Chapter 539
One hundred and one knights gathered in front of the meeting tent. Every single one of these knights tried to show off their skills and volunteered for the mission in hopes of getting the exorbitant reward Siegfried offered.
“Which of them will you be sending?” Prince Kyrix asked.
“Let them draw lots and pick five,” Siegfried replied. He did not have time to hold an audition like Produce 101[1], so he decided to let them draw lots instead–while he relaxed and sipped tea.
The drawing of lots ended, and the five knights selected rushed to the Axion Fortress. They did not waste a single second, as they wanted to get their hands on the reward as quickly as possible.
“Kyu! Why did you do that, owner punk?! What if they manage to capture and bring those monsters back?!” Hamchi whispered.
“Keke! That’s not going to happen,” Siegfried replied with a smirk. Then, he took a sniff of the tea’s aroma and said, “Don’t worry. Relax. Hohoho!”
“Owner punk...?” Hamchi narrowed his eyes after noticing something.
Clack... Clack... Clack...!
Siegfried’s hand holding the saucer was trembling so much that the teacup on top of it was making a faint noise.
‘This owner punk... He’s nervous he might lose. Kyu! Why the hell did you make such a bluff when you’d cough blood from losing one gold coin?!’ Hamchi thought inwardly and had a look that said, "I knew it!"
Siegfried was confident none of the knights could capture the undead monsters, which was the whole reason he had placed such an absurd reward in the first place, but the fact that one hundred thousand gold was on the line made him nervous nonetheless.
‘Damn...’ Siegfried was feeling nervous.
Hamchi was right. He wasn't supposed to put on such bravado and put unnecessary stress on himself, but he had no other choice.
There was an age-old saying that a picture painted a thousand words. In other words, it would be much easier to make people understand his stance rather than explain it with words. It was the same in BNW, as the NPCs would understand easier if he showed them an example rather than explaining things to them.
Also...
‘I need to take control of the coalition forces. That’s the only way I can stop these fools from trolling.’
Siegfried acknowledged that the coalition forces had the brawns, but he knew without a shred of doubt that they did not have the brains to make proper use of them. The combined power of the coalition armies could bulldoze through most enemies, which would compensate for their lack of brains, but that wouldn't be the case this time.
They were up against a fragment of Apocalius that managed to seize control of a powerful kingdom. They had no room for errors against such an opponent, as even a small slip-up could prove costly for the entire coalition forces.
Thus, Siegfried needed to gain the trust of the high-ranking officials of the three kingdoms and take command of the coalition forces, which would prevent any of the kingdoms from trolling.
In other words, the hefty reward was a calculated move he had made to give him the influence he needed to seize control of the coalition forces.
Clack...! Clack...! Clack...!
However, he was still shuddering from anxiety while waiting for the knights to return.
***
Three hours later...
“The knights have returned!”
A herald entered the meeting tent and announced the knights who went out on a mission had come back.
“What happened?!” Prince Kyrix asked anxiously.
“All of the knights who went out...”
“...?”
“...have been grievously wounded and are receiving emergency treatment at the infirmary.”
“What?!”
“They failed in capturing an undead monster—no, they almost got annihilated before they could even attempt to capture one.”
A deafening silence fell upon the tent, and every face in it turned ghastly pale except for one.
‘Phew! I can finally breathe! Hehe!’ Siegfried let out a sigh of relief in secret. He could finally relax now that the knights had failed their mission. Then, he looked at Prince Kyrix and said nonchalantly, “So, do you believe me now?”
“B-Before that... Can you explain what is happening?” Prince Kyrix asked, looking stunned.
“The undead monsters we are up against are not your average undead monsters.”
“W-What?”
“They have been exposed to otherworldly energy that had turned them into undead monsters. No attack will work on them unless the same otherworldly energy is used against them.”
“...!”
“That is precisely the reason we need the Adventurers. We cannot win against the Immortal Lord’s armies without those who wield the same otherworldly energy.”
“Oh my god...” Prince Kyrix’s face turned ghastly pale as he gasped in horror. Then, he asked, “Doesn’t that mean we have already lost this war? Even if we hire the Adventurers, our coalition soldiers are practically useless in this war.”
Siegfried shook his head and said, “Not quite. The Adventurers will fight the undead monsters first, and we will collect the Black Otherworldly Essences that the monsters will drop. Then, we will use those to craft and arm our soldiers.”
“I-Is that even possible?”
“It will take time, but that is what we have to do. We need to hire the Adventurers to collect the Black Otherworldly Essences. That is the only way we can arm our soldiers with the same energy to defeat those undead monsters.”
The coalition forces’ officers listened to everything he said, and they were intent on not missing a single word.
“It will be best if we mass recruit Adventurers already in possession of the otherworldly energy.”
“Then what do we do after that?”
“We will launch an offensive at Axion Fortress using the Adventurers.”
“Oh!”
“After that, we will slowly arm our soldiers with the otherworldly energy. Once our men are ready, they will be deployed on the battlefield where and as needed based on our enemy’s movement,” Siegfried explained. He proceeded to lay out a few more strategies he came up with.
The coalition forces’ officers now saw him in a new light.
‘Oh my god!’
‘I thought he was just a good-for-nothing despicable sex demon...!’
‘H-He had such wisdom and a strategic mind?!’
‘My opinion of him has completely changed...’
None of them expected him to be like this, as his infamy had preceded his reputation.
“King Siegfried,” Prince Kyrix said, looking at him with eyes filled with reverence.
“Yes?”
“May I...”
“...?”
“...Ask why you came all the way here?”
