Chapter 54

The castles of Revenge were fundamentally large. Unlike typical games, they allocated vast spaces to reflect reality instead of assigning them to special subspaces within the Housing system.

‘Thanks to this, land and building values vary greatly. It’s crazy that some people even speculate on real estate…’

Most buildings initially constructed had only one floor, but players could increase their height by paying diamonds via the interface. The problem was, I was the only player with any diamonds!

“Ah, originally, the castle lord should rake in all the diamonds, but…”

A significant portion of options available within the castle required diamonds.

Buying buildings, upgrading them, using the exchange, and designating guild strongholds—all these activities required fees that the castle lord received. They could use it directly or invest it to upgrade their guild city.

“However, there is no payment…”

Yes. All players in Ardenia were free-to-play! No matter how much I tried to collect taxes maliciously, there was no diamond involved. Some players out of curiosity had put items on the exchange but not a single transaction occurred practically. The registration fee was gold, but purchases were only possible with diamonds.

“Well…I will endure because the castle is large and cool.”

I looked down at the city from my feudal lord’s castle.

In other words, Starting was like a planned city with all straight roads and no winding alleys. The main streets branched out from the central square in eight directions, wide enough for two buses to pass each other comfortably.

Compared to densely populated cities on Earth with skyscrapers of 200 or 300 floors… at this moment, Starting could be considered one of the most magnificent cities on this continent.

‘However, there is still a limit to the number of people it can accommodate.’

Based on my judgment, the appropriate population for Starting should not exceed 50,000. If I consumed diamonds to increase the number of building floors, millions of people could be accommodated easily. But what good would expanding living space do if the city lacked proper water supply infrastructure?

The humans here weren’t game avatars who could live without eating or defecating. If I didn’t create satellite cities outside of Starting Point, there would inevitably be limits to how many people it could accommodate.

“Ultimately, they must be dispersed to other cities… Hah. Now, there is no return incantation.”

My original plan was not to bring refugees directly to Starting Point but send them immediately to another castle. After riding Sky to set up a return point at another castle, I could’ve met the refugees and sent them straight away without stopping at Starting Point. However, now that wasn’t possible…I had to accept them at Starting Point.

‘Later, I need to create an immigration group including elite soldiers and send them to the empty dragon’s vein nearby.’

Having organized my thoughts, I summoned Sky.

Flutter!

I pushed off from the ground and started flying westward. After flying for a bit, I spotted around 300 soldiers riding pets and marching towards the west.

Cheok!

“Ah, there was no need for them to do that…”

I shook my head at the sight of soldiers bowing towards the sky. As I repeatedly assigned jobs, distributed food, and upgraded the castle, I could sense their reverence for me growing stronger.

‘Well, it is understandable.’

In the Holy Empire, saints and priestesses were revered as representatives of God solely due to their healing abilities. Compared to them, my powers could indeed be considered divine. That’s why my subordinates keep insisting that I should become either a king or emperor.

“Claiming kingship…” I muttered while flying through the sky. “Well, it seems necessary.”

The existing powers of Ardenia had suffered near-total devastation. While humanity wasn’t confined to living solely within the dragon’s vein, they couldn’t maintain the national system anymore. In this situation… being a marquis of the Chrome Kingdom was utterly useless.

I was a Marquis Bronze Sword. Here, ‘Bronze Sword’ didn’t just mean one step below Silver Sword. The bandit groups were composed of fugitives, war tribes, and criminals, lacking proper infrastructure, resources, or skilled technicians. Thus, even iron weapons were difficult for them to use, let alone steel ones. Consequently, bronze (靑銅) became their primary choice. Therefore, the title ‘Marquis Bronze Sword’ signifies that…

‘A bandit baron.’

They couldn’t ignore my impressive achievements and actual military strength, so they reluctantly granted me noble status. However, neither the nobles nor the kingdom bothered to hide their disdain for me. If it weren’t for the previous barons falling victim one after another to Akalan, the Wolf King now serving as my castle’s doormat, I wouldn’t have become the feudal lord in the first place.

“Ah, I can see them approaching.”

In the distance, I observed a group of soldiers marching towards us. Cavalry led the way, followed by sword-wielding infantry. There were well-equipped medium infantry armed with shields and pike infantry carrying long spears.

