Translator: Leyy3

  “D-Delcadooooo!”

  Cladius screamed. -

  Keak! -

  Uck! -

  P-Please……! Uackkkkk!

  Beyond the screen, a gruesome scene was playing. -

  Please…… -

  No. -

  I want to live! -

  That’s not my business. -

  Your Majesty! P-Please! -

  Relax, shut up, and just get beat. -

  Uackkkkk!

  Kang Chul-In on the screen was merciless.

  “You savage! J-just kill him!”

  It was to the point that Claudius unintentionally shouted for the death of his next-door neighbor. -

  Keuk, keukkkk! P-Please…… -

  Then why’d you ignore my letter? -

  But…… it was so…… unbelievable…… -

  That’s your mistake, not mine. It’s normal to be punished if you don’t have faith. -

  So get beat up. -

  Keackkk!

  How was a human so shameless and cruel?

  If he had said that he wanted to beat someone up and kill them on the notice, it would’ve been easier to believe.

  That’s a demon! Not a human! A human can’t be like that!

  Cladius was completely frozen in fear watching the scene. -

  K-Kuk! -

  Let’s end it now. ……

  ! -

  Any last words?

  On the screen, Kang Chul-In asked Delcado a question with a sword emitting white light in his hand. -

  P-Please let me liv…… -

  Die.

  Flash!

  The light of the sword flashed as it drew an arc.

  Plop.

  Delcado collapsed. -

  Hey, you.

  Kang Chul-In spoke at the lens of the magic-engineered communication device. He was speaking to Claudius.

  “Y-Yes?!” -

  You have 4 hours and 30 minutes left.

  “.……!” -

  Decide by them. Whether you’re going to cut off your alliance with Rothschild or……

  Kang Chul-In glanced at his feet when he said that, towards where the dead Delcado was. -

  You die.

  “Huk!” -

  I hope you make a wise decision.

  At the same time, the communication device was cut off.

  Click!

  Psss, pssst!

  The black and white screen filled Claudius’ vision.

  “The Supreme King of the West! The real Supreme King of the West! The Supreme King of the West killed……!”

  Thanks to that, Claudius plopped to the floor blankly.

  5 hours.

  He had to choose by then.

  ***

  “Wow, Kang Chul-In……”

  Dorian clicked his tongue.

  “Truly a demon. Totally a demon.”

  “.……What’s with those eyes?”

  “You’re really evil.”

  “.……”

  “How can a person beat up people so well?”

  “Can’t you do everything well if you just practice?”

  “W-What?”

  “They say people who’ve eaten meat before eat it well.”

  “S-So?”

  “It means I beat up a lot of people.”

  “Huk!”

  “Well, it’s not something to brag about.”

  Kang Chul-In grinned.

  That scary guy…… just who did he beat up so much……

  Dorain was scared. All he could talk about was how powerful……

  “Anyway.”

  Kang Chul-In spoke as he tapped Delcado’s head with his foot.

  \r \r \r

  “Let’s clean up before we go.”

  “O-Okay.”

  “Hey, get up.”

  Kang Chul-In spoke to Delcado.

  “Keuk……!”

  Delcado groaned.

  Surprisingly, he was still alive.

  So this is useful during times like this.

  He smiled sourly looking at Mitra on his waist.

  Because Mitra couldn’t be used to kill anyone, no matter how much he cut someone, he wasn’t injured at all.

  In fact, Delcado was a mess after being beaten up by Kang Chul-In, but his body wasn’t split in half.

  “Hey, I said to get up.”

  “Keuk……”

  “Will you feel better once I actually kill you?”

  “M-my body…… won’t…… lis……”

  It seemed like he had been beaten up too much.

  “Tsk, there’s nothing we can do.”

  Eventually Dorian stepped up.

  Puk!

  His dagger swiped down on Delcado’s neck.

  “Keuk!”

  Delcado fell over after half a scream. He had fainted.

  “Since you did it, you carry him.”

  “Humph!”

  “Then should I just kill him?”

  “T-That’s not……”

  “Then take care of him. I’ll leave first.”

  Kang Chul-In broke through the office window to go outside.

  Shatter!

  “.……He’s breaking everything just because it isn’t his.”

  Dorian shook his head, Delcado on his back.

  ***

  In a dark room deep inside the Cyamodus territory……

  A cocoon started to split apart.

