◈ 440. [Side Story] Gamble Club (4)
Five gamblers are kneeling in front of me.
“If you guys were the winners, you would readily accept the outcome of the confrontation. But you are swindlers.”
I pulled a chair in front of him and shook the notary magic contract in my hand.
“I guess I have to enforce this kind of restriction.”
“… .”
“So now your life is mine.”
The reactions of the five gamblers were different.
Heads bowed or contemplative, trembling or weeping.
Violet bit her lip and couldn’t hold back her resentment.
Only the girl- Scarlett is looking at me with straight eyes.
I chinned them.
“So, shall we listen? The reason why you dared to eat the prince. It seems that money was urgently needed.”
“… It is to survive.”
He seems to have noticed that obeying me is the wisest way to survive in this situation.
Scarlett obediently opened her mouth to answer.
“To get on the ‘Last Ark’.”
“The Last Ark?”
I frowned. What else is that?
“Rumors have been spreading since the end of the battle for the throne. The world is going to end soon And those who can survive this destruction are… … Only the citizens of New Terra, the imperial capital.”
Scarlett continued her explanation in a clear voice.
“His Highness Prince Fernandez will escape with only the citizens of New Terra. They say they are building a ship to the New World to carry these citizens – an ‘ark’.”
“… .”
“The central part of the continent is already in an uproar. However, after the battle for the throne, the gates of New Terra were tightly closed, and the passages through which you can enter are very limited. And you need billions of dollars to use that limited passage.”
I laughed out loud.
“You believe in such false rumors and pay billions of dollars to try to enter the imperial capital?”
“Ecliptic New Terra is the center of the world. A third of the world economy is concentrated in that city. Such a city suddenly closed its doors to ‘prepare for invasion by foreign enemies’, and logistics and industry around the world stopped. At the same time, ominous signs are creeping in from all over the world.”
Scarlett shrugged.
“Everyone is anxious. Everyone wants to run away to a safe place. What will the billions of dollars be for you when you die?”
So, let’s take the case of Earth.
In the midst of war, famine, plague, etc., the world is confused and the story that the earth will soon perish.
Suddenly, New York (or Washington) is sealed off, and rumors spread that the President of the United States is leaving with only New Yorkers on board.
Anxious people struggle to enter New York even if it means robbing all of their wealth before it’s too late… … What is it?
‘It’s just a disaster movie.’
Well, in Crossroads, every day is a disaster movie.
“So I urgently needed a lot of money to enter New Terra… You came all the way here to find a big case and attacked me without any hesitation. Is this this?”
“… To put it simply, yes. That’s right.”
I clenched my tongue and crossed my legs leisurely.
“You guys know that it’s a dog comment?”
“… ?”
“Where I used to live, there was a custom of giving some money to someone who lost in gambling. Call this a review.”
I opened the box, took out a gold bar, and handed it to each of the five gamblers.
“You guys risked your lives in this game, but you did a cool job, so you deserve a review. old.”
The gamblers were bewildered, but accepted it.
Needless to say, these offspring all have the negative attribute ‘Golden Ore’. There’s no reason to refuse gold.
“I only wanted to make your lives my own, not to kill you. In other words… I fought like this to use you as my subordinates.”
The faces of the gamblers, who had been darkened by the story of not killing them, relaxed little by little. I chuckled.
“And I’m not poor enough to hire men without pay. The gold bar is yours.”
The gold bar quickly disappeared into the arms of the five gamblers. I nodded.
“If you work properly under me, earning enough money to enter New Terra is not a job. but.”
My voice became a bit harsh.
“… You don’t have to. Things like the ark are nonsense.”
Gradually, the full picture is showing what Fernandez’s plan is.
I raised my lips and laughed. I will definitely stop that crazy plan.
“You guys, let’s do a few things with me.”
I beckoned to the gamblers.
“I’ll be fighting Fernandez soon.”
“… ?!”
“I’m going to give a cool punch to that gisaeng brother-like face and punch a hole in the ark or whatever. The emperor will also be restored. You guys should join us in this.”
The gamblers gaped.
Well, maybe that’s too big for these guys.
What can I do? The contract between you and me has already ended.
“Of course, your life is already mine, but I hope you will voluntarily and wholeheartedly participate in my work.”
I kicked the gold ingot box next to me.
“Don’t treat me badly. I promise.”
“… Her Highness Fernandez, who occupied the ecliptic, and Her Highness Ashe, who occupied a small city in the southernmost hinterland.”
Scarlett shook her head slightly.
“To be honest, it seems like a battle that cannot be compared.”
“So the dividend is very high.”
If I were to fight Fernandez, most people would assume that Fernandez would win.
But what fun would there be in the world if everything went as expected?
When the underdog wins and the reverse blows. this is really fun
“Isn’t it the life of you gamblers, gamblers, to live while aiming to get rich anyway?”
I slowly got up from my seat and walked towards the gamblers.
“It’s not just a small game where you risk your life just to get into the back road of the ecliptic… Since you chose to live as a gambler, shouldn’t you bet on world supremacy with stakes?”
Looking down at the gamblers gulping dry saliva, I spoke briefly.
“Walk to me.”
“… What are you looking at, Your Highness?”
“There are so many reasons, but there is one that will get under your skin.”
