Season 4: Chapter 122. The Battle for Public Opinion (2)

‘Orange?’

For a moment, Almond doubted his ears. Even if Orange had ended up in that village, it being a gathering place for Paprika streamers never once crossed his mind.

“So, he finally figured it out?” PD Jang chuckled while watching the control room monitors. “Well, to be fair, it was bound to happen faster than we thought with all the ex-pros around.”

Park Oh-Hoon added carefully, “How should we respond?”

“Respond? Even if he knows it’s Paprika Village, does that change much? Right now, the bigger conflict is still with the Nonghyup.”

“That’s true.”

The production team had planned for the clash between Paprika and Cheese Village to be the core storyline. In reality, how things played out depended entirely on the streamers.

“It’s up to the Cheese streamers now.”

The production team had tightly coordinated with the Paprika side, but the Cheese streamers had almost complete freedom. It was practically a social experiment in autonomy. No one, not even the producers, could intervene in their decisions.

Then, Almond said something the staff never expected because the reason behind it was his alone. “Let’s invade them.”

“Excuse me?” This reply didn’t come from the Almond Knights. Park Oh-Hoon blurted out without thinking. “H-He said invade? All of a sudden?”

“Huh?”

It made no sense. Zelo had set off the explosives, and the real tension right now was with the Nonghyup. Why suggest invading Paprika Village?

“Maybe... their demand for food triggered his sense of justice?”

‘Justice?’

PD Jang shot Park Oh-hoon a wild look.

“Yeah, no...”

The man who once turned other players into fertilizer wouldn’t suddenly be moved by chivalry. At least not the chibi Almond wandering around Cheese Village. So then, why invade?

***

The Almond Knights blinked.

“Pardon?”

“You mean... invade?!” Potato Servant practically jumped. “Did you not hear us? They shot lava! Lava!!”

Radish Servant backed him up. “I saw it with my own eyes! It was bubbling, seething lava! It melted poor Bubblegum in an instant!!”

— HAHAHAHAHAHA

— True, he did just melt out of nowhere

— Bubblegum lol

— Peak content

“I-I don’t even know what kind of resistance Bubblegum tried to put up, but they executed him like an independence fighter under colonial rule!! It was brutal!!”

“Exactly! We don’t even know if he resisted at all, but they still made an example out of him!! I saw it clear as day!!”

— LMAO

— Potato Servant totally knows the truth hahahaha

— He just tripped into lava!!

— Tripped into lava = martyrdom now

— This is broadcast talent right here

Not long ago, the Knights had boasted that they would’ve handled it easily if they’d been there. Now, they opposed the idea of marching against the Paprika villagers. Deep down, they knew they wouldn’t win, especially Radish Servant.

“I’ve played a bit of

Survival Craft

before. Lava ignores even full iron armor. We know you turned them into fertilizer once, but... they’re not the same people anymore. While we’ve been farming, they’ve been scheming.”

Radish Servant read the game situation perfectly with the eye of a former pro, sharp as ever.

“So, we’re at a disadvantage.” Almond nodded, surprisingly quick to accept it.

“Exactly. Severely. Right now, the Nonghyup is screaming about war. It’s best to leave this to them and focus on our crops. The food they demanded isn’t even much compared to Cheese Village’s yield. Especially us Knights, we’ve got Fertile Soil. Our harvest is insane. It won’t make a dent.”

— Sheesh

— Strategist vibes

— Radish Servant, the tactician

Almond nodded again. Had he been convinced?

“What about armor stronger than iron?”

“What?”

“Something better than iron. Would that survive lava?”

— LOLOLOL

— Was he even listening??

— Here we go again

— The devil is whispering in his ear...

Why did Almond still want to invade? Sometimes his decisions contained clear logic, but no one could figure it out this time.

‘Of course, they don’t understand. They don’t know about Orange.’

For Almond, the reason was simple.

‘That guy that Ju-Hyeok mentioned...’

Almond felt convinced that Orange bore him malice. Even if it was just from the platform war days, Almond wanted to show him something, anything.

“

Haaa...

Well, obsidian is a little better. Adamant would give us a fighting chance.” Radish Servant began listing the

Survival Craft

ore tiers. “But even then, no ore is completely immune to lava. Not officially, anyway. Unless the devs added some hidden mechanic.”

Officially, adamant was the strongest material.

“And where do you mine it?”

“Only Miners can. It’s not easy.”

“

Hmmm.

” Almond considered it briefly.

How would they prepare for war? Then, he realized that he didn’t have to think about it at all since he had servants.

“Radish Servant, proceed.”

“Eh?”

“We’ll arm ourselves with at least obsidian. Expand the number of Knights, and march on that village.”

