Game of Divine Thrones Chapter 36 – Book 2

While Woohyuk was busy occupying the enemy's Bronze Rock Mountain, a man was running alone across the Valley desert.

His name was Ted.

He had been one of the Bronze Crown leaders on the left path that had been under Samuel.

“Just how did this happen?”

He still couldn't believe it.

As the dry sand struck his face, Ted thought back to what had occurred in the lava area.

“Wasn't my plan perfect!?”

It was very simple once he thought of it.

Mount sneak attacks on other groups while they were focused on hunting in secluded areas.

It came naturally to him who had spent his whole time in this world betraying those around him, and it was all supposed to have gone off without a hitch.

“Just who were they?”

Without any hesitation they had activated their Barrier, blocking any incoming arrows or spells. They were then able to turn the tables and defeat those red marked sinners.

It was as if they knew in advance that they would betray them.

“… I've lost everything.”

His group, with whom he had hunted down other players since the beginning of the Primordial Forest, had been wiped out.

Even his Identity had now been revealed. Although he had used a Pardon card to erase his red mark, it still wouldn't be a good idea to return to the Fortress.

The Fortress was now under the strict management of the new Commander.

“If I am caught there, I'm done.”

This was the same person who achieved First Blood, killed the Blue Faction's Commander as well as captured one of their Guard Towers.

It sounded like things only a God could achieve.

There was no way such a guy would leave him alone. Although he might be safe inside of the Fortress, the moment he stepped out his life would be forfeit. Also they obviously wouldn't hand him any supplies, so he would only be returning to starve inside that Fortress…

“This is the worst.”

He should have been a bit more patient. Regardless of how few the opponents were, there could always be some variables that he hadn't accounted for.

The penalty for attacking one's allies was death, but they were just blinded by their greed as they saw all the items they could loot.

“I'll just go after the smaller teams.”

That had become Ted's new targets upon arriving at the Canyon. He could use the monsters instead of always doing the killing themselves. That way, they could hide their identity as player killers for as long as possible by not receiving and red markers.

Of course since they were on the same side, he would only personally take action when there was a juicy piece of equipment or item on the line.

That had only been his third time attacking his allies, which was nothing compared to the amount he had pillaged back in the Primordial Forest.

He had controlled himself considerably, but in the end still got caught.

“I have no choice but to think about the future now.”

Sooner or later the battle between the two sides would erupt in full force, and bandits like him will gradually start to emerge.

He just needed to pull them over to his side and somehow find a way to survive.

There was no need to worry about whether or not his faction would come out on top, since they had Chun Woohyuk in their camp.

Ted roamed around the valley, searching for a place to rest, until an Oasis came into view.

“That's a nice spot.”

He would no longer be able to receive a part of the supplies given by the system, so he had to be self-sufficient from now on.

As he was about to take another step forward, he felt something pressed up against his back.

“Drop your weapon, I'll give you three seconds.”

A threatening voice commanded from behind him.

Ted began to sweat nervously as he dropped the Kukri dagger down onto the sand.

'Did they already manage to catch up?'

There was no way that they were part of Samuel's incompetent bunch, so maybe they were Chun Woohyuk's subordinates instead.

As Ted raised his hands in surrender, his assailant spoke once more.

“You aren't Chun Woohyuk, are you here as one of his scouts?”

An unexpected question.

It was only now that Ted realised that his opponent was from the opposite faction.

In this case, he might have a way out of this.

“No, I am simply on the run.”

He would fill his story with half-truths, and sell just the right amount of information to make himself valuable.

“Why is that, did you commit some sort of crime?”

“Nothing like that, just a minor dispute of hunting grounds that escalated needlessly.”

“Explain in greater detail.”

As the newcomer was quite curious, Ted came up with a plausible story. In order to keep his attention, he would include tidbits of valuable intel here and there.

“Interesting”

His plan had worked.

After some time a group of Asians appeared and bound Ted's hands.

“Mr Inoue, what do we do with this one?”

“Let's keep him alive for now, he appears to have some use.”

If everything he had told them was true, they just might have an unexpectedly good haul.

Inoue let out a satisfactory laugh as they dragged Ted back to their Oasis.

An interesting strategy was beginning to form in his mind.

* * *

“It's a big blunder to have let Ted escape.”

Nam Kiryang said with an expression of worry. He and his team were currently taking a break towards the later stages of the lava field.

“It all happened a bit too fast. As soon as things were looking bad for him, he instantly used the Pardon card.”

“While Park Taesoo had been busy competing with their Archers. In that time, his red mark had been erased, causing him to hesitate whether or not to shoot. Although Jung Sanghoon had started to chase after him, the distance between them had already been too great.

“Did you inform the Boss?”

“Yes, he said to only activate the Guard Tower and no longer care about Ted.”

Lee Jaesung replied to Kim Dokyun's question.

As the atmosphere turned gloomy, it was Huang Donghwan who spoke up.

“At the very least I'm glad none of us got hurt, we could have died back there.”

If it weren't for Woohyuk's warning with regards to Ted, they might have all lost their lives.

As everyone nodded in agreement, Lee Jaesung stood up and said.

“Let's return to the Fortress, we no longer have anything to do here.”

Because they killed so many monsters, the other groups in the area could barely hide their hostility.

If they were lucky enough to pick up a Pardon card like Ted had, they might decide to also attack them.

As the party was preparing to head back, a man's voice rang out in the distance.

“Hey there yellow monkeys, have you been looking for me?”

It was Ted.

Kim Dokyun's face was filled with anger as he raised his axe.

“Can we kill him this time?”

“The Boss told us to forget about him….”

“But hasn't he appeared right under our noses? It doesn't seem to be that dangerous.”

Ted's teammates had all died, so naturally one would think it was a great opportunity.

Although Lee Jaesung was somewhat worried, he also nodded.

“Let's take care of him ourselves.”

Even if they would subsequently obtain a red marker, at worst they could ask Woohyuk to summon them to his side and lay low for a while.

There weren't any from their faction to witness the scene anyways, so Lee Jaesung quickly made the decision to take action.

“Don't go anywhere and just wait for us, you racist!”

“Ha, do try to keep up this time!”

Nam Kiryang and Kim Dokyun were the first to jump ahead. Jung Sanghoon followed from behind, but he looked quite worried.

'Something's off.'

Even if he didn't have the red mark any longer, it didn't make sense for him to return.

Why would the guy who ran away, leaving his teammates to die, return to deliver himself to them.

'It must be a trap.'

He didn't know where or how, but he firmly believed it to be true.

Just as Jung Sanghoon was about to cry out and warn his team, an arrow came flying their way.

“Ahaak!”

“Kuhuk!”

Many of them that had been running towards Ted, dropped to the ground, screaming in agony.

An unexpected ambush.

“Oh shit!”

“Are you guys okay?”

For those that didn't respond, it was unknown whether they were simply knocked out, or no longer breathing.

Jung Sanghoon followed the direction from where the arrow had come, to the top of the hill.

It was a good place to ambush a group of people passing by since they held the high ground.

“Quickly ask the Boss to use Call to Arms….”

“Oh, I wouldn't do anything like that if I were you.”

A voice was heard from atop the hill.

It was Inoue that had spoken.

'When did he… '

Lee Jaesung couldn't help but stare in surprise, since he was holding Song Anna hostage with a katana placed against her neck.

“If you don't want this little girl to die, you'd all best put down your weapons.”

Song Anna was terrified as Inoue instructed her to take off her Unity Ring.

An act of voluntary withdrawal from their team, causing the ring to disappear into a cloud of dust. After which Inoue and his men walked down the hill to surround the party.

'What should we do…'

If they were to escape, there was no way to save Song Anna. There was no way he could leave her behind since Woohyuk had instructed him to protect her.

Worried about what decision to make, he finally decides to inform Woohyuk, as he tries to buy time.

“What is it that you want?”

“Manpower, if you follow us willingly, we won't hurt you. We are just looking for slave labor.”

The prisoners of war could be brought back to the Fortress and put to work in order to produce Ancient Coins.

In the current situations where the number of monsters was on the decline, it became a viable source of income.

“Okay, we will do as you ask.”

“Lee Jaesung!!”

Jung Sanghoon couldn't help but cry out reproachingly, but didn't say anything else. Eventually the entire party put down their weapons.

* * *

Bound by rope and walking in single file, Lee Jaesung's party was led across the dry desert.

All of them were tired and their lips cracking from the sun's heat. Still, they didn't allow their marching speed to ever slowed down since they didn't know when they might encounter the enemy.

'This time Liang Tsuyu will surely be surprised.'

Inoue smiled to himself as he thought about the number of prisoners he had captured.

Ever since Na Sangyun had died at the hands of a man called Chun Woohyuk, so Tsuyu was his only remaining rival.

She was a Chinese woman, and also an influential leader in their faction.

Although Inoue wasn't at all weaker compared to her, he simply didn't like that fact that she looked down on him.

'I will be the next Commander in Chief.'

Although currently Liang Tsuyu had greater influence, that wouldn't last long.

It was his first time putting such a big win under his belt. An achievement that would continue to bring in profits even after the number of monsters had dwindled.

He no longer had to rely on Liang Tsuyu for help, and his skill in battle was superior to hers.

'I'll dominate all of you.'

Be it enemies or allies, he would always be on top. Inoue thought back to the Great Japanese Empire that had once fought a war against the entire world.

“Mr. Inoue, what should we do with this one?”

A subordinate of his asked regarding Yoo Kayoung.

“Have her sent to the Inn.”

Inoue knew full well how Na Sangyun had established his dominance, and a big reason had been the contribution system he had established.

Na Sangyun had encouraged women who didn't want to fight on the frontlines, to voluntarily sell their bodies in exchange for protection.

Of course the word encouraged was a nice way to put it, since they were basically forced. If they didn't cooperate they wouldn't receive any portion of the supplies.

Still, even for women the contribution system wasn't all that bad. Apart from their share of the daily supplies, they could even earn some coins from the men who solicited them, and as a result could have a standard of living that matched that of an average player.

Of course that was all merely Inoue's thinking. As a woman, Liang Tsuyu had actively opposed the merit system, and he believed that it would negatively impact her when the time came for the next Commander to be chosen.

'I'll have the majority on my side.'

After all, most of the leaders in the camp were men. Would they even consider abolishing such an advantageous system?

Not to mention that many of the women had already become used to the situation and become 'domesticated', meaning they wouldn't be able to take care of themselves.

Inoue was intimately familiar with their way of thinking since he would visit the Inn very frequently.

Submitting to their reality rather than resisting, simply going about each day hoping to survive. They likely wouldn't care if their pimp had changed.

'She does look pretty though.'

Inoue drooled as he eyes took in every square inch of Yoo Kayoung's curvaceous body which was walking along lifelessly.

Just the right age to be considered as a mature beauty.

Although he didn't know if she had already experienced other men, her body alone was good enough to keep him entertained for quite some time.

As he imagined Yoo Kayoung's naked body pressed under him on the bed, his scout had returned and screamed out.

“Big problem!”

“What is it?”

“Monsters!”

Monsters? Inoue didn't understand. He had spent quite some time now in the Valley of Kings, and had yet to encounter any group of monsters that could threaten them.

“Explain what you saw in greater detail.”

“A horde of Undead are headed our way!”

Countless Undead Surrounded Inoue's party, as they prepared for battle.

'Shit, to encounter such a force in this situation.'

Because of the captured prisoners, they couldn't run away and avoid fighting.

As the Undead began to appear among the gusts of sand, the atmosphere became tense.

They were similar in numbers to his own force, but they all looked different and some even resembled adventurers.

Inoue who had been examining them carefully, couldn't help but be surprised.

“Why is it that they are marked as part of the Red Faction?”

It wasn't along the usual path, so they couldn't be Ghost Minions summoned from the Barracks. Before he could understand their origin, the Undead had begun their attack.

Dududud!

An unstoppable momentum, causing Inoue's party to unconsciously shirk back.

Shortly after the sound of steel clashing rang out across the Valley of Kings.

Chaeng! Chaeng!

Suddenly a Skeleton Soldier exploded, incapacitating some of Inoue's men

Pung!

Pierced by sharp bone fragments, they  groaned in pain as they dropped down to the ground.

Complete chaos.

While they were all occupied with the Undead, Woohyuk appeared from behind and cut the rope that bound Lee Jaesung.

“Hurry up.”

“Boss!”

Their party was ecstatic. Meanwhile Woohyuk and Leifina headed over to where Inoue was, as the other members picked up some weapons from the ground.

' I had no idea he was on the other side.'

Although his sword skills weren't anything special, he was a crafty opponent.

Maybe they relied on Ghost Mushrooms in the Blue Misty Forest, hiding from monsters to quickly advance.

Although he didn't consider him to be much of a threat, he had no intention of sparing him either.

Suguk

Grandia's blade emitted a faint light, leaving a fountain of blood in its wake.

Chapter end