Chapter 66 - Squeezing Every Last Drop
“Kyiiiing, Lord. This is Vailr Forest.”
“Zzz, phew~ Zzz, phew~.”
“……Kyiiiing, L-Lord?”
Ollia called out to him, but Daph—who was dead drunk and out cold—didn’t stir an inch.
The troops they’d stolen from Orwen’s command were marching at the forefront. They naturally plunged into the forest depths.
It had been only a few hours since war mode had ignited.
There was no way the enemy had pinpointed their location yet.
On the flip side, Lord Daph had learned Valkas Territory’s position from Lord Brock.
An ambush was the last thing on his mind.
That’s why even Ollia felt at ease.
Kyiiiing, a good nap before battle will help recover his condition.
Idiot or not, Ollia felt like draping a blanket over the man.
When the golden carriage reached about the forest’s midpoint—
Something bizarre began unfolding around them.
Pssshhh!
Pssshhh!
The green flowers sprouting nearby started spewing an unidentified gas.
It was a greenish haze.
“Nngh, ngh, L-Lord!”
In a panic, Ollia shook him awake.
But he wouldn’t budge.
“Kyang kyang kyang, Lord!”
Finally, she barked.
“Mmmnyaam, Mom. Don’t spank my butt!”
Daph woke with some incomprehensible sleep-talk.
“H-Huh?!”
He bolted upright in shock, scanned his surroundings, and—embarrassed—snatched up his club.
“How dare you wake me from my precious nap? You worthless piece of shit!”
“Kyang kyang, Lord. Look around you!”
Daph glanced about at her words.
His brow furrowed.
“Gah……? Explosion Flowers?”
Ollia had no clue, but Daph knew exactly what those flowers were.
Explosion Flowers were common pickings in Fordail Land.
They were mainly used to spray poison.
Put water or poison in a cup in front of an Explosion Flower, and it’d automatically plunge its stem in to suck it up.
About 25 minutes later, it’d eject it through its petals—hence the name.
And if you pulled them up roots intact, they wouldn’t wilt, and replanting was a breeze.
“Cough?!”
You have been afflicted with Baras Poison.
Paralysis begins.
Daph jolted in alarm.
An unexpected poison had slipped through his respiratory tract, deep into his lungs.
The alert rang out for the entire force at once.
Paralysis set in gradually.
“Baras? What the hell is Baras?!”
Lord Daph knew nothing of Baras.
Of course not.
It was a monster slated for some future event.
But one thing was clear.
“Ughhh! M-My body’s gone sluggish.”
“Ummerr, wha?! My body’s gone sluggish, Lord!”
The Kau tribe was thrown into disarray.
And right then—
“Fire!”
Valkas Territory soldiers hidden in the underbrush burst forth.
Leading them, Ran recalled his conversation with Arthur.
You’re not weaker than soldiers from territories past their lord protection period. But act like it’s a grueling fight—you barely win thanks only to the Explosion Flowers. Disrupt and deceive the enemy.
In other words, make it look razor-thin.
Fool them.
That way, we can suck every last drop of juice from them. Daph’s a moron. Drinking in war mode? They’re coming leisurely, so you rush to Vailr Forest ASAP. I’ve set the next board.
Ran and his troops had galloped here on horseback bought from Arthur’s cash shop.
While Lord Daph boozed and blabbered, Arthur had scouted them via Pursuit Hawk and directed them here.
Thwack thwack thwack!
Arrows from the hidden Valkas soldiers felled the enemy ranks effortlessly.
And their bodies were growing heavier by the second.
“You bastards!”
“Hyah!”
Valkas soldiers leaped from the bushes, weapons raised.
Ran—their commander—tripped over a rock.
Splat!
“Guh-hurk?!”
He face-planted, nose gushing blood, then sprang back up.
Does this make us look pushover enough?
It was all part of his plan to seem harmless!
“Die!”
Stab!
Stab!
“Ummerr!”
“U-Unnerr…… Ah, it hurts!”
The troops were getting massacred.
Thanks to the paralysis.
Lord Daph’s eyes bulged.
“Losing to these pathetic, half-assed soldiers?! Orwen, what the hell kind of training did you give them?!”
“Th-That’s……”
Orwen’s 50 troops aside, Lord Lucia and the remaining Kau were strictly forbidden from joining.
Orwen nearly spat out his grievances.
He’d joined the alliance for support and training aid—yet that sub-alliance leader Daph had only robbed him, never helped with drills.
And now this brazen bullshit.
“Die!”
Slip.
Drop!
“……Hiiiik!”
“Ummerrr, stay right there!”
Ran smirked inwardly.
Damn, their acting’s spot-on.
One soldier swung at a Kau tribesman, only to “accidentally” drop his sword. The slowing Kau eyed the fallen blade and lumbered after it slowly. The “fleeing” soldier even hammed up a panicked retreat.
Slash!
Ran cleaved another Kau while glancing around.
No matter how clumsily they played it, the enemy was slowing more by the minute.
To think he has such an incredible poison.
Ran marveled at his lord once more.
Boom!
Finally, Daph leaped from the carriage.
Unarmored, he gripped his massive bastard sword and charged. Facing him was a man who barreled forward—
Lauden.
