Published at 1st of November 2020 01:52:25 PM
Before Kwak Jung revealed the true identity of Andrei Ivanovic, Kang Chul-In thought to himself the following:
So it was him, as expected .
How could a nobody like Andrei Ivanovic, whom Kang Chul-In had never heard of in his previous life, consistently remain as Overlord rank 3? There was no way that Kang Chul-In’s return could have changed anything in the northernmost corner of Pangaea . Andrei Ivanovic ruled over Nosferatu, which was a barren tundra area . It was almost worse than Atal Ramanujan’s territory . In addition, nobody knew how Andrei Ivanovic could climb to that high of a rank .
That’s right… if he is truly someone who returned from the past like me, then it makes sense for his rank to be high… hmm, does that mean I wasn’t the only one with the Soul Backup ability?
It was the most plausible hypothesis based on current knowledge .
“Hmm… so right . . . ”
Kang Chul-In was lost in thought when Kwak Jung opened his mouth .
“That thing is not human . ”
“Of course not . ”
Kang Chul-In was dumbfounded, as if what Kwak Jung had iterated was pure common sense .
“Since when were vampires humans?”
“ . . . ”
“Why don’t you call wolverines humans too?”
“That’s not it!”
“Huh?”
“Let me correct myself . Andrei Ivanovic is not Andrei Ivanovic . ”
“ . . . ?”
“That bastard, is something else altogether . ”
“Something else? He wasn’t a human to begin with?”
“Yes, your Majesty . Demi-humans, vampires, wolverines, dark elves, dwarves, orcs, et cetera . That bastard doesn’t belong to any of these categories . ”
“How do you know that?”
“Gut feel . ”
“That’s a little vague . ”
“I can’t help it . I have no evidence to produce . ”
“ . . . ”
“I just know, that’s all . . . ”
Kwak Jung mumbled timidly . He wasn’t confident of saying such fluff to Kang Chul-In, who only believed in actual entities that could be seen .
“You just know… just know . . . ”
Kang Chul-In reiterated Kwak Jung’s words .
“Let’s say you are correct . No, I shall believe that you're correct . ”
“Huh? R-Really?”
“Why not?”
“Hmm?”
“To be honest, I don’t give a damn whether he is a vampire or a dodo bird . ”
“Ah!”
Kwak Jung finally understood what Kang Chul-In meant . In the current situation, it didn’t matter whether Andrei Ivanovic was human or not . The greatest takeaway was that Andrei Ivanovic was the murderer who killed Vilhelm and Ao Xin . As Kang Chul-In said, so what if Andrei Ivanovic was a dodo bird?
Someone who returned… Interesting, but… it hardly makes a difference at this stage .
Meanwhile . Kang Chul-In was brainstorming viciously .
The problem is, what did he prepare?
Assuming Andrei Ivanovic had returned from the past, then the time frame which he could have taken advantage of had already passed . A new sequel of events had unraveled thanks to Kang Chul-In . What Kang Chul-In had to look out for was how Andrei Ivanovic utilized the ‘superiority in information’, which was the main privilege of those who had returned from the past . Seeing how Andrei Ivanovic was consistently placed at rank 3, this man certainly didn’t just fool around .
“Well, whatever you, you bastard, presents . . . ”
Kang Chul-In snickered and mumbled to himself .
“It’s over when I kill you, huehuehue!”
A wise mentality indeed . He couldn’t gain any information at the moment, so all he had to do was to continue doing whatever he was supposed to do .
Eek… that devilish smile… at this rate… that mosquito bastard will also be a goner soon… Tsk tsk… poor fella… Goodbye . Let me bid you farewell first . . .
Kwak Jung secretly wished the best of luck to Andrei Ivanovic, as he looked at Kang Chul-In’s expression . Did anyone ever survive after challenging Kang Chul-In? None that he could remember . Even Alex Rothschild, who had multiple lives, had his limbs ripped off by Kang Chul-In . How could Andrei Ivanovic escape the Supreme King’s demonic grasp?
“So,”
Kang Chul-In asked Kwak Jung .
“What’s the plan?”
“What else?”
“That, huh?”
“The earlier the better . ”
Kwak Jung spoke .
“Before those bastards stabilize the line of command and sort out the mess, we have to conquer Esmeralda . This is not a choice . The enemies are stronger than us, and they even have a clear justification for war . If we do not take advantage of Esmeralda’s strategic value, then we may lose this war . ”
“It won’t stop there, I presume . ”
“Yes . To be honest, our entire kingdom may fall in a blink of an eye . We have to take control of Esmeralda, no matter what . ”
“You are right . ”
Kang Chul-In nodded .
“I will immediately begin the preparations to conquer Esmeralda . ”
“Huh? Are you doing it yourself?”
