[ Scout Two: About 4,000. Half of them are Guards. Leader calls himself Rhodri. They only target the smaller Factions still left. No one gets into the Guards though. ]

  Gilgameshly read the message keenly. It was from the last of the Scouts he had sent to observe the largest Factions, which finally completed his understanding of the state of the Ballroom.

  There were six major Factions, all larger than his own army of 3,000, and all one of the Seven Great Clans. Shen led by Shen Wei. Atreus led by Charlemagne. Narmer led by Ramesses II. Pandava led by Kubera. Saba led by Eskender. Rhun led by Rhodri.

  “Still no sign of the Zoraster…” Gilgamesh wondered what they were up to, to have seemingly excused themselves from the game entirely. “What is he thinking…?”

  “Allying with the Pandava or Saba would be best.” Sereth suggested, having read his thoughts.

  “Yes.” Gilgamesh agreed.

  The Shen, Narmer, and Atreus were all out of the question, being as powerful and especially insular as they are. So too were the Rhun, for the simple fact that their leader now was a man.

  The Rhun had been a matriarchal clan ever since its second ruler Gwendolen usurped power from her tyrant husband, Locrinus. The fact that they are now led by a man meant that there was a significant internal power struggle brewing within.

  “That leaves the Saba and Pandava by default.”

  If Gilgamesh had no interaction with either, he would have chosen the Saba since the Pandava’s extreme caste system would likely make them more difficult to deal with. Not to mention that he recalled having seen Eskender’s name among the top of the Battlefield Trial, which proved his competence.

  But he had encountered Kubera before, and had learned something very important. She was not of the highest caste. Gilgamesh doubted that Birpal was the only one of their clan who held disdain for her.

  Such an environment would make her more wary of her own people and more open to opportunities from outside of it. And that gave him an opening he could take advantage of.

  “...What are you talking about?” Heroine asked, as she was completely out of the loop.

  Without even the slightest warning, Sereth used her telepathy to put the information directly into her head. Heroine was stunned for a moment, then grew as defensive as a beast backed into a corner.

  “...don’t do that again.”

  Gilgamesh walked over to Sereth without a word, and gave her almost all of his Prestige. With only 100 Prestige left and her Scepter in his hands, he first teleported to the Lounge, then returned to the Ballroom as though he were any other ordinary Soldier, and headed straight for the Pandava.

  “I am the representative of my Faction. I’ve come to negotiate with Kubera.” Gilgamesh walked right up to a random member of the outermost Guard Wall and stated his intentions bluntly.

  Moments later, the Guard glanced at a Message and promptly ignored him.

  “Tell her it’s the one who was with Birpal.” Gilgamesh smiled.

  The Guard looked at him, then he read another Message and stepped aside to allow him entry.

  Gilgamesh subtly inspected the layout of their base as he passed through. It was neatly arranged into four sections. First was the outermost Wall, which comprised of three rows of the lowest caste of Shudra. Then came six rows of the Vaishya, the largest of them.

  Third were the 4 rows of the Kshatriya, of a slightly larger total than the Shudra. And lastly, were the Brahmin, who all stood around carelessly in the center of it all.

  Laborers, Merchants, Warriors, and Nobles. The higher the caste, the less exposed to danger they were.

  The Pandava numbered a staggering 5,000, with over 4,000 of those being Pandava scions themselves. While they were certainly no different than in their use of Commoners as Soldiers, no other clan maintained such a rigid internal structure.

  It was a simple caste system, one entirely based on the ability of their Astras. Those with Astras that served little to no purpose were placed in the lowest Shudra caste, and were seen as hardly better than peasant Laborers.

  Wealth-generating Astras were designed as Vaishyra. Astras meant for combat were the second-highest Kshatriya, the warriors of the clan. And those with a spiritual Astra were the highest of Brahmin.

  And then of course, there were the Dalit. The Untouchables. Those who were not touched by magic. Or, in other words, commoners. Gilgamesh expected them to treat him as such, but he was unbothered by the thought. Such petty discrimination could not match the fathomless zealotry of the Zoraster.

  “Stop.” A Marquis Nobleman within the inner circle ordered as soon as he entered, and Gilgamesh calmly complied.

  “Which one are you?” A Noblewoman asked, the only one among them with a jade-green mask.

  “The bald one is dead.” Gilgamesh revealed.

  “And Birpal?” She asked.

  “Also dead.”

  “By whose hand?” The same Marquis from before demanded to know. Given his propensity for interjection and the fact that no one rebuked him for it, he must hold a high position within the clan. Likely an Elder of some sort. But Gilgamesh merely looked back at him with his smiling mask, then back to Kubera.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “I should first admit that I lied before. I’m not the representative. I am the leader.”

  Kubera eyed him for a moment. “Why have you come?”

  “To propose an alliance, of course.”

  The Brahmin scoffed and jeered at his offer.

  “It’s not a bad deal for you.” Gilgamesh paid them no mind at all. “My army is larger than yours, after all.”

  “A blatant lie!” Brahmin Elder snapped. “How dare a mere Dalit waste our time!”

  “A lie?” Gilgamesh questioned with performative confusion. “Ah, I see the confusion. Yes, you may have the larger numbers, but most of them will never see combat. Of course, you could expand your Soldiers, but… even ‘mere Dalits’ are not stupid enough to work for a Liege who won’t even pretend to offer enough Prestige to become a Count. Your Soldiers must be crawling with spies and traitors.”

  Indignant rage choked back Brahmin Elder’s words.

  “You speak as if yours is not.” Kubera replied.

  “Naturally.” Gilgamesh declared. “I am beloved.”

  “This is a farce.” Brahmin Elder spat out. “Expel him and be done with this.”

