115 - 121
Chapter 115. Internal Affairs are difficult (Pt. 1)
Translator: Leyy3
Kang Chul-In didn't go easy on Park Chul-Hwan while beating him.
He beat him over and over.
Kang Chul-In only stopped when Park Chul-hwan's body seemed like a squid, with the angles of the arms and legs being completely inhumane.
"Kuk....Kuk..."
By this point, Park Chul-hwan didn't have any strength left in him to speak, so all he could do was powerlessly lower his head in pain.
"You're not a very good punching bag. Even Kwak-Jung was better than you."
Kicking Park Chul-hwan, Kang Chul-In confirmed that Park Chul-hwan had fainted. From the viewpoint of a bystander, It might look like Kang Chul-In was the villain, and that Park Chul-hwan was innocent.
"My dad... dad... lost to Arshelly's dad...Wahhh!!"
Looking at the loss of her trusted dad, Park Seul-gi started crying even more.
"Y-You crazy murderer!"
Meanwhile, Cho Eun-sil stepped backwards in fright, while pointing at Kang Chul-In.
"Y-You! The police won't let you guys go so easily! I'm going to report you..."
Though Cho Eun-Sil took out her phone in order to call the police...
"W-What the hell? Why isn't this working?"
The phone had become useless after Park Chul-hwan's burst of mana, rendering Cho Eun-Sil helpless.
Looking at this, Kang Chul-In stepped towards her, with a steely gaze.
Though Kang Chul-In wasn't one to normally support collective punishment, he made an exception this time. He wasn't kind enough to turn a blind eye to the ones that had cursed at his daughter, as well as his mother.
"S-Stop right there! Don't come any closer!"
Cho Eun-Sil suddenly screamed.
"Don't come!! Get lost!"
"Noisy."
"D-Driver Kim!"
Though Cho Eun-Sil attempted to call her driver, the man that had been suffering thus far had already run away.
"S-Stop coming closer! S-Someone save me! There's a murderer/rapist over here!""...Oh?"
"Here! There's a rapist! There's a rapist!"
And as Cho Eun-Sil screamed to turn Kang Chul-In into a criminal, police cars made their way into the parking lot of the building.
"Policeman! Over here!"
Cho Eun-sil ran towards the police. She was running away by herself, leaving her daughter for her own safety.
But...
"Policeman!"
Cheol-kung.
A detective handcuffed Cho Eun-Sil.
"W-What the hell are you doing right now? If you're part of the police, get the right person!"
"Ms. Cho Eun-Sil. We arrest you for violence against a teacher."
"What? Hey, who the hell here is the chief here? Tell the chief to come out! Let go! I said, let go!"
Cho Eun-Sil struggled, her veins nearly popping out from rage.
"Sigh... which police chief are you close with?"
A middle-aged man spoke as if he found this ridiculous.
"And who the hell are you?"
"I'm the commissioner-general of the city of Seoul."
"W-What?"
"So, tell me now. Exactly which Police chief are you close with now? Let me hear that person's name. Come on, now."
"Y-You're making a mistake right now! T-That criminal is a rapist and also a murderer who killed my husband!"
"Excuse me, Ms. Cho Eun-Sil. Do you call someone who has beaten up and suppressed a terrorist a criminal? Even if you're going to make a lie, try to say something more believable."
"Terrorist? You say my husband is a terrorist? Do you have evidence?"
"Ah, so loud. Hey, take her away."
The commissioner-general waved as if he was swatting a fly.
"Yes, general."
One of the police chiefs who had heard this order grabbed Cho Eun-Sil, and pulled her away.
"Hey! You're making a mistake! You're making..."
Cho Eun-Sil shouted, even in the moments where she was being taken away.
"Ahh, we came after hearing orders from Mr. Kwon. It seems like you have a tough life, Director Kang. Haha!"
The police chief who had dragged Cho Eun-Sil away laughed, and pretended to be close with Kang Chul-In.
"No worries. Anyway, I'm going to head home now.""A-Already?"
"I need to go see my daughter."
"...Sorry?"
"Take all the cars, and also send me the IDs of all the criminals here, before handing them over to me."
"W-What do you..."
"Soon, commands will come from above."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, and make sure you take care of the piano teacher in there."
Though the repair costs would be incredible due to the EMP, being able to take a Rolls Royce, as well as 5 other high-quality Sedans seemed like a good bargain to Kang Chul-In. Except...
"That bastard..."
For the fact that his sports car had also been turned haywire.
"...They say that the Nidavellir mines are that tough, huh..."
Kang Chul-In grinded his teeth. It seemed as if Park Chul-hwan had confirmed himself a spot as a worker of the Nidavellir Mines.
The case had ended like that.
Coincidentally catching the Omega Clan, the Galaxy Corporation was able to rebound, increasing its profits to an all-time high.
And as for Park Chul-Hwan and his family, they had the honor(?) of being transported to Pangaea for labor.
Park Chul-hwan was forced to do labor in the Nidavellir mines for 20 years, Cho Eun-sil was forced to be a porter in the Burrow lands, and Park Seul-gi was to clean the chimneys of houses within the Laputa territory.
This was the end of the family that decided to fearlessly mess with Kang Chul-In.
A few days after that.
"Dad~"
Arshelly, who sat next to Kang Chul-In, looked at him with lovely eyes, and spoke.
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"Hehe."
"What?"
"I love you, dad!"
"...We're here."
Kang Chul-In stopped the car. It was impossible for him, with his personality, to say that he also loved her.
Where the Lamborghini Sesto Elemento stopped was in front of the Piano Academy, where the 'case' had occurred.
"Woah~. Arshelly's dad is so cool!"
"So handsome... Arshelly looks like her dad..."
"Arshelly was even richer? My dad told me, but that car is really expensive!"
Thanks to Kang Chul-In picking up Arshelly and dropping her off at the academy, Arshelly was able to get rid of the rumors that she had no parents, and that she was poor.
Of course, there couldn't be said that there were no side-effects.
"Dad... How come dad is less cool than Arshelly's dad?"
"Arshelly's dad is rich, and is also handsome. And he's also good at fighting! I saw how last time, he beat up the terrorist with his bare hands!"
"Y-You... How about you then! Arshelly's pretty, nice, and also good at playing the piano! Where did you get your manners, to say that to your father!"
Due to the overly badass Kang Chul-In and pretty Arshelly, there were several arguments going on.
"Arshelly, you came?""Yes, teacher!"
The piano teacher, who had recovered, hugged Arshelly.
"Oh, and your father's come today too!""Hello."
"Often... Please come often to drop and pick her up. You'll come later too, right?"
The piano teacher blushed as she said that. It seemed as if she held a special meaning in the words of 'come often'.
"Yes, most likely so."
"Thank god..."
"Sorry?"
"N-Nothing."
The piano teacher hurriedly turned her face away from Kang Chul-In.
N-No, this can't work! He's already married... B-But... I can't do anything about the beating of my heart, can I? Sigh... maybe I'm just a bad woman...
...The piano teacher decided to imagine on her own.
"Well then, I'll get going."
"Y-You can come inside for a cup of tea..."
"I'm busy."
Coldly declining the offer of the teacher, Kang Chul-In hopped back into his Lamborghini.
"Daughter, have fun."
"Yes, dad!"
One week later.
Kang Chul-In returned to Pangaea to settle the internal affairs of Laputa.
Though there were a lot of things to do, if he had to pick the most important things he needed to do:
1. Raise the army to their fullest potential by training through the winter.
2. Create a new city in preparation for the Laputa territory to move.
3. The piles of documents to read through.
4. Defending the empty Valhalla territory.
For the training of the army, it wasn't difficult for Kang Chul-In, as this was his specialty as a Conquest Lord. All he needed to do was train them a little harder than he had originally.
But reading the stack of documents as well as preparing for the moving of the Laputa territory was what really racked Kang Chul-In's brain. This was difficult for Kang Chul-In, who had spent his past life as a Lord mainly fighting all the time.
Thankfully, he was able to quickly find someone in order to take charge of the building of the new city.
"Milord, the construction leader Kimura says he wants to meet you."
A maid reported to him.
"Wait... a minute... so many documents..."
Kang Chul-In felt like he was being choked by the amount of documents there were. Though he had already known this from his previous life, he really felt that office work didn't suit him.
"But... who was construction leader Kimura again? Was there someone within our territory with such a name, and a position as that?"
"Have you forgotten the previous Lord of the Burrow Lands, Kimura, already?"
"Ah, the Burrows, huh? So it's him."
"Yes. Currently, he has been approved by Secretary Lucia to be the new Construction Leader of the territory."
"Is that so? Well, bring him in then."
"Yes, milord."
As soon as Kang Chul-In agreed, Kimura came inside the room and bowed towards Kang Chul-In.
"Milord, this Kimura greets you."
Within a few months, Kimura seemed to have grown in height, making him truly seem like a man now.
"Why haven't you gone home yet?"
"The thing is... I don't really want to... Due to the fact that this humble one's father has been violent to me from a young age... And being bullied in school for a long time..."
"So you're going to stay here?"
"Yes, sire."
"Alright. So what's the reason behind looking for me."
"First, please have a look at this."
Kimura placed several scrolls of paper onto the table of Kang Chul-In.
"What's this?"
"I've heard that the Laputa territory will be moving elsewhere soon. Then, wouldn't we need a new city and fortress here instead of Laputa? Though we do have the Burrow lands, it isn't very convenient, due to the fact that they're located underground."
"Then..."
"Yes, this is the construction plan of the new city."
"This..."
Kang Chul-In took a look at the plans, and murmured as if astonished.
"Intricate... This has the touch of an expert in it... Did you make it alone?"
"Yes, milord."
"This isn't knowledge that you should normally possess at your age though?"
"From a certain point onwards, knowledge about construction filled my brain. Sometimes, when I wake up, I see myself unknowingly making basic designs for constructions."
"Ah, it's your specialty then."
Kang Chul-In nodded his head, finally understanding. It wouldn't make sense, if it weren't for the effects of a Lord's specialty.
"So... what's the name and rank of your Specialty?"
"The name is 'Architecture'."
"As expected. How about the rank?"
"It's embarrassing, but it's S rank."
"Oh...?"
