Chapter 46_ God Hands (6)

Becoming a king is not as simple compared to how grand it sounds. Huge investments need to be poured into the territory and one would expect to invest a lot of gold coins. It will be hard for an individual as it needs financial power of a group of individuals.

Now it was time to think about the future. Though he was a legend, he was living in a medieval world of swords and magic where a war might break out at any moment. For him to survive in this chaotic era…

'I need strength. Power, money, military power, information power, etc. Whatever it may be, I must have the strength to protect myself. This is that kind of era.'

Lexus had decided to strengthen himself and prepare for the future rather than live the peaceful life of the present. When it came to strength as a lord in this era, it was military power. Unlike the nobles who were prodigally living in Reinhardt, military power was an indispensable part of power for the nobles at the other parts of the kingdom.

If the villagers rebelled, the nobles had to be able to suppress them and fight if there was a conflict with the neighboring fief. Of course, a conflict with the neighboring fief wasn't a common occurrence since the loser could lose everything. But it was necessary to prepare for something that could happen at any moment.

Regarding military power, Lexus was not much worried about it. He had several ways to strengthen the military that weren't available to others. To be honest, he could increase the size of the troops if he wanted to. Soldiers were a very popular profession among commoners, so a recruitment announcement would attract many people.

However, it's not just about recruiting soldiers; they also need to be fed, trained, armed, and paid a monthly salary. While they don't cost as much as knights, soldiers still come at a significant financial cost. In essence, maintaining an army comes with various expenses.

Even though he had a substantial amount of gold in his possession, he still couldn't spend it willy-nilly. His first priority when increasing the number of soldiers was to create conditions that would be able to sustain such an increase.

Just as he was debating on how to spend the money, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Seeing how they had already reported in the morning, Lexus knew something had happened.

"What is it?"

"I have received a report that your order for planting all the seeds you provided has been completed, your majesty."

"Oho..."

Upon hearing him, Lexus thought about the orders he had given the people to plant the seeds in accordance with the plan Solomon provided. However, they did not realize that these were no ordinary seeds; their true value was unknown to them. These seeds were from legendary trees that came from the lair of Trauka, and some were gifts from Nevartan himself.

"Then let's make a miracle, shall we?"

Lexus said with a smile as he inspected the spell that he prepared.

[Deep Forest Emergence (Enhanced) - Lv.1]

Rating: Legendary

[Creates a dense growth of trees, it....]

It was the ultimate skill that had the prerequisite that the caster must have at least 100,000 mana in order to cast. The casting time was incredibly long, even though it was enhanced by Braham, so he wouldn't have many opportunities to use it.

What made this spell so legendary was that it could weaken, suppress, and absorb a hostile unit's strength, vitality, mana, and other powers. This would be done by ensnaring a target within the wood and upon physical contact, the target would gradually become weaker until they were finally too weak to escape or too weak to move or do anything else.

The vassals heard him clearly and were confused for a moment, but they were a bit expectant as to what the Sword Saint is about to do. No longer caring about their reactions, Lexus heads out of the palace to the outside.

After a while, the people of Reinhardt turned pale as they watched the thousands of seeds scattered on the ground suddenly begin to sprout all at once. In just half a second, sprouts erupted from the ground, creating a lush, vibrant green scene that captivated everyone who witnessed it.

A certain seed possesses an aura filled with both life and death energy that is so potent; it is rapidly growing. Recognizing what seed it is, Lexus mutters with a smile, and somehow, everyone in the world hears him.

"Life is nothing without death. Death is nothing without life. The cycle ends and a new cycle begins. Let those that know this be free. The life of the many does not outweigh the life of the few. Life is equal and death is also equal."

"Life is not eternal but that is what makes it precious. Death is not painless that is why it is feared." His voice stated in which his echoing voice is heard by every living being in the world.

Former King Wiesbaden, Chucksley, and all those who witnessed Lexus unleashing his magic, if you could see how wide their mouths were, a baseball would probably fit inside of them. They could feel it throughout their entire being because they sensed the energies of life and death. Their skin was crawling, and their blood was boiling with excitement. People could feel that something breathtaking was being summoned into the human world.

The entire area was suddenly filled with a rich aura of life and death; a massive clump of life energy spread throughout Lexus's territory. The barren land, far away, had become fertile soil once more. Even the trees in the surrounding areas began to bloom faster.

[The Tree of Dawn has taken roots in Reinhardt. Eternal Kingdom has become the land where the Tree of Dawn resides.]

[Mana, health and illnesses will recover thrice as fast in your territory.]

Tree of Dawn, although it couldn't be compared to the World Tree that existed since the beginning, were composed of both life and death attributes.

