Chapter 316
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 316
Chapter Title: Tell Them to Try If They Can
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The advertisement put out by the Gold Dragon Clan turned the world upside down.
Putting a bounty on criminals wasn't exactly rare depending on the country.
But there were limits.
A whopping 10 trillion in bounty money was more than enough to turn even the most apathetic person into an avatar of justice.
And naturally, that ad reached even the frozen wastelands.
"Charlotte's such a spendthrift—what's with throwing money around like this?"
The silver-haired girl lounging on her throne muttered as she glanced at the newspaper. The maid standing beside her replied with a frosty expression.
"It's an efficient approach."
"Because the Gold Dragon Clan has the edge in a money fight?"
"More than that, it lets the clan preserve 100% of its strength."
"Ah, got it. Leave the scraps to the hyenas and just pick off the real prizes—the high-ranking officers?"
Yekaterina clicked her tongue.
She had to admit it was effective.
For just a bit of cash, they'd turned the entire world—not just the Seven Dragon Society—against the Liberation Brigade.
Of course, top-tier players or the major guilds ruled by monarchs wouldn't be swayed by such tricks.
But even mid-level high-rankers jumping in would be enough to corner the Brigade.
It solved their trickiest issue—how their cell-based structure made them hard to wipe out one by one—simply by overwhelming them with numbers.
One problem, though.
The only ones who stood to gain from hunting down the Liberation Brigade this way were the Gold Dragon Clan.
"Hmm, seems like a solid plan... Should we try it too?"
"If we do, the Gold Dragon Clan will 100% raise the bounty even higher."
"Yeah, figured as much."
Yekaterina scratched her head.
In an infinite bidding war for bounties, the Gold Dragon Clan's financial might would make them the ultimate winner.
In the end, this was a move only the wealthiest of the Seven Dragon Society clans could pull off.
But while Yekaterina acknowledged Charlotte had gotten one over on her, she didn't show any real disappointment.
She just shrugged.
"Eh, whatever. I've got my own idea anyway."
"What might that be?"
"The Liberation Brigade's a player crime syndicate, right?"
"Yes."
"So if we round up every player out there, some of 'em have to be Brigade members. Right?"
Chasing down the Brigade specifically was getting complicated.
So just toss all players into camps, torture out confessions, and weed them out. Faster and more efficient.
Yekaterina said it with a bright smile.
Kana nodded along.
"Brilliant, as expected."
"Right?"
"But executing that could spark major backlash from players against Your Highness."
"Backlash?"
The moment she heard it,
Yekaterina blinked.
As if she'd just heard some utterly alien word.
"From those punks... against me?"
"Yes."
"Pfft... heh heh heh, hahaha! Kana, you crack me up with jokes like that!"
Tilting her head as she eyed the silver-haired maid, Yekaterina burst into laughter.
She covered her mouth, giggling,
then rolled around on the massive throne, clutching her stomach and filling the vast hall with her howls—until suddenly, she stopped.
She sprawled out on the throne,
craned her neck back to look at Kana,
and spoke with an icy-cold face.
"—Tell them to try if they can. I'll just kill them all."
Kana knew.
That was her honest truth, no exaggeration.
If Yekaterina gave the order, every player in the nation would be 100% eradicated.
She was the Great Khan of Russkhan.
Before being the head of the megacorp Bahamut, she was the absolute ruler of this frozen land.
But precisely because of that, Kana advised,
"I'd recommend holding off on that approach."
"Why?"
"Killing all the players before we can even get confessions makes it hard to prove we actually caught any Liberation Brigade members."
"...Oh, right."
Only then remembering why she'd planned to round them up in the first place, Yekaterina scratched her head.
The goal was to snag Brigade members for shares.
Massacring all players and coming up empty on shares would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Ugh, fine then. Guess we'll have to go the straightforward route."
She sighed, genuinely regretful.
Then continued with a bored look.
"Deploy Okhrana and KGB to hunt down the Liberation Brigade. Spread the word: tip off on player criminals, get a citizen rank boost."
"Understood."
"And activate Sky Eye."
"...Sky Eye's still incomplete. Is that alright?"
"Think of it as a test run."
No room for skimping if we want to win this race.
Still hanging upside down on the throne, Yekaterina said flatly.
"We embedded surveillance in every product we make for times like this, right?"
"Got it. Activating Sky Eye to gather all intel on the Liberation Brigade."
The secret police mobilized.
Every citizen of Russkhan turned spy on each other.
And every product stamped out by Bahamut became eyes and ears for the Silver Dragon Clan, beginning the hunt for the Liberation Brigade.
