Chapter 159 – Evil Solidarity (3)
“He is either stupid or clever,” Keynes muttered. He was currently talking about Crockta. “He isn’t stupid, so why would he do such a stupid act?”
“In my opinion…”
“I’m not asking you.”
Keynes glared at Luin, who fell silent. It was rare for Keynes to show such a temper tantrum. Instead, the silent Rommel opened his mouth, “He is a beast.”
Keynes nodded and said, “A beast, a plausible yet strange analogy.”
“He is smart, but only in comparison to other stupid beasts.”
“And humans are people?” Keynes said with a laugh.
He appreciated Rommel. He respected the parts of Rommel that couldn’t be controlled, and that he had high abilities.
“Don’t you know that humans sacrifice themselves for others? But in the end, their instincts are to survive and reproduce.”
“I saw it in a book.”
“Sacrifice is an emotional thing. Follow the calculations of reasoning, not emotions. That is what a human is. Monkeys are those who follow emotions. Of course, it is funny when speaking about NPCs who have an artificial intelligence.”
“It is interesting.”
Keynes nodded. The answer was interesting. He learned a bit more about the person called Rommel. Keynes was a person who controlled others, but sometimes he needed people like Rommel. A partner who could think along the same lines as him.
“Luin.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Are the clan kids arriving soon?”
“Huh? Yes.”
“I am speaking of the ‘fortunate’ kids…” Keynes touched his chin. “If you think about it, you should do it properly. Then you can achieve your lifelong dream here.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t understand?”
“One person…are you saying you sent it?”
Keynes laughed, “Hey, it is a joke. Threaten them. Intimidate them. Do it well. Be a bad person. A bad person who properly manages those fortunate kids.”
“Ahh…” Luin nodded. “Yes. That is my specialty. I will manage the kids.”
Luin grinned and left the room. He was in such a hurry that he didn’t even close the door.
Keynes looked at his back and clicked his tongue. “Tsk tsk…”
Rommel suddenly asked. “What are you playing at in regards to Luin?”
“Playing?”
“Don’t you consider controlling people a game? You play with Emperor Akantor. Duke Christian was just a game.”
Keynes laughed. That’s right. He steered people. It was possible because he gave them what they wanted. He made them think it was what they intended to do. People were engrossed in Keynes’ sweet words and played like he wanted.
“Luin wants to play a bad guy.”
“Play a bad guy…”
“As a child, he was ignored while growing up. What could he do, when he didn’t have any power? So he just pretended to live a good life. Then once he got money and a nice car, he did bad things and spit in God’s face. A truly clumsy bastard.”
“But I thought you regarded him as a brother.”
“Slightly. But this is this and that is that. I like him. His thoughts are transparent.”
Keynes chuckled. Rommel also smiled and examined the map of the southern continent on the wall. The class ‘War Maestro’ wasn’t just a name. He was always working.
“How about me?” Rommel asked.
“You?”
“What type of play are you doing with me?”
Rommel looked at Keynes.
Keynes laughed and opened the bottle placed on the table, “You are playing next to me. It is interesting.”
Keynes acknowledged Rommel in his own way. Rommel received a cup.
“What about you?”
“Me? I…”
Keynes and Rommel made a toast. Soon they would lead the emperor’s army. It was the best accomplishment they could enjoy as a user. The message window to celebrate their achievements kept flashing.
“I’m not playing. This is just me.”
Keynes drank the alcohol and laughed.
***
Crockta lifted a pen. The world of Elder Lord was really mysterious. He wrote a letter while thinking in Korean, but the words that appeared were in the continent’s language instead of Korean. Nevertheless, he could understand the meaning.
“We, what are we doing now?”
A member of ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ asked miserably while moving his pen. Unlike his facial expression, his hand was dazzling.
“I don’t know, we…”
Gilgamesh listened to their conversation and said, “Perhaps it is ‘fear’…? Kukuk, I’m envious…I lost such emotional nuances a long time ago… Kukukuk…!
“……”
“Whew…Shaq should’ve been…”
Every time Gilgamesh said such things, Shaq would promptly attack him. Now there was no one restraining him. One person sighed.
“What is going on with Shaq?”
“He posted on the forum. It seemed like something happened.”
Shaq wrote on the forum that he wouldn’t be able to connect to Elder Lord for a while. Everybody accepted it because they had their own lives. But due to his writing, the five members with Crockta became known. Shaq was lost so there were now only four, but they started to be called Crockta’s five apostles in the community.
“There is no one else coming?”
“They can’t come to the south.”
There were people who wanted to join. But when Crockta had been fighting the empire, they withdrew from the south. The type of users who could fight against the knights of the south wasn’t common.
“It looks like we really will die…” one of Crockta’s five apostles muttered.
They were currently writing letters of propaganda that provoked the emperor. Each of them would show their talent at mocking the emperor, drawing cartoons that would be sent to him. The letters would target everywhere, from the nobles to commoners, scholars, mages and even the Imperial Palace.
A person with the stealth skill would infiltrate the empire and sneak it into the post office. The goal was to provoke the emperor.
“Just send this amount and then stop. They will begin to start tracking it.”
“Yes.”
Unlike her worries, she started to show off her artistic talents.
Everyone did their best. Gilgamesh even drew a picture of the naked emperor being whipped.
Crockta scratched his head. “It is a bit…”
“Kukuk…Crockta, perhaps…” Gilgamesh lowered his voice. “Are you afraid of the emperor…?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Then it doesn’t matter what the level of this letter is.”
“That is true.”
“So Crockta, take this pen and add things. More irritating! Make the emperor so angry that he loses his hair!”
“Yes!”
Crockta lifted the pen. Then he began to add his own style to Gilgamesh’s work. An arrow was placed above the head of the stripped and whipped emperor, then words added.
[This is a wig. The emperor is bald.]
It was propaganda stating that the emperor was bald.
“Hah…!” Gilgamesh covered his mouth with his hands. It was hard to believe his eyes. “No blood, no tears, no slander…! Any adults looking at this will shake in anger, not just the emperor. This is truly…! Kukuk…!”
“This is the scale of Crockta.”
“Indeed, your sense of justice is unlike anyone else…kukukuk…!”
Everyone finished their work. A member of the thief class grabbed the packet of letters. He would go into the empire and send letters. There would even be a letter sent directly to the emperor.
“Will the emperor truly move?”
“Those with power are surprisingly simple.”
Crockta intended to bring the enemy’s attack to himself. Using a common word, it was to attract aggro. The imperial troops were spread out over the entire south. Villagers who surrendered were already provided labor for the empire’s convenience. If this happened, it would be hard to save the people. It was better to anger the emperor and gather the army.
“However, once the emperor has gathered his troops…”
But the others were worried.
“Are you sure about this?”
Crockta’s point was true, but for this strategy to be successful, they needed to be able to deal with the enemy. There was no point gathering the enemy only to die. And they believed that Crockta had a clear way. Maybe an army of orcs would appear. Or maybe the cities of the continent will help…
But Crockta just shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“I have no thoughts.” Crockta told them. “I will think about if after the enemies gather.”
“……!”
It was a shocking answer. He had no thoughts. However, they strangely weren’t worried. As long as they were with Crockta, it felt like they could succeed in anything.
“Let’s think about it later. Kulkulkul, bul’tar!”
“Huhu.”
“Kukuk!”
They nodded. If they worried about the future, they wouldn’t have succeeded in the many fights they experienced.
In the video of the fight at Chesswood, Crockta had said,
‘That is the calculations of a human.’
He had different calculations than humans. His formula didn’t consider things like the size and strength of the enemy. Even though it changed from a village to the empire, this person’s calculations hadn’t changed at all.
How far could this man go?
The users exchanged glances.
“Everyone, are you going to do it all the way?”
“Of course.”
“Kukuk…”
They would die. From the viewpoint of the users, this was a reckless quest. It was an impossible mission with a hell difficulty, where the odds was close to zero. But it didn’t matter. They were now with Crockta. This was the most fun they had in Elder Lord.
Crockta told them. “If the emperor’s eyes turn away from other villages and come to catch us, that is enough.”
The ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ decided to just follow Crockta and see what would happen. Anyway, he was a man impervious to calculations.
Their plan was successful. There was news that the imperial army was converging.
***
“Guys! Everybody listen,” Keynes said.
Those in front of him were the elites of the Heaven and Earth Clan.
“At this time, Rommel and I have become nobles.”
The members of the Heaven and Earth Clan applauded. It hadn’t been possible for a user to become a noble since the launch of Elder Lord, so this was an unimaginable accomplishment.
“Guys. Is Elder Lord fun?” Keynes smiled. “Where else could you kill people and pillage villages? This is why Elder Lord is fun. We can do things we’ve always wanted to do, but never could.”
The Heaven and Earth members laughed. In the past, they had won wars, trampled the rebels under the emperor’s name, and enjoyed all sorts of looting. They carried out the actions without any hesitation because it was a game.
They finally understood why there were endless wars in human history. The winners who were given rights coveted it again, just like drugs.
“Dialph, no, Park Kwangchul.”
He called a clan member. The clan members focused their attention. Keynes only called their real name when something important happened.
“Weren’t you praised because you worked well before?”
“Yes!”
“I sent money to your account.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll die if you use it for something else.” Keynes approached him and touched his shoulder. “Use it for a car, a foreign car. Understood?”
“……!”
The clan members all understood his will. Prior to any important work, Keynes would raise morale by giving out rewards. It was a message that all of them could get a reward like Dialph. In addition, the prize was enormous.
“After buying it, send me a picture to prove it.”
Keynes laughed and Dialph bowed with a thrilled face.
“Brother, thank you!”
“You should thank your parents, for giving birth to such a wonderful son. I just showed my appreciation.”
“Thank you, Brother!”
“This brat. Come on everyone. I don’t want him to be the only hard worker.” Keynes tapped his shoulder before going to stand next to Luin. Luin grinned as he raised his shoulders.
“When the war begins, listen to Rommel. Rommel is the best.”
Of course, there was no need to ask. Rommel’s ‘War Maestro’ was a fraudulent class that forced soldiers on the battlefield to obey him.
“Let’s play a fun game today. Heaven and Earth!”
“War!”