Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: The Battle of Sicily
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Sicily was a small, peaceful island located in the northern part of Shangri-La.
Shangri-La, the world's most powerful nation, actively traded with many other countries, but its only maritime trade partner was Olympian, located on the continent across the sea.
In the Northern Kingdom, situated to the northeast of Shangri-La, the tribes of the western coastal region had no interest in trade. The Duchy of Avalon, Shangri-La's neighbor, focused primarily on land-based trade or commerce through inland waterways.
Consequently, Sicily, lying outside the main trade route with Olympian, had never received much historical attention.
The island, barely large enough for a few villages, had no rare resources, nor were there any special fish caught only in its nearby waters.
Its unique crescent shape was famous, but that was all.
The island's form, which could only be confirmed by looking down from an airship, might be a fleeting curiosity, but it could never become a tourist attraction.
“Still, there’s one special legend. It’s about how this island was born. They say that nine hundred years ago, this island didn’t exist. Not that people hadn't found it and put it on a map, but that the island itself truly wasn't here.”
Sekhmet spoke softly, squatting on the roof of the Black Dragon’s cabin. Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder right next to her, Yang Jun-gyu simply nodded.
“A thousand years ago, during the Unification War, some of the descendants of the ‘Olympians’ who had crossed over to live in Shangri-La decided to return to their homeland across the sea and launched several large ships. The number of people who set out on the journey was nearly a thousand. For that many people to venture out to sea, it was a huge adventure even by today’s standards. But I guess it was too big of an adventure. Not long after leaving Shangri-La, a great storm arose, and most of the ships were on the verge of sinking. It’s horrifying just to imagine that over a thousand people were about to become fish food.”
As if swept up in her own story, Sekhmet shivered lightly. Yang Jun-gyu, clutching his chest once more at the cute sight, took deep breaths to calm his wildly pounding heart. Of course, even then, he couldn't take his eyes off Sekhmet's beautiful profile.
Sekhmet continued.
“But just then, the high priest of the Red God—like the Pope these days, Elder Little Tree—stepped forward. Being a pure-blooded Elder, Elder Little Tree had a much longer lifespan than people today and was still going strong even at over a hundred years old. He had boarded the fleet, saying he wanted to observe the Olympians’ homeland and technology, but anyway, the important thing is that Elder Little Tree was there. Elder Little Tree raised the Thunderclap, the greatest Divine Artifact of the Red God Cult, high into the air, and then struck the stormy sea with it. And do you know what happened?”
Full of excitement, Sekhmet's eyes widened as she turned to Yang Jun-gyu.
Watching them talk from a distance, Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra hoped Yang Jun-gyu would at least manage to nod on cue as he had been, but it was no use.
Yang Jun-gyu, who had been staring blankly at Sekhmet, was startled by her face suddenly so close to his and could only stammer, failing to offer any appropriate reaction.
Seong Yu-jin sighed, while Choi Yu-ra burst into muffled laughter at the tragicomedy of the situation.
Pouting, Sekhmet whipped her head back around. Though her enthusiasm had waned, she opened her small, pretty lips again as if to finish the story she had started.
“The island of Sicily was born. Land shot up from the bottom of the sea, rescuing the ships that were being tossed about by the storm. It’s a truly tremendous miracle. I think it might be the greatest of all the miracles recorded in the history of the Red God Cult.”
The story was so astonishing that even Yang Jun-gyu, who had been mesmerized by Sekhmet’s wondrously beautiful profile, blinked in surprise.
Kang-seok, who had been standing on the deck some distance away and only half-listening to their conversation, was also surprised and turned to look at the island of Sicily again.
Creating an island with a single swing of a hammer.
It was a preposterous tale fit for mythology, but it couldn't be dismissed.
This was a world where gods and miracles were real.
“Amazing, right? That’s why, until about two or three hundred years ago, quite a few pilgrims used to visit this island. Now it’s so quiet—correction, it *was* quiet until a few days ago.”
Seeing the surprised looks not only on Yang Jun-gyu’s face but also on those of Kang-seok, Seong Yu-jin, and Choi Yu-ra listening from afar, Sekhmet’s mood seemed to improve, and she corrected herself with a slightly boastful tone.
It was because of the dozens of warships visible in the distance and the military tents crowding the coastline.
The Black Dragon had arrived at Sicily five days ago. Since it was only ten days before the second World Quest was expected to occur, many people had already gathered on the island.
A thousand members of the Shangri-La navy and about five hundred Players.
Unlike the Duchy of Avalon, the Shangri-La navy did not leave the Players to their own devices.
They established task force headquarters on Sicily and the northern coast of Shangri-La, classifying the Players who had gathered for the World Quest according to their abilities and combat styles.
The goal was to create ‘squads’ composed of Players with similar specialties.
The nature of conquering the Tower of Raum and repelling this sea monster were vastly different.
The sea was vast, and the sea monster was enormous.
If the Tower of Raum was a dungeon-clearing RPG challenged by small parties, repelling the sea monster was more like a large-scale raid with hundreds of Players participating simultaneously.
Forming squads and having the navy and Players fight together under the command of a headquarters was not a choice, but a necessity.
The Players who gathered for the World Quest followed the Shangri-La navy's requests without much trouble.
Most Players understood the nature of this World Quest and felt a strange sense of relief in fighting as part of a unit rather than individually.