  Rip, rip!

  With an ominous sound, a white arm stretched out of the cocoon and ripped at the cocoon around itself.

  Rip, rip! Tear!

  The process of ripping the cocoon continued.

  The right hand, left hand, and left leg.

  The body after that.

  “Whew!”

  Alex Rothschild breathed out when he ripped out of the cocoon.

  White smoke was coming from his body.

  “I feel…… disgusting…… very disgusting……”

  Rothschild muttered as he looked at his bare body.

  His body was covered with a sticky liquid, and he looked quite grotesque.

  However, Rothschild’s muscles squirmed like they were alive, and each of his muscular fibers could be clearly seen.

  His muscular fibers looked like they were connected by Kevlar [1], not proteins.

  “So this is the power of Agnana……”

  Rothschild muttered as he looked at his palms.

  “It’s dirty, but strong. This power…… there’s no need to strengthen it. Just where did you get this kind of power, Andrei?”

  It was then. -

  Are you there, your Majesty?

  Akul’s voice rang out from a magic-engineered speaker.

  “What……is it, Akul?” -

  It’s an emergency, your Majesty!”

  “Emergency?” -

  Overlord Lee Chae-rin’s military is heading for our Baldur region, and from the east, Lord Vito Clemenza’s army is coming, and has already swallowed three territories.

  “Is that so……? Well, alright.”

  Rothschild was relaxed even though the Baldur region was being attacked from both sides.

  “I’ll take care of it one by one while taking care of business.” -

  That’s not all, sir!

  “.……?” -

  Some of the territories we are allied with have received letters from Kang Chul-In.

  “Kang Chul-In, again? Alright, explain.”

  Akul spoke about the information in Kang Chul-In’s notice.

  “I see, I see……”

  Rothschild wasn’t mad.

  “Pft, pft pft! That’s what he did? That Kang Chul-In did this to isolate me?” -

  Y, Yes, sir……

  “Well, sure, whatever.”

  “What? Your Majesty, you have to prepare for……!”

  “Prepare…… Fine. I’ll call for a meeting one hour later, so tell the messengers to get ready.” -

  Understood, your Majesty……

  Akul was flustered because Rothschild’s voice was so calm, but he didn’t ask why. Recently, Rothschild had called his subordinates depending on his mood and killed them, showing his tyrant instincts.

  “Whew.”

  Rothschild sighed.

  “I suppose it’s time to settle things with you.”

  His eyes were completely black with no whites. His clear blue eyes had disappeared.

  “Wait a little, Kang Chul-In. There’s not too long until your life is taken…… ha, hahahahaha!”

  Rothschild laughed ominously.

  While Rothschild was drunk on his new power, a periscope smaller than a pinkie disappeared through the ground.

  Swipe!

  ***

  One week later……

  “D-Don’t come closer!”

  Lord Gilbert shouted at the demon approaching him.

  “Don’t you have any refreshing lines?”

  The demon spoke with a grin.

  “Don’t come, I said! Fuck off!”

  “Goodness……”

  “You demon-like bastard!”

  Gilbert had quite a temper, seeing how he was shouting in the Lords’ Hall after all his guards and soldiers were just killed.

  That might’ve been why he had increased the security around his territory by 3 times and spent sleepless nights in the Lords’ Hall.

  It’s easy to tell who’s gonna burst out crying just by their faces.

  Kang Chul-In took a step closer to Gilbert.

  As he did, Gilbert fainted with bubbles in his mouth, right before Kaiforce landed in his head.

  “Whew.”

  Kang Chul-In sighed as he took Kaiforce back.

  “I’m tired.”

  “Me too.”

  Dorian, who had suddenly come from somewhere, spoke with a tired face.

  “And the clean up?”

  “Good enough.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “Ugh…… this isn’t something I want to do again. We send notices to the Lords so…… and it’s hard when they move……”

  “That’s why we’re holding the Lords hostage.”

  “But it’s still hard…… ugh……”

  “Cheer up.”

  Kang Chul-In dryly encouraged Dorain.

  It’s understandable that he’s tired. Since I’m also tired.

  To be honest, Kang Chul-In was tired as well.

  The two had used up all their energy causing messes in 5 different territories for the last week.

  “Huk, hukkk……”

  “Haaa…… haaaa……”

  “Ugh……”

  The same went for Dorian’s airborne forces, the Wyverns Woman Airborne Forces.

