Daph's Foolish War Proposal
To create a secret unit, one had to find the method—literally.
By combining units with utterly mismatched balances or pulling off something as recklessly improbable as this.
That was why, once a secret unit was discovered, there was no such thing as failure in the combination process.
And there was one more crucial detail.
'If someone has already drawn a secret unit first, no one else can get it by repeating the same process.'
Attempting to replicate the exact same actions guaranteed failure.
Among secret units, the Pursuit Hawk could be called the easiest and fastest to obtain—provided you had plenty of gold to spare.
'My head holds info on all twelve secret units.'
They would require combining various materials, units, and irregular variations to pull off.
It was right then, as Arthur was about to use the barracks to recruit a fresh batch of troops.
Lord Daph proposes a new format for War Mode.
You may view Lord Daph's 'Proposal'.
War Mode had its standard templates, but special cases like this allowed for 'proposals'.
Such proposals usually required a lord to suggest it to the operator and get approval, then the opposing lord had to accept for it to take effect.
"View the proposal."
Arthur didn't hesitate and opened it right away.
"I, Lord Daph, propose a new format of War Mode to the arrogant lord Arthur, who is still in his Lord Protection Period."
⦁ Lord Daph receives 50 troops from a territory that just ended its Lord Protection Period and joins the war with them.
⦁ Lord Daph equips all five stages of the Lord's Shackles to balance with Lord Arthur, fighting with lowered stats.
⦁ Both lords lose if all their troops die; the defeated lord pays 10,000 gold to the victor.
⦁ Lord Arthur faces no special restrictions and can participate freely.
⦁ Lords do not kill each other directly.
⦁ Additionally, two lords from the Valkyrie Federation will observe for training purposes. They have signed the Lord's Oath of 'Non-Disclosure of Secrets About Lord Arthur.'
Pfft.
Arthur laughed.
He laughed so hard it felt like his mouth would split wide open.
"Tsk tsk."
Then he clicked his tongue.
All those terms were rules proposed and crafted by Daph himself.
Anyone could tell just from reading them.
The bastard was utterly convinced of his victory, drunk on his own arrogance.
'Being in the Lord Protection Period might actually be a weapon for me.'
Bakalos had ranted about Arthur at length.
But those were unverified claims. Daph wouldn't have bought them anyway.
Cowards who pretended to be magnanimous were always the most suspicious types.
Arthur eyed the final clause and had an amusing thought.
'Two lords observing?'
That was why he'd clicked his tongue.
It claimed it was for 'training purposes,' but Arthur knew better.
'He just wants to show off how great he is to his underlings. What a fucking moron.'
Arthur had shoved stacks of his drafted Lord's Oaths at Lord Bakalos.
Daph must have snatched several of them.
A brilliant idea struck Arthur.
'This could be a chance to strip that pig of every last gold coin.'
Operation: Plunder Daph's Gold.
Arthur decided to sign for now.
He scrawled his name next to Daph's on the signature line of the hovering hologram.
The hologram glowed blue.
You have signed Lord Daph's proposal for a new War Mode format.
War Mode between Lord Daph and Lord Arthur begins.
10,000 gold is bet.
Arthur glanced up at the nearby tree branch, where the Pursuit Hawk perched lightly, watching him.
Its special ability.
Once a month, it could track a lord.
As far as Arthur knew, this ability didn't reveal an exact pinpoint location but displayed it on a map.
"Lord track. Daph."
●Current Location: Pleian Plains
A map materialized before Arthur.
Daph was marked as a red dot on it.
'Pleian Plains.'
Assuming they advanced leisurely from there to Fordail Land with rests, it would take a full day.
Arthur began tracing the map point by point.
War Mode starting meant Daph had already gathered his 50 troops.
Arthur tapped Pleian Plains with a finger.
Then slid it downward slowly.
'First, they'll pass through Baylor Forest. Then cross the Ophelis River between their march route and our territory. And in between... oh ho. Emergency measures include a mission too.'
A viscous smile crept across Arthur's lips.
It was too early for a full plan.
He didn't yet know their speed or troop composition.
He signaled the hawk perched on the branch.
"Head to Pleian Plains."
Piiiieee!
The Pursuit Hawk shot into the sky at astonishing speed.
Even Arthur was impressed by its velocity.
As it receded, the hawk vanished from sight in moments.
Next, Arthur spent 20,000 gold—excluding the 10,000 bet—to buy ten D-rank troops.
Arthur generally preferred humans as his go-to units.
"Prepare for departure."
"Yes sir!"
Gremori responded with vigor.
By the time preparations were done, the Pursuit Hawk would reach Pleian Plains.
A massive golden carriage.
Pulled by two black stallions and two white mares, it was extravagantly ornate.
