Weed got out from his hiding place and slowly pushed past the few remaining nobles were taking the opportunity to escape. No longer was Weed attracting anyone’s attention as he did when he entered the ceremony grounds earlier during the evening.
Weed approached the Geomchis who had their gaze fixed on the ninjas who were frozen like statues.
“Hey…” Weed called out as he approached the Wind Geomchis. Noticing that they were too focused in their own world Weed reached out with his hand to shake one of them…
“Ouch!” Weed immediately retracted his hand and began shaking it to cool it. The Geomchis body's were burning hot. So hot that Weed burnt himself slightly.
‘What happened to them…’ Weed wondered. ‘How did they become so powerful?’ It was outside Weed’s scope of calculation; the defeat of the Guild Masters. Weed was certain that the coup could now go either ways. ‘If they continue with their rampage like this…victory is as good as assured…’
But Weed wasn’t too happy with this situation. It was too simple if victory came like this, he felt cheated and useless. Weed could weigh down his contributions in this campaign against the coup…nothing.
‘I have done absolutely nothing…’ Weed thought as dismay gripped him. Being neutral affinity was a curse. He felt he was worse than an insect and at the absolute bottom of the food chain. Before he could pity himself any further, the clashing of weapons broke his train of thoughts.
The Geomchis had turned their gaze towards them and unleashed the last two minutes they had on to the Ninjas. The ninjas who had been silently watching the battle between Geomchis and the players till now were on the retreat. There was a certain fierceness and seriousness in the Geomchi’s eyes. Weed had never seen the Geomchis during sword training or executing local monster hunts. This was the first time where he had seen them in action. Although they weren’t the same Geomchis which played the original Royal Road, all Geomchis at the core were all the same.
Weed didn’t understand his own emotions at first but he knew he had been infected by the simplicity and seriousness of the Geomchis.
Weed grew slightly wary of the circumstances; the Geomchis weren’t replying back to him on whisper mode and he didn’t want to get in between their fight…there were questions continuously popping into his mind. He wanted to know everything, how did the Geomchis suddenly manage to become so powerful, were the ninjas mercenaries?
It frustrated Weed that he could only watch from the sidelines… ‘I am a coward.’ Weed announced to himself. He wasn’t sure how the Geomchis leveled up but he was certain it had something to do with level of resolve. The Geomchis unlike him did not care of the consequences. They moved forward with everything they had; giving it their all. Weed on the other had could see himself always changing courses to get the best outcome…the resultant was that Weed never got anywhere or so he thought.
Just a moment back he was considering to join the coup but as the situation changed Weed thought to wait and watch a bit longer how things would turn out…
There is nothing wrong with adapting to the change in situation to get the best outcome when you have a goal in mind but Weed’s position was different. Weeds only cared for victory….so much so that when the situation changed he changed his goals….lowering the bar would count as a win but an empty win.
Weed’s self analysis was sharp. He finally knew what changed in him since the past. He stopped caring about idealist goals and aspirations that he had when he began playing the game. Now he only cared about winning. It didn’t matter to him what kind of victory it was….as long as he moved ahead of others…even if it meant others moved backwards….
‘An empty win…’ Weed liked the ring to his own thoughts. He was like a marathon runner who has to run an unknown number of miles till the finish line to win. The true winner would be the won who crosses the finish line first, instead Weed was aiming to be the runner who was ahead of the other players…Weed grew disgusted with himself as he continued to introspect. He was doing something that the weak would have done…
‘The original Weed would have found a way to win…he would have found a way to beat the coup and even if it was an unbeatable situation he would have never switched sides…’ Weed’s face darkened as he remembered his hero. It had been so long that he had last thought of Lee Hyun’s gaming style. The original Weed never waivered in his resolution. He also never tried hurting the interests of other players. It was quite the opposite.
The original Weed would always do things to get along with others, like the quest for village Baran where he incurred so much cost and effort for cooking for others or like the trade terms after defending Morata. In friendship there was profit….in hostilities there was loss. As Weed continued to appraise his actions he realized had he not tried cutting ahead of others and invited all the top guilds he would have been able to reveal everyone’s true colours at once. Now there existed guilds who would continue to work against the lord of Lavias from the shadows; a constant threat and worry to Weed…
Weed’s face became more and more grim as he understood the consequences of his action.
A noble crashed into Weed bringing him back to the reality of his situation; ninjas and Geomchis.
“Please help me!” She whispered. The young noble woman was terrified. Her clothes were torn and bloodied red. It wasn’t her blood but probably the blood of those slain before her.
Weed looked at her with compassion and care. Moments ago he might have tossed her aside, but Weed changed yet again. He wore a determined expression on his face. He knew the direction he had to take. He was aiming for a victory where he wouldn’t compromise his principles. That was the most satisfying victory. A cheap victory riding off others was not one that he wanted, a victory where he lowered the bar was not one that he wanted. An absolute unconditional victory…just like Lee Hyun.
