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Chapter 323: Parties Coming for the Treasure

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Hit and Bathe —it was the technique employed by the bathers that swarmed around the dragon.

Gamers and NPCs of all Ranks payed money to buy T-Devices from item shops; while those who don’t have enough money grouped together to rent warships and rush in towards Alexandria from all over the Northern Continent.

A mass exodus of players and NPCs occurred.

Many didn’t dare wish they’d get in time before the dragon died and bath in its blood. They were still rushing in because they wanted to get a piece of the dragon after its death.

For some reason, the dragon is bleeding from within and this was a sign that it was dying.

A dragon this big is the first time they are seeing it… and on the contrary, this was also going to be the last time they will be able to see this dragon alive before it is taken away by some power that might claim on it on its entirety.

And they are correct.

Gamer Guilds are now beginning to move towards this prize while NPC Organizations also started to move en masse towards Alexandria.

In fact, in the Walled City of Paneme, one of the oversized Walled Cities in The North —actually in the far northeastern region of Tiara… the Knight Order of the Red Dragon Flag, a Player Guild that controls an entire city quadrant, is mobilizing 80% of its full force for the siege and ownership of the dragon’s carcass.

From all around the planet, even, such activities are in full display.

Fleets and warships flooded their city skies as the guilds that put interest in the Dragon’s incoming carcass had driven them all to assemble their own forces for its possession.

Usually, such activities were not permitted by the City Lord but the chaos and allure of the dragon’s carcass with all its issuing ripples have now come into an uncontrollable degree.

Of course, said city’s City Lord, Billion himself, is not stupid enough to miss this opportunity and so he asked help from The Union… by which the HQ replied that aside from the Miranda Fleet, which is bound to them as a subordinate by the agreement of a contract, will be sending another fleet to act and serve as the ‘owning’ party for the creature.

And of course, the incoming fleet from The Union will be much bigger than the Miranda Fleet since the contract with the Miranda does not include the ownership of items looted from their contracts.

If the Miranda so decides (and if successful) that she owns the carcass, then that’s already not part of the contract that The Union had agreed upon with them so they will have to get the carcass by legal means….. if it ever happens.

So now, while the dragon is still alive, they will have to hurry over Alexandria because they were positive that they aren’t the only ones who had thought of such an event.

And yet, the first time arrive was The Hydra Society’s fleets.

—yes.

Fleets.

BOOM~!!!

Following the exploding shockwave of space that was being filled by a large object, a warship that can almost rival the Rewloola Battleship, appeared above the city.

“Hey look at the flag on that Flagship! That’s the flag of Admiral Momonga of the Hydra Society!”

“War! The Empire is declaring war on The Union!”

“The Hydra Society of the Western Continent! It is a force under the jurisdiction of the NPC Imperial Family!”

When the players and NPCs flocking over for the dragon blood saw the shadowing numbers of that newly arrived fleet that arrived via Hyperdrive, all eyes had fixed at the sight of the purple Miranda.

That is because on their motherships were flags that bore the same emblem of the Imperial Family of the Unified Continent of Flowerion.

Admiral Momonga is an NPC and he was one of the very few NPCs that had close ties with player organizations.

Admiral Momonga, for that reason, a bit special since while he was a nobleman of high status, he was also a military figure and is famous for giving out Missions and Quests in The West that had all but for the benefit of The Empire.

In fact, in the entire game, no other empire had taken the title to be addressed as [The Empire] for they are afraid to antagonize the gigantic beast that was sleeping in The West.

Magenta… that was the capital color of Admiral Momonga’s Manhattan Fleet; comprised of two Battle Fleets —which are led by main warships as flag bearers, or just [Flagships], while the rest of the smaller warships are merely called its ‘units’.

The Manhattan Battleship is 210m long and had a streamlined ‘launcher’ body, like a swordfish, that with one look, you’d immediately realize it was a battleship that specialized in carrying warships than it was for frontline battle unlike the Rewloola.

