The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

War Negotiations

This has been brought to you by Grisia.

Explosions ripped the land apart and ice pillars formed and collapsed repeatedly! After the smoke and dust cleared, the Northern Alliance could see the results of their actions. In the area that was thoroughly devastated by magic, there stood Weed and the Death Knight. Only that one area was fine. Thanks to the Moonlight Sculpting, the trajectory of most of the magic was changed slightly. Thankfully none of the magic had been aimed at Weed directly when they exploded. Due to the different properties of the various magics, the result was quite destructive. The arrows shot by the archers had lost most of their attack power because of the aftereffects of the magical attacks. Even so, in the center of the explosions, it was a miracle that Weed and the Death Knight managed to survive. It was thanks to their vitality, endurance, defensive skills, armor, and the protection from the Moonlight Sculpting! With the Death Knight, they managed to prevent dying by dividing the damage from the explosion. However, the durability of the Ancient Shield fell by a staggering 25 points. It was not an exaggeration one of the best, unique shields but it could not be repaired. The durability of his Tallock armor had dropped severely and was now in rags, but thankfully he was lucky that it was not fully destroyed yet.

"My Ancient Shield..."

His precious Ancient Shield that he only wore sparingly! The durability had dropped by 25 and now only 261 was remaining. He felt unbearable anger that its price would fall. Weed was really angry.

"I would have rather died!"

He would earn back his skill experience but he could not get the durability that the Ancient Shield had lost back. Weed had 33% health left and 46% of his mana. Even if he wanted to cry, he could not stop now since he needed to break even. He had managed to survive the magic explosions.

'As for the items....'

Weed had been ambushed by the Northern Alliance. Naturally he did not forget to take the items from those that had died.

"Heraim Fencing!"

At the moment, he began to fight those that were left. Weed was the hero of the battlefield. Everyone was watching him as they were intent on killing him. The Death Knight began to act and strike down enemies. The wizards and archers began to attack but it was not as threatening as the first strike.

"Let's fight against those that wish to harm Morata with Weed-nim."

"Kallamore Knights, let's go!"

The Kallamore Knights were still fighting against the Northern Alliance. All of the high level users that went to fight Weed had died in the magical attack. Many of the leaders of the Northern Alliance had already died.

"Kill them!"

"We beginners will fight back against the oppressors."

Geomchi and the beginners began to break apart the enemy. The King Hydra, Black Imugi, Phoenix, Bingryong, and Wyverns were earning him a lot. Weed to focus his attention towards making the Northern Alliance crumble from within just as he had hoped and intended for. A single death does not lead to a significant lead to victory. Since he killed and looted a lot of the enemy leaders, the army was disorganized.

"Beat them!"

"Kill them all!"

The balance was destroyed and could not revert back to normal. The Northern Alliance was stuck in a situation like that of a wildfire. They could no longer trust their allies after having been attacked by their own magic.

"I give up. Help me!"

"It is own defeat."

"I apologize for declaring war on Morata."

The Northern Alliance users began to drop their weapons to show their intent to surrender. There was speculation that once Weed had begun to sing that there were already people surrendering. Once the soldiers of the Northern Alliance put down their weapons, the siege came to an abrupt, expected end. The beginners lifted their rusty swords and their wooden shields and began to cheer.

"Uwa, we won!"

"Morata wins. Hurrah!"

Weed shook his head.

"You started this war so you can not be the one that gets to decide when it ends!"

He used to mana to give off a Yell. This was not the end of the war. He had spent a lot of money to recruit soldiers and other expenses that would mean an economic loss. Of course, a defeat in war was the side that had substantial damages and could ransom prisoners of war, but that was not enough for Weed. He had not earned enough money from equipment. There were still the Kallamore Knights, the beginners, the Geomchis, Pale and the rest of the party against 30 thousand weak and tired users. There was money and experience scattered all over the floor! To say that you wanted to end the war was nonsense. It was like donating all of your money to charity after having won the lottery!

"Uwaaaa!"

"We won!"

"The Northern Alliance declared defeat!"

To the beginners that were giving off their victory yells, they thought that Weed was just being proud to show his pleasure in the situation. Weed yelled back.