‘Then I have to find a way to win…’ Weed decided he would help the Geomchis. Weed looked up and saw the Geomchis on fire as they fought on till the very last few seconds they had left. Weed wasn’t sure how they caught fire but one by one each Geomchi burst into flames and seconds later turned to dust. ‘A side effect of over powering?’
Weed helped the young noble up who was gripping on to his knees in fear. Weed wondered why she didn’t escape with the others but his questions were soon answered. More soldiers were pouring into the ceremony grounds killing the few nobles who had managed to escape.
‘But why?’ Weed wondered. ‘Where did these reserves extra soldiers come from? Why are they killing nobles?’
Weeds eyes nearly popped out when he saw them fighting the ninjas!
‘Wait a second here! Aren’t they in cahoots with each other! They both just killed nobles…yet they are fighting each other…’
“AARRGHH!!” Weed let out a cry of frustration. He knew he was overlooking something critical here. Weed grabbed the young lady and dashed towards the Garden Maze. He could hide her in there while he thought things through.
Weed wasn’t sure what was going on here. Weed entered the maze and hid along side the young lady and watched the battle unfold between the ninjas and the soldiers. ‘So Arthur hired the ninjas and players to kill the nobles…and he killed his own troops to make it seem as if he innocent. So the reason he hired ninjas was with the explicit thought for them to take the blame for it…’
Weed slapped himself. The young lady beside him looked at Weed in shock. The high elf just slapped herself…
‘I am reading this wrong….what kind of mercenary force would be stupid enough to be hired just to be killed later…no they must have prepared a fallback plan….then why are the soldiers attacking the ninjas and killing the nobles? Has there been some mis-communication…’
Weed slapped himself again; he was frustrated and angry that he could understand what was going on here. The young lady beside him looked at Weed in utter shock. The high elf just slapped herself for the second time…
‘The stupid problem are those stupid ninjas…why did he need ninjas who aren’t using elemental affinity to battle?’ Weed had been watching everything for a while. The ninjas had barely used their power, most of the times they were using weapons. ‘They are getting tired…’
Weed watched as the ninjas fell back further and further. The ninjas were suited more for guerrilla warfare than open combat. Their stamina was running thin after such an over extended operation. There was an invisible line they were maintaining where they didn’t want soldiers to cross. Weed wondered why. ‘Did Arthur really trick them to their deaths? It finally comes down to the ninjas…’
Weed was about to slap himself again when the noble lady stopped him.
'I could ask her...' Weed said as he stopped slapping his cheeks (Author's Note: It helped him think).
“Where did the soldiers come from?” Weed asked the noble lady.
“…” The woman far too much in shock to react; the high elf’s voice sounded like man’s voice from up close and not like a woman with a deep voice.
“Where did the soldiers come from?” Weed asked the noble lady again.
“From the manor…” she repeated softly.
Weed frowned. ‘There were soldiers in the manor … then what the hell were they waiting for? Why not attack sooner?’
“Are you sure they didn’t come from the main gates?” Weed asked. 'If they came from the manor that means it was planned that they would be coming and it was no exception....'
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The noble lady nodded. “They came from the main stair way….”
Weed eyes widened at the mention of the stairway. The main stairway of the manor connected to the second and third floors…’the only reason the soldiers would come from there would be is….if they hid in the stinking sewers…and came out the parlour room…’
Weed’s expression somewhat lightened. He solved the mystery where they came from which gave him a clue on who might have hired them. Weed watched the soldiers closely, they appeared to be surprised having to fight ninjas.
‘The ninjas aren’t part of the plan…’ Weed concluded. ‘There are too many soldiers for the number of ninjas…there would be no need for so many….unless…’
Weed stopped dead in his tracks. The last piece of the puzzle finally fell into place. Little by little Weed could see the bigger picture here till he saw it all. A radical idea had taken hold of all his thoughts in his mind. ‘Of course…. Of course….. the Geomchis!!’
Weed smiled in the midst of the chaos. ‘The Geomchis were outside the scope of anyones calculations!’
Weed rejoiced that he had invited the Geomchis.
Weed began talking out aloud… “The Geomchis killed the players…no one expected the players to die…”
Weed suddenly froze in his place. He could feel a cold prickly metallic object at the back of his neck.
“Well well well….if it isn’t Weed…” Emily said as she pointed her blade at Weed.
“Ah….Emily san….” Weed said he slowly rolled over. “You are still alive….” He muttered.
“I guess not all the players are dead?” Weed asked as Emily poked her blade against his adam’s apple.
The young noble lady was frozen seeing the situation; she just managed to finally find some place safe to hide and now there was someone pointing a blade at the high elf…
Emily pulled back her blade. “Its only me” She said as she lay down next to Weed to watch the battle unfold between the soldiers and the ninjas.
Weed didn’t know what to say or ask. Emily was trying to kill him just a while back now she acted as if she didn’t give a damn in the world about the coup.
“Emily-san….what just happened?” Weed asked hoping to make sense of the things.
“After my fight with Roi Lee….I had a feeling something was off so I waited here….” She replied with her eyes fixed on the battle.
