Episode 13 – War of Kings (4)

Lee Sungkook was surprised by the system message and muttered.

“Another new scenario…”

It certainly wasn’t good timing. Another scenario appeared before we could complete the clear conditions of the existing scenario.

I opened up the new scenario as soon as it arrived.

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[Main Scenario # 4 – The King’s Qualifications]

Category: Main

Difficulty: A

Clear Conditions: Occupy the ‘Absolute Throne’ located at Gwanghwamun.

Time Limit: 8 hours.

Compensation: 10,000 coins

Failure: ―

* This scenario can only be challenged by those who have completed the hidden scenario ‘King’s Road.’

* The absolute king has absolute commands over all the other kings.

* There are additional special clear conditions for this scenario.

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The situation wasn’t good. Our group hadn’t been able to take the target of the Struggle for Flags yet.

The burden had doubled. I must complete the scenario related to the throne while taking down the Tyrant King and occupying Changsin Station.

The intermediate dokkaebi said.

[Look at your confused faces. Please don’t worry too much. This scenario will proceed slowly.]

Gwanghwamun was still despite everyone being in a state of agitation. It was natural. The surviving kings knew how important it was to listen to the dokkaebi.

[As you have guessed, the fourth main scenario is to be the only king to sit on the throne. Of course, being a king doesn’t mean that everyone can sit on that throne. Only a person who has proved his/her qualifications can sit there.]

The intermediate dokkaebi said with a bad laugh.

[Then I will reveal the first qualification.]

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[King’s Qualification]

1.  「 The owner of the throne should be braver than anyone else. 」

-The Absolute Throne never wants a ‘weak king.’ To challenge the throne, you must own at least a black flag.

(Additional qualifications will be released after a while.)

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A black flag. It was disgusting from the very beginning.

[Huhu, the motive wa given. Now make a fun story!]

The intermediate dokkaebi disappeared and Yoo Sangah made an anxious expression.

“If it is a black flag… you need to occupy 20 stations?”

“That’s right.”

Our group had a brown flag. It was a flag that could be obtained after occupying 10 stations.

“What do we do? In order to create a black flag, we need 10 more stations. If there are vacant stations nearby…”

“This is a condition that appeared because there are no empty stations.”

“Huh?”

As far as I knew, no king had achieved the black flag at this point.

“Did you forget? There isn’t only one method to change the colour of a flag.

The achievement value of the flag went up when taking over a station. However, there was a way to get achievement values much faster.

“Ah…!”

It was to take the flag of another representative. Right now, there were a bunch of kings with flags in Gwanghwamun.

I calmed down the party members.

“Don’t worry. This wasn’t unexpected. We will proceed as planned.”

As planned. I said this but it wouldn’t be easy.

There were clouds of war hanging over Gwanghwamun. It was a breathless tension just before the storm blew. The sound of weapons being pulled out and the organization of  battle lines could be heard.

People would soon start moving.

Those competing for a promotion would now kill each other with real swords. Those who wanted a wider territory would take each other’s flags to occupy more stations.

Kill each other and get better items. It was in order to survive.

Lee Sungkook watched the buildings around them and muttered in a surreal tone. “It is scary. Is this really South Korea?”

“It is South Korea. It is still South Korea.”

“Representative-nim, aren’t you scared?”

“I’m afraid.”

It wasn’t a lie. I was obviously scared. To be honest, I often felt that way. Even if I read Ways of Survival, I was still a regular office worker. I didn’t express it but I often wondered if I could survive.

Of course, my worries didn’t last long. It was because it was useless to think about it. It was the same in any world.

Kim Dokja who worked at Mino Soft was now Kim Dokja who lived in the world of Ways of Survival. Death would come whether I wanted it to or not. The most important thing was…

“At least I feel like I am living right now.”

[The exclusive skill, ‘Fourth Wall’ is activated!]

I suddenly turned around and saw Lee Sungkook looking at me with reverent eyes.

“When I look at Representative-nim…”

“Attack!”

Someone’s shout was heard before Lee Sungkook’s words were over. 300 metres away, there was a king who started marching north.

He was a king with a brown flag like me. I couldn’t see his face because he was too far away but he was probably the king of a small district.

At almost the same time, the warlords hiding in Gwanghwamun started to appear. They were each armed with excellent self-defense equipment.

The most prominent one was a man wearing a kilt in splendid colours. I could tell who he was without looking.

Our target, the Tyrant King and the rule of Dobong-gu and Seongbuk-gu.

The vibe he gave off was new. The Tyrant King who had the largest forces among Seoul’s Seven Kings. Now that he moved, the 1st apostle and the kings of the three kingdoms would act.

