It was the look of someone whose long-lost friend had just pulled out an insurance brochure.
Lee Shin quickly added.
“It's okay. It's not difficult.”
“……”
“It's really nothing. Just gather other players and participate in the territory war with us. That's it.”
Using a large guild like the Phoenix Guild as a focal point to attract players, while also putting them on the front lines to minimize the losses of the territory's army.
This was the method Lee Shin had devised.
If it succeeded, he could eliminate the variable while minimizing the territory's military losses.
“…'Us'?”
“The territory's soldiers. Given my position, I'm privy to some information…”
It seemed Count Aaron was planning to intervene in the war between the two territories.
At Lee Shin's words, Tae-yoon slowly turned his head back.
“On which side?”
“He'll probably feel things out and side with the one that has the advantage, right?”
“……!!”
Those words were decisive.
Openly declaring they would only join a favorable fight meant that a certain level of safety was guaranteed.
In such a situation, if he performed well, he could still earn a good amount of contribution points, and even if he didn't, he had already been promised support in settling. From Tae-yoon's perspective, there was no reason to refuse.
“I'll do it!”
* * *
In the end, Tae-yoon accepted Lee Shin's proposal.
Lee Shin nodded in satisfaction.
“A wise decision.”
“Should we head over right away?”
“Come whenever you're ready. When you arrive, go to the guild and ask for me. Oh, and if possible, it would be great if you could gather as many other players as you can.”
“Ah, that. Understood.”
Tae-yoon nodded and then hurriedly left with his guild members.
Having decided to leave the territory, he was moving quickly.
Lee Shin also headed straight for the Edgar territory.
He had originally thought about visiting the arena, but he postponed that for now.
The arena was something he could do anytime, and right now, there was something more important.
‘If I'm going to do this, I should do it right.’
Since he had decided to draw in players anyway.
Lee Shin, thinking it best to use every card at his disposal, went to find Dokgo.