Chapter 54: The One to Become King

Feudalism meant a king chose a handful of feudal lords and gave them land. A king could not manage a large piece of land by himself. Therefore, the king gave a small number of people the right to collect taxes from the land given to them and make it their duty to provide protection to the tax payers in return. Thus, the lords appointed by the king and the blood relatives that succeeded them were in a contractual relationship with the king; they carried out the king’s orders when necessary.

“Medieval Europe, China in its early history, and Japan had a feudal system,” said Sung-Woon.

“They’re all too different to lump them together, but sure,” replied Eldar.

“But, Eldar, isn’t it weird for an Elf to know the countries on Earth?”

“I am an Elf who crosses dimensions.”

“...That’s your concept?”

The advantage of feudalism was that there would be less of a burden on the king. The feudal lords did have the duty to protect the land the king gave them, but the feudal lands belonged to the lords, not the king. Thus, the feudal lords put in lots of effort to protect their territories. Each manor would be thoroughly protected by the ramparts the feudal lords built, which also served as an opportunity for military architecture to develop.

‘On the other hand, a disadvantage that stands out is…’

Things would be okay when the feudal system was initially introduced, but as time went on, the king would grow distant from both the meritorious servants and those who took over the fiefdoms by right of blood. In addition, although the feudal lords and the king were bound by contracts, that was not the case with the relationships between the feudal lords. Unless another feudal lord or the king played mediators, feudal lords would treat each other as the head of a different country. In fact, even though they belonged to the same country, many feudal lords would fight against each other, which was a waste of power from the king’s perspective.

‘Still, it’s an opportunity for siege strategies to develop, and it also ensures that combat power is maintained. Frequent battles also fuel the development of technology.’

There were both pros and cons, but overall, Sung-Woon did not like the idea of feudalism in The Lost World.

‘It’s a mess.’

It was possible for powerful feudal lords to gain the support of multiple kings, which meant that they could receive land and backing from leaders of different countries if necessary, and those who had reached such heights wielded greater power than even kings, thus greatly influencing international relations and diplomacy. It required a lot of effort to balance the power of feudal lords and kings, which was good for the lords…

“...But not for the player.”

“That is right.”

Eldar opened their eyes halfway like they were remembering a previous game.

“I once ran a large city-state in the Middle Ages. At first it belonged to the country that my priest was king of, but the city-state eventually received more land from the neighboring countries and lost their faith in me.”

Sung-Woon nodded.

In The Lost World, a theocracy was the easiest to control. On the contrary, if faith and politics began to separate, it was hard for the player to produce their intended results even for a country with Faith. And it could get out of the player’s control.

‘There is a way to take control in those situations, but there’s no need to suffer for it.’

Feudalism wasn’t bad. City-states naturally formed, so money and time could be saved for laying the foundation of a country. And if the neighboring countries also operated under a feudal system, it was possible for the country to convert the other feudal lords and expand their region of influence.

‘But if something goes wrong, the other countries’ religion could influence my country. And since the relationships between the king and the feudal lords aren’t the best, it would be easier for another religion to become influential.’

Sung-Woon thought about the other option, which was monarchy. Feudalism was also a form of monarchy, but the monarchy the players of The Lost World talked about was an absolute monarchy, or, in other words, centralized administration.

Sung-Woon said, “Explain centralized monarchy.”

“The king rules over the entire country from the capital. He handpicks state officials and sends them to the provinces as administrators.”

In feudalism, all the power over the lands was given to the feudal lords, but state officials were very different. Work was divided depending on the administrative tasks at hand, and they held each other in check. In addition, jobs were not permanent, and the state officials regularly moved to different posts. A lot of money was required to implement and maintain the administrative foundation, but there were still many pre-modern countries that were an absolute monarchy.

‘Due to the stable power structure, the division of labor makes administrative work more specialized, and because the central government is strong, it’s easier to mobilize a military.’

Sung-Woon liked the last part.

‘If theocracy is in unity with absolute monarchy, then the whole country will abide by the king’s orders.’

Of course there were checks and balances in place to limit the power of the monarch, but it was nothing compared to feudalism.

However, centralized monarchy was not something one could establish just because they wanted to. Various networks of facilities such as well-paved roads and ports had to be established first, along with methods for selecting state officials, establishing the legitimacy of the king, and creating a common identity that various species could rally behind, making them feel like they belonged to one country.

“Eldar, what should I do in a case like this?”

