Chapter 224: Result of the Prophecy

"You didn't expect a bow?"

Owen sighed as he looked at Oreldin, who had been killed by an arrow to the forehead.

"Well, I guess nowadays, the number of people who know how to shoot a bow is decreasing."

Owen quickly released the bowstring and went to Simo.

Simo looked at Owen with admiring eyes.

"You're incredible, Teacher!"

"Hmm, archery is indeed a skill worth praising."

Normally, Owen would have modestly said that it was a skill learned over a long life, but given Owen had responded with a happy smile, Simo thought archery must be very difficult to learn.

Owen untied Simo, who was tied to a pillar.

"Are you hurt?"

"No. Thank you for coming to save me. How can I ever repay this grace..."

"Oh, you are my grace.” Owen continued to say, "You don't know how dearly God cherishes you. You're currently at the center of the world."

The Xolotl, Simo shook her head. "Surely not."

"At least that's how I and the Itimo family see it. So..."

Simo noticed Owen's expression darken and was taken aback. It was rare for Owen to lose his composure in any situation. He would probably laugh off even a dagger wound and then burn the assailant to a crisp.

"...So, whatever happens for your sake, don't feel too guilty. It's all something we want to do."

"Teacher, what's happening?"

Owen paused before replying, "Your limbs might be numb, but can you move?"

"Yes."

"Then we should hurry."

Owen led Simo to the Itimo Trade Company. As they approached the Itimo Trade Company, gunshots began to echo. Even Simo, who had never seen someone shoot a gun before, had adapted to the sound of gunfire due to the fights over the past three months. But usually, there would only be a few shots.

Ratatatatat...!

The sound of automatic gunfire tore through the air, echoing between the stone buildings, piercing Owen’s and Simo's ears with sharp sonic booms. Though one would expect a brief stop for reloading after such extensive firing, there was no pause as the next fire followed. On top of that, the roar of a grenade explosion was roared.

Tense, Simo followed Owen, and when they got closer to their destination, they began to hear people screaming.

Owen said, "It would be nice if there was a safe place in this city, but for now, my side seems to be the safest. So try to stay close behind me."

"Teacher, what's going on?"

"It's a war."

"A war? The Unseen War?"

The battle between the Pallet and Itimo families had been called the Unseen War and captured the interest of many.

"But now, that battle has become a visible war. A real war."

Owen briefly explained what had happened while Simo was being held. Philina Itimo had put up a good fight against the Pallet family.

Being a natural-born merchant and inheriting the bloodline, the Itimos had experience dealing with merchants from various continents and countries. This experience led her to lead the overseas faction without being greatly overshadowed by the traditional faction.

However, behind the Pallet family, there weren't just angry individuals, but also the Union Kingdom. Due to the naval blockade of the Ronante-Oroban Alliance, the Itimo family couldn't receive assistance from the Empire, while the Pallet family had secretly been receiving aid from the Union Kingdom. Because of this, the balance of power between the two factions started to tilt as time passed.

The mistake was discovered around then. A small amount of contraband had entered the Pallet family, but Philina Itimo didn't pay much attention to it. Although it was secretly transferred, it wasn't a significant amount to threaten the Itimos’ business. Moreover, the fact that the goods directly entered the family instead of other warehouses meant it wasn't a harmful product, so it wasn't taken seriously in the Unseen War. That was Philina Itimo's miscalculation.

"They had to. They were weapons for a real war."

Philina had never thought they would end up using real weapons to fight, even at the very end, and not by borrowing the hands of other criminal organizations, but by the two families directly.

Owen didn't jump to call her naive. Owen didn't know much about money and economics, so he hadn't anticipated that an event like the Unseen War would cause such a decline in Pollivia’s security.

‘It's as if the god of war is really watching over them.’

Owen said, "And as you were kidnapped, the attack began."

"What? Then..."

"It was a diversion within a diversion."

From the beginning, the Pallet family didn't expect that the Rusty Brass Coin Gang would be able to obtain a patent agreement. For the Pallet family, it was enough as long as they could get Owen, the mercenary, out of the picture through Simo.

"And their strategy was a success."

Owen couldn't weigh between the Itimo family and Simo, so he acted immediately. However, Philina Itimo didn't hold Owen back.

"Please go."

“Will you be okay?”

"Didn’t you make a promise? Between the family and Simo, if one had to be chosen, you said you would choose Simo. It's rather fortunate."

"Fortunate?"

"Now that the time to prove that promise has come, perhaps you could climb to the top of the Tower of Trial.”

Owen laughed bitterly. "I likely won’t even be able to climb half of the tower with this."

"...."

"So hold on. I’ll be back soon."

