Chapter 352: Episode 352_The Final Battle (3)

5.

The Emperor began to be seen for the first time in a movie as well. The only reason he hadn’t acted before was that he had lacked a pretext. To the Emperor, the Great Temple and the gods were not things he feared. What mattered was that the Empire must rule the continent.

The Temple had been allowed to coexist with the Empire for one reason only: they had never raised a flag of rebellion, had always cooperated, and, at the same time, were the easiest tool for governing the people. Moreover, the Temple’s ideology was fundamentally different from the Empire’s. If the Empire existed to rule the continent, the Great Temple existed to revere the gods and uphold their will to protect the continent’s peace. They did not interfere in wars between mortals.

That was why they had been able to coexist until now.

But that rule had just been broken.

After Kenji became Pope, the Great Temple began expanding its power in a way that had never been seen in all of history. They entered politics, and the Emperor was seen in a movie for the first time as well. managing other kingdoms, holding them in the palm of their hand. They had yet to make any overt moves, but their clear intent to wage war was more than enough of a threat to the Empire.

The hand Han Simin extended to the agonizing Emperor was an irresistible temptation.

On top of that, Han Simin had fulfilled the Emperor’s conditions more perfectly than he could have imagined. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough. There was no longer such a thing as pure good and pure evil on the continent. Or rather, in the midst of the confusion, the very standard for judging good and evil had become ambiguous.

Of course, the media campaign orchestrated by the Emperor had also played a significant role.

In any case, the board was set.

And right on cue, the Great Temple drew its sword.

“The darkness that has seeped into the continent now spreads vile slander in an attempt to corrupt even the light itself. This is an insult and humiliation we can no longer overlook, and we shall pass judgment in the name of God. From this moment, anyone who harbors doubts about the name of God shall be considered an enemy of the Great Temple. Furthermore, all priests acting in God’s name shall wear the Mark of God to distinguish friend from foe.”

It was a clear declaration of war. On the surface, it was righteous fury, a vow to eradicate the evil that had taken root on the continent. But in reality, it was nothing more than the Temple’s ambition to rule!

Anyone who did not wear the Mark of God was branded a part of the forces of evil—the classic, vicious black-and-white logic so often seen in religion. By that logic, even the Emperor himself, if he did not wear the Mark, would be nothing but a rebel plotting treason against the name of God.

Which meant that an opportunity had come to the Emperor as well.

“This rabble of traitors dares to use the name of God to invade the continent. This is an act the Empire can never permit. From this moment, under the banner of the Liberation Army, we shall eradicate every traitor on the continent who wears a false mark in God’s name.”

That opportunity was a firework, one that announced the opening of the final war.

It was the first domino in Han Simin’s grand design, the first push that would set everything in motion.

*

Someone posted on the forums:

—Right now, gold prices in Fantastic World are at the highest point since the game launched.

—If you’re someone who treats gold in Fantastic World like a stock, you should sell now without a moment’s hesitation.

—From here on out, gold prices might fall, but they will not go any higher.

No one disagreed.

—Is that for real? I only started Fantastic World recently.

—I’ve got about 200 gold saved up. When should I sell?

—It’s only been two days since prices started climbing and they already broke $180.

—As far as I know, Simin isn’t buying gold anymore, so why does it keep going up?

—Simin already swept the continent’s gold once, and right after that, Kenji started buying it up nonstop to prep for his war. He said he’d be buying for about two weeks, but who knows. Prices will keep rising for now, but Kenji never said how much he needs. Don’t just sit there trying to time the absolute peak and end up with nothing. Watch the mood and sell at a decent point.

—If prices are going up, isn’t it still profit even if I just hold?

—You think it’s profit? The current price hike doesn’t make sense in the first place. The fact that prices are rising because a single person is buying up all the gold is a freak phenomenon. It shouldn’t even be possible. Right now, players like you are hoarding gold, and there are tons of merchants trying to buy in the middle of the rise to corner the market. What happens if Kenji stops buying? Prices might hold for a bit, but the crash will be instantaneous.

The players were simply confused.

In many ways, this Main Quest—which players were already calling “the last one”—was being discussed with more depth and passion than any previous event in Fantastic World. Not only could they participate directly, but it also had a direct impact on their livelihoods.

Kenji, buying up gold without limit.

Han Simin, who already had a track record of purchasing hundreds of thousands of gold.

The Imperial family, stepping forward to break the sword the Great Temple had drawn.

The Great Temple, baring the fangs it had kept hidden, under Kenji’s lead and in God’s name.

What could be more compelling?

In practice, players were given quests under the banner of the Main Quest. Just by participating in the war, they received all kinds of support, along with a slew of events to help them level up. The NPCs were so friendly and generous to the adventurers who chose their side that you could doubt this was the same game infamous for its high barrier to entry. While they didn’t hand out gold directly, the war supplies and hunting consumables they provided were so plentiful it was almost excessive.