Eldar shrugged. It was not because they did not know, but because they were not sure why Sung-Woon was asking them when Sung-Woon already had an answer.

***

The day after Lakrak took over the whole peninsula, he woke up and decided to take his tribe north.

Hearing that decision, Yur said, “Are we leaving for the wilderness again?”

“No.”

Lakrak called a meeting with the important figures of the tribe. During the meeting, Lakrak made a big drawing on the ground. Not many of them recognized it, but it was a map.

Lakrak said, “I had a dream yesterday.”

The Lizardmen did not pay particular attention to that. During serious meetings, Lakrak sometimes pretended to have received a revelation from God in his dreams, and once the others listened to the dream, they realized that the dreams were not revelations or precognition, but ridiculous, meaningless fantasies. Still, those ridiculous dreams were useful in making the other Lizardmen laugh.

Lakrak continued to say, “I emerged from my body and floated in the air. At first, I was simply floating, but then I found myself flying fast without willing myself to. The land beneath my feet was shooting by, and I could sometimes see lands that I knew. I saw all the villages that we took from the Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins, and Elves. I also saw Black-Scaled Lizardmen similar to us living in villages that we worked together to drive people out of. From across the wilderness, all the way to the northern coast.”

Zaol knew Lakrak was not joking.

“It’s the land we’ve secured.”

“Yes.”

Lakrak stopped drawing on the ground. He walked to the end of the drawing and drew a dot.

“We are here.”

“I see.”

“What do we call this place?”

As Lakrak questioned and looked around, a warrior said, “The Dwarves called this land Maganen.”

This meant ‘land of the end.’ Lakrak nodded and wrote Maganen beside the dot he had just made. When Zaol saw Lakrak do so, she ordered an errand boy to copy the drawing onto silk with charcoal.

Lakrak took another step and drew another dot.

“This is where we drove out the Red-Skinned Orcs. Anyone remember what this place was called?”

“Chief, the Orcs called that place Samon.”

This word meant ‘deep forest.’

Then Larak said, “There are lots of places named Samon. Is there a way we can distinguish this place from the other Samons?”

Another warrior said, “Then we’ll call it the Southern Samon.”

Lakrak nodded and wrote the name down. Thus, he slowly walked upward, naming the lands he had conquered. There were a lot of tribes on the peninsula, and because the Black-Scaled Tribe had conquered many villages, it took a while for Lakrak to reach the edge of the wilderness.

Lakrak went past Kamairu, which meant ‘wide lake,’ where the Frogmen used to live. The Lizardmen assumed Lakrak would go through the wilderness, but instead, Lakrak made a few dots where the sea met the top of the peninsula and the southern part of the wilderness.

“What’s the name of this place?”

The Lizardmen stayed silent.

“Does no one know?” asked Lakrak.

“Chief, I’m sorry, but I don’t think anyone knows the name.”

Lakrak looked around.

“Is there anyone who remembers the place?”

“In my memory, we never drove any species out of there.”

Lakrak used the stick he had been drawing with to hit the ground.

“And no one knows about it?”

“It’s a mountainous area, so no paths have been paved there. And other species stayed away since it’s a habitat for Cockatrices.”

Lakrak nodded. Most of the Lizardmen wondered about Lakrak’s intentions, and a few of them thought it might be a big joke and got ready to laugh.

Then, Lakrak said, “I know this place. Even though it’s a mountainous area, it’s not difficult to make a road because there are only vines and small trees. If we just maintain a few existing paths, everyone will be able to go there. Getting lost may be a concern since there’s a deep forest, but God will guide the way. If we go deep into the mountain, there will be a river flowing down along the deep valley, and going downstream, the landscape grows gentle until the river reaches the bottom of the mountain and opens wide, accompanying a vast flatland. There, the river meets the sea. The sun rises above the mountain in the east and sets into the sea in the west.”

Then, Zaol asked, “Is that the land you saw in your dream?”

“Yes,” and Lakrak added, “The name of that land is Orazen.”

The Lizardmen whispered among each other after hearing the name. It meant ‘the land where God stands.’

“I will become the king of Orazen.”

The Lizardmen cheered at those words. Lakrak occupied so much land that ‘great chief’ was no longer a fitting title; he was in a different league than the other tribal chiefs. Those with a grand reputation needed a suitable title.

“We will go to Orazen. Pack up.”

The Lizardmen, full of excitement and anticipation, began to talk with each other. Lakrak passed through the crowd and went into his hut. Zaol followed him.

“Is that the decision God made?”

