Chapter 214

The Purple Queen explains the recent events.

There were parts that matched my expectations, so at first, I could listen with enjoyment, but as the story continued, I became increasingly aware of reality, and my brows began to furrow involuntarily.

“Such a thing…”

I knew that someone with a modern mind had taken the place of Seol and Ryong, but even taking that into consideration, the situation was worse than expected.

“So, you’re saying that strange person took away all of your group?”

“…Yes.”

The Purple Queen nods in affirmation.

Though there was no atmosphere of deceit, I still turned my head quickly towards Seol and Ryong, just in case.

“Maza!”

“…”

Seol, upon receiving my gaze, jumps around before vigorously nodding her head, and Ryong, without saying a word, stares at me intently before nodding once.

“Hmm…”

“Edu? What’s wrong?”

Nisia’s question.

“The situation is very bad.”

“Is…that so? Hasn’t anything really changed?”

“Well, but it seems like our opponent has more information than we do.”

The most important thing in a fight is having superior information.

Of course, since enemies also think and act, there can be some gaps in information. However, the problem was that the actions of our enemies were difficult to explain by mere gaps in information.

The White Queen, Red Queen, and Purple Queen—threatening existences who appeared in Act 3, each with the epithets of despair, terror, and nightmare, and adversaries that could bring about great calamities.

And as can be seen from the fact that these three queens only appear in Act 3, their existence was completely unknown until then, and naturally, there was no way to find them.

Yet, not only did someone attack the group of these three queens, but they allegedly took them all?

Even if it were just one or two, we might have attributed that to extraordinary luck, but the idea that by pure coincidence, this person only attacked and took these three queen groups is an absurd hypothesis.

In other words, the opponent clearly took the cryptid groups of the three queens with intention.

‘But how did they know about the queens’ locations?’

Known only sparsely through the game manual and scarcely depicted in the game, the cryptids remain largely unknown—even to AOE veterans.

However, our opponent boldly attacked the three groups as if it were the most natural thing and absorbed their forces.

“Ordinary people wouldn’t know this information…”

“Then it might be someone extraordinary?”

Nisia’s cautious tone continued.

“An extraordinary person?”

“Yeah. If it’s not ordinary, it must be extraordinary, so I just said it… Hehe.”

As Nisia’s confidence wanes, her voice grows quieter until she sheepishly smiles.

But with those obvious words, the tension lifts, my mind clears, and forgotten things begin to resurface.

‘That’s right, Nisia is correct. Someone extraordinary!’

Games are created by someone.

And extraordinary individuals in a game are the developers.

Developers are gods within the game they create, so it’s not strange that they know information not publicly disclosed.

And if this hypothesis is correct, the overly cautious behavior displayed until now and the incompetent strategy used despite having such a formidable army also make sense.

Even if someone is a developer, without experience playing the game themselves, they would find it hard to fully utilize their knowledge due to the unfamiliarity of the situation.

“Thanks Nisia, my head feels clearer thanks to you.”

“Well, that’s good then.”

Nisia giggles, hehe.

I look back and face the Purple Queen.

“So, I understand the situation. How should we help?”

“Some mean person took many of our groups, and we need to grow our group to fight back.”

“Your group…”

“Yes, my mom and sisters seem to have small groups taken from the enemy, but it’s not enough. We need a big group, filled with brutes.”

The Purple Queen points to the brains.

In short, we need a big group filled with command entities.

Recalling the countless cryptids in their territory that once surged forward, covering the ground in overwhelming numbers, the Purple Queen’s request was reasonable.

“I see, so if we help you grow the group, that would be it?”

“Yes, that’s right. Mom, you’re smart.”

The Purple Queen gives me a thumbs-up.

I feel flattered receiving praise from a much younger child, but also somewhat embarrassed.

“Well, we can help as much as possible, but the ‘moms’ need preparation. So, if we gather what we need and then help, would that be fine?”

“…Yes.”

The Purple Queen nods her agreement.

I confirm that and then turn to Nisia.

“In that case, as the brain entity fell, the enemy must be fractured, so let’s leave the rest of the cryptids to the Beast Knight and head back to the Forward Base. Seol, is that okay?”

“Yes! The Beast is strong!”

Seol nods in agreement.

Finally, I turn my gaze to the Purple Queen, who looks up at me.

“So… What will you do?”

“…Hm.”

The Purple Queen, biting her finger, thinks for a moment.

“I will stay.”

“Ah, so you won’t come with us?”

