CH 348

Eisden was very, very curious! As if to pique his curiosity further, there were additional words on the note.

[If you don’t divulge this to the foreigners, I will send you the next part along with the lunch boxes. —From the best-selling author, Aruvel.]

Eisden hurriedly left the place and jumped inside his sleeping bag to get to sleep.

“I’m hungry…”

“I feel like I will die from hunger…”

The voices of Eisden’s comrades-in-arms rang loudly throughout the base, making him feel guilty. The note had told him that they would give them lunch boxes everyday, in exchange for not telling the foreigners about it. Eisden agonized about the choice that he should make.

‘No. I have to let them know. Ha. This might be an enemy trying to sow discord,’ Eisden thought. He vowed to report that the enemy had employed a strange strategy the first thing tomorrow, when the sun rose. So, he tried to sleep, but failed to do so.

‘That perfectly warm karaage… The crunchy skin and the juicy meat inside… they complemented each other perfectly… the taste inside my mouth was divine.’

This thought flashed in Eisden’s head as he tossed around.

‘Aaaaah. That fried rice too, how can it be like that…’

His lips smacked unknowingly at the thought.

‘I’d rather not say anything about the lunch box…’

‘No! That’s a very dangerous thing to do.’

That was what Eiden told himself as he shook his head vehemently! So, he swept it out of his mind and tried to sleep again. However, this time, something else floated in his mind.

‘The creaking bed… the two people sweating on top of it… I wonder what happened there?!!’

Eisden could not sleep from the curiosity and thoughts running wildly through his mind. This went on until the next day befell upon the base.

Meanwhile, inside Eisden’s dream…

‘Ooooh, Prince Eisden!!!’

‘My love is only for you, Benjamin!’

‘Prince!’

‘Benjamin!’

…that he became the protagonist of the story ‘Why Did the Prince Go Out Tonight?’. Eisden dreamed that he was hugging Benjamin tightly. The bed creaked loudly as they made love all night long.

Blink—

When he opened his eyes…

“…”

…Eisden immediately ran to the bathroom after glancing at his pants.

‘Ugh! Doing this at my age…!’ Eisden grumbled as he crouched down to hand-wash his underwear.

While washing his underwear, Eisden thought, ‘Whoever that was, they really know how to drive one crazy…!’

He originally wanted to report to Commander Arohan at the break of dawn but right now…!

‘Let’s just look at the situation first and read the next part of the story!’

That was right. This was the lunch box filled with Minhyuk’s cooking and Aruvel’s novel ‘Why Did the Prince Go Out Tonight’, that fascinated and hooked Eisden successfully!

***

That day, Eisden did not inform his higher-ups about the lunch box. He waited and loitered around the walls, in both hunger and curiosity.

Plop—

Just like yesterday, a lunch box filled with food was sent over from the wall.

‘I think there’s less food than yesterday?’ Eisden thought as he gulped down the food in a hurry. Then, he flipped the lunch box over to check the contents of the note written on its back.

[Why Did the Prince Go Out Tonight (Snippet)

The two of them shared a night of hot and passionate love and welcomed a sweet and blissful morning. They felt happy to welcome the sunshine in each other’s arms. However, it was time for the Prince to go back. He reluctantly kissed her forehead and made his way back to the castle. 

At that moment, the Emperor, the Prince’s father, noticed his abnormality. He immediately sent the knights to her house.]

“…Aaaaah! This is really driving me crazy!” Eisden roared, jumping in anger.

‘Look at this massive cliff hanger?! My goodness, is this what you wanted to do with your readers?! Isn’t it only right for the writer to send more content to satisfy the readers’ curiosity?’

As those thoughts flashed in his head, an additional note caught his attention.

[Starting today, we will deliver lunch boxes for all the soldiers to eat. Let your comrades know about it so they could satisfy their hunger. We will also make sure to send you a lunch box tomorrow. Remember, do not tell the foreigners about this. EVER.]

‘The curiosity is killing me…!’

What happened to Benjamin when the knights went to her house?!! With this curiosity driving him, Eisden hurriedly informed his comrades about the lunch box. When they appeared next to the dark walls, lunch boxes began to drop down from the sky.

The next morning, the bathroom was crowded with people.