The prince asked the most important question. Siegfried and the Proatine Kingdom were completely unrelated to this problem. Not only were their territories located far away from here, but they did not have any ill encounters with the Immortal Kingdom.
This led the officers to believe that Siegfried had some ulterior motive for giving so much great advice.
“It’s very simple,” Siegfried replied. Then, he smirked and said, “I am an Adventurer, and those undead monsters will serve as an excellent fertilizer for my growth.”
“Oh!”
“Also, don’t you think there is someone behind all of this? I refuse to believe such a powerful kingdom would turn into an undead kingdom in just two months.
"There is something fishy about this... I would rather we attack and find out the truth behind the matter rather than blindly believe whatever lies those undead monsters are feeding us. That is the way we can uphold real peace on the continent, right?”
Siegfried did not mention the Fragment of Apocalius on purpose. The fragments were highly classified, as there were those who would definitely try using its powers for their own benefit.
Thus, he made up some story he thought sounded nice, which proved to be an excellent decision.
“Real peace...” Prince Kyrix muttered, looking emotional. Then, he looked at him and said, “Your Majesty... You are very different... from what I have heard...”
“Huh?”
“Your Majesty.”
“Go on?”
“If I may impose upon you...”
“...?”
“May you please lead our coalition forces in reclaiming Axion Fortress? As Your Majesty has said, the Adventurers are the key to this battle. Who better knows how to lead the Adventurers than an Adventurer? I believe Your Majesty is the best commander for this battle.”
The officials nodded one after the other after the prince’s words.
“I agree with His Highness. Please lead us to battle!”
“Yes, Your Majesty is the most fitting person to lead the Adventurers.”
“I beg you!”
Siegfried did not refuse their pleas to be the commander of the upcoming battle.
‘Ok, things are going according to plan,’ he thought while smirking deep inside.
“I am still lacking in many ways, but I will accept your request. I promise to lead our forces to victory in this battle!”
And that was how Siegfried catapulted himself to become the highest commanding officer of the coalition forces in the upcoming Siege of Axion Fortress...
***
The coalition forces immediately got to work and started recruiting Adventurers. Their requirements were quite simple. Any Adventure who fought in either the Southern Great Jungle or Northern Great Forest and in possession of otherworldly energy could enlist.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly until something completely unexpected happened. The Immortal Kingdom had started recruiting Adventurers as well. They placed an official request with the Mercenary Guild and were recruiting Adventurers en masse.
It went without saying that this threw the coalition forces’ officers into panic.
“Your Majesty! What should we do?! We received news that evil monsters are recruiting Adventurers too!” Prince Kyrix cried out.
Siegfried smirked and replied, “Calm down. It’s no big deal.”
“Pardon me? It's not a big deal?”
“Yes, it’s not.”
“But why is it not a big deal? The Immortal Kingdom has offered immense rewards to them! The Ephedrine Kingdom was a very wealthy nation, and our coalition forces would certainly lose if they used their vast wealth to hire a horde of Adventurers!”
Prince Kyrix looked very troubled, and his concerns were justified. The Immortal Kingdom–rather, Ephedrine Kingdom, was wealthier than all three coalition kingdoms combined.
Money was a big factor in wars and some people would even argue that wars were won based on money and not based on soldiers! Others would argue that this was not true at all, but the side that had invested more was bound to have more troops. It was common sense that more money spent meant more troops and more troops meant the lines of the coalition forces would get quashed by wave after wave of enemies.
However, Siegfried did not seem to be concerned even in the slightest.
“Hey, life will be tiring if you worry about everything, you know?”
“King Siegfried! Our coalition cannot afford to spend as much as the Immortal Kingdom is currently–”
“You don’t have to be worried about the Adventurers, so just sit back, relax, and wait.”
“But...”
“We will have Adventurers way stronger than the ones they can buy with money, so just be patient. I guarantee you, our Adventurers will completely crush them. Haven’t you heard of quality over quantity?”
“A-Alright... If Your Majesty says so...”
Prince Kyrix could not understand where Siegfried’s confidence was coming from, but he decided to trust him and wait.
The prince did not have to wait long, as the mystery was resolved the very next morning. He heard some sort of commotion in the camp and decided to check what was going on.
What greeted him was the entire camp teeming with strong-looking Adventurers.
“K-King Siegfried was right...!” Prince Kyrix exclaimed out of shock. He could not help but be in awe after seeing the Adventurers gathered.
Of course, he was clueless about what kind of Adventurers had gathered at the Immortal Kingdom, but he could tell that the Adventurers gathered in the camp were strong enough to fight against most professional armies.
The eagle-eyed knight standing beside the prince spotted Siegfried in the crowd.
He leaned forward and whispered, “Your Highness, King Siegfried is amongst them.”
“Really? I will go see him at once. Lead the way!” Prince Kyrix replied before running in the direction the knight was looking.
“King Siegfried!”
“Ah, good morning.”
“What happened? How did you do this?”
“Do what?”
“Your Majesty told me yesterday that strong Adventurers will come join us.”
“Oh right, I did say that,” Siegfried replied while rubbing his chin.
“How did you know that these Adventurers would come to join us even though we had offered them less than the Immortal Kingdom did?” Prince Kyrix asked impatiently. He was so curious that he felt like going crazy any second now.
“Ah, it’s nothing big,” Siegfried replied with a shrug. Then, he said, “They can’t give what the strong Adventurers desire.”
“Huh? W-What do you mean by that...?” Prince Kyrix asked. He thought his curiosity would finally be satisfied, but he ended up becoming even more curious.
1. A Korean audition program. More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Produce_101 ☜
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