"These enemies dare to invade and destroy Morata! Do not leave a single person alive, kill them all!"

The beginners had to be stirred up.Without them there was no telling how much damage the Sculptures of Life and the Kallamore Knights as well as Morata's soldiers would take. With the number of beginners they could exhaust the members of the Northern Alliance. The Geomchis would ninja in during the confusion and cut down enemies while the Kallamore Knights charged in unexpectedly. The shouting that the beginners gave off worked to lower the spirits of the users from the Northern Alliance. Weed the God of War had given off his infamous war cry and wanted  to wipe out the Northern Alliance. The users of the Northern Alliance raised their hands.

"Praise to Weed!"

"He is indeed the Count of Morata. We admit clear defeat and will not attack Morata again."

"It is an honor to lose to Weed the God of War. We had learned from this. Thank you!"

Because it was so interesting, stations were broadcasting the war in Morata.

"The Northern Alliance seems to have entered Morata's territory. Haseungtae-ssi, what do you think will be the outcome of this war?"

"It can't even be called a war. The Northern Alliance has mobilized over 120 thousand units. The victory will definitely go to the Northern Alliance. The majority of the Northern Guilds had formed this coalition and it was successful."

CHN Media decided that the Northern Alliance would win.

"The scale of the Northern Alliance is amazing and they have generously spent on military efforts to take over Morata."

"There are a lot of siege weapons. Viewers are going to see the city of Morata covered in flames today."

"Will Weed's invincibility as the God of War end?"

"Unfortunately that is so."

CTS Media came outright and said that Morata would lose. Weed would suffer bitter defeat and the Northern Alliance would win so that their viewership would increase. KMC Media took a different stance.

"The Northern Alliance, despite having a massive force, does not mean much to Weed."

"Oh Juwan-ssi, what do you mean? Are you saying something like the Northern Alliance is not enough to Weed?"

"That's right. It is because he is that much of a threat that the other guilds target him."

"What do you think will happen in the war?"

"It looks like the Northern Alliance's victory may seem obvious, but that is unknown until the war finally starts."

"So you're saying that Weed can win this war."

"At this point it is difficult to say, but from the quests so far performed by Weed the God of War, there is no saying that he would definitely lose."

Oh Juwan was watching the fight carefully. Morata was not expected to win, so KMC Media as Weed's contractor would get reduced viewership. Still the Director was a dedicated fan of Weed and maintained his stance despite what others said. Then the stations showed the Kallamore Knights appear. There was not a single person there that did not understand the might of the Kallamore Knights!

"Do you think Weed brought them? Weed does travel a lot but I did not know that he had gone to the Kallamore Kingdom!"

"Kolderim is leading the knights. Kolderim is the Knight that directly leads the knights of the Kallamore Kingdom!"

"Is there some connection between Weed and Kolderim?"

The host of the station urgently raised his voice. Other than Maylon, the others did not know that it was Weed that had liberated Kolderim's soul and were surprised. The Kallamore Knights were battle knights that could take any role in combat and had the power to stop any force. They would ruthlessly wield their maces and swing their swords like lightning while maintaining maneuverability so they were like undying demons. The Kallamore Knights were very dashing, so much that there was significant increase of aspiring knights. The Kallamore Knights assault made a huge impact on the Northern Alliance users. The fear could be seen in their eyes.

They had seen the Kallamore Knights' destructive power on the television but now they were subject to it themselves. With the sounding of a horn, the Kallamore Knights charge in rapidly. Many chose to flee from fear. Then the Knights began to dodge the wizard magic that led to allied damages, and then Morata released their large number of beginners. A level 300 high level users could simply kill 100 beginners. However, as the slaughtering continued they would get more physical exhaustion. Even if they killed a few beginners, they were still surrounded on all sides. The Kallamore Knights would finish them off quickly or a high level Geomchi would briefly appear. The Northern Alliance users had already abandoned the idea that they were in the advantage. Mixed among the beginners were Morata's mid and high level users. In the battlefield, the experience and melee combat skills of the individual were important. Weed then appeared with the King Hydra, the Black Imugi, Phoenix, Bingryong, and the Wyverns! It was true that the famous Weed the God of War would sing before a fight.