  They weren’t even at war, and causing terror in territories and running away was extremely tiring.

  They couldn’t even imagine fighting against Rothschild’s forces.

  “Anyway, shouldn’t we stop now? I think both of us will die from overworking ourselves if this keeps up.”

  Dorian spoke in a raspy voice.

  “I was thinking of stopping anyway.”

  Kang Chul-In replied.

  We’re at the limits now.

  It was true.

  The more time went on, the more the forces of the Lords were increasing. Even for him, it was dangerous to fight against all those soldiers. It was time to stop.

  But we still gained something.

  It wasn’t like this was for nothing.

  From the 5 Lords that they spoke about, two of them had been taken care of by Kang Chul-In and Dorian, and the other 3 returned to Rothschild to cut off their ties and hide.

  With this, Rothschild wouldn’t be able to ally himself with the Lords around himself for the time being.

  Also, the other Lords in the Baldur region were hiding themselves, saying they wouldn’t be on Rothschild’s side. They had definitely achieved what they came to do.

  Will you stay inside your territory even after I pressure you like this, Rothschild?

  But something was strange.

  It was normal to show some kind of response to this, but it was quiet. Like he was planning something.

  It’s strange……

  There was only one option for Rothschild to pick.

  It was hard for him to help the Gullveig Coalition because he was busy with the attacks from Lee Char-rin and Vito Clemenza.

  Then there was only one thing left. To swallow up the territories around him to gain power. That was the wisest path that Rothschild could take.

  But why? Just what is he trying to do in there……

  Just then, he heard the sound of wings flapping and some owl huam suddenly came from the ceiling. It was Aluko, from Fox Valley’s reconnaissance group.

  “Aluko greets the Supreme King of the West!”

  “Oh, it was you?”

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  “Weren’t you watching over Rothschild?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “But why are you here? Has the reconnaissance group been found?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Then why?”

  “I came because I have important information to report to you!”

  “Hm……?”

  “Your Majesty, I’ll report it to you separately. Could you make some time……”

  “Of course.”

  Kang Chul-In nodded.

  “Your Majesty, Rothschild is currently……”

  After they moved to another location, Aluko reported to Kang Chul-In.

  “Huh.”

  Kang Chul-In smirked when he heard the report.

  It seemed like his bad fate with his enemy was on the closing act.

  “The time to end that damned bastard’s life has come.”

  [1] Kevlar.

  Chapter 259: Birds Hear the Words of the Night and Rats Hear the Words of the Day

  Translator: Leyy3

  10 minutes ago……

  “Your Majesty, Rothschild’s movements are out of the ordinary.”

  Aluko’s report was quite interesting.

  “I was also thinking the same thing.”

  Kang Chul-In nodded his head.

  Rothschild’s response to Kang Chul-In was too passive.

  He didn’t take any action even when all of his alliances isolated him by himself.

  I did expect he was planning something.

  When Kang Chul-In heard Aluko’s report, he felt like an uncomfortably itchy spot had been scratched.

  “Alright. Then report.”

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  Aluko began his report.

  “First of all, Rothschild had brought an immense amount of gold from the ‘other world.’ It’s an unimaginable amount of……”

  “I expected that.”

  Kang Chul-In nodded his head.

  Wasting money?

  Being born with a diamond spoon in his mouth, he always ran away to Earth when he was in trouble, and returned after asking his daddy for money.

  However……

  “Yes, your Majesty. I thought so up to there, too. However, right after the second Lords’ Meeting ended, a large casket was delivered to Rothschild’s territory.”

  Aluko’s continued report piqued Kang Chul-In’s curiosity.

  “Casket?”

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  “The source?”

  “It seems to be from Overlord Andrei Ivanovich’s Blood Castle territory.”

  “.……!”

  “The casket is 1.5 meters wide and 3.5 meters long and it has old letters that I’ve never seen before. Also, a strange but powerful energy was flowing out of it.”

  Kang Chul-In narrowed his eyes.

  It was definitely strange.

  A vampire that he didn’t know existed in the past became an Overlord, and gave Rothschild some casket?

  Something’s fishy.

  Kang Chul-In immediately sensed something suspicious in their connection.

  “So.”

  Kang Chul-In tossed Aluko a question.

  “So, what happened?”

