Maria hadn’t streamed her attack on the Lycans and players, but what she did shocked the entire player base of Unitale. She had revealed weapons and magic technology that was far too advanced for the civilization that was on planet Vanhal. With this, many people believed that Maria was going to win it all because at the current stage of the game, there was just no method developed yet to counter such weaponry.
Of course, the players could still brute force things and bombard the advanced weaponry with attacks until it was completely destroyed, but it wasn't like Maria's army was just going to sit around and let it happen. The situation on the enemy side was looking really grim, and it wasn't just the players who were panicking, the Lycan NPCs were no better.
After being rudely introduced to those unfamiliar weaponry on the battlefield and experiencing a large amount of casualties, the NPCs were panicking even more than the players were. Describing what happened on the battlefield that day was hard, but the players that took part in that battle could only describe it as ‘overwhelming’ and ‘frightening’.
Since the players opposing Maria could only participate in the Main Story Quest by becoming allies with the Lycans, they were on the same boat as them and that boat was sinking. Some of the players thought about defecting, but unfortunately for them, it wasn't so easy. Defecting was possible. It just required players to go to the enemy camp and receive their side of the Main Story Quest, which would override their current quest, resulting in a defection of factions.
The first step alone seemed impossible because all of Maria's NPCs that were giving out the Main Story Quest were quite powerful and they'd attack an enemy faction player almost immediately upon sight, leaving no room for conversation. So, the players that wanted to defect were truly stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, they wanted to defect but couldn't, and on the other hand, if they stayed in the Lycan Faction, they'd have to once more go into battle against Maria's Magitek weapons. Once was enough for these players. It was truly demoralizing being on the receiving end of a one-sided battle...
Those who were curious about what happened that day on the battlefield could put their imaginations aside because Maria quickly uploaded a video onto her Switch channel, titled: ‘First Showcase of my Magitek Weapons!’. This video garnered millions of views within the first few hours it was released and many various comments were posted on the video.
Maria’s usual audience expressed how awesome the magitek weapons were and how great she was to be able to develop such a thing. They also asked her if it was possible to stream more of the Main Story Quest, so they could watch things from her perspective. It was a rather tempting idea, but Maria had to think about it a bit more deeply before she arbitrarily streamed the events of the Main Story Quest. After all, some people might pick up on a few secrets of hers if she accidentally said something implicative during the stream.
As much as there were comments praising Maria in the video she uploaded, there were just as many that voiced out their opposition and berated her. Those comments were written by those that thought that what she did was cheating. As someone that was part of the Main Story, Maria was able to heavily influence the direction where the Main Story Quest was heading, so anything she did was heavily scrutinized.
The outcome of the Main Story Quest would determine the future of the planet and the players played a large hand in its results but with this act, Maria had already sealed the Main Story Quest’s final outcome.
From the video, many believed that things had swung heavily to Maria’s side and in the end, she would be the final victor because at this point, no one believed that the Lycans and the enemy players opposing her could possibly win against her. The players could whine all they want, but it wasn’t going to change anything. Maria wasn’t going to stop using the magitek weapons she painstakingly developed with her nation’s craftsmen just because people thought that it was unfair.
Nothing could stop her from using the weapons. Not even the devs could do anything about it even though they wanted Maria to play ‘fairly’ because it might ruin the game. Only the game’s AI, Zeus, could directly interfere with the game and from the looks of things, the AI wasn’t even making a move to stop her or put restrictions on her like before.
Previously, AI Zeus had restricted Maria from attacking players that weren’t directly hostile to her before the Main Story Quest started. Due to that, Maria couldn’t just take her armies and wipe out the players on Vanargand who were opposing her to quickly get rid of the competition. However, this restriction had been lifted the moment the Main Story Quest started, so Maria could actually start hunting down the players on the Vanargand continent who were her enemies right now.
The devs knew that Maria could practically do whatever she wanted now without facing any penalties, so they were all confused as to why she still hadn’t made any drastic moves since the penalty had been lifted.
They could only thank the heavens because Maria didn’t want the Main Story to progress in such a boring manner. Maria knew that the restrictions had been lifted, otherwise, she wouldn’t have launched an attack on the Lycans and players that had taken over the lands that she and her armies had previously conquered in the Lycan outlier territories.
The Main Story Quest was supposed to be interesting and challenging, but if Maria took care of things by herself with her overwhelming might, everything might end in a very boring and anticlimactic way.
Maria didn’t want this to happen because this was the first Main Story Quest that she had properly taken part in. What more, she was one of the story’s key figures. As a key figure, shouldn’t she be acting like one just like the NPCs of the previous Main Stories? This thought triggered Maria’s adventurous side, so she stopped her attacks with the magitek weapons and instead focused on defending the territories that she had already conquered.
She was going to leave the rest of the work to the players and see how things would pan out. The only thing she hoped for was that the players would entertain her and move things in the direction that she wanted the story to go towards. Otherwise, she would just step in and slam the hammer down on the opposition. No one could really understand what was going on in Maria’s brain sometimes since she would just arbitrarily do something without any rhyme or reason as long as it was interesting to her.
Since retaking the lost territories from before and occupying a small portion of the inner area of the Lycan territory, Maria didn’t make a move after that. She just remained in the forward base she established in the small town of Rivrend and let her allies move out to attack the Lycans.
She didn’t lend any of them help, but allowed them to keep the lands they conquered for themselves as long as it didn’t exceed a certain size that she specified. Naturally, this benefit was only for her allies. The other players that would arrive a few days later weren’t given this privilege.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Instead, they would just be rewarded according to how much they contributed in the coming war. The contribution was going to be calculated by the system, so all Maria needed to do was prepare the rewards. She didn’t have to worry about that because her nation’s treasury was stacked with gold, equipment, weapons, and other treasures.
