The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor Chapter 562

V53C4P1 – Continental Domination

ON MAY 10, 2019 BY MIMOSAB
Few days delay for this one… sorry guys .
Thanks to all proofreaders who worked on this part: Armada Seviper9, PuszekSE and Idzuwan 🙂

Unicorn corp . that ran the Royal Road service was in a state of emergency, centered around the strategics operation room .

“The Black dragon Kaybern . On top of that, the activity of red dragon Randony… Executive Sohn, were you aware of this?”

“I had no clue . This situation could not have been predicted . We have kept it a secret even from the Hermes guild, but it was not as if we were monitoring every single user . ”

When the battle became disadvantageous, the Hermes guild destroyed the dragon's egg, threatening the peace of Versaille continent .

“Has there been contact with the Hermes guild?”

“They are not responding . ”

“Could they have any means to keep back Kaybern?”

“If you take a look at the quest… Also, things seem to be heading south and there seems to be insufficient forces for retaliation . ”

Sighs were heard from various corners of the operations room . Royal Road was a massive world . The Versailles continent has extensive history, a complex background, various races and monsters, making it difficult to determine in which direction the situation could unfold . Executive Sohn covered his face with his hands .

“Kaybern has begun his movement… This is a headache . ”

Then, a marketing team employee asked .

“How much damage will occur?”

“In the current situation, no estimations can be made . In truth, it is abnormal for Kaybern to be active . To think that they would be foolish enough to destroy the dragon's egg…”

“Wouldn't the force of the users be able to stop the dragon?”

“I doubt it . Wouldn't it be quicker to crack a stone with an egg? Quests can appear at any given time, but completing them is a whole different story .

Executive Sohn laughed in bitterness .

“Send out the broadcast data out to the public . Stating that no one knows how the story will unravel after today . ”

“Criticism for irresponsibility will flood . ”

“Royal Road from the very beginning was a story forged by its users . By its people, the world can become heaven, or it can become hell . We just watch them forge their own path . ”

KMC Media, CTS Media .

The major and medium-sized broadcast stations that represented Royal Road were also in a state of emergency .

“For the black dragon to immediately destroy castle Aren… The next being castle Evaluk . Blockbuster level broadcast footages are piling up . ”

“Casualties among Central continent users are tremendous… Now, this is critical even from the Arpen Kingdom's perspective . They had no other choice but to draw back from most of the lands controlled by the Hermes guild . ”

“The continent is about to be reduced to nothing and that will be troublesome . ”

Chief Kang let out a shallow sigh . Heavy bags had arisen under the eyes of him and his employees, but they had not had the opportunity to rest since the battles of Garnav plains .

The scene of castle Aren being destroyed by the dragon's Flaming Meteor spell was on par in viewer ratings as the duel between Weed and Bard Ray .

From the broadcast station's standpoint, it was enjoyable . But in the long run, the destruction of the cities in Versailles continent was not a favourable sequence of events .

The contents of the quest signaled a large-scale monster invasion .

The apocalypse .

Countless theories on the internet stated that the once prosperous and joyful Versailles continent will crumble to its doom .

“What will be the response from Weed, from the Arpen kingdom?”

“I doubt that they will have any plan . Stopping a dragon is extreme even for them . ”

“Not even the Hermes guild can pull it off . ”

“You cannot underestimate Weed who has accomplished all kinds of adventures . However, it would be impossible to defend castle Evaluk . ”

“That is correct . They are at a statistical disadvantage . Even if all the users were to fight on their side, this is a dragon we are talking about . The human wave strategy will not be viable in the skies . ”

Chief Kang fell into contemplation, preoccupied in his thoughts .

“A dragon at this stage in the game, this is as gloomy as it gets . In what perspective should I take this broadcast?”

“The Northerners are deemed to be powerless against a dragon . The possibility of hunting down a dragon is in favor of the Hermes guild . ”

“Given the recent instance, that does not seem to be the case…”

“Even if the Hermes guild unsheathes its sword, it will not be easy . Conversely, they will amuse themselves watching the Arpen kingdom suffer .

“Hmm . This is indeed troublesome . ”

A long silence enveloped the operations room . It was difficult to reach a decisive conclusion and the broadcast station's standpoint was to broadcast according to the changes of events . The Chief and the programme directors were also users that enjoyed Royal Road . As broadcast station associates they did not take part in the war, but they had a gut feeling . Maybe, there can be no eternal peace in Versailles continent . Even if the Arpen kingdom unites the entire continent, the threats will still exist . If Weed's popularity were to decline even a bit, rebellions abroad much like those that befell the Hermes guild would cause an age of turbulence .

Perhaps like the dragon, beings such as devils, demons, the great witch or the fairy king can threaten peace . Chief Kang had a sudden thought that maybe the dream of unifying this world was strictly dangerous and risky, an impossible dream .

“Let's send out some advertisements . ”

“Sorry?”

“The other broadcasts will concentrate on organization around the scene of the continent being destroyed by the dragon . Especially CTS media . Their style of coordination will extend to orchestras, maximizing the beauty of the visuals and the audio . ”

“It is worth spending every penny on this . There is no doubt that the footage is shocking enough to draw the attentions of the viewers . ”

“It will be a breeze to film a couple of natural disaster films . Castle Aren was a movie . The shots of the dragon's destruction . ”

“I'm not in favor of those broadcasts though . Should we drop everything we were doing and concern ourselves because a dragon is roaming around? Everyone is worried, confused, wallowing in self-pity . Even when peace was at risk due to the Embinyu Church, the Versailles continent was always joyful . ”

“Mmm . Now that you mention it… There were waging wars everyday in the past . ”

Ever since the early days of Royal Road, the Central continent was a bloody war field with each alliance clashing with one another . It was common to see cities be razed . Cities were destroyed in sieges, or by defeated guilds who in their resentment completely ravaged lands .

