CHAPTER XXXVI: SET IT OFF
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TRIAL TIME 2:18:11
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SOUTHERN DEAD LANDS
COLONEL
Colonel didn’t have much time to settle in. Even though the armies had gone all out for an hour, they were still confident that they could take on one Elven army. Two Armies remained at Wanchi for protection. Six councilors remained there as well. Colonel didn’t mind at all; there were fewer chefs in the kitchen. However, the chef who was there was annoying enough for all of them combined.
Clyde sat in a command tent, getting ready to specialize. The peak level and ragged Councilors advised him to wait until the day of the invasion to do so when they had finished their cat-and-mouse game. He didn’t mind, as they had traveled, so instead, he had asked Peck Joy and the other monks a ton of questions about life in the GREAT GAME.
What he learned was daunting, but also why the Road to Runic quest was so important. He was definitely going to tell Soto, Sugar, and Kuma when he got back. He looked at his current missions.
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< RACIAL EVENT ALERT >
EVENT NAME: Long Live the Queen
DESCRIPTION: The Queen of the Mermaid lives. She is trapped and bonded to her Vault on the imperium side of the island. She is weak but can hold on now that the progenitor has changed her race to a Nascent Mermaid. The gnomes have given you terms to win the war, but the protector of the vault isn’t going to be an easy target.
Objective: Kill the Elven 3rd Army(Location on map.)
Objective: Save the queen(Location on map Time frame 4D:4H:26M)
Rewards: EXP, Mana Stones, New Allies, Peace on Serenity.
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< CLASS QUEST UPDATED >
{QUEST NAME: Conqueror’s mission I
QUEST TYPE: HYBRID (Class/CASTE/RACE)
Quest Tier: Legendary
DESCRIPTION: Your legacy has Shocked the Island of serendipity and its planet’s Legacy, but that isn’t enough to leave a long impression. Your brutal entry into this world will only be truly a legacy if you win.
Requirements: Win the war within one Uncommon period. (Defeat the Imperium.)
Objective 1: Capture or Control 90% of the Island. (90% Controlled)(Complete)
Objective 2: Create a type of government suitable for your lands (Complete)
Objective 3: Have at least 50% of the population survive the Period. (100%)(Complete)
Time remaining: 6W:4D:14H:13M
Temporary bonus: EXP Boost on conquered and warring lands.
Rewards: EXPERIENCE, Class upgrade, Spell tome(Silence halo), 100 skill points ~+20 to all except magic, +1 to Magic, EXP Boost.
Failure penalty: Path forward cut off. -50 from all stats expect magic}
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The Colonel had gone over with the councilors what the government should and would look like. He came down to the concept of the military working for the government but was their own entity still fully beholden to the rules but not the leadership. The military’s main mission will always be to get stronger. No more hiding in their lands, slowly bleeding away. He couldn’t have his people going against one of his Core Focuses of his Cultivation.
The government’s main mission was to empower the people so that they may grow stronger and more powerful. Protection was part of both’s main mission. They settled on a military meritocracy, which allowed him to lead the military and the government according to the charter rules he wrote the entire trip. He looked at the leadership-type prompt.
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< NOTE >
{You have chosen a Military Meritocracy type of Government. While the rules of this type of government are straightforward, it is easily corruptible by nepotism however, so the leadership of the nation is tasked with giving everyone the same starting point, allowing them to Live Well or Die Free on one’s merit.}
< CURRENT FEDERAL LEADERSHIP >
{Supreme leader: Colonel Clyde Jacob
Military Leader(In The Colonel’s absence): Councilor Felicia F.
Nation leader(In The Colonel’s absence): The 7 Councilors.}
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The rules were pretty straightforward. They took the longest with the back and forth. Colonel wasn’t dumb enough to make rules without the input of several centuries-old councilors.
The theme was very clear from the jump.
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< UNITED SERENITY NATION RULES MORTAL REALM LEVEL >
NATION RULES:
*No forced free labor.
*No forced sexual labor.
*Players can move freely through charter city-states within the nations during non-horde periods.
*All noble Classers must serve in the Military or Hunters for at least 250 years(500 years if an officer) or until Tier 6(Tier 7 if an officer).
*All other Classers must serve at least 150 years(300 years if an Officer) or Tier 6(Tier 7 if an Officer)
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
< TAXES >
*50% base tax on all base profits on all transactions within the AOC and, to a limited extent, the AOI of the Stronghold. (Based on fair magical value calculated by the Game.) The percentage will drop by 10% for every continent conquered by the Leader of the Military all the way down to a minimum of 10%.