Suddenly being able to gain a good resource for the territory, Kang Chul-In smiled.
To think that such a useful person has come into my hands willingly...
Kang Chul-In smirked again.
There was no such thing as a useless specialty.
Making golems, Wealth, Conquest, Swordmaster... Though there were specialties like these, that wasn't it. With efficient use of their specialty, they could become a hegemony of a region.
"Can I trust you with it?"
"Sorry?"
"I thought you came to ask me to give you authority over this, right?"
"W-Well."
Kimura hadn't thought that Kang Chul-In would give an opportunity such as this, shocking him.
"Does... that mean that you'd be giving me full authority over the whole project...?"
"I mean, who else would I give authority to, other than the former Lord who has an S rank specialty that's related to construction? You're also the one who made the plan too. If you started it, then you have the responsibility to finish it. Am I wrong?"
"M-Milord!"
Kimura was touched.
To think that Kang Chul-In would give him, who had declared war on Kang Chul-In like an idiot, an opportunity like this.
"So, can you do it, or not!""I-I-I can, sir!"
"Are you confident in doing well?""Yes sir!"
"Alright."
Kang Chul-In nodded his head.
"I'll lend you four Atlases. Using that, in combination with the ants, dwarves, as well as other monsters, do the construction. If you need more manpower, I will also send some of the citizens to help out."
"Thank you, thank you!"
Kimura bowed his head in thanks.
"Follow me."
Kang Chul-In stood up, motioning at Kimura.
"Excuse me? Where..."
"The blacksmith Vulcanos is modifying some parts of the Atlases right now. It might be of use to follow me, and take a look at what he's doing. And... I also had something else to do too."
Kang Chul-In looked at Kaiforce, which was hung on his waist. It seemed as if he would keep his word, and really throw Kaiforce into a furnace.
It was at that moment.
"Milord~ Timothy is here~"
It was the goblin ex-secretary, Timothy.
Oh. Sh*t.
Kang Chul-In froze momentarily. The arrival of Timothy meant the arrival of more documents.
"Kimura."
"Yes?"
"Let's go, quickly."
"Yes, milord... Huk!"
Kang Chul-In grabbed Kimura, before launching himself.
Ting-!!
The window shattered into pieces, as Kang Chul-In and Kimura disappeared from sight. Kang Chul-In had broken the window and ran, in fear of the documents that he had to do.
Chapter 116. Internal Affairs are difficult (Pt. 2)
Translator: Leyy3
"Hey there, pass me an engine bolt!"
"More oil, give me more oil!"
Inside the blacksmithing workshop of the Laputa territory, a battle that wasn't actually a battle was being waged.
The Magic Engineers that had come from the Mecha Dome were moving around crazily, sweating while working on this massive project of theirs.
"Oh, Milord. You've come?"
The leader of all the workers here, Vulcanos, came to greet Kang Chul-In.
"Have you been well?"
"Of course, Milord."
"The armor that was designed for the monster army was incredible last time. Keep up the good work.""Kukuku, thank you Milord!"
"Anyway, this is Kimura, who's in charge of construction."
Kang Chul-In introduced Kimura and Vulcanos to each other.
"Hello, I'm Kimura Hideki."
"Kuku, nice to meet you. Call me Vulcanos."
While the two were shaking hands, Kang Chul-In explained the future plans to Vulacnos.
"Vulcanos, Kimura is in charge of the new plan to make a city in order to replace Laputa. Make sure to take care of him.""Oh, really?"
"Yes, and I want you to modify 4 of the Atlases so that we can use them to help the construction."
"...Sorry?"
Vulcanos' face stiffened.
4 Atlases were currently being modified in order to help cut the wood in the 'Dark Forest'. It would take a lot of effort, and time to modify them again to help with construction.
"Ehem..."
Knowing the situation, Kang Chul-In coughed in embarrassment...
"I believe in the engineers and blacksmiths within the territory."
But soon changed the embarrassment into shamelessness.
"Milord..."
"I believe that you won't say that this is impossible."
"O-Of course, this isn't impossible. However..."
"I also believe that this can be done within the following week. Ehem... There's nothing impossible for the blacksmiths of the Laputa territory."
Vulcanos stopped the urge to shout at Kang Chul-In, and instead dropped his head in helplessness.
They were currently in the process of modifying the Atlases to help with cutting wood, but to suddenly change that into helping with construction purposes? And do all of that, within a week?
...Not to mention sleep, it was hard to tell whether he and the other engineers would be able to have a proper meal. Other than maybe having toilet breaks in the middle, there would only be work for the next week.
"I believe that the abilities of the engineers of our territory will match up to that task though, right?"
Kang Chul-In pressured Vulcanos and the other engineers of the territory.
I know it's difficult, but there's no other choice considering the fact that we need to move.
The experienced Kang Chul-In could easily tell what Vulcanos was thinking.
He knew that completing this task within a week was somewhat impossible and that it was too much work. There was no way that Kang Chul-In wouldn't know that.
But still, he wasn't thinking of letting them go like that.
From experience, he knew that a race against time like this would bring out the fullest efforts from all the engineers, and would normally raise efficiency to a maximum. This was true for the majority of people that were magic engineers.
"Milord..."
Vulcanos seemed as if he was about to cry.
"I think we also need time to rest, and time to eat..."
"Fine, I'll give you an extra half-a-day. Since it's daytime right now... 7 days from now, and at night, I'll revisit to make sure you're done with this project."
"Yes... Milord..."
Once again dropping his head, Vulcanos sighed.
But what else could he do?
Status was everything.
As the Lord, Vulcanos had to do everything that Kang Chul-In ordered. If he ordered Vulcanos to act as if he were dead, he would have to do that too.
"Oh, and also. What's the hottest furnace within our territory?"
"Hmm... That must be Furnace 0, where the Flame Toads are. But... why are you asking that question?"
"...I have something to do there."
"Excuse me?"
"Lead the way."
"Yes, Milord."
Though Vulcanos tilted his head in confusion, he still led Kang Chul-In to where Furnace 0 was, with the Flame Toads situated there.
"Now, it's time to know your place."
Looking at the terrifying Furnace that spat fire as if it were alive, Kang Chul-In smiled in satisfaction. He took out Kaiforce, which was strapped onto his belt.
Wiing-!!
Kaiforce vibrated.
"M-Milord... Don't tell me you're going to..."
Vulcanos' eyes widened. As a blacksmith himself, he knew the true worth of a sword like Kaiforce.
"Even looking at it briefly, I can tell that it's at least an epic item. How could you throw away a sword like that into the furnace..."
"I don't need such an annoying and cocky piece of metal anymore."
"Cocky...? Don't tell me... is that a famed 'Ego Sword'?"
"That's right."
"Huu... As expected of Milord, you truly have a different vision than we do."
"I don't know
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about something like that. All I know is just that this stupid hunk of metal was bothering me."
Looking at Kaiforce with an annoyed expression, Kang Chul-In was about to throw it into the furnace...
"Goodbye."
But...
- W-Wait!
Kaiforce begged for mercy from Kang Chul-In.
- Y-You! Even though you might be angry, are you really thinking of throwing such an amazing sword like me into the furnace?"
Of course I am. I'm a man of my words.
- I'm Pangaea's greatest sword, the final weapon of the continent. You should know that it's an honor to be my owner. How dare you try to melt me? On this entire continent, there's only 'Mitra' that could hold a candle to my greatness!
Mitra?
- Yes, I'm talking about the 'holy light sword,' Mitra.
Oh, and is that sword useful?
- That thing... they call it a holy sword... If you're a man, shouldn't you be carrying something like me, a cursed sword? That sword is something that you should give to pussies. It can't reach even the tip of my toes.
Holy sword, huh... It seems like it would be better than an inferior good like you.
- I-I-Inferior good?!
I'll look for that 'holy light sword' that you were talking about when I get the opportunity.
- You... you would leave me, the strongest Cursed Sword on the continent, and look for that stupid Mitra? You stupid, foolish person!
No one asked for your opinion, you inferior good.
Kang Chul-In snickered.
You call yourself an amazing sword? As if you have the right or qualification to be called that.
- What the hell is a good sword, if I'm not included, then?
A good sword is the sword that I hold.
- W-What?!
If I am undefeated, then the sword I hold will also be known as the undefeated sword. A true warrior doesn't rely on a stupid hunk of metal.
- Y-You... Do you honestly think that you're Aurangzeb, the Emperor of Blood and Iron?!
What?
At that moment, the vein on Kang Chul-In's forehead bulged out due to rage.
- The only truly powerful person I acknowledge was my previous owner, the Emperor of Blood and Iron! How dare you think to compare yourself to... Hey, wai-
Though Kaiforce shouted urgently...
Plop-!
Kang Chul-In didn't have any hesitation in his actions.
"Shut up about that stupid Emperor of Blood and Iron from a thousand years ago. I'm sick of it. Goodbye."
Wiing--!
Though Kaiforce attempted to lift itself up and get out of the pool of lava...
The sword could soon no longer be seen, lost forever in the pool of lava that Kang Chul-In had thrown it into.
"No!!! What a waste..."
Vulcanos who was watching Kang Chul-In shook his hands in bitterness, and stood there, watching as Kaiforce disappeared.
"This is the final goodbye, arrogant bastard."
Though Kang Chul-In had just thrown away one of, if not the greatest, swords in Pangaean history, he didn't blink an eye. He was truly a man of his words.
Anyway, the holy light sword, Mitra? If even Kaiforce thinks it's able to compare to itself, it must also be an Ego Sword... I just hope it isn't as arrogant as Kaiforce...
----
The winter of Laputa went on more busily than ever.
The army of Laputa trained itself on the snow-covered-fields of the Eastern Plains, while Kimura led the workers in Laputa in the building of the new city.
It was also lots of work for the high ranking officials.
Lucia, Kwak-jung, Podolski, Drakan, James, Michael etc. also had their own 'private lessons' from Kang Chul-In, learning how to fight more efficiently.
The intensity of it was great.
Other than Kwak-jung, all of the people vowed that they would get stronger in order to be more of use to Kang Chul-In. It was enough for them to be drinking potions as if they were drinking an energy drink (to heal themselves), and it made anyone watching them shake their head in awe.