Tap, tap, tap, tap—

Hundreds of Berdk soldiers stood in line with their underwear in hand! They chatted with each other as they hand-washed their underwear.

“I wonder what happened to Benjamin?”

“The Emperor must not like the fact that the Prince, a noble existence, fell in love with her, a commoner. Maybe he’s going to kill her on the spot?”

“No way! The novel hasn’t reached its climax yet!”

The soldiers were curious. However, none of them reported this incident to the foreigners. All they did was wait for the next night to come.

***

Commander Arohan was filled with doubt. He thought, ‘It seems like the faces of the Kharamis soldiers are full of vigor these days. But, they’re definitely suffering from hunger. What’s going on?’

Something has changed among the soldiers. It was evident on the smiles constantly plastered on their faces. Arohan felt like he was looking at people that had their eyes opened to a new world after going to a bar as an adult!

However, their hunger still remained. This was because Minhyuk and the Atlas soldiers reduced the amount of food that they sent over by a very small margin. Besides, they only delivered food once a day, so the Berdk soldiers were still hungry. This was to make them hunger for more. As a result, no Kharamis soldier reported to Arohan about the current situation. Still, how could there be hungry, yet happy, soldiers?

‘Did they all go crazy?’ Arohan thought, doubt lingering on his face.

This was the fifth day since China and Korea’s clash over the supply routes.

***

In the middle of the night.

The soldiers hurriedly chowed down the food in their lunch boxes. They divided themselves into two groups. One group would guard, while the other group would eat and read. They would switch after. In a way, they were thorough and meticulous about the whole process.

After eating his lunch box, Eisden hurriedly turned over the box.

[Why Did the Prince Go Out Tonight (Snippet)

The knights forced Benjamin on her knees.

“You b*tch, do you know the person that you dared to love?!”

However, Benjamin did not falter in front of the knights. 

“Is love a sin?”

“Your love is equivalent to high treason.”

“Then I will die for it. But I have no regrets. He loves me and I love him. Even if I die, that truth will still remain.”

Her love was not something that death could stop. Even if she died, her love for him would remain steadfast.

‘I love you, my Prince.’

She slowly closed her eyes and accepted her imminent death. But just when the knight’s sword was about to fall…

Claaaaaaaang—

A sword suddenly appeared out of nowhere and parried the knight’s sword. A man had appeared in front of her.

“Stay behind me. Benjamin.”

It was her Prince.]

“N… no…!”

“D… don’t cut it here!!!”

“A…aaaaaaack!”

The soldiers all lamented. They could not believe that there was a novel that always kept them hooked everyday!

“This writer is a genius!!!”

“I know! I know exactly how you feel!!!”

The soldiers were all in awe at the writer’s skill. And just like the other days, there was an additional note attached to the box. However, the contents of the note brought a whole new level of shock to the soldiers.

[Will you lend us your strength?]

“…?!”

“…?!”

The soldiers stared at the note in horror.

‘How dare you try to bewitch us?!’

‘This is bullshit!’

And yet, they kept on reading the note. After all, they knew that they would not be able to read the next part of the story anymore if they ignored this!

[If you come to our side, we promise to give you three delicious meals a day. Also, there are two completed books by Author Aruvel entitled ‘Today, the Wild Horse Runs’ and ‘The Princess and Ondal the Fool’ that will be given to you for free.]

“I will volunteer to be your strength right now!” Eisden shouted unknowingly, his heart pumping in excitement.

‘Ah! I really wanted to see his completed works ‘The Princess and Ondal the Fool’ and ‘Today, the Wild Horse Runs’!’

However, that was just something that he said in the heat of the moment. The soldiers still analyzed things rationally.

“But, can we really do that?”

“In the first place, we aren’t on the side of any continent. Right?”

That was true. They really did not belong to either of the two continents. They were just supporting whoever that captured Berdk first for a while.

“In fact, Commander Arohan just sees us as tools. But, if we work under these people, then we will be able to continue eating these delicious meals and reading the fascinating works of that author named Aruvel.”

“Th… then, will I be able to get an autograph?”

“I think so?”

“Oh… ooooooh!!!”

The fans of Aruvel’s works were burning with determination!!! Their decision was slowly setting in stone. So, they kept on reading the note.

‘It’s going to be tomorrow…’

‘Tomorrow…’

The soldiers double-checked the word ‘tomorrow’ written at the end of the note.

