Season 4: Chapter 112. Nonghyup Union vs. Knights (3)

The Knights’ outrageous recruitment notice left Zelo and his viewers dumbstruck.

— ?

— ???

— No way...

— This is insane lol

— Is this real??

For months, his viewers had watched him mining ore in endless, boring streams. They endured it all in hopes of watching Zelo rise as the iron magnate who would dominate the village. This was supposed to be the moment of their payoff.

[SweetPotato: Recruiting for the Knights! Join now and get a full iron set FREE~]

Everything went up in flames as supply exploded past demand. Not only was price competition impossible, but there was no price at all.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Th-This... this doesn’t make sense.” Zelo felt shocked. “Just how hellish must that knight order be to hand out full iron sets?”

— lololol

— Seriously though

— To give away that much gear??

— What is this, military conscription camp?

Black Tea only shrugged. “Well... honestly, it’s not that bad. It’s easier than you think.”

“You... you’re part of this knight order too?”

“Yep.”

Zelo faltered and wondered about joining too. Then, he thought of his viewers who had slogged through every tedious hour in the mines with him. Could he really betray them now? He pointed out one thing.

“What is this about being servants? What is that even about?”

At that, Black Tea’s face flushed bright red. “We, uh, had to rename ourselves. We have to call ourselves servants...”

“W-What? Then what, you’re... Servant Black Tea?” Zelo teased her with a smirk.

“I’m Maid Black Tea, okay?!”

— Maid LMAO

— LMAO she really went under them

— It’s maid, not servant!

— How did it come to this? LOL

Black Tea bristled at the laughter in his chat.

“If you joined, Zelo, you wouldn’t even get a servant or maid title. You’d be... Lackey Zelo or something.”

Her voice carried absolute conviction. She was a knight to the bones now.

— Lackey Zelo lmaooo

— The disrespect

— New-tier: Lackey

“Wh-Who said I was joining?!” Zelo flailed. “I just... I just laughed because the name sounded cute, Black... I mean, Maid Black Tea...”

“

Tch.

Whatever. I need to get back to farming. Off you go.” She shooed him toward the door.

“Uh, unnie! You really don’t need iron ore?”

“What have you been listening to this whole time?”

“

Aw...

”

“Honestly...” Feeling a little guilty, Black Tea tossed them a hint. “We don’t need it, but there are some folks who would never join the Knights no matter what.”

She informed them of the Nonghyup Union.

“Try selling to them.”

They wouldn’t join the Knights even if the iron sets were free.

***

Meanwhile, the Knights hauled in their harvest at the farmers' market.

Clank...

Clank...

Five figures, clad head-to-toe in iron, drew gasps from the crowd due to their silver gleam. Everyone expressed awe, envy, and fear at them.

Sweet Potato raised a banner and shouted, “Make way for the Knight Commander!”

— Wait he’s a commander now??

— Wasn’t he a lord?!

— No rules against double-dipping titles here huh

Almond, once a lord, now stood tall as the Knight Commander.

“Holy crap.”

“That’s full iron...”

“You get all that just for joining them?”

Non-union players seriously considered joining exactly as Radish Servant had predicted.

‘So, the ad worked after all.’

Everyone passed through the market since they farmed as a side hustle at the very least. Appearing here in gleaming armor was the perfect show of force.

Thud.

Someone stepped forward to block their path.

[Donuts]

“

Heh.

Commander

, huh? A grand title for someone who’s really just... unemployed.”

Two more figures appeared behind him.

[HornRamen]

[MiddleAgedDetective]

These same elders had been at each other’s throats inside the Union. Somehow, after all the blood and bruises, they had reconciled and reforged their alliance.

“We’re farmers.”

“And you, what are you even doing here? You’re no farmer. You’re no different from the freeloaders!”

Ting~

They flicked their farmer coins, mocking Almond as a jobless pretender.

— lmao calling out the viewers too

— Truly ruthless

— Rest in peace, lurkers

“

KIEEEEEK!!

” Sweet Potato suddenly shrieked like a pterodactyl and charged forward.

— ???

— Bro wtf was that

— HE SCREECHED LMAO

— This guy’s insane lmao

Donuts actually stumbled back from sheer shock.

“How dare you, you peasants! To insult the Knights!” Sweet Potato shouted at them.

— Did he just call them peasants??

— From Nonghyup Union to peasants real quick

“W-What? Peasants? You little lackey...”