It also caused a synergy effect within the territory.
"If secretary Lucia is working that hard, I can't lose! Here we go again!"
"Wow... Have you seen General Drakan bench-pressing over there? It seemed as if he was doing at least 400 kilograms..."
"The leaders of the Laputa territory truly are working intensely. Come on, let's learn from them, and work harder in order to not be of shame to them!"
Meanwhile, the training for Kang Chul-In to get even stronger... did not occur.
"Sigh..."
Sitting in his personal room, Kang Chul-In pressed his forehead in pain.
On the face of Kang Chul-In, which was hidden under the pile of documents... was a dark circle.
"I really don't know what's wrong..."
Everything was going as planned.
The food storages, economy, training of the troops, and the construction plan was going even better than he had expected. Kang Chul-In could tell that he wasn't going to struggle in poverty like he had before, at least for a while.
But... a problem occurred.
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 1]
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 2]
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 7]
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 3]
In front of Kang Chul-In's eyes were endless messages of his Lord points decreasing. And the reason...
"This stupid system called happiness..."
It was due to the fact that the [happiness] category of his citizens kept on decreasing. The Laputa territory's citizens had the happiness of the following:
- Happiness: 61 (A little annoyed)
- Make sure to take care of the Happiness of your citizens!
- There are increasing complaints from the citizens of your territory!
- At a certain point, you will lose the loyalty of your citizens.
The control over this category was extremely important.
If this fell down, the labor efficiency of the citizens would fall, and complaints would increase. In the worst case, there could be civilian-led rebellions within the territory.
"Milord, what is it?"
A man wearing white gloves, as well as a tuxedo stood in front of Kang Chul-In, and poured some Malt Whiskey for him. It was the Vampire Butler, Alfred.
"The happiness of the citizens are falling, leading to the decrease of my Lord Points."
"W-Why is that... how many points have you..."
"The happiness is at 61 right... actually 60 now, it just fell by 1 as we were talking."
"Sigh... It seems that Milord is still inexperienced in managing these internal affairs of the territory. Even in the last life..."
"... Don't poke me where it hurts most."
Dammit... I didn't think that this would occur again...
Though Kang Chul-In had vowed to become the 'perfect Lord', it seemed like he had already hit a roadblock in the form of happiness.
But the bigger problem was that he really couldn't tell the reason behind the falling happiness of his citizens.
No matter who looked at it, the Laputa territory was doing well.
There was nothing missing from the 3 essential components of: clothing, food, and housing, and he hadn't lost a single battle when he waged war.
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 1]
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 1]
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 2]
While Kang Chul-In was thinking to himself, he had already lost 4 Lord points, and happiness had fallen to 55. If this went on, it could truly pose a problem to the Laputa territory.
"Milord."
At that moment, a maid called Kang Chul-In.
"Sir Kwak is asking for an audience with you."
"Kwak-jung is?"
Kang Chul-In stood up from his chair.
"Tell him to come in immediately."
If it were Kwak-jung, he might have a method to solve this crisis, or find the reason behind it at the very least.
Chapter 117. Internal Affairs are difficult (Pt. 3)
Translator: Leyy3
"Milord, the citizens in the territory lack rest, and crave for entertainment. If this goes on, they might die of fatigue, or become zombies."
Standing in front of Kang Chul-In, Kwak-Jung spoke proudly.
"Rest and entertainment? Explain this in more detail."
As Kang Chul-In was looking for a reason why the happiness of his civilians was falling, he was desperate for any kind of explanation or solution.
"Everything is good right now."
Kwak-Jung explained.
"No-one is starving, we're getting paid lots of money, and the civilians don't have to worry about the invasion of monsters, because of our strong military. And they also don't have many complaints about the leaders of Laputa, since they themselves have proved themselves, and are working extremely hard. This is what you think, right?"
"And?"
"Milord, exactly how long do you sleep a night?"
"Hmm... Maybe 1 or 2 hours?"
"And are you alright?"
"What do you mean by that? Of course, I'm alright."
"Hahaha..."
Kwak-Jung laughed, feeling awed by Kang Chul-In.
"Milord, not everyone in the world can be like you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"A normal person... will die quickly if they only sleep 1 or 2 hours a day. They wouldn't be able to even walk properly. And hearing from the maids, I've heard that you're not having proper meals either, just eating eggs or sandwiches instead."
"There's no other choice, I was busy."
"That's true... but I think milord always overworks."
"Hmm..."
Kang Chul-In couldn't understand what Kwak-Jung was saying.
Working too hard was a problem?
For a 'super' workaholic like Kang Chul-In, this was a completely new concept.
"Explain all of this, in even more detail. I've come across a problem recently, and I think that this might be related to that problem."
"What kind of problem is it?"
"The happiness of the civilians within the territory are falling."
"Pft... Obviously it is."
"It's obvious?"
"It's because milord is crazy with... I mean... sorry... hehe..."
"... Continue."
"Milord doesn't eat properly, sleep properly, and also ignores pleasures with women... Milord just works. Work, work, work! It makes sense for only you milord, because you're not a huma... I mean, nothing."
"....."
"Ehem! Anyway... for a person, being able to eat properly and getting paid well isn't everything. Though milord might not feel like this even while working an incredibly tight schedule, this is not the same for the civilians."
"It's not?"
"Money and food isn't even the most important thing. The people want to rest, and something to keep themselves entertained."
"So basically... you're saying that they need something to relieve their stress from all the work that they've been doing?'
"Yes, milord! Exactly!"
Kwak-Jung nodded his head vigorously.
"Milord, you don't need to touch anything related to the money. The money that you give them is already over the top."
"Well, that's because they do a lot of work for me. It's obvious that they get paid a lot; I can't just let them slave away for me, can I."
"That's good. Labor comes with a price. I also know that this is a concept that milord is very familiar with."
"I see what you mean now."
Finally, Kang Chul-In could see what Kwak-Jung was talking about. Though he couldn't understand what Kwak-Jung meant by the statement that not everyone was like him in the beginning, he was beginning to understand.
"Then... how about we decrease working hours by two every day, and also increase resting days to two days a month?"
"Hmm... Yes, I think that's reasonable. Since you're paying them a lot already, I think that's all that needs to be fixed for now."
"Alright, I'll do that."
Kang Chul-In readily agreed to Kwak-Jung's proposals.
If his subordinate came running to him offering him advice and he denied that, that would be a foolish decision. Kang Chul-In wasn't someone who was unreasonable when it came to his subordinates, as well as work.
"Oh, and..."
Kwak-Jung added.
"How about you also increase the time that the magic-engineers have in their project of modifying the Atlases? Maybe two days? Though milord takes very good care of the soldiers, it seems like you aren't doing the same for
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workers of different fields. I think this might be because Milord is a Conquest Lord, and is so used to commanding the army."
"Is that so..."
"Yes, though it makes sense that we need to hurry up since we also need to move soon... Sometimes, I feel like we should also look at the perspective of the workers."
"You're right."
Kang Chul-In nodded his head.
"I'll tell Timothy to fix all the things you told me."
---
Two days later.
With Kang Chul-In's orders, the modifications on the working plan were presented to all the civilians of the Laputa territory.
And a reward was also sent to the magic engineers that were busy working on modifying the Atlas.
"W-What an extravagant..."
"Is this the famed meat of the Peacock Dragon...!"
"Woah...."
Thinking of the bigger picture, Kang Chul-In wholeheartedly agreed to Kwak-Jung's proposal of sending the Magic Engineers a reward, sending them a whole Peacock Dragon to feast on.
And thanks to this, he could stop the decreasing Happiness of his citizens.
"Internal affairs... are very hard."
Kang Chul-In muttered, pressing his temples.
Though the citizens of his territory could take a rest due to the changes made, Kang Chul-In himself was still buried under the pile of documents.
But... that wasn't it.
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 1]
[Your Lord Point has decreased by 1]
The already fallen Happiness for some reason wasn't going up. In fact, it was still slowly going down.
"Do we... have to start a war or something?"
As the happiness of his territory kept on decreasing from unknown reasons, Kang Chul-In tried to think out of the box.
"This is Timothy, I have something urgent to report to milord!"
Maybe he could hear about the problem from Timothy.
"What is it, Timothy?"
"Something big has happened?"
"Big?"
"The ratio of men and women has become 4:6 just now! At this rate, it seems like it'll maybe even become 3:7! If this goes on, the majority of the women within our territory might die unmarried!"
"...Was this the reason..."
Kang Chul-In snickered, feeling stupid.
"Have you written a report on this?"
"Yes, milord."
"Give it to me."
Reading the report, Kang Chul-In didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"... Even 8-year-old boys are getting teased if they don't have at least 2 girlfriends? What is this?"
The contents of the report were ridiculous.
There were lots of cases of women fighting to the death over men, and a severe increase in cheating across the territory.
"Don't tell me... is this because of the wars that we've waged?"
"Yes, milord."
Timothy nodded.
"Since milord leads an undefeated army, there weren't many losses in the original population of men within the Laputa territory. However... that cannot be said for the territories in which Milord has conquered."
Kang Chul-In didn't need to listen any further to understand.
Basically, Kang Chul-In's army was too powerful, and they destroyed their enemies easily whenever they went into battle.
And due to this, though Kang Chul-In's army didn't lose many men, the opponent's army suffered terrible casualties. And when Kang Chul-In eventually conquered the territory, there would be a significantly larger number of females than males.
Unlike Earth, where marriage was more open and free, Pangaeans were extremely strict with marriages, and wanted to marry as soon as they got the chance.
Therefore, the reason behind falling happiness within the Laputa territory was actually due to Kang Chul-In and his army's overwhelming strength. It was quite ironic.
"There is a solution to this..."
Kang Chul-In muttered, shaking his head.
"Timothy.
"Yes, milord."
"This isn't a problem that can be solved immediately."
"If we summon more troops using the Lord shop..."
"No."
"I-Is that not a viable option? Since we aren't low on money like before, we have around 2000 gold to spare..."
"No, that doesn't work."
"W-Why not?"
"Though that works in the short term, we have to look at the bigger picture. Think about it. From our last conquest, we took over the whole Eastern Plains with our army. Now that it's even bigger, what we lack isn't strength."
