Scout Ollia
Scout Ollia, one of the secret units.
That was the name given to the hound tribe girl.
The reason the Daph lord that Arthur knew could maintain his position as one of the 101 lords—and keep the name God's Shield Daph into the future.
It was all thanks to Scout Ollia.
Right now, Scout Ollia believed she hadn't awakened her traits.
Compared to other hound tribe members, her hearing and sense of smell had degenerated to near-human levels, making her seem useless. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Appointing a hound tribe member as a proxy usually netted an A-rank proxy at best.
But Ollia was beyond that—an S-rank secret unit.
No, she might even surpass the Pursuit Hawk that Arthur had just acquired.
Scout Ollia was a scout, plain and simple.
Once she evolved into a secret unit, she would be unstoppable.
Suppose you obtained mithril ore.
If you let Scout Ollia sniff it, she could track down any mithril within a 100km radius.
In other words, she could find those notoriously hard-to-locate "Mithril Mines."
In fact, once Ollia evolved into a secret unit, Daph had discovered all sorts of treasures thanks to her.
The "Black Proud Tree," said to boost a territory's total defense more than anything else.
Daph had obtained it through Scout Ollia.
No one could deny that Lord Daph was incompetent and a dimwit.
But the one who had secured his future despite all that?
Scout Ollia.
Bitter, Arthur thought.
He recalled the memories.
Even after Ollia evolved into a secret unit, Daph had treated her like trash.
No, worse than now.
He'd collared her, dragged her around like a dog, and worked her day and night without mercy.
That's why the Ollia Arthur remembered was skin and bones, on the verge of death at any moment.
Daph just got lucky.
Extremely lucky.
One of the fundamentals of war, in Arthur's view, was "rewards."
Soldiers who survived grueling battles deserved dark beer, hearty meals, and fair compensation.
What would they think if there was nothing in it for them?
What's the point? Even if we win, nothing changes for us.
Fighting for their lives only for the lord to hog everything? Their morale would plummet, loyalty would evaporate.
But Ollia never lost her loyalty.
Unlike with Daph, she cherished, trusted, and followed him.
Arthur was genuinely impressed.
How could she maintain such fierce loyalty after that treatment...?
Hound tribe members needed their lord's care.
Their bodies were human-like, but they generally hated bathing.
Without it, parasites would infest them, so the lord had to bathe them personally or order someone else to do it.
But Ollia's fur was so overgrown and matted—doubtful if she could even see—that she looked like a stray poodle wandering for three months.
And despite daily beatings with clubs, that loyalty remained.
She's a gem.
That's what Arthur thought.
"Now I can tear you bastards apart. Puhehehe!"
Arthur's head snapped around.
Daph had closed in on the boat.
The Cow Tribe had immense grip strength.
On the cramped deck of a boat, that power overwhelmed human soldiers.
But this was all part of Arthur's plan.
A thick smile crept across his lips.
"Hiiiik!"
"They're catching up!"
"Damn it, we're done for if this keeps up."
-Fear not my blade of justice!
The soldiers kept up their act, while Lauden threw in bizarre ad-libs.
As Daph's wooden boat nearly caught up—
Arthur snapped his fingers.
Snap!
In that instant, the boats carrying the Cow Tribe dissolved into thin air and plunged into the Ophelis River.
Splash!
Splash!
"Mmmuuuh!"
"Mmmuuuh!"
"Uh, mmmuu?"
Arthur had drawn the boats with Creation Painting.
All materialized forms.
Drawing boats had maxed out his creation gauge at 100%.
Structures like buildings or boats consumed far more than expected.
The Cow Tribe and Daph plummeted into the Ophelis River.
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
Soldiers hiding long spears under the wooden decks spun their prows around.
"Mmmu mmmu!"
"Mmmuu, kwi!"
Not just Cow Tribe—most non-mermaid troops were helpless in water.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
"Mmmu mmmu!"
"Mmm...!"
"Hahk... hahk...."
Daph, barely keeping his head above water, could only gape in shock.
Looking around, he saw the river staining red with Cow Tribe blood.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
"What the hell!"
How was this possible?
He couldn't comprehend it.
Was he possessed by a ghost?
No—until moments ago, he'd been on a solid boat, and so had the Cow Tribe.
Then suddenly, their boats vanished like smoke!
But the enemy boats held firm.
No way...!
Daph wasn't that stupid.
The enemy lord's ability...?
An unbelievable, horrifying power.
-Don't let the Cow Tribe board the boats!
"Yes, sir!"
No need for pretense anymore.
Lauden thrust his sword skyward and bellowed.
The soldiers, utterly transformed from their forest performance, began massacring the Cow Tribe at breakneck speed.
Clang!
Lauden snatched a spear and hurled it with all his might toward Daph.
"Hup!"
Daph inhaled sharply and dove underwater.
The spear barely missed him.
Or rather, Lauden hadn't aimed to hit.
War Mode forbade killing each other directly.
Violating it meant instant defeat for the lord.
Second phase. Show me your full strength. Time to stop feigning and start real provocation.
Lauden mulled Arthur's words.
Thud!
As Cow Tribe swarmed another boat, Lauden leaped aboard and slaughtered them mercilessly.
Slash!
Thrust!
Crunch!
The Cow Tribe fell like chaff.
Their corpses bobbed to the surface one after another.
Squelch squelch.
"Hahk... hahk."
Daph clawed his way out of the Ophelis River, using his bastard sword's tip to steady himself, gasping raggedly.
Glancing back, most of his Cow Tribe lay dead, floating face-up.
"Th-this... can't be...."
Thud.
He collapsed to his knees without realizing.
Not a single enemy casualty.
Daph had lost 80 troops in a blink.
He wiped the water from his face.
What the hell is this...?
Daph saw it clearly.
The soldiers in the forest and on the river were night and day.
I... got played...?
That's when it hit him.
The enemy lord had maneuvered him into accepting the second War Mode.
"L-Lord Daph...?"
Lucia hurried to his side.
Lord Ordyn, snapping out of his daze, watched his own forces wiped out in futility but approached anyway.
Not out of concern.
If this continues, Lucia will lose everything too.
Both Ordyn and Lucia had seen it.
The lord facing Daph had toyed with him meticulously!
How, with just 101 lords...?
Still in Lord Protection Period, they said.
Unbelievable.
But they had to stop here.
Ordyn felt unexpected pity for Lucia too.
Shared suffering, perhaps.
Or maybe because she was more beautiful than expected.
His own forces had taken hits, but Daph would get the message now.
No more.
Gathering courage, he spoke.
"We should head back now."
The moment the words left Ordyn's mouth, Daph lunged and seized his throat.
Crunch!
"Wha...?"
"Guhk, ack... L-Lord... War Mode is already... over... please, retreat...."
"I lost? To that Lord Protection Period punk?!"
Veins bulged on Daph's bald scalp.
He couldn't contain his rage, failing to control his strength.
Crack.
Ordyn's neck snapped limply.
A-rank lord has killed a D-rank lord.
Per Monarch Game rules, a Kao value has been generated based on rank difference.
Kao Value: 11,200
You will incur risks until the Laupul value is filled to reduce it to 0.
Kao.
And risks.
This happened because he'd killed a lord with a massive rank gap.
Incurring Kao imposed heavy restrictions.
Gold shop limits, or even a kill order on the offending lord.
That order spread across the territory radius, with bounties scaled to the lord's rank, painting a target on their back.
But Daph, blinded by rage, didn't care.
Plus, killing a fellow Valkyrie Federation member was a grave crime.
"I'll kill anyone who gets in my way...."
Daph's eyes burned red with fury. The Kao effect.
The moment he finished speaking—
Blood droplets seeped from Ordyn's corpse, forming a spherical orb.
Lucia had fled the moment Daph snapped Ordyn's neck.
Daph sensed danger from the blood orb.
He slammed his massive bastard sword into the ground, hunkering behind it.
Then—
BOOM!
The blood orb detonated.
Daph pried his eyes open amid the blast.
"You... insolent... little shit...."
His rage peaked.
* * *
Arthur frowned as he watched Daph kill the lord.
This guy was that much of an idiot?
He'd committed a colossal crime.
If the Valkyrie Federation learned of this?
Forced expulsion, no doubt.
Even God's Shield hadn't amassed enough influence yet.
Since things had escalated, Arthur decided to push Daph into total ruin.
The bastard had allied with demon lords and stabbed humanity in the back.
His God's Shield had shattered humanity's key strike force, the "Osiris Strike Team."
The Osiris Strike Team was humanity's ace, forged from collective effort.
That unit had been obliterated by Daph's spies and God's Shield forces.
Destroying Daph might be humanity's first real step forward.
Arthur promptly enacted one of his long-desired plans.
He drafted a new War Mode proposal and sent it to the operator.
* * *
Lord Arthur proposes a new War Mode format.
You can view Lord Arthur's "proposal."
Daph took minor damage from the explosion.
But his mood was shit.
That blast was surely the enemy lord's doing.
A deliberate fuck-you.
Daph checked the War Mode proposal instantly.
(Lord Arthur's Proposal)
Lord's Message: Come at me, you retard.
Format:
• Lord Daph receives 150 troops from his territory (just out of Lord Protection Period) for the war.
• Lord Daph enters war with abilities boosted, shackles at Stage 4 (out of 5).
• Both lords lose if all troops die; loser pays winner 40,000 gold.
• Lord Arthur bets S-rank secret unit Pursuit Hawk; demands hound tribe proxy in return.
• Lord Arthur bets Storm Fan; demands God's Shield in return.
• Lord Arthur joins without special restrictions.
• No new War Mode without betting the hound tribe proxy.
• Lords do not kill each other.
"Raaagh, you fucking dog bastard!"
Thud!
Daph, needing to vent, grabbed a surviving Cow Tribe soldier and beat him like a rag doll.
Thump thump thump!
"M-mmmuu, p-please... stop...!"
The Cow Tribe went limp.
Dead from the beating.
Why was Daph this furious?
The lord's message in the proposal.
Come at me, you retard.