Summoning the Holy Sword

The clanging of the heavy bells resounded in the entire Mithril Hall and numbed everyone’s ears.

The parliament meeting was about to begin.

The parliament members stood in the standby room and exchanged anxious glances. Four senior men in red robes stood before them with delightful expressions. “The meeting is about to begin and I think all of you are clear on what to do.”

“…” Some of the parliament members tried to retort, but as soon as they budged, a sharp sword was held against their throats.

One of the senior men in red robe snapped his fingers and the guards instantly backed off. “I won’t deprive you of your rights to speak. You can speak your mind here. Isn’t this the reason why we’re all here?”

“Your doings will only bring disaster to Soraka Mountain!” The parliament member groaned furiously as he clenched his fists and glared at the senior men. “You said that relying on the Country of Darkness can ensure our prosperity forever. But have you ever considered that our land is caught right in between the Country of Darkness and Country of Light? A reckless decision like this will put the entire Soraka Mountain into danger!”

“These are all banal comments. Everyone knows that you have to pay a price to gamble. Besides, we know the reason why we chose the Country of Darkness…” One of the senior men in red robes said loudly and stepped forward. His grandeur shrouded the entire room instantly and forced the berating parliament member a step back. “The Country of Light is an intolerable bully. Their oppression has reached an insatiable level! It is all because of that damned treaty that we have to sell a portion of our minerals to them every year. But what about those greedy bastards? They don’t even sell theirs at their cost price! Everyone, we are clear on how many times we have been ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ in order to compensate the miners. Soraka Mountain exports astronomical amount of crystal ores every year, but why are some miners not fed properly? Why is this happening? They demand an answer from me, so it’s my turn to question you. Who is it to blame?”

The senior man swung his arm with might. “It’s those damned, greedy bastards from the Country of Light that depressed the prices wantonly. Did they say anything when we sold our minerals to them at a low price? All they did was to complain that we provided too little of our minerals in comparison to the Country of Darkness and claimed that we were the lackeys of the Country of Darkness. They asserted that we betrayed humans! The damned mouths of those bastards! They squeezed every drop of our blood and sweat and accused us instead! Did we work so hard for a living just to be humiliated and treated as slaves by them?!”

“This is definitely a problem and no one here denied it!” The parliament member stepped forward once again. “I don’t deny the fact that the Country of Light has indeed given Soraka Mountain a lot of problems. But this is politics! Which requires compromise and negotiations! It isn’t as simple as just joining the side that your enemies hate! Indeed, we are disgusted by the Country of Light. But, what about the Country of Darkness? Is their willingness to purchase our minerals at fair, equitable market price all for the sake of great reputation? My fellow parliament members, we have encountered plenty of humans that escaped from the Country of Darkness. That nation is for the Undead and the Humans there have no status whatsoever. In there, Humans are merely slaves, untouchables, and their corpses can’t even find peace. They will turn into a member of the undead forever after the end of their lives to serve the evil presences. Haven’t you thought that if we chose to join the Country of Darkness, we will also face the same treatment? No! Perhaps we won’t since the Undead treat their subordinates kindly. If we are willing to give up our pride as humans and pray for a false eternal life, perhaps we can turn into a Lich or Vampire. But what about the rest? If we accept the protection of the Country of Darkness, what will happen to the Humans?”

Although both phrases had different meanings, they would usually lead to only one result—Wipe Out.

The Chairman continued to explain. “Parmal’s group had the intentions of relying on the Dark Dragon’s powers. However, I disagreed. We have successive generations on this piece of land and we are equipped with the ability to protect it… Besides, using its future as a price to pay is too high and we can’t afford to risk it. This isn’t sacrificing only our generation, but eternal despair…”

“B-But… Mr. Chairman…” Another parliament member spoke in a frightened and concerned tone. “W-We…”

“I have decided.” Before his colleague finished his sentence, the Chairman gestured. “The meeting has begun, so let’s go!”