“…”
“It was a good thing that I did since the Geomchis seem to have taken care of the remaining guild masters….”
“Then why are you still here?” Weed asked as he put aside their differences and the fact that she killed Roi Lee. ‘Sensei please forgive me for siding with an enemy….but these are desperate measures…’
“The soldiers and ninjas aren’t part of the plan….” Emily replied as she nudged at the battle. She seemed more than cooperative at the moment.
Weed got an idea, he could test his theory on Emily and see if he was right. “So….Arthur told the guild masters to kill the soldiers and nobles….am I right?”
“Yes…” Emily replied coldly.
“And everyone just assumed the ninjas were Arthur’s doing?”
“Yes…” Emily replied.
“And the plan afterwards was to claim Richard had gone mad or something like that?”
“Yes…” Emily said appearing slightly annoyed as Weed appeared to know everything.
“Then what about me?” Weed asked curiously.
“You were to be killed.” Emily replied.
“And these soldiers? Did Arthur tell you of these soldiers?” Weed asked.
“No…” Emily admitted as she shifted her gaze towards Weed. ‘Just what in the world is he getting at?’
“Emily-san…don’t those soldiers look like as if they have been prepared to kill players? Heavy armour, lances fora distant reach...just the right number to kill tired out guilder masters...” Weed spoke with a sly smile on his face.
Emily frowned. “Yeah…I also figured out that we have been betrayed…when I saw the soldiers come…but this much was expected...we were prepared for betrayal....what we weren't prepared was for the Geomchis...”
“..you really are a sly one. Aren't you Emily-san? You were planning on escaping with the nobles mixed in the crowd?” Weed completed her sentence. “And suddenly you had to deal with them?”
Emily nodded, "There isn't much to guess in this story. Arthur is leading the coup and we all have been betrayed."
Weed looked through the leaves of the bush towards the soldiers; there were too many of them, almost double the required number by his estimation. Weed wasn’t sure what made him think this but he could sense they seemed to be cautious of each other… 'almost distrusting each other....' The more Weed observed them then more apparent it became to him. The soldiers were charging side by side....like two distinct groups.
“kukukukukuu….” Weed let out a soft evil laugh. Everything became so clear to Weed. The young noble lady and Emily were creeped out and they didn’t refrain from expressing how crept out they were.
Weed now finally understood what was going on. ‘This is what happens when there are two intelligent people trying to govern the same kingdom. There can never be two sovereigns in a nation or the nation will fall...’
It became so apparent and clear to him. For an instant Weed could have sworn that he saw the psychological clock work gear ticking away in the enemy’s mind. It was more than that. Weed could see little by little how the tiniest of details that he had experienced over the last few days lay interconnected… ‘There is a story within a story within a story…here..’ He murmured to himself.
Weed would have laughed like a mad man had it not been for the fact he wanted to avoid the attention of others. ‘So this is what is going on…time to settle everything.’
“Ouch!” Weed said as he rubbed his waist; Emily elbowed him.
“Stop smiling like that….you are creeping me out.” She said. “What have you figured out, you creepy elf?”
“Emily-san…do you trust me?” Weed asked with sudden change of expression.
“Why are you bringing this up now?” Emily asked.
“I can’t explain all the details to you….it would take forever to explain.” Weed said as he eyed the battle; the ninjas were on the verge of defeat…
Emily sighed. “You want me to fight?”
Weed nodded.
“Whose side?” Emily asked as she stood up and began rubbing the dirt off her knee.
“The ninjas….” Weed replied. “My enemy’s enemy is my friend.”
Emily nodded as if she seemed to have understood something important.
“Emily-san! Thanks!” Weed called out as she rushed into the battle. Weed watched in the distance as her red hair bounced side to side as she sped towards the soldiers…he was still infatuated with her beauty and he didn’t even realize it.
TRRINGG!
You have received a friend request from Emily of the Petal Dance Guild!
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Authors Note:
1. Hmmm, this chapter was turning too long so I cut it in between. Its the average ~2500 word chapter that I post (I know you all want longer....but longer chapters mean more waiting time...and lesser flexibility, to change stuff)
2. This chapter is more of a character build chapter, goes deeper into the MC and explores him. It also sets up the way for the coming arc.
3. The action chapters are pretty much next and also the mystery surrounding who betrayed whom. This is the last chance to guess whats going to happen (though I don't think people will see it coming...)
4. On that note, what kind of action are you looking for? Detailed scene descriptions? (earlier references to my own work or someone else's FF or LMS chapters would be helpful). I usually do a poor job of action scenes so give me some tips what I miss out on.
5. Once again, pointers and comments for this chapter would be useful. I am on a really delicate thin rope here as I juggle past a few tricky situations and chapters.
6. V10C5 will be up soon.
7. To those whom I promised it gets better....well I apologize, when I started working on the drafts and the detailing...things tend to get out of hand....you will need to wait some more. I hope this chapter isn't too draggy, Emily is only here for a short bit so excuse me if I don't emphasize her enough.... I wanted to focus more on getting on to the main menu.
8. Some minor edits to this chapter.
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