“I suppose so.”

“It means we don’t have to go along the roads and chase away the fools who claim it as their land. But do we just leave them be then?”

“No.”

“If we leave those tribes be, some will grow in power. Were those who come into power be any species but the Lizardmen, it would be rather a relief. However, some Lizardmen may begin to doubt your powers because they have forgotten your power or have never witnessed it.”

“I know.”

Lakrak explained that going to Orazen was not the end of his dream.

“I found a way.”

***

Lakrak first sent to Orazen those who would pave the path and develop the land.

Then he proved his power and authority by going around the villages that he had marked with dots on the map he drew. Fortunately, there weren’t any Lizardmen who dared to fight back. All the Lizardmen believed Lakrak to be their tribal chief.

Lakrak spread words about Orazen and told those who wanted to follow them to come along. Many simply wanted to keep living as they had been, but those who did not followed Lakrak.

Lakrak expanded his new tribe and headed to Orazen. He made sure that the new village in Orazen was being well established and left for the wilderness and northern coast. He also told the Lizardmen there about Orazen.

Before the end of the year, all the Lizardmen residing east of Automation knew that Lakrak was king and that Orazen was the capital. A little before the three-year mark, most of the tribes to the east of Automation knew of those facts.

As soon as Orazen was found, it served as a new transportation center, and a wide road was paved.

Lakrak sent deputy warriors to all the Lizardmen villages to act as tribal chiefs. They had the authority to engage in matters of the villages, judge criminals, and mobilize warriors to respond to external threats.

These deputies were the elite warriors following Lakrak, and they cherished the code of laws that Lakrak had personally engraved onto a slate. The slate made of stone was a symbol of power itself, and to prevent replication, it was decorated with the rare, distinctive gold.

These executives stood out with a steel sword in one hand and the code of law in the other. They had other warriors under their command and took them wherever they went, formed groups with people from different origins, and prevented others from becoming the deputy warriors of the tribes they were originally from.

On the other hand, there were lands Lakrak thought of as his but hadn’t sent any deputies to, which were Automation and the Elf village of the Green Eye Tribe on the end of the northern coast. The lord of Automation and tribal chief remained as the feudal lords in those areas. Lakrak did not care much, so he gave the position of margrave to Hwee-Kyung, the lord of Automation, and the position of maripgan to Leonar, the tribal chief of the Green Eye Tribe.

Hwee-Kyung accepted her position with joy as she thought that meant she could use Lakrak’s power in cases of emergencies. Leonar was rather troubled, but he didn’t really have much of a choice other than to accept it.

In addition, Lizardmen serving as foreign affair officers at Orazen were sent to Automation and Green Eye Tribe. These foreign affair officers had the rather complex role of facilitating exchanges between the feudal lords and the king, Lakrak, while also keeping an eye on the margrave and the maripgan.

The deputies and foreign affair officers were all primitive state officials with too many duties for an individual to take on, but since they did not encounter many issues when carrying out their duties, there wasn’t a need to establish additional roles to share the burden. Their work was slow and sloppy at times, but Lakrak’s words and will were accurately communicated to the margrave, maripgan, and the executive at Maganen at the end of the peninsula, and the same was true of the reverse.

[Notice: One of your countries has entered early monarchy.]

Although it was a combination of two systems, it was more monarchy than feudalism, so the system notice described it as such.

Sung-Woon closed the notice window.

Then, Eldar said to Sung-Woon, “...Was your answer eventually both?”

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

“Yeah. When I weighed the pros and cons and had to decide what’s best for the current situation, I had no choice but to pick both.”

“Then why did you ask me…?” asked Eldar.

“Huh? Because your land has become mine too.”

Eldar decided not to ask any further questions.

***

Years later, at the end of the Maganen peninsula.

Where Lakrak had mapped out his country stood other beings. They had four legs on the ground and four arms attached to their slouched torso. One pair of the arms were large pincers, and the other pair seemed to be poor imitations of hands. From what seemed like their faces, a pair of eyes stuck out, above which were a pair of moving antennae.

The most unusual thing about these beings was the hard, shiny turquoise shell that covered their entire body. Some wore metal as accessories and had clubs made of stone hanging from their waistbands. It was clear these beings were intellectual.

Sung-Woon was scouting the area and discovered them before they came into contact with the Lizardmen.

“...They’re lobsters,” he muttered.

1. A medieval title originally used for the military commander assigned to maintain the defense of border provinces.

2. A term used for ruler/king during the Silla period.