[Due to vast life and death energy in your territory…]

He read all of the system notifications one by one, but of course, it wasn't the only thing that was rapidly growing. Seeds that Lexus ordered for everyone to plant were also rapidly growing. With many kinds of trees rapidly growing, the whole world experienced an earthquake as an adverse effect of changing the terrain using magic. The whole world was affected just because of the actions of a single person.

All of the transcendents on the surface began to move toward the anomaly. The transcendents believed that the world was ending because they could hear it screeching. Transcendents have transcended their senses enough to hear the cry of the world; this is why they are so perceptive, though the level at which they can perceive varies based on the individual power of the transcendent. The world is now in chaos due to what Lexus has done. They are now becoming something more. Something that the world cannot ignore.

[The Tree of Penance has taken roots in Reinhardt. If a hostile forces and a target that isn't allowed by the Undefeated King, all stats will be reduced by 50%.]

[If a hostile forces and a target that isn't allowed by the Undefeated King, the senses of eye sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste will be forcibly blocked.]

[The Tree of....]

[...]

All of the people who witnessed the scene were shocked to their cores. It was because the ruins of Reinhardt, utterly destroyed and ravaged by the Golem Army, had drastically changed to the point they forgot that this place is Reinhardt. It was because they never expected that the seeds they systematically planted across Reinhardt would suddenly grow into towering structures stretching for kilometers in every direction.

With Teleport (Enhanced), Lexus casually picked some fruit from the newly grown trees.

[Whitefall Peach]

[A simple fruit that resembles the White Peach which is a mysterious peach that grows only in the Peach Blossom Spring.

When eaten, all heath and status abnormalities will slowly recover, including all illnesses, curses and diseases through the powerful magic contained within.]

[Rye of Force]

[A fruit that very few gets to enjoy. Strengthens the body after consumption that gives boosts in strength.

* Permanently increases strength by 10 points.]

[Lighthail Cherry]

[A cherry that greatly increases magic capacity and mana sensitivity.

* Permanently increases intelligence by 10 points.]

[Blood Berry]

[A berry that greatly enhances one's magical or physical defense....]

[...]

Smiling, Lexus looked at the fruits in his hand and realized that he had created some sort of magical forest from the seeds, which would serve as a foundation for his new Eternal Kingdom.

•~×~•

Another ten days passed...Since Lexus ascended the throne, he had been busy ever since, doing his duties as the newly appointed king and slowly implementing what he desired for the kingdom. Unlike him, who had been very busy since then…

[Igris and Ainz have received their first stats awakening!]

The two skeleton continued to hunt and increase their levels because Braham and Madra are also bored, so their stats have been awakened to level 100, just like the player's.

[Igris and Ainz can be upgraded. Please select the desired class.]

[Possible Class List for Igris]

1. Death Swordsman.]

[Possible Class List for Ainz]

[1. Death Spirit.]

[Death Swordsman]

[Igris has the qualities of a Great Swordsman and had long surpasses many Sword Experts. He is likely to be relatively to have a good potential.

* Skills that are classified as 'swordsmanship' can be learned without a skill book.

It is limited to a total of five types.

Currently learned swordsmanship (1/5): Undefeated King's Swordsmanship (Degraded).]

[Death Spirit]

[Ainz has the qualities to become one of the greatest magicians and has long surpassed many Magicians. He is likely to be relatively to have good potential and....]

As they reached level 100, they were then surrounded by a bright light, and numerous notification windows popped up that even alerted the very busy Lexus in the palace.

[Igris has been converted to a Death Swordsman.]

[The class compensation effect will increase Igris's strength, agility and stamina by 10.]

[All stats have awakened and the unique features of all stats will improve.]

[For every point of stamina, health will increase by 15 and defense will increase by 0.3.]

[For every point of strength, health will increase by 5 and attack will increase by 0.2.]

[For every point of intelligence, mana will increase by 4 and magic power will by 1.]

[For every point of agility...]

[....]

As Igris was converted into a Death Swordsman, his skeleton appearance changed to a knight with a light purple glow, jet-black armor covering him from head to toe, a tattered black cape, and a long red hair-like ornament extending out of the back of his helmet.

[10,000 Army Swordsmanship (Degraded) will be replaced with a superior skill.]

[Igris has acquired the skill '100,000 Army Swordsmanship (Degraded)']

He even obtained a new title that was superior to his Great Swordsman title due to Madra's understanding the very essence of a Sword Saint after observing Lexus (or rather, the essence of "There is no sword in the hand but the sword in the heart" characteristic of a Sword Saint) with the help of Solomon.

Despite being an ego, Madra is still possessing a superior and unparalleled talent, he experienced an enlightening moment after witnessing a sight that had not been seen for over a hundred years.

[Conditional Sword Saint]

[You have witnessed, fully interpreted, understood and adapted to the techniques of a Sword Saint.

* There is nothing you can't cut while using Undefeated King's Swordsmanship.

* Sword type weapons can be used unconditionally. However, there is a penalty if the condition is not met.]