  “You know as well as I do that we will all be vanquished by one of the three at this rate.” Gilgamesh spoke bluntly. “You need an alliance just as much as I do.”

  A wave of umbrage crashed against Gilgamesh in retaliation for his antagonistic words, but he did not so much as twitch an eyelid against it. He simply stood calmly and patiently in the hostility.

  “...an alliance of what nature?” Kubera finally asked.

  Gilgamesh smiled. “We should absorb as many of the remaining petty Factions as possible before the next ‘stage’ of this game begins.”

  “The method is simple. We keep our bases close together and aggressively conquer other Factions. We’ll choose our own target independently, but no matter what, we must send reinforcements when the other calls for it.” Gilgamesh proposed the strategy of his former Liege Alliance.

  “Whoever is under attack will naturally defend, and the other can attack the invader until they are forced to withdraw. This will allow us to expand rapidly.”

  [ Publicly, I go by King. But just between us, I will use Leper. ]

  Gilgamesh sent Kubera a Message as he revealed his plan.

  [ Then I will go by Genie. ]

  “A wish-granting being...” Gilgamesh noted. “Is there any significance to that?”

  “How can we trust that you will actually come to our aid?” Brahmin Elder challenged.

  “If you have trust issues, we can just trade hostages.” Gilgamesh replied.

  “You cur…”

  “I volunteer.” Another Nobleman spoke up before Brahmin Elder could finish, this one a Count with a younger tone.

  Gilgamesh noticed the atmosphere shift oddly. Even Kubera did not say anything in response.

  “You can go if you want, but Rama and Vishpala will join you.” Gilgamesh said. They were Kubera's children, as Sereth had informed him before he left.

  "Know your place." A different Nobleman Marquis replied, who Gilgamesh took to be Rama.

  "We should go." A Noblewoman chimed in, though her tone was one of playful mockery. "If he's talking so boldly, surely he can back it up."

  “That sounded like a demand…” Kubera ignored them both, her tone drifting to one less than friendly. “Do you really think you have standing to be so one-sided?”

  “In exchange, I will be the hostage from my side.”

  “How dare a mere untouchable compare your worth to royalty!” Brahmin Elder’s outrage finally overflowed. “You are nothing but a commoner!”

  Gilgamesh broke into a laugh, as though he had heard an amusing joke. He laughed mockingly, joyfully, defiantly, and then he smiled at them. “Anyone can become special now~”

  Gilgamesh whispered the words as though he were imparting a forbidden truth to all who heard him, and that truth carried a subtle weight which they found unsettling. A weight he was not aware of himself.

  “...nonsense…” Brahmin Elder muttered in the silence, ignorant that the meaning of Gilgamesh’s words was something fundamental. “Throw this madman out-”

  “There is no need for a trade of hostages.” Kubera interrupted the elder. “I agree to an alliance.”

  “You cannot-”

  “Wonderful!” Gilgamesh raised his arms merrily. “Let’s grow as large as we can.”

  Just like that, he teleported back to the Lounge. Some around him glanced over at his strange stance, but whatever thoughts ran through their minds was not his concern.

  As Gilgamesh walked back towards the Hallway, he noticed a Duke among the countless listless inactives who shook hands with an unending stream of Barons and Viscounts. But he took nothing more than a passing interest in them as he made his way back to his Faction, eager to return to the game.

  ---

  Heroine stood awkwardly beside Sereth, and she was less than happy.

  “Why did he put her in charge? Does he trust her over me? Does he think she’s better? She’s not… I’m better. But he still left her in charge. Does he not trust me? Then I shouldn’t trust him. But he waited for me. He kept his promise this time. Maybe I should trust him…”

  Sereth hummed out a slight chuckle.

  “...What?” Heroine asked abrasively.

  “He really has become more vibrant, hasn’t he?” She answered, more of a comment than a question.

  “...You mean Gil… Izdubar?” Heroine asked.

  Sereth chuckled again. “I’m quite aware of who he is~”

  Heroine tensed. “Did he tell her? He trusts her that much… Why? Did he know her before? That must be it. I don’t like this… It should just be us. He said I can rise with him. He promised.”

  “My, you are wrapped around his finger, aren’t you?” Sereth’s pleasant tone fell uneasily upon her ears. “You don’t even know what makes him special.”

  “Nothing is special but me.” Heroine declared. Her tone and eyes become uncharacteristically certain, with all traces of anxiety and doubt vanished for that brief moment.

  “I see.” Sereth looked back at her. “A word of advice, then, Lady Supreme. You shouldn’t trust him~”

  Heroine jolted in shock. “You-”

  “How has the game been?” Gilgamesh asked as soon as he returned.

  “No changes.” Sereth answered. “I’ve called back the Legions. They’re waiting for your command.”

  Gilgamesh scanned the horizon and found a Faction half the size of his own.

  [ King: Full Assault. Force the Lieges to flee without their Guards or die. ]

  At his direction, all four Legions cooperated to pierce through the target’s Walls and conquer as he willed. Of the absorbed Guards, he formed them into two more rows of the Outer Wall, and moved one of the current rows to the Middle Wall.

  Though before he had even finished them, he set his Soldiers on another target less than a third their number. Better to eat the smaller prey while they still exist and aim for the larger ones after.

  His army conquered this one in short time as well, but before they returned, his Outer Wall was suddenly surrounded by 100 Nobles.

  “It’s impossible for them to break through like that. A hunting strategy?” Gilgamesh questioned. “Stand firm and wear them down!”

  The moment his voice rang out over his pawn, the enemies stepped forward all at once, and every last one of them plunged a Dagger into a Guard. Then they all teleported away, leaving behind only fading black wisps of the slain Guards.

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