“Better a lackey in a noble house than a peasant in the dirt, farmer!”

“You’re making up nonsense! And you... Black Tea.”

Whoosh.

Donuts turned to her, refusing to waste any more breath on Sweet Potato. “How could you?

Hm?

After everything?”

Black Tea averted her gaze. Then, she slowly looked back with resolve. Honestly, she always had her own grudges against the Union.

“The ones who came when I was in danger... were the Knights, not the Union.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

— holy crap

— this is FIRE

— brutal lmao

— rip the Union

“Wh... What did you just say?” Donuts stammered.

“Even Green Tea and White Chicken ran away. The only ones who fought for me were the Knights. Not you!”

The marketplace erupted with chatter. Spectators with no real stake in the Union-Knights conflict now became wide-eyed audience members to the rap battle.

— crowd control 100

— this feels like a diss track lol

— bars

Donuts scrambled for footing. “We, we gave you warehouse space! We waived your dues because your field was the largest! We treated you like a founding member! Doesn’t that count for anything?”

The revelation shocked even Union members.

“Wait... what? You didn’t pay dues?” Green Tea blurted.

Murmurs spread as Donuts had exposed too much.

Smack!

Horn Ramen slapped the back of Donuts’s head. “Idiot, why would you say that out loud?”

“Wha... what was I supposed to...”

“Stick to charts, old man.” Horn Ramen stepped forward. “Listen, Lackey Tea and Lackey Lemon.”

“We’re servants!!”

“So am I!” Lemon piped in.

— LMAOOOO

— Isn’t it the same thing?

— the Union can’t even get their names right

Horn Ramen waved dismissively. “Names don’t matter. You’re right. We didn’t come to save you, but do you know why?”

“Because you’re just a greedy clique.”

“

Ha!

” Horn Ramen burst into exaggerated laughter.

Others behind him joined in and badly harmonized.

— what the hell are they doing? LOL

— Union choir??

— lmfaoooo

“Wrong answer~” HornRamen hissed. “We didn’t come because... we didn’t know monsters would go to your house!”

Thud.

He leaned in close and stressed each word. “How could we show up if we didn’t even know?!”

The audience gasped. It was, in fact, true.

“Then, tell us...” MiddleAgedDetective cut in and stabbed a finger toward Almond. “How did

you

know? How did you know the monsters would go to Black Tea’s farm instead of Sweet Radish’s?!”

— WHAT

— NO WAY

— /O\

— Woah...

— That’s a big one

The viewers felt shocked at the revelation. Even the servants’ faces went pale.

‘Crap.’

‘We’re cooked, Radish Servant.’

‘I know. Just play dumb.’

MiddleAgedDetective slammed down the final verdict. “The culprit... is you! Almondoyle!!”

He spun dramatically with an accusing finger.

“You sold the soil, didn’t you? To BigFarm, off the books! No transaction logs, nothing! It’s too neat to be a coincidence!”

Only silence followed. Almond didn’t deny it. He couldn’t.

HornRamen pounced. “See? Black Tea, you were set up! They endangered you on purpose, so they could swoop in and save you. Classic manipulation!”

MiddleAgedDetective added fuel. “You were gaslit!!”

— NOOOO!

— this is peak Union

The three elders consisting of Donuts, Horn Ramen, and MiddleAgedDetective smirked confidently. Surely, this would bring Black Tea back to them.

“Take the red pill, Black Tea! See the truth!”

They stretched their hands out.

“Return to us! The Nonghyup Union is no longer a mere union for profit...”

“It is a brotherhood of honor!”

“Together, we are... the Nonghyup Union!”

They posed dramatically after shouting in unison.

The crowd silently blinked.

— ???

— bro it’s literally still the same name

— party rebrand fail

— most awkward drop ever

Donuts, trying to salvage the situation, jabbed a finger at Almond. “Speak, you snake! Thought you could trick her away from us? What do you have to say for yourself?”

Everyone leaned in, waiting for Almond’s counter.

The villain himself finally stepped forward. “Wait. You guys were... the Nonghyup Union?”

“Huh?”

Donuts blinked, and Horn Ramen blinked. Everyone froze as the viewers erupted.

— LMAOOOO

— he didn’t even know

— peak gaslighting yourself

— shadowboxing with ghosts lol

— bro was just chilling, never even clocked them

— Victory goes to... Almond!