Chapter 235: Toward Rasdasil
[The player 'Hegemonia' has earned the right to challenge Large Area: Land.]
Crampus, who was sitting in the first conference room, murmured, "What? How did this happen?"
Sitting beside him, Eldar mumbled, "Ah, I wondered if it would happen, but I guess it really did."
"What do you mean?"
"Didn’t you see it written on the situation board today?"
From a certain point in time, the players in the Pantheon started calling their act of sitting in the conference room and monitoring the world as situation duty, and they started naming other things accordingly. For example, the notice board that one would check before entering situation duty, which contained the main instructions for that day, was called the situation board. The first conference room was also more popularly referred to as the command and control room.
When Crampus responded with a look of confusion, Eldar controlled the system interface and continued to say, “It said Hegemonia could get the opportunity to challenge a Large Area, and to check on Arengart if she did.”
Eldar then pressed a button, and the landscape of Arengart, the capital of the Ronante-Oroban Alliance, appeared on the screen. Seeing this, Crampus, Eldar, and Solongos, who were all on situation duty, let out short sighs.
Eldar checked the system window and said, "...We've lost a lot of our reconnaissance resources."
"Did Hegemonia attack? Arengart? Weren't they in an alliance?"
Someone walked into the conference room. "They were in an alliance."
It was Sung-Woon.
Walking in, Sung-Woon looked at the scene of Arengart that Eldar had displayed and continued to say, "Our strategy did work out. Hegemonia no longer trusted Male Chicken and Vladimir."
"She didn’t trust them? Did she think those two would betray her?"
"No, it’s not that. She didn’t believe in their capabilities. She was certain that those two would be of no use to her, so she launched a surprise attack."
"But, hyung-nim[1]."
Sung-Woon turned to look at Solongos.
Sung-Woon had been somewhat taken aback by this form of address, but since he had told Solongos to call him whatever he wanted, it was awkward for Sung-Woon to say something and correct him now. So eventually, Sung-Woon had become a hyung-nim to Solongos.
"What is it?"
"As far as I know, weren't there four apostles of Male Chicken and Vladimir in Arengart? On the other hand, if the results of our continuous monitoring weren’t wrong, only three apostles of Hegemonia had left their posts until now..."
Sung-Woon said, "That’s not particularly surprising though. Not all apostles are the same."
While it was understandable to hide apostles at strategic points due to their value, it wasn't necessarily a good play. Apostles grew not just through their own experiences, but also through externally recognized achievements. Even Lakrak had become much stronger since becoming an apostle. On the other hand, it wasn’t very useful to hide apostles like Male Chicken and Vladimir had hidden theirs in the depths of the capital palace.
‘Moreover, rather than selecting a heroic individual and designating them as an apostle, making creations or divine beasts into apostles is also not recommended. They might have good initial stats, but they tend to have a lower potential for growth.’
People loved stories about heroes. That’s why they kept adding more stories to them. In contrast, creations or divine beasts were somewhat complete stories, so they couldn’t provide much more in terms of storytelling.
Crampus asked, "So what happens to Male Chicken and Vladimir now? Did they become vassals?"
Sung-Woon checked the system interface and said, "Uh...wait, here we go. I just checked the calculations Wisdom sent me. They’ve dropped to around level 10, mid-low range, due to the massive hit, but it seems like both of them will survive."
If they had used Hierophany and did their best to fight back and died, they could have become vassals.
'So they didn't give it their all, or they thought they couldn’t win anyway. Well, it was probably the right decision.'
Compared to Sung-Woon and Hegemonia, both Male Chicken and Vladimir had continued a relatively unfavorable play. However, Sung-Woon thought that it didn’t necessarily have to be viewed that way. Now Sung-Woon’s Pantheon and Hegemonia would engage in a much bigger battle, and one of them was bound to lose.
'Even when that time comes, Male Chicken and Vladimir will be alive.'
The player who gained power then would most likely become the winner, but there was a chance that it wouldn’t be true. Although it was a low probability at the current stage of civilization, there was a chance to aim for a draw from both parties.
'It might be disparaged as micro play, but in the end, the longer you survive, the more possibilities you see.'
Sung-Woon said, "...Well, still, the Ronante-Oroban Alliance is almost neutralized now. Even if we don’t control them, they'll be burdened to suppress the rebels scattered everywhere, and now that Arengart has been destroyed in the fight between the apostles, they won’t be able to block secularism from happening.”
There was also another possibility.
"Male Chicken and Vladimir will have it harder. There is a chance that the Ronante army and the Oroban navy will seize this crisis as an opportunity to form a stronger alliance, but if secularism strengthens, the divided forces will increasingly advocate for separatism. The emperor, the symbol of the alliance, is already dead, and there are other countries on the first continent that are hostile to the Ronante-Oroban Alliance."
Eldar said, "Then we should focus on Hegemonia."
"Right." Sung-Woon nodded. "If we just protect magic like this, we can win."
***
The course of the war between the Black Scale Empire and the Danly Union Kingdom aligned almost exactly with what Sung-Woon and the players from Pantheon had discussed.
The entire Oroban Navy had escaped from the Saijin Archipelago, allowing the remaining Empire’s forces hiding within the archipelago to succeed in their surprise attack.
The Empire's navy had hardly suffered any damage from the Oroban Navy in the first place, so they easily captured the Saijin Archipelago, established it as one of the Empire’s bases, and completely dominated the seas between the first and third continents.
Therefore, for the Union Kingdom, all routes directly leading to the Rasdasil Ruins for the magic seal were removed, except for the sea routes.
Unlike wars on Earth, where one could give up if they anticipated or sustained heavy damage, wars in The Lost World only ended when the players gave up. For Hegemonia, however, it was over once all of her ships were destroyed.
