The legendary Moonlight Sculptor

V58C1P2 - World Unification

The Arpen Imperial army boldy marched towards Castle Serabourg.

"Maintain marching formation. Knights open up the path."

Alcatra led the army as the chief commander. Even after crossing the border, the forces of the Rojaim Kingdom were nowhere to be seen.

"The lord of the Turan Village arrived with his forces. A hundred soldiers have joined our ranks."

"The lord from The Bakers Village has also arrived. He brought 250 troops and 3 knights."

"Reinforcements have arrived from the Daltangra Fortress. 1,000 Cavalry units."

The lords of the Rohaim Kingdom competed against one another to join the Arpen Imperial army.

"It is an honor to be in your presence, Lord Weed."

"Welcome to Rojaim."

The lords were tense, bowing their heads before Weed.

Weed felt like a transcendent being as he seized command of the Hermes Guild and united the Central Continent.

The way they viewed Weed was different from how they assessed typical players.

"I am grateful for your visit."

"We will take the lead."

"No. Follow behind us for now. You do not have to engage in the war."

Weed had no intention of using the forces of the lords who surrendered.

'It will be a hassle if Castle Serabourg suffers damage."

The objective of the siege on Castle Serabourg was to take control with minimal losses.

The Arpen Empire was already spending an unimaginable amount of funds on recovering Morata.

Weed gathered Mihel, Kalis and Roam before beginning to speak.

"Do not set fire to anything. Conquering is great, but if any buildings are set ablaze, extinguish them."

"Understood."

"Also, do not destroy the gate unless it is necessary. It will all cost money to repair."

"Pardon?"

"Do not slaughter the Rojaim soldiers as you please. We will lose trust from the public once we conquer the castle."

"…"

The smiling, composed faces of the great lords had turned stiff.

"Then how do we go on about taking the castle?"

"That is for you folks to figure out."

"…"

Weed was much more relaxed after becoming the emperor.

He delegated all the tedious and troublesome tasks, sat back and waited for them to be completed.

"I don't have to look after everything myself. More diligent folks will take care of them."

He felt the true sweetness of authority.

Nevertheless, the great lords did not see it as a challenge.

"The players will not fight to defend the kingdom. Then it is easier for us to manage our army. We are at ease."

"Skip or fly over the walls and use our mages to sleep the enemy soldiers."

"That is a great suggestion. We must not kill and have to leave the buildings unharmed… but it isn't impossible."

"The knights and soldiers of Rojaim are not at a level where they can harm us, so we don't have to fight as hard."

The great lords brought over a crowd of high level players.

It was the moment of uniting the world which drew the attention of the public.

These players had not used the Brazier of Sacrifice and naturally maintained the highest level in Royal Road.

"Halt!"

"All poise and prepare for battle!"

The forces set up a wide formation on the plains in front of the castle gate.

There were other cities and castles in Rojaim, but if the capital were conquered, most others would soon follow.

Weed flew in the sky riding on top of a Baraag. Countless players were watching him from the castle's center town square, training arena, fountain and the trades sector.

"Weed-nim is here!"

"We have waited for so long, Weed-nim!"

"Hooray Arpen Empire!"

"Grass Porridge! Grass Porridge!"

It was a mix of Rojaim players and Northern players who came to observe.

Weed waved lightly as a reply to the welcoming players.

'There are quite a number of soldiers stationed at the gate and walls.'

There were at least 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers as this castle was the capital of Rojaim.

Undoubtedly, not many volunteered to stand on the inside of those walls.

"I think this mission is too much for me."

"I wish to go on knight duty."

"Just surrender to the Arpen Empire. Weed-nim is a benevolent emperor."

The knight players of Rojaim cut ties with their kingdom and left, but a few dozen decided to stay loyal and maintain their stations.

"Sigh. You fight even if it means death. I have never forfeit a quest."

"The enemy is inside our borders? Unfortunately, it is the Arpen Empire. I would gladly fight if it was Haven. But I guess I'd die either way."

"Let's just give them kills."

The Knight players were easily defamed if they did not keep to their honor and loyalty, and so they set out for battle willing to die.

- Attack, but do not kill anyone or destroy a single thing!

"Huh?"

"What does that mean?"

The players who did not have the inside information were thrown off by the command.

It was the same for the players who came to spectate and have joined the side of the Arpen Imperial army.

"Let's go. It's our time."

"Don't even bother unsheathing your weapons. We might kill a soldier by accident."

The players over level 500 set out first.

There were players from the Assault Squad who participated in the Kaybern hunt among them, and they were the first to reach the walls.

< A siege war has commenced at Castle Serabourg.

The invasion of the Arpen Empire!

Players can join the siege and side with either the Arpen Empire or the Rojaim Kingdom.

National Contribution Points, Fame and Achievements will be awarded according to the outcome of the war. >

"Fire!"

"Stop the enemy from approaching the walls!"

The Rojaim soldiers fired arrows and activated the catapults aimed outside the walls.