  “Yes, your Majesty. From what we saw, Rothschild moved the casket into a locked door and hasn’t left since.”

  The locked room was the space where Rothschild created his dolls.

  “I see.”

  Kang Chul-In nodded in understanding.

  “Good work. You’ve done……”

  “Your Majesty. I still have something else to report.”

  “Hm? Rothschild locked in there but you still have something to report?”

  “Of course, your Majesty.”

  Aluko spoke in a confident voice.

  “There’s this saying in Fox Valley.”

  “.……?”

  “Rats hear the words of the day and birds hear the words of the night.”

  “Isn’t it that birds hear the words of the day and rats hear the words of the night?”[1]

  “Pardon?”

  Aluko tilted his head. It was a typical movement of birds.

  “Your Majesty, owls sleep during the day……?”

  “N-Never mind.”

  Kang Chul-In waved his hand.

  “Continue with your report.”

  He knew it was foolish debating whether or not the saying of Fox Valley was right or the Earth’s.

  What did it matter what listened when?

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  Aluko continued his report.

  “It’s true that it was hard to observe the closed room. However! You know that it’s not just demi-humans at Fox Valley, right?”

  “Hm?”

  “We have the shredder.”

  “.……!”

  “They’re species that are equivalent to the underground rat species. Also, their firm toenails are powerful enough to break iron.”

  “That means……?”

  “Yes, your Majesty. The Shredder has succeeded in planting a miniature magic-engineered periscope in Rothschild’s closed room!”

  \r \r \r

  “.……!”

  “Thanks to that, we were able to collect information on most of what happened inside of the room.”

  It was an incredible achievement.

  Even Kang Chul-In hadn’t been able to get inside that room. The abilities of the agency at Fox Valley was amazing.

  “Is that so!?”

  Kang Chul-In’s voice was raised.

  “Yes, your Majesty!”

  “So? What information did you collect?”

  “That is…… there was a shiny black cocoon inside the casket.”

  “A cocoon? Like from an insect?”

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  “So?”

  “Rothschild entered the cocoon, and the cocoon wrapped around him like it was alive. And until this morning, it squirmed creepily.”

  “.……”

  “Then, this morning, Rothschild looked extremely strong when he ripped the cocoon open and came out. His hesitant appearance completely disappeared.”

  And just then, a thought hit Kang Chul-In like a bolt from the blue.

  ‘A cocoon, cocoon…… could it be?’

  Necromantic Bay.

  It was the undead research lab of the now dead Aleister.

  Dorian said that he had also seen a cocoon inside the Necromantic Bay. Didn’t he say that the thing born from it had chased him until the end?

  Something seems suspicious…… I don’t want to just go over it.

  Andrei Ivanovich, and the cocoon.

  Both these things didn’t exist in the past, and it didn’t quite make sense that it was all because of a butterfly effect.

  “After this, Rothschild……”

  Aluko’s report continued while Kang Chul-In was thinking about something else.

  “You may have heard already, but they say he’s been going out to hunt a monster.”

  “Monster hunting?”

  “Yes, your Majesty.”

  “What kind?”

  “That is……”

  “.……?”

  “They say he’s hunting a gold dragon.”

  “.……!”

  “He’s recruiting strong adventurers with a large amount of money and is creating a team of his own with his soldiers.”

  “Look at this guy.”

  Kang Chul-In’s voice took on a condescending tone.

  “So that damned bastard is putting me aside and doing growth quests, is that what you're saying?”

  “I-I don’t under……”

  “It’s nothing.”

  There was no need to explain the growth quests that were given to Lords, so Kang Chul-In changed the subject.

  “Oh, and your Majesty.”

  “What is it? Do you still have something to report?”

  “Of course.”

  Aluko shot his eyes open.

  “Your Majesty, don’t be too surprised.”

  “.……?”

  “According to the information from the shredder, Rothschild cannot use his connected bodies anymore.”

  “What!?”

  “.……!”

  “Is that true?”

  “Y-Yes! Because of the penalty of him losing 4 of his bodies with the Laputa incident……”

  It was then.

  “Hahahahaha!”

  A maniacal laugh escaped from Kang Chul-In’s mouth.

  “So that’s what happened? Hahahaha!”

  It was a loud laugh.

  Kang Chul-In laughed like he was letting out all the laughter that he had suppressed.

  Of course he would react like this.

