Chapter 300: Speculation

Chapter 300: Speculation

The scout, gripped tightly by the wyvern’s claws, was covered in injuries, blood still pouring from his severed arm, painting a pitiful picture as his lifeblood sprayed into the air.

“Damn it, big guy, don’t die on me! I still need you for the reward!”

“Noodle, full speed ahead!”

Mantou’s earlier composure crumbled as panic set in.

The near-dead scout cracked a sinister smile, his tone icy: “Dragon lackey, I will never… let your schemes succeed!”

“For the Duchy of Bosk!”

“For Grand Duke Leo!”

“For the glory of the North!”

The scout’s hoarse, desperate cries rang out.

Even Mantou, unnerved by the scout’s deranged resolve, tried to placate him:

“Damn, big guy, calm down! Life is beautiful, isn’t it? Sacrificing yourself for a backward feudal system isn’t worth it! Don’t you see it’s all brainwashing?”

He was desperate to keep his valuable catch alive.

“Heh.”

The scout, however, gave Mantou no chance to talk him down. Without hesitation, he bit down on a poison capsule hidden in his mouth, swallowing the lethal, viscous toxin.

Dark, crimson blood spurted from his mouth as his body turned pale. His head slumped lifelessly forward.

He was dead.

“Awoo?”

Noodle let out a puzzled cry, shaking the still-warm corpse with its claws. The wyvern’s simple mind couldn’t comprehend why anyone would choose to die.

Mantou, on the other hand, was distraught.

“My gold and contribution points…”

“Sigh. Whatever. Let’s take him to Nocturne’s headquarters. At least it counts as eliminating an enemy.”

Mantou sighed again, patting the wyvern’s neck gently.

He flew to Nocturne’s headquarters at Lackman Castle and turned in the scout’s mangled corpse. The reward was meager.

Though he received three gold coins, it was a far cry from the hefty reward for capturing a live spy. The disparity left Mantou deeply disheartened, and he practically sulked as he accepted the meager bounty.

“Failure always runs through life.”

“My gold and contributions vanished along with his life, never to return.”

Mantou sat atop his wyvern, waxing poetic in mock solemnity.

Just then, his system panel chimed with a message from Singo.

Singo: Crimson Scaled Garrison, come quick.

Mantou: Ok.

The current Garrison Hall towered twenty meters high, a landmark in the city. In this era, it stood out even more, adorned with statues of wyvern-mounted knights at the entrance. At the center was a massive bust of Cassius, and above the grand doors was the emblem of the Ember Kingdom—a golden vertical pupil surrounded by flames.

The building’s rooftop housed over a hundred wyverns, with workers bustling about.

Thanks to Alger’s years of nurturing, the kingdom now boasted thirty-seven native Crimson Scaled Conquerors. Combined with the newly joined players, the hall had nearly a hundred wyvern knights, rivaling the original Northwind Eagle Guard in scale and vastly surpassing them in combat prowess.

“This place has really gotten fancy.”

“But the smell of wyvern droppings is overwhelming.”

Mantou landed Noodle outside the gate and walked into the hall alone.

In a private office, he found Singo lounging on a leather sofa.

Singo seemed to be doing well, having recently become the captain of the Third Crimson Scaled Conquerors, overseeing thirty wyvern knights. His daily haul of gold and contributions made Mantou green with envy. Mantou often regretted not staying at the garrison to further his career.

Singo swirled the wine in his goblet before greeting him.

“Long time no see, Mantou.”

“Cut the crap. I’m busy. Don’t act smug just to show off your luxurious treatment,” Mantou snapped impatiently.

Soon, Born Battle Maniac and Summer Night Autumn Rain arrived as well.

The famed “Black Slave Quartet” from the beta period had finally reunited during the public test.

Born Battle Maniac rubbed his bald head, glancing around. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

Summer Night Autumn Rain, on the other hand, was covered in soot, looking like she’d just crawled out of a coal mine.

She had recently founded the 【Five Fireball Cult】 guild with a few friends, focusing on fireball spell research and applications. It had attracted a following of fireball enthusiasts. She had long abandoned caring about her appearance.

Seeing everyone gathered, Singo finally spoke:

“You’ve probably noticed it too. Lately, there have been numerous spies from the North in Northwind Fortress, and Bosk scouts frequently appear along the border.”

“I caught one just now, but he committed suicide.”

Mantou gave a bitter smile, lamenting the gold coins that slipped through his fingers.

Born Battle Maniac chuckled, “I caught one too, but I couldn’t hold back and killed him with a single punch.”

“…”

Summer Night Autumn Rain shook her head wearily, “I’ve been too busy experimenting with rapid-fire fireball spells to notice anything else.”

At the mention of “fireball,” her eyes lit up with excitement, flames seemingly dancing in her pupils. Mantou instinctively took a step back.

Singo nodded slightly, concluding:

“That’s exactly the point.”

“The big one is coming.”

Mantou immediately guessed Singo’s implication: “You mean… war? Against the Duchy of Bosk?”

Singo folded his hands under his chin.

“Not just the Duchy of Bosk.”

“According to my intel, Grand Duke Leo is the nominal leader of the Northern United Kingdom. Since the Lionheart Alliance, he holds the honorary title of ‘Monarch of the North.’ Bosk is also the largest state in the North. If the kingdom goes to war with Bosk, it’s practically a declaration of war on the entire North.”

“And it doesn’t stop there. Though the Anzeta Wasteland is remote and isolated, a conflict of this scale could draw in the Southern Fadlan Empire, the continent-wide Harpist Alliance, and the Free Trade Confederation of Silvermoon Bay. The situation could become unprecedentedly chaotic.”

Mantou thought for a moment before responding:

“That intense?”

“What if the kingdom loses? We’re already too deep in to back out.”

Singo shook his head, smiling.

“Relax. There’s no chance of failure.”

“Southern powers are strong, but their foundation isn’t in Anzeta, so their support for the North will be limited. Meanwhile, the kingdom has widened the gap with the Northern nations in terms of politics, economy, and military. It holds a crushing advantage, not to mention the Ember King.”

He delivered his conclusion with confidence:

“Unless the devs pull some deus ex machina nonsense, the kingdom is destined to unify the Anzeta Wasteland.”

Declare war on England, on France, on America!

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