“The players that are coming in a few days better make things interesting…or else…”
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2 days later, the Dire’s main fleet of ships arrived on Vanargand and with it, the players that were participating in the Main Story Quest on Maria’s side.
Maria had waited for them, so there wasn’t much progress in conquering the Lycan territories yet. Once the players arrived in the port colonies of the Dire, they immediately received instructions on where to go next and made their way to the forward base that Maria had established in the Lycan territories that she had conquered.
Her friends had been working diligently to try and take over as much Lycan territory as they could, so it wasn’t as if there had been no progress at all, but with the size of the Lycans' territory as a whole, the progress was rather small. Things could’ve been sped up if Maria had participated, but she opted not to for the sake of her own entertainment.
The players that arrived late thought that Maria was trying to be fair to them, but they were entirely wrong. She just wanted to see something a little more interesting, which was why she waited for them. If it wasn’t for that, then Maria would’ve made her move a long time ago and decimated the Lycans and the enemy players already.
“Contrary to what many people thought, the Blood Empress isn’t making a move, huh?”
“Yeah…after she showcased those magitek weapons–the guns and tanks–her armies hadn't made a move at all. Only the players that she personally recruited are active.”
“Maybe the system put a restriction on her?”
“I doubt that. Even if it did, what’s preventing her from just giving those magic rifles and tanks to the Fallen Angels Guild and Citadel Guild for their battles in the Lycan territories?”
“If they had the tanks, then the war might’ve ended already. I guess the Blood Empress is trying to give all of the players a chance…?”
“For now, but I doubt she’ll just watch if our side is going to lose.”
“Hah, we have a significantly higher number of players on our side, there’s no way we’ll lose!”
“...”
As the players arrived in the colonies and were instructed to move to the Dire’s forward base of operations in Rivrend, many were discussing why Maria wasn’t making a move and speculating on the causes. Some believed that the game’s system AI had put a restriction on her, while others believed that Maria was simply being a good person and letting everyone have a chance in the Main Story Quest.
The sides were divided mainly between these two ideas while a few others thought a little bit differently though none had accurately guessed Maria’s true intention.
“I wonder if we can buy those magitek guns and Iron Behemoths?”
“They are called Metal Behemoths, and to answer your question, it’s probably a no.”
“Well, has anyone asked?”
“A few of the guilds and player organizations that sided with the Dire in the Main Story Quest have tried requesting an audience with the Blood Empress or those within the Dire’s Upper Echelons…but they’ve all been rejected, so I doubt that the Dire are planning to sell those any time soon…”
“Bummer, I’d like to try and pilot one of those tanks myself. It seems really fun just mowing down your enemies like what was shown on the video~”
“Keep dreaming. Those are strategic military assets, so unless you’re part of the Dire’s army, it’s impossible.”
“Heh, you probably can’t even approach one unless it’s on the battlefield.”
“...Maybe I’ll join the Dire’s military then? I wonder if the Blood Empress is willing to recruit players into her armies…from what I can see, she only has NPCs.”
“She probably doesn’t need it right now, but after the war, her army will likely experience quite a number of casualties. Many spots will open up and maybe she’ll recruit some players.”
Seeing the advanced weaponry that Maria’s army had used in the video she posted on her Switch channel, a few players wondered if they could sign up just for the sake of using the magitek weapons or if they would be sold sometime in the future by the Dire. Cold weapons and magic were awesome and all, but seeing a modern-day weapon was also quite a marvel since it was outside of the game’s usual theme.
With the emergence of the magitek weapons, it truly showcased the game’s extremely high level of freedom for the players. The weapons were things that the game’s NPCs could never have made if not for Maria’s intervention. The war proceeded in full-force once the Dire’s Main Fleet landed the rest of the troops of Maria’s army and the player forces that were participating in the Main Story Quest.
Although Maria didn’t mobilize the entirety of her army, she still sent out a portion to help the players in their attacks as they moved deeper into Lycan territory. Since Maria had the numbers advantage once all of her forces and her allied forces had arrived on the continent, her plan of action was simple. Attack the enemy players and Lycans from all sides and slowly overwhelm them.
Once they were pushed back deeper into their territory, taking over the land that they left behind in their retreat would be easy. Also, with her enemies’ attention placed on defending, none would even think about trying to attack Maria. Maria did want to watch the war unfold without being too involved in it because it was interesting. She also had to play a passive role because of the win-lose condition of the Main Story Quest.
The winning condition for Maria was to take over the entire Vanargand Continent, while the losing condition was to die. The enemy players only had to kill her once and they’d win the war. This really put her on the spot when she found out about it after arriving on the Vanargand Continent. The AI, Zeus, hadn’t put a restriction on her, but the Main Story Quest’s win-lose condition was pretty much the restriction itself.
Maria had displayed the magitek weapons early on, not only to showcase her Empire’s brilliant technological advances, but to also implant a sense of intimidation and dread into the minds of the players which would act as a deterrent to anyone who thought about taking advantage of the ‘simple’ win-lose condition and just go after her life from the start.
The enemies only knew that they had to defeat the Dire and Maria, but they didn’t know that just killing her once would be enough to fulfill that condition. The only people who knew about it were her best friends and 2 brothers because she told them.
Since the Main Story Quest’s winning and losing condition depended on her life, Maria had to be extra cautious with herself. She couldn’t just plunge head first into a battle just because she was feeling bored and wanted to fight.
Thankfully, her brothers and best friends didn’t need to convince her about this because Maria herself didn’t want to fail the Main Story Quest. The penalties for failure were just too great, but the rewards were also even greater. They simply weren’t things that she could just pass up on!