“They seem quite intact, considering they fled from the capital.”

Indeed, without strict discipline, they wouldn’t have been able to traverse hundreds of kilometers to reach Starting Point.

”…No wait.”

The sight of catapults interspersed among the troops seemed strange no matter how I thought about it. As I scanned over the army again, I realized there was more than just that which was odd.

‘This is an invading force?’

It wasn’t refugees voluntarily following the army but soldiers forcing them forward. If someone collapsed from exhaustion, they didn’t hesitate to whip them.

‘They aren’t refugees. They are some type of peasant or slave soldiers.’

This became even clearer as they were mixed within the army rather than trailing behind it.

“An invading army!”

I circled around on Sky while gathering information.

“This is…too…”

Then I laughed.

”…Good?”

I immediately drove Sky forward and stopped in front of the elite soldiers riding horses. Stonestone lightly kicked his horse’s belly to slow down and greeted me with respect.

“Sir! You have been scouting.”

“Yes.” I sent away Sky and summoned the famous horse Napharam (Advanced). It was like magic but nobody here was surprised. In the first place, all the horses present were pets.

‘It is convenient to supply pets.’

The structure of play for my forces relied solely on my own cash payments. However, it wasn’t a one-sided loss for me.

‘I am recovering more honor coins and gold than ever before.’

Originally, Honor Coins couldn’t be traded, but since the concept of ‘jurisdiction’ disappeared from Ardenia, I literally scooped up all the Players’ Honor Coins.

When assigning classes, there was always the condition of “[Offer 30,000 honor coins within one year].” Naturally, this led to high-tier classes and pets being sold for honor coins.

‘The guild shop sells summon cards for twelve thousand honor coins.’

Currently, buying class summon cards strained his finances, but once the guild level increased enough, summon cards would become available through the guild shop, changing the situation significantly.

Of course, these summon cards (limited to one per day) were low tier, offering only common or rare ranks. However, since most elite soldiers had ordinary classes, it would still be advantageous.

“Attention!”

“Sir!”

As my subordinates gathered closer, I explained the situation to them.

“Hmm…”

“A hostile invasion force.”

Naturally, no one was afraid of the appearance of ‘enemies’. It couldn’t be otherwise. Every single person here possessed high-grade pets. They had surpassed level 30 by daily grinding goblin dungeons and learned aura through quick advances from knights. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they were the core strength at the start, with their pride reaching towards the sky.

“Then it is correct to send back all except the knights and mages.”

“It would be better to equip only one sword and put the rest in the inventory.” I watched as the soldiers sent back their pets and maintained their equipment.

‘These guys will be future officers.’

I looked contentedly at them for a moment before nodding.

“Let’s go and listen to what they are saying.”

We slowly rode westward on our horses. It didn’t take long to encounter another group approaching from quite a distance away.

“Stop! Identify yourselves!”

The cavalry blocked our path, and Hundred responded.

“I am Hundred of the Silver Sword Family. We come from Starting.”

“Starting?”

“You don’t know where you are heading?”

“Oh…there is a new castle called Starting in Red Ex territory.”

A large knight leading the cavalry scrutinized us before bursting out laughing. There were three knights visible, while my soldiers numbered around 300 with less impressive armaments. His reaction was understandable.

“I want to know your purpose for approaching Starting. What reason do you have without even sending a herald?” The knight, who hadn’t introduced himself yet, spoke bluntly.

He explained how numerous people had died due to the sudden appearance of monsters. Afterward, extreme chaos ensued, but the Boux Kingdom managed to restore order and was now consolidating its cities.

“So is this gathering of forces the reason you’ve led them here?”

The knight looked at me as I posed my question.

“That… By the way, who are you?”

His casual tone made Hundred’s eyes flash coldly.

“You speak too freely. We don’t even know who you are.”

Hundred’s words created tension between the two groups. However, the knight broke the atmosphere with a hearty laugh.

“Haha! My apologies for that. I am Heavyman of the Ironshield family. As you said, His Majesty has been gathering forces while traveling around the dragon’s veins. Thanks to his efforts, the Marquisate of Stee and the Dukedom of Mark were able to drive those monstrous creatures into the pillars of light! Now, we plan to reorganize these scattered forces, gather more troops under His Majesty’s command, and march towards reclaiming the capital city of Ramo!”

