Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Operation Antman (5)
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The trolls suffered a massive blow when their frontline stronghold, Hushkan Castle, crumbled.
However, there was no dramatic event like the total annihilation of the enemy. Rokan had never intended for that in the first place.
No matter how important morale was in war, its effects were limited against an overwhelming difference in forces.
‘If we’d clashed head-on properly, it would’ve been a hollow victory at best. In the worst case, they might’ve taken it back.’
Even with the addition of a thousand powerful spirit legion units, fewer than two hundred were actually master-class. And since they were dispersed throughout the castle, the forces capable of facing the enemy’s masters and high masters were extremely limited.
If they’d gone for a frontal showdown like that, it probably would’ve ended in mutual destruction at best, or the total wipeout of the human forces.
Knowing this, Rokan had pushed forward at full speed to seize Hushkan territory, and the lord, realizing the situation wasn’t in his favor, abandoned the castle while hurling curses and fled.
For a lord to abandon his castle and run was an utter humiliation, but it was a cold calculation that his death as a high master would be far more devastating to his race.
‘That was a real stroke of luck.’
Even for Rokan, if the lord had decided to harass them properly even while retreating, it would’ve been hard to hold out unscathed.
Thanks to his various title buffs, Rokan was now beyond merely matching high masters—he could overwhelm most of them—but this guy still had the skill to give him serious trouble.
And yet, there was only one reason he abandoned Hushkan Castle.
It was because Rokan had created so many variables through the previous battles.
That obsession with the possibility of more lingering variables had forced him to withdraw quietly.
A little more pressure, and he might’ve haunted the guy’s mind like a ghost.
Thanks to that, Rokan was able to end the battle right at the moment he recaptured Hushkan Castle, and he even managed to inflict additional damage by moderately pursuing the retreating troll forces.
“Waaaaah!”
“Hooray!”
“We took Hushkan!”
It was just devouring an empty shell of a castle, but since it was known as the toughest among the frontline fortresses, the soldiers and knights cheered wildly.
“Sweet, level up!”
“Got a unique item!”
Naturally, the users were just as excited. They got a full level up for the successful siege, plus loot from the battle and quest completion rewards.
War was definitely content that offered users not just fun, but real gains.
[You have leveled up.]
Unlike the other users, who participated as roles like ‘Soldier 1’ and received quests, Rokan—as the commander—didn’t get one. No special quest like ‘Level up 1 on victory’ for him.
But he still gained a level all the same.
He’d massacred trolls himself, but on top of that, he absorbed a portion of the experience from the enemies killed by his subordinate soldiers.
That brought him to level 307. Unlike before, he could really feel how much slower his leveling had become.
“Territory window.”
Confirming there’d be no more troll counterattacks, Rokan leisurely repaired just the walls and gates for now.
The castle already had quite a few upgrades, so that alone burned a ton of gold, but who cared? The money he’d already squeezed out of this place more than covered it.
And around that time, the battle at Hiratta Citadel—the goblin stronghold—was drawing to a close.
“Things are getting interesting.”
Defeat for the dwarf-gnome alliance forces.
They’d charged in with great momentum, but the goblins’ shamanism, the undead’s magic, and necromancing proved too powerful.
If they’d clashed abilities head-on like that, who knows what might’ve happened.
Shamanism and necromancing had a lot in common. It was like they reinforced each other as if bound to the same faction—shamanism boosting necromancing, and necromancing complementing shamanism.
A prime example was the ‘Spirit Possession Ritual’ paired with ‘Summon Skeleton.’
Picture it: a high-quality skeleton knight forged from prime materials, overlaid with the soul of a once-mighty warrior.
The resulting undead could unleash overwhelmingly powerful skills, rampaging through enemy lines, and in critical moments, corpse explosions combined with soul detonations would sweep the area clean.
The gnome race boasted plenty of skilled mages, shamans, and mechanists, but this combination was beyond their comprehension.
“Have the half-elves still not moved?”
Of course, the dwarves and gnomes fought valiantly within, successfully whittling down enemy forces, but they ultimately failed to breach the walls.
The walls were half-destroyed, and they’d pushed through by brute force, but layers of magic bombs and barriers blocked them, preventing them from achieving their goal.
In the end, the fight concluded with all four races utterly exhausted, having depleted their strength massively.
And through it all, the half-elves alone showed no movement whatsoever.
“No matter how moderate they are…….”
Each race had sounded the horns announcing the war’s start, but the half-elves were delaying direct involvement simply because no one had invaded their territory. They didn’t care if their fellow Golden Lion faction races were getting pummeled.