The man lounging inside, legs crossed, guzzling whiskey, was fat and bald—Lord Daph.
He'd tossed his weapon and armor into a corner of the carriage and was chugging away.
Trailing the jostling carriage were two shabby wagons.
They belonged to the two lords under Daph.
Both had just exited their Lord Protection Periods and looked utterly drained—one woman, one man.
'What the hell is that pig up to now?'
'That lunatic's the federation leader? I was thrilled to join the Valkyrie Federation.'
They cursed Daph viciously in their minds.
He'd barged into Lord Orwen's Breed territory and seized 50 troops.
Orwen had tearfully handed over the 50 he'd painstakingly raised.
Normally, such seizures demanded fair compensation.
As far as they knew, Kyle, the Valkyrie Federation leader, forbade federation heads from taking subordinates' assets by force.
But greedy Daph couldn't care less.
He just acted like a thug: 'I'm borrowing these guys!'
And that wasn't all.
He'd sent absurd notes to a nearby territory too.
The contents were ridiculous.
'Today, we flatten the Troll Federation's nose. Come watch how I punish a punk lord.'
What the hell.
It was beyond absurd.
Wasting busy lords' time like this instead of helping.
'Stragglers get left behind, huh.'
The two lords exchanged bitter glances.
It was par for the course, really.
They'd lucked into the Valkyrie Federation but failed to meet expectations.
In other words, rejects.
That's why their sub-federations had shipped them off to Daph, the sub-federation leader 'Bracken.'
Disposed of like trash.
Any lord with a brain knew it.
Daph's sub-federation was where the Valkyrie Federation dumped its garbage.
Yet.
Somehow.
Daph alone was oblivious.
To the fact that he was the trash bin holding the trash.
"Kuhahaha! You punks have no idea how much Kyle the Federation Leader trusts me. No one stands firm against my God's Shield unit!"
Gulp gulp!
Daph bellowed as he downed whiskey straight from the bottle.
Yeah, if only those two lords were the only ones joining.
The two lords glanced at their exhausted troops.
"Mooooomooo, my lord... why must we march like this? It's insane."
"Mooooomooo, mooooo."
"Kiriik, kiriik...."
The two lords had brought their own troops too.
Orwen had scraped together every last one he had—Kau tribe soldiers.
Kau tribe.
Bipedal cows slightly larger than adult men, with bovine lower bodies but human-like arms and three-fingered hands.
They boasted greater strength than humans but were a bit sluggish in speed.
The two lords knew exactly why they were here.
Just to hype Daph up: 'Oh, amazing!', 'As expected of Lord Daph!'
'Fucking asshole.'
'Orc shit-hole bastard.'
They cursed him furiously from behind.
"Kuh!"
Daph hurled the whiskey bottle out the carriage and cracked open another.
Beep.
"Kiiingnak... My lord, no more drinking. It's unwise."
Chained by a dog collar beside him was a tiny figure, barely 10kg.
Lord proxy: Ollia of the Hound tribe.
Hound tribe had human bodies but patchy fur overall, walking on two legs.
Their faces were canine, varying by breed—Ollia's was a poodle head.
Poodles were known among dogs for being lively and clever.
Fur came in brown, white, black, and more—but proxy Ollia was special.
Red.
Her fur was pure crimson.
"Going into War Mode drunk like this."
Daph scowled at her words.
"Shut it, mutt! What's wrong with a little booze to crush some punk lord?!"
"B-but..."
"Shut your trap. Your fur alone pisses me off. I might boil you for snacks, you useless shit."
"......"
Ollia clamped her mouth shut and sighed.
'Whiiiine... My lord, how can you drink before war? Can't you see their resentful glares?'
Daph always cursed her as bad luck whenever he saw her.
And daily, he'd collar her, muttering she displeased him.
The world.
Collars on a lord proxy.
Yet Hound tribe Ollia fretted over Daph first.
Hound tribe was infamous for fierce loyalty.
Legends told of one wagging its tail to the end, even as its lord beat it to death with a club.
'Whiiiine, it's natural to hate an incompetent like me.'
And so Ollia deemed Daph's treatment justified.
A few lords employed Hound tribe proxies.
These were special, unavailable from the cash shop.
Many said recruiting one was a huge win.
For several reasons.
One: Superb noses for terrain, enemies, tracking.
Two: Could gauge enemy numbers from sounds.
But proxy Ollia sniffed poorly and ignored sounds.
Degenerated to human levels.
Hence Daph called her useless.
'Whiiiine, my hard work is the way to help my lord.'
Even collared, her loyalty bordered on stupidity.
"Moooo, forest!"
That was when Baylor Forest came into Ollia's view.