In fact, when compared to the 180m-large purple themed Miranda Flagship, Admiral Momonga’s Manhattan Battleship was truly an eye-catching beauty; filled with “slots” that carried detachable smaller-sized [destroyers] that could either be used for organized bombing runs, or just plainly be there to serve as the Battleship’s weapons.

What was terrifying is that these destroyers were al fitted with Azeroths —same sized as the Bloody Mary Cannons but had a power of two Longhorns who can shoot from long distances.

…and there are 20 of them on its body alone!

It was both its only and main cannons for battle.

For engineering experts, Battleship Manhattan is very flexible warship that represents the apex of technological advancement of The Empire.

Such a large mechanical monster can be described in one word: intimidating.

And around it…?

There were two Miranda-sized flagships; one in front and one behind —in a formation— that was surrounded by eight smaller warships; with over hundreds of Cyclones and dozens of men inside every Cyclones, ready to deploy and lay siege for any other organization that may lay claim to the dragon’s (incoming) carcass.

In the larger picture, the Miranda Fleet is just one of the two Battle Fleets that escorted the large Battleship in the middle of the formation.

…and the sight of it made Rafaela frown.

*****

[Is this an official order from the Empress?]

Seated on his Commander Chair, Momonga, the Admiral in-charge of the Manhattan Fleet, fixed his hat and relaxedly stared back at the pretty Commander.

“It is an official business.”

As one of the Leaders of the Hydra Society, she was under his command, albeit she belonged to a special case, serving as both a military officer and an envoy in Her Majesty’s service.

[Well, I am under a diplomatic agreement with The Union and the appearance of this dragon is not an original part of the MOA that The Empire and The Union had agreed upon. Although I have reported it to The Empire, we are still in the territory ruled by their City Lord… if you force your way into this case, you might ruin future diplomatic relations.]

It wasn’t a threat but it was a warning. Rafaela is, of course, defending Siva’s rights because he is still inside the dragon and if he was the one who was killing it from within, then of course, the resulting carcass should belong to him.

Though she might not be aware of the whole truth why Siva was in this city, but seeing that City Lord Billion had not chased him away from Alexandria, she knew that perhaps there was a business matter that pertained between the two.

If The Empire also antagonized Siva because of the issue regarding ownership of the dragon’s carcass, then she would be pitted between a rock and a truck.

She was in The Empire because it was an order by her Elder Sister, Rafa.

“I know that. But Her Majesty had already decided that this dragon must belong to our Empire.”

Rafaela is now, officially, falling between the truck and the rock. She frowned but was still pretty, and her eyes fixedly stared at the indifferent man that wore the white Commander’s Uniform as her, with the only difference being the stars on his collars.

Hers were of one star but the man had three. He was her superior.

She exhaled loudly, but calmly said, [That might not be the case.]

This time, the Admiral frowned, “Because?”

He and Rafaela weren’t direct superior and junior because she was directly under Her Majesty, the Empress, while he was under the Organizational Military Ranks of the Imperial Armed Forces.

Although he ranked higher than her, he can’t fully implement his authority over her.

Still, the fact that he was higher ranked means that he can directly strongly question her reason for her last statement.

Admiral Momonga had, just now, used his bearing as a Fleet Admiral to question her.

[Because this dragon… will eventually come into the possession of the one who is killing it.]

This time, the dismissive leisurely demeanor of the Admiral vanished and she raised his head to look at Rafaela.

“You mean there’s someone fighting that thing right now?”

[Yes.]

“Show me.”

When prompted, she sent the all-view sphere’s data feed to the Admiral’s Manhattan Battleship’s data frame and with it, he clearly saw that there is no body fighting the dragon directly.

“Is this a joke?” he became furious. “He’s inside the dragon’s body?”

[Yes.]

“Then this… Siva… we must take him under our wing. Her Majesty’s orders are to seize custody of this dragon. Even if he successfully kills it he—”

BOOM!!!

BOOM!!!

BOOM!!!

Aright before he finished speaking, three flashes of lights along with their exploding boom occurred on other parts of the city and in there were same Miranda-sized Battle Fleets that appeared directly facing Admiral Momonga’s War Fleet.