“Maybe most of them will go after the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword.”

In fact, the direction of the kings’ march was the northern Palace Museum where the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword was located. I didn’t see him but the plagiarist would also be moving to that side.

Some forces ignored any damage and were running towards the museum. It was understandable.

Since the qualifications of the absolute king wasn’t clear yet, they thought it would be more advantageous to obtain a good item.

If the item was the Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword, they could fill in the lacking achievement points of their flag at once.

Lee Sungkook asked anxiously, “Shouldn’t we go? The Four Yin Demonic Beheading Sword is a pretty good item.”

“We will just be defeated if we go.”

We didn’t have a lot of people. Moreover, there were many high level sponsors among them.

“Go to the west.”

I moved while leading the party. All the kings were heading for the northern Palace Museum so the west was relatively lacking.

It was the historic Gwanghwamun so there were museums all over the place. Presseum, Korean Financial History Museum, Korean National Police Heritage Museum…

Yoo Sangah asked, “We aren’t going to these places?”

“We should avoid the modern and contemporary exhibits.”

An old relic was better.

Of course, the relic simply being ‘old’ wasn’t enough. The hoe used by farmers in the Iron Age was also such an item but it was only F grade. The important thing was that it have a relationship with a famous person or a narrative.

“Let’s go here.”

The place we stopped at was the Seoul History Museum facing Gyeonghui Palace.

A light flashed in Yoo Sangah’s eyes.

“What are we looking for here?”

“We must find the Ganpyeongui. It is a relic of the Joseon Dynasty that resembles a disc, but I don’t know what floor it is on.” (Ganpyeongui is an astronomical observation device. Image will be provided below)

“Okay, I will try and find it!”

“We have to find it quickly so let’s scatter. Gilyoung, you move with Sangah noona. And Lee Sungkook-ssi―”

As I was speaking, something sharp flew from behind me. I reflexively crouched down, pulling the party members with me.

The exterior wall of the building was pierced by an arrow. There was a trace of magic power on the shaft.

I got goosebumps.

[Strong Magic Arrow].

This person had learnt the archery skill properly. Who was it? The unexpected ambush complicated my thoughts. Was there someone who read the movements of my party?

“Everybody go inside! Quickly!”

Several more arrows flew.

[Blade of Faith is activated!]

I swung my sword and struck the flying arrows. Fortunately, the amount of magic power wasn’t high so they weren’t difficult to block.

The problem was the number. One arrow flew out and pierced my thigh. I quickly retreated and hid behind cover.

“Hahaha! Where is the novice king wandering to?”

A voice echoed through the area. A group of men armed with bows and swords appeared 500 metres away.

Their flag couldn’t be seen. In other words, they sent out a detached force. Some kings were smarter than I thought. Was he going to eat up items while taking away the flags of the smaller kings?

[The exclusive skill, Character List is activated.]

I used a skill on a person in the lead.

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[Character Information]

Name: Chu Wangin

Age: 33 years old.

Constellation Support: The Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol

Private Attribute: Minor Actor (General)

Exclusive Skills: Weapons Training Lv. 4, Acting Lv. 1, Weak Investigation Lv. 1.

Stigma: Baekje Kendo Lv. 4, Prepared to Fight to the Death for the Country Lv. 2, Detached Force Management Lv. 3.

Overall Stats: Physique Lv. 19, Strength Lv. 19, Agility Lv. 21, Magic Power Lv. 15.

Overall Evaluation: It is a case where even a nobody can grow if he meets an excellent sponsor. Due to the high degree of sympathy with the sponsor, the strength of his stigmas is significant.

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Damn, a tiger had come. I didn’t expect to meet Hwangsanbeol’s master here. Those with actor attributes tended to cling to these types of constellations.

“If you know honour as a king, surrender your flag. Then your group members won’t lose their lives.”

The poor dramatic tone told me why he was only a minor actor. The Last Hero of Hwangsanbeol was attached to such a person. It seemed that bad luck with partners applied even to constellations.

But this was difficult. The level of the stigmas Baekje Kendo and Detached Force Management was too high.

Considering the number of people, it would be hard to handle all of them without raising my overall stats.

[Coins Possessed: 68,150C]

…Should I use my coins here? However, the difficulty of the last phase of the fourth scenario would increase sharply if I used coins to raise my overall stats here.

It would disturb my whole plan.

If I closed my eyes and used around 20,000 coins…

“Isn’t it embarrassing for you to persecute the king of a weak nation using the name of the Three Kingdoms?”

