The Final King Has Returned, Episode 95
[Welcome to Ard Saga Second, User.]
With a stiff message, I connected to Ard World and took the Teleport Gate from Lawless Port toward the north.
Snow Castle, the heart of the north.
Thanks to the declaration of the Dark Domain, the once snow-white castle walls had turned completely black. Walking those streets, I entered the Winter Palace, likewise dyed black.
Passing the Undead tasked with guarding the palace, I entered the Hall of Glory and sat upon the ice throne stained pitch-black.
"Region Info."
[North]
[Development Level: Mid-Rank 2]
[The northern region of Ard World, bordered by the Sky Ridge Mountains and Monster Land.]
[Home to generations of rough warriors, Druids who are guardians of nature, and the warlike maritime people, the Vikings. The people are rough and crude in temperament, yet bold and very belligerent.]
[Military: A] [The Undead King and his fearless undead army are powerful. They are comparable to the army of the Empire, said to be the strongest in the World.]
[Economy: C+] [The economy is extremely poor.]
[Public Order: A] [Order is maintained through fear. The residents are trembling in terror.]
[Culture: D] [Cultural amenities are insufficient. There is a lack of entertainment.]
[Population: 45,122,420]
[Available Funds: 121,612,343,210 Gold]
[Monthly Income: 21,123,750,000 Gold]
[Special Conditions]
[Eternal winter has arrived. The season is permanently fixed to 'Winter.']
[The land is barren. Population sustainability has dropped.]
[The residents fear you, the new ruler of the north who commands the Undead and monsters. Loyalty has temporarily increased due to the residents' fear.]
[Major Cities]
[Snow Castle] [Skeleton Castle] [Budong Port]…….
No sooner had I finished speaking than the region info window popped up!
The info window containing information on the entire North was exactly as I had expected.
The finances were especially a mess.
The North's funds, which should have been at least ten billion gold at minimum, had only about six billion gold remaining.
'So Rio must have waged a war.'
And I knew very well where the North's poor finances had come from.
War!
And not just any war, but one where he had gone all-in, pouring every last bit of the North's military might into a gamble—and lost.
War was a business that cost an enormous amount of money, and a gamble where losing meant losing everything.
Just as I was looking at the North's info window, lost in thought.
A notification window appeared before my eyes.
[You have secured sufficient territory and influence to impact Ard World.]
[You may establish a nation.]
[Will you declare the founding of a nation?]
It was the nation founding declaration notification!
Traditionally, the North had never progressed past the tribal alliance stage to a strong centralized authority. If I established a kingdom in the North, it would mean building the first centralized state in the North in Ard World's history.
Perhaps what Rio had been aiming for was also establishing a nation in the North.
As had been the case in the previous game, in Ard Saga, if you wanted to make it big, growing your scale and building a nation was the ultimate endgame tech.
Thinking as much, I looked at the notification window and spoke.
"I declare it."
[Please name your nation.]
A name. In the previous game, I had usurped the throne of an existing nation through rebellion, so there had been no need to create a new name; I had simply used the 'Saxon Kingdom' until I unified the continent. But now was different.
And more than anything, I already had a name in mind.
"Ironblood Kingdom."
I still hadn't forgotten the vow I made when I returned after five long years of working on a tuna longliner, watching that bastard Yujin's interview at Busan Station.
Drakan, the Steel Monarch!
And the vow to announce to Ard World that the Ironblood Alliance had returned.
Thus, the name of the nation I would build had been decided from the very beginning.
Ironblood Alliance!
I intended to spread that name throughout Ard World once more, the one that had conquered the world alongside the guild alliance.
[Are you certain you wish to name your nation 'Ironblood Kingdom'?]
"Yes."
The moment I answered the notification window's question again,
[The Ironblood Kingdom has been founded.]
[Ironblood Kingdom]
[The Ironblood Kingdom is a newborn kingdom with territory encompassing the entire northern region of Ard World, Lawless Port, and the Pirate Archipelago. It is the first nation founded by an Otherworlder in post-Cataclysm Ard World.]
[Centered on the North where the Dark Domain has been declared, the Ironblood Kingdom is a newborn nation formed around dark forces including black mages, Undead, Fishmen, Orcs, Vampires, and Dark Elves.]
[The capital of the Ironblood Kingdom is Snow Castle.]
[A new possibility has opened in Ard World. Participate in the new history.]
[You have built the first nation in Ard World.]
[Achievement 'Nation Founder' has been accomplished.]
[Level Up.]
[Level Up.]
…….
[Level Up.]
[All stats have increased by 334.]
[Fame has increased by 10,345.]
[Title 'King of the Ironblood Kingdom' has been acquired.]
[The Demon God of Darkness is greatly pleased.]
[The Demon God of Darkness has sponsored 100,000 points.]
Messages flooded in endlessly the moment the Ironblood Kingdom was built!
I smiled as I read them.
[Congratulations, Lord Drakan.]
At that very moment.
A whisper from Sin Hayeon reached my ears.
I hadn't even told her about the founding yet, which meant only one thing:
My founding declaration had popped up as a notification window for every user logged into Ard World.
Well, it had been the same in the previous game, so it would be no different in Second.
[Congratulations, Lord Drakan.]
This time, the whisper was from Ignis.
I sent brief replies to the whispers that came in and activated Snow Castle's management mode.
The moment I activated management mode, a holographic bird's-eye view of Snow Castle rose before my eyes, and an info window appeared at the same time.
