Chapter 272 - Strategy Simulation Game
If you are a South Korean man, it is likely that you have played a strategy simulation game at least once.
"You know? That game where you collect minerals. It's similar to that," explained Ryu Min to the believers.
How easy it is to win in war.
"You don't need to think too much. See this here? It's the forces section. If you press this and then this other..."
"Does it say 'reinforce forces'?"
"Can you enhance soldiers using gold?"
"Yes, exactly."
Explaining directly on the screen, it was quickly understood.
"The commander player can use their gold to enhance or add equipment to the forces. If you don't have enough troops, you can also hire mercenaries. Of course, that will cost gold."
"Then, the more commanders there are, the better?"
"Yes, that's right. They will have more gold."
It was natural that having more commanders was advantageous.
Just like adding multiple CPUs to a server computer increases its performance, having more heads is beneficial when planning strategies.
And now, even the gold made a difference.
Despite that, shadows still appeared on the players' faces.
It wasn't for nothing; they had seen the prices.
"One thousand gold to enhance a soldier's weapon?"
"Then, ten thousand if there are ten thousand soldiers?"
"Isn't this price excessive?"
The addition of mercenaries was even more surprising.
"Ten thousand gold to add a veteran mercenary?"
"That's too expensive!"
Despite having many heads, the followers didn't have enough gold.
"Let's open up a bit about the gold for each one. How much do you have?"
"I have 1.3 million gold."
"I have 1.1 million gold..."
No one had more than 2 million gold.
Since everyone received 1 million gold as a reward in round 16, that was what they had.
Then, a calculating player said incredulously.
"If everyone has a million gold, then, in total, we won't have more than 300 million gold..."
"300 million? What could we do with that?"
"Since we have 30,000 troops in the kingdom..."
"Would we end up hiring 30,000 mercenaries?"
30,000 kingdom troops vs. 320,000 Holy Empire troops.
A difference of more than ten times.
Could we fill that gap just by hiring 30,000 mercenaries?
Could we change the course of the war to make the kingdom advantageous with just that?
People were astonished.
They were overwhelmed by the numbers.
Some sighed and murmured that they were lost.
Ryu Min, feeling a bit inferior, clicked his tongue and said.
"I told you. There's no need to worry."
"Mr. Black Scythe. Do you have a good plan...?"
"How much gold do you think I have?"
When the people shook their heads, Ryu Min spoke.
"I have 6 billion."
"What?!"
"Re-really?"
"Th-that's a lot..."
In fact, it was almost 10 billion, but he deliberately lowered it.
Since he had budgeted 6 billion for this round.
"Besides, letting it seem like you've emptied your pockets gives a better image than if it seems like you've left some money."
Just saying half the amount was enough to surprise people.
"I don't think you're planning to invest the 6 billion, right?"
"I will invest. If I think about the rewards I will receive by winning, it has enough value."
Hope emerged on the desperate faces of the people.
Some looked at Ryu Min as if he were a true god.
"They shouldn't worry. If Black Scythe spends only 6 billion won..."
"No, I can't spend it all alone."
"What?"
People were perplexed, but soon understood the reason.
"Each person has a limit on the amount they can use."
"A limit?"
"How much is it?"
"I can only spend up to 100 million gold per person. I don't know why there's this limitation."
Although they said they didn't know, they had a rough idea.
"Probably the system didn't expect there to be players with more than 1 billion gold at this time."
But there are players who have 100 billion.
They won't be able to spend it all alone.
"Since there's a gold limit, I can't spend it all alone. So from now on, I'll give 20 million gold to each of you. Everyone must accept my offer."
Ryu Min sent trade requests to each player and distributed 20 million gold to each one.
However, he gave more to Min Juri and Christine.
"Didn't you make a mistake?"
"Why so much...?"
It was surprising to receive double the promised amount.
But there was a reason.
"Use all that money. To receive the ranking reward, you need to spend it all."
"Ah...!"
In this round, the ranking will be measured based on the gold spent.
That's why he gave a special amount to these two.
It also means he expects them to take second or third place.
"But I can't let them surpass first place."
If he uses 100 million gold alone, he will be first.
By distributing it among the others, 57.5 billion gold was spent.
"You must know what to do with the money I gave you."
"Yes."
"You can use it on whatever you want. You can enhance weapons or armor, or use it to hire mercenaries. If you spend all the gold I gave you in any way, the situation will tilt in our favor. Do you understand?"
"Yes, understood."
Ryu Min's words had a power that compelled people to obey.
It wasn't a metaphor; he really had that power.
It was thanks to a temporary skill Ryu Min possessed.
[Temporary Skill - Commander]
-Effect: A passive skill that always applies, making players obey your orders. It applies only in Round 17 and the orders are deactivated at the end of the round.
"With this skill, no one should disobey my orders."
They shouldn't use the gold he gave them for other purposes or simply save it.
The effect of the skill was absolute.
"Now, I'll leave the war in the hands of these 285 commanders..."
Ryu Min looked outside the barn.
While the war was happening, he had things to do separately.
"I have to catch a dragon in Dragon Lair first."
The opportunity to obtain a God Rank accessory after obtaining titles and runes was not common.
"But first, I'll spend 100 million gold."
Ryu Min used 100 million gold to add 10,000 troops to his forces on the status screen.
After a satisfied smile, he flew into the sky.
To claim the reward called Dragon.
[Player 'Kobold Blue' has joined the 'Holy Empire' side.]
[He has obtained the rank of commander of the Holy Empire.]
[He is heading directly to the Command Headquarters.]