"T-Then... if we summon civilians instead..."
"Even if we do that, the ratio would go back to 5: 5 again. And, over time..."
"T-That makes sense..."
"We... will leave this be for the moment. I have a plan."
Though Kang Chul-In might not be able to solve other problems regarding the internal affairs of his territory, this was one that he had confidence in.
Hecate...
The answer lies within his former ally, the Lord of Temeraire: Hecate.
When one first summoned their civilians, the ratio of men to women was at a rough 50:50, but this wasn't the case for poor Hecate. She had to struggle quite a bit, summoning a ridiculous rate of 90% being men.
Since Kang Chul-In was struggling with having too many women and Hecate with too many men, this was a perfect alliance.
Even in the past, Kang Chul-In had to ally with Hecate due to similar reasons. They had made the citizens of their territories marry each other, forming a sort of political marriage.
Hecate... is an ally that I need. Allying with her would be best using the method that I did in my past life, but... I'll have to wait until the start of the Lord meetings for that.
The question was how he would solve this problem before he could talk to Hecate about this.
It was at that moment.
[Your Lord Point has increased by 1]
[Your Lord Point has increased by 1]
[Your Lord Point has increased by 1]
[Your Lord Point has increased by 1]
Suddenly, a message showing that his Lord points, which had been continuously falling until now, had actually increased.
[The happiness of your citizens have increased by 2.]
At this peculiar situation, Kang Chul-In tilted his head in confusion.
"...What the hell?"
Was there something wrong with the system now? How had his decreasing Lord points and happiness increased all of a sudden?
"Milord!! Milord!!"
Kwak-Jung scrambled into Kang Chul-In's room.
"It's Princess Arshelly, she has..."
"Arshelly?"
"She's created a mess! Hahahaha!"
What Kwak-Jung said didn't make sense.
"Arshelly has? Stop lying."
Arshelly was kind, mature, and cautious. There was no way that Arshelly would create a mess.
"Yes, milord! Hahaha!"
Kwak-Jung spoke, laughing.
"Come on, follow me to the Central Plaza!"
"The Central Plaza?'
"Yes, milord. Arshelly has done something 'big'!"
"...Alright. Lead the way."
Kang Chul-In quickly headed towards the Central Plaza.
Chapter 118. The coming Lord Meetings. (Pt. 1)
Translator: Leyy3
As Kang Chul-In arrived at the central plaza, he could see a lot of people crowded there.
Why are they all here at this time of day?
He didn't understand.
It was 8 p.m at night, and since it was winter, it was pitch black outside.
Unlike Earth, since the Pangaeans lacked technology, they usually all went home by the time the sun fell. It was extremely strange that everyone was outside like this.
At that moment.
Bambababam babam Bababam!
Kang Chul-In could hear music that sounded somewhat familiar to him.
Babam!
-You suck!
Babam!
-You suck!
It was music from the TV program that the civilians were watching, namely the WWL (World Wrestling League). At that moment, a pro wrestler, Scott Angle showed up.
"Booooo!"
"Get lost! Stupid baldie!"
"Get out of there!"
"Let's go! John Michaels! Beat him up!"
The majority of the male citizens started cheering.
Don't tell me...
To confirm his thoughts, Kang Chul-In made his way through the crowd to see what the citizens were looking at.
"Ah, milord!"
"Is that milord?!"
Realizing that Kang Chul-In was there, the citizens split apart to give room for Kang Chul-In. It was as if Moses was splitting the red sea again.
"What the..."
And confirming his thoughts, Kang Chul-In muttered in astonishment.
And there, he could see a huge screen that projected and broadcasted wrestling match from Earth.
Or to be exact it wasn't a screen, nor was it being broadcasted.
What Kang Chul-In had thought was a screen was actually marble that was so clean that it seemed like a screen, and a simple looking machine from far away was shooting a beam at the marble, acting as a projector.
"Father~"
Spotting Kang Chul-In, Arshelly ran towards him, and hugged him.
"You're busy nowadays, right father?"
"I'm alright. But what is all this?"
"Oh..."
Arshelly looked at Kang Chul-In, trying to guess what his thoughts on this were.
"Uhh... I wanted to give a source of recreation for the citizens... and this was one of the options that I thought of..."
"Haha..."
Kang Chul-In opened his mouth in astonishment at Arshelly's words.
"Father... I'm sorry if you're angry..."
"No, daughter."
Kang Chul-In shook his head.
"You've done a very good job."
"R-Really?"
"As expected of my daughter."
".....!"
"I'm proud of you."
As Kang Chul-In complimented her while stroking her hair, Arshelly couldn't help but smile happily.
And the sight was so lovely, that Kang Chul-In wondered if this was why others raised their daughters.
"But... how is this even possible? I thought that nothing from Earth could be brought to Pangaea except pure gold?"
"They're from my memories, father."
"Your memories?"
"This is done by using memories in which I watched TV, and putting it inside this magic gem. With the help of the Magic Engineers, I was able to make it in such a big scale."
Though it was a great idea, it was also a very difficult one to actually carry out. If not for Arshelly's god-gifted magical abilities, one wouldn't be able to even dream of things like this.
She's my daughter, but... she's brilliant.
Kang Chul-In looked at Arshelly as if he was looking at a precious doll.
A kind daughter.
A kind granddaughter.
Smart, kind princess of the Laputa territory.
There wasn't a single about Arshelly that wasn't perfect.
"Kuu... Milord, you do have a fine daughter. I'm jealous! If I marry in the future, I hope that I'll be able to get a daughter such as Arshelly too..."
Kwak-Jung said from aside, truly envious of Kang Chul-In.
"Stop saying ridiculous things."
"Sorry?"
"How can there be another girl like Arshelly?"
"...Ok."
At Kang Chul-In's pride in his daughter, Kwak-Jung pouted.
"Then when the princess gets married later..."
"There's no way of that happening."
Kang Chul-In stopped Kwak-Jung mid-sentence.
"What kind of man would be able take Arshelly?"
"..."
"Go to my office and put your hands up as punishment."
"... Sorry?"
"If not, mental tr..."
"I'm going."
As soon as Kwak-Jung realized Kang Chul-In was going to say the words 'mental training', he immediately ran away.
"Father!"
Arshelly said.
"Arshelly is thinking of asking the Magic Engineers to help make more of these screens across the territory, what are your thoughts on this?"
"Is it possible?"
"This is in it's testing stages, so there are a lot of things that we can fix. But if we have father's support..."
"Alright."
Kang Chul-In nodded his head. There was no way that Kang Chul-In could listen to his lovely daughter's plea and just ignore it.
And not only that, the effects were obvious.
"I'll tell Timothy to start planning the funds for this project."
"Thank you, father."
Arshelly hugged Kang Chul-In. It was truly a heartwarming scene.
------
Since he was out here anyway, Kang Chul-In
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decided to spend some time watching the TV with Arshelly.
On the screen was an intense fight between the Scott Angle who was famed for playing dirty, and the HBM (The Heart Break Man) John Michaels.
"Come on, John! You got this!"
"That dirty... how dare he kick John's balls!"
"C'mon, John!"
"Woohoo! Let's go John!"
The people near Kang Chul-In were busy looking at the match, and cheering for John Michaels.
To think that I would be watching Pro Wrestling in Pangaea... As expected, you really can't take over Pangaea with just brute force and strength.
Kang Chul-In once again reconfirmed that in Pangaea, military strength wasn't everything.
If I'm able to bring more of Earth's culture to Pangaea...
At the moment Kang Chul-In was thinking of that...
"Woah!!!"
"Kya~"
"W-Who exactly are those women?"
The male citizens of the territory looked at the screen, and roared enthusiastically. The reason...
-I'll slowly walk to you~ Cutting my flower~
Was because a Korean girl group, a kpop group came out on-screen. It was because after the fight between Scott Angle and John Michaels finished, it changed over to a Kpop program.
"Woahhh~!"
"A-Am I going crazy?"
"T-T-They're so pretty!"
At this point, Kang Chul-In started to head back into his office. He didn't want to be absorbed by all the Kpop Hype even in Pangaea.
A lot of things had changed.
Learning a lot from the happiness system, Kang Chul-In listened to Arshelly and Kwak-Jung to create a happier Laputa.
And by providing a lot of money to the research and engineering groups, he made sure that they didn't go broke.
As for the projectors, they weren't able to mass-produce it (the magic gems were too expensive), but they were still able to make 4 of these massive screens, spread across the territory, with 1 in the East, 1 in the South, 1 in the West, and 1 in the North.
Arshelly played a crucial role in this, since she was a literal walking video folder. This was because they had to use her memories in order to play these things on the screens.
By going from Earth to Pangaea over and over, Arshelly was able to put the videos from her memories on these devices.
And thanks to this, the citizens were able to watch many famous films such as 'Lord of the Necklace', or 'Henry Potter', as well as watch many K drama.
-Happiness: 78 (content)
-The citizens are happy at their current lives!
-Though there are some complaints from the female citizens of the territory, they are overcoming this with the power of drama!
In the document-stuffed office of Kang Chul-In.
"Huu..."
We're still not even close to done.
Though the territory had a lot of positive changes during the past few days, they weren't even close to finishing. If Kang Chul-In of the past was a Conquest Lord who only cared about his military power, the current Kang Chul-In was one who became smart and intelligent enough to look after his citizens too. He had improved as a Lord.
It was at that moment.
[You have gained 100 Lord Points!]
[The stat: 'Internal Affairs' has risen from E- to B-.]
His Lord Points experienced a sharp rise, and so did his stat 'Internal Affairs'. He had gone from being a complete beginner in terms of this, to at least being somewhat experienced.
[You will gain a reward for overcoming an incredibly weak stat!]
As a message that Kang Chul-In had never seen before popped out, he narrowed his eyes.
Overcoming a weak stat... apparently a bonus was given for this.
[You have received the item: 'master of signing'!]
An incredibly peculiar item was given to him.
[Unique]: Master of Signing
One who sits upon the throne, withstand the pressure of documents!
-Item from the Ancient Kingdom
-Requirements: Lord
-Type: Pen
-Option 1: Documents Scanning speed +30%
-Option 2: Signing Speed +80%
-Option 3: Infinite Ink (ink is not required for this pen)
"... Do these people really want me to die while looking through these documents or something?"
