Ark-Volume 8 Chapter 2

ACT 2 Final Winner?

“Heung, even with that it’s only going to extend the time until you lose. Crush them!”

Raiden led the troops and rushed in. Although 30 people died from the paladins’ surprise attacks, the Hermes Alliance still had around 100 people. On the other hand, with the paladins the Dawn Blade coalition only had 50 people. The difference was twice as much. In addition, the damage of the paladins weren’t that strong. While on horseback outside the castle, their offensive dealt heavy damage to the magicians, but most of the users gathered in the Hall of Glory were users with high defense. It wasn’t so easy to hurt them. No, since they had twice as many troops then there was still a large difference.

“Ark, it is time for the final stage. Let’s go!”

“No, please wait a moment.”

Ark stood in front of Jjak-tung and said. In this situation it was clear that the Hermes Alliance had the overwhelming advantage but…….

‘What on earth?’

Ark looked at Alan strangely. Alan definitely looked uneasy before. But when the paladins appeared he immediately changed. He just sat back and watched the Hermes Alliance attack with a relaxed face. It was like a subtle sense of provocation was coming from him…….!

Ark was soon able to confirm the ominous feeling.

“Kill the enemies with the power of God, Divine Field!”

The moment the two troops were about to crash into each other, Alan used a wide area magic. A blue light spread like a wave along the floor. But the soldiers from the Hermes Alliance didn’t pay any attention. Alan’s Holy Knight skills were fairly well known. It was natural because Alan was famous. Among them, the holy magic that only exerted a lethal force on the undead. However to normal monsters and users it wasn’t an intimidating skill. If it was damage received from a distance, then it would deal at most 70 damage. It was like a tickle for warriors with health around 3000 points.

“Just ignore it!”

“Heh, he probably wants to save mana………is that why he’s using these skills?”

“It is lucky that we’ve managed to back Holy Knight Alan into a corner.”

The warriors snorted and laughed. However, it didn’t take long until it turned into screaming.

“Divine field!”

The armour of the knights abruptly became white and red hot at the same time the spell was chanted. The floor became so hot that it turned blue. Including Alan it was 18 people! The divine field overlapped 18 times. The wide area magic dealt 1000 damage!

“Keuahahak!”

The fierce warriors had their health decreased by half as they were wrapped in the blue flames. The warriors who were barely out of the range quickly pulled out potions to recover from the incredible damage. Surprised words emerged from Raiden’s mouth.

“What, what the? Isn’t Divine Field a special skill of the Holy Knight?”

“T-then……these guys are all Holy Knights?”

“No way!”

Cries of shock and distress burst from the Hermes Alliance. And Raiden roughly shook his head.

“That’s impossible. Holy Knight is a hidden profession. It isn’t possible to change professions so easily!”

“Yes, they must have used other magic to cheat!”

“Divine field has a long cool down.”

“It must be the last desperate struggle. Don’t be scared to attack!”

The warriors swung their weapons and ran up again. Then Alan smiled and murmured coldly.

“It is certainly the last desperate struggle. But that last struggle isn’t something so trivial. Defense Aura, Elemental Aura and Warrior’s Strength!”

He overlapped 3 of the Holy Knight’s special skills! Alan raised their defense, strength and elemental resistance, as well as increasing their willpower and total health by 20%. The Holy Knight’s skills were strongest in a group! But since there were 2 times as much troops it wouldn’t make that much difference. No, it couldn’t be. However…….

“Defense aura, Elemental aura, Warrior’s Strength!”

Once again the knights’ armours glowed so they were using the same skill? At the same time, the aura was overlapped 18 times. It was an enormous boost in defense and health! Even the attacks of the level 180 pioneers weren’t able to properly hit. In addition, the health went up so much that it didn’t even appear to decrease. Since they were unable to hit them, the soldiers ran around attacking the other members while avoiding Alan and the knights.

“Come on, there is only 40 minutes left.”

Alan said in a relaxed tone as he looked out the window. On a hill far away, the hourglass that signalled the siege deadline was already reaching the bottom. Alan only had to hold out for 40 more minutes. If no one occupied the throne then the siege would’ve failed.

“Everybody start shooting at once!”

After seeing the situation, Ark ordered the bombardment to start. However, the attacks were blocked by the knight’s shields.

…….It was truly impregnable!

“What, what is up with these ridiculous guys…….!”