“U-Us? We’re the ones invading?”

“How, exactly?”

“Proceed.”

“N-No, I mean... How do we actually...?”

“Proceed.”

— Is he a bot? Lol

— LMAOOOO

— This guy is insane hahaha

— He just slotted in the external walnut drive

— You... become my walnut!

“Fine... I’ll draft a plan.” In the end, Radish Servant had no choice but to assume the role of strategist.

“Good. Then, Radish Servant, you’ll lead the War Department. I’ll handle security with Potato Servant.”

— The War Department lmao

— That name is brutal

— Radish Servant, the War Director hahaha

Maybe his time in corporate life hadn’t been wasted after all. Almond allocated the work to his staff like a CEO.

Potato Servant quickly said, “Ah, perfect timing! Our inbox is full of interview DMs! Shouldn’t we start hiring reinforcements?”

“Good. You’ll be the HR Director, then.”

“What, a director?! Y-Yes, sir!”

Radish Servant protested immediately. “Wait, Lord Almond? He’s a director too? I’m already a director!”

“

Hmm...

You’re the General Director of War. He’s just a regular director.”

“Oh...!”

— ? Hahaha

— That sounded like he made it up on the spot

— General Director lmao

— Big-company naming vibes

“Thank you, sir!”

Whether General Director or regular director, Radish Servant seemed satisfied.

“HR Director reporting, sir. Here are the DMs.”

Shrrk.

Potato Servant unfurled a long scroll, written out by hand.

— The analog aesthetic haha

— What is this, the Joseon era?

— Literal scroll-mail hahaha

“Take a look, my lord. If we’re preparing for war, we should only hire capable fighters.”

“

Mmm.

”

Almond skimmed the list and saw plenty of applicants with unfamiliar names. Some would clearly be useless in battle.

Potato Servant pointed one out. “Shall we cut... this one?”

[Bubblegum]

— Noooo lol

— Why Bubblegum again? hahaha

— Poor Gum-hyung...

— Potato Servant has a sharp eye

— Dead weight CUT!

Almond hesitated. “Well... this one is tricky. I...

cough

, happen to know the gentleman personally...”

— LOLOLOL

— Method acting

— He’s channeling an executive at a work dinner

— Did Almond practice mimicking managers before?

— This is too real hahaha

Potato Servant nodded knowingly. “Ah, of course! I’ll at least bring him to the interview stage, but...”

Scritch.

He marked Bubblegum’s name with a yellow check, which wasn’t exactly a good sign.

— ?

— ??

— That’s a blacklist mark lol

— Invite him just to cut him?

— Yellow tag execution incoming

An acquaintance that wasn’t exactly qualified... Potato Servant understood perfectly.

“What’s next?”

“Next is...”

And so, the first round of Knight applications began as the sun dipped low over Cheese Village.

***

Meanwhile, Zelo had sold every last bit of iron ore to the Nonghyup.

“

Hahaha!

We’re going to be rich!” He was giddy with dreams of fortune.

“Yeah, sorry though... It could’ve been double if not for me...” Choco Shroom still looked guilty over her earlier blunder.

“No, no! What’s the point of having double if you can’t sell it? Without a pipeline, it’s worthless scrap. Now that we’ve got buyers, all we need to do is keep mining!”

— True

— Landing clients is what matters

— Finally, rich life incoming

— Didn’t expect the Nonghyup to have such capital

The Nonghyup proved to be a solid client. Their many members were stable, wealthy, and hungry for iron ore.

“Good thing we chose them over the Knights. I mean, with all those iron sets they have, it’s not like they need more ore anyway.”

“Right? We made the right call. I never thought the Nonghyup would be that loaded.”

At first, Zelco Shroom hadn’t fully committed. They thought about selling to the Knights too, but blowing up Sweet Radish’s house changed everything. Also, the Knights had no need for ore.

“So, we just head straight to the mines now?”

“Of course! Zel~~lo is the best!”

Choco Shroom hopped delightfully. “Zel~~looo, you’re the best~!”

— Why does it sound so awkward when he says his own catchphrase lol

— Just marry already!

— She’s too cute omg

— Zelco Shroom forever

— HAHAHA Zelo, you clown

They skipped off toward the mines, only to bump into familiar faces.

“Huh?”

A group of people descended from the mine with pickaxes in hand.

Zelco Shroom froze. “You... You’re...!”

The Paprika villagers recognized them too and halted.

At that moment, something sparked in Zelo’s mind.

‘Wait. For us to make money... they need to attack.’

In a flash, he realized who his real clients were.

“W-Wait! Don’t draw your weapons. Hear me out for a second!”