Chapter 200
Chapter 200
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 200
Chapter Title: Operation Antman (6)
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"Tsk tsk, how can you share information this slowly?"
The method Rokan used was simple. It was the exact same way he'd stripped Hushkan Castle bare at the start.
He'd infiltrated using Kai, then surprise-attacked and destroyed the Hall of Dominion, sending everyone flying out of Death Castle.
"Thanks to that, my pockets are bulging."
He'd even handled the aftermath the same way. He'd withdrawn all the territory's funds and sold off every facility.
And that dealt a more devastating blow to the undead than expected.
They relied on special spells to hold off enemies, and some of those spells only manifested when they held specific facilities.
Selling off the facilities thus had the effect of outright deleting those skills from the enemy ranks.
'The only regrettable part is that I couldn't smash the walls enough...'
For similar reasons, summoning human soldiers meant they couldn't properly operate the magic weaponry the trolls had used, so he couldn't destroy the walls from the inside like he had with the trolls. But Death Castle's walls were so flimsy that it hardly mattered.
They'd patched up the walls' durability enhancements—things that required direct investment—with magical power, so once Rokan sold off the facilities, the walls weakened along with them.
That much damage was enough to crumble sections under Rokan's bombardment, and later, dragging in catapults or ballistae would make short work of the rest.
"See you later, skullheads!"
Rokan sneered mockingly at the undead legion charging in with ferocious momentum, then left the scene.
He'd demolished even the unsellable facilities of the already hollow Death Castle like empty cans before vanishing into thin air.
"Yeah, that's the least I could do!"
After escaping Death Castle, Rokan soon heard some news. The dwarf-gnome alliance, gnashing their teeth and re-assaulting Hiritta Fortress, had succeeded far more easily than before.
The undead had been too frantic over losing Death Castle to send reinforcements, and even after reclaiming it, they hadn't dared leave for fear of what Rokan might do next.
Fighting 2 against 1 in the meantime, no amount of defensive advantage could save them.
Especially against dwarves and gnomes with their long-range weaponry.
The enemy crumbled step by step from afar, then got overwhelmed in one final push when they showed an opening.
"So, what'll you do now?"
That forced the undead to make a decision. They were now surrounded on three sides by dwarves, gnomes, humans, and half-elves.
Even if the half-elves didn't strike first, the other three races would clearly target their isolated position.
Plus, their painstakingly acquired defensive facilities were gone.
One race alone might be manageable, but two or more allied? No chance.
In the end, they cursed Rokan and withdrew on their own.
[You have destroyed the Hall of Dominion in Death Castle.]
[You have acquired ownership of Death Castle.]
"Good."
That was exactly why Rokan hadn't gone far after escaping Death Castle.
He'd anticipated they'd leave, planning to claim it the moment it was empty.
An empty house goes to whoever grabs it first.
They'd only reoccupied it briefly, so the merit points and fame weren't huge compared to the first time, but he'd firmly planted the human flag.
"Now the Emperor can't ignore this."
But realistically, humans alone couldn't hold both Death Castle and Hushkan Castle.
Rokan had stripped all the key defenses, and compared to other races, humans had fewer 'powerhouses,' leaving them short on garrison troops.
Siege defense allowed reliance on equipment, but human coffers weren't overflowing—and above all, Rokan had zero intention of funding it from his own pocket.
So the moment he planted the human flag firmly in Death Castle, he messaged the Emperor.
"If you're pissed, just abandon it."
A request for massive reinforcements in gear and troops.
Of course, the letter whined that he truly, desperately wanted to hold the place and use it as a foothold to expand human territory, but at this rate, he'd have to tearfully abandon one of Hushkan or Death Castle.
No way a land-hungry Emperor would sit still for that.
Sure, it'd fall under the margrave's domain, but ultimately, it was his land as Emperor.
Immediately came a letter promising full support, along with a hefty money pouch.
"Heh heh heh, knew it."
Rokan used the money to first restore Death Castle's key facilities. He reinforced the walls, hired and armed soldiers.
But he didn't even use a tenth of what the Emperor sent.
'Hmm, Death Castle just needs to hold out now, after all.'
Death Castle was just a name now—its installable facilities all replaced with human ones—but Rokan minimized investments and pocketed the rest.
At least maxing out troop hires was something.
His judgment wasn't entirely wrong. With all four forward bases lost, the Black Dragon Legion races were in no mood for recapture wars.
'Even if they take it back, they'll get pummeled soon enough.'
Each forward base had massive geographic advantages for withstanding sieges. Lock the gates tight, and even few troops could hold out long.