Raiden’s face darkened. Since the knights protected Alan and the throne in a circular formation, there was no way to access it. Also, the damage dealers such as magicians or thieves had all died a while ago thanks to their low defense. In this situation, he didn’t know if they could get through the knight’s wall of defense in the time limit. No, if they tried to attack with force then they might get exterminated instead.

“Damn, there’s not much time remaining……..!”

Raiden’s lips went dry at the sight of the falling sand. Ark was also impatient as well. He had thought it was over. So what was with the absurd turn at the last moment? If this siege failed like this then all his efforts would be for nothing. Sid would rot in prison and he wouldn’t be able to get his 5,000 gold back. But was that all? The potions and repair costs that he would’ve received from Raiden would disappear into thin air. The damage would be thousands of gold……!

It was just like a death sentence for Ark.

‘Even if I die, I have to make the siege succeed!’

It happened when Ark started getting restless.

Saek saek saek?

He heard a familiar sound at his feet. When Ark lowered his head, Snake immediately climbed up and rubbed against his face.

‘Eh? Why is Snake here?’

Ark soon had a strange thought in his head. While Snake’s charm always made Ark laugh, now was not the time for Snake to be playing. However, whenever Snake rubbed its body against Ark it meant that it had something to vomit out. And it would move its head from side to side as if asking for praise.

‘Ah, that’s how Snake looks when it has collected something that I would praise it for. Then……’

Ark took a deep breath and removed the item. After looking at the information window, he felt refreshed and full of ideas.

A rare item! Although the stats weren’t that amazing for a rare item, that wasn’t the important part.

‘Divine copy?’

It was a special option that could replicate the magic of other people!

When he saw that option, all of Ark’s questions were answered. Although it was a hidden profession, there was no law that there could only be one person with that occupation. However, in order to maintain the uniqueness of the profession the system would have to limit it. If so, having 18 people with the same hidden profession didn’t make sense. Moreover, there would be a problem with the balance of the game if there were that many Holy Knights.

‘The answer is the gauntlet!’

Ark stared at the knights suspiciously. Not surprisingly, they were all wearing gauntlets and items similar to what Snake vomited up. Now he understood the situation. The knights didn’t use magic. They were only able to perform the magic after Alan used it first. It was the action of Divine Copy. Alan also didn’t use another skill became once he did then Divine Copy would end.

‘But for 17 people to have the same rare sacred item……..’

That was already a scam. But if he interpreted it differently than it was easy to figure out. It was extremely difficult to change professions to a Holy Knight. In order to use ‘Divine Copy,’ the knights had to belong to the same sect as Alan. The sect which recognized Alan as a Holy Knight was the god of balance, Asyeosu…….the 17 knights must also belong to that religion to use the sacred item. Thanks to the conditions it wasn’t that easy to equip it.

‘In other words……Those knights are NPCs!’

There was no doubt. When the second clash was occurring outside the courtyard, the cavalry troops didn’t move. Unlike users, NPCs had to take a break as well.

‘Those knights must be dispatched by the Cathedral since Alan has a close relationship with the Cathedral and its bishops.’

Even though he felt angry, Ark couldn’t really complain. After changing professions to a Dark Walker, Ark also had close relationships with NPCs……because of that he received the help of the raccoons and Meow. That might actually be the biggest advantage of a hidden job.

‘Now let’s pull myself together. Those guys are practicing a swindle……thanks to that I found a way to penetrate the barrier. The way to destroy ‘Divine Copy’ is to deal with Alan who is the one being copied. But…….’

There was no way to avoid the knights and fight against Alan 1-on-1. If he received a concentrated attack from the knights then he wouldn’t be able to last for one minute. Slowly an idea started to form as he organized his thoughts. Alan was looking out the window overlooking the hourglass.

‘Okay, I have no choice but to try. There isn’t that much time left. If I defeat Alan then the Hermes Alliance will win the siege. All the problems will be settled. If I take him out then it won’t be a problem even if I die!’

Ark stroked Snake’s head and solidified his resolution.

“Snake, good work. If I win this siege then you will receive the number 1 merit.”

Ssak? Ssak ssak ssak!

Snake nodded with a happy face.

“Dedric, you stick to the ceiling and pay attention. Notify me if you spot any of the enemy’s movements from there. Prepare yourself. If you miss even one…….”

“I got it. You don’t have to threaten me like that!”

Dedric moved to a shadowed place and hid behind a chandelier. Once everything was prepared Ark grabbed his sword and shouted.