Lauden halted abruptly mid-charge and scratched his head.
—Oops, can’t mess this up big-time!
His “acting” was kingdom-worst idiot-level horrific.
Dropped my sword by accident?
Ran slapped his forehead.
S-Sir Lauden……
Lauden had been helping train the troops under Arthur’s orders lately—ruthless, no mercy, blood and tears be damned.
His teaching skills were top-notch.
But his acting? Trash.
What now?
Stiff as a book reading.
Ran decided to play along.
“Use my sword.”
Thanks. You’re the only one I can count on, Ran. You’re a truly excellent, splendid captain.
“Yes, so hurry……”
Ran thought he’d be better off skipping lines altogether.
Take this, fiend! Behold my sword of justice!
Lauden even tossed in nonsensical improv.
Twaang!
To Ran’s further disbelief, Daph bought it hook, line, and sinker.
Daph glared at the Lord’s Shackles bound to his leg.
Damn it all……!
Losing to such petty, pathetic fools.
Twaang!
Daph smacked the sword away with full force.
Lauden flew back and flopped onto the dirt.
His acting sucked, but Lauden read every one of Daph’s moves.
Without the Lord’s Shackles, Daph’s stats crushed Lauden’s.
But shackled now, and with Lauden as the kingdom’s top swordsman—he was just playing the victim.
Daph raised his bastard sword high overhead.
Crack!
Eek, that was close!
Lauden crawled aside, dodging the downward cleave with his arm.
By now, the skirmish had wrapped up.
You have lost all 50 assigned troops.
You have lost War Mode against Lord Arthur.
You have lost your 10,000 gold wager.
“Woooah!”
“We won!”
Valkas soldiers cheered wildly.
They hugged and celebrated, while Lauden slipped away into their ranks like a fleeing shadow.
He’d subtly stalled, preventing Daph from slaughtering more.
Daph’s face twisted in agony.
Me…… Losing to those idiots…… Impossible!
Sloppy tactics, sloppy troops, moronic swordplay.
Beaten by that?
Carelessness. If not for the Explosion Flowers…… I’d have won. Definitely.
The booze haze vanished from Daph’s system.
Just imagining the Valkyrie Federation execs laughing at him—
Heh heh, serves you right.
Lord Lucia, lurking behind him, snickered secretly, smug as could be.
Conversely, Orwen—who’d lost his 50 troops in a flash—looked gutted.
“Gaaahhh, you goddamn fuck!!!”
The rules were set.
Verification complete.
Defeat was fact.
Valkas soldiers were already withdrawing.
No reason to linger.
Furious, Daph needed to vent this shitty mood now.
“Why didn’t you wake me sooner, you piece of shit!”
“Kyiiiing…… Kyiiiing…… You were sleeping so soundly……”
Back in the carriage, Daph grabbed his thick club.
Ollia was already in her usual pre-beating pose: belly and chin to the floor, tail wagging pitifully.
Just as Daph reared back for the thrashing—
Lord Arthur has proposed a new format for War Mode.
You may view Lord Arthur’s ‘proposal’.
* * *
Ophilys River.
Gremori, standing before it, marveled at Arthur’s explanation.
“You read their situation that deeply?”
Arthur nodded, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the river.
“As expected of our lord.”
Gremori was thrilled.
She’d been puzzled when he told Ran to act as sloppy as possible.
But Arthur had already scouted the lot via Pursuit Hawk.
Lord Daph advanced with two pitiful lords in tow—purely ornamental ego-boosts.
That let Arthur devise his “suck every last drop dry” strategy against the fool.
People were so predictable.
Lose to a sloppy foe, and they think:
Next time, I can win.
Sure, they’d seemed sloppy.
But when Pursuit Hawk reached Pleian Plains, Arthur activated the Silver Wings set effect: invisibility.
He’d observed for ~30 minutes.
Carriage speed, troop count, Daph’s state.
And as the booze flowed, what blunders he’d make—everything mapped.
Of course, he’d factored in variables, but moron Daph played right into it.
Now, with Daph thinking One more round and I’ve got this!—Arthur proposed war mode first.
Drunk Daph.
Convinced he’d win next.
What happens?
Lord Daph has signed the new format War Mode proposal.
War Mode between Lord Daph and Lord Arthur begins.
20,000 gold has been wagered.
As predicted, he bit again.
Arthur had seized Daph’s 10k gold, combined with his own for a 20k wager.
Daph matched with another 20k.
Win that? 40k gold.
Arthur turns 10k into 30k profit in one go.
And he wasn’t stopping there.
He’d drain him utterly, leave him penniless.
Just as he moved to execute—
Ding!
Tutorial Quest Stage 4 Complete: Victory in war against a territory past lord protection period.
Tutorial Quest Stage 4: All stages complete.
You have obtained 10,000 cash.
Fwoosh!
The Lord Nurturing Device slipped from Arthur’s pocket on its own.
He’d worried a non-standard “war mode” might not trigger it—but it did.
Bathed in hazy blue light, the device floated into the air.
Ding!
The Lord Nurturing Device is being enhanced.
“……Enhanced?”
Arthur’s pupils quivered.