As the Gold Dragon and Silver Dragon Clans pursued the Liberation Brigade each in their own way,
the Red Dragon Clan was gearing up to move as well.
"Princess, we have a response..."
The girl in baggy fatigues who'd been working day and night since returning to Egypt for preparations said wearily.
Nadia spoke with a fatigued face.
But Hasneti didn't turn to her.
Staring straight ahead from the pyramid's apex, she asked in a dull voice.
"Results?"
"...Only five countries responded properly. And even those were provisional reps since no warlords rule them yet."
"Exclude those five."
"Figured you'd say that, so I already did."
Good enough.
Hasneti nodded silently, and Nadia hesitated a moment, gauging her mood before asking,
"But Princess, do we really have to do it this way?"
"......"
"Honestly, I'm not sure this is the best move. No guarantee it'll even catch the Liberation Brigade... might just be wasting money."
"Money's irrelevant."
"Yeah, figured you'd say that..."
Nadia slumped her shoulders.
No point worrying about cash with the Seven Dragon Society princesses.
Especially Hasneti—talking money to her was like reciting sutras to a cow.
But the next words made even Nadia blink.
"Same for the Liberation Brigade."
"...Huh?"
"Don't mistake the goal."
To the bewildered Nadia, Hasneti cut straight to it.
Then continued in her usual flat tone.
"Hunting the Liberation Brigade is just a means to gather shares. The real core is proving our qualification to Sword Duke."
Hasneti stated bluntly.
No matter how many Brigade kills or shares you rack up, without proving your own worth, it's worthless.
Even if you could take Rimon as a consort, it'd end there.
Same if you handed shares to Charlotte.
So priority one was proving qualification over hunting Brigade or hoarding shares.
Nadia's eyes darted as Hasneti rarely explained at length.
"So this is your way of proving that qualification?"
"Yes."
"To rule the world, you first prove you have the power for it?"
"Would you hand world rule to someone who can't even clean their own house?"
"...Yeah, probably not."
Nadia conceded in the end.
If the princess was wrong, fine—but if right, a retainer followed through, stomach pains or not.
Even with food export profits already dipping and massive new spending ahead.
"391 minus 5 is 386... Even one a day takes over a year."
"Ten a day gets it done in six weeks."
"Not two weeks?"
"......"
"Just wishful thinking..."
Hasneti gave a cold glance at Nadia averting her blood-red eyes, then looked ahead again.
"Set out."
"Yes!"
No more words needed.
As Hasneti issued the flat command, Nadia pulled a radio from her backpack and gave orders.
Rumble rumble roar.
A deafening roar echoed.
The ground shook violently.
Sandstorms whipped everywhere.
Heavy tanks, supply trucks, soldiers armed to the teeth.
The tens of thousands packing the pyramid front split into ten columns and marched out.
Africa's continent, splintered into 392 nations after endless wars over centuries.
The conquest to unify them all had begun.
"...That's the situation with the other clans."
The long green-haired woman kneeling in the artificial garden.
At Barbara's words, Arvela—prostrated beside her—spoke with worry.
"Gold Dragon Princess gathering shares is just a matter of time."
"Don't spout unconfirmed nonsense, Arvela."
"At least it's clear Black Dragon Princess won't be her rival."
Barbara frowned at Arvela's sharp retort.
Charlotte's global bounty.
Yekaterina's power and tech play.
Hasneti's conquest war.
Different methods, but the three clans were swiftly moving to gather shares and prove worth.
Meanwhile, Black and White Dragon Clans were scrambling with economic sanctions.
At this rate, Charlotte had the highest shot at winning.
So Barbara said firmly,
"If you're saying we should back the Black Dragon Clan, that's for the Princess to decide."
"Giving her precise advice is a retainer's duty too—don't forget."
Barbara and Arvela glared at each other.
Maia opened her mouth coldly as she watched the twin sisters.
"No need to help Li Chingwei."
"...You sure that's wise?"
"Hmph. Think the Sword Duke-backed girl will crumble that easily?"
Maia sneered.
Black Dragon Clan alone, maybe—but with Rimon's active aid and White Dragon support via Ainsha, Li Chingwei wouldn't lose shares easily.
That was why Maia could turn everyone against her.
While Charlotte and Li Chingwei clashed, she could operate freely, no eyes on her.
"Focus on the task I assigned."
Thinking of the project advancing under the other clans' blind spots, Maia wore her usual cold smirk.
"No matter how hard they scramble for shares, once that's done, Sword Duke will be mine."