***

Arohan was suddenly put in a flustering situation. There was a change between the Chinese and Korean players that were engaged in a battle of nerves! According to the Chinese players keeping watch on the situation, the players of Asgan Continent that blocked the supply routes had started to retreat.

‘Perhaps…’

They were most likely going to attack Berdk. As the commander, he hurriedly gave his order for his men to prepare for battle, while the Kharamis soldiers were sent to man the siege weapons and be on standby.

Arohan kept on monitoring the situation through the words of their allies in the chat window.

[Hai Lou: They’re giving up the supply routes to attack Berdk!]

[Kenny: I don’t know what they’re trying to do. They should know that we’ll be able to catch up to them anyway.]

[Hai Lou: Berdk, a gigantic attack base, is in our hands and we’re chasing them from behind. We’ll be able to kill all of these idiots at once! Hahahahahaha!]

The Chinese players were delighted. They immediately gave chase the moment the Korean players pulled back from the supply routes. The Korean players would definitely be hit with Berdk’s siege weapons once they reached Berdk. Once that happened, the Chinese players that were chasing them from behind would be able to finish them off. They were very confident that South Korea would finally face their defeat in this fight.

Arohan, who was standing on the ramparts, looked at the Korean players flocking to Berdk from all over the place.

‘Morons!!!’

Arohan smiled menacingly as he gave his orders, “Send orders for the Kharamis soldiers to use the siege weapons.”

“Yes, sir!”

There were more than three thousand Asgan troops dashing forward in a reckless manner. In this situation, the siege weapons would definitely play a huge role and show their ridiculous might! Despite the siege weapons’ tremendous power, they were so complicated and difficult to operate, that only the Kharamis soldiers could use them.

In an instant, the Korean players had already reached their vicinity.

“Fire! Fire!” Arohan shouted loudly to the point that the veins in his neck popped as he covered his ears in preparation for the loud booming sounds that would erupt, spelling the downfall of their enemies! However, the siege weapons did not fire, even after quite some time had passed.

‘D… don’t tell me…?’

Arohan wondered if the soldiers had passed out from hunger. After all, there was a huge possibility of that happening.

‘Were they aiming for this?’

However, even if that was the case, Arohan was sure that the Korean players would be slaughtered by the Chinese players that were chasing them from behind.

In a blink of an eye, all three thousand Asgan troops arrived at Berdk.

“Men, load your bows and shoot the enemy troops! Mages! Let your magic run wild!” Arohan ordered his men as he watched the Cairon players and troops advancing from behind their enemies. From his estimate, there were at least four thousand of his allies coming towards Berdk!

‘Fufufufufu!’

Arohan chuckled at the thought of his enemies’ defeat. Just then, an ominous sound rang loudly in the surroundings.

Creak, creak, creak, creak—

It was the sound of creaking machinery as the ground vibrated. Arohan thought that the siege weapons were being activated. However, that was not the case at all! It was the huge gate located at the center of Berdk’s ramparts! The gates had opened on their own!

“…?!”

Arohan looked at the gates in disbelief as thousands of Asgan troops rushed inside the base.

“Heoook!”

The nightmare was far from over. Even the siege weapons also began activating. Just a single attack from any of Berdk’s siege weapons was comparable to a falling meteor. Then, the magic catapult was triggered.

Vwoooooong—

A gigantic flaming stone, akin to a falling meteor, soared through the air. Its size seemed to increase in the eyes of the Cairon forces, and as the meteor fell…

Baaaaaaaang!

…death and screams were everywhere!

“Wh… what the hell?” Arohan asked dumbly, unable to comprehend the situation in front of him.

***

Creak, creak, creak, creak!

Minhyuk, together with the Korean rankers, rushed inside Berdk the moment the huge gates opened.

All of the rankers were looking at Minhyuk with awe and admiration. They could not believe that it only took him 12 minutes and 30 seconds to recapture Berdk.

Then, Minhyuk raised his sword high up in the sky as he shouted. His voice rang loudly for the people watching the broadcast on their screens. He said, “We have recaptured Berdk!!!”

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

“Waaaaaaaaah!”

Thunderous roars shook the ground as they cheered.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world were all dumbstruck, not understanding how the gates of Berdk could open on their own for the Asgan forces to enter.