Angered, Kang Chul-In almost broke the item he had been given, but stopped.
3 months later.
Inside a particular forest in the Southern Ishtar region, Dorian was wandering through a fog-filled area.
At that moment, Jackpot (Dorian's pet) started to whine.
"Jack?"
Whine~
"This guy... what's wrong with you all of a sudden?"
It was strange.
Though Jackpot was a dog pet who lacked even a bit of fighting strength, he was still one to have a lot of courage and stamina to go through dungeons. It was very rare and strange to see him scared like this.
And his specialty, pathfinding was also not of use in this fog-filled area.
And thanks to this, Dorian was stuck in here for over 2 weeks. With his slowly dropping supplies, Dorian was starting to grow tired.
"Come on, Jack."
Whine~
Though Dorian tried to cheer Jack up, Jackpot seemed to be very scared, whining again.
Why is he... I mean, the fog here is a little too thick. Night and day, we can't even see past 5 meters.
Even Dorian was getting impatient.
As a member of the famed British Special Forces, he had gone through all sorts of situations. But everything that he had learnt from thus far didn't seem to work in this forest. Not only was he unable to see which direction the sun rose from, he was unable to find North, West, South, and East. It was as if he was back in the Bermuda Triangle.
"Sigh... it seems like this will truly be annoying to get out of here."
Dorian muttered.
At that moment!
Dding!
A message popped up in front of him.
[Alarm] Message for the coming Lord Meetings! (D-50)
It was about the coming Lord Meetings.
"Hmm? Well, I'm not interested in those... Agh!"
Dorian screamed.
-------
At the same time.
"Finally..."
Within the Laputa territory, Kang Chul-In also received an alarm about the coming Lord Meetings.
"Not bad."
Standing on the highest part of Laputa, Kang Chul-In took a look at the improvements that they had made over the last 10 months, and smiled.
The winter had gone, and spring had come.
The clean facilities, the energetic citizens, and the constant flow of adventurers. The state of the territory was great.
And... not only that, though the construction of the new city began in the middle of the harsh winter, the basic structure was done. Though it was still far from being complete, it was enough for Kang Chul-In to decide to move the Laputa territory in the Ishtar region.
"I'll see you again, Rothschild."
Kang Chul-In's eyes shone.
The Lord Meetings.
This was an event that all Lords were forced to take part in, no matter what.
Unless one died, or lost their place as a Lord, or ran away to Earth, they would be forced to take part. That meant that Alex Rothschild, who had run away with his tail between his legs would also be there.
"I've prepared a present for you, Rothschild."
Kang Chul-In smirked.
It made him joyous even imagining what would happen with his 'gift'.
Through this particular gift, Kang Chul-In was prepared to give Alex Rothschild an absolute hell of a time there, destroying his 'kind' image.
... All that was left was to publicly humiliate him.
Chapter 119. The coming Lord Meetings. (Pt. 2)
Translator: Leyy3
"Milord."
Standing in front of Kang Chul-In, Alfred cautiously opened his mouth.
"I have something to tell you."
"If you're talking about marriage, then I refuse."
Kang Chul-In struck first.
"T-That... though that it important, that wasn't what I was going to talk about. It's actually about Secretary Lucia."
"Lucia?"
"Recently, she seems depressed, and down compared to before."
At Alfred's words, Kang Chul-In tilted his head in confusion.
"Is it because she's been too focused on her training?"
Though Kang Chul-In hypothesized.
"I think that it's actually somewhat of a mixed reason."
Alfred's opinion seemed to be different.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Milord, I think that you were too indifferent towards Lucia. She's your secretary, yet you haven't visited her for 3 months personally."
"Well..."
Kang Chul-In also had things to say about this.
How busy had he been this winter?
There wasn't a single day where he had been able to sleep for over 3 hours. He had been able to 'survive' a terrifying workload that would have overworked a normal person to death. And Lucia was also busy training her ass off.
"Thankfully though, milord hasn't spent personal time with anyone other than Arshelly. Still... I'm sure that Secretary Lucia feels conflicted right now."
"Complicated?"
"It also seems that she might be experiencing some sort of anxiousness due to me. Maybe this is also the reason for her working so difficult. I've heard that she's been able to beat General Drakan in arm wrestling recently, so you can really see how hard she's been working."
"Ah..."
At that, Kang Chul-In finally understood what Alfred was saying.
Alfred was my secretary and subordinate in my past life. It makes sense that she feels like this due to the sudden appearance of Alfred.
Now that he thought about it, Kang Chul-In had never explained the existence of Alfred to Lucia, or the other officials of the Laputa territory. It made sense that Lucia was anxious; nervous that her position as secretary might be usurped.
"This old one is nothing but an old vampire, and a butler who does milord's errands. Milord, I think that you should take better care of Lucia, in case she gets upset at you."
"You're right."
Kang Chul-In nodded his head at Alfred's words.
"Though it may be different for other people, I should have taken better care of at least Lucia."
"Yes, milord."
"Since I have time now, I'll go see her."
Kang Chul-In quickly walked away.
-------
In the inner part of the Laputa territory, the training facility.
"Pant... Pant..."
Gasping for breath, Lucia's shoulders heaved.
It had already been 5 hours.
Morning, the training that started as soon as she woke up didn't show any signs of stopping even after lunch. Since winter, she had been working herself like this.
"Huuu...."
With a deep breath, Lucia finally put down her sword and shield, Zenith and Aegis. A nearby maid quickly helped Lucia take off the armor that she was wearing.
"Thanks, Hestia."
"It's nothing, Secretary Lucia.
Hestia shook her head, and bowed respectfully.
"Hestia."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what milord is doing?"
"This humble one doesn't know either. I think that he's either in the office or training in his personal training area."
"...Is that so."
"Shall I go ask where he is?"
"No, it's alright. Milord doesn't have time to even sleep properly at night. I don't think it's right to disturb him."
Lucia spoke bitterly.
"Go, and get the bath ready for me."
"Yes, secretary. I'll do so immediately."
Bowing, Hestia scrambled away.
"Huuu..."
Lucia sighed.
"Milord..."
Swiping the sweat on her forehead, Lucia thought of Kang Chul-In.
"How can you not look for this girl for 3 months, milord?...How could you do this to me, milord...?"
"Sorry."
"It's alright, milord. It's because you're busy... Kuk!"
Unconsciously answering the voice that had come out of nowhere, Lucia turned her head.
"M-Milord!"
Standing there was Kang Chul-In.
"H-How..."
"I've come to check your progress."
Unable to think of a good excuse, Kang Chul-In spoke randomly.
"I-Is that so..."
"I've heard that you've been working very hard recently."
"No, milord. I'm still far off of being able to aid milord in battle properly. And... though this may seem a little rude, can milord come to see me another time?"
Lucia spoke awkwardly.
"...Next time?"
Kang Chul-In didn't know what to do. He hadn't come to visit her in a long time, and now she wanted him to go away?
Don't tell me...
Recalling the attitude of the Valhalla dungeon towards him, Kang Chul-In thought that Lucia might be a little bit angry and resentful towards him.
"Lucia, it it because you're angry at me?"
"N-No, absolutely not!"
Lucia shook her head vigorously.
"I-I'm very happy that milord has come to visit me!"
"Then what's the problem?"
"The state that I'm in right now..."
"Your state?""It's too much..."
"...?"
"The one time milord comes to
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visit me... And I happen to be in such a mess of a state... Can you not see all the sweat pouring down from me right now? Sob..."
"Is that the reason?"
Kang Chul-In spoke indifferently.
"You're beautiful, so I don't see the problem here."
"B-Beautiful?"
"I think that right now, you're hundreds and thousand times more beautiful than when you just put makeup on your face."
"Huk...!"
Lucia blushed at Kang Chul-In's unexpected compliment.
"I-Is that so?"
"Of course."
Truly, Kang Chul-In wasn't just offering lip-service.
Lucia's current state was very beautiful and enticing.
First of all, her body was alluring.
With height that topped off at nearly 170cm as well as perky breasts, thin waist, large hips. Lucia had a beautiful, toned body.
And the sight of her lemon-colored hair and white face being soaked with sweat wasn't something that one could see anywhere. If any Korean from Earth saw her current state, Kang Chul-In wouldn't be surprised to see them drooling.
"I look highly upon people who work hard."
Kang Chul-In spoke.
"I'm extremely proud to see your current state, where you are working hard as a secretary, to attain even higher heights. As expected of my secretary."
"....!"
"Just like what I had said in our first meeting, you are my secretary. No-one can replace you. Though you weren't able to stay by my side due to the busy winter, you will be near me at almost all times due to the coming Lord Meetings."
"Of course!"
"And... I'll take you along with me to go to the ball before the Lord Meetings too."
"T-To such an honorable event!"
At Kang Chul-In's words, Lucia was about to burst with happiness.
Before the official Lord Meetings was always a ball, where lots of programs such as Item Auctions between the lords, as well as award ceremonies were present.
To think that Kang Chul-In would take her to such a place like that, Lucia was extremely moved. Her previous anxiety and depression seemed to be cured at once.
"If not for you, who's my secretary, who else can go there?"
Kang Chul-In smiled.
"Milord...!"
Lucia vowed with a stiff face.
"From now, I'll be practicing how to dance!"
That was right.
Lucia... didn't know how to dance.
-----
With the remaining 50 days before the Lord meetings, Kang Chul-In was planning on doing his best in preparation.
"Good. Nothing's changed."
Looking at the message that had come about the Lord Meetings, nothing about the order had changed. This was the contents of the message:
Entrance → Feast → Ball → Auction → Awards Ceremony → Conference → Return
...That was the order.
As for the entrance, I'm the last one.
With an overwhelming amount of Lord Points, Kang Chul-In had proudly stamped himself as the 1st place of all Lords, meaning he would enter last. It was as always, where the main character would arrive the latest to the scene.
Auction, huh... I remember that there weren't any important items that came out during the first Lord Meetings.
How could there be many good items for Lords who had just began? It would be good for Kang Chul-In's mental health to not have high expectations.
The important thing is the conference.