It proved that factions were ultimately just business arrangements.
They’d only move if they themselves were invaded—or if inaction meant they’d end up surrounded and doomed.
“What a bunch of self-serving bastards.”
As a result, half-elf users were piling up quite a bit of frustration.
Weren’t half-elves known as the Golden Lion faction race where users stood to gain the most?
Yet here they were, sitting out a war where the whole race could score big rewards. It was infuriating.
After all, participating in battles inevitably gave massive advantages to your own race.
And Rokan, as a fellow user, understood that irritation and dissatisfaction.
So he gave them an opportunity.
[Shiorum Castle Assault][Quest]
Assault Shiorum Castle, the trolls’ stronghold.
-Success Condition: Capture Shiorum stronghold
-Success Reward: Massive Fame, Massive Experience
-Special Reward: Noble title granted regardless of race, based on contribution if assault succeeds
-1.2x Experience Gain during quest
Since it wasn’t a key frontline stronghold, there was no extravagant reward like a guaranteed level up.
But Rokan attached a different condition, creating even greater value.
‘Who could resist this?’
A noble title regardless of race!
Any user who knew how hard it was to earn a title from one race would lose their minds over this reward.
Sure, it’d probably just be a barony at best, but even that was huge—especially for half-elves, where gaining status was so tough that many high-level players had given up on related quests entirely.
And now, titles regardless of race?
It was alluring enough to awaken greed in those who had none. It was so groundbreaking it might as well have been aimed squarely at half-elves.
Ward: Wait, we don’t even have enough for ourselves, why give to other races?
└GodElf: Because you humans suck. As expected from all-knowing Rokan God! Heading to fight now.
└Hustle: Human users lag in numbers, capital, and leveling, so this makes sense…… but I worry it’s just feeding the already rampaging half-elf maniacs. Damn.
Of course, human users pushed back.
Rokan couldn’t just hand out titles willy-nilly; spots were limited, so giving them to other races felt unfair and frustrating.
But keyboard warrior-ing wouldn’t change the decision.
Moreover, Rokan’s reply lit a fire under everyone.
└Rokan: Then have a human user rack up the contributions.
Exactly. If handing titles to other races pissed them off, they could push one of their own, pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or whatever—as long as a human earned the merits.
After all, aside from Rokan, there still weren’t any master-level users. The opportunity was open to everyone.
Still, plenty of human users kept whining, but far more half-elf users cheered Rokan’s decision and swarmed to Hushkan Castle to earn contributions and snag titles.
“It doesn’t sit right with me…… but no choice.”
For them, Rokan opened basic shops inside the castle.
Since he’d sold everything off, it was just the most fundamental items—no high-end gear or consumables like before—but the users’ eyes were already spinning, buying up supplies and gear from elsewhere as they awaited the march.
Puuu~! Puu, puu~!
And finally, the day arrived. The moment news spread that the dwarves and gnomes were grinding their teeth for a rematch on Hiratta Citadel, Rokan ordered the advance on Shiorum Castle.
With ample time and rewards on offer, the gathered users outnumbered the previous force by a landslide.
A whopping 60,000. It felt like every high-level half-elf interested in titles had shown up—an insane number.
Not just half-elves. Humans, dwarves, and gnomes poured in without backing down. Countless guilds even organized to funnel contributions to a single player.
“Usable bunch.”
Rokan’s cool assessment came after a quick scan.
They were pretty solid. Top guilds could probably handle a master or two, even if high masters were a stretch.
But regrettably, Rokan didn’t place much importance on this assault.
With the heaviest hitter, Hushkan Castle, fallen, the rest would be relatively easier by comparison. He figured they could topple them anytime, with or without this.
‘Not that titles are a waste, but I can’t hand them out carelessly.’
That’s why this assault was nice if it worked, no big deal if it didn’t.
The users, dreaming of titles, hadn’t caught on yet—which was why NPC support was lackluster.
Plenty of class expert-grade, but no high masters at all, and only three masters.
Even those were under secret orders from Rokan to flee at the first sign of disadvantage.
“March out!”
And so, with very different thoughts in mind, they advanced together. Toward Shiorum Castle, the trolls’ second-line stronghold.
‘This should be enough to draw their eyes. Time for me to move too.’
At the same time, Rokan showed his face to the users as if joining, then slipped away alone in another direction.
Not Shiorum, but Death Castle—the undead’s frontline stronghold.
And about two hours later, The Lord’s users received shocking news. Unbelievable word that Rokan had single-handedly captured Death Castle.