Chapter 123: Pruning

Chapter 123: Pruning

‘Surrender, huh?’

Crampus didn’t find Sung-Woon’s words surprising.

Overall, the battle between Danyum and Black Scale was only one part of the fight against the alliance of five nations. Danyum had formulated a strategy to buy time while the other countries prepared their troops.

‘Though it doesn’t seem like I was able to achieve that goal.’

Apart from the failed strategy, Danyum had practically been defeated by Black Scale. The fight was over the moment Aranju Dolan allowed the army of Vasen Lak Orzan to enter the capital city, Deimerit, without any bloodshed after becoming queen. And in the end, if Black Scale did defeat the five allied nations, it would be better to just go through a loss like this one.

Crampus had played The Lost World quite a lot, and a war was actually a losing game for everyone that participated. Not having a war would be the best, and if there had to be one, it was best to undergo the least amount of damage.

‘If harm has to be done, winning would be the best, but...’

As soon as Crampus saw Sung-Woon’s mask, a question suddenly came into his mind.

“Nebula.”

“What?”

Crampus asked, “Do you think I suck at this game?”

Sung-Woon tilted his head at Crampus and crossed his arms. He seemed to be wondering what Crampus was asking the question for, but soon replied as if he judged that there were no ill-intentions.

“No, I don’t think you’re that bad.”

“Really? Then why did I lose?”

Sung-Woon tapped his mask with his finger.

“You haven’t lost yet. You didn’t say you’d surrender.”

“Let’s say I did.”

“You didn’t surrender, but let’s just say you did?”

“Yes.”

“That’s troublesome.”

Crampus replied, “Why don’t you take a break from the winner's perspective sometimes? Talking about something that’s already done won’t give away your know-hows.”

“I guess so,” Sung-Woon replied. “Then...because I’m better?”

Crampus looked at the mountains in the distance for a moment before turning back to Sung-Woon.

“What else? Was there no chance for me to beat you?”

“I’m not gonna go into detail, but to be honest, there wasn’t.”

“That means you still have a card up your sleeve, doesn't it?”

“Well I still have four opponents to deal with, don’t I?”

Crampus understood that much.

"Well then, let's narrow our focus a bit."

"How so?"

Crampus said, "Assuming that there are no other variables, was there no way for me to win when Lakrak killed the king of Danyum, during the battle at the Dilpa Gorge, and in the one week before Aranju surrendered to Vasen?”

Sung-Woon seemed to think for a moment. “There was.”

"What was it?"

"Right after the king's death, you should have executed Babica and pulled General Yubaim Dolan back from the Dilpa Gorge."

Crampus considered Sung-Woon’s suggestion. If Babica Tollo had been killed, there would have been no other influential person like him, so his death could be seen as a divine message. No matter how influential Babica was, a divine message couldn’t be ignored. There would be some resistance, but there wouldn't have been much trouble killing him. And if all else failed, Crampus could have just used Divine Punishment.

Divine Punishment was a skill players gained access to once their Small Area rose to a certain level, and it inflicted damage on individuals who believed in the player as their god. Crampus barely used this skill, while Wisdom openly used it. And Crampus had to admit it was an efficient tactic.

Anyway, with Babica Tollo dealt with, the inner fortress would have fallen into greater chaos rather than settling down. It may not seem like a good move at first glance, but if General Yubaim Dolan retreated and returned to Deimerit, power would have inevitably gone to Yubaim, who possessed great military might. And if it was for the cause of calming the loyal retainers who worried about the royal family, or for quelling the immediate chaos, Yubaim Dolan would have used his power to take charge of the inner fortress. All that would have been done before the army of Black Scale reached Deimerit.

‘And assuming an ideal siege warfare was used instead of the failed strategy at Dilpa Gorge...’

Although it was unclear what kind of trick Sung-Woon had up his sleeve, it seemed that things would’ve at least been better for Crampus. Sung-Woon’s suggestion seemed pretty reasonable.

“But...” n0vElusb.c0M

“What?”

“I made the best choices I could make at every moment. The king died, so I left things to Babica Tollo to calm things down, and when Yubaim Dolan came back, I let Babica kill Yubaim so that the chaos would come to an end. Aranju did move too fast, though. It was my mistake for not considering that properly... However, things had gone wrong before that.”

Sung-Woon nodded like he found none of his points invalid.

“That means that the best choices you could make at every moment wasn’t enough.”

Crampus asked, “Then what else did I need?”

“A plan.”

“...Did you have that in mind? What a quick answer.”

“You can’t win a game by simply responding well to the situation. You need to look at the bigger picture.”

Crampus stroked his goatee with interest.

“So are you saying that you knew this would happen?”

“Yes and no.”

"What do you mean?"

Sung-Woon explained, "First, Babica Tollo getting drunk with power was part of the plan. I'm still figuring out who the key figures are in each country, but I know that Babica is a person who wields his abilities for his pursuit of power. I had calculated that he would make a move if the king died."

Crampus was surprised to find out that Sung-Woon killing the king of Danyum through Lakrak was a calculated move rather than a simple act of distraction or intimidation. The violent nature of it had made him assume that it must have been somewhat impulsive.

"What about General Yubaim?"

"I didn’t think he would die in vain. The scenario I pictured was for conflict to arise between Babica and Yubaim in Deimerit."

"...I see."

Such a scenario could have actually happened.

If Babica couldn't kill Yubaim, he would have constantly sought to validate his power through Yubaim in order to maintain his own authority, which would have led to problems in the chain of command.

Sung-Woon continued to say, "In that case, I believed that Black Scale’s army would have the upper hand until either Babica or Yubaim dealt with the other. And my goal was to invade with lightning warfare.”

"...Hm."

"But things didn't go according to plan..."

