[You have been recognized by Logistics Officer Bronya and become her personal guard.]
[Bronya Rand's favorability towards you: 40]
...She really has an eye for talent, doesn't she? She saw through my ordinary guard facade to recognize my true potential.
Ron was a bit shocked, not expecting that he, a mere guard, could catch Bronya's attention.
And who would have thought? The usually serious princess was actually warm-hearted underneath her cold exterior...
But why is her favorability towards me so high? Starting with a favorability of 40, if I keep increasing it, I might be able to, uh, win her over completely...
Damn, with Duck's trust in me, I have to win this game!
Cocolia, just wait to be disciplined by me!
Ron was full of confidence and spent several days working as a guard with his mind on his off-hours.
During these days, he used all his spare time to grind the Life Simulation Game.
In the game, he simulated two full years, during which he rallied the guards and accumulated power. Except for those on the front lines, all the guards in the logistics area were now completely loyal to him.
To ensure the success of the coup, Ron had also been interacting with Bronya intensely over the past two years, working hard to increase her favorability. After finally raising it to 70, a special event was triggered:
[Bronya has noticed your intentions and seeks you out for a late-night conversation.]
An image appeared on the screen:
The wind and snow blew over the outer walls of Belobog, covering the fortress's iron thorns and barriers with frost.
With bullets loaded, the girl pointed a gun at the back of the guard's head, her emotions slightly agitated as she questioned:
"I trusted you so much... Why is it you who's been making these moves in the logistics area?"
"Why are you rallying those guards and stealing the armory keys? What are you planning?"
[Choose—]
[1. Use flowery words to hide your goals and deceive Bronya.]
[2. Reason with her and explain your plans.]
[3. Confess on the spot and beg for Bronya's mercy.]
Did you think I raised your favorability for nothing?
Ron confidently chose the second option.
In the image, the neatly dressed guard removed his helmet, revealing Ron's face.
Ron looked leaner than in reality, but his eyes burned with determination, exuding a stern and iron-blooded aura.
He showed no fear of the gun in Bronya's hand, not a hint of dread about death.
He simply looked at Bronya with a trace of hope in his voice:
"Cocolia is incompetent, and Belobog is suffering. The people need a hero."
"If we want to protect Belobog, a coup is the best choice..."
"Bronya, you are more suited to be the High Guardian than her."
The Bronya in the image remained silent for a moment, her gun shaking slightly, her finger on the trigger turning white as if she were about to pull it—
But she eventually lowered her weapon.
"In a month... if there's no good news from the front lines and my mother refuses to retreat, I'll agree to your plan."
She took the stolen armory keys from Ron and walked away through the snow.
Seeing this scene, Ron felt immensely proud of his own cunning.
Raising Bronya's favorability was indeed the right decision. Based on his memory of the Star Rail plot, Bronya was very loyal to Cocolia, stubbornly so.
It wasn't until she witnessed the suffering of the miners in the lower district that she realized her mother's mistakes. Until then, she had only trusted Cocolia.
If not for Ron raising Bronya's favorability high enough over the past two years, she would have certainly pulled the trigger just now without hesitation.
"Two years have already passed; what's another month?"
Ron was full of ambition: "When Bronya gives the order, I'll lead 300 axemen to storm Klipperfort and take Cocolia down..."
But the subsequent storyline in the simulator gave Ron a harsh reality check.
[October: The front line collapses completely.]
[Captain Gepard returns severely wounded with the remnants of his army, the troops shattered like snowflakes, no longer able to form a solid defense.]
[Rift creatures surge like a tide, and Bronya temporarily assumes command in place of Gepard, but the hastily formed defense line crumbles instantly. The rift creatures are about to invade the administrative district of Belobog.]
[As Bronya's personal guard, you are entrusted with the command of the front line.]
[Choose—]
[1. Rally the remaining troops, temporarily conscript civilians, use all the armory's resources, and launch a counterattack against the rift.]
[2. Lead a retreat, abandon the attempt to stop the rift creatures, and fall back to Klipperfort.]
[3. Rally the remaining troops, make a last stand, blow up the bridge, and defend the peripheral routes.]
"What the hell, why now of all times?"
Ron was a bit helpless. Just when he was about to overthrow Cocolia with Bronya, securing everything, the front line, which had held for two years, suddenly collapsed in just one month. Captain Gepard was critically wounded, and rift creatures surged in like a tide...
The logistics area had unexpectedly become the front line, completely hindering Bronya and Ron's plans.
"I spent the past two years building relationships, putting all my points into interpersonal skills, and now I don't know a thing about leading troops..."