The Chairman nodded towards Rhode. “Thank you very much for your help. But this is all that I can say for now.”

The Chairman entered the passage on the other end while Rhode stood on the spot, staring at his back.

At this moment, he finally realized that things weren’t that simple.

Just as Rhode had predicted, the motivation and existing state of affairs had no relations at all. The Chairman and Rhode had heard their disputes before entering the room and as expected, the Country of Light’s oppression was only an excuse. Or perhaps, this was an excuse that would be much easier to accept. Sometimes, excuses could be used to conceal one’s true intentions. Right now, Rhode could conclude that Soraka Mountain’s Parliament used this matter as an excuse in order to cover up the truth from the Country of Light and Country of Darkness. As for the citizens, this excuse would be much easier for them to accept.

So, what exactly was the truth that this excuse was covering up?

Rhode wasn’t sure. He inferred from the game’s development in the past, but it seemed that this matter was far more complicated. Soraka Mountain’s Parliament wasn’t compelled to make this decision. But, although it seemed that they were compelled to, at least the reasons didn’t stem from the Country of Light and Country of Darkness. Instead, Soraka Mountain seemed to be consciously exploiting both countries’ powers and risking a gamble.

What exactly was Soraka Mountain’s Parliament thinking about? As the Chairman had said, he wouldn’t gamble the future of this land no matter what disaster entailed… But, if there wasn’t a future, what did that mean?

This was as though the earth was about to be swallowed by a black hole and if aliens arrived to rescue them with the conditions that the earthlings would become the aliens’ slaves. Would they agree to it?

Suddenly, Rhode shivered from head to toe at this thought.

Rhode recalled something almost inexplicably. That was the future when the Country of Darkness invaded the Munn Kingdom. The Munn Kingdom retreated in defeat under the overwhelming forces of the Undead and Royal Highness Lydia had to step in to stabilize the war. At that moment, the Dark Dragon retreated for a full day and no one knew what it was up to. Afterwards, some players who were heading to Soraka Mountain reported that Soraka Mountain had been destroyed totally. This turned Soraka Mountain into a laughing stock in the forums and to the players, these idiots chose to join the Country of Darkness and were eliminated entirely by them. What a bunch of morons.

But was this true?

An indescribable cold air flowed from beneath his feet to the top of his head.

Soraka Mountain was located at the common border between the Dark and Light Dragon Souls and the land contained an abundance of magical crystals. However, there was nothing strange about it because the magical powers by such a chaotic border were usually extraordinary. Due to this reason, the people born in Soraka Mountain were perhaps born with some elemental powers. However, the order stability of Soraka Mountain was rare and unique of its kind.

The Dark Dragon and Light Dragon each conquered one-third of land on this continent and the common border between them spread indefinitely. Why was Soraka Mountain receiving such exceptional advantages?

Was it natural? Or artificial?

Rhode and several players had always thought that Soraka Mountain was naturally lucky in geographical location. However, the Chairman’s words seemed to deny this assumption as it was apparent that the Soraka Mountain possessed corresponding stable environmental factors. Due to a certain seal, the common borders had been on the benefiting end which secured them a stable mountainous region.

Something that was sealed and could provide a certain order to this common boundary that was known to be chaotic. Could it be…

Rhode clenched his fists and glared at the Chairman’s back.

If Rhode had heard of this news slightly earlier, he would’ve murdered the Chairman with no hesitation and forced the Country of Darkness to bear the responsibility. But… he couldn’t do it now. What about the Munn Kingdom? Was Royal Highness Lydia really unaware of this at all? The Supervisor… That position had always been strange. Now it seemed that this so-called Supervisor wasn’t monitoring the region, but was monitoring something else here?

If Royal Highness Lydia knew everything that is happening, why did she send me here?

Or perhaps, there is something that I’m unaware but Royal Highness Lydia is fully aware of?

Rhode placed his finger by his lips and commanded resolutely. “Marlene, retreat immediately.”