This meant they had truly gone all-in.

This might well be the one event that would go down in Fantastic World’s history for decades to come. Even after the game died, whenever people talked about VR games, this incident would always come up as an example.

A war like that.

Just participating in it was history. Being able to say, “I was there,” was enough to puff out your chest in front of others. Whether someone had taken part in the war or not became a dividing line for their shared experience.

Of course, there were plenty of people who had no intention of actually setting foot on the battlefield even if they joined a side. Most of them were players who enjoyed the game for leisure rather than for grinding, and they were content to understand the situation and get their popcorn ready.

—I heard both Kenji and Simin are going to keep their streams on from the start of the war until it ends, right?

—Whose channel should I watch?

—Why even hesitate? I bought a dual-view ticket just for this.

—But you can’t watch in high-def that way.

—That’s what the premium subscription is for, obviously.

—Ugh, that’s already $50 a month. On top of that, you have to budget at least $500 for Simin’s stream. That bastard is so obsessed with money, there are rumors it’ll be a thousand dollars this time.

—What can you do? If you don’t like it, just watch Kenji’s stream. But this is Simin’s game—he’s the one flipping the board and running the show, so his stream is going to be way more fun. You know the saying going around: if you’re not going to watch Simin this time, you might as well just go to sleep and read the summary on the forums when you wake up.

—Yeah... I guess I have to.

—You have to.

It was a movie worth preparing for.

And so, the preparations steadily piled up. Han Simin, Kenji, every user in Fantastic World, and even people who knew nothing about the game were all getting ready.

6.

Just as the atmosphere was reaching a fever pitch, the two main characters, Han Simin and Kenji, were nowhere to be seen.

Based on Kenji’s offhand comment about needing time to secure gold, users figured the war would officially start in about two weeks. Most agreed the timeframe was perfectly reasonable.

—It’s the final Main Quest, so it deserves this level of buildup.

—I can wait two weeks.

—I mean, it’s basically a movie without CG. I could wait a whole month.

—Damn, the timing is insane. In two weeks, all the kids from elementary to college will be on vacation.

Above all, most viewers preferred a schedule that allowed them to watch comfortably.

They believed that if they gave them a bit more time, the war scenes would be even more spectacular.

With the waiting period tacitly accepted, the supporting cast began to move in place of the two absent protagonists.

*

It was an unspoken rule.

When the world splits into two camps, you stand on one side, support it fiercely, and help bring it to victory. In return, a portion of the spoils must come back to you.

It doesn’t have to be said aloud, but it absolutely must be honored. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

People knew this, which was why they offered their help without even being asked.

But what if you didn’t pay them back for that help?

Then, the sabotage of the spoils would begin.

The victors wouldn’t even have time to savor their triumph before they had to scramble to patch up internal fractures, which in turn would create a crucial opening for the defeated side to counterattack.

That’s why it was an unspoken rule.

Even without Kenji and Han Simin campaigning like politicians, the various kingdoms quickly began to gauge which side to support.

For the kingdoms that hadn’t already pledged fervent loyalty to the Empire or recently come under the Great Temple’s umbrella, this was a dilemma they simply couldn’t dodge.

They couldn’t just sit on the fence and hop on the winning ship at the last minute as they had before.

This was a war that would decide the fate of the continent, and after this war, there would never again be a world where the Temple and the Empire coexisted.

It didn’t matter that things had been that way for hundreds or thousands of years.

History always changes in an instant.

To survive that change, you had to gamble.

The kingdoms that made their decisions after deep deliberation moved as if the world would end tomorrow.

To make up for joining late, they threw everything they had into war preparations and picked fights indiscriminately with nearby hostile forces.

This wasn’t happening in just a few kingdoms.

This was happening on every continent.

The war hadn’t even shown signs of starting, yet it already felt as if it had begun.

The continent once again became a battlefield.

There wasn’t a single quiet day anywhere.

Only in the eye of the storm—the Empire and the Great Temple—was there no visible movement.

In any case, the chaos that had erupted grew beyond control.

—What the hell. Has it already been two weeks?

—Wow, the main event hasn’t even started and this is already crazy fun.

—You can just randomly hop into any war zone and it’s a blast, lol.

—They weren’t kidding when they said the small-fry fights are the real main course. Watching them beat the crap out of each other like their lives depend on it is hilarious, lol.

—I’ve been sleeping three hours a night for the past two weeks before going to work, lol. I’m losing my mind. I wanted to take vacation days for this, but I’m saving them for the final war. Whew.

—I just watched at the office.

Fantastic World became such a massive phenomenon that it was covered on the news daily. And just as its popularity hit its peak—

—[Breaking] Kenji’s guild has appeared, and their item setups are completely different. Is war imminent?