[Snow Castle]
[Development Level: Mid-Rank 9]
[The City of Snow, Snow Castle, has served as the central city of the North from 2,000 years ago after Archdruid Kazan's northern expedition to the present day. It is the North's largest metropolis and a fortified city with complete defensive facilities.]
[It is the capital of the newborn Ironblood Kingdom.]
[Its symbolic importance as a capital has further elevated Snow Castle's significance within the North.]
[Land values near Snow Castle are rising.]
[It is the capital of the newborn Ironblood Kingdom.]
[Military: A] [The Lion Army is very powerful.]
[Economy: B] [It boasts the highest economic power in the North, if only by comparison.]
[Public Order: A] [Few possess the audacity to commit crimes before the Undead.]
[Culture: D] [Cultural amenities for the residents are severely lacking.]
[Population: 522,420]
[Available Funds: 62,343,210 Gold]
[Monthly Income: 1,750,000 Gold]
[Special Conditions]
[It is the center of the North and the capital of the Ironblood Kingdom. Receiving the capital buff, facility construction speed has temporarily increased by 10%.]
[The walls and major facilities sustained minor damage due to siege warfare. Repairs are needed.]
[The residents fear you, the new ruler of the north who commands the Undead and monsters. Loyalty has temporarily increased due to the residents' fear.]
[View Major Facilities]
[Walls—Base facilities mostly intact.]
[Training Ground—Minor damage.]
…….
Though the North as a whole was a backward region, it was truly dire that even the city chosen as the capital had a lower development level than Lawless Port.
For now, I opened the facility management window and checked all facilities requiring repairs.
[Total Repair Cost: 5,000,000 Gold]
[Proceed with repairs?]
Unlike with Lawless Port, the city hadn't been burned to the ground during the siege, so the repair costs came out surprisingly cheap.
"Proceed."
[Repairs are underway.]
[Total estimated repair completion time: 7 days.]
[Once repairs are complete, Snow Castle will return to its original state.]
I waved my hand to dismiss the repair progress notification and immediately opened the available construction building list.
[Catacombs] [Rank: Mystic]
[An underground necropolis where Necromancers dwell and explore immortality and death.]
[Necromancer Class-Change Quest Unlocked (Excluding Undead race)]
[Necromancer-related Item Trade]
[Necromancer Job Skill Distribution]
[Dark Knights Training Ground]
[A place of struggle and training that grinds rookies down to the bone, awakening a Dark Aura to forge them into true Dark Knights.]
[Construction Cost: 30,000,000 Gold]
[Estimated Construction Time: 10 days]
[Dark Knight Class-Change Quest Unlocked (Excluding Undead race)]
[Dark Knight Job Skill Distribution]
[Black Ring Society Branch]
[A branch of the Black Ring Society, formed by black mages. Class-change to black mage is possible, but to purchase intermediate-rank or higher skills and items, one must go to the Black Tower in Lawless Port.]
[Black Mage Class-Change Quest Unlocked]
[Black Mage-related Item Trade (Below Intermediate)]
[Black Mage Job Skill Distribution (Below Intermediate)]
[Dark Temple] [Rank: Legendary]
[A temple that serves the Demon God of Darkness, a center of faith toward the great darkness, and a place where Dark Priests reside.]
[Dark Priest Class-Change Quest Unlocked (Inactive)]
[Faction: Dark Church Unlocked (Inactive)]
[You may pray to the statue of the Demon God and offer donations to receive divine protection.]
[Demon God-related quests are unlocked.]
[Nearby combat bonuses are granted to specific races and Factions.]
[Dark Council] [Rank: Legendary]
[A place where ancient allied members who formed an alliance with the Dark Empire during the era of the Ancient Dark Empire gather to hold congress and discuss the future of the dark forces.]
[Congress of Darkness: Through a magical communication orb, you may conduct real-time video conferences with leaders of allied races and Factions.]
[Camp 'Dark Alliance' Unlocked (Inactive)]
I picked out useful buildings from the available construction list.
First, the Catacombs and the Dark Knights Training Ground!
Buildings that allowed non-Undead characters from other races to class-change into Necromancers and Dark Knights.
Originally, after receiving class-change instructor NPC support from the Undead King and completing the Dark Elf quest, I had planned to build them properly in Lawless Port, but Rio's declaration of war had delayed the construction plans, leaving them unbuilt until now.
They were buildings that should have been built in Lawless Port according to the original plan, but since I had taken over the entire North and Snow Castle had become the capital of my kingdom, building them in Snow Castle was far better for the development of the North than in Lawless Port.
Moreover, the casino in Lawless Port was growing more popular by the day, and with its connection to the Pirate Archipelago, its development level was rising steadily; it would be fine left as is for the time being.
As for the Dark Temple, I still hadn't found the related quest, but its functions were decent, so I had to build it.
But what caught my attention more than that was the function of the Dark Council.
'Camp?'
Because the word 'Camp'—not 'Faction'—had appeared in the system for the first time.
Seeing that the Dark Alliance would be unlocked, one could say it was a word signifying an ancient alliance, but the meaning of 'Camp' attached to it was a word even I, who had played Ard Saga countless times, could not easily guess.
However, if I were to guess based on other games, 'Camp' might be a higher concept encompassing Factions, and perhaps I had found the seed of an inter-camp competition system commonly called 'RvR' in games.
If an RvR system was truly being added to Ard Saga Second, then the expansion of forces I was planning might turn out to be much more favorable for me.
Having thought that far, I smiled and checked all the facilities I would build.
[Total Construction Cost: 90,000,000 Gold]
[Proceed with construction?]
"Proceed."
[Construction is underway.]
[Development level has risen due to the large-scale development project.]