Chapter 787: December 15th: Outbreak of War

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December 15th. It was the starting day of Shangri-La Frontier's first large-scale PvP event, "Kingdom Turmoil".

Gathering under the names of two opposing kings, a struggle by humans, against humans, for humans to decide the legitimate ruler of the Einwurf Kingdom. Or perhaps, if Shangri-La Frontier had been a world of actual scale rather than a game, this war might have continued for decades. But this is a game, and this conflict over the royal authority is destined to reach its conclusion before the year is out.

"Man, the moment when meticulous planning and steady preparations come to fruition brings an irreplaceable tension, no matter how many times you do it."

"Well, I'd have to agree with you there."

Einwurf Kingdom, Thirdrema—in front of the main gate of the Grand Duke's Citadel that ruled the city, a group had gathered with a certain individual acting as their "Head." Perhaps they were called the clan 【Wolfgang】, or perhaps they were known as the Red Pencil Agency...... RPA.

"Viewership is looking excellent. I just checked the PayaGaru Channel's live broadcast, and they've already hit 50,000 concurrent viewers."

"That is a very...... large number."

"Non-non, you're wrong, 0Rei-chan. It's the exact opposite."

"It's 0Zero."

".........Watching a video stream, and logging into ShanFro...... cannot be done at the same time."

"Exactly! I'll pat Rust-chan on the head for giving the correct answer."

"......No need to pat me."

To put it simply, this "Kingdom Turmoil" is a massive territory-control game. The pieces are the players, and the game board where they fight over territory is the nation itself—a scale completely outside the norm.

And this war is not merely a clash between a rabble of crows, either.

"How are things looking on their side?"

"Hmm, well, it seems they have no intention of controlling the entire group either. They're probably just going to coordinate among the streamers while moving with the players who follow their own broadcasts...... or something along those lines."

However, Pencilgon closed the email from outside the game with a with a sly grin.

"Well, information is flowing to us in real-time anyway, since we've got an information-gathering squad working out in the real world."

"The Pencil Dynasty is scary......"

Ever since gathering here, OiKatzo had been constantly met with smiling handshakes and "Hey, thanks for 'that time'" from the RPA members—leaving him slightly overwhelmed by their actions, so unlike his own, Sunraku's...... or even Rust's and Akitsu Akane's, in their willingness to become cogs in the machine without limit for the sake of the "overall victory".

"Besides, it's not like you can talk, Katzo-kun."

"Whatever do you mean...... I, Extremely Sincere."

"You really have the nerve to say that......"

Now then, golden spear resting on her shoulder, Pencilgon gazes westward from Thirdrema...... toward the direction where the enemy's supreme commander, the New King Alex, was seated, though he could not be seen from here.

"As far as the territory battle goes, we're at a 4:6 disadvantage, that's the rough picture. In that case, it's best not to shed unnecessary blood. You all agree with that, right?"

"......You say that as if there's meaningful blood to be shed."

"Of course there is, Rust-chan! I'd take the blue blood of one person over the red blood of a hundred any day."

"Is blood blue?"

"Umm...... Akitsu Akane-san. Sometimes, the blood of nobles or royalty from the olden days is referred to as 'blue blood'......"

"So that's how it is......!"

Victory or defeat in this "Kingdom Turmoil" is decided by either having your faction occupy more cities than the opponent, or through the elimination of the factions' supreme commanders—the New King Alex, or the Former King Torvante and Princess Arfiliya.

Considering the scale of the cities and their military strength, the better strategy for the Former King's faction is to utilize the advantage of having two supreme commanders and aim for the capture of the enemy's supreme commander.

And so, burning with an incredibly strong passion for kidnapping VIPs, the RPA stood alongside the members of the clan 【Wolfgang】, who had been gathered for an entirely separate matter.

ShanFro has no pause button. Therefore, time continues to advance without stopping. The opening time of the approaching Kingdom Turmoil scenario. Not just Arthur Pencilgon, who had climbed her way up to the position of Special Advisor of Thirdrema, and her comrades, but all the players who had decided to side with the Former King Torvante waited for that moment with tension.

"......Hm?"

"What is that."

───I wonder who was the first to notice it.

The time of the outbreak of war was 6:00 PM. In the world of ShanFro, where the sun rises from the east and sets in the west just like on Earth, the sun should have already submerged almost entirely below the western horizon, or rather, the ocean horizon...... That's how it was supposed to be. Yet, what the people in Thirdrema saw was, as if.....