“Raiden, please make concentrated attacks on the right side. Dark Eden will concentrate on shooting the left!”

“What? What did you say?”

Raiden frowned as he replied. But since Dark Eden was concentrated on shooting the left side, he was force to attack the right. Once the knights moved to the left and right, there was a slight gap in the middle. The others might not dare to squeeze through such a small gap but Ark was different!

“Dark Dance!”

Ark squeezed like a ghost through the gap between knights. With Dark Dance he was able to get through no matter how small the gap using tricky footwork, but because it was so complicated he had to concentrate on the footprints on the floor. It was a fatal drawback because he couldn’t see the movements of the enemies but……..

“The knight is swinging his sword. The knight is coming from the front, and the knight on your left side is trying to hit you with his shield!”

Ark was able to imagine the movements of the enemies thanks to Dedric’s voice. Thanks to that he could concentrate on his footwork and slip between the knights and through the gap. When Ark was close then Alan would hide himself behind the knights’ bodies. Therefore Ark completely missed Alan’s position. But if wasn’t possible to avoid the eyes of Dedric who was watching from above.

“Alan’s position is?”

“Behind Master’s right side, on your 5 o’clock!”

“Here? Dark blade!”

Ark rotated his body like a spinning top and quickly used Dark Blade. It was the Dark Dance and Dark Blade chain skill Dark Strike! A critical attack that ignored the defense! In front of Dark Blade, the various buffs had no meaning. Ark continuously tracked and attacked Alan with Dark Strike and then keeping his distance using Dark Dance. However, Alan only had a moment of confusion.

“Heh, those are your special moves?”

Compared to a warrior’s health, the damage of Dark Strike was only a small amount.

‘Sheesh, is it impossible like expected?’

“Bah, this stupid guy just stepped into his grave. Holy Light!”

Alan pushed Ark with his shield and chanted a holy spell. When he finished, a small ball of light formed around Alan’s head like a ring of sunlight.

‘What? My dark attribute bonus…….!’

Ark’s face darkened. Since the siege started at 6 a.m. in game time and lasted three days, the current time was 5 a.m. Dawn was coming but it was still the time ruled by a Dark Walker! It was because of his dark attribute bonus that Ark could fight Alan evenly in the middle of the enemies. But if it was turned off……..

“I guessed right. Your damage was somewhat strong compared to your level…….”

Alan ridiculed him with a chilly laugh and swung his sword. Unlike before, he felt his health falling from that one blow. His defense and stamina had increased because of his dark attribute bonus so it was an inevitable result. In addition, the Holy Knight’s attack applied an additional damage bonus to the darkness attribute.

Ark was pushed back by Alan’s shield. The attacks from the knights and users were flying all over the place. Dozens of swords and maces headed straight to a weakened Ark. In just a few moments his health fell and he was in a critical condition.

“This, this is! Support Ark!”

Raiden and the warriors ran over but weren’t helpful. Alan gathered the knights to block Raiden and ran up to Ark. Since Ark’s health was depleted, his expression indicated that he felt confident enough to deal with Ark.

“Huhuhu, you stupid bastard!”

‘Now!’

Ark’s eyes flashed. Ark didn’t rush recklessly. This chance could only be grabbed once. The 1-on-1 fight with Alan in front of the window was all for this moment!

“Let’s finish this to the end!”

Ark rushed up to Alan. Alan flinched and swung his sword but Ark avoided it and attacked. And he gripped the waist tightly with both hands. It was the wrestling move he learned from the National Police gym! Ark lifted Alan using the force of his waist and ran towards the window. It was then that Alan noticed Ark’s plan.

“What? What, what are you doing…….do you intend to die together?”

“Don’t mess around. The only one who will die is you!”

Alan screamed and grabbed the window frame.

“Lariette-nim, what are you doing? He is dying. Your magic……!”

Ark flinched and turned his head. He finally noticed that Lariette was standing restlessly near Alan. Ark looked at her and shook his head slightly. Then Lariette who was chanting a spell winced, and whether intentional or not cancelled the spell. At that moment, Ark was saved.

‘Lariette-nim……!’

“Son of a bitch……..Holy Knights!”

The knights turned around as they responded to Alan’s voice and swung with both hands. With their destructive power, one hit from the mace would kill Ark. However, Ark stared blankly at Lariette before he suddenly shouted and released a burst of light.

“Hahaha, I’m not afraid anymore! Summon release, summon Deimos!”

Clack clack clack!

Deimos loudly stopped the attack from the mace with his shield. Deimos bounced back from the impact into Ark’s back, forcing Alan to release his hands from the windowsill in shock. At the moment Ark and Alan, as well as Deimos fell out the window.

“Huk………!”

The Hall of Glory was on the top floor of the castle. The height was 30 metres from the ground. When thrown from such a place, Alan immediately began to panic. One of a warrior’s greatest fears is falling while clad in steel armour. However, Ark would also suffer in this situation.

“Summon release, Deimos! Snake, sword!”

Ark sent Deimos back and took out a sword. Now, it’s time to settle this!

“Blade Storm!”

The sword shattered in front of Alan’s nose and caused a storm. Alan was sucked into the debris and his health declined rapidly. But it was not the end. Before the effects of Blade Storm disappeared, Alan was forced upside down. In regards to falling damage, defense was meaningless. Thanks to the attack from Blade Storm, he fell even faster. Thanks to his health as a warrior, Alan was like a cockroach and avoided instant death but he only had 5% of health left. On the other hand, Ark was able to reduce the fall damage by 80%. Thanks to Blade Storm and the fall damage, Alan was collapsed at Ark’s feet and only need 150 more damage to die.

“You, you bastard…….!

Alan stuttered and glared at Ark. However, he was stunned since he received falling damage while wearing steel armour. The only resistance Alan could do was stare at Ark. Ark raised his body and slowly approached Alan.

“Alan, if you wanted to show off then you should’ve picked a rival who was more insignificant.’

“Ark, absolutely…….I will not leave silently……..”

“Then I’ll pay you back 2, no three times. Just like Andel.”

“You’ll definitely regret today…….Cough!”

Snap!

Alan screamed as a sword was driven through his neck. With a snap, his blood came rushing out. Alan continued staring at him as his body convulsed. After a long time, the fight had finally ended. It was a long journey of revenge, but he had no interest once it finally ended. Ark waited until he saw Alan’s pulse stop and then collapsed with a thud.

However, the siege was still not over. Ark restored his health using food and went back up to the Hall of Glory. As expected, after Alan died all of the knight’s Divine Copy was also cancelled. In addition, using Divine Copy consumed 300 mana. They used it 4 times in succession so they ran out of mana. Without any mana, the Holy Knight was just the same as a normal warrior. Raiden used to chance to unleash his offensive and the knights and remnants of Dawn Blade helplessly fell to the Hermes Alliance.

‘Lariette-nim……’

Ark looked at her body with bitter eyes. But her death was inevitable in order for the Hermes Alliance to win. The fact that she hesitated to help Alan in the last minute meant a lot of to Ark.

‘When the situation is stable then I’ll meet her again.’

“Damn….you’ll soon see!”

While Ark was thinking, the last member of Dawn Blade collapsed.

There was no one who could prevent Raiden from sitting on the throne anymore!

“Finally……!”

Raiden looked at the throne with red eyes. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. And the remaining time was only 20 minutes. Even if Alan died, the castle still belonged to Dawn Blade since some members of the guild hadn’t taken part in the siege and was still alive. However, Raiden just had to sit in the throne for 20 minutes and it would become his territory. Raiden slowly approached the throne and was about to sit down when he saw Ark standing in the doorway.

“You’re alive?”

Then there was a suspicious smile on Raiden’s face.

“Good. It wouldn’t do to sit down before doing this.”

“What?”

Raiden said with a smile.

“I made an effort during that time. But it ends here.”

“Then the promise…….!”

“Don’t you understand? The alliance has finished.”

Ark then began to realise his mistake. That’s right, it was the uneasiness he felt when the conceded to his demands so obediently. He had felt it several times. The intermediate recovery potions, catapult repair and renovation costs…….even if it was a war, he had signed the contracts too obediently. It was natural. From the very beginning Raiden had no intention of giving him a single penny. The distribution of the proceeds from the 2 contracts all relied on a prerequisite. That Raiden the leader of the Hermes Alliance would capture the throne and occupy Silvana.

In other words, with the alliance released the contract was just a piece of tissue. However Ark believed that the Alliance Agreement could only be destroyed with the agreement from both sides. He never imagined that there would be a skill which could destroy the contracts. However, Ark didn’t fully understand New World yet. Although reality wasn’t that different, this was still a game. There were always methods to ignore the rules. No, no matter what kind of meaning it was still a skill!