They had all noticed it in the battles with the Orc Karichwi.

'The real war begins now.'

'This is Weed's war.'

The song was about looting the items that the high level users of the Northern Alliance were wearing! That was exactly what he was singing about. The battle then progressed and magic began to strike Weed! It was an intimidating sight to see him survive that magic explosion. The Northern Alliance lost their motivation to fight and began to surrender to avoid further sacrifices. However the Northern Alliance was a coalition of builds rather than a guild under a single person so they did not have military efficiency. Due to the fact that it was a coalition of many builds, once one guild surrenders then the whole alliance collapses.

  "..."

"So what happened to the war."

"Morata won."

The hosts were at a loss for words. It was difficult for them to explain what had happened once the beginners had begun to pour out. There were enough posts on the Internet community to cause the massive lag. Once you posted our own comment, you had to check 20 pages to see it.

-So the God of War did not lose today.

-I didn't think the Kallamore Knights would show up.

-He had the power to bring them.

-The Northern Alliance could not be called the main powers on the continent. It could not compare to the central and south eastern forces. However, after seeing the events of the war I am now unsure.

-How is Morata growing so rapidly? Last time I saw it was only on the level of a small village.

-Don't forget to keep watching the broadcasts.

-They don't see the broadcasts too often. Morata changes on a weekly basis.

-I started as a user in Morata. It's a place where art, culture, adventure, religion, and commerce co-exist in harmony. The church of Freya can't be ignored. The North isn't lacking in anything. But they just keep growing.

-Weed is more than qualified to be Lord there. The Northern Users were just bad at developing their towns. He had built many huge sculptures and now isn't there the Art's Center Building? If that's completed, I would be glad to stay there.

-I just finished eating my sandwich. Also Weed! He did not disappoint at all. It was a shame that he didn't get to fight much but he fought well didn't he?

-I am leaving with my friends to the North. There's no point in trying to take over Morata anymore.

-Wait a minute, I'm coming too.

The moment the war ended, a window popped up for Weed to see.

Due to the defeat in the war, each of the towns were facing large scale resistance. It depended on the culture of each town and those that were defeated had to pay a huge penalty. Tears fell from those that were held in captivity.

Each of the lords had the responsibility of maintaining the morale in their forces. However, the Northern Lords did not see that and suffered huge damages.

"Half of the town has already deserted."

"Kerala doesn't have any culture. All the farmers have left the harvest in the ditches and ran away."

"Well, that much is evident."

"Bankchester guild is barely holding their own."

"Your town?"

"Us? There's nothing to buy. Who knew that culture and are are things that were actually important?"

There was not much unrest in the continent since there were cultural centers. Each town and city fulfilled the basic need of cultural level so that they could maintain hostilities with neighboring kingdoms. Morata had exceptionally great culture. Lords did not understand the meaning of culture and people satisfaction or a sense of art. So the Northern Lords reduced art as much as possible. They did not think they would lose so much from the war.

"Do you think that this is because we failed to raise culture?"

"This is where the real frightening part begins..."

The war negotiations were not over yet. Weed had gathered the lords and the guild masters into a building to discuss war negotiations. Basically it was reparations for the war. The number of prisoners from the Northern Alliance was perplexing. They had taken over 70 thousand prisoner. Of those there were 14 thousand users. The war reparations was bound to put them at a significant disadvantage.

The Styrene Guild took the first move.

"Morata lord, Morata is a well respected place. I have admired Weed-nim since the Continent is magic."

The beginners and POWs could witness the negotiations that were going on. With the amplification of sound magic the conversation could be heard from all over Morata. The stats were also covering the conversation live. They tried to smoothed over things politically. Weed saw that some of the players were on the Hall of Fame and were trying to make themselves sound professional. The Northern Alliance was at a huge disadvantage. However the Styrene Guild continued at Weed.

'This much is just?'

There was a need to understand the personality and taste of the other party. So they tried to praise him as much as they could! They wanted to start the negotiations off with elegant lines of praise.