"The sun is rising, somehow........."

◇◇

December 15th. It was the starting day of Shangri-La Frontier's first large-scale PvP event, "Kingdom Turmoil".

Gathering under the names of two opposing kings, a struggle by humans, against humans, for humans to decide the legitimate ruler of the Einwurf Kingdom. Or perhaps, if Shangri-La Frontier had been a world of actual scale rather than a game, this war might have continued for decades. But this is a game, and this conflict over the royal authority is destined to reach its conclusion before the year is out.

"Yes, hello! Today, I'm Payabusa, acting separately from Garunose!"

"Hello, I'll be moving solo today. I'm Garunose."

Einwurf Kingdom's Royal Capital, Nineshill. Two men stood in front of the massive castle gates that seemingly displayed the authority of the royal capital. And a massive number of players had gathered to catch a glimpse of them. Though they were all chatting noisily, silence spread across the area—albeit taking a bit of time—following Payabusa's exaggerated "quiet down" gesture.

"Now then, everyone, the time has finally come...... At last, ShanFro's first PvP event! The 'Kingdom Turmoil' is about to begin!!"

Cheers erupted with a "Waaah!". It wasn't just the excitement of Payabusa and Garunose being present; the voltage in the area inevitably kept climbing at the prospect of the first large-scale event in the game called Shangri-La Frontier.

"As for our strategy! After meticulous discussions with the other members......... we've decided that everyone will just do whatever they want based on the vibe of the moment!"

"......Fundamentally, everyone's schedules clashed, so, well...... yeah."

Smiles leaked from the players at Payabusa's clownish words. From the beginning, not everyone gathered here was going to follow Payabusa's group. Some would follow other streamers who had formed an alliance with them, while others simply belonged to the same faction and would act as they pleased.

And Payabusa's group wouldn't stop them. The New King's faction needed to gain the advantage in the territory-control game one way or another, and considering they had to protect the New King himself, numbers were necessary. The more, the better; even if they were an undisciplined flock of crows that wouldn't follow orders, as long as the numbers piled up, they could be expected to serve as a wall to some extent.

"Let's skip the minor details, Garunose! In the end, the one who has the most fun wins! Isn't that right, everyone!!"

Truth be told, they were not as planless as the audience gathered here thought...... but there was no need to go out of his way to explain that, Payabusa thought, continuing his words while maintaining his streamer's smile.

"For the next five days from here on out! Let's give it our all!! We're gonna win, everyone!"

It happened at that moment.

"Hm? Something's coming this way, isn't it?"

"Isn't it just players who arrived late?"

───I wonder who was the first to notice it.

The time of the outbreak of war was 18:00. In the increasingly gloomy Thirthed, shadows, shadows, shadows were slowly approaching the castle gates. They were in the shape of humans. They were humans. But they were...... not human. They were, as though.....

"......Aren't those people a little too green?"

◇R◇

December 15th, 18:00. That was the time for the outbreak of war in the Kingdom Turmoil scenario.

But, at the same time...... it was the moment their war began.

"Vooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmm......!!!"

From the bottom of a dead volcano, a brilliant crimson red slowly rose to the surface. Wings of flame resembling a butterfly, spread wide enough that they seemed capable of enveloping an entire house, and floating upon them...... "eyes".

The destination it gazed upon was Thirdrema, and the gaze floating within the wings of flame held heat...... literally.

Flames and light dwelled within the eyes floating on the wings, magnifying and converging. And the moment the wings, bowed under the energy packed into them, flapped grandly.

"Kyuririririririririririririririririririririri!!!!!!!"

A streak of scorching light struck Thirdrema directly.

◇G◇

"Kyo, Kyokyokyokyokyokyo."

It was laughing. Just as the pale, terrifying horse of plague that had appeared in the past had laughed in the pleasure of scattering death. The grotesque, eerily green peacock was laughing.

Devoured entirely by its own cells...... It was laughing at the sight of its own forces advancing, not reborn, but "death-born."

Its destination was Nineshill. To further increase its numbers, the entirely green army advanced slowly, but surely.

"Kyokyokyokyakyakyakyakyakyakyakyakya!!!!!"

A mixture of humans and beasts, numbering twenty thousand, one hundred and fifty-three.

『『Monster Sudden AssaultRaid!』』

Author's Afterword

Smoldering Great Crimson Wings: "Hey."

Tormenting Great Green Edge: "Hey."

R e d & G r e e n : "M i x u s i n"