I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

8 – The Wolf (2)

The Wolf (2)

The Hallansia estate, just a bit north, was an estate developed around a thriving agricultural industry, unlike the estate Kim Hyeonwoo was cultivating. Thick walls surrounded the estate, and within it, there were abundant fields where numerous grains grew.

Additionally, with the condition of receiving the protection of the Serthova estate belonging to the Kalan Kingdom, exceeding 30% of the resources harvested annually, there was no one around to interfere with the prosperous Hallansia estate.

Thanks to this, Hallansia had maintained steady growth from the past until now. However, a few years ago, the then lord’s son, the current lord who ascended after his father’s sudden death, was dissatisfied.

He had ambition.

Rather than the agricultural business, he was far more interested in the mercenary and magical industries, which could attract more money and better manpower.

Due to the protective boundaries disguised as the protection of the Sertova territory, the lord couldn’t pursue the development of the maze.

However, the reason the lord couldn’t do so was, in large part, due to the problems in the Hallansia territory that were already dependent on the Sertova territory, thanks to his father and the former lord.

So, for the lord, who had been contemplating how to gain independence from the Sertova territory since his inauguration, the Larthania territory was a very good solution.

The Larthania territory could yield a substantial amount of wealth, enough to make a sound when obtained, especially if one could acquire the territory stone fragment.

Thus, the Hallansian lord considered the proximity of the Larthania territory to be very fortunate.

In fact, as far as he knew, abandoned territories like Larthania on this continent were not so plentiful.

Practically, even if one searched the entire southern continent, there were only a few such places.

Originally, territory stones did not disappear with the lord’s death; instead, the next lord was designated immediately by appointing the person who would continue the lordship.

In other words, since abandoned territories with fragments of territory stones after a lord’s demise were scarce, opportunities to obtain such fragments were not plentiful.

Therefore, from the perspective of the Hallansian lord, having the Larthania territory nearby was a stroke of luck.

Due to the geographical advantage of being very close to the Larthania territory, the Hallansian lord could single-handedly acquire all the fragments of territory stones.

Of course, after the division of the Larthania territory, the Hallansian territory could not monopolize the fragments obtained.

The reason the Hallansian lord could alone acquire the fragments of territory stones created after the territory burst was because of a promise.

A promise to hand over 80% of the obtained territory stones to the Sertova territory.

Thanks to this promise, those who sought the territory stones created in Larthania in this region, essentially under the jurisdiction of the Kalan Kingdom, disappeared under the protection of Sertova.

Hallansia was left in a situation where it could safely consume and take away the territory stones.

However, naturally, the lord of Hallansia had no intention of entirely dedicating the consumed territory stones to the Sertova territory.

On the contrary, he planned to present the territory stones directly to the Kalan royal family, changing the head of the Hallansia territory to the Kalan royal family instead of the Sertova territory.

Of course, from someone else’s perspective, one might wonder what difference that made.

After all, the Sertova territory was ultimately under the Kalan Kingdom.

However, it was distinctly different.

Unlike the Sertova territory, which did not want to expand further, the Kalan royal family would not impose such constraints on the Hallansia territory.

Is that all?

In the immediate sense, if there were disputes with the Sertova territory arising from presenting the territory stones, the royal family could easily mediate.

In other words, the Hallansia territory could gain complete freedom without even the constraint of growth, receiving the protection of the Kalan Kingdom, and thus, the lord was hopeful.

So, when the owner of the neglected territory returned after ten years, sending a letter requesting reinforcements, the lord did not consider helping at all.

No, he even smiled upon receiving the letter.

After all, the reason for the return of the Larthania lord, although unknown, ultimately indicated a lack of forces to stop the maze break.

In retrospect, it was natural.

The prosperity of Larthania was a decade ago, and the renowned roundtable of Larthania, which was considered the strongest in the vicinity, naturally disbanded with the disappearance of the lord ten years ago.

Therefore, Lord Harlansia anxiously awaited the return of Alto, who had gone to obtain the territory stone as soon as possible, until he learned that Alto had died.

“…”

With a vacant expression, the Lord of Harlansia gazed at the scenery outside the lord’s castle.

What was visible was a completely shattered castle wall.

Beneath that wall, a path adorned with the blood and corpses of soldiers arranged in a straight line leading to the lord’s castle.

And in front of him.

“How did you…?”

She stood there.

No, terror stood there.

She was one of the Round Table, belonging to Larthania, who had killed the former hero, the most cherished one of the former Lord of Harlansia, in just five moves.

“You ordered it, didn’t you?”

– Now, the ‘Red Eye’ from the Lain tribe stood before her.

“Watch the owner die and bring the territory stone.”

####

Lord Harlansia could not understand why there was a red-eyed figure in front of her.

No, in fact, if you try to deduce it to some extent, it’s understandable.

The red eyes were a former hero belonging to Larthania.

However, the reason the Lord couldn’t fully understand the situation was that it had been ten years since she belonged to Larthania.

