Chapter 20: Emotion and Reason
Who is Kai?
A level 1 rookie defeated Emperor Drarkarr?
Kai and Despera—a new chapter in Valia's history?
Spear-user, swordsman, or archer? Just pick one already!
Despera’s declaration of war, straight through the chest!
A rival to Ignis Flamma has emerged?
The 2HP miracle and the arrow of declaration!
Despera captures its first fortress with just a 6-man party!
Kai has officially joined Despera!
…
11:00 AM New York time. Media outlets flooded the internet with articles about Kai and Despera. Gaming forums, especially those dedicated to Valia, were erupting in excited discussions.
The climax? Zephrania immediately issued a 200,000 V-Coin bounty to anyone who could take down Kai. And just 30 seconds later, the announcement vanished.
===
Somewhere in the world, Zephrania headquarters.
Inside a massive octagonal room carved with golden motifs and littered with the wreckage of expensive gaming gear. A one-of-a-kind 360-degree custom monitor had been smashed askew from its mount. On its glitching OLED screen, the paused image of a black-cloaked rookie stared blankly—mockingly—through the digital haze.
"Your imaginations are far too shallow."
—“You son of a biiiiitch!!!”
CRASH!
A keyboard flew into a massive crystal vase, shattering it into glittering fragments. Solid gold keycaps scattered across the floor.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’LL KILL YOU!!!”
He roared, lunging at a large mirror in the corner. The platinum mirror, framed in solid gold and ivory—a lavish gift from a Chinese billionaire he was quite fond of—reflected the image of a tall, lanky young man. His hair was a tangled mess, his sharp cheekbones jutting out, a hooked hawk-like nose, and eyes that burned with a blood-red fury like a starving beast.
He slammed his gnarled, bony fists on the mirror and growled through gritted teeth:
“Two hundred thousand coins. Put up a bounty—200K coins to anyone who kills that mutt. No limits!”
Three assistants stood in stunned silence. The Valia Coin-to-USD rate, which had been steady between $0.95 and $1.10, had dipped slightly to $0.80 as the Esta-doom campaign neared victory. But now? It had skyrocketed to a record $1.50. That bounty was worth $300,000 per kill.
Zephrania was a superpower on the continent of Valia; that amount of money wasn’t a big deal—especially with a direct order from the Emperor. The assistants had no choice but to comply. They didn’t want to end up replacing the smashed gear as the Emperor’s new punching bags.
The bounty post went live on Zephrania’s official channel… and before anyone could refresh, it disappeared.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“S-Sir…” the media assistant stammered, his voice cracking. “The bounty post—it’s been deleted…”
“What the fuuuu—?! Who dared delete it?!” Drarkarr bellowed, punching the mirror so hard it trembled.
“I did.”
The room’s doors creaked open, and a cold voice filled the space.
The assistants exhaled in relief at the sight of a tall, lean figure in a tailored suit. Cool blue eyes hidden beneath shoulder-length hair scanned the chaos before settling on the furious Emperor.
“Look at yourself, Drarkarr. How much HP did that arrow take from you? 1%? And you’re throwing away the dignity of an Emperor over 1%? I don’t mind burning $300K to soothe your rage, but did it occur to you that Kai could just pay people to kill him again and again, farming our money? Do you want to become his punchline?”
That icy voice was the only thing capable of dousing the volcanic eruption inside the Emperor. Drarkarr’s body eased. He pounded both palms on the table, catching his breath.
“Anger is a wonderful thing, Drarkarr. It represents the burning passion of a true Emperor. Alexander the Great, Emperor Liu Bang, Napoleon Bonaparte, Demon King Oda Nobunaga… All of history’s greatest rulers were masters at expressing emotion. That’s a gift. But a true Emperor doesn’t let rage lead to foolish choices. He turns his fury into a firestorm that incinerates his enemies.”
Ignis Flamma had calmed Drarkarr down once again.
“I see… Ignis. I’m lucky to have you. Do you know this Kai guy?”
“I’ve heard of him, but why waste your time on some average player? He’s not even worth calling an obstacle. What you should be concerned about is the newly founded Duchy of Despera—and the force behind it.”
The assistants watched Ignis Flamma’s silhouette enter the room with awe. With just a few words, he had soothed the raging Emperor and dismissed the looming threat of a new rival with absolute authority.
Drarkarr’s eyes lit up with realization.
“Right, Despera… What’s the situation on the eastern front?”
“No worries. While you drew all attention to Estaphalia, I sent scouts to monitor the east and west. We discovered Desoraii had been captured. Our standing armies are now fortifying the east. Thanks to our overwhelming recruitment numbers—over two million—we’ve secured Astrixal and Norath, just as expected. That’s also the limit of what Despera can achieve. Or rather… the limit I allowed them to achieve.”
“Intentional?” Drarkarr raised a brow.
“I already explained the idea of ‘player density’ during the assault on Asterith, didn’t I? If a city holds too many players, the resources won’t satisfy them all. Eventually, they’ll fight over more territory. With two million now and projections hitting three million soon, I let Despera take three cities. That gives their players a false sense of security. Then, we lock down the east—Despera will lose all incentive to expand further.”
“Ignis Flamma, you’re a genius!” Drarkarr cheered.
“I merely draw lines on paper. They’re just lifeless theories. You, Emperor, are the one who breathes fire into them. You ignite Zephrania’s millions to turn those plans into reality. Like I said—Esta-doom was a blazing success. The image of you soaring through enemy lines on Nyxerion, aiming straight for the heart of Estaphalia—that will go down as one of the most glorious moments in military history.”
With that, Ignis Flamma pulled out a photo on his phone—Drarkarr atop Nyxerion, wings spread wide, soaring over the towering walls of Asterith under the night sky.
“I managed to snap a shot,” he said. “From now on, this will be our main media image.”
With that, he sent the image to the media assistant standing nearby. As if enlightened, the assistant grinned from ear to ear, bowed, and dashed out of the room. Indeed, with just a single direction outlined by Ignis and combined with their expertise, the Zephrania faction could completely turn the tables in the media war. There were billions of angles to approach and countless types of content to explore.
“That’s a stunning image!” Drarkarr couldn’t help but praise it. In the midst of such intense combat, Ignis had still taken the time to snap such an epic photo of him. Honestly, this image could represent the entire game! “But it’s a shame we only hold 48 castles now…”
“We never really needed that many,” Ignis said as he pulled a chair over and sat down across from Drarkarr. “Valia has always been an all-or-nothing war. Either we have all 54 castles, or none at all. Don’t dwell too much on what we’ve lost. What matters more now is to start thinking about a long-term strategy. V-Coin prices are skyrocketing. I don’t think that’ll last long, but the number of players is bound to explode, and the influx of dollars into Valia will surge.”
“We need to do some media work to attract new players…” Drarkarr seemed to realize something.
“That part’s already taken care of,” Ignis said, tilting his chin toward the door, hinting at the media assistant from earlier. As always, his planning was a step ahead of everyone else. “Next is working with investors. We need to limit military activity, stabilize the economy, and focus on tournaments. And more importantly, I think, we need to monitor the movements of the Bank of Valia.”
“The Bank of Valia… you mean that guy?”
“Exactly. That cunning noble who controls all the money flow in this world—Johnathan Howard.”