*25% of all military loot is spread out back across the nation equally.
*25% of all tax revenue funds go towards bettering life, and increasing opportunity for advancement of all citizens.
*25% of all tax revenue funds go to leadership who is responsible for maintaining the security of the city or nation-state through guards and the military.
*50% of tax funds will be sent higher.
*The military loot will pay for healthcare and education and will be offered to every citizen as universal care.
< INDIVIDUAL >
*Oaths can not be sworn on a player’s life. A noble Job holder can break any such Oath.
*Oaths of service must have a maximum date of 100 years outside of the military.
Murder/Rape/statutory rape against any players on lands controlled by the Nation is punishable by Death.
Assault/armed Robbery/hate crimes against citizens are punishable by Exile.
All Dungeon rewards not bound to any diver over the Peak Rare Tier will be brought by the nation. (Based on fair magical value calculated by the Game.)}
< WAR >
*Never starve out civilians or noncombatants; if it can be done safely, offer food and shelter outside of the City being sieged.
*All refugees that swear oaths on their progression will be given citizenship after the Uncommon period as long as they help out with hordes.
*
< NOTE >
{These rules will be magically enforced fully within the AOC, partially in the AOI, and not at all anywhere else. Enforcement still requires players to execute arrests unless Golems or Automatons are available in Stronghold.}
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He would have to make rules for The Earth, but the template would be the same. Clyde had chosen his Tier 4 spell and was leveling it the entire two days.
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{CLASS G-SPELL NAME: Unbalanced Halo (Active/Toggle)
SPELL LEVEL: Novice 8
SPELL EFFECT:
When any enemy enters a certain range of the Prime Warlord, the Warlord can use Mana to create an area around him that has a slight chance of causing spell miscast. The more enemies that use spells in the Halo the higher the chance for a miscast.
Halo range: 100 meters radius from Prime Warlord times SL. Cast time: Instant. Cost: 40 mana per second. Duration: until out of mana or toggled off. Cool down: 3 hours. Requirements: Chant, be part of a team or party with at least one other member within range.
STUDENT EFFECT:
Spell can be used without allies at 25% effectiveness. (50% on targets higher Tier than you.)
NOVICE EFFECT:
Minuscule chance that Miscast causes a backfire that sends damage back at the caster.}
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The trip to the south was not safe, even with five armies. Beasts aren’t that smart, and they were territorial until they died. The spell was pretty OP in swarms of the beast; their constant use of spells pushed his Spell to the Novice Tier in two days, almost Apprentice Tier. He discovered something once he tried to activate all of his Halos.
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< NOTE >
{You have reached the maximum amount of Halos you can have active at a time at this Tier. (4/4)}
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He had to use the ones that could help the most in each scenario; death, slow, and regeneration were always on, and Colonel switched out Unbalanced and Light Mana Mine Halo depending on the enemy. Mantas didn’t trigger the mines, but every time they had cast their Spells, they kept missing or, better yet, hurting themselves. Halos were expensive, though, so keeping them running the whole time was impractical. He had run out of Mana several times in fights, not keeping an eye on his pools. Just turning one-off could save him a ton of Mana for other spells. Even with his bonuses to pool regeneration they were just too pricey while his pool was so small.
He looked at his other quest prompts.
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< QUEST >
{Quest Name: The Queen’s Vault II
Quest Type: Secret Chain
Description: When the Imperium came to Serenity for balance, the game gave the Mermaid Queen a Vault. Whoever opens this vault will be given great power to expel the enemy. In classic GREAT GAME style, however, the Queen and the Imperium captured the Vault, and for the last few centuries, they have been trying to open it. Where they have failed, you have succeeded.
Requirements: Open the vault
Objective 1: Use the key to unlock the vault.
Rewards: EXP, Essence, The Queen’s Vault III Quest.
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The Quest looked so easy, but looking at his map he could see that the vault was on the other side of the island in Imperium council-controlled land. Plus, from his other quest and event prompts, there was definitely a protector of some sort.
His other Spells Tiered up during the long march. As he opened his HUD, he sensed Kekere in their companion bond. He smiled. She had leveled up herself.
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< COMPANION SHEET >
{Titles: Primogenitor.