This was what Kang Chul-In paid attention to.
The conference was where every Lord would sit around a gigantic table, and talk.
And in that very conference, Kang Chul-In was planning to publicly humiliate Alex Rothschild.
Kang Chul-In's gaze lingered on the black chest that laid on his table.
Inside this chest was an important object that would be able to publicly humiliate Rothschild. Staring at this chest, Kang Chul-In was unable to wipe the smirk off his face.
And... Aleister.
When the Lord meetings were over, Kang Chul-In was planning to play around with Aleister. And, the second that he deemed Aleister's existence useless...
Ting-!!
The glass cup that Kang Chul-In was holding shattered into pieces. He had subconsciously destroyed the cup while thinking about Aleister.
That was how much hatred Kang Chul-In had.
If Kang Chul-In didn't have any plans for Aleister, he would have been long dead.
-----
50 days had passed in a blink of an eye, and the time for the Lord meetings had finally arrived.
There was almost no change in the Rankings.
The fact that Kang Chul-In was 1st also didn't change.
[Notification!] From this time onward, there will be no changes in the Lord Rankings until the Lord meetings are over!
10 minutes before the Lord Meetings started, this message popped up. The rankings of the 1st Lord Meetings had been chosen!
I've already used the Soul Backup.
In the Lord's hall, Kang Chul-In who was waiting for himself to be summoned to the Lord Meetings was thinking of what kind of authority he would be given as an Overlord.
Would a new ability be given to him?
Or would nothing be given to him?
...He couldn't tell.
"Milord, please look behind you for a second."
Alfred spoke.
"What is it?"
"It's a cloak, milord.""A cloak?"
Kang Chul-In frowned. He hated things that were cumbersome.
"Alfred, you know that I don't like those..."
"Milord, this is the first time in this life that you're going to be rising to the position of Overlord! And not only that, you're at the highest ranking among all the Lords! Don't you think that you need to show off your majesty to those who are below you?"
Listening to Alfred, it made sense.
Even in Earth, they said that a man's worth could be seen through his suit, car, as well as watch. Kang Chul-In understood that by taking a little care of his visuals, he would seem more imposing.
"If you just wear this cloak, there will be no-one to doubt milord's majesty, and there will be none that dares to challenge you."
"Fine."
As Kang Chul-In reluctantly nodded his head, Alfred deftly put on the cloak for Kang Chul-In.
"M-Milord...!"
"Woah..."
"Milord, you look cool!"
"As expected of someone who's an overlord!"
"Milord!"
As Kang Chul-In put on his cloak, all the officials of Laputa spoke in amazement.
Roarr-!!
Even the Godbeast Altaica seemed to agree.
That was how imposing Kang Chul-In looked right now.
The black apparel that Lucia and Alfred had personally designed for Kang Chul-In showed his body balance yet didn't seem informal...
And the hair of Kang Chul-In that Lucia had personally styled and cut made Kang Chul-In seem much more manly.
And finally, the cloak was the icing on the cake; amplifying the majesty of Kang Chul-In manyfold. This was a true Overlord. No, it would be believable to say that Kang Chul-In wasn't just an Overlord, but an emperor or a King.
"Ehem..."
Coughing, Kang Chul-In tried to get rid of his embarassment.
At that moment...
Pzzt, Pzzt!
At the middle of the Lord Hall, sparks flew, revealing a dimensional gate that lead to where the Lord Meetings would be held. It was finally time for Kang Chul-In to make his appearance!
"Let's go."
Arm in arm with Lucia, Kang Chul-In looked to his side.
Roar...!
And the Altaica, who was participating as the 'pet' of Kang Chul-In stood next to them, looking majestic.
It's time. Time to finally become Overlord again.
Reminiscing about the past, Kang Chul-In finally began to walk towards the gate.
Chapter 120. Astonishing the crowd
Translator: Leyy3
There were a total of 300 Lords who were chosen after the Great Summoning, but that number had decreased all the way until 219 after a year of intense fighting.
[219th Place, Lord Theodore has entered.]
With the entrance of the lowest-ranked Theodore...
[218th Place, Lord Verenas has entered.]
[217th Place, Lord Go Hyun-jin has entered.]
[216th Place, Lord Papoulias has entered.]
Lords from all over Pangaea began to enter one by one, according to their rank.
From 219th to 150th place.
The state and appearance of the lower-ranked Lords were in an absolute mess.
Not to mention being able to wear cool suits, they seemed to be unable to afford a single meal.
This was the truth of the Lower ranked Lords.
Hunting down monsters in their territory, responding to invasions, controlling their internal affairs, training their own abilities. The position of Lord was one that seemed to require at least 10 bodies.
Behind the seemingly fancy and colorful life as the leader of a territory were the hardships and struggles that each Lord has to undergo.
These lower-ranked Lords were those who were unable to withstand the pressure of these tasks.
[150th Place, Lord Wu has entered.]
Meanwhile, the mid-ranked Lords who arrived soon after seemed to be in a much better state.
The Chinese Lord Wu who was ranked 150th was dressed with all sorts of fancy jewelry. It was obvious that he was trying to show off his 'might' in front of the other Lords.
The Lords who had arrived soon after were also like this.
Each and every one of these Lords wore fancy clothing and showed arrogant expressions; trying to show off themselves and their partner to the other Lords.
It was expected.
Basically, every Lord was opposed to each other.
Though many became partners or made alliances with each other, in the end, they still had to wage wars for their own benefit. In order to not look like a pushover, each Lord tried their best to make themselves look imposing.
One by one, the mid-ranked Lords began to enter. And the last mid-ranked Lord who entered was...
[50th Place, Lord Alex Rothschild has entered.]
Kang Chul-In's long-time rival, Alex Rothschild.
"Rothschild... he looks the same as he did on TV..."
"Who's that woman next to him?"
"He was born with a golden spoon in his mouth even on Earth, but to think that he's also a Lord here..."
Looking at Rothschild, heated discussions went on amongst the Lords.
But, Alex Rothschild was extremely disturbed right now.
I-I'm ranked... 51st place...
It went beyond being disturbed, turning into hate and resentment.
Though he looked to be warm outside, showing off the smile he had shown the media for a long time; he was boiling with anger inside.
This humiliation... I will surely pay you back someday.
All of this was because of Kang Chul-In.
He had been ranked 5th place, closely trailing behind the 4th place Skadi Andevari, before Kang Chul-In had knocked him down to 105th place.
If not for his puppet, it was likely that Alex Rothschild wouldn't be here at this very moment. He would have died in a remote place in Ishtar, no-one knowing of his death.
At least he was able to quickly climb his way up the ranks, ending up in 51st place before the Lord Meetings.
I was too greedy.
Rothschild recalled what had happened a few months ago, where he had nearly died in the hands of Kang Chul-In.
He had truly been greedy there.
It was his fault for overestimating his strength as 5th place and trying to take the Epic Dungeon by himself.
He had even shown his true, ambitious side... yet he wasn't able to get the job done; the best he could do was try to survive.
To be accurate, it made more sense to say that Kang Chul-In and Dorian's strength had far surpassed what Alex Rothschild had estimated.
Especially that Kang Chul-In, he was more than 2 or 3 times stronger than what he had initially thought. Even if he had brought 2, or 3 times more soldiers than before, he was unsure of being able to claim victory. Thinking of that, cold sweat poured down his back.
Biting his lips, Alex Rothschild tried his best not to think of that painful memory.
Huu...
Using the smell of his blood as a sort of stabilizer, he tried his best to remain calm.
"Alex."
While Rothschild was calming himself down, the woman who stood next to him spoke.
"This place... is amazing. Really, it's too amazing."
The female adventurer Veronica was Alex Rothschild's partner today.
The only defining characteristic about her was her beautiful visuals.
...She was an accessory that Alex Rothschild had brought to this meeting. Of course, Veronica herself would never be able to guess Alex Rothschild's true thoughts.
"This way, Veronica."
With experienced hands, Rothschild escorted Veronica.
Meanwhile, high-ranked Lords entered one after another, and time had passed to the point that the Lords who were ranked above 10th place entered.
[10th Place, Lord Andrei Ivanovic has entered.]
He was a Slavic man who had barely entered the cutoff line to becoming an Overlord. Soon after...
[9th Place, Lord Lee Chae-rin has entered.]
The Lord of the Dorado territory and Kang Chul-In's ally, Lee Chae-rin showed her appearance in Akan's hall along with her secretary Eva.
Lee Chae-rin was beautiful.
Through the transcendence stone, she had gone from being a normal Korean woman to someone who would be considered beautiful no matter where she went.
An addition to that... Mithril.
The dress that Lee Chae-rin was wearing was crafted through Mithril mined from the Nidavellir mines.
If one had to convert the worth
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of the dress into money, it would be worth a few hundred billion won.
Through the appearance of Lee Chae-rin, she was able to put all the Lords who had previously flaunted their wealth into shame. This was the true meaning of extravagant.
And next... was the turn of Dorian Explorer.
However...
[8th Place, Lord Dorian Explorer has entered.]
Dorian's state was...
Bang!
Crashing onto the floor...
"Argh!"
Lord Dorian entered Akan's hall, crashing into the floor and moaning painfully.
"W-What the hell, where is this place?"
Standing up quickly, Dorian looked around the place.
"....."
"...."
"..."
Silence.
"Ummm..."
Finally realizing the situation, Dorian shook his head and laughed awkwardly.
"Haha... Everyone looks to be in a good mood... Haha..."
He had also realized that he had embarrassed himself.
"Sigh, Mr. Dorian, you really..."
Recognizing Dorian, Lee Chae-rin shook her head.
No-one could tell how this supposed 'idiot' managed to reach such a high rank, at 8th place.
Of course, since the only thing that Lee Chae-rin possessed was money, so she wasn't in a position to talk about others, but Dorian's current appearance was the worst out of all the Lords present.
Golden hair that looked as if it was a bird's nest, ash-covered skin, torn clothes, as well as somewhat broken armor.
Looking at his state right now, a bystander might think that he would be the lowest-ranked Lord, instead of Theodore.
And that wasn't the extent of it.
On his wrists and his ankles were blackish chains that looked to weigh at least 50 kgs each. It would be much more believable if Dorian were to say that he was a Gladiator than a Lord.