The Shangri-La navy, for its part, made no attempt to assert its authority and treat the Players like private soldiers.
Although they prioritized forming squads by classifying magicians with magicians and warriors with warriors, if Players didn't want to be separated from their companions, the navy respected their wishes as much as possible instead of forcing the issue.
Among the Players, Kang-seok's party held a special position.
There were almost no Player groups with combat means other than their own bodies, let alone an airship instead of a boat. Among them, Kang-seok’s party possessed the Black Dragon, a combat vessel classified as a ‘warship,’ making their tactical value immense.
And one more thing.
Kang-seok’s party possessed ‘Morning’s Glory,’ the Divine Artifact of the Yellow God.
The Dark Destiny Lord’s combat prowess, already well-known from the defeat of Andras and the conquest of the Tower of Raum.
An airship capable of independent combat operations.
One of the two Divine Artifacts prophesied to be the key to this World Quest.
When all these factors were combined, it was not only difficult to find anyone more important than Kang-seok’s party, but it was also hard to find anyone who could even compare.
Therefore, the Shangri-La navy’s treatment of Kang-seok’s party was different from how they treated other Players.
Having already begun communicating with the navy while staying near the Yellow God’s Grand Temple for Christian’s left arm to regenerate, Kang-seok’s party joined the World Quest task force headquarters as soon as they arrived in Sicily. The Black Dragon was currently docked right next to the command headquarters.
Looking over the military tents lining the coast, Kang-seok turned his gaze to the command tent.
Navy officers, priests of the Red God Cult, and the guild masters of several Player guilds were filing out of the command tent.
It seemed the tedious military briefing, which had been going on for about two hours, was finally over.
Kim Kang-san, who had started attending the briefings in Kang-seok's stead since yesterday, boarded the Black Dragon with a tired look on his face. Kang-seok asked with an apologetic expression.
“How did it go?”
“Same as yesterday. Other than the fact that a sea monster will appear, nothing is certain. It’s all just ‘let’s manage the squads well and defeat it in one fell swoop when it appears.’”
The military briefings were held daily, but the discussion was always the same. That was why Kang-seok, who had initially participated diligently, had sent Kim Kang-san in his place.
Of course, for this kind of meeting, the more experienced Kim Kang-san was a better fit anyway.
Since the same topics were repeated, managing relationships among the participants was crucial, and in that respect, Kim Kang-san, with his many years of experience in the professional world, was superior to Kang-seok.
Park Han-yeong, who had been cloaked in stealth throughout the meeting, claiming to be Kim Kang-san’s bodyguard—though it seemed more like a form of role-playing—revealed herself right next to him.
She too looked extremely exhausted, likely from using her skill for two hours straight.
Kim Kang-san gently patted Park Han-yeong’s shoulder and spoke to Kang-seok again.
“And though it seems a bit late, they’ve decided to pick something like a general from among the Players. Apparently, quite a few Players are arguing that if they leave the command solely to the navy, they, as outsiders, might be used as cannon fodder. They’re saying that the command of Players should be left to a Player.”
It was an idea that could potentially divide the command structure and hinder combat operations, but it couldn't be completely ignored.
Kang-seok frowned.
“It’s not an entirely baseless concern.”
“But isn’t it ultimately the same thing? How can you trust the guy who gets picked as the general?”
Choi Yu-ra, who had appeared at Kang-seok’s left, spoke up. Kim Kang-san shrugged.
“That’s true, but the thinking is that it’s still better. You know how when you go abroad, you feel happy just seeing another Korean.”
Which was also why people said you should be most wary of Korean scammers when you go abroad, but Choi Yu-ra just nodded a few times and let it go. After all, if you started picking apart every little thing, there would be no end to it.
This time, Seong Yu-jin asked.
“Um, Kang-san. So who did they decide would lead the Players?”
Currently, the opinions of the Players were being represented by the guild masters of a few prominent guilds.
But even the most prominent guilds usually had only about twenty members, and with so many Players gathered, several new guilds had been established in just the past few days.
Simply picking a commander from among the guild masters was likely to cause further complaints.
And the commander’s ability was also an issue. With lives on the line in a real battle, they couldn’t just entrust the command to anyone.
At Seong Yu-jin’s question, Kim Kang-san gave a bitter smile.
“I thought they’d just pick one of the guild masters attending the meetings and call him the commander, but an unexpected candidate has emerged. It’s a case of being selected for ability rather than popularity or fame.”
“For ability?”
“Stop dragging it out and just tell us. You’re making me antsy.”
Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra spoke almost simultaneously. Park Han-yeong, who already knew the details from attending the meeting, chuckled at her companions’ impatience, and Kim Kang-san quickly nodded. Instead of drawing it out, he got straight to the point.
“It seems an RTS (Real-Time Strategy) Player has appeared among the World Quest participants.”
“RTS?”
Seong Yu-jin, who had almost no connection to games other than Exa Online, tilted her head. But Kang-seok and Choi Yu-ra were different. Almost in unison, they let out voices even more bewildered than when they had encountered the TCG Player, Kim Ha-neul.
“A strategy simulation game?!”
“Yes, a real-time strategy game.”
Kim Kang-san reiterated emphatically.
***
“Indeed, a very different type of Player from what we've seen so far.”