I grinned.
“Have you ever played against me? how was it?”
regardless of the means.
I knocked these five down.
“I don’t think my skills as a matchmaker are bad.”
“… It is as you say.”
Scarlett, who kept her mouth shut, admitted it openly.
“I’ve met many gamblers who use all kinds of outlandish tactics, but Your Highness is the first one to beat us all at once.”
“Thank you for the mouth-watering sound.”
I looked around them one by one.
“okay. I am, to some extent, ‘the same department’ as you. So I know what you want.”
Of course, I’m not a gambler, even if I’m a winner.
essentially different from them. However, the extent of their behavior is understood.
“You gamblers actually feel pleasure in taking risks.”
“… .”
“And guys like you, who have been living on the gambling table all their lives, won’t even feel that they are alive unless they are on some precipice. yes?”
This is the essence of gambling.
There’s really no fun in just making money all the time. not addictive
When he succeeded in making a fortune at the end of an aerobatic flight at the risk of his life despite the danger of having a gun pointed at his temple.
pleasure at that time.
Those who are addicted to the thrill of this one-step reversal and cannot get out of the bottom of their lives.
That’s what these gamblers are.
‘In short, in other words.’
Gamblers means a group of perverted psychos who are addicted to risking their lives.
“You masochist bastards. I will provide it.”
I smiled, showing my teeth.
“A place where you risk your life to fight. The biggest gambling board in the world.”
the biggest risk.
and the biggest returns.
i will provide you
“I’ll let you play in a really big game so far that you feel like a kid’s play.”
“… .”
“If you’re going to play clown… … .”
I finished my words, looking down at the people who were just staring up at me, frozen in white from being overwhelmed.
“Shouldn’t we play to take over the world?”
***
In this way, the Gamble Club was incorporated into my party.
Of course, I don’t believe that they are loyal to me right now.
You should continuously use carrots and sticks alternately and train them steadily.
But they are useful. Especially in the battle at hand.
‘In the Midnight Sun Raid, the Great Emperor of Magic, and… … Even in the final battle with Fernandez.’
These gamblers’ parties will serve as my jokers. It really came at the right time.
The Midnight Sun Reid is also a raid, but in the fight against Fernandez, they were really desperate to join.
‘Fernandez is a master of magic.’
And under his command is the Aegis Task Force, a special unit dedicated to handling black ops.
Illusionist and black ops task force.
In other words, Fernandez is optimized for dirty, sleazy moves.
And my subordinates are weak in this way. They are all kind and sincere guys.
‘At least when there was a shadow unit, it responded to some degree… .’
In fact, now that the shadow army was destroyed, there was no team to solve these problems in the dark.
But now I’m going to master the gamble club this way.
In short, an exclusive dark department under my command.
A multi-talented task force that will take care of dirty and sloppy jobs rather than hand-to-hand combat.
recruited for that purpose.
All of them are masters of deception tactics and magic, and they have lived in back alleys all their lives. He may not know how to fight against monsters, but he must be good at espionage warfare against humans.
‘Utility performance, not attack power or defense power.’
You should organize a party like this. Because there is nothing to lose by keeping various things.
anyway… By doing this.
New heroes join the Crossroads while the others are gone.
Priestess Janice is suspected of being a spy.
The remnants of the 1st Corps of the Imperial Army, who were directly under Lark, and Metallic, the commander of the long-term knights who lead them.
and Gamblers Party Gamble Club.
After a few days, other people continued to pour in, and a new barracks was quickly built with the magic construction technology retrieved from the Lake Kingdom.
At the same time, the core of the tourism city plan that has been in progress since the first year – the time when the completion of the hotel is just around the corner.
My messengers who left all over the world began to return one by one.
Each of them took with them the ‘Fallen Kings’ who had left to rendezvous.
***
Leaving behind the crowded crossroads.
Flash!
I took the teleport gate and came to the base camp.
I walked calmly through the darkness I had grown accustomed to and headed to the corner of the base camp.
In the meantime, I visited every day, but it was always empty.
For some reason, I had a hunch.
That kind of premonition that we will be able to meet today.
And- sure enough.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her there.
“… .”
His white hair hung down on the floor casually, and he wrapped himself in a rag-like robe.
I sat on the cold stone floor and leaned my head against the collapsed stone wall.
He cherished the old sword in his arms.
With both eyes closed tightly, he fell asleep as if he were dead.
“… .”
I quietly came and stood in front of her. And I watched her closely.
However, it did not exist in the game.
An existence that must go together for the true ending.
The Last Last Fallen King on my list-
“… cotton.”
When I called quietly, Moo-myeong slowly opened her eyes.
Blue-green eyes, as clear as the lake, stared at me. I smiled.
“long time no see.”
“ash… .”
She laughed awkwardly. A haggard mouth rested, but a friendly voice flowed out.
“I see. It’s been a really long time.”
A Merchant NPC in the Lake Kingdom.
The guardian of the Lake Kingdom.
The princess of the Lake Kingdom.
The existence that eventually became the final boss in the last stage of the game.
cotton.
To save this world… …
… No, it’s not just because of such a grandiose cause.
Just because she is also within my reach.
So I decided to save her too.
I smiled and asked her.
“Would you like to talk to me?”