“Ugh…….I came this far just for this?”

“It was because you were too greedy. I will admit that your role was big in this victory. Therefore I didn’t want to do this. But 30%……..that is too difficult. In this situation, there is no way that I can give you 30% of the proceeds.”

The guild masters standing around Raiden nodded. As expected, Baron the guild master of Fugetsu tried to avoid the attention. Ark realised that all the remaining guild masters had agreed with the results.

“Now, sweep them up!”

Raiden ordered while sitting on the throne. The situation was like a wolf had opened its mouth and ran up to the tiger to be killed. The remaining Hermes Alliance users ran towards Ark and Dark Eden. Nearly 100 Hermes Alliance members were still alive. On the other hand, Ark and Dark Eden only had 45 people. And more than half were artillerymen. It wasn’t a situation where he could fight and win.

‘I have to save the NPCs!’

“Raiden! As a knight you would dare to do such a dirty thing……..!”

Cross couldn’t stand it anymore and lifted his sword. However, Ark grabbed Cross’ collar and ran out.

“Dark Eden, retreat at once!”

Ark exited from the Hall of Glory with Dark Eden. After the 20 minutes were over, everyone except for the Hermes Alliance who had occupied the throne would be expelled from the castle. It was regrettable but at least he could still save the NPCs. However once Ark was considered as an enemy, Raiden wanted to completely exterminate him. Raiden ordered the 100 users to chase Ark. So when he rounded the corner towards the stairs, he was faced with dozens of Hermes Alliance users coming from downstairs.

“Damn, these guys are such dirty bastards……!”

“Sir Cross, please understand the situation!”

Ark angrily pulled Cross with him and entered the next room. It was a room that had crumbled a little bit from the previous fights!

‘This is it. They can survive 20 minutes here!’

“Pick up the piles of debris and build a barrier in front of the door!”

“What? But it won’t survive more than a few minutes!”

“I don’t have the time to explain! Please do as I say!”

When Ark raised his voice, the members of Dark Eden hurriedly scraped the wreckage and built a barrier. It was a shabby barrier that would collapse when hit by a mace two or three times. But Ark had a magic item that would make it stronger than the castle wall. He pulled out a big tube from his bag. It was the Spirit Body Glue that would stay stuck once attached.

‘The last one……it is valuable but I can’t lose all the NPCs here in vain!’

Ark bombarded the barrier with the Spirit Body Glue.

The babbling of the Spirit Body Glue was annoying but it was effective. Even if it was hit by the Hermes Alliance, it would not move an inch.

‘Now I can rest assured. But……..’

Once their safety was secured he didn’t both pushing down the anger.

‘Did I really come all the way here just to be betrayed? Even though I have dethroned Alan so I can release Sid……..”

“Huk huk huk, Master! What is going on?”

Dedric had sneaked out of the Hall of Glory by flying through the window. At that moment, a large number of ideas went through Ark’s head. He could change the crisis into an opportunity! Ark suddenly stuck his body to the window.

‘Okay it is worth a try. Even if I fail, it is better to die then leave it like this!”

Ark leaned his body out the window and shouted to Dedric.

“Dedric, there is no time. Quickly suck my blood.”

“Eh eh? What, what the? Master, are you crazy? Was your head hit a little bit too hard?”

“There is no time for your chatter. Shut up and suck it quickly!”

“You really want me to do it? I won’t be scolded later?”

“If you say one more word then I’ll make tempura out of you!”

“Ah, I understand. Then……I’ll eat well…….”

Dedric was shocked by Ark’s threat and extended his fangs. He felt like something was being sucked out……..but it still wasn’t enough.

“No, that’s no it. Suck again!”

Dozens of times…….Dedric happily sucked the blood. Then he heard dozens of footsteps and banging against the barrier. The barrier swayed with every hit. At that moment, a message window flashed in front of Ark.

‘I got it!’

“Hahaha, delicious. Master’s blood is so delicious!”

“That’s enough, stop sucking.”

Ark struck Dedric who jumped back. Then he felt a sense of dizziness. However, Ark clenched his teeth and clung to the window.

“Now there’s only 10 minutes left. Please hold on until then!”

“What? What are you doing……..eh? Ark!”

Jjak-tung looked bewildered until he suddenly screamed. Ark had climbed out the window. Of course he didn’t want to commit suicide. Ark began to move sideways on the ledge outside. Under her foot were distant cliffs. It was enough to give someone anaemia. However, Ark had used his strength to climb up the body of Colossus in order to obtain the Sacred Soil. He moved his body carefully and eventually arrived at his destination. It was the windows in the Hall of Glory that Alan had fallen out of. Ark used ‘Stealth’ to enter the Hall of Glory.

“I’ve finally got my hands on Silvana.”

“Congratulations.”

“With Dark Eden gone the proceeds will be distributed as promised.”

“Of course.”

Raiden was convinced of his victory and lowered his guard. He never imagined that Ark would use ‘Stealth’ to sneak into the Hall of Glory.

‘The biggest hurdle in the plan is the magician Jewel. I’ll have to dispose of Jewel first!’

Ark took out a sword from his bag and approached Jewel.

“Blade Storm!”

“Kuaaak, what, what the?”

Thanks to ‘Stealth,’ the storm even applied a backstab effect! Extravagant damage was applied and Jewel’s health quickly went down to 50%. Jewel had rare armour with high defense or else normal magicians would’ve had their health decreased by 80%. Jewel stumbled in surprise. At the same time his ‘stealth’ was deactivated and warriors flocked in the room.

“Ugh, this, this guy……!”

“You’re back? You came back just to die!”

‘I don’t have to deal with those other guys!’

His health decreased from the attacks flying from everywhere. Ark avoided the offensive of the soldiers using Dark Dance and shouted.

“Dirty scum, I’ll beep-beep to guys like you!”

He had cursed using all his sincerity. In addition, all of the users here were extremely tired after fighting for 24 hours. Then they received ‘Intimidation’ just as they were convinced of victory so it was natural that there would be a critical effect. ‘Intimidation’ was a skill that was influence by the conditions of the opponent. 100 warriors froze up at once.

“Jewel, I’ll kill you!”

Ark immediately used Blade Storm again. Jewel’s health fell to 30%. Jewel quickly chanted a spell. That was the moment Ark was aiming for. He waited for the opponent to move first and then used Riposte! Jewel failed the spell and was thrown back by Ark’s counterattack.

“Ugh, this, unbelievable……..!”

Jewel had collapsed to the ground before trying to raise her body…….No that was exactly what Ark had aimed for…….the place where Jewel got up was in front of the room where Dark Eden was hiding. The Dark Eden members had already received a command from Ark and aimed their cannons through a gap in the stone before firing simultaneously. A dozen round of ammunition! Jewel was shrouded in white steam and collapsed.

‘I did it!’

Ark turned around after he was sure that Jewel died. But Raiden just laughed and murmured.

“You’re certainly not normal. But what will killing Jewel do? Do you think you can kill the remaining 100 people in 10 minutes?”

“Let’s see?”

Ark said and laughed.

“I’m certain of one thing.”

“……….?”

“The person who makes me his enemy will end up regretting it!”

“Cheeky, kill him!”

Raiden shouted at the 100 users who gathered and brandished his weapons.

“Blessing of the sea!”

A light was emitted from Adelaine’s Necklace as Blessing of the Sea was activated. Was he calling an enormous summon? The Hermes Alliance flinched and tensed up. But the light disappeared after restoring 500 mana and increasing his defense by 40%.

“What the? It just raised the defense?”

“Are you really going to fight with us?”

“That wouldn’t be bad. Dark Dance!”

After Ark recovered his mana he immediately used Dark Dance. At the same time, a gust of wind passed through the 100 warriors. Once he used Dark Dance, it was inevitable that he would appear like a ghost. However Ark wasn’t planning to fight with them. He only avoided the attacks and by the time he reached Raiden, the percentage of completion was 80%. When the percentage of completion rose, his body disappeared like smoke.

He avoided the attacks with millimetres of difference. But the attacks from the 100 people also weren’t a joke. Although he avoided most of the attacks, by the time he reached Raiden his health had decreased by 70%.

“Hut!”

Raiden flinched as Ark appeared in front of him like a ghost and drew his mace. But Ark had already started attacking. His ensuring spin kick hit Raiden in the temple. Raiden fell to the ground with his mace.

“Ugh, this child……..until the end…………!”

Ark shot Raiden a look of disdain.

“I never thought I would die but thanks anyway.”

“What?”

“Thanks to the betrayal from the Hermes Alliance, Dark Eden became a separate attack group.”

“What is that……?”