“Who else?”
“I can do it!”
“Shut up and rest . ”
Kang Chul-In shook his head at his subordinate, who volunteered to resume work the moment he woke up from a coma .
“Your eyes are bloody-red, so what work do you want to do?”
“Y-Your Majesty! But this war is . . . !”
“Should I force you to rest?”
“E-Eek?!”
Kang Chul-In slowly raised his fist, which made Kwak Jung gulp his saliva .
“N-No . . . ”
“Rest for the next three days at least . ”
“Still, this war . . . ”
“Do you not trust me?”
“That’s not it!”
Sponsored Content
“It’s just a small expedition . I don’t need your brain for this . ”
He was speaking the truth . Of course, this didn’t mean that the conquest preparations weren’t important . However, Kang Chul-In had gone for countless expeditions and conquests before . It wasn’t difficult for him to prepare an expedition .
“I would rather fulfill my ambition and live happily with my favorite subordinate than to let him die in a pile of paperwork . ”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Kwak Jung was deeply moved .
“So listen . ”
Kang Chul-In was being genuine .
I do not want my close associates to be responsible for my poor decisions .
Kang Chul-In was indeed a selfish man, but he didn’t want his people to suffer in the process of him striving for his ambition .
“Well then, rest well . ”
With that, Kang Chul-In walked out of the room .
***
Deep into the night .
In Bifrost .
Thump!
Mei Ling collapsed onto the bed after a long day at the funeral .
“Oppa . . . ”
She couldn’t stop tearing up .
“I… I will definitely take revenge . . . ”
Of course, she didn’t mention a thing about Vilhelm’s death . Her married life had long been over . Vilhelm treated her like a bug, and he even dismissed their son Viktor Vilhelm . However, Ao Xin was different . He was Mei Ling’s older brother, who did not neglect her due to her mishaps . In fact, the upcoming secret meeting’s original plan was to discuss about Vilhelm and Mei Ling’s relationship problem .
Ding . Suddenly, a new notification popped up in front of her eyes .
[‘Inheritance’ system, activated!]
* The ‘Inheritance’ system is a hidden system which activates when an Overlord dies and there is a blood-related Lord or explorer present!
* The ‘Inheritance’ system does not activate upon the death of a Lord .
* The ‘Inheritance’ system applies only to Lords/explorers .
A completely foreign notification, that nobody knew the existence of .
“W-What is this?”
Mei Ling was puzzled, but what followed surprised her even further .
[Due to Overlord Albrecht Vilhelm’s death, the ownership of Bifrost is transferred!]
[You’ve obtained the Soul Core of Bifrost, Gjallarhorn!]
[Due to Overlord Ao Xin's death, the ownership of Red Valley is transferred!]
[You’ve obtained the Soul Core of Red Valley, the Red Moon Spear!]
This happened in a flash . The two ownerless territories now belonged to Mei Ling .
With that,
Ssssss!
A golden light wrapped around Mei Ling, and . . .
[Adventurer Mei Ling, changing title!]
Sponsored Content
[Adventurer Mei Ling advanced from ‘Adventurer’ class to ‘Lord’ class! (Adventurer Mei Ling - Lord Mei Ling]
A job advancement took place . Another adventurer had become a Lord, the second one after Lee Ji-Tae!
“M-Me?”
Mei Ling mumbled to herself in shock . But that wasn’t all .
[Lord Mei Ling advanced to Overlord rank! (Lord Mei Ling - Overlord Mei Ling)]
As Vilhelm and Ao Xin were Overlords themselves, it was natural for Mei Ling to become an Overlord as well .
In addition,
[You’ve met the requirements to ascend the throne!]
Even the crowning quest – a hidden event – opened .
[Crowning, complete!]
[You’ve acquired an honorary title!]
[From the system to Mei Ling, the queen . ]
[You are granted the title of the ‘Heavenly Queen of the North!]
A new queen was born .
If Kang Chul-In was the King of the West, then Mei Ling was the Queen of the North .
“W-What in the world . . . ?”
Mei Ling was flabbergasted by this rapid turn of events . but that was to be expected . Formerly a mere adventurer, she rose countless ranks overnight to even become a queen . Why wouldn’t she be shocked?
“Congratulations, lady Mei Ling . ”
Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard .
“No, I should now address you appropriately as your Majesty . ”
Mei Ling turned around . 'He' . . . was there . Andrei Ivanovic was quietly facing her, with his back facing the bedroom window .
“Andrei . . . ”
“Mei Ling, you are not weak . ”
“ . . . !”
“The powerless Mei Ling that was once abused by Albrecht Vilhelm no longer exists . Now, only the Heavenly Queen of the North exists . You are now the ruler of two