Chapter 266 : The Issue With The Knight
Merlin narrowed his eyes disbelievingly as the game finally sent out the message to both him and Luna. How interesting. What could have possibly caused a Servant to kill their own Master? Was it a clash of ideals? Maybe the rook wanted to do one thing and the master wanted to do something else? Or is the rook just the sort of person who would enjoy killing another person for the sake of it?
Well, there is no rule saying that a servant cannot kill their own master. I am sure the game left that out because it is just common sense that a servant shouldn't want to kill their master, but the game must have failed to account for a situation where the Servant really kills their master and we are left with quite the dilemma.
So now, the Servant rook has twenty-four hours to find a new master or he dies, but he also has twelve hours where no one can touch him. This has to be the most interesting situation I've seen in a long time.
Mark seemed to be deep in thought as he considered the possible repercussions that could come from the rook's master being killed like this. Doesn't this mean that the rook is going to start looking for another master more aggressively now? I have about four hours before my non-aggression pact ends, so it is obvious that I am most likely the next target.
The rook will probably try to kill me so that they can make a deal with Luna.
No, that would be suicide for anyone. The rook should know that Merlin is also contracted to Luna, so he would be outnumbered if he attacked us. It will turn to a two-on-one, and no matter how strong he is, he will definitely lose.
Mark was not happy that the non-aggression period was coming to an end so quickly, so he knew that he had to form a plan quickly before things spiraled out of his control. But before he could even finish that thought, another message appeared from the game. Mark read through the new message and he immediately sat up in shock! What the fuck was that Knight thinking!?
How did he even get this information!?
Mark looked around him and tried to see if there was any familiar like the wiik-bat that was spying on them. He narrowed his eyes in irritation and scratched his head in annoyance when he did not notice anything.
"What is it?"
Luna noticed the look of annoyance on Mark's face and Mark realized that she and Merlin did not get a message. He was the only one here that the game sent the message to. Does that mean that the game only sent the message out to the Servants? I didn't know that you would even send messages like this in the game. I didn't see any feature like that when reading through the rules for the game.
Is it something only the knight can do?
"The knight sent out a message to all the other participants saying he wishes to sit down and have a drink with us."
Luna blinked in surprise and Merlin hummed curiously as they heard what Mark said. Why would he be inviting them for a drink?
Merlin was the first to speak up. He didn't think it was possible that the knight was actually inviting them to have a drink. Maybe there was a different meaning to it where the knight was from.
"Is that a fancy way of challenging people to a fight where he came from?"
"No, I don't think so. I think he's legitimately inviting us for a drink. The same message was sent to the knight and king, but I don't know if they are going to answer the call or not. But it is very likely that they will. There is something that he added to the message that will make them want to answer."
Merlin raised a curious brow.
"What is it? Some sort of threat?"
Mark shook his head.
"It would've been a lot better if it was just a threat. He somehow found out where our territories are and sent out the position of all the servants."
"What!?"
Luna immediately shouted in anger and she told Mark to read out what was sent!
[The PAWN resides in the prefecture of Saitama, off the border of Shibuya. The ROOK resides in the Shinjuku Hotel, close to the Tokyo River. The King resides in the Toneri Oak Museum in Adachi city.]
Mark paused.
[I am already aware of all your locations and I could have launched attacks on every one of you at any time I wished, but I chose not to. I currently reside a reasonable distance from my territory, on the coast of the Arakawa River, right beneath the overhead carapace of Tokyo Bay, within a solitary dome. This land is my home, these people are my people. This river, is my source of life.
I do not wish to bring death and destruction upon it needlessly. Therefore, I wish to invite you for a drink. Let us sit, as men, and discuss the coming battle. Let us see if we can come to a conclusion that may favor not only us but the people of the city in which we find ourselves. If, during our meeting, a final resolution cannot be reached, then we shall begin the battle then and there.
Come and find me within the day, I am waiting.]
Once Mark finished reading out the message, Merlin grunted. That was the most cheeky move that Merlin had ever seen. Merlin was now very curious to know who this Knight was. He sounds like someone who has been through many wars and is accustomed to having bureaucratic conversations between generals in order to reduce the number of casualties in the war.
The Knight could have attacked at any time that he wanted, but instead, he was telling them to come and meet him on equal ground so they would talk and if they didn't reach a common conclusion while talking, then he was going to start attacking people left and right like a mad man.
"But the king will be at a disadvantage if they go. All three of the other participants have their non-aggression period active, even though Mark's period is almost over. The king is the only one who will not have any form of protection from the system. I doubt the king will agree to come at all."
Merlin explained his thoughts calmly as he realized the king would likely not come. It would be dangerous to just step into an invitation like this. Even if the knight is telling the truth and he is not in his territory, I'm sure he is close to his territory so he can easily reach it if a fight breaks out.
But it was also good because at least now they had the general location of the Knight's territory. He was located in Tokyo Bay along the Arakawa River, so his territory had to be close to the River as well.
Merlin turned to Mark with a question.
"Was the wiik-bat able to find the knight's territory? If it did, then we can use this to our advantage."