I looked around as I heard a voice and saw a familiar person approaching. The incarnation of Gyebaek, Chu Wangin made a fierce expression.

“What is the queen doing here?”

“Your crude tone is just as expected for the master of a ruined kingdom.”

The woman shot back with a smug expression. King of Beauty Min Jiwon. Why did this woman appear here?

…Surely she hadn’t followed me?

No. There was no way.

Min Jiwon’s eyes glanced at me.

[The character ‘Min Jiwon’ shows a weak liking towards you.]

…Really?

“Shut up! The cowardly Silla blood now claims to be rule of the Three Kingdoms? I won’t recognize a girl like you as a king!”

Chu Wangin’s roar of anger burst from his body. He might be a minor actor without much skills but his voice was very loud.

By the way, it was interesting. Gyebaek and Queen Jinseong were born in different eras but they could face each other like this after becoming constellations.

I asked Min Jiwon, “Why are you helping me?”

“Silla doesn’t ignore weak countries.”

“It is Silla who destroyed Gaya.”

“…Did you also have a 1st-grade degree in Korean history?”

“Any high school graduate would know this much.”

Min Jiwon’s expression became slightly gloomy.

“I don’t know because I didn’t go to high school.”

It was natural. Min Jiwon had been an actor since her teens. She became an actress at an early age and learned things other than history.

“Your words are correct. I can’t obtain people with money. I’m repaying the debt caused by my rudeness. That’s it.”

I knew Min Jiwon’s history as an actress and could feel the sincerity in her words. It was still surprising. She was an incarnation with a high pride so I didn’t think she would bow before me like this.

Gyebaek’s incarnation laughed at our conversation.

“A king is swayed by personal matters? That’s why a chick like you…”

Min Jiwon’s captain came forward on behalf of the Hwarang.

“Rude! How can a man like you be the king of a country?”

Gyebaek’s eyes were drawn to the Hwarang.

“Hwarang…? Very interesting. Did you sign with that constellation?”

The Hwarang captain turned red at the words. It reminded me that the Hwarang captain’s sponsor was Gwanchang.

“Do you want your neck to be cut like your sponsor?”

In the battle of Hwangsanbeol, Gwanchang died from Gyebaek cutting his throat.

“Shut up!”

Thank you for coming to help but the relationship between constellations was the worst. This was particularly bad due to their high level of sympathy.

There was a hierarchy among the constellations due to the history of their lives.

A person couldn’t go against their king and the enemy was determined according to historical records.

For example Kurushima Michifusa of Japan could never beat the Duke of Loyalty and Warfare.

It was just like how Gwanchang couldn’t win against Gyebaek.

Min Jiwon also knew this and didn’t look happy.

I spoke first. “Just defeat the army. Or we can’t win.”

Baekje’s army had slightly more military force.

Gyebaek was a military commander. The more people he led, the stronger his power. Gwanchang was no match for him.

Then Yoo Sangah’s voice was heard. “Dokja-ssi! I’ve found it!”

I looked back and found Yoo Sangah running with a small disc. She found it already?

The Ganpyeongui. The relic resembling a wall clock glowed in Yoo Sangah’s hands.

At this moment, I had an idea. I looked at Ganpyeongui, then Min Jiwon and the incarnation of Gwanchang. Then I made a decision. Perhaps I could win this without using coins?

“Attack!”

[The character ‘Chu Wangin’ has used the stigma Detached Force Lv. 3!]

The Hwarang kept falling under the hands of the Baekje forces. Min Jiwon looked towards me with a desperate expression and I said, “I think we can win.”

“Huh?”

“We will recreate the battle of Hwangsanbeol.”

Many people knew this but Hwangsanbeol was a battle that Silla won.

TL: I gave you a wiki link in the last chapter but I will give a short summary, since this information is important to understand what is going on.

Battle of Hwangsanbeol was a major battle that took place between Baekje and Silla. The commander of Baekje was Gyebaek and the commander of Shilla was Kim Yushin.

The Silla army was 50,000 strong while Baekje could only rally up 5,000 people but Gyebaek rallied his forces with a heroic speech. The Baekje forces won several skirmishes and the Silla forces lost morale.

Then a general sent out his son, Kim Gwanchang to single-handedly fight the enemy. Gwanchang was captured before being released by Gyebaek. After returning to the Silla camp, Gwanchang once again charged to the enemy. Gyebaek captured him again and executed him this time.

Thanks to Gwanchang’s martyrdom, the Silla forces regained morale and Kim Yushin was victorious. Gyebaek died in battle.

Image of the Ganpyeongui: