Chapter 206: Revolutionary Army

In this instance, it leaned more towards egalitarianism and favored disruptive interference plays over direct combat, and thanks to prior preparations, Sung-Woon's Pantheon took the initiative to strike with a revolution at the given opportunity.

There were various possible defensive responses in such a case. First, choosing to take no action was commonly considered.

If one were to simply succumb to the revolution, a modern societal structure could be established. However, the problem was that this process would cause significant difficulties internally. Beyond the simple system changes, issues would arise when crimes on a racial scale occur among hostile species, species bias emerges, an uncontrollable new government is born, or when a country becomes further divided.

Sung-Woon knew Hegemonia’s Union Kingdom wouldn't choose to not take action.

‘If they show even the slightest vulnerability, they know I would exploit the opening. Besides, Hegemonia rarely chose no action in their personal history as a player.’

Sung-Woon personally believed that it was because Hegemonia didn’t like losing. While taking no action was a strategy, showing no response to an opponent's attack felt too much like a loss.

As expected, Hegemonia used a counter-revolution strategy. Not only did they quickly identify internal revolutionaries, but they also singled out potential revolutionaries, reinforced classism, and even at the risk of reduced productivity, immaculately purged revolutionary forces. All of these were effective strategies, and they were indeed winning tactics.

Revolutions typically brought out what was known as a paradigm shift. If one succeeded in achieving such a shift, the world post-revolution would become the new norm, favoring nations with egalitarian tendencies. On the other hand, if the shift failed, then monarchists and ethnocentrists would gain power and advantage.

Although it was like a tug of war, sparking a revolution didn’t always guarantee an advantage. Therefore, choices were made flexibly, depending on playstyle, tactics, and in-game situations.

However, Sung-Woon had a higher win rate when a match of The Lost World entered its latter phase compared to one stopped short at the early stages. When typical players got overwhelmed by the number of variables, Sung-Woon consistently managed the game, maximizing the use of the pieces he had. Moreover, with real-time play and even forming alliances—which he usually didn’t do—he could pay more attention to such details.

‘I'm confident in the revolutionary strategy.’

Once a strategy in a game was discovered, it tended to spread quickly. However, the strategy related to revolutions was relatively recent as it was only discovered during the last month he played The Lost World on earth, so even the top-ranked players couldn't precisely figure out what Sung-Woon was doing. Therefore, it wouldn't be surprising if Hegemonia couldn't respond to this strategy.

Sung-Woon said, "That's the strategy."

"...That's the strategy?"

Sung-Woon leaned back in his chair and replied, "Just as not taking action in response to a revolution is a valid strategy, the side triggering the revolution can also choose not to act."

"You mean, like leaving the protesters alone?"

"Exactly."

Eldar pursed their lips and got lost in thought.

"But won't Hegemonia's apostles crush those protesters right away? It seems like Hegemonia is reluctant to use their Faith resources so they’re sending their army for now, but even if the protestors get lucky and live somehow, I don’t think Hegemonia would hold back then.”

Sung-Woon smiled. "That would be perfect."

"...Perfect? Why?"

Sung-Woon replied, "Don't worry. Hegemonia will never touch those revolutionaries. They might be thinking a lot, but in the end, they won't put the thoughts into action."

***

Sungwoon's prediction was accurate. Hegemonia was looking at the status window, contemplating whether to summon the apostles or not.

'What should I do?'

Revolutionary groups influenced by the Empire in other regions were already under attack. The only reason this was problematic was that other players from the Pantheon were diligently defending them. However, Hegemonia couldn't do anything about this revolutionary faction that was in front of their eyes.

'If I intervene here...'

Hegemonia thought.

'...It would be denying a pure revolution according to the will of god.'

In The Lost World, revolutions were almost always manipulated by a player. Of course, when a massive revolution occurred, smaller revolts often followed, and among them were those that naturally grew without any player's intervention. But if a player defending the revolution tried to suppress it, the player causing the revolution would quickly intervene. They would conjure divine miracles, deploy their creations for protection, and eventually sustain the effort through their apostles. Therefore, most revolutions were deemed corrupt by those who defended against them.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Fortunately, these corrupt revolutions themselves gave the defending party a good logical defense. Followers would be taught to view the concept of revolution negatively, labeling any individual dreaming of revolution as corrupted. Once this clear line was drawn, it usually became a battle of competence between two players, and Hegemonia typically won.

‘But pure revolutions aren’t like that.’

Without intervention, a revolution would grow significantly. And once it got to this point, the attacking side would reveal themself as the one who caused the revolution.

However, neither Sung-Woon nor anyone from the Pantheon had a hand in this particular revolution. This meant that they were pure revolutionaries.

‘I can’t directly destroy them with my power. Otherwise…’

Hegemonia furrowed their eyebrows under their horn helmet.

‘Those among these pure revolutionaries who survive would become apostates.’

If it was a pure revolution organized by mortals, not tainted by another god, and if it was suppressed, then those who dream of revolution would no longer believe in the Angry One. Of course, Hegemonia believed they could handle it well. They were confident that they could eliminate all revolutionaries whether they were pure or not. However, this type of revolution was unpredictable in when it would end, and it was hard to control as a whole. If a seed of revolution was planted somewhere, there was a risk it would grow. And if the revolutionaries born from that seed all became apostates, it would be a horrible situation.

‘If I were to rather follow the no action strategy, only the ruling system would change, while people’s belief would remain the same. It might give Nebula an advantage in the game, but the game wouldn't end.’

Hegemonia slowly clenched and unclenched their right hand, and the gauntlet made a creaking noise.

‘But if the pure revolutionaries survive by any chance, I'm doomed.’

Furthermore, among those revolutionaries was one of Hegemonia’s priests. Unlike the revolutionaries led by the players of the Pantheon, who already became apostates, it would be a bad choice that reduced the number of believers who still believed in Hegemonia.

‘If I had discovered it a bit earlier...or if the force was a bit smaller... Why now of all times…’

Hegemonia thought that they might be lucky in a way since they almost impulsively eliminated the revolutionaries.

‘Right, there's still a chance.’

Hegemonia closed the window to summon their apostles.

‘I just need to finish it without getting involved.’

Hegemonia looked at the army marching towards the city.

***

When Sung-Woon finished explaining, Eldar nodded.

"I understand, but…there seems to be a problem in this situation."

"Problem?"

"Although it's good that Hegemonia doesn't interfere directly, The Lost World is a game that progresses on its own even without intervention.... If we don't stop that army, it seems dangerous."

Sung-Woon nodded. "It is dangerous. Things could just end this way."

"What are you hoping for then?"

Sung-Woon replied, "But modern times are approaching, aren't they? The scale of violence an individual is capable of is becoming balanced."

***

Sarcho said, "Did you prepare all of this in advance?"

"Many working in the factory are retired soldiers. I thought if we had guns, we could use them someday. Though I had hoped we wouldn't have to."

What Dain had prepared secretly without Sarcho knowing was a list of the gun stockpiles in the city. It wasn't just a simple list, but one with the specific locations written down, and as soon as Dain decided on the second method, she quickly divided the protestors to raid police stations, weapon depots, and even places selling hunting and self-defense firearms.

While some places handed over the weapons peacefully, most did not, and the protestors, using their numbers and pre-planned strategies, forcefully took the guns. During this process, the city's guards either got disarmed or ran away. Then, they captured the city's mayor, council members, influential nobles, and capitalists.

Although Dain felt awkward leading, her unique charisma that made others follow her, combined with the preparations she had continuously made over time, made her something like a competent commander.

Sarcho then said, "But we are short on guns. We might be fighting around the walls, but the enemy are trained soldiers while only some of us were former soldiers. Is this okay?"

Dain replied, "Of course, we can't just rely on guns, comrade."

“Then what?”

"We might have talked about dying memorably before, but we cannot afford to lose after coming this far. We should become a wildfire, not just embers."

Dain hit Sarcho’s chest with her only hand.

"Do you understand what I'm saying? Our comrades didn't have any weapons in their hands, yet this country killed them all. Of course, that alone wasn't enough. But if we lose this time, I can't guarantee that they won't make the same mistake again."

Sarcho slowly nodded. "I…understand."

"Are you ready for whatever comes?"

"Yes."

"No, don't answer right away. Think about it," Dain continued. "Comrade, you're a priest. Can you still fight for us even if your god rejects you?"

Sarcho closed their eyes for a moment before looking up. Sarcho did not hear God's voice.

"I will fight. But I will not become an apostate."

“...”

Sarcho and Dain locked eyes.

"The Angry One is watching without taking sides. I believe that God's will could be with us."

Dain smiled. "Alright. Maybe that’s true. I really hope…that’s true."

Then under Dain and Sarcho’s leadership, the revolutionary protestors, who would now be called the revolutionary army, marched forward.