Chapter 36: Messages from Bretonnia, in the Broken Lands

When that battered ship from the Chivalrous Expedition returned, everyone in Gelongni witnessed the tragic state of the vessel.

The ship, once full of streamers and colorful flags and looking like something out of a fairy tale, was now covered in filthy bloodstains. Inside the lower cabins, there were serfs and Knight Squires nailed to the walls and skinned everywhere.

The navigator, who should have been the one to provide an account, had turned into a madman, capable only of babbling about an unimaginably terrifying existence that had appeared in the north, turning their ship into such a bloody and horrific sight.

The only individual who remained somewhat lucid was the lord of the Knightly Order, now the Revenge Knight Joshua.

This knight, who had once been considered noble and elegant, wept bitterly after waking up, denouncing how the knights and serfs on his ship had been bewitched and betrayed by a vicious spell, and claimed that the enemy had viciously defiled the Holy Grail in some way.

The Holy Grail, which had once carried the glory of the Goddess, was now serving the enemy instead. This made all the knights feel that they had lost face.

Furthermore, the divinations of the Damsels of the Lake, as well as the Divination Association composed of many noble ladies of the knights, all claimed that they had divined an unimaginably great evil spreading over the Broken Lands in the north. Even the young ladies in those spring houses were whispering and spreading such news.

In just a few short days, the calls for a Chivalrous Expedition had spread through every street and alley of Gelongni, demanding the dispatch of a specialized expeditionary fleet to make that cursed wizard taste some bitterness.

Of course, because the Knight King was leading the main force of his knights to contain the Green Tide spreading from the Badlands, the number of regular knights for the Chivalrous Expedition might not be large.

However, many Knight Squires, serfs, and practitioners of some special trades, soldiers of the Blade Association, and mysterious foreigners all announced that they would join this special Chivalrous Expedition. For the purity of the Goddess's Holy Grail, these strangers were willing to sacrifice each other's lives without hesitation.

Under normal circumstances, the noble knights would certainly have felt that there were some signs of unease in this operation. But now, the Judgment Knights responsible for containing the environment had followed the main force to contain the Green Tide.

The remaining teams in the city of knights, Gelongni, were all local Reserve Knights. All they could do was wait for the call or join the Chivalrous Expedition.

For these rural knights who pursued honor and ideals, this kind of thing was nothing but beneficial.

What's more, there were many people fanning the flames in the dark.

Even, not the local Humans of this world.

"Hey, are you guys planning to join the Chivalrous Expedition?"

The Earth Tavern in Gelongni was a gathering place for players in Bretonnia.

Wandering Knight players wearing armor, as well as ordinary players in leather or even hemp clothes, would all receive equal treatment here.

Because this was a very important place for exchanging information, the players who operated here were all leaders of somewhat famous guilds or player organizations mentioned on the forums outside.

And now, they were fiercely discussing the topic of this Chivalrous Expedition in the tavern.

Among them, the man wearing the most gorgeous, gold-covered armor knocked on the table and said in a muffled voice:

"Going is a must, but that's Norsca and the North Chaos Sea over there. If something happens there, won't we really die? I even heard a while ago that some people died inexplicably in the rainforest and couldn't be resurrected."

"So what? Can we just keep being serfs here forever?"

A player in hemp clothes with disheveled hair spat and shrugged, looking bored.

"This damn place, Bretonnia, looks like it's great, but this class system is impossible to cross. A serf is a serf, and a knight is a knight. Outsiders like us can't even mix in; we can only rely on these large-scale operations."

"But we aren't treated as locals of Bretonnia, so what's the point of mixing in?"

"Haven't you read the forum? There's a poor guy on the forum who's in Norsca and knows the situation there; there really is land and people over there."

"You mean...?"

Many eyes looked at the male player in hemp clothes.

And that male player looked left and right, as if he were about to reveal some great scheme, subconsciously lowered his voice, looked at the players around him, and said slowly: "Drag along some fellow brothers; even if this Chivalrous Expedition fails, we can still earn the qualification of a Pioneer Knight. By then, on the edge of the Frozen Sea, we can at least boast that we have some connection with Bretonnia. This is also a protective talisman. At the end of the day, we players still need a city of our own to feel at ease. But the Norsca border is too dangerous; with just our abilities, I'm afraid we can't even withstand a single war beast."

"And you guys know how protective this damn place, Bretonnia, is. This is a pledge of allegiance."

Looking at those players who seemed to have suddenly realized, this man, who was clearly a shill for some top guild player organization, smiled very smugly.

"Even if everyone pools together a legion to help them, even if this mission fails, as long as we really contribute manpower and effort, Bretonnia will owe this favor. Even if they don't like it, they will still come."

The man in hemp clothes looked at the surrounding knights and squires with an expression of 'I'm doing this for your own good' and very earnestly helped them calculate.

"Lone wolf players can be recognized as Bretonnians, and collective players will have claims and knightly badges. Even if it fails, there are benefits. And if it succeeds, then we are also knight lords."

"We might even be qualified to try building a city in Bretonnia. Isn't this much better than Norsca?"

Just as the words of the player in hemp clothes fell, someone followed up.

That gold-armored knight touched his helmet and said muffledly:

"Are those knight lords really that stupid? Oh, right, it seems they really are that stupid. If it weren't for that, they wouldn't have gone to the Broken Lands for an expedition with such great fanfare..."

"Right? For us, contributing manpower and effort doesn't cost much, but the returns are high. Maybe we can even whitewash our identities. Why not do it?"

"..."

Singing in harmony, are they performing a crosstalk act?

Other low-level guild players and leaders of medium-sized guilds squinted at the two of them performing.

However, they didn't have much say. It had already reached this point, the territory division was almost settled, and the Old World was dominated by this one faction, so there was nothing to say. They could only watch them put on an act.

And the gold-armored knight pretended to be thinking and tentatively asked:

"But is what that Norsca player said true?"

"It's true. I asked a few reincarnated Norsca players, and the terrain and the people all match up."

The player in hemp clothes waved his hand and replied decisively.

"Besides, isn't there a legend that Norsca is going to have a great migration now? That's to go there. When the time comes, we'll find the players there, get the Norscans to sell us some furs and bones, and drive the price down. Wouldn't we be able to make a huge profit?"

"Oh my, this looks like an opportunity to make big money."

"Yeah, sounds pretty good."

"..."

"..."

Watching the two of them pretend to settle the matter, the other players looked at each other, and no one wanted to be the first to stick their neck out.

But a yawning young man sighed, propped his chin up, and glanced at the two performing the double act.

"What's that Norsca player's name? Is there anything else that's authentic?"

"Li Ang. A Norsca player with an official refugee certificate. Verified by the forum."

(End of chapter)