In other words, she, who had returned as the Lord, had nothing to do with Larthania anymore, and there was no way the Lord of Larthania, who had nothing left, could acquire her.

Therefore.

“Well, calm down for a moment, Red Eye! Why are you doing this anyway? You’re not affiliated with Larthania anymore-“

The Lord opened her mouth to convince her, but at that moment.

Thud-!

The Lord could no longer speak.

“Shut uuuup!!!”

He was lifted up by Merylda’s hand.

Whether the jaw was broken or not, blood flowed through the gaps between Merylda’s fingers, and the Lord struggled to escape her hand with swollen, bloodshot eyes.

However, Merylda spoke with a clear expression of anger.

“Who said I don’t belong here?”

“Ugh! Uuuhhh!”

Lady Yeongju, caught in mid-air, struggled to break free in any way she could.

She twisted Lady Yeongju’s body in mid-air.

Thud! Crash!

Lady Yeongju, now shattered, clutched her mouth and screamed, her elegant wooden furniture destroyed.

Kwajik!

Merilda crushed Lady Hallansia’s skull under her foot.

Lady Yeongju, trembling and collapsing, looked up at Merilda.

“Whether in the past or now, those who come from your territory always manage to anger me.”

Thunk!

Merilda stomped on Lady Hallansia’s head again, smashing it to pieces.

Lady Yeongju, shivering and collapsing, met Merilda’s gaze.

“…”

Suddenly, memories from the past flashed in Merilda’s mind.

A time when, marked by Hallansia, she had approached herself sitting in Yeongju Castle, waiting for her master.

‘Let’s go together, the King of the Sui, and all the other heroes have left. Why are you still here when you’re not even affiliated with Larvania? If I’ve been trying to persuade you for three weeks, wouldn’t it be worth listening to the story?’

‘Ha! If you can’t admit it, I’ll tell you directly! Your master has abandoned you. He won’t even look for you! You’ve been rejected, you—’

The hero with the mark of Hallansia, whom she had killed.

And…

“No, no.”

“I, I—”

“I’m still, I still—”

“I’m still affiliated.”

Merilda stared at the dead Lady Yeongju as if she could kill her.

“I’m still—”

Trembling hands that had not wavered even when killing hundreds of soldiers.

“—unable to return.”

She tightly held the gift box in her arms.

Shaking…

…It took a while for her hand tremors to calm down, ever since leaving the Hallansia territory.

####

Kim Hyun-woo, who had marveled at the sudden 292% influx rate of Larvania’s territory yesterday, felt no significant changes that day.

Originally, it wasn’t expected for the Territory Influx Rate to suddenly spike, leading the Territory residents to come rushing in that day.

Therefore, Kim Hyunwoo pondered what could have possibly happened externally. Despite his efforts to figure out why the Territory Influx Rate, which was at -25%, had risen so drastically, he naturally couldn’t find any answers.

From the start, all he could glean from the notification window was the fact that the Territory Influx Rate was increasing due to an event.

Thus, setting aside his curiosity, Kim Hyunwoo spent the day, only to exclaim, “What is this?” when the next day arrived and he found himself dumbfounded by the staggering population in the nearby abandoned village.

—-

Territory Influx Rate: 310%

※ Due to event-related incidents, adjustments for decreased influx rate due to development disappear!

—-

After confirming that the Territory Influx Rate had improved from 292% to 310%, I found myself involuntarily gaping and quickly checked the Territory window.

—-

Territory: Lartania

Territory Development: -14

Territory Residents

[Humans: 288]

Owned Buildings

[Lord’s Castle]

Owned Forces

-None-

Heroes in the Territory

Kim Hyunwoo (Lord)

—-

“This is insane.”

Kim Hyunwoo, without realizing it, uttered a curse and widened his eyes.

Even if the Territory Influx Rate increased, he had never witnessed so many Territory residents coming in at once.

‘Even with a high influx rate, the average should be a steady flow of 10 to 20 people.’

Within just a day, the population had increased by over 200. Kim Hyunwoo couldn’t help but be dumbfounded, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

As he pondered seriously where these Territory residents could have come from, Kim Hyunwoo thought, ‘Come to think of it, I should just ask.’

Here, I was able to summon a representative from among the refugees who had come to settle in this territory last night to hear their story.

And…

“So, all of you came here because the Hallansia territory was destroyed, is that right?”

“Yes, the soldiers say the ‘Red Eyes’ attacked the territory.”

“The Red Eyes?”

…

As Kim Hyun-woo unconsciously tilted his head at the refugee’s words,

The Lord of the Sertova territory, who is also the lord of the Sertova territory, which is somewhat east of Hallansia and protected by the Kalan Kingdom.

“Say that again.”

The former ‘hero,’ Lord Malice.

“What?”

He was making a very interesting expression as he listened to the report of the servant that Laritania was not destroyed during the Labyrinth Break incident when the Hallansia territory was destroyed.