"Mr. Dorian."
Finally unable to withstand this, Lee Chae-rin stepped forward.
"M-Ms. Chae-Rin!"
Finally finding someone he recognized, Dorian's expression brightened significantly.
"N-Nice to meet you, truly! It's been a while."
"...Sorry?"
"Kuk... It's all because I got caught by those mean bastards... That I'm in such a state."
"Uhh... Mr. Dorian?"
"Those f*cking bastards..."
"Mr. Dorian?"
"Yes?"
"...Can you please move over here; you're embarrassing yourself."
Pointing next to her, Lee Chae-rin signaled Dorian to come over.
"Aha!"
Finally realizing that he was embarrassing, he quickly moved over to the side of Lee Chae-rin.
S-Someone like that's ranked 8th place?
T-The famed dungeon explorer was an idiot like that?
Embarrassing all the Lords, isn't he.
The hot gazes of the other Lords seemed to pierce Dorian.
Though there were some people laughing at Dorian's funny character, many Lords who cared a lot about the rankings looked at Dorian with a disdainful gaze.
Of course... there weren't many Lords who looked at him with that gaze that would be able to remain standing after fighting against Dorian for 10 minutes.
"Ms. Chae-Rin, please listen to my..."
"Shh..."
Lee Chae-rin intercepted Dorian's words.
"The 7th Place Lord is coming now."
That was right.
Now wasn't the time to talk about personal matters. Those weren't the manners for the people who were ranked at the very top of the leaderboard.
[7th Place, Lord Hecate has entered.]
The next Lord to appear was the old ally of Kang Chul-In's, Lord Hecate of the Temeraire.
"Hey, cuties."
Her crimson hair fluttering around her, Hecate appeared.
"S-She's a pirate..."
Dorian muttered.
Everyone felt the same way.
Leather boots, a shirt that exposed her large assets, leather pants that showed off her legs, and a pirate hat. The position of Pirate Captain seemed to fit her much better than a Lord.
Even in actuality, Hecate called herself and her army the 'sky raiders', showing off her reckless and wild nature.
[6th Place, Lord Aleister has entered.]
6th place was surprisingly Aleister. Since Rothschild had fallen off hard, and Hecate for some reason also dropped in ranks, he had been able to take advantage of this.
"Ugh... The smell..."
"W-What the hell is that guy?"
Some Lords frowned, covering their noses at the terrible stench around Aleister.
[5th Place, Lord Skadi Andevari has entered.]
Soon after, the female mage Lord Skadi...
[4th Place, Lord Ao Xin has entered.]
[3rd Place, Lord Albrecht Vilhelm has entered.]
The two Lords who would later form the Gulveig Union and show off their extreme wealth entered, showing off their might.
And...
[2nd Place, Lord Baruk Al Yusuf has entered.]
Bang!
With heavy footsteps, the man who desired to build a huge Islam Kingdom within Pangaea, Baruk Al Yusuf appeared.
The charisma of Baruk Al Yusuf wasn't bad.
"All of you heathens here."
Baruk Al Yusuf opened his mouth. It was a very aggressive remark.
"This land is a gigantic Mosque that the omnipotent Allah has given to us. Come one now, I will give you the opportunity to change your beliefs, and believe in the great Allah! Allah's embrace is larger than the desert, and can even allow you foolish people to join in."
Appearing and immediately talking about joining his own religion and treating the other Lords like idiots, Baruk Al Yusuf wasn't received well by the other Lords.
But no-one here stepped forwards.
How many here didn't know the infamous Baruk Al Yusuf?
No-one here didn't know about the infamous terrorist who was part of the worst criminal organization in Earth, known as the IS.
Baruk Al Yusuf was a crazed maniac who was famed in Earth for his crazy deeds before the Great Summoning had occurred.
"Oh, this crazy psychopathic terrorist bastard..."
Of course, not everyone just stood there listening to Baruk Al Yusuf rambling on.
"M-Mr. Dorian!"
Though Lee Chae-rin tried to stop Dorian.
Bang! Bang!
With large steps, Dorian was walking towards Baruk Al Yusuf.
There was a reason for that.
Dorian was a soldier who was part of the British Special Forces, and had worked in the middle east for a long time when he was in service. Even Dorian, who had a sunny personality, turned angry and sensitive when someone in front of him was a psychopathic murderer and terrorist.
And not only that, there were also stories that Baruk Al Yusuf used some of the gold that he got from Pangaea in order to help supply terrorist groups with arms such as guns and explosives.
"Oh, you're bold, cutie."
Looking at Dorian walking forward, Hecate smiled.
But a fight between them didn't occur.
While Baruk Al Yusuf was busy talking...
And the angered Dorian was walking towards Baruk Al Yusuf...
When the other Lords looked at this situation with interest...
[Worship him!]
At his arrival, a message popped up in front of all the Lords in Akan's hall.
The appearance of Kang Chul-In who had ranked first differed from the other Lords, with much more impact. This was a bonus that was given to the first ranked Lord.
Boom! Crash!
Akan's hall rumbled.
Flash!
A bright light lit up the whole hall...
Pzzt, Pzzt!
And sparks that seemed terrifying flew around crazily.
[1st Place in the Lord rankings.]
The message that came out was also different to when the other Lords appeared.
[The one who stands highest, above all others.]
When that message was about to disappear...
[Lord Kang Chul-In has entered.]
White light signaling his appearance, the man who had ranked first showed his appearance; standing in an area that was higher than all others.
Kang Chul-In's current state was terrifyingly charismatic and seemed to define the being of a Lord.
First of all, Kang Chul-In himself was charismatic.
Though he wasn't an absolutely huge person, he was 183cm with large broad shoulders, and though his muscular body was hidden under his clothes, they still had an effect.
His clothes also helped.
The clothes that Lucia had sewn overnight created a beautiful harmony of black and red.
And since the material that had been used to make his clothes were made of the feathers of the Peacock Dragon, the beauty of it was on another level.
And... the red cloak that seemed to show his burning passion as a Lord was also an aesthetic pleasure that also amplified Kang Chul-In's charisma.
Kang Chul-In stepped forward.
Krrr!
Next to him, the Godbeast Altaica showed its fangs, showing that Kang Chul-In's pet was also not just for show.
The woman who had laced hands with him possessed a beautiful and curvy body; it was Lucia.
A Lord.
Kang Chul-In showed the absolute that a man, that a Lord could possess. It was enough to put down all the other Lords that had come.
Finally, I've come.
Looking at the Lords around him, Kang Chul-In smirked. And in front of his eyes were buffs that were only given to the first ranked Lord.
[Buff: Highest rank 'Command' buff, +500% control over all people]
[Buff: Highest Rank 'Imposingness' buff, +500% charisma]
First, he was given these two buffs. Then...
[Buff: Highest Rank 'Rule' buff, +1000% restriction on other Lords if they do not follow with your rules.]
Basically, until the very end of this Lord Meetings, Kang Chul-In was king.
Chapter 121. Lord Meetings (Pt. 1)
Translator: Leyy3
D-Does this guy really want me to bow down for him? This stupid heathen?
Baruk Al Yusuf looked at the man in front of him with disdain.
It was a young face.
At most, thirty.
Of course, though age wasn't the deciding factor of ability as a Lord, experience was also required in order to be a good Lord. If a young boy that was a Lord came to flaunt his power to others, it would come off as ridiculous.
But looking at Kang Chul-In's face, he didn't seem like an immature youngster.
Though he had a young face, strangely there seemed to be seriousness and experience emanating from his eyes. It meant that he wasn't a foolish youngster who thought he was able to do anything under the heavens.
"How dare you."
With an angry voice, Baruk Al Yusuf spoke.
"How dare you ask that I, Baruk Al Yusuf, the rebirth of the great god Allah kneel down!"
Baruk Al Yusuf was angered.
Even though the opponent standing in front of him was ranked first, he was also no pushover, ranked just behind at second. To ask that he kneel down, this was utter humiliation in front of the crowd.
But what Kang Chul-In thought was different.
You're a dead man anyway.
In Kang Chul-In's eyes Baruk Al Yusuf was a dead man standing, who was sooner or later going to be hunted down by an alliance of Lords angered at his actions.
Disgusting psychopath.
There were many reasons that Kang Chul-In disliked Baruk Al Yusuf.
Previously Baruk Al Yusuf used the three buffs of 'Command', 'Imposingness', 'Rule' in order to cow the other Lords, and force them to convert their beliefs.
He made them face the way that the Mecca was (the joke was that no-one knew which direction the Mecca was in since they were in Pangaea), and made them bow down...
Or kick Dorian, who had also been pissed off in the Lord Meeting in his past life. These were the reasons Baruk Al Yusuf was hunted down and slain despite his strong military power.
Not only that, he was also a terrorist.
As stated before, Baruk Al Yusuf brought gold to exchange for arms in Earth, and also brought the offensive, destructive items of Pangaea back to Earth and gave them to terrorist groups. He had also brainwashed the little girls and boys of the territory in order to use them as child soldiers in battle, which spoke volumes of how disgusting of a human being he was.
Krrrr-!
The Altaica stepped forward and growled fiercely at Baruk Al Yusuf.
Flinch-!
Flinching in surprise, Baruk Al Yusuf stepped backwards subconsciously.
He had to be scared since all the attributes and abilities of the Lords had been nerfed by a huge amount. To the Lords, the Godbeast Altaica was an absolutely terrifying being.
"Why are you stepping forward now?"
Kang Chul-In softly kicked the sides of the Altaica. It was a message to not interfere in his business.
Krrr-!
Growling one last time, the Altaica returned to the side of Kang Chul-In.
"I thought you heard me the first time. Kneel."
Kang Chul-In spoke.
When this ridiculous demand was once again spoken, Baruk Al Yusuf looked at Kang Chul-In with furious eyes and tried to speak, but...
"I can't believe someone like you is ranked 2nd."
Kang Chul-In who smirked and murmured that...
"Kneel, fanatic."
Commanded in a powerful voice.
The reaction was instant.
The knees of the arrogant Baruk Al Yusuf hit the ground, making a loud noise. The commands of Kang Chul-In became irresistible after the three buffs that he had gotten as a reward for being ranked first.
