Season 4: Chapter 158. Spoils of War (5)
Cheese Village’s Declaration of Independence spread not only across the town but far beyond into the heart of the Streamer Garden community, where countless streamer fanbases gathered.
After seeing the declaration, most rival fan communities... surrendered. According to community slang, “They packed up their rooms.”
[Almond declares Cheese Village independent LOL what now??]
[Fine, take it all, tyrant lmao]
[Yup, Zelo fans, pack it up.]
[Almond is a full-on dictator now.]
[You can’t stop him anymore. How do you even stop that?]
[We are free from the Nonghyup Union’s occupation!!]
[You gotta admit, that’s a W.]
Normally, a resistance faction soon formed when one fandom dominated a community. However, not this time.
[Mic check. This is the Nut Alliance. Everyone else, clear the room.]
[Anti-Nut faction destroyed LOL]
[The end of mankind is near. The age of the Nuttilians begins.]
No one fought back even as Almond’s “occupying army” of fans stormed the boards and flaunted their dominance. The power gap had grown too large now. Almond’s political influence became overwhelming.
After all, he had personally declared that he would bear all of Cheese Village’s taxes alone. Then, he single-handedly annihilated the far stronger Paprika army. To everyone watching, Admiral Yi Sun-Shin had basically been reborn.
==== ====
1. Solo infiltration of Paprika Village – weakened their forces, learned advanced technologies
2. Massive Fertile Soil development project – boosted national production power
3. Executed traitorous Nonghyup Union communists – recycled them into fertilizer, further boosting output
4. Founded the national newspaper The Balloon Times
5. Declared Noblesse Oblige, offering to shoulder all village taxes
6. Achieved a crushing victory in the 1st Cheese vs Paprika War, erasing the tax burden
...
==== ====
— Admiral Almond...
— Nonghyup Union commies LOL
— Eliminates rivals, industrializes nation... I’ve seen this playbook somewhere.
└ Dictator arc lol.
— Founded his own propaganda newspaper LOL
— When in doubt, just say “Glory to Lord Almond!”
└ Glory to Lord Almond!
└ Glory to Lord Almond!
— Could I maybe join the Lackey Squad, my lord?
└ Lackey LOL
└ You clown
└ Lackey is killing me
Even the #2 trending post talked about him.
==== ====
(Photo)
“As expected, the Lackey Squad performs best.”
==== ====
The photo showed Almond addressing his knights at a perfect corporate-executive angle.
— ??? I expected a bow-shooting pic, not this lol
— So his office instincts have returned??
└ ‘I remember... this cold, heavy sensation...’
└ Wait, Almond was an Ah-Sung exec???
└ Newbie or role-player?
— Tbh, he’s running this like a company anyway.
— He’s not a pro archer anymore, he’s a CEO.
It began trending because Almond was leading the Knight Order with frighteningly good management sense.
Clack, clack.
Keyboard keys clicked rapidly.
“Good... very good.” Ju-Hyeok leaned back, pleased. “He really pulled it off, Yu Sang-Hyeon.”
Not only had Almond conquered Cheese Village, he’d taken over the entire streamer community as well. This was an incredible feat considering that rivals like Zelo, Horn Ramen, and Donuts were all top-tier streamers with massive audiences.
“I didn’t think he’d do this well.” Ju-Hyeok had expected Almond’s presence to fade a bit in this new genre.
After all, Almond’s real weapon was his bow. No one could match his niche of possessing pinpoint mechanical precision. However, Survival Craft emphasized cooperation, negotiation, and leadership. He had never been known for those traits.
“Guess those five years at Ah-Sung weren’t wasted.” Ju-Hyeok felt a sense of pride as a former colleague from the same company.
Everything Almond built, the Order’s hierarchy, his managerial phrases, even his leadership tone, all felt eerily familiar. Team leads and executives at Ah-Sung used the same lines. That kind of banal pep talk could make a man quit... or hold out until the next year.
‘He probably doesn’t even realize he’s doing it,’ Ju-Hyeok thought.
The Order was thriving just like a real corporation. Cheese Village was being absorbed into its structure, one department at a time.
“Huh?” Ju-Hyeok blinked. “Wait a sec. Isn’t this supposed to be... a peaceful game?”
This event was supposed to be a cozy builder with a hint of rivalry, yet here he was, thinking in terms of conquest and domination.
“Damn.” Ju-Hyeok sighed, half-amused. “Guess five years was all it took to corrupt me.”
This was exactly what the corporate world had taught him.
***
The next day, after defeating Paprika, the Order didn’t launch a second invasion or burn more rivals into fertilizer.
“No matter what achievements we’ve made, they might as well not exist if they aren’t remembered.” This remark from Radish Servant started it all.
— They’re building a monument now??
— Here comes the dictatorship memorials
— Typical authoritarian move lol
“Back when I was a pro gamer,” Radish Servant continued solemnly, “I always made it to second place, but no one remembered. Even though second place is good!”
— Bro, that’s on you!
— Imagine a 2nd-place memorial LOL
— You’d be the first one to riot about it
Almond’s face twitched. Of course, no one remembered the runner-up, but he wasn’t a competitor now. He was the Lord of the Order.
“I get your point, Radish Servant.” Almond nodded.
It wasn’t wrong. Accomplishments only mattered if people recognized them.
“It’s like when your boss adds his name to your report.”
— This man can’t escape Ah-Sung LMAO
— Everything is a corporate analogy
— He sees the world as one big org chart
“Uh... Yes, that’s... that’s right, sir.” Radish Servant awkwardly agreed. “We must engrave the Order’s achievements permanently in everyone’s memory.”
They reached a consensus.