"The monsters of the Northern part of Morata are scatter out, this must be because Lord Weed is dependable. However, have you seen the extent of damage on the other villages?"

"..."

The Styrene Guild mention the loss of their culture and art.

"Even though we invested a lot of money, our villagers keep migrating to Morata which is a big loss for us."

The Lords of the Northern Alliance nodded in unison since they were all sympathetic to the words being said. They did not have the kind of money for this and wanted to escape this suffering.

"The damage is done now and we will agree to no longer invade Morata. The defeat is ours and we would like our inhabitants back. So the point is, could you please consider this agreement and we will not attack Morata again."

After the Styrene Guild finished, they finally noticed. Weed was the notorious God of War known as the worst of the worst. In the Continent of Magic, he would kill anyone that made noise in the dungeon and even those that ran away. Weed had no sympathy or compassion. He was burned into history as the unscrupulous user that kills and takes all! Weed had his arms crossed with narrow eyes. That much could show his attitude that he was not at all pleased.

'I didn't get all the items...I have lost more than I got. I can not sleep well tonight.'

Weed's face was contorted like a demon.

'Have to move on from the bitter memories and live the rest of life. I have to go on day by day. It's like an only man that's suffering from painful memories as he separates the trash'

Mapan went on Weed's behalf.

  "That is your position as the Northern Alliance, but from Morata's perspective there is no reason to look at a single side of the war."

"But we don't have any money to pay."

"No, but that does not mean that the war reparations are done now does it?"

"..."

"Are you saying that you want to leave the war negotiations?"

Mapan gave them a suggestion. After a war negotiation are given up, the surrendered prisoners are given a trial. Of course the one that makes the judgement is Weed and the people that he appointed. Users that kills Morata's soldiers are usually thrown in jail and imprisoned. The penalty that had to be paid was by no mean trivial. If there was resistance, then that meant death.Even if the users was safely negotiated, the soldier would resent their Lords. Their side had to accept the painful reality of defeat in war.

"Weed was one of the contributors to the Dragon Hunt and created this warm climate. What about his adventure to reclaim Morata? Weed had to go to a number of achievements in his adventures to find out a number of towns want to invade once the Church of Freya's protection ends because they had gone blind with greed."

Mapan cooly began to criticize the lords of the Northern Alliance. Traders always took pleasure in taking advantage of the powerless. For war reparations, usually 70% was divided amongst the soldiers. The remaining 30% went to the Lord for developing the city. Mapan wanted to benefit as much as possible from the situation. Mapan emphatically demanded.

"One users is 900 gold and its 200 gold per soldier as reparations."

"This is ridiculous."

"I expected a large amount but this is too much!"

This situation was also within his calculations. It was a reasonable amount for the cost of their lives. The problem with the war negotiations was the at lords did not have that kind of money! In the center of the continent, those in power always had thousands of gold but the lords of the North were generally poor. They had used most of their fortune moving from the central continent to the North to form towns.

"We don't have that kind of money."

"Even if you cut it in half, we still can't pay it."

Even for the central continent, 120 thousand troops of the Northern Alliance was not common. The fact that they had been defeated as well has having such a large number of captives was a disgrace to the lords. If they could not afford to pay the ransom then it could lead to another war.

"A single user at 900 gold is the amount though. Until now, all the previous wars on the Continent of Versailles had done this so it is a reasonable amount."

Mapan raised an eyebrow at the opposition. Even if there was no money to pay, they could not move on without making negotiations. Weed had his arms folded and was silent.

'Even at around 70%, they would have to depend on credit and pay in installments each month, and then the amount would lessen each month. I would not gain much. Then the overdue interest would increase drastically...'

Weed decided to clean up the situation while Mapan was with the troubled lords.

"There is no need for compensation."

"What?"

Mapan was astonished. To think that Weed would out and say something like this. He could not believe that these words would come out of Weed's mouth. The Lords of the Northern Alliance did not understand about the war reparations and just looked onwards. They did not believe what he had just said.

'They would be forced to get a loan.'