Ron looked at the text on the screen, feeling a bit of a headache. If he had known, he would have chosen more training options over the past two years, conducting drills with his subordinates...
But now, with the urgent task at hand, he had no choice but to step up, prepared or not.
After all, it was just a game, and losing didn't matter much.
However, when it came to choosing among the options the Life Simulation Game presented, Ron hesitated.
The first option seemed like something only a madwoman like Cocolia, who intended to embrace destruction, would choose, so it was out.
But both the second and third options had their merits—
Leading a retreat to Klipperfort was undoubtedly the most rational choice.
The rift creatures were hard to fend off, and with the Silvermane Guards being remnants, fleeing to Klipperfort might allow them to form a strong defense and preserve the last hope of humanity.
The cost would be abandoning the administrative district, leaving the citizens to the mercy of the monsters, listening to their innocent screams.
Making a last stand by rallying the remaining troops and blowing up the bridge, though aggressive, had its merits—blowing up the bridge would at least slow down the rift creatures, giving them time to build a simple but solid defense line.
If they could hold back these monsters, they could protect all of Belobog, and there was still a chance to regroup and fight back.
But it was a gamble, betting on the future of Belobog—if they failed to hold off the rift, and the Silvermane Guards were completely wiped out, Belobog would fall entirely, and even Klipperfort wouldn't be safe.
The last spark of civilization on Jarilo-VI would be extinguished, and this snowy planet would fully embrace [Destruction].
Ron gritted his teeth: "Back then, Chan Ho-nam turned 20 bucks into 37 million; protecting Belobog with the remaining Silvermane Guards is no problem for me!"
"Retreating to Klipperfort might get us overthrown by Cocolia, so we might as well take a gamble..."
He tapped the third option on the screen decisively: "Let's do this!"
"Is it failing..."
Bronya watched the scenes unfolding on the screen, the Life Simulation Game clearing the fog of war and revealing a full map.
The screen showed a depiction of Belobog, but the sense of safety the city usually conveyed was completely gone.
Countless red dots surged from the rift, threatening to engulf Belobog like a tidal wave.
The blue dots representing the Silvermane Guards dwindled under the onslaught of red, and the defense line was on the verge of collapse.
"As expected, my abilities are still too weak..."
Bronya sighed. She had put in all her effort, carefully making choices in the simulation to find a way to protect Belobog.
But the end had still come to this... The army had collapsed, unable to fight anymore. Despite her best efforts to strategize and command, she couldn't stop the rift creatures' advance.
Oh well... I can always start another run.
This failure was a lesson, and she would need to consider more factors in the next simulation...
Bronya shook her head, no longer concerned with the success or failure of this simulation, and clicked the screen to let the game continue—
[October: Rift creatures are about to breach the gates, and the defense line is on the verge of collapse.]
[You are unable to command the army and completely give up.]
[That same month, your personal guard Ron takes command of the frontline troops.]
A point of blue light suddenly brightened on the global map on the screen.
This small blue light, in a sea of encroaching red, seemed like a flickering candle in the wind, ready to be extinguished.
Yet it steadfastly held the situation, even slowly expanding, eventually stabilizing Belobog's defense line.
The rift creatures, like a swarm of bees, could not penetrate this seemingly fragile line.
"What is... this?"
Bronya was slightly stunned as new text appeared on the screen:
[Ron, understanding that the situation had reached an irreparable point, decided to take a desperate gamble to find a sliver of hope.]
[Facing the rift creatures about to breach the city, he decisively destroyed the connecting bridge, temporarily halting their advance.]
[Belobog gained a brief respite.]
[He swiftly rallied the fleeing remnants and organized a combat-ready force.]
The text faded, replaced by a new image—
The Silvermane Guards stood in neat formation in the square, the cold winter sun reflecting off their battered armor.
Their armor, covered in the scars of battle, bore the marks of the rift. Yet, the fear had long vanished from these soldiers' hearts.
Their fervent gazes focused on Ron, clad in a tattered officer's armor, standing on a hastily erected platform, raising his arm in a rallying cry—
"We have already stepped into the storm, and this battle is unavoidable."
"The world may be vast, but we have nowhere to retreat—"
"Behind us is Belobog!"
The soldiers echoed his cry, their eyes burning with determination.
"In the name of Preservation!"
Their shouts of conviction echoed through the sky.
The image faded, and more text appeared:
[Under Ron's command, the Silvermane Guards strengthened their belief in Preservation.]
[They glimpsed a fragment of fate, and though they had yet to become Pathstriders, they gained some strength from it.]