However, it took time to strategize against the Rusty Brass Coin Gang. Although he successfully rescued Simo without a scratch, he had to fight very cautiously for that.

"Is the entrance...already breached?"

At the entrance of the Itimo Trading Company building, various pieces of furniture, which seemed to have been piled up to create a barricade, looked like they had been blasted and were scattered and burning. And around there, Orcs that appeared to be from the Pallet family were standing, seemingly concerned about potential reinforcements.

Dealing with them was easy, but it seemed difficult to do so without making a noise. The Orcs were aiming their guns, ready to fire at any moment. If even a single bullet was fired while Owen was dealing with them, the enemies inside the building would likely swarm out.

"It’ll be difficult to go through the front."

Although the situation didn't look good, Owen didn't think it was all bad. If the fight had already ended, then there wouldn't be any members of the Pallet family left.

Having frequently come and gone to the Itimo Trading Company, Owen knew of a route that he could climb. After hiding Simo, Owen discreetly passed the Pallet family's soldiers and entered the company building. Upon entering the meeting room at the top floor, he saw Philina Itimo and a few family members trying to fend off enemies below the tower with their scarce, lackluster firearms. By then, gunshots had become infrequent, and only noisy shouts from below the tower were heard.

As Owen approached, Philina, who got startled, quickly aimed her gun at him, only to hurriedly lower it.

"...How did you get here?"

"I arrived too late. It seems challenging now, shouldn't we retreat?"

"All the employees were sent out. Those here are family members or those who have pledged their lives to the family. So we haven't lost many lives. At least not yet."

"Then we must protect those lives."

Philina said, "Didn't you rescue Miss Simo? Then it's okay. We will stand with the family..."

Owen replied, "I assure you. Your sacrifices can be repaid. But if Simo continues her research, she will need all of you, won't she?"

"...Actually, I heard you first visited the Pallet family. If there's money to support Simo, doesn't it not matter who it comes from?”

Owen blinked, as if asking what she meant.

"That was the case back then, but not anymore. Don't you understand fate? We've helped each other and risked our lives. How could I disregard that? Now I realize we can't do without you all."

After thinking for a moment, Philina said, "...How exactly did you get in? I can't think of any escape route."

Owen smiled. "Living long enough teaches you such tricks."

***

"Really?"

Hegemonia, who was watching the screen, abruptly stood up from their throne.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

On the screen, the Orcs of the Pallet family were shown opening the locked door and entering the meeting room. Important documents were scattered across the room, including the patent contract.

By this point, the effectiveness of such a patent contract seemed questionable. The Pallet family had violated countless laws in Pollivia, and their future was uncertain. At the moment, Pollivia's law enforcement was at its weakest, but with the end of the two families' war, Pollivia had already prepared to receive aid from neighboring countries. If Hegemonia’s intel was correct, foreign troops would be entering in a few days to sweep away the Pallet family.

Even if the Pallet family were to survive, attacking a fellow trade company with guns would never gain any merchant's approval. They were no different from a criminal organization now. The Pallet family was essentially finished.

However, this was none of Hegemonia's concern.

"Now the prophecy comes true."

Bulko Pallet, the head of the Pallet family, picked up the contract.

[‘Prophecy: The Pallet family acquires the generator patent.' has been fulfilled.]

[One of the prophecies of the Contradicting Prophecy has come true…]

[The achiever of the prophecy is player 'Hegemonia'.]

Hegemonia realized they were more excited than they anticipated.

'...Of course.'

Hegemonia couldn’t help but feel a touch of bitterness.

The Union Kingdom had many victories against the Empire, but those victories didn't result in winning the war. They constantly faced partial defeats, and to compensate for each, another victory was needed. Therefore, all these past victories were merely offsetting the negatives rather than adding positives.

'But this is clearly an addition.'

One player fell, and another rose. This was the inevitable result of the Contradicting Prophecy, and with Hegemonia's victory, Nebula's downfall was decided.

'And this is perhaps the most crucial turning point in this game.'

Beyond leading the distribution of electricity, the capability to push Nebula, who was close to acquiring a Large Area, far away was killing two birds with one stone.

‘Good. Now after finding and completely destroying the remaining forces, the patent rights will be sent to the Union Kingdom and…’

As Hegemonia's excitement from the victory cooled, they noticed a message window appearing at the edge of their screen.

‘What is this? Is it a Whisper Conversation from Nebula, infuriated by the conversion of an unseen war to a visible one?’

With that thought, Hegemonia checked the message. However, reading it made Hegemonia sink down in disbelief.

"...How?"

It was a World Message.

[The player 'Nebula' has acquired Large Area: Sky.]

[Now, the sky above everyone's head belongs to the player 'Nebula'.]