In his excitement, he raised his voice without regard for either the officers or soldiers present. A brief silence ensued.

In the end, Heavyman made an embarrassed expression and clicked his tongue. “These guys are so annoying…”

“Forget it. I want to meet King Boux. If Starting has something they want, then there must be proper conditions.”

Heavyman’s face distorted at my words. ”…Do you think His Majesty the King will see anyone?”

“Not just anyone. But I am the castle lord of Starting.”

“What?” Heavyman was surprised by my words, staring intently at me. Then he seemed to realize something and broke out into a wide grin. “Ha-ha-ha! You are quite bold! I thought you would stay entrenched within your castle, but here you are! Wait a moment. I’ll report this right away! Stone! Escort him slowly.”

The Heavyman rode back as instructed, and we followed the cavalry inside.

“Who are they…?”

“They claim to be the lords of the castle we’re about to attack…”

“Shut up! Keep your heads down!”

As we crossed through their midst, soldiers barked at the whispering refugees. They seemed intent on preventing any commotion that might cause us to flee. However, with over 80,000 refugees present, it was impossible to silence them all, and some murmurs reached my ears:

“But if there’s a castle, why didn’t they just wait there instead of coming out to meet us…?”

This obvious question made me chuckle inadvertently.

‘Why else? They need to be cautious when approaching a hero-ranked castle.’

What would happen if they marched directly towards Starting Castle? Siege warfare? Catapults? It was truly laughable. The reinforced castle walls of Starting Castle, enhanced to hero rank, were already 40 meters high, equivalent to a 13-story apartment building, and thicker than most apartments. On top of that, the width of the castle walls could accommodate a two-lane road, allowing buses to pass along it effortlessly.

And what about the depth of the moat? It wasn’t a joke; falling accidents were a real concern. No matter how foolish they might be, upon seeing such a formidable castle, they wouldn’t recklessly attack. Instead, they would likely approach using a “[Rational]” method, adhering to established “[Procedures].”

From our perspective, however, dealing with opponents who act this way is even more exhausting.

‘This is why I brought only this many.’

The population of Starting had increased significantly compared to the past, and quite a number of them were soldiers. Unlike other territories, Starting and Wild Boar didn’t need as many people dedicated to agriculture. In other words, if we pushed it, we could gather a considerable army. However, I instructed my leaders to bring no more than 300 elite soldiers with pets. This was done intentionally to appear weak.

“Castle Lord of Starting! The Wolf Knight Baron Bronze Sword has come!” One soldier shouted loudly, and several knights approached me.

“I will guide you, Your Majesty. Please disarm.”

“What armament?”

”…Huh?” The knights, who approached confidently, became flustered by my nonchalant response. With bewildered expressions, they searched my body but found only ordinary civilian clothes.

In any case, all my equipment was stored in the inventory.

‘Actually, it doesn’t matter if I don’t have gear.’

“Can we enter?”

“No, you came without being armed?”

“What weapons do you need?” With a smile, I stepped forward. As expected, the unarmed Stonestone and Hundred followed behind me.

“Oh! It’s really true. I remember now. Aren’t you that bandit chief?” The man waiting for us had a thick beard, broad shoulders, and muscular build but couldn’t hide his protruding belly as a middle-aged person.

“You really came here. My goodness.”

“Yes, truly. Truly.” More knights and soldiers gathered around us, including the elite force of 300 who were located far away. We were completely surrounded.

“I can’t believe you are this stupid!”

“Hahaha! Beyond imagination! I heard he was like a wolf, but it must’ve been false rumors! Who knew he could be so foolish!” Laughter erupted from various directions. Knights began drawing their swords with sinister grins on their faces.

Laughter erupted from all around me. The knights sneered menacingly as they slowly drew their swords.

“Hahahaha! To think we could trick you like this. You really can’t handle barbarians!”

“Did you feel manly doing this? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!”

The men laughed uproariously, seemingly overly excited.

As I observed them,

“Haha.”

I also started laughing.

In novels, comics, movies, and dramas, protagonists often hide their true strength. Everyone knows that concealing one’s power invites ridicule with terms like “power-play poser,” yet why do they persist in hiding it? Why bother pretending to be weak when eventually, they won’t maintain the facade anyway?

However, clichés exist for a reason:

‘First, take the hit…’