Chapter 21 A Storm is Brewing, Fortunately We Still Have You.
It seemed that only then did Easter notice the person other than the player. "This is?"
Meimei stepped forward and explained the situation, saying, "We hope the King can translate for us."
“No problem,” East readily agreed. “I should thank you for your protection.”
“This is what we should do,” Meimei said.
“Yes, yes, anyone who dares to bully the king’s son is a big bad guy, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to beat up the big bad guys,” Yun Mu said righteously.
"Mmm." More little firemen nodded.
Easter found it amusing. "Then thank you for your favor."
Now that the jokes are over, it's time to get down to business.
Those who were still conscious were plunged into even deeper terror at the sight. This must be a dark sorcerer, the most evil dark sorcerer.
Surrounded by the little fire people, Easter once again picked on Black, the "lucky one." "You bear the mark of the Kingdom of Ramon. Are you here to wipe me out? But how did you know I was here? And why are you doing something so thankless?" His gentleness and patience towards the players were gone, replaced by a cold and amused tone.
Quack Quack Quack was about to say something, but Bright Sparkle quickly pushed it back down. Didn't it have any sense? Couldn't it see the king was interrogating someone? Was it stupid? Was it stupid?
Guagua avoided Liangjingjing's hand and nodded to show he understood. He just wanted to offer a heartfelt compliment, didn't he? He hadn't expected the little king to have this side to him, which was even more attractive than his gentle and harmless appearance.
Ister didn't even spare a glance for the little commotion caused by the players. He changed the subject and softened his tone, "You're out on a mission, so you probably don't know much. Just tell me what kind of mission you received and how you found me. I think you've seen it too. I guess you don't want to get some special treatment before you tell me, right?"
Black wanted to refuse to answer Easter's question with dignity, but looking at the group of ill-intentioned little monsters and then at Easter, who had the air of a dark mage, he swallowed hard and said dejectedly, "As you said, we don't know much about what we're doing. We just follow orders. The reason we were able to find you is because we have a map drawn by the mage."
East's eyebrows twitched slightly. He could guess that a special power had come into play. A magician, that made sense. But as had been said before, the Kingdom of Felix and the Kingdom of Ramon were about the same, at most reaching the high level. "To be able to do this, it seems that the high level is not enough."
Blake looked up abruptly, met East's gaze, and then hurriedly looked down again.
“Looks like I was right,” East said. He had actually had a question for a long time: it was a bit far-fetched to go to such lengths just for the port of Manhattan. They had lived in peace for decades, and there were more than just two countries in that area. The balance of power was not something that could be easily broken.
Another point is that the Kingdom of Felix was defeated too easily. "Chickens fighting each other" means that the two sides are evenly matched. No matter how unstable the regime is or how turbulent the people are, there is still a foundation. But the Kingdom of Felix was completely vulnerable.
Everything is too strange. The involvement of external factors makes it easier to understand, but who could be so intolerant of humans? Gods? Unlikely, they wouldn't need to act in such a roundabout way. Then who else could it be…
Easter stopped thinking. There were just too many possibilities. Instead of guessing, he decided to wait until he had a chance to ask her about it later.
"If you are unable to return after completing the mission, approximately how long will it take before others arrive?"
“I’m not sure,” Blake said, then added as if afraid Ist wouldn’t believe him, “A lot has happened in the last few days. First, the Kingdom of Rivia took the opportunity to cause trouble,” the nature of which was obvious, “then the number of monsters has inexplicably increased, and the Kingdom of Ramon isn’t as good as I thought.” If it weren’t for the fact that their forces were so insufficient, how could they have only four swordsman apprentices leading the team, with a total of only twelve people?
East fell silent, raising his hand halfway as if to grasp something, but only a wisp of wind, impossible to grasp or touch, passed through his fingers. "I understand," he said, his mind a jumble of emotions. The timing was too coincidental, as if urging him on. "You may be 'guests' here for a few days. Don't worry, I'm not that kind of bloodthirsty person. If you want to live, behave yourself."
After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to the little fire people surrounding him, and the gloom between his brows could not be dispelled for a while. "Please find a suitable place to lock them up, and I will explain the situation to you."
...
The firefighters found a large empty room and threw all the people inside. Worried that they might easily break free, they tied them with two more loops of rope.
East stared blankly at his hands. Undoubtedly, they were beautiful hands, without a single flaw. There were no calluses or tiny scars. They were hands that could only be maintained by someone who had lived a life of luxury. Could such hands really stir up storms?
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't clearly conceive of the future path in his mind. Did he really want to stir up this bloody storm?