The lords of the northern towns could not earn much income. The investments cost them a lot and there was nothing that they could earn from. There was no guarantee that Morata would ever see the money since it was such an excessive amount. If there was another war then Morata would not have the Kallamore Knights available. In the future there may be another lord that my decide to invade the North again. Weed, to the Northern Alliance Lords, would look like a malicious debt collector.

 "There will be no compensation, the prisoners will be set free."

"Really?"

The Styrene Guild could not believe it. From Weed's position this could only be charity and there was no sense for it.

"Also a promise. Morata will not invade the other towns."

From Weed's position he did not need to occupy the towns to get benefits. Morata was not a small territory. Territory was not something that was fixed.There was a lot of ground between each state. Thus as culture grows, the boundary of the city expands.

"I suggest a trade agreement."

"What?"

"As you know, Morata has improved a lot as a beginner town."

The Lords of the Northern Alliance nodded. They had experienced it first had so they knew better than anyone else.

"In the future there will be a need for weapons and armors for the beginners as well as a large amount of resources."

The Lords of the Northern Alliance began to get uncomfortable. Morata was a place that beginners could grow easily at. They had watched Morata grow increasingly powerful.

"And?"

"The beginners will need the necessary resources. Morata has many things such as mines and fields. There are items that are obtained from hunting that would be useful for beginners that you could sell."

Commercial development, taxes and permits were the right of the Lords. To open up the Northern Lords would create a huge market for beginners. The Styrene Guild had a broad expression on their faces during this difficult negotiations.

"This is a very good proposal for us. Why are you give us so much?"

"The Central Continent is far way. The merchants would have to take too long to get their and the prices would be too high.The merchants need all the help they can get. Our biggest problems is the northern beginners not being able to use weapons at reasonable prices because of the central continent's prices. That sort of thing is wrong."

The lords considered by making eye contact with each other and nodding.

"We are also sympathetic."

"We as well."

Morata made a lot more trade than the rest of the northern towns combined.

"I heard that you have trouble developing culture."

"..."

The Lords well into despair. They had found it increasingly difficult to develop culture as more people kept leaving.

"Morata will send cultural advisors to live in each of the villages. They will work to increase the culture and the towns and reduce the number of villagers that leave."

Culture had the effect of significantly reducing the complaints of the people. Morata had a lot of bards and dancers. They could be seen around the day performing. They would earn money from going from town the town.

One of the lords asked.

"However that would decrease Morata's culture. That does not make any sense to me."

Weed glared at him for a moment. The look in his eyes made him shrink away to show that they were not equals. There was a change in the atmosphere which was sufficient to reverse the situation. There were people that loved to talk and then forget what they had said. He had to threaten them this way. This, in a sense, was more favorable.

"I am angry that there are a lot of sculptors in Morata. There are a lot of skilled sculptors in Morata particularly. They create a lot of sculptures and paintings."

Weed was aiming to export the works of art. There was the Light Tower and the Statue of Freya but the growing number of artworks in the city needed to slow down. He did not want it to be a city of artists like Rhodium. Weed sank into a low voice.

"There are a lot of novice users in Morata. They need to go out so that they can grow their skills."

"..."

"Morata feels like it is very large. However, there are more quests and hunting that can be done by visiting other towns more often. There is room to develop Morata and the other towns."

Weed broke off into another topic.

"First, as the lord you need to invest and treat the village with love so that many beginners will start in you town. Establish a general store and a square so business can flourish. You will be able to see beginners fill their water bottle at the fountain. There will be nothing against the beginners from this war."

This was the talk that took place with Weed. The Northern Lords rose from their chairs. Cheers could be heard from all over the walls.

"Waaa!"

"God of War Weed is the best!"

"Weed hurrah!"

The beginners and the users of the Northern Alliance cheered! Weed also showed generosity to the invaders coming to Morata. Mapan as well as Pale's party was showing complete shock. Like how they saw Weed differently in artistry after the Light Tower.

"No what is...that's not like Weed at all."

"He can't be a philanthropist, right?"

"Has he fallen seriously ill? Maybe he fell off of a sculpture while he was making it?"

A man could not change so much so they were concerned with Weed's mental health. It was very difficult to understand what Weed was doing. Everyone that was there and watching the broadcast was showing a different attitude. Only Zephyr seemed to know what was going on as he nodded.