Those three belonged to three different huge-named organizations in Terroa; The Union, led by the infamous Mercurous Battleship the same size as the Manhattan, it was accompanied by two fleets that had the same size as the Manhattan’s own War Fleet.

The sky blue paint job of the Mercurous mildly massages the eyes and contrary to the daunting presence of the Azeroth-mounted Manhattan, the former had a gentle presence into it.

Just like the Rewloola Battleship, the Mercurous is a balance of Long-range and Close-range setup where its weaponry is comprised of Bloody Mary and Longhorns Cannons.

In a long-range face off, the Manhattan might get out of it victorious but in this range, Mercurous is, without a doubt, going to win…. if they decide to abandon courtesy.

—and then the two others; Flagship Luta from the [Knights of the Red Dragon Flag] and its escorts; and then the Flagship Kannada, from the second strongest, maybe now the strongest, organization of players in the Southern Isles, [Haven Dust Company] —a rising name to the ranks of notable organizations of Terroa.

[Admiral Momonga! Lo~ng time no see…]

Despite the playful tone and gesture, the voice of the man that came into the Admiral’s view made him crease his brow and massage it. The man had a large scar on his face that stretched out from his chin to the entirety of his left face, making him look more frightening when he was smiling.

The newly arrived man caressed his scar and with it, his beaming wide smile became even wider… but not friendlier by the least—

[I missed you.]

—in fact, it was even sinister, tinged with the fires of revenge burning brightly in his eyes.

“Admiral Oswald. I never knew you’re still alive.”

Both men were NPCs, rivals, and arch enemies.

The latter was a dense and apathetic imperialist while the other was a snake who had been thru all sorts of jobs as a mercenary until eventually was one of the names that rivalled the skills of Admiral Momonga of The Empire in the service of the then rising name of The Union.

[Bahaha! What a shameless old man you are to call an old friend dead when he had just gotten himself married. My, oh my, Ole Monkey, your stiff tongue had never changed even after the last time we met. I can still remember the pain of the wound you’ve given me..]

It was no wonder the two of them were friends.

From the way Oswald caressed the scar on his face to the way he glared savagely at Momonga, and then to the way he insulted his thick beard and dark-skinned complexion… Oswald had no such intention of hiding their feud with each other and to even show his sincerity, he gave an order to the men on his ship.

[All cannons lock and load! Target that abominable ugly beast out of our clear skies!]

Despite the insults, the threat, and the friendly gesture, Momonga remained silent and composed as he stared at Oswald’s burning fury.

“Talking pirate tongue despite wearing a Uniform will only make you look worse, trash. Why don’t we settle this score here and now, hm?”

When he finished, the side of his Manhattan that faced the prow of the Mercurous —the scary long barreled cannons, Azeroths, pointed their nozzles towards the blue-themed warship.

[Oh yeah?!! Don’t forget that we're still inside our territory so don’t you say who was at fault to whom! I can always report this to The Council as you trespassing on our airspace!]

“Excuses are for losers. Guns and Blades have no eyes until death.”

[Bahahaha! Well said, monkey, well said!]

Although he looked calm, Momonga hated being called a monkey and in this planet, there is only a single soul who would call him that.

“You should not forget the last time you called me a monkey, trash!”

The last time was around two decades ago where Oswald received the scar on his face.

As their weapons charged for the battle, it was there that Rafaela intervened.

[Gentlemen…]

In between their line of fires, the purple-themed Miranda Flagship floated and a [email protected] rendering of her beauty seated on her commander’s chair made Oswald look at her a second and third time.

[Well hello there, Contessa Rafaela. I’m sorry for displaying such vulgarity in front of you. You see, I always tend to get excited when I’m seeing an old monk—friend… when I see an old friend.]

As a vassal of The Union’s own “Elder Council”, he was of course aware of Rafaela’s importance on the relationship between The Union and The Empire.

Technically, he was still a mercenary… a talented and experienced mercenary, and the Mercurous is but a tool lent to him to help him display the talents that he gained from his experiences.