“You’re more stupid then I thought Raiden. Don’t you understand yet? As the 6th in command, I didn’t have the right to sit on the throne. But now I’m the group leader of a 3rd force.”

“What you’re saying is nonsense……..!”

“Would you like to confirm if it’s nonsense?”

Ark smiled and sat down on the throne.

Raiden let out an astounded laugh.

“You stupid bastard, you thought it would be resolved once you sat down? There is still 5 minutes left. Although it would be an honour for you to die in a place where you’ve never sat down in your life. Kill him!”

Raiden and the 100 warriors flocked to him. However, Ark shouted while sitting cross-legged in a relaxed manner.

“Dedric, Vampire skill activate! Target Ark!”

“Oooooooh!”

Dedric appeared outside the window and activated the skill. At the same time, Ark’s body was covered with yellow mucus.

That’s right, it was ‘Slime’s Time!’

It was the reason Ark made Dedric bite him! 24 hours hadn’t passed since the last time Ark used Slime’s Time. Therefore he couldn’t use it again normally. But he looked at Dedric and thought of an ingenious idea. Dedric had the ability to extract a skill from the opponent once he sucked their blood. The problem was whether he could extract a skill from Ark, but fortunately Dedric answered that the first time. He had extracted the ‘Harvesting’ skill. Ark gained hope and had Dedric repeat it many times until he finally obtained Slime’s Time. That was the reason why Ark relentlessly killed Jewel.

There was a weakness in the invulnerability of Slime’s Time. It completely blocked physical attacks but was vulnerable to attack magic, and Jewel was a magician that was still present in the Hall of Glory. However, once Jewel died then Ark was invincible! Once Slime’s Time was activated, both swords and maces slipped off. The warriors looked perplexed.

“This, what on earth is this ridiculous thing……..!”

“Pudding? A pudding?”

“This skill is a ridiculous trick. Is that what you think Raiden? Yes, you don’t know the skill. And in New World, if someone doesn’t know something then they could die. But the skill is not a trick.”

Ark said in a cold tone as he was covered in slime. The time remaining was 4 minutes…………..if he held on for 4 minutes then he would obtain Silvana. Noticing the urgent situation, Raiden lifted his mace and shouted.

“This guy uses a strange skill. So just pull him down from the throne!”

The warriors began to pull Ark. However Ark firmly held onto the throne. He used the techniques he learned working to survive every day and held on. Thanks to that, his arms and hands were as strong as a wrestler. Since his body was sleek, it was hard for them to grab him…….the warriors eventually gave up catching him and started punching instead. However, Ark had no intention of dying.

‘Hang in there. Just 3 minutes left!’

Yes, the violence really fit the realistic game as his face became swollen and he got a nosebleed. But there was no time to think about the pain. Ark clenched his teeth and held out against the pain. And he shouldered the pain until the time ran out. Loud horn sounds came from outside before a message window popped up.

Thanks to the bonus he acquired 5 levels.

“Oh……oh my god!”

All colour disappeared from Raiden’s face. Ark slowly lifted his head. His face was crushed like dough by the warriors’ fists but there was the proud smile of a winner on his face.

“I’ve obtained the castle. Now if you’ll please leave my castle? Expulsion!”

At the moment an intense light flashed and the Hermes Alliance was forced from the castle. The person who occupied the throne after a long battle…….was Ark!

“Hum……..wasn’t today the last day of the castle siege?”

Ho Myung-hwan stretched and yawned as he searched the information window. Since there were 12 castles in Nagaran, there were always two sieges happening every day. One of his morning routines was to monitor the name of any new users that showed up in the siege information. It was in order to understand the overall system as well as keeping an eye on the influences of strong guilds.

“The Lord of Baltania has changed. Indeed, the Boramae guild and their allies were too weak to keep the castle. They didn’t have deep pockets and didn’t waste any money on defense, only attack. It will be hard for the Boramae guild to recover.”

Ho Myung-hwan clicked his tongue and muttered. In fact, Ho Myung-hwan had a keen eye about the situation in Nagaran. The assumption that they would receive a huge tax once they occupied the castle was a misconception from the users. NPCs in New World are clever- the kings and Archbishop set up the Shrine of War in order to set safeguards for those sorts of situations. Sooner or later they’ll discover the truth, but the users would have to defend the castle for at least a month before receiving any proceeds from it. It was only then that the NPCs would recognize them as the Lord.

“However, the kings receive a tax that hasn’t decreased at all……ha! In this instance the NPCs are cleverer than the users. Even so, it is a gamer’s dream to become a Lord.”

Ho Myung-hwan made a wry smile and searched for information on the next castle.

“Now, the next castle is Silvana? Well…..it should be Alan…….eh?”

Ho Myung-hwan stopped moving his mouse. But no matter how many times he rubbed his eyes and looked at the monitor, the results were still the same.

“Alan had the castle taken away? And the user who became the new Lord is………!”

Surprisingly, the name that came up in the information window was one that he knew well. It was one of the candidates that he was recently paying attention to, Ark!

“Ark! Ark managed to take Silvana away from Alan?”

Ho Myung-hwan quickly opened all the information that had been registered at the Shrine of War. However, he felt like he was lost in a maze the more he looked at it.

“This, what on earth is this? First Alan accepted a challenge from the Hades guild……was the Hades guild destroyed on the verge of the siege by Ark? No, it is okay up to there. But what is up with the data that comes afterwards? What the hell happened?”

Including the Hermes Alliance and Dawn Blade coalition, a total of 11 guilds took part in the siege. Ark occupied the lowest seat of command in the Hermes Alliance and participated in the siege. In fact, he only had the power to command. Unless all those above him were killed, there was no chance for him to become the Lord. However, the result from the siege was that Ark was the Lord. At that time, there were still 8 guild masters from the Hermes Alliance and Dawn Blade coalition left.

No matter how Ho Myung-hwan looked at the situation, there was no way to make sense of the result. What on earth happened in the siege? However he only had the information posted in the Shrine of War. He also couldn’t find any videos related to the siege. The siege could only be shown on TV if the Lord allowed it. On the other hand, Alan had kept the siege completely confidential.

‘We still don’t know what happened………’

He wasn’t the only one who would be interested in this. Ho Myung-hwan organized the materials and immediately visited the Planning Department’s chief Ha Myung-woo. He thought that Ark would definitely be excluded from the eliminated contestants list. However, Ha Myung-woo’s response was not impressed.

“Ark? I’ve never heard of that ID.”

“Yes, he was one of the candidates put on the eliminated list.”

“So?”

“So what? An eliminated contestant has managed to push back Alan, who is a part of the highest ranked group…….No, he also managed to beat the pioneers in the Hermes guild and occupied the throne. If the results are to this degree, don’t we have to start paying attention to Ark as a candidate again?”

“Can I see the data again?”

Ha Myung-woo scanned the data and laughed.

“The candidate Ark only had 83 people in his raid party. Do you think he really defeated the Hermes guild and Alan with that number?”

“Yes? But the results……..”

“I think there are two ways that could’ve happened. He got lucky or the Hermes guild leader put him on the throne for some other purpose. Both reasons have nothing to do with his ability. I’m not interested in lucky candidates. I only pick candidates with skill.”

“Then………?”

“But it is still necessary to look at it once. When does the report come in this month?”

“There is still one week left.”

“Okay, that is when the next siege has started. I’ll call the reference room and tell them to send me Ark’s report for this month. I’ll look carefully at how he performed during the siege. But if he performed weakly then his evaluation won’t change. Ark is still eliminated. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ho Myung-hwan withdrew with a disappointed face. In fact, he also didn’t think that Ark became the Lord with real skills. Just like Ha Myung-woo, he also thought that Ark obtained the castle due to luck.

‘Ark…….You performed well in the Evil Silrion. You have a lot of experiences against various users in New World. But is it really possible for you to become the Lord with only 83 people? How will you defend Silvana in the future?’

Ark’s last report came 3 weeks ago…….so he didn’t understand that Ark’s group consisted of NPCs. So he could not imagine Ark participating a lot in the siege. He also had to protect Silvana. All those answers would be recorded in the next report.

‘Can Ark really defend his territory? The next submission deadline is in one week…….it is crazy.’

Ho Myung-hwan pulled out a cigarette with a pained face. It was the first time that he couldn’t wait to read the contents of a report.

Now Kang Mi-su at the reception desk……if he visited then he would be able to hear from Lariette how the siege went. But Ho Myung-hwan shook his head.

‘I don’t need half of the information. Yes, there is also some pleasure in waiting.’

He would prefer to read the contents directly from Ark’s viewpoint. That was the wish of Ho Myung-hwan who considered himself a ‘secret fan of Ark.’