Reinforcements would arrive in the meantime, forcing attackers to retreat or take heavy losses.
And even if they somehow reclaimed one, the others still encircled them—so unless they pushed two or more at once, better to abandon and fortify a defensive line.
The undead abandoning Death Castle was a sign of that intent.
"Alright. Just holding on is profit enough."
So Rokan made defenses look solid on the surface, used conscription, then did nothing.
He did the same at Hushkan Castle and leisurely awaited the Emperor's support.
[Failed to capture Shiorum.]
"Ah, right, that."
In the meantime, a forgotten notification reminded him. They'd failed to capture Shiorum Castle, the trolls' second forward base.
Checking the military tab, Talaran and Delas had stayed safely in the rear as instructed before pulling out.
All the other master-level knights were intact too, though class expert soldiers had taken heavy losses.
Not that it mattered; conscription had already replenished more than that.
"Kukuku, looks like the users shit themselves."
User statuses were hard to check via military tab since they respawned, but Rokan had the homepage.
A quick keyword search pulled up grim on-site footage.
Users got utterly shredded.
With masters and high masters pulling back as Rokan ordered—just setting the mood—users were left as meat shields in the front lines.
Sure, some played smart and grabbed gains, but those charging blindly for victory? Cannon fodder.
"This should do nicely."
But it wasn't fruitless.
Trolls, tense and prepared, realized too late it was bait—but desperate users fighting to recoup losses inflicted real damage.
Even with many elites, they couldn't fill ranks entirely with them.
Plenty of soldier-class trolls died, even some masters.
Seeing the fat EXP and drops, users went berserk for items. Gamers' tenacity is terrifying.
"Gamers, especially Koreans, are unstoppable when they set their minds to it."
Result? Trolls were plenty tense now.
They'd underestimated users inwardly, but endless revives plus real casualties forced a defensive stance.
"Sly bastards will figure it out."
Trolls preferred hounding prey over fair fights, so they wouldn't rush in recklessly.
Meaning Rokan's turtle strategy was working.
"All troops, defensive posture. Until others react, we sit tight and focus on defense."
Rokan even relocated all the siege defenses and gear he'd made and placed in Kazantia.
Humanity's forward bases were now Death Castle and Hushkan, not Kazantia.
They were just as defensible, so no way he'd hand them to enemies as supplies. Enemies weren't in position for that anyway.
Orcs grumbled, goblins cowered, undead were on edge, trolls locked their gates in fear.
"Margrave, reinforcements have arrived."
Meanwhile, the Golden Lion Alliance races moved swiftly.
Dwarves and gnomes began fortifying, voicing strong disappointment at half-elves who never joined. At this rate, it'd be 4 vs 3—and while Rokan's feats were huge, masters alone had limits. Humans weren't inherently stronger than other races anyway.
So they coaxed the half-elves while focusing on winning the started war.
"Yeah, let's take a look."
Humans weren't exempt from the scrutiny.
The Emperor, thrilled by Rokan's victories, issued conscription to all nobles and force-assigned their private knights to him—high-level ones centered.
Some masters, even plenty of high masters.
The Emperor, obsessed with that land, seemed ready to scrape every master and high master except his guards and dump them on Rokan. Massive power concentration.
Now, winning them over and utilizing them was all on Rokan. The Emperor granted him full authority, including life and death.
Confirming that, Rokan first checked the reinforcements' names, levels, and affiliations.
'Look at these guys.'
He spotted some that rubbed him wrong.
Five master-level knights from Count Luberon's house.
With the Emperor pushing hard, they might've overextended to impress.
But Rokan thought differently.
'Better to pony up big support funds than send five masters to a death trap.'
If he were Count Luberon, no way. So suspicion arose. And hadn't Luberon loaned him that master, Hashimoto, for the knight tournament—while losing one of his own to Rokan?
Shady motives, and a position inherently hostile to Rokan.
Moreover...
"Bring those five here. Got separate orders for them. Quietly."
Something clicking, Rokan issued orders. He summoned the five outside the castle, to a secluded spot.
"We greet the Margrave..."
Bam!
But they couldn't even finish greeting Rokan. Their heads exploded first.
Even with his Man Who Kills Thousands title and full life-and-death authority, slaughtering master-level forces so brazenly could've been trouble—but Rokan's hand didn't hesitate as he swung the battle axe.
Before the other four could react, he smashed heads and hearts in an instant. Two fluttering papers dropped from their corpses.
Well, technically into his inventory.
"Bingo."
[Luberon's Orders]
[Map Marking the Corrupted Rally Point]