If he becomes the reason why the relationship with The Empire that The Union had paid so much effort to build, deteriorated, not only would he lose his employer and backing, he would even be a criminal and chased all around the planet.

That’s why he can’t treat her, a diplomat, poorly.

[Apologies, Contessa, I forgot that my mission here is to secure that dragon. It is now dying and on its last throes, and since it showed on the city that is controlled by The Union, then it is, strictly speaking, a property of The Union.]

Rafaela didn’t get angry and smiled gently that still contained her irresistible charms, while Admiral Momonga, however, fumed with that shameless declaration.

Just now, he remembered Rafaela’s warning.

“That might not be the case.”

*****

[Mind telling me why, then?]

There is still mockery and rage on Oswald’s eyes when he looked at Momonga but because she was there, he had no choice but to lower his guns and prompted for the monk… for Momonga to tell him the hidden matters.

Rafaela glanced at Newgate and he nodded at her as he connected an open channel call to all of the forces present at the moment.

“Gentlemen, I know you’re aware, but the reason why this dragon is dying is because there is still someone fighting it.”

By now, with the captains and leaders of all of the organization’s fleets gathered in this place, they have all deployed their own drones and so there was no need for her to explain that the battle she was taking about is happening internally.

[You mean he’s inside the thing?]

Oswald was shocked. He dropped his nobleman’s act and spoke like a mercenary.

“Yes. I just received a call earlier, asking for me to throw in a bombardment on his signal.”

She glanced over the direction of the Commander of the Flagship Luta and then Flagship Kannada’s female Commander, with her gaze landing lastly on Admiral Momonga.

Everyone felt their hearts stop.

Siva…. was renowned as a madman in Terroa and his name had been on a constant rise lately.

His feats were incredibly high and he was actually the one at fault for shaving the goddamned moon!

And to top it all off, he is actually part of a secret organization he only called “The Company” that’s now rumoured to be selling high-grade weapons.

There has been news of their products from the lucky ones who managed to get a deal with their agents resurfacing every now and then. And with their organizations’ networks, they even learned that their weapons were all tailored S-Ranked; and some even BlackTech, just like his own weapon.

Of course, not only that, but Rafaela had had a short history with him and so they all respect the fact that she might be telling this to not make him and her —a Contessa of The Empire and special ambassador of The Union— their enemy.

On Admiral Momonga’s part, however, her actions and words seemed to imply something else.

But he kept his mouth shut.

It wasn’t something that should be talked about in front of outsiders.

[So in short, did we just waste our time coming in this place?]

When Oswald showed his displeasure, Rafaela felt her heart aching.

As much as her words were true to some extent, it has been around five minutes but the dragon is still alive and is strong enough to trash around the players that dared to come near it.

Only a handful few had managed to survive and gain benefits on its blood. The dragon had long lost its ability to fly and therefore, it could only try and sand its ground, wait for its enemy to come out of its body.

But, well, who knows what actions it was taking to finish that task?

If it was sentient, then just on the first minute, it should have long killed Siva with mutilation. For a dragon with only size and strength, this is such a weapon against everything else.

“No, not really.” Rafaela had no choice but to tell them the facts of it. “We all know that the power of dragons is really great. If he indeed falls from here, then we can all work together to bring it down… 40% will belong to the last hit kill while the rest will be divided by everyone else.”

Of course, nobody wanted to only get 40% of the dragon’s materials. But then again, this was the territory of a Walled City controlled by The Union and the fact that there was The Empire’s Admiral Momonga —a frightening figure— also present here, with the only person who can represent the two parties speaking such deal, they could only appease to this arrangements.

On the other hand, the content of this simple deal is fair on the fact that whoever deals the killing blow gets the bigger chunk of the meat.

[Alright. I agree.]

[Me too.]

[…]

[Do we have a choice?]

And just as the deal had been made between their forces, the dragon let out a long and painful howl as it cried towards the skies and released a very high amount of Mana that formed a large cannon blast.

The shout cannon… are a signature move of the Dragon Race; this is a Dragon Roar!

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They’re gunning for Siva’s loot?

We don’t think so…!!

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