The high level players avoided the rounds with ease or simply took the blows straight with their body and advanced. Once they got to the wall, they peacefully hooked the ladders and began climbing. They were subject to Weed's scolding if they were to destroy anything in the castle with any attack skills.

- Myul: We will also get going.

The Griffin unit skipped the walls in a breeze and infiltrated the Castle Serabourg with high level players.

"Go easy."

"Whack them carefully!"

The players of Arpen easily subdued the Rojaim soldiers.

The mages chose to use a large scale sleeping spell over the enemies.

Furthermore, the Black Lion Guild was particularly polite and covered the sleeping soldiers with blankets.

"That is the Arpen Imperial army… Too fearsome."

"I give up, surrender!"

"Please spare my life."

Within less than 5 minutes, the Rojaim army on the walls threw down their weapons and surrendered. The discrepancy in military force was one thing, but the swarm of baraags flying around was already so terrifying that they lost the will to fight.

"The emperor of the Arpen Empire even slayed the Black Dragon Kaybern."

"The adventures he's accomplished are at an unimaginable scale for people like us."

"So he is the Emperor of Arpen, Weed… He's so intimidating that I can't even look at him."

Weed's charisma and fighting spirit, and countless combat achievements brought the soldiers to their knees.

"Ah, I guess that's it. I tried to put up some kind of fight but… We surrender as well."

The players who sided with the Rojaim Kingdom also raised their hands. Weed shouted while riding on top of his baraag.

"Take over the vital chokepoints and let's clean out Castle Serabourg. Next is…"

He was interrupted as he was about to announce the next region to conquer.

Dwarf warrior Vindel from the Black Lion Guild spoke.

"Is it a party?"

"Sorry?"

"Today, Emperor Weed, who we deeply admire has dominated the Rojaim Kingdom; it is a truly delightful day, so can we drink and have some fun in Castle Serabourg?"

"…."

The players of the Rojaim Kingdom raised their arms in excitement.

"Hooray! It's a feast!"

"A feast in the Rojaim Kingdom too."

"Let's drink up. We are now a part of the Arpen Empire."

"Weed-nim, you're the best!"

***

Serabourg King's Palace.

It was a place that only allowed entrance to those with high honor and affiliation points.

The kingdom's knights and palace guards were elites who ranged from level 300 to 400.

"We will take it from here."

Alcatra, who was in charge of the Arpen army, led the way.

He and the knights with the highest level fought together.

It took some time to make sure that they didn't take any lives, but the situation was taken care of with little effort and they made safe passage into the palace.

There were about 30 knights, the aristocrats and the king himself were waiting for them.

"How dare you invade this land!"

Winster was the king of Rojaim!

He was famed for having built a pyramid upon the request of the previous king, Siodern, but currently the throne had been inherited by his son.

Weed had met this man once before, but he did not get a good impression.

"An invasion…"

Weed nodded. With a light heart, he acknowledged the facts.

"It's true that we invaded your lands."

"This is tyranny. You cannot just trample over smaller kingdoms like this."

Blink!

< King Winster of the Rojaim Kingdom is in opposition. Depending on your answer, the loyalty of the local citizens and national reputation will be influenced. >

There needed to be a justification for conquest.

Until now, most prestigious guilds and the Hermes Guild did not care about justification while they expanded their territories.

All they had to do was suppress retaliation with military force after the conquest and disregard the compromised public security.

For the Arpen Empire, it was about uniting the entire continent, so it was rather a difficult situation to provide special attention for the Rojaim Kingdom.

'I could have just razed the entire kingdom by sending in the baraags, but that's all national loss.'

Weed did not start a dictatorship, but the Arpen Empire was his own possession. Hence he smacked his lips first.

"It is for world peace."

"Your invasion is for peace? How dare you speak such lies!"

The king's reaction was as expected.

Weed spoke in a weary tone.

"We defeated the dragon, but the threat is not entirely gone. Not the Rojaim Kingdom, but an empire with power must defend the people. The demon king Cletta may return any time and the people are afraid."

The just reason that always works like bread and butter; for world peace!

Blink!

< The influences of your reputation and achievements transformed the attitude of the royal knights to friendly. >

The royal knights were disappointed with King Winster time and time again. Instead of the greedy and incapable king, they think it won't be bad for the savior of the world to govern the Rojaim Kingdom. >

The message alert gave a slight hint.

"The Rojaim Kingdom will do fine on our own."

"The kingdom almost fell with the crisis of the Ambinu Cult. You did not act at all against Kaybern. The Rojaim Kingdom would have fallen to ruins at least twice if it weren't for me."

"But…"

"Leave it to me. I will take care of the people, turn the knights into honorable and powerful assets."

King Winster was pitifully dragged out by the royal knights. Once Weed sat on the throne, a message alert popped up.

Blink!

< The Rojaim Kingdom surrendered.

Castle Serabourg and the nearby territory have been merged into the Arpen Empire.

Some regional lords will resist until the end.

National Reputation increased by 7. >

The resistance army was nothing notable.

The players of the Rojaim Kingdom were already accepting the Arpen Empire.

(To be continued…)