Ten thousand, hundred thousand, one million, three million, ten million...

There was no change despite the backlash from existing users. Since the new update, Satisfy gained a large number of new users in just a few days. The once deserted starting villages of each kingdom were crowded with people. It was the same for the Overgeared Kingdom.

At Selena Village, in the Overgeared Kingdom...

Soldier clicked his tongue when he saw the procession of novices outside the window. “Many of them are prospective believers of the Yatan Church...”

The reason why new users started Satisfy at a later time was due to the emergence of the growth potions that boosted experience gain by 700%. Soldier was troubled when he thought they would grow quickly and benefit the Yatan Church in the future.

‘Security will quickly deteriorate if a Yatan Temple is built near the village.’

4,986th in the unified ranking—Soldier’s ranking hadn’t changed significantly compared to before he joined the Overgeared Kingdom. It was because he had relatively little time to focus on hunting when he was in charge of the lord’s office. He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to hunt if the Yatan Church gained power again.

‘If the residents are in a hard spot then tax revenue will decrease...’

The starter village was, as the name suggested, a village. The population didn’t reach the size of a city. However, the total area of the territory was quite large. It was natural since it was a place where new users were introduced every day. The quest achievement rate was very high and the market was active, so the tax revenue was quite good.

It was why Soldier, who made great achievements in the battle for Cokro Island and trained soldiers under Asmosphel, chose to become the lord of a starter village while refusing to be the lord of a small or medium sized village. However, there was too much work once he became the lord and it was very tiring. Now he sighed when he saw the number of prospective Yatan Followers increasing.

‘Should I cut off the buds...?’

It was around the time when Soldier was staring at the new users with murderous eyes...

“My Lord!” a knight rushed in and shouted urgently, “The prime minister...! The prime minister has come!”

“......?!”

***

The territory of the Overgeared Kingdom was huge. Of course, it was dozens of times smaller than the Saharan Empire, but compared to other kingdoms on the West Continent, it was two or three times larger in size and its population was also big.

Soldier’s heart was uneasy when Lauel came to visit the starter village because Lauel was in charge of the politics of this huge kingdom.

‘Did I do something wrong in the meantime?’

He was confident that he was running the village well, but he might’ve been mistaken. He was a soldier to his bones, but he was a stranger to politics.

Lauel smiled at Soldier who was standing upright. “Please relax. Why are you doing something so embarrassing?”

“Since ancient times, one should be nervous in front of your boss. I am more comfortable with this posture.”

“Haha. I understand. Then I’ll get straight to the point.”

Lauel’s face was tired because he had been unable to sleep properly for the last few days. There was a large influx of new users, but it was a very dangerous situation because most of them were likely to become Yatan Followers. The current Yatan Church might be weakened, but it showed its potential by periodically summoning the great demon. It was obvious that it would be difficult to deal with if they rose back to their prime.

‘The biggest problem is that it is meaningless to hit the main base.’

Rebecca’s influence was greatly weakened the moment the Vatican was gone.

It was because the role of the pope and elders who stayed in the Vatican to do business was very important. All of the Rebecca Temples were under the control of the Vatican. The absence of the Vatican would cause chaos in all the Rebecca Church temples.

On the other hand, Yatan’s Servants weren’t the type to sit at the desk to do business. They committed evil deeds in real time as they wandered around the continent. They didn’t manage the Yatan Temples. In the first place, the Yatan Temples were focused on offering sacrifices and conducting rituals. it worked well even if there was no command system.

“Soldier.”

“Yes.”

“The Yatan Church can’t be allowed to become as big as Morpheus intended. We have already experienced the prime of the Yatan Church in the past, so you know that we can’t control it once the believers of the Yatan Church become active.”

The targets of the Yatan Church were always the weak. It was very difficult to protect an unspecified number of weak people. As the number of victims increased, the population decreased. There were side effects such as the decline in security and the economy.

“I agree. No matter how thoroughly we defend ourselves, it is hard to stop them. If they number in the tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands... it is horrible just imagining it.”

In the past, many of Yatan’s Servants were killed by Grid. Even then, the nations of the West Continent didn’t want the Yatan Church to grow. Due to fewer players wanting to enter the Yatan Church, their power had greatly weakened, but they weren’t completely eradicated.

The Yatan Church boasted more vitality than a cockroach. Then what if they had tens of millions or hundreds of millions of players on their back? Punishing them could be impossible for eternity.

“Therefore, I have decided to open the treasury.”

“...Huh?”

The context was broken. Soldier cocked his head at the strange conclusion.

