Chapter 566
V53C5P2 – Arpen Development Strategy
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‘I’ll become truly rich selling the lord positions . ’
Weed thought but could not say it out loud . He was an outright scrooge to the others but he wanted to remain a good person to Seoyoon . He quickly stirred up a fancier expression .
“There is something called a duty fee when you buy pets . ”
“Duty fee?”
“It serves as evidence of your intention to take good care of the animal . You never give away pets for free . Also, we need money for the development of the empire . So, lords have to pay up some duty fee, don’t you think?”
Seoyoon was head over heels for Weed and was unconsciously ready to accept any fraud he were to commit . She was usually rational and smart but did not question him one bit .
“How much should I ask for duty fee?”
“The more the better . I think we should proceed with auctions starting at a minimum of 1,000 gold . Just as a display of faith . ”
“I understand . ”
Weed thought there was no meaning in the starting price . In an auction, what matters is the final price .
‘If I sell off the lord positions, the users would likely criticize me . ’
This was different from selling equipment earned through hunting . Not just anybody could be named a lord that would govern over cities and villages . Even so, he decided to deafen himself to criticism just this once .
‘This is a rare opportunity to score a fortune . You only live once anyway . ’
Simultaneously, Seoyoon thought the exact opposite . She had complete faith in Weed’s pretext and saw this opportunity to gather enough funds to develop the Arpen Empire .
‘We need money to make this world a happier place . ’
Title: Greetings to all prospective lords of the Arpen Kingdom .
Hello .
I am Seoyoon, serving as a manager of internal affairs of the Arpen Empire .
We have conquered the Central Continent with our strength alone . We need to repair the broken facilities and prepare our defences against the monsters… and we lack the hands .
That is why we require your participation .
You must put the people up first .
You must dream of running a city .
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You must have the motivation to shape the future .
These three traits are all you need to become a lord .
We urge to sign up for the Arpen lord seats .
P . S . For those who do become lords, we will be collecting 1,000 gold as duty fee .
For regions with many candidates, we will prioritize those who pay the largest duty fee . The duty fee will be used honorably for the development of the Arpen Empire .
A sincere message posted on the discussion boards of the Grass Porridge Cult .
In order to validate for this post, she posted an image of herself in armor riding on top of Wy-3 .
– So pretty… Can someone look like that in reality?
– This face and atmosphere . They assessed that it’s unachievable even if you put 10,000 stats into charm on Royal Road .
– Maybe there could be a chance by investing 50,000 points?
– That appearance is not possible even if you are reborn . She’s a fairy among men .
– Even the students acknowledged that she does look that way in real life . There were a few photographs of when she attended university in an ordinary outfit . Hah .
– I am jealous of Weed . He’s got everything…
For quite some time, comments went on about Seoyoon’s beauty .
– By the way, was this post really created by the actual Grass Porridge goddess?
– Isn’t that photoshopped?
– It’s not possible to tweak that photo . How can you photoshop to this degree of beauty?
– I concur…
– This is a photo of her alone in the sky, so it couldn’t have been posted by anyone else .
– That shy V that she made . She is so adorable .
– Ah . I read the content just now .
– This is a lord recruitment post .
– A duty fee of 1,000 gold… The goddess is so reserved…
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– Looks like any one can apply, though it would mean an insane competition .
– In reality, the regions that will be decided for 1,000 gold will pretty much be in ruins . There isn’t really another option as this is a competition of wealth .
The lord position of the Arpen Empire was a desirable one for just about anyone . There were rumors of Weed wringing the lords, but people did not believe it . No one would willingly give up their position of a lord of Arpen .
Apart from the honor of the position, most fell into the joy of developing villages and cities . Furthermore, this was lord position in the Central Continent, which many including the local citizens were after .
– Should I give it a shot? I have quite a bit saved up… I am a level 480 swordsman .
– I withstood the mistreatment in the Hermes guild . I am going all-in .
– I wish to become a lord of Arpen . I believe it will be an awesome, spectacular experience .
– Should be at least level 500 . Or it could be easy competition for the merchants .
– Let’s just head over first . This is the lord seat we are talking about!
The lord trend boomed among the users of the central continent . However, the atmosphere of the northern users leaned towards disappointment . The foundation in the growth of the Arpen Empire was the active participation of novice players . However, if the lords are named by how much is invested, these users would not be acknowledged for their participation .
Kalis of the Black Lion guild assembled an urgent conference .
“The Arpen Empire is recruiting lords . I think we should act accordingly . ”
The famous users in the guild like Vindel, Zekt, Probangs, Sien, and Pine were all present . Users that were long absent from the Black Lion guild had returned after the fall of the Hermes guild .
“What kind of response are you speaking of?”
Vindel asked out of curiosity and Kalis spoke with composure .
“Shouldn’t we take the Tullen region in the least, no matter how much we need to spend? That is land that has been regulated under our control for a long time . ”
“That is right . We cannot hand over Tullen to a stranger . ”
“That is our homeland, we cannot ever leave . ”
The users of the Black Lion guild each had their say in the matter . In the past, prestigious guilds could take over territories through war . In the Arpen empire, they needed money .