He questioned his own heart again and again, but to no avail. He couldn't come up with a definite answer. He felt as if he were on the edge of a cliff with no way out on any side. Whether he went forward or backward, he might fall into an endless abyss.
This is not something an ordinary person like him should bear. There are countless capable people in the world, why pick on someone as ordinary as him?
"King...?" Ru Bu Kao Di Gua hesitated.
East snapped back to reality, a bitter smile forcing a gentle one. "Thank you. Thank goodness you're all here. Thank goodness you're all here." He couldn't imagine what it would have been like if he were all alone.
“My little king, are you unhappy?” Yunmu asked. Everyone present was not young and naive; those with a bit of sense could see that Ister’s mood was off. “Did they say some bad news? Don’t be afraid, we’re here for you.”
Looking into those tiny eyes, East felt a mix of emotions, a bittersweet blend that was hard to discern. "It's alright," he said, crouching down to meet the fire-men's gaze, "the news they brought isn't bad; in fact, it's good news." How could it not be good news? Muddy waters provide opportunities for profit; when two fish fight, the old fisherman reaps the benefits—it couldn't be better.
After listening to Easter's explanation, the little fire people started talking. "Does the king mean that we should take advantage of the chaos and pull off a heist?" The first to speak was Quack Quack.
"What are you talking about? Are we bandits? And you want to pull off a heist?" The second person to speak was naturally Liang Jingjing.
"Didn't you all listen carefully? There's at least one high-level mage behind this, who's thirty or forty levels higher than us. Are we just going to be food for the devils? We're not even worthy of being called food," Meimei said unhappily.
"Is this really the difficulty level at the start of the game?" Yun Mu expressed deep doubt. What kind of game is this easy? She can't even beat the mobs, and the bosses at each stage are ridiculously strong.
"But I must say, this is indeed the perfect time." It's better to speak up than to roast sweet potatoes. With the political situation stable, it's incredibly difficult to do anything, but if the other side is overwhelmed, there's not entirely no chance of victory.
“What’s there to worry about? It’s not like we’re going to fight tomorrow,” Matsushita Yuki said. “Besides, Your Majesty, don’t you have something else to say?” She looked directly at Ist.
"On the morning of the third day of the Fallen Age, more of your kind will arrive."
"How many can there be?" The quack's eyes lit up. With enough people, the effect they could have to a certain extent was considerable.
“Around a hundred,” East said. He had initially discussed fifty with the system, but after comparing the danger and the players’ strength, fifty was not enough. To ensure a sufficient number of online players, he doubled the number. It wasn’t that he couldn’t have more, but the problem was that with a large number of people, chaos was inevitable. In the short term, he didn’t really want to deal with such troublesome matters.
"It's better than nothing." Butterfly's assessment was incisive. In the range where the quantity is not large enough to cause a qualitative change, it is somewhat of a useless commodity.
"Not necessarily," Junno said. "Have you forgotten what happened today?"
Butterfly nodded. "That's true. Just scaring people can throw them off balance. If there's more, the effect might be even better." She glanced at East.
"Why are you looking at the little king? This isn't something the little king can control," said the loud and carefree quack.
Easter smiled without saying a word; this was indeed something he could control.
“Perhaps we can outsmart them,” Matsukami Yuki said. “Unfortunately, we still have too little information.”
"Don't worry, with the little king as bait, there's no shortage of people who will take the bait," said Guaguagua.
Yunmu said, "Saying all this is empty talk. The most important thing right now is to improve our strength. With strength, what is there to be afraid of?" This is what a martial arts fighter would say.
[Ding! The adventure quest for the little fire warriors has been completed, and the experience reward has been issued. You can check your game panel for details. Have fun playing the game and keep striving for our king!] The system notification sound interrupted the players' conversation at the right time.
"It seems that everyone gets an experience bonus after forming a team," said Matsuue Yuki. She and Nana didn't help catch people, but her experience points still increased.
"That's normal, otherwise there would be no point in forming a team," Meimei said.
"Should we continue fighting monsters next?" someone asked casually.
"Of course." The quack's answer was unanimously approved by everyone.
“We still need to leave two people with the king,” Meimei said. “After all, there are still a group of people locked up. What if they raid our home?” The game started like a hard mode, so her concerns were understandable.
"I'll cook, so I won't go," Cai Cai said.
“Then I’ll stay too.” Ru Bu Kao Di Gua said that he was different from these hardcore gamers; he wasn’t as enthusiastic about monster-slaying.
The allocation was completed, and things proceeded smoothly.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Is it absolutely necessary to take the driving test? [Crying] In despair...
The real starting point for development is having a territory of one's own. Soon, within three chapters, the first journey will begin.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com