Companion Name: Kekere(Beast)(Imprinted)(Elite)
Companion Race: Baby Rukh
Companion Class: Undetermined
Level:10
POOLS:
HP:2900/2900 regen 520HP per day
MP:58/100 regen 470HP per hour
DR:130/130 regen DR per second
RESISTANCES:
Physical: 1% Magical: 1% Willpower: 1%
ATTRIBUTES:
Strength:190 Dexterity:170 Constitution:290 Intelligence:180
Magic:1 Charisma:100 Luck: 230
EFFECTS:
SKILLS LIST:
None
ABILITY LIST:
Combat:
Body hardening
Non-Combat:
Soul Storage(MAX) Growth(MAX) Analyze(A-1)
ACTIVE QUEST:
Companion quest
PROFESSIONS:
NA
End of CS}
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It’s nothing too exotic, but her analytical ability is rising fast. All she did was fly around, identifying everything. She was powerful for her size, using her speed and body-hardening ability to kill everything she fought. “Good girl, Keke.”
She chirped at his praise.
The two days were very educational. Colonel had learned more about the Runic world than he thought possible. Peck Joy was a fountain of information. He filed most of it away to tell Soto and Sugar so that they could come up with their own plans.
And boy, did he have plans. If there was one thing he had learned about the GREAT GAME, it was that the enemy was always coming, and they were not just the beasts and monsters that got increasingly more difficult to kill as the Periods and Eras grew. No, there were other groups and multiversal conglomerates that could enter your planet. Case in point, the Imperium.
Kekere chirped, bringing him out of his musings.
“The assault is going to begin? Pretty sure I would have been told.” Colonel said back to her. He just knew what she meant to say, and she understood him and everyone around her. So if she heard something, he would believe her, but Peck Joy should have told him if they had-.
[The assault is about to begin, Colonel. I had to run outside of the jamming stone radius.] Peck Joy sent him a Command chat message.
[Copy that, do it now? Over.] Colonel couldn’t form a Raid party since he was technically in a Raid party already, so he was looped into the command channel because of his Deity status. He rolled his eyes at that information when he first heard it. Reading messages was a lot less efficient than his Team Speak, let alone his Mind Speak.
[Do it now.] Peck Joy replied.
The plan was really simple. Run right through the Elven forces until they were all sent to respawn. Then, they take over their Cathedral or destroy it.
If they take it over, the army respawns at the nearest Cathedral in Imperium-controlled lands. The distance and respawn time are directly connected. So the younger army members die of old age at respawn, while the older ones return to a world where they are no longer relevant and, even worse, much, much weaker.
If they destroy it, the army permanently dies if there is no allied Cathedral within a certain distance. There wasn’t a specific mileage per se, but with the Deadlands belonging to the Nascent Mermaid faction now, they were way out of range.
Colonel liked the takeover option. He had already destroyed one, and while doing so was remarkable for his growth, it was not so great for his conscience.
He had killed many people in his life, but the faces of Alon and his wife, Deena, will live with him forever, they being the first sapient beings he killed with his magic.
Or so he thought. While he remembered them, he didn’t feel much for them at all.
First of all, they were just god-awful individuals, working for a god-awful group, doing god-awful shit—the god-awful trifecta.
Peck Joy said that leveling removed some traumas; it was why slaves could still serve after centuries. As soon as they start to lose their sanity, they take off restrictions and level them up to the next Tier.
Colonel was disgusted at the brutal and inhumane methodology. So, he asked what would be the most effective way to handle the engagement. After discussing first with the Council and then Felicia, Maria, and Gunter in the last two days, they had come up with a very straightforward plan of surrounding them and crushing them with attack scrolls and long-range magical attacks until their shield fell and then taking the city with trident and buckler.
So, basically, it was a magical siege.
The discussions were mostly about how long it would take for the army to move in for close combat. The Colonel’s role was always close combat, but he had a more critical role at the start of the battle.
He was a big distraction.
Four of the armies had used Peak Tier, concealing scrolls, items, and powers to get closer to the enemy, while the fifth army stayed with Colonel on a cliff overlooking the massive Fort City. It was spread out for a fort, but the military that was stationed in it was on high alert, looking back at the Colonel’s Division, who stood out on top of the hill looking back at them.
Ever since they had arrived, they had been jamming their long-range outgoing and incoming messages. In the last few hours, they had killed all of the scouts and patrols. Now that four Armies were in place, it was time for the Colonel to set it off.
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LEVEL: 49 EXP to TRUE CLASS 0/100,000,000
{Would you like to specialize into your TRUE CLASS?
YES/NO TOUCH ONE}
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