Chapter 2: Rogue Lords (2)

 

It was the death that signaled the start of the game.

In the game’s setting, the kings of the nations, fearing that they would fall together in a war that would last for hundreds of years, signed a truce, resulting in about twenty years of peace.

Just as they began to get used to that peace, the ambitious young king of Narja Kingdom started a war. Warfare begins again, and the sacrifice is Aintorian Erhin.

Aintorian Erhin was a tyrant; he was a drunkard and a womanizer, killing innocent people without a second thought.

That’s precisely why the chamberlain and the maids are so scared of my actions.

No, why of all those many characters, I’m the one who dies right at the start?

What if I die in this world?

Do I die in real life?

That’s the biggest question.

Will I be able to return to my usual routine when I die?

The odds of dying would be higher because even in this world, I feel pain.

If this has nothing to do with death, then I should not feel pain.

That’s normal.

The pain I feel when I hit my cheek or pinch myself is real.

If it happens, I might really die.

Even more so if God intervened?

But that’s if my soul has been transferred to the world of the game they created.

Huh…….

The headache just kept getting worse; I’m really going crazy.

That means I have to get out of my death sentence, though.

Could the system work, by any chance?

In the game world, the system was only available to the main character.

Of course, the NPCs did not have the system.

What if the game world became real, but only I, the player, could use the system?

Then I can expect a little more. Yes, if only I have the system!

The player has levels. This level system allows the protagonist to grow by leaps and bounds, which no other character can do.

If only I had the system, I could survive!

I looked for a system in my head to quickly confirm such a guess, which would make my headache disappear a bit.

The system. The system.

Well, I don’t really know how to use it.

How would I use it if it were really there?

Usually, I would just use a gamepad, but I don’t have one in my hand right now.

This is reality.

The system…….

You’re supposed to give me a system to fight for glory!

System!

[Ryuichi Hasegawa / Aintorian Erhin]

Age: 25 years]

[Lv.1]

[Status]

[Skills]

[Items]

As I shouted that in my head, amazingly enough, the system really appeared.

The moment I saw the system window, I felt as if I was reunited with an old friend, a feeling that almost brought tears to my eyes.

That’s how happy I was; furthermore, it looked just like the system window on the screen. No, it was the same.

It was unmistakably the system window I knew.

I quickly moved my finger to Status.

[Martial Force: 58]

[Intelligence: ?]

[Command: ?]

[Affiliation: Lords of Aintorian]

[People’s spirit: 10]

Then my status was displayed; it’s still the same.

Thanks to this, I was able to confirm Erhin’s ability value.

Erhin’s initial martial force was 58. Although he is a tyrant, he is still a lord. Thanks to coming from a high-noble house and learning swordsmanship since childhood, he was more powerful than an ordinary soldier.

People’s spirit: 10.

The people’s spirit as a lord includes all the soldiers, vassals, and territories, that is to say, horrible.

Famous for the name evil lord, it’s not surprising.

With the system, you level up. The points received each time you level up can be used to upgrade martial force, buy items and skills.

Using the system, only I can raise my level and become stronger and stronger.

It looked the same now that I started as Aintorian Erhin; that’s the way the game was designed!

Intelligence and command are evaluated on performance. The better the strategy used in war, the more intelligence is ranked accordingly. Command is the ability to lead soldiers and vassals. The higher the value, the more obedient the soldiers and vassals will be.

If it were any other person, wouldn’t the intelligence and command values appear normal?

As I recall, it was so in the game, I opened the door of the room to confirm it.

A maid is always waiting outside the door. She’s probably the lord’s maid of honor.

I used the basic skill [Information Confirmation] without hesitation since I’m Lv.1 I don’t have any other skills yet.

Although [Information Confirmation] is my only skill right now, it’s also a pretty useful skill.

[Gaen]

Age: 18 years]

Martial force: 5]

Intelligence: 31]

[Conducting: 10]

[Affiliation: maids of the Aintorian lord’s castle]

[People’s spirit: 50]

If you use [Information Confirmation], the person’s ability value is displayed like this; after all, it’s just like the game I used to play.