“…Yes, I need to look after the group. Still inexperienced.”

Saying this like a decisive youngest child, the Purple Queen looks up at me.

“I see. So, where should we meet next?”

“…When you call, I’ll come to meet you. You’re strong, so I’ll know when you call.”

“Is that so?”

“…Yes.”

Perhaps due to the Empress trait notification that came up earlier, though I don’t know the exact reason, I feel as though there’s some kind of connection between us, as the Purple Queen said.

“…Then, moms and sisters, go well.”

After saying that, the Purple Queen totters off to her group.

“Wait a moment.”

The Purple Queen turns to me at her name and wobbles back.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“Hmm, well…”

We’ll presumably meet again next time, but there’s a poignant feeling about just letting her go.

‘I want to give her something, at least a name…’

Contemplating this and meeting the Purple Queen’s gaze, her soft purple eyes remind me of a certain flower.

“Rai.”

“…Rai?”

“Yes, Rai. Seol, Ryong, Rai. That’s the name derived from the lilac flower that your eyes resemble. Does it suit you?”

“…Rai.”

The Purple Queen carefully repeats my words and then Rai looks up at me with a smile for the first time.

Contrary to her mature tone, it’s a charming and innocent smile that suits a child.

“…Yes, thank you, Mom.”

“Well then, we’ll see each other next time, Rai.”

Ruffling Rai’s hair.

With that unexpected meeting now behind us, we head back to the Forward Base.

Leaving Seol and Ryong in Nisia’s care, we all board Bungbungi and race towards the Obelisk at full speed.

“Bungbungi! Maximum speed!”

[ Peeeep! /୧(๑•̀⌄•́๑)૭]

Bungbungi swiftly brings me to the front of the Commander’s office.

I knock on the door using my hands.

“Chancellor! Freya!”

– Edu? You can just come in.

“Yes!”

I open the door and step inside.

Chancellor Ryeoju and Freya look at me as they were having a conversation.

“Edu? What’s up?”

“That’s right, you seem extremely urgent.”

“I have something to report. Do you have a moment?”

At my words, the two immediately switch to a serious demeanor and look intently at me.

“Sure, what is it?”

“As per your instruction, I went to the cryptid den…”

I deliver the information and facts about what happened in the cryptid den and about the enemy to Chancellor Ryeoju and Freya.

The two wear grave expressions after hearing my explanation.

“Wow, that’s bad news.”

“That’s true. The forces are significant, and the enemy possesses information that we do not…”

After some thought, Freya looks at me.

“Should we launch a preemptive strike by mobilizing troops?”

“No, doing so might result in heavy casualties.”

Though various forces have been significantly bolstered, the deployable forces compared to hostile factions are still lacking. Also, cryptids are inherently strong in prolonged battles due to their group nature, and the enemy possesses large-scale armies, having absorbed the groups of the three queens.

Engaging in a reckless decisive battle with such opponents could lead to irreversible consequences.

“But we can’t just leave them alone either, right?”

“That’s true, which is why we intend to try the method I mentioned earlier to fight the cryptids.”

“The method Rai suggested about enlarging the group?”

“Yes.”

So, this is where we go all-in.

If cryptids are strong in protracted warfare, then we can work with Seol, Ryong, and Rai to significantly increase the group and use that group to counter the enemy.

“So, what are your next plans?”

“I need to finish what I was doing, so I’ll move to Europe first to rescue the NATO allied maritime fleet.”

“Starting with Europe? Is there a reason?”

“Yes, Bonaparte will be on the move.”

That guy has drawn his sword against us.

While he may find it hard to mobilize all of his forces against Ustansha’s current offensive, once the front stabilizes, we don’t know when he might return with a large fleet as he did before.

We were originally waiting for them to lower their guard, but with the cryptid threat intensifying, we no longer have that luxury.

“Yeah, is there anything we can help with?”

“Yes, a few warships first…”

Our ongoing discussion continued.

A few days later, a fleet centered around the Argonaut and warships soared across the sky over the Forward Base.

“Set sail!”

“The fleet’s departing! Maintain vigilance.”

Sita announces, elaborating on my instruction.

“Big sister, shall we go west like this?”

“Hmm…”

I ponder the question for a moment before a task comes to mind.

‘Come to think of it, the Ustansha guys’ tension must have loosened by now; we should at least say hi once.’

“No, let’s stop by somewhere first. Let’s go this way.”

“Yes, big sister.”