“Look at this.” Lauel opened the inventory and pulled out several items. Swords, spears, staffs, bows, orbs, etc. Seemingly low level weapons were on display on the desk. “Over the past few days, I’ve instructed the blacksmiths of the Overgeared Kingdom to make novice weapons. We used high quality materials that aren’t normally used for beginner weapons so it boasts power that is several times higher than weapons of the same level.”

“......?”

“Soldier, you will award these items to new users.”

“...Huh?”

"However, there are conditions. Give these items only to those who join the Rebecca Church.”

“Ah!”

Soldier finally understood the situation and felt admiration. Seeing this reaction, Lauel made a grin that revealed his sparking teeth.

“From this moment on, we will offer top-notch equipment to those who start in the Overgeared Kingdom and join the Rebecca Church. It will be in intervals of level 10, 50, 100, 150, and 200.”

Changing religions wasn’t an easy task. Once a player belonged to a religion, it took a waiting period of one year after withdrawal to join another religion. This meant they could suppress the growth of the Yatan Church for at least one year. In Satisfy, one year was an invincible time since so many strategies had been published to the public. Those who played hard could aim to reach the mid-200s.

“There is only one reason why the Yatan Church is so attractive to new users. It is due to the fast growth rate. It is inevitable to say that you can reach level 400 several times faster than before. However, that is only but one of the ways to level up quickly.”

Compared to the experience buff, it was more advantageous to increase hunting speed. It was items that made fast hunting possible.

“If Morpheus dazzles people with growth potions, then we’ll dazzle people with items. It is even for free.”

This method would absolutely work. It would be a serious financial blow, but in the long run, it would not be a loss. An increase in the number of players belonging to the Overgeared Kingdom meant the tax revenue would increase. An increase in the number of players belonging to the Rebecca Church meant its alliance with the Overgeared Kingdom would become stronger.

Lauel was convinced and his conviction always had a high probability of coming true.

.........

......

...

“Me! I’d like it!”

“When I can sit down after handing out all of this...”

Two days later, at Selena’s square...

The sight of people filling the square made Soldier flustered. More than half of Satisty’s new players chose Selena as the starting village. Even at this moment, the procession to Selena was continuing all over the kingdom. Due to staffing restrictions, new users from other kingdoms were using every means to move to Selena. It was one of the few cases where a player beat a game company. The number of players entering the Yatan Church fell well below the S.A Group’s expectations and sales of the growth potion were also short of expectations.

“Godgeared Kingdom! Godgeared Kingdom!”

New users praised the Overgeared Kingdom. They were happy to grow quickly without having to do anything thanks to the weapons distributed for free at every level range in the Overgeared Kingdom. There were articles talking about how Grid and the Overgeared Kingdom punished the game company that tried to use artificial intelligence as a shield to avoid criticism. This was considered an example of using power in a good direction.

Of course, Grid’s heart was torn apart.

‘I will have to go back for a few days to work hard...’

Grid confirmed his finances and let out a deep sigh. No matter how well Grid earned money, he would have to make dozens of items to refill the treasury of the Overgeared Kingdom.

‘Well... It is okay because the damage can be recovered by all means. Let’s control my heart.’

At this moment, Lauel and Rabbit were in the same state. They were doing their best to recover from the damage somehow. No, the word damage wasn’t appropriate in the first place. This was only an investment.

“Um...”

Grid turned his gaze in the direction of the golden walnut forest. Piaro had already been in the forest for four days and Grid hoped he would come back with good news. It felt like his empty heart would fill again if they could grow the golden walnuts.

“Your Majesty the Queen.” Time was precious. A nobleman came to Grid, who was slaughtering monsters in a hunting ground near Yangzhou while waiting for Piaro. The nobleman was amazed by the bloody smell around him and bowed politely. “A person called Zikfrector has come to see you.”

“Oh my, really?” Grid was now naturally a shy person after dealing with the Xing King and nobles in Irene’s form for a few days. He placed his weapon back in his inventory and returned to the palace.

‘He seems to have taken my advice seriously.’

This was what Grid thought...

“Go to the Hwan Kingdom with me.”

“???"”

Soon after, he met the grandmaster who put forward this absurd proposal.

“No, didn’t I recommend not meeting them?”

The grandmaster reassured the flustered Grid, “I don’t mean to ignore your warning. I just want to check it with my own eyes. I have heard your warning and don’t plan to get on the same boat as them.”

“……”

Grid had only been dealing with the yangbans. He had never visited the Hwan Kingdom in person. There was a moment of contemplation before Grid nodded.

“...There are many things I want to ask you, such as why you trust me so much and why you are so favorable to me. Still, first things first, I understand. Okay, I will accompany you.”

This was a great opportunity to explore the enemy camp. It was an opportunity that could only be achieved with the grandmaster and must never be missed.