No matter how many ground troops the Union Kingdom had, if they could not set foot on the third continent, all those troops would be useless. Therefore, Hegemonia, wanting to protect the sea routes from the fourth and second continents to the western coast of the third continent, could not choose a full-frontal war.
The Empire had a broader range to defend, but they had a larger total naval force, so even for Hegemonia, there was no guarantee she would benefit from a naval battle. But that didn’t mean the future looked bright either.
Adopting a strategy to minimize damage, the Empire’s navy gradually wore down the navy of the Union Kingdom.
Wisdom said, "Then we might be considering a longer war than we thought. They could aim to seize a far-end harbor like Maganen before our Empire’s army joins and continuously transport troops."
Sung-Woon said, "That's a possibility, but..."
Sung-Woon pointed north of Maganen on the map.
Wisdom mumbled, "Pladion?"
However, Sung-Woon's hand kept moving. His finger traversed rough mountains and terrains, eventually crossing over the eastern mountain range before stopping at Rasdasil.
Wisdom then said as if he couldn’t understand, "With the current fleet, they would be able to transport troops several times while protecting the transport ships. Wouldn’t they first need to establish an expedition base after landing?"
"That would make sense."
"Are you saying they would go to Rasdasil directly? On the land our fleet is protecting? Of course, it's not a perfect defense line, but we have done better than expected. Hegemonia was delayed, whereas we were faster."
"Right. If Hegemonia lands troops on the coast of Rasdasil, it wouldn’t be bad for us."
A considerable amount of troops from the Empire were currently stationed in southern cities like Maganen on the Empire’s peninsula because the area was the closest to the Union Kingdom. Therefore, if the Union Kingdom’s fleet was to land in Rasdasil, they would have to relinquish the occupied territory without any means to resist.
‘But that's all there is to it.’
At first glance, it seemed risky, but by now, the hidden fleets in front of Rasdasil had been revealed, and coastal fortresses had been constructed. While many troops were located beyond the mountains, there were no longer issues of impassable roads in the Empire due to the harsh terrain as the roads had been thoroughly cleared. Therefore, if a bit of time could be bought at the Rasdasil coast, massive troop assemblies could be quickly redirected there.
Moreover, if the Union Kingdom was to unload troops in Rasdasil, their supply lines wouldn’t be secure since the naval forces of the Empire in other regions wouldn't just stand by and watch. For Hegemonia to attack Rasdasil would be like placing a stone inside the enemy's territory in a game of Go.
"Then should we reassign troops to Pladion now?"
Sung-Woon shook his head. "No, it would be more troublesome if we ended up giving away port cities like Maganan."
Hegemonia had been using Faith points to conceal the locations of her main forces. While there were no other options apart from the eastern coast, it was still a question sure exactly where they would appear.
"Even so, you think they will come to Rasdasil?"
"Yes."
"Why do you think that?"
Sung-Woon thought about it for a moment and then slowly said, "Because that's what I would do.”
“How come?”
"If one follows the standard procedure, it would lead to death from starvation. So even if the probability of losing is higher, I would think that it's better to bet on the side where there is still a chance of winning left."
"I don't understand."
Sung-Woon said, "If you think you can win all the upcoming battles, you might think this way."
In any battle, win. Then, even if surrounded, even if supplies are cut off, even if placed in a disadvantageous situation, it wouldn't matter.
"Nebula, I'm not sure if you're underestimating us or if you're saying Hegemonia is underestimating us."
Sung-Woon shook his head. "It's neither. You can't win a game with that kind of mindset… Hegemonia has enough confidence. She’s gathered strong apostles, obtained the Unique Domain: War, and the quality of her troops are quite good. Moreover, having had to play the game in a fragmented manner up until now, if she thinks she can concentrate solely on one point and fight just one battle...she would undoubtedly believe that she is certain to win."
Wisdom stayed silent for a moment.
"When you put it that way, I understand."
That was when it happened. Lunda, who was in the first conference room, contacted Sung-Woon.
"The Union Kingdom's fleet has appeared. Here are the coordinates."
A location marked with a red dot appeared.
It was the southeastern sea of the third continent. The fleet, which had already passed the Southern Archipelago from afar, continued to head north.
"The fleet was discovered a little while ago. Even if we are to draw their path, it might not be accurate, but it's certain that the route used by the Union Kingdom’s fleet is..."
Lunda said, "Rasdasil. The fleet is heading to the open sea in front of Rasdasil."
Sung-Woon and Wisdom looked at each other. In fact, Sung-Woon still didn't know where to focus his gaze on Wisdom's star-shaped head, but anyway, something similar to emotions was communicated between them.
And then, as if they had coordinated their actions, they quickly controlled the system window. They issued revelations through their assigned priests to move the troops. The chaplain priests of each unit received the revelation in various forms depending on the god they followed. A swarm of red butterflies danced according to well-known rules, tubifex wriggled out of pockets to form letters, and the rough wind meaningfully arranged the leaves.
The chaplain priests read the revelations and informed the commanders of each unit. The commanders hurriedly gathered the troops and ordered them to go to Rasdasil.
Meanwhile, the Empire’s fleet in front of Rasdasil began preparations to face the enemy, and the coastal fortresses stopped expansion and switched to reinforcement work.
While making commands, Wisdom said, "By the way, the answer from the sanctuary hasn't come down yet, is that okay? It seemed like you really wanted to confirm it this time."
Sung-Woon replied, "Well, if it's something I didn't expect, I need to wait, but in the case of Hegemonia, it seems I was a bit faster."
Wisdom quietly laughed. "That's also true."
***
A few days later, on the eastern coast of the third continent, the fleet of the Union Kingdom appeared in the open sea in front of Pladion.
1. Korean term used by males to address an older male than themself ☜
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