'With this negotiation he's going to reap huge profits.'

The value of beginners! The Northern Lord was concerned with their futures! However Weed had calculated the damages into his head and that there would be endless benefits in the future. The northern towns would sell their foods and obtain many benefits but Morata would be the one gaining the tax revenues. They had trade with the central continent but now they could actively trade with the northern merchants. It would also get rid of the northern town's reasons for war. With culture they will reduce the number of people leaving. Digging a mine to gather resources will develop the city's technology and create more quality goods for the town. This peace agreement will accelerate the northern towns' development. It would so get rid of the tension and anxiety of beginners in Morata as well as make more people start in the North. The Northern specialties would grown and develop as merchant trade increases. In the long run, Morata as the center of commerce would be the one to benefit. There would be better items for beginners which would rapidly increases the amount of taxes being paid.

"After the war he can get rid of the excess art!"

For the time being, the economy of each village depended on Morata. He could grow their culture by selling off the art to each town. Nevertheless, the sale of the products gave big benefits despite the conditions to the northern lords. Trade with Morata did not give them any losses and there was no longer a need to war against Morata. So with these facts given to each town, a second war of Morata would not happen. Zephyr's thought more highly of Weed now. He had conquered the Northern Alliance. It was complex reasonable judgement and there was no need to make a hateful enemy.

"The strategy and the planning, as well as the policies. It's so scary that no one had noticed!"

While pretending to do this, he was actually waiting to exploit and harvest the benefits. Weed determination and concentration towards money was one of a kind.

"Fresh grass porridge."

The festival celebrating Morata's victory! The delighted beginners were excited. It was entertaining for Weed to watch them spend.

-The viewership has exploded. To think that viewership would rise this much from live footage of the war!

They were happy with Maylon's progress. KMC media as well as 12 other broadcast station had broadcast Morata's war. They had footage of two perspective of Weed's war and earned a percentage from advertising with a small fee for broadcasting rights. They were rolling in money.

"The world is a truly beautiful place."

As thanks for those that participated in the war, Weed gave out unlimited rice porridge. The lord opened up the storage and the residents and users could enjoy themselves.

The lord was considered generous. There was money being spent everywhere. There was wild boar on barbecue, deer being baked and barrels filled with liquor.

"Drink it all!"

It was a new recipe made from a mixture of fruits and other items. It was a bit bitter from the bark and it had nutritional value from lettuce and raspberries. Weed had constantly used herbalism and cooking in the intermediate levels to research alcohol. He had finally made a new drink that was a liquor full of mysteries.

'Alcohol is money.'

Alcohol had a long shelf life and it was easy to store so it wasn't uncommon that it was a best selling product. Professional brewing was a career that was held in regard on the Continent of Versailles. Food recipes, as well as drinks were traded at high prices. It had a good taste and nutritional value so it would be a recipe that was worth a lot. Weed had created a drink with high nutitrional value with low cost materials!

"This drink is amazing!"

"Is it that good?"

The beginners could taste the amazing taste of alcohol. It was not expensive compared to a bar and it was good for the price.

"Cheers!"

"We give our thanks to Morata!"

"Cheers to the 49th beginner division!"

The beginners were smiling brightly to show their joy. The festival was going on everywhere and events of all sorts. Others were getting ready to hunt since they had gained a significant amount of experience from the war. In order to get stronger the beginners needed to hunt outside of the city. Weed thought of it as a good thing.

"As you get stronger you make me more taxes."

The more taxes he got, the better. More users in the Morata created more positive effects in their own ways. Geomchis were off in the square consuming alcohol. The rest of the users that had survived the war were thoroughly enjoying themselves in the festival. Everyone was happy. Weed took out his lord mode and watched over the atmosphere.

“Increase city taxes by 2% for two days!”

Ttiring!

It was the festival season. There was a lot of stuff to buy and eat so there was a lot of consumption. He raised the tax moderately to cover the cost of his investments.

"I can earn a lot with this atmosphere."

The reason was the Grass Porridge Cult buying things.

In the real world, nothing was free!