-1660- The result of betrayal

Sigurd's actions reveal a lot about his character: he is a player with an extremely high desire for power.

He holds himself in high regard, looks down on others, and is rather self-absorbed. Losing to someone like Leafa in the martial arts tournament was something he could not accept, so he recruited her into his team, making her his subordinate to maintain his status and reputation. When Leafa left his team as previously agreed, he treated it as an unforgivable offense, feeling his pride was wounded, and tried to justify his tantrum with grandiose excuses. Such a person clearly would never be content with taking orders from others.

So, even though Sigurd is an indispensable figure within the ruling council, and even though he didn't win the lordship, he still diligently performs supportive work—not out of willingness, but because he probably believes that if he doesn't, even his position within the council will be at risk.

Because of this, Sigurd continues to do supportive work, not out of loyalty to the Sylph, but merely to avoid becoming an ordinary player with no standing.

To those who don't know him well, Sigurd's demeanor might look like dedication, leading people to be fooled by him and giving him about 30-40% of the vote each time, keeping his support rate fairly high.

Without this impression, Rozen couldn't fathom how such a paper tiger could garner so much support.

This sort of character must also have a significant ambition and little regard for the well-being of others.

So, inevitably, this guy betrayed them.

"I think he wasn't a spy from the start but was persuaded recently," Sakuya said solemnly.

"In the past three to four months, Sigurd's behavior has become noticeably more anxious and restless, as though he's been scheming something in secret."

This was the reason even Rekon could detect his unusual behavior.

"Since I didn't want to be called a dictator, I adhered to a council-based decision-making approach, allowing someone with significant support like Sigurd to hold a prominent position to show outsiders we were fair. But now that I think about it, perhaps it was my leniency that made him think I was easy to deal with and not intimidating, which ultimately led him to betrayal," Sakuya speculated on Sigurd's mindset.

"He is not just seeking character stats but is striving to acquire every power available to players. Such a person cannot tolerate the Sylphs being suppressed by the Salamanders, nor can he bear my inability to lead the Sylphs to victory and make them the strongest race. He even resents my very existence, as it keeps him from rising to the top," Sakuya sighed.

"The Salamanders, meanwhile, to clear the World Tree quest and complete the ultimate mission of becoming Alfs to dominate the skies of ALfheim, have started amassing funds a few months ago and are hunting Sylphs as prey. Sigurd probably couldn't hold back when he saw this."

This was why Sigurd had become more anxious and frustrated in recent months.

Watching the Sylphs being oppressed by the Salamanders was something he could not endure.

Seeing Sakuya doing nothing was something he could not endure.

Seeing the Salamanders make significant moves to become Alfs was something he could not endure.

If the Salamanders succeeded, ALfheim would become their playground, and the Sylphs, as their rivals, would face suppression. At that point, he would be forced to look up to them from the ground, subject to ridicule as a weakling—an unbearable fate for Sigurd.

As a result, Sigurd took the path of betrayal.

"He must have been incited by Mortimer," Sakuya said with certainty. "That man has always been ruthless. He once plotted to kill the Sylph lord and, to clear the World Tree quest, would undoubtedly encourage betrayal to suppress the Sylphs. It's easy to imagine."

Mortimer had chosen Sigurd.

"Mortimer probably lured him by saying, 'Deliver the lord's head, and you'll be reborn as a Salamander and join the Salamander high ranks.' Sigurd's betrayal stems from this," Sakuya's words left everyone stunned.

Even Rozen was surprised, glancing at Sakuya.

"In this game, can one even change races and be reborn as another race?" Rozen had never heard of such a thing.

But Sakuya explained.

"It's rumored that soon the game developers will introduce a new update with a reincarnation system, allowing players to switch to another race, although it requires a vast sum of Yrd, which few can afford."

Sakuya clarified the context, further explaining why Sigurd is serving the Salamanders.

It must be about the money. Sigurd, alone, could never afford the cost. Mortimer must have taken advantage of his weakness, promising to help him reincarnate. That was what won Sigurd over.

"If he reincarnates, he'll immediately become part of the strongest faction in ALO, and he could even ascend to a high rank among the Salamanders. If the Salamanders clear the World Tree quest, he might even reincarnate as an Alf, ruling the skies over other players. Such temptations would be impossible for someone like Sigurd to resist."

At this point, Sakuya no longer felt disheartened but seemed to accept the reality.

The other Sylphs also stopped discussing Sigurd, likely feeling utterly disappointed with him.

"What an idiot," Leafa muttered. "If he couldn't stand being a Sylph, he could have simply created a new Salamander account and switched sides."

Hearing this, Alicia Rue shrugged.

"Sakuya already explained that he's after more than just status and power as a player—he's chasing high stats too," Alicia commented indifferently. "A character that's been around since ALO's early days, even if items, money, and equipment can transfer, the hard-earned skill proficiency can't. Thinking about the need to grind for another year, who wouldn't hesitate?"

Unlike computer games where one can multi-box to level multiple characters at once, players can only invest in one character, or they'd end up with a bunch of half-baked ones.

To avoid wasting over a year of hard work and time, Sigurd naturally chose betrayal and took a risky path.

"It's maddening that a guy like him almost led our race into peril."

Alicia Rue turned to Sakuya.

Seeing this, Sakuya gave a wry smile and spoke firmly.

"Rest assured, I'll give you an answer for this and do justice for the Cait Siths."

Alicia was still unconvinced.

"What do you plan to do?" she asked.

Without hesitation, Sakuya replied decisively.

"I will expel him from the territory, making him a territory traitor."