  Even after finding out that Rothschild had dolls he controlled, he wasn’t able to get rid of them.

  But he couldn’t use the bodies?

  This was crucial information that let him know the chance to kill him had finally come.

  “Aluko of Fox Valley, listen.”

  An imposing order came from Kang Chul-In.

  “From now, all forces follow the hunt of the Gold Dragon and report back to me.”

  “Yes, your Majesty!”

  “Also, after this, all of you at the Fox Valley’s intelligence agency will be given the third rank promotion and you and the shredder will be given the Martial Arts Medal.”

  “Y-your Majesty!”

  Aluko was surprised.

  The Valhalla Martial Arts Medal.

  This was the highest ranking medal in the Valhalla Kingdom.

  No one had received it before!

  “H-How……!?”

  “No.”

  Kang Chul-In shook his head.

  “You deserve the Martial Arts Medal.”

  “.……!”

  “Give it all you got to finish the task I’ve given you!”

  “Yes, your Majesty!”

  Aluko shouted in response.

  “I’ll definitely carry out your orders with the honor of the Fox Valley’s intelligence agency on the line!”

  Who would be able to resist him?

  It was extremely rare for Kang Chul-In to tell others to ‘give everything they had.’

  ***

  Inside the tent of the Valhalla commanding forces……

  “Ugh…… ughhh……!”

  A pained groan escaped Kwak Jung’s mouth.

  “These cowardly powerful bastards! They’re weak as fuck but their numbers! Argh!”

  It was a spew of curses.

  Kwak Jung was stressed to the maximum creating strategies against the Gullveig Coalition.

  “.……”

  “.……”

  “.……”

  Silence filled the tent. Everyone blinked with blank faces.

  But there was nothing they could do.

  Each of the soldiers of Valhalla were strong, but they didn’t have the brains for coming up with strategies.

  “Whew…… what to do, no, if this……”

  Because of that, Kwak Jung suffered from carrying the forces.

  Ping, ping!

  It was so much that you could almost hear Kwak Jung’s head spinning.

  “I have an electronic brain…… electric brain…… ha, no this isn’t it……”

  Kwak Jung muttered like he was drunk and wasted.

  However, once he was done explaining his orders to the Valhalla forces, their faces became filled with shock.

  “Look. Tiger Division, and here, Red Dragon Division. These divisions will defend the canyons, and secretary Lucia will quickly……”

  There was no weakness in Kwak Jung’s strategy.

  No one would be able to look at this without being astonished.

  “Wow…… you’re the brain of Pangaea!”

  “An actual genius!”

  “Mr. Kwak, I’m amazed so many times these days!”

  Electronic brain.

  It sounded like a joke, but Kwak Jung had calculated every single detail, like he was some kind of program with an algorithm.

  “Nothing else is needed, just do it like this. I’m not accepting any complaints. Alright, everyone, leave. Leave!”

  Kwak Jung demanded that they leave because he was tired.

  Reading and analyzing all the reports and coming up with strategies took quite a toll on your mind.

  After the conferences ended, he would put a towel on his forehead from the headaches.

  Knowing this, the executives of Valhalla left so Kwak Jung could rest.

  “Whew.”

  Kwak Jung sighed when he was left alone.

  “I’ll really die at this rate…… my head is working fine, why am I so busy?”

  Just then, a purple light flashed in Kwak Jung’s vision, but because he was so tired, he didn’t notice it.

  “Fuck it!”

  ***

  “If only I clear this quest……!”

  Rothschild clenched his fists together seeing the status window in front of him.

  The details about the quest were the following: -

  Growth, Marionette Master

  Goal: Take care of the gold dragon.

  [Growth effects]

  All stats +20% / Controllable bodies +1 / Connected body stats +30% / Proficiency of creating connected bodies +50% / Ability to magically engineer connected bodies

  [Clear Rewards]

  +7 levels / Lords Points 2,000P / 10,000 Gold / Random Epic Item +1

  The target of the quest was the strongest monster, a gold dragon.

  It was a monster that even Kang Chul-In couldn’t fight one on one. However, it’s rewards were incredible.

  If he completed this, he could get rid of all the humiliation and loss he felt.

  “Alright, this is my last chance. Wait, Kang Chul-In. I’ll take your life soon. This strength, and growth…… this will be enough.”

  Rothschild clenched his teeth.

  1. a Korean idiom for “walls have ears.”