Sien spoke out carefully .
“We were active in the recent battle, so wouldn’t Weed-nim hand the Tullen region to us?”
He spoke out of hope, but the surrounding members could not agree .
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Kalis shook his head .
“Though our guild fought bravely, we did not play a deciding role in the outcome . It was a battle won over by Weed almost on his own . ”
“But still…”
“Why would he hand over the Tullen region knowing how much it is worth? I will ask him to provide us some sort of discount . But we know, that is asking for too much considering his personality . ”
Kalis and the Black Lion guild users were burdened with having to scramble up a considerable sum of money, but thought that the situation was fair . When they were conquered by the Hermes guild, they were forced to leave their homeland and experience all kinds of unfavorable measures .
“Even if we have to pay some money, we will be able to get it all back after we secure the lord seat . We can also certainly establish our base of operations . ”
“I agree . Lord recruitment is not something that goes on often . If we don’t play along this time, we would have to bide our time until the Arpen Empire crumbles or commit to a revolution… We need land to sustain our guild . ”
The Black Lion guild ultimately agreed on gathering up funds to apply for the lord of the Tulen region . The other prestigious guilds chose to do the same as Kalis . With this, the medium-sized guilds that had existed since the early times all reunited .
They could not give up their dreams of becoming lords and decided to pool all their savings .
– Signs of monster waves in at least 50 different locations .
– Unusual activity such as the coastal zones turning red .
– Lafaye received reports from military fortress Lahonia of the Haven Kingdom . The empire that had once ruled the Central Continent had been reduced in territory and population after the Garnav Plains battle and was demoted to a kingdom .
– Additionally, Castle Aren destroyed by Kaybern had a critical impact on the national power!
– The intel network had remained intact, delivering news about the continent .
“The entire continent will be in danger . Monster waves… I never expected this much, but Kaybern may very well determine the fate of the continent . ”
“Weed’s ambition is wavering from the start . This is even before the users return to their homelands . Additionally, there are almost no remaining forces in each city . ”
Lafaye thought to herself while listening to the users talking through the network .
‘If the situation continues down this path, Weed will never be able to stop it . ’
There were at least a thousand cities in the central continent alone, and protecting all of them was impossible . The Hermes guild having unintentionally poured all military forces into the Garnav plains left the fortresses and the city walls completely vacant .
If several cities along the vital routes turn to ruins, the monsters will spread like an outbreak through an open wall .
‘Kaybern destroying the major cities including castle Evaluk is inevitable . Weed will never be able to manage . ’
The influence of the Hermes guild had receded to the Haven regions . Royal Road’s best users and lords each had their complaints, but the immediate threat was on the Arpen Empire . A user named Sonia from the intel network spoke .
“Wouldn’t the users be enraged against us Hermes guild?”
It was a natural concern as countless cities and the Versailles continent will be destroyed .
Lafaye held back from bursting in an uncontrollable laughter .
“We cannot be hated any more than we already are . ”
“This plan was executed fully accounting for the fact that everyone is an enemy . Weed and the other users need to experience failure too . ”
“Failure?”
“The dark dragon Kaybern will cause significant damage . If the central and northern continents are devastated, people will give up their false hope in Weed . ”
Lafaye also had carried out her last straw . Castle Aren had been destroyed by Kaybern, but they were caught in a dead end and the situation getting any worse had little meaning .
“We are the ones responsible for this mess, but Weed will be the one that cleans it up . ”
Each broadcast station sent out urgent news of the Arpen Empire’s lord recruitment and decided to proceed with live stream .
– At midnight, two days from now they will officially announce the lords at the Earth Palace .
– There are already many users who registered for lord position at several cities .
– Of course . I can imagine the intensity of the competition at the major cities .
CTS media and KMC media collectively signed up for lord positions after an internal conference . In the past, neutrality was demanded of the broadcast stations and therefore, it was a tricky standpoint to be associated with any particular force . Now, technical neutrality was meaningless because the Arpen Empire had conquered the north and the majority of the central continent . Owning a city meant more diverse programs, and due to the competition against other broadcast stations they decided to apply for city lord positions .
– The Black Lion guild announced that they will secure the Tullen region . Oh Joo-Wan-ssi, I think they are turning away others from applying in this area .
– My thoughts are parallel . However, I expect that things will not turn out in their favour
– How so? Even they may be weakened, doesn’t the Black Lion guild have considerable amounts of money stashed up?
– That may be so, but aiming for the entire Tullen region is pure greed . The wealthy folks, rich guilds and individuals will also apply .
– The Tullen region used to be belong to the Black Lion guild .
– Past territories no longer have significance as we are now under the governance of the Arpen empire . In the past, there were frequent cases of taking over by force . In the case of being appointed as lord in the Arpen Empire, the lord positions will be maintained as long as there are no concerning upsets .
– So, they would be able to keep their titles without any military power .
– Yes . This is the new order of the Arpen Empire . So, whoever can pay the duty fee which I imagine will turn out to be a fortune, will rise up the to lord position .
(To be continued…)