[The rift creatures finally broke through the gates, but under Ron's command and Preservation's blessing, the remnants fought with all their might, miraculously holding the line.]
Bronya's eyes widened in shock, her pupils dilating.
"Even in such a dire situation, Ron can resolve it..."
For a moment, she had a new understanding of the "ability to solve any problem" described in Ron's character card.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Seeing the text on the screen, Ron couldn't help but smile confidently.
What else is there to say? Victory!
This gamble on fate had led Ron to foresee a major win in the simulation.
While rift creatures were strange, they were not immortal—if killed, they would dissipate into light dust within the rift, as if they had never existed.
Though the rift would continue to replicate these bizarre creatures, it would take time.
As long as Ron maintained the defense line, the rift creatures' offensive would weaken over time, granting Belobog much-needed respite.
Once the situation stabilized and he secured command of the frontline troops, overthrowing Cocolia would be straightforward—what chance would she have to resist?
Then, leading 300 axemen into Klipperfort, Ron could drag Cocolia down and ensure she realized the folly of her ways.
What good is that damned Stellaron? Always obsessing over your "new world" instead of Belobog's welfare? Enough already!
Ron was already preparing how to deal with Cocolia once he kicked her butt.
...His confidence held until the front-line updates on the screen stopped and other text appeared.
[November: You successfully stabilized the frontline situation, and the rift creatures are temporarily unable to invade Belobog.]
[In the same month, High Guardian Cocolia issued eighteen urgent orders, commanding the frontline troops to launch a counterattack against the rift.]
[However, you discarded these orders as waste paper and did not follow any of them.]
[The same month, High Guardian Cocolia rushed to the front line, broke through the guards' defenses, and entered the rift alone.]
[Upon hearing this, Silvermane Guard Leader Bronya insisted on entering the rift to find the High Guardian, despite others' attempts to stop her.]
[You lost contact with them.]
Ron was stunned—what is this mess now?
Seeing the text on the screen, he rolled his eyes and almost fainted from anger.
Ron could guess with his feet why Cocolia went into the rift—
In Everwinter Ridge, there was a containment device for capturing the Stellaron, built by the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Builders.
However, at that time, the corporation's technology was not advanced enough to capture the Stellaron freely, and the Stellaron containment project failed, leaving a creation engine and the Stellaron containment device in Everwinter Ridge... along with the Stellaron.
Under the Stellaron's influence, Cocolia had long abandoned the path of Preservation, turning instead to Destruction—she harbored delusional fantasies about the new world the Stellaron would bring.
For years, she had worked tirelessly to weaken Belobog's forces, with more than half of the Silvermane Guards likely having perished under her direct command in suicidal battles... This counterattack against the rift was probably another such attempt.
In her mind, this would likely result in the remaining Silvermane Guards being wiped out, leaving the Builders defenseless against the Stellaron's invasion.
Then, Belobog could fully embrace Destruction, and she could usher in her "new world"... But Ron was simply too capable, practically a super prodigy.
With Ron, a super god-tier card, at the helm, he managed to save Belobog from the brink of disaster.
The Guards held the line, and the rift creatures couldn't invade Belobog, pushing the "new world" further away.
In desperation, Cocolia likely went to retrieve the Stellaron herself, intending to take matters into her own hands... Ron guessed she entered the rift for this purpose.
But if she went, she went—going crazy with the Stellaron might just mean an extra boss for Ron to deal with. But why did Bronya follow her to die?
Was it some kind of deep mother-daughter bond, sacrificing herself as well? Did she have to be this filial, Duck?
Ron was momentarily at a loss for how to react.
The text on the screen continued to refresh—
[Although you immediately sealed off the news, it gradually spread, and eventually everyone knew.]
[With the High Guardian and her heir both venturing into the rift and losing contact, the Guards' morale plummeted.]
[The Guard's defensive line gradually weakened, and occasionally, rift creatures broke through the defense, invading the logistics area.]
[Though these monsters were quickly eliminated, the worsening situation revealed a harsh truth to you—]
[The High Guardian is Belobog's last line of defense. The entire city looks up to the High Guardian, holding unrealistic fantasies about them.]
[Without a High Guardian, the Guards, knowing they have lost their leader, will eventually lose their fighting spirit, and the defense line will collapse, becoming irreparable.]
[Facing this crisis, you decide—]
[1. Temporarily take the throne. If they can be High Guardians, so can I, Ron!]
[2. Launch a rescue mission, entering the rift to save Bronya or Cocolia, and rallying the troops.]
[3. Maintain the status quo, letting events unfold while continuing to command the Guards against the rift as usual.]