The opportunity to challenge glory, then, is not the story of a small-town protagonist rising to the top of the ladder, but rather a story that asks you to start as a villainous lord and use the system to conquer the world.

“Pfffffffffff. Kuh-ha-ha!”

So that’s it; this is just an opportunity to challenge that glory, right? I have no idea what that glory is, though.

“Master?”

The maid started shaking as she watched me laughing like a madman. In the eyes of the maid, I would look like a crazy person. Even more so because Erhin is a lord who kills people without a care in the world.

“Never mind.”

After replying in the tone of a lord to not make her feel uncomfortable, I closed the door and returned to my bedroom.

That’s right. There was one more thing to check; I quickly opened the door again to ask what I had forgotten.

The maid, who had been wiping sweat from her forehead, stiffened again when she saw me reappear.

Seeing such a reaction really makes me feel even more aware of Erhin’s notoriety.

How many evil deeds do you need to do to make people so frightened?

“What day is today?”

“Gee, today?”

“Yes.”

“It’s February 1!”

“February 1?”

“Ha, yes!”

“What year?”

“Let’s see, We’ve been in the Lunan Kingdom for 202 years!”

“I see. Thank you.”

“What…..?”

I left the maid with a puzzled look on her face as if the word “thank you” was surprising, and returned to my room. As soon as I closed the door of the room, I sat down on the floor.

The kingdom has been in existence for 202 years, February 1?

Then it’s tomorrow, the attack of the Narja Royal Army will trample the Aintorian lands and behead the lords just tomorrow!

There was no time to prepare for battle.

Trying to calm the notoriety of the lord, train the soldiers, raise my level. I would worry about my chances of survival if I had more time, and now it’s tomorrow?

Really unlucky! This sucks! Shit! Shit!

If this happens, how will I survive…..?

The only way to enjoy the glory of it is to survive, right? Let’s think.

This game became popular as it allowed players to test their own strategies in war.

It was a solo-player game rather than a multiplayer game in which you play the game with other players in real-time. Still, it was also a game in which each player was ranked according to the points generated while progressing.

That’s right, a ranking is created based on points.

Anyway, the first place in such a game was me.

So I had to come up with a strategy worthy of the number one spot!

I have to figure out how to survive.

Because the most important thing is not to die before I can enjoy it.

So how shall I strategize?

I returned my gaze to the map I unfolded. A few synopsis lines about the beginning of the war in which Aintorian Erhin dies were all I could remember.

I know that Narja’s Royal Army started the war and Elhin was beheaded, but I don’t know the detailed story at all.

I know it from the original protagonist’s perspective, not Erhin’s.

Besides, if Erhin actually survives, the story will change completely, so what I know now will be meaningless.

Still, knowing a few lines of the synopsis is a great privilege in itself; if I understand the enemy, I can plan countermeasures.

Let’s remember the synopsis. I racked my memory to recall the synopsis that appeared at the beginning of the game.

According to my memory, the Narja Kingdom Army attacked the Lunan Kingdom from two directions.

The real main force would emerge from the north of the Lunan Kingdom. Aintorian is the western border of the Lunan Kingdom; in other words, this place was a decoy.

The Narja Kingdom would first send a spearhead force to Aintorian territory. Then, the main force will invade the northern border.

The Aintorian territory is invaded, and the kingdom forces are attracted to the west, this was the method used because the northern border was quite close to the Lunan Kingdom’s capital.

The Lunan Kingdom was hit by this strategy when the Aintorian region fell to the enemy without any resistance; the surprised Lunan kingdom hurriedly prepared for war.

The surrounding territories concentrated their forces to the west, unaware that the real main force, which was moving entirely out of sight, emerged in the north.

The Narja Kingdom showed how terrible the Lunan Kingdom’s spy technology was and how good their strategy of covertly sending its main force to the north. I’m sure I’ll be able to find out more about this in the future.

These issues arose because the King of Lunan, like Erhin, was tyrannical and corrupt. So, there is a way to survive here.

That means that the real war takes place in the north, so if I can repel this decoy squad, I will have time to catch my breath. Yes, time to raise the standard and prepare for battle.

If I survive tomorrow’s battle, the future is open; that much was certain.