“Yes . That is what I'm talking about . It sounds comical in reality, but you have to change perspectives a little . Even if dragons and monsters roam around, it won't be as much tyranny and destruction as the former prestigious guilds . ”

The programme directors nodded in agreement .

“The composition of power was most prevalent in the Versailles continent . If it weren't for all the destruction and demolition, no one would have paid attention to the north . ”

“During the days of Morata, the economic size could not even be compared . ”

Chief Kang smiled delightfully . The KMC media producers understood exactly what he wanted to convey .

“Yes . The dragon did appear preemptively, but the world ain't going down in a day or two . It is just cities being destroyed and monsters in larger numbers . Users have made consistent progress… They will bask in pleasure going forward .

“Yes . Even the greatest threats can be seen as one of the amusements of Royal Road . ”

“I agree . Kaybern's destruction will not result in users screaming in agony or leaving Royal Road . ”

“This is paradise . Much can change, but there are so many people saying that they could quit work – cannot say the same for Royal Road . ”

KMC media, formerly a favorless, tiny broadcast channel had grown to a major broadcast station solely because of the charm of Royal Road . A new world called virtual reality and the pleasure created by its users provided a space in which one could dream without boundaries . They believed strongly that users would be able to overcome the appearance of the dragon . Chief Kang decided .

“We'll send out Kaybern in the visual advertisements . Also, throw in some awesome shots of the Versailles continent and heroes . ”

KMC media decided to create its own commercial named 'The dragon's threat', using the footage of Kaybern that they captured recently . The black dragon flies through the air, and beautiful scenery of the Versailles continent flashes by on the ground . Bright, optimistic and hopeful scenes . Picturesque scenery interweaved with lands scorched and demolished by the dragon, but that wasn't the end . They were to send out visuals of the famous users and heroes active in the cities and villages of Versaille continent .

“Royal Road is a place to build dreams . So, we must look with affection instead of distress . Proceed with the usual broadcasts and report swiftly if any major events occur . We, must not lose hope . ”

When Weed logged onto Royal Road once again, the Garnav plains was in ruins . The black scorched earth was split and caved, melted away by the dragon's breath and formed a small canyon . Bones were scattered all over the place, traces of an undead summoning .

< You have stepped foot into the cursed plains .
Luck declines by 50% in this region . There is a high possibility of spirits and skeletal knights spawning at night . There is vegetation of unique, cursed plants .
There are rumors of an extremely rare treasure buried in these lands .
But they should not be trusted… >

“Hmm . I need to start with the lost equipments… “

Weed went through his items with anxiety . He felt insecure even in his dreams . He had obtained many expensive items during his chase on the Hermes guild members and that got him even more worried . It was fortunate that he had hid away in advance through Yurin the spoils from Bard Ray such as the Sky Ruler's armor .

“Seems that upon my death, I lost a long sword, shield and a pair of boots . ”

He had lost three items . Weed grieved in silence for the lost equipments .

“Wow . A fragment of a knight's armor . ”

“There is a sword fragment over here . ”

“Is it enchanted?”

“Yeah . It has sharpness magic on it . This could be worth a lot if I sell it to the blacksmiths . ”

Users had logged in early and was searching the remains of the battle ground . The majority of users had died due to Kaybern but some were fortunate enough to survive, picking up piles of miscellaneous items .

'There are people full of luck wherever you go . I'm on the opposite spectrum I'm afraid . '

Weed stared at them for a while, then turned around . He originally wore an imperial knight's armor but now he had changed into a simple traveller's outfit . The regrets of turning away from mountains of items! However, there was still too much left to do .

“Mapan-nim . ”

– Mapan : Yes . Weed-nim .

“How is the business?”

– Mapan : It has set sail . I expect to reach 400% in revenue . All thanks to the dragon .

“Is that so? Then you would have earned back the costs of war supplies . ”

– Mapan : Of course . It is a boom .

The Haven imperial army had been completely crushed by the black dragon Kaybern . Hermes guild members having been wiped out, enormous amounts of spoils fell on top of the Garnav plains . Those items were traded by the merchant association such as the Mapan merchant association, and a significant amount was to be paid to taxes .

'Taxing is the most magnificent method of earning money . '

Weed laughed in satisfaction, though his moment of joy was temporary! Two instances of death resulted in a decline of 3 levels and various skill proficiencies dropping down one level .

Advanced level 8 sword technique dropped to level 7 and many more had been impacted severely .

'There is around 40,000 energy of the moment left… I defeated Bard Ray and the Hermes guild but the costs were too great . '

When Weed claimed that he was at great loss, it meant that the Hermes guild had lost almost everything . As the war continued, the imperial army that had transformed into elites have been obliterated, unable to be restored . Only the Hermes guild members revived and were heard to be retreating swiftly to the Haven regions at a speed too quick to track down .

'I do need to gain back levels immediately and recover my skills… Anyhow the urgency calls for swallowing up the rest of the Central continent . '

He must split up the Arpen kingdom army by a few soldiers and send them to the cities and fortresses in each region . Now that the Haven empire had fallen, the lands would be vacant if left alone, there was even a possibility that another user could take control .

(To be continued…)

Chapter end