W-What the hell...!
Astonishment filled the eyes of Baruk Al Yusuf.
T-That's possible?
T-That madman actually kneeled down?
W-What the hell is this man... Kang Chul-In...
The nearby Lords were also all astonished.
That was how shocking the current scene was. To think that Kang Chul-In was able to make an infamous terrorist such as Baruk Al Yusuf kneel down with just a single command.
...It was a sight that one would have to see in order to believe.
"Oi."
Kang Chul-In walked towards the kneeling Baruk Al Yusuf, and touched his forehead.
"If you're going to preach ridiculous stuff, then go to your territory and do so."
"Y-You... How dare you, heathen!"
"You shall stay like that. I think that pose rather suits you."
Though Baruk Al Yusuf cried out in anger, the commands of Kang Chul-In that were empowered by the 3 buffs were unable to be broken just by shouting and struggling.
Roar-!
The Altaica also came close to Baruk Al Yusuf, and roared deeply. It was a warning for Baruk Al Yusuf.
T-To think that I would be humiliated in such a way! How dare they!
Baruk Al Yusuf's face burned in shame.
But not caring about that, Kang Chul-In walked away, considering the pros and cons of the 3 buffs.
Since he had been ranked first place very often in his previous life, he knew how to handle these buffs better than anyone.
First of all, the increase in imposingness and charisma were extremely useful, helping him lead the discussion naturally.
The problem was the 'rule' buff.
This buff that made people follow his words by putting a 1000% restriction on the other Lords was a double-edged sword.
Think about it.
The power to force another Lord to act as desired had as many risks as benefits.
If Kang Chul-In tried to act too arrogant like Baruk Al Yusuf had in the past? If he forcefully asked the Lords to convert their beliefs? If he made them all kneel down and bow towards where the Mecca was?
...This would definitely spell a disaster.
The Lords that would be completely pissed off might think 'whatever, screw it!' and start a Kang Chul-In boss raid. In actuality, this was highly possible
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with what had happened to Baruk Al Yusuf in the past.
Kang Chul-In didn't use these buffs like an absolute idiot.
Rather, he showed humiliation to Baruk Al Yusuf, who had a bad image to the other Lords, creating a positive image in their hearts.
[There will be time to show respects to the 1st ranked Lord!]
Soon after the shocking sight, a new message popped up.
[All the Lords ranked from 2nd to 219th will have to temporarily face the 1st ranked Lord, and kneel down to pay respects. (If not followed, a terrible penalty will follow!)]
As soon as the message came up, many Lords began to kneel down in front of Kang Chul-In.
Since it wasn't his doing, Kang Chul-In wouldn't be hated on for this. It was forced by the system afterall.
Ah, this doesn't feel too bad.
Kang Chul-In felt good, once again experiencing the satisfaction of being ranked 1st.
Maybe this was the reason every Lord lit their eyes and tried their absolute hardest to get 1st place.
This was the place where it would be publicly confirmed that he was the highest Ranked Lord, reaching the highest place that no other Lord had.
Though optimists like Dorian would go over this thinking 'he's ranked 1st place, I guess it wouldn't hurt to congratulate him', other Lords that had strong pride might start to feel jealous, and anger towards the 1st ranked Lord.
Like... that Rothschild over there.
Hmph, you seem angry.
Rothschild was also part of the crowd that was kneeling towards Kang Chul-In.
"Hey."
Kang Chul-In started to walk where Rothschild was kneeling.
Crack-!
A crack appeared on the poker face of Alex Rothschild.
You're boiling inside, aren't you, Rothschild?
Though in the eyes of outsiders Rothschild always had a friendly and warm expression, Kang Chul-In was able to see even the smallest expression changes that Rothschild made.
Kang... Chul... In...!
In truth, Rothschild was also trying his best to calm his anger for Kang Chul-In, who had stretched his hand in front of him. If he was able to do so, Rothschild was willing to trade the image he had maintained for so long in order to stab a knife inside Kang Chul-In's heart.
I also want to kill this guy here. It's a shame that it's not possible.
For once, they felt the same.
No to be more accurate, Kang Chul-In's hatred of Rothschild was equal or exceeded what Rothschild felt towards him. He could still vividly remember the time when his head had been chopped off in the hands of Rothschild, and his heart stabbed through.
"I wanted to meet you, Alex Rothschild."
Smiling, Kang Chul-In held his hand out to Alex Rothschild. It was an act of 'kindness', he was trying to help Rothschild stand back up.
Rothschild's face stiffened once more, before relaxing. Once again, only Kang Chul-In could tell these subtle changes.
"Let's shake hands."
Kang Chul-In spoke, commanding forcefully.
Though it was forced, the handshake seemed natural due to Kang Chul-In's experience in using the 3 buffs.
"Nice to meet you, Lord Kang Chul-In."
Trying his hardest to look warm and amiable, Rothschild gently grabbed Kang Chul-In's hand. Meanwhile, Kang Chul-In also held Rothschild's hand to help him up.
Crack-!
But Kang Chul-In held Rothschild's hands hard enough for his bones to break.
The difference in strength was massive.
Though Kang Chul-In was busy nowadays and unable to train for the past few months, he had still been making sure his strength stayed the same, working out in his office. Even though both of their stats had gotten nerfed, Kang Chul-In was still much stronger than Rothschild.
Does it hurt, Rothschild?
I'll kill you!
The two exchanged gazes, seemingly causing invisible sparks to fly around them.
"Nice to meet you, truly."
"Same here."
Both Kang Chul-In and Alex Rothschild looked at each other, and 'smiled'.
To the other Lords, this just seemed as if the 1st ranked Lord Kang Chul-In, was trying to get to know Alex Rothschild well. Of course, everyone thought of it this way except Dorian.
- It's been a while, everyone.
It was at that moment.
- It's an honor to be able to meet you people again like this. I pay my respects to the first ranked Lord Kang Chul-In and congratulate the lower ranked Lords in being able to survive this long.
Out of nothingness, God's supposed messenger, Akan appeared. There seemed to be a bright light covering him, making him look divine.
Bang, Bang-!
Surrounding Akan where troops that were known as the 'Immortal Royal Guard'. They were in order to maintain rule and order within the Lord Meetings.
- First of all, we will start off with the feast!
As expected, the feast was first for the Lord meetings.
Pzzt, Pzzt!
As soon as Akan spoke, a large number of tables and chairs started appearing within the hall. And food of all sorts came out on dishes. It was a feast beyond their dreams.
- Everybody stand back up. You have paid your respects already.
At Akan's words, the Lords all rose up.
- Very well.
Akan nodded, and waiters that had rabbit heads and tuxedos started to appear, and stood by the side of each table. They were there in order for the Lords to order them around.
- Now, enjoy yourselves. This is a small present from me to you, who's been working hard to keep their position as a Lord. For today, please forget all your hardships and drink yourselves away, and enjoy yourselves. However!
Akan added.
- As all of you have probably noticed, your stats and abilities have been nerfed by a huge degree. If someone creates a mess and a problem beyond what I think is acceptable, please keep in mind that you will be punished.
In simpler words, it basically meant: don't do anything stupid, and keep yourself to yourself.
That's funny. What bullsh*t.
Inwardly, Kang Chul-In laughed at Akan's words.
It was a small reward, for them to forget their hardships?
It was a precious time for them to talk and understand the other Lords?
That was all bullsh*t!
The Lord meetings was actually an intense battle of minds, where Lords tried their best looking for other Lords that seemed to have similar interests and thoughts as them, and looked for alliances.
When the feast finished and the ball started, Kang Chul-In knew that these political movements would fill the ball. It couldn't really be said to be a ball, rather a place of scheming and alliances.
"I hope you have a good meal."
Kang Chul-In said, walking past Rothschild.
"Oh, it probably won't taste good because you won't feel too good right now though."
Those words pissed off the already infuriated Rothschild even more.
I... will rip you to shreds one day, Kang Chul-in!
Round 1 was Kang Chul-In's overwhelming victory, being able to suppress and humiliate Rothschild. That was to say, that Round 2 and 3 were still left to publicly humiliate Rothschild even more.
------
A guard of the Laputa territory, Pluto felt a strange sensation whenever he had patrolled near Furnace 0.
- Come to me.
Just like right now, a weird voice seemed to always call him.
What the hell is this? Am I going insane or something?
Pluto frowned.
"Hey, what is it?"
A nearby guard who was patrolling the area looked at the frown on Pluto's face, and tilted his head in confusion.
"I-I can keep hearing it."
"What?"
"N-No, it's nothing."
Subconsciously answering his friend's question, Pluto turned his head.
Whether it be Earth or Pangaea, hearing weird voices weren't seen as a good sign. 8 or 9 times out of ten, he would be considered to be going crazy. Pluto didn't want to be thought as that by his friends.
- I'll give you whatever you want.
The voice once again tickled the ears of Pluto. The temptations it offered today seemed stronger than usual.
- Power, money, women. Whatever you want will be yours.
- Do you not want to be famous, known across the continent as a legendary being?
- Answer my call. If you do so, I'll make you into an existence that surpasses your foolish Lord. Come on, I'll make you into a real man!
It was a strong temptation.
Even though he was a loyal soldier of Laputa, it was hard for even someone like him to easily shake this off.
"Hey, Pluto!"
"U-Uhh..."
Pluto was able to shake off his cloudy mind from the shouting of his friend.
"Hey, you're working right now! Stop slacking off and pay attention! Do you think we can go around saying that we are the proud soldiers of our magnificent Lord Kang Chul-In if we're like that? Huh?"
"Ahh... Sorry."
"If you have any concerns or worries that plague you, tell me after our patrolling time is finished. They say that a soldier that fails patrolling can't even be considered a soldier."
"Of course, of course. That's my fault. I don't have anything to say even if you report me to our superiors for being slack during work."
Pluto immediately apologized.
That was right. For a proud soldier of the Laputa territory, slacking off during work was unacceptable. Thankfully, Pluto had a good friend around him to keep him focused.
"Thanks."
"No need to thank me. C'mon, let's go around and go back quickly."
"Yeah."
Thanks to his friend, Pluto was able to escape the temptations of the voice.
For now... that was.