Kobold Blue entered the Holy Empire Command Headquarters with a lonely smile on his face.
It was no mistake.
He knows very well what he has done.
"He has betrayed Black Scythe."
Not only Black Scythe, but all the believers of the Church of the Four Gods.
"Probably everyone chose the union of Kingdoms, except me."
He heard it from Black Scythe.
That the Holy Empire is overwhelmingly powerful.
But people chose the union of kingdoms.
Because that's what Black Scythe ordered them.
"But my opinion is different. Black Scythe will definitely join the Holy Empire."
Black Scythe forced people to choose the union of kingdoms.
Just for the sake of a significant reward.
"How can they ask us to choose the union of kingdoms without even telling us how to win the war? Clearly, there is something suspicious."
That's when Kobold Blue began to suspect.
That Black Scythe is lying.
"He is going to push people to the disadvantaged side and then go alone to the beneficial Holy Empire. I'm sure."
How can he be so sure?
Because that's what he would do.
And if he's going to betray, now is his chance.
"Although, why would Black Scythe betray us...?"
Kobold Blue was sure there was a reason.
"Maybe there are significant benefits for the player who is on the losing side of the war... That kind of advantage."
Honestly, he wasn't sure.
It was just paranoia born of suspicion.
It was also like that with the "Faction" mission he reported to Heo Taeseok.
"I didn't hear well. I only heard that it was about factions, or something like that."
He said while adding his personal opinion that he was creating a faction.
It was surprising that the leader accepted it so easily, but well, that's in the past.
He no longer wanted to think about the leader.
"If I reported something, they should give me something in return, even if it's a little."
But it seems it was in vain to expect any reward.
"That's why you shouldn't trust black-haired beasts, right?"
If it's a black-haired beast, Kobold Blue decided not to believe in it.
He extended that concept even to Black Scythe.
As a result, he chose the Holy Empire expecting Black Scythe to betray.
It was a betrayal of Black Scythe who called him in Round 16 just because of his own prejudices and doubts.
"Someone might say I bet my life on that uncertainty."
But Kobold Blue didn't regret his decision.
"Isn't it enough for me to survive alone?"
If it were a strategy simulation game, he was more confident than anyone.
Then.
Tsuk-
He saw a human figure in front of him.
Another person had entered the Command Headquarters.
"Oh, Black Scythe?"
Indeed, his guess was correct. Black Scythe deceived people and chose the Holy Empire.
Internally he felt relieved, but his smile quickly faded.
It wasn't Black Scythe, but another person.
"Oh? Ah, there was another person?"
"Who are you?"
"My name is Chris. My nickname is [Christian]."
An unknown nickname.
At least, it's a relief that he doesn't have black hair.
"Why did you choose the Holy Empire?"
"And you, why did you?"
"I asked you first."
"Well, I..."
Kobold Blue, who was listening quietly, smiled ironically.
It turns out he had the same reason as him.
"Did you also suspect Black Scythe?"
"Yes. Choosing the disadvantaged kingdom side... I thought about what would happen if we all died together."
"So you decided to choose with conviction."
"That's right. Besides, I also suspected that Black Scythe might be on the other side this time."
In the end, this person had also bet due to his suspicions about Black Scythe.
"But are we the only ones? Black Scythe?"
"Won't he come soon?"
But, to their surprise, the message revealed another result.
"The faction selection has ended."
"Faction selection status"
Holy Empire: 2 people
Kingdom Union: 286 people
"Ah, everyone except us two went to the Kingdom Union!"
"So Black Scythe is also there..."
Christian was puzzled, but Kobold Blue quickly cleared his concerns.
"We can't do anything about it now. We just have to kill all those guys ourselves."
"How do you plan to win against 286 people?"
"Why couldn't we win? This game is about strategy, not strength."
Kobold Blue was confident in himself.
He was already at the level of a professional player in strategy simulation games.
"Even if we add many low-quality CPUs, they will still be low quality. They can't match a high-performance one. Hehe."
While laughing, Kobold Blue looked at the battle map with as much confidence as his name.
With such strength, they could easily crush a kingdom like a fly.
"Well then, let's start the battle... Huh?"
Kobold Blue stopped in the middle of his speech and blinked.
Suddenly, red dots appeared in abundance.
"What's happening? Did it break?"
He even tried to hit the screen to check if it was broken, but the red dots kept increasing in real-time every time he blinked.
As if cells were multiplying.
"Wh-what's happening here? Why are the enemies increasing?"
"I-I don't know either."
"They're almost double us!"
A force of 30,000 soldiers had silently increased to 600,000.
Sweat broke out on both of their foreheads.
"I-Is this really an advantage for the Holy Empire?"
Kobold Blue began to suspect even the angels.
Unaware that his doubts would unleash anger.
At that moment, they saw a surprise attack from the Kingdom Union.
Christian screamed in panic.
"W-wow! You said you were good at the game! Try to strategize!"
"Uh, uhm, th-that... that is..."
What strategy could they come up with when the number doubled?
Kobold Blue was so bewildered that he didn't know what to do.
They just watched the course of the battle.
"Our army is rapidly decreasing."
Although their army was overwhelmingly inferior in number, they still had superiority in weapons and armor quality.
Otherwise, how could they fall like bamboo stalks in that way?
"We're lost. If we keep fighting like this, we'll be annihilated."
Kobold Blue ordered a retreat immediately.
There was no need to plan strategies using the terrain.
They were just busy running away.
The first battle of the Holy Empire ended in an overwhelming defeat.
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