“Good. Let’s do it your way.”
Thus, after the war, the Order’s greatest effort went into building a monumental statue.
[LackLackey]
The Order’s chief blacksmith, LackLackey, had been working in the square since dawn.
Clang! Claaang!
He hammered square iron cubes into the shape of a statue. Thankfully, his hands were skilled. A form slowly began to emerge. The colossal statue featured Almond, Sweet Radish, Sweet Potato, Black Tea, and Lemon. Beneath them, the names of countless contributors would be etched.
Were the other knights out farming? No.
“The rest of you, join the construction of the Order’s base!”
“Yes, sir!”
By the Lord’s command, a massive construction project began. Sweet Radish’s house was far too small to reflect the Order’s stature. They needed something bigger and grander.
The NPC BigFarm felt the most delighted.
[BigFarm]
“Ho ho ho? Building sites? We have plenty!”
With overwhelming capital, the Order bought an enormous plot.
[Recruiting Laborers for Construction Site]
==== ====
Hourly Wage: 10 gold
Order Badge merch included
Free training by Potato Servant, senior officer of the Order
Future preference in the Order’s open recruitment
==== ====
They recruited workers too.
“Ten gold an hour? Not bad.”
“That’s not Survival Craft time...”
“What?!”
The wage was miserably low.
“What, do they want us to starve?”
“Look at the bottom. It says they’ll favor you in the Order’s hiring.”
“Oh...”
Getting future preference in the Order’s open recruitment snagged everyone’s attention.
“Recruitment preference?”
“God, that’s dirty... and yet I still want in...”
— Wow lol, truly ruthless
— Free Potato Servant training my ass, that’s just punishment drills
— This is too much
— Isn’t this the big-corp intern system? Insane
“If we get into the Order, we can get Fertile Soil too, right?”
“And fame, on top of that.”
“Dammit! I want to join, get on Runestar, and edit my Wikipedia page just like LackLackey...”
A few residents rushed to apply.
Acorn Jelly flung himself to the site first with zero hesitation, unaware of the hell awaiting him. “All Black is real!!!”
— Acorn Jelly got duped again lol
— Rich folks are the worst, I swear
— We all know it’s real now...
Despite the dirt-cheap wage, everyone lost their minds over the chance. This system’s architect was, of course, Almond.
‘Heh.’
Everyone felt a sense of deja vu since he had copied Ah-Sung’s intern system wholesale.
‘Can’t believe it works this well.’
The Ah-Sung model was startling in its efficiency. People moved like puppets in the exact way he wanted, and for almost no money.
“M-My lord! Our DMs for construction sign-ups are exploding!”
The Order began building its new base while saving a fortune.
Potato Servant, the drillmaster, oversaw the site. “Welcome to hell, gentlemen.”
The new hires instantly realized that this wasn’t a job site. It was hell.
“First, let’s remove your log-out buttons.”
— LMAO
— Isn’t that a bit much LOL
— Help
— Full all-nighters incoming
***
Rrrrrumble...
Many gaped in awe as the Order’s new building rose like a fortress. Some admired it, some envied it, and others despaired.
“Damn...”
No one needed to ask. Of course, the Nonghyup Union felt the most bitter.
“How many of our people said they’re leaving?”
“Three today alone.”
“Reason...?”
“No reason. They’re just bored.”
— LOL “boredom company”
— Try doing it like the Order then. You play with spreadsheets all day
— Leaving because it’s boring is killing me
— LMAO
Surprisingly, no one accused the Union of being communists or traitors to the nation. They hit a wall because their content was dull. All eyes were on the Order now.
“They even said they’d rather work on the Order’s construction site. Those trash...”
“Huh?” Donuts groaned.
Better to slave at the Order’s construction site than be a farmer for the Union?
‘Unbelievable. I have no clue what to do next.’
Whoosh.
Someone appeared at his side.
“M-Mr. Zelo?”
“Good to see you, Nonghyup Union.”
Gulp.
Donuts tensed.
‘This bastard deals with Paprika.’
No matter how much they hated the Order, they couldn’t cross the line of siding with Paprika.
“Why the suspicion? We’re all in similar straits, aren’t we?”
“What straits?”
“We’ve been cast aside by this nation, haven’t we?”
“We’re not that far gone...”
“You will be, soon. Do you think the Order will spare their political enemies? Or worse, are you content to remain as the Boredom Company?”
The word boredom, more than any enemy, deeply needled Donuts. They couldn’t just decay into a nameless cog in Cheese Village.
— The Boredom Company, lol
— A streamer can’t survive being boring
— Ahh...
— Triggered LOL
Donuts, Horn Ramen, and MiddleAgedDetective were all famous creators. Most Union members were solid streamers with established audiences. They weren’t the type to sink quietly.
“We can’t be boring. We have to act. Even if it means becoming... the traitors along with Zelo.”
“Exactly.”
Donuts was seconds from taking Zelo’s hand when...
Ding.
A message flashed across the village server.
[ForeverAlone: Greetings. I am ForeverAlone, Branding & PR Officer of the Order. Once our base is complete, we will hold a Trial of National Betrayal. The first defendant is Zelo. He stands accused of leaking internal village information to Paprika and supplying them with high-grade Obsidian...]
— LMAOOOO
— Time to clean house
— “National betrayal,” he says
— ForeverAlone, the fascist
— ForeverAlone, the Order’s Branding & PR Officer, I’m crying
— How did they know? Who snitched?
— How is execution a branding tactic? lol
— Zelo is rattled hard!
Zelo opened his mouth, then his mind went blank.
‘T-They’re pushing it this far?’
He never imagined they would go to this extreme.