"You’re saying you got lucky in the end, right?”

"What else can I say?"

The two players looked at each other for a moment.

Sung-Woon said, "So what about surrendering? If you surrender now, I’m willing to agree to some good conditions.”

Crampus smirked and shook his head.

"I won't surrender."

Unceremoniously, Crampus closed Sung-Woon’s video chat window.

***

"What do you think Crampus is thinking?"

"The game isn't over yet, right? He’s going to see through it to the end. I think it's a good attitude."

"If it were me, I would have given up."

Sung-Woon looked at Eldar.

Eldar's face became a little flushed.

"No, it's not because I would give up on myself. It's just that I would pity the Elves who trust me."

"I didn't say anything."

“Well.”

"I don't think that's a bad attitude either."

Sung-Woon looked down at Deimerit with Eldar.

Within Deimerit’s high walls were farmlands and a river.

If Danyum had properly carried out a siege defense, it would’ve been a rough fight for Black Scale.

‘We did enter without a fight, but luck isn’t the only factor.’

Far across from Sung-Woon was Crampus.

Like Sung-Woon, Crampus was controlling the system window and making his own move.

‘I know what you’re trying to do, but I can’t intervene right away...’

Sung-Woon first checked to see if the necessary tasks were being carried out. It was the process of documenting Danyum’s surrender. Danyum’s surrender had been quick, but that didn’t mean that Danyum’s new queen, Aranju Dolan, was terrified, or that her surrender was a hasty decision. It was rather the opposite.

.

"General Vasen, you must acknowledge that there are more troops within Danyum than the troops you have. It’s evident that if I hadn’t surrendered, you would have suffered significant losses."

"...Um. But doesn’t Danyum not want to shed blood? And currently, all of Danyum’s army has been disarmed. I won’t stop you if you want to revolt with bare hands. You were the one who allowed us to enter the castle first, so I assume you would have no regrets."

"But if you make excessive demands, there could be backlash from the general public of Danyum. And our words would eventually reach the other allies. If they hear that Black Scale is cruel, would anyone else want to surrender like us? Does Black Scale want to continue fighting difficult battles?"

Although they had surrendered, Aranju Dolan maintained a confident attitude. It was as if her becoming queen was a given, and that she had been born with royal blood.

Vasen had heard about Aranju Dolan through insider information. Since she was a child, she had enjoyed horse riding and sword fighting, formed gangs with local kids and roamed the fields, and when she was old enough, she became a military officer with her father’s recommendation. Apart from the fact that she wasn’t a royal, she wasn’t much different from Vasen.

‘She wouldn’t have even dreamt of becoming queen only a few days ago, let alone know that she would become one.’

Sung-Woon had an explanation for her change.

‘Becoming queen is significant for anyone, especially for those who aren’t of royal blood. When she became queen, her abilities significantly improved. And the previously unmarked Charm and Leadership stats have seen dramatic increase. The potential was in her all along, but it was something a player couldn’t find out beforehand.’

Even considering that, Aranju Dolan was doing very well to not lose Danyum’s rights facing the powerful Black Scale and the competent general Vasen.

Of course, Sung-Woon wasn't too concerned. Vasen was never a good negotiator to start with. But behind Vasen was Kyle Lak Orazan.

‘They’ll have to wait for the news from Orazen anyway.’

The simple treaty needed right away had been signed. As compensation to Black Scale’s army for their victory, Deimerit agreed to reward them and cover their costs of staying at the city, and in return, looting was prohibited. Fortunately, there weren't many complaints about the prohibition since Black Scale's army hadn't shed blood during the landslide victory at the Dilpa Gorge and upon entering Deimerit. And it was also fortunate that the majority of the army consisted of individuals with little experience in war.

As no serious public security issue happened during the stay of Black Scale’s army in Deimerit, the capital city that had been shrouded in anxiety from continuous internal conflicts regained some vitality—but not without the intervention of two players.

At Sung-Woon’s request, Eldar was also helping, but Sung-Woon said that this was an unwinnable fight.

“...Is it okay if you don’t win?”

“Yes. This is different from a battle between armies. Deimerit is under Crampus’s influence. That’s not something I can defeat. It’s good enough to have protected Black Scale’s army.”

At an isolated forest outside Deimerit, a crumbling abandoned house stood by a dark alley. Figures with their faces covered secretly gathered in the middle of the night, in the midst of Deimerit’s recovering vitality. Whenever there was a gathering, some nobles of Danyum would be found dead after getting stabbed in the back or getting stabbed in the heart while they were asleep. Quite a lot of people died in Deimerit over the past few days while waiting for the envoy to come from Orazen.

Sung-Woon would be away to attend other work, but always came back to Deimerit when he had the chance.

“It seems to be coming to an end.”

What had been happening for the past few days was what the players called Pruning. It was the process of individuals with unclear allegiance being removed, of clarifying who was on whose side. It was something done by a player. They would test individuals whose faith was unclear or weak and made them choose one side. And if an individual seemed to be going to the other side, the player would sometimes get rid of them by giving a revelation to another follower. That would make the line between allies and enemies more clearly defined.

“Hidden faith would now be revealed.”

It was just as Sung-Woon said.

Early in the morning, those who followed the Limitless God, the god of Danyum and the Satyrs, gathered at the square of Deimerit to insult Black Scale and Night Sky. A crowd was there to listen to them hurling blasphemies and echo their sentiments.

The agitator who followed Limitless God exclaimed, “The Limitless God has spoken in the middle of the night! Although we’ve surrendered to Black Scale, we must not surrender to Night Sky!”

The crowd responded with a heated cheer.

Eldar then said to Sung-Woon, “Wait...is that event happening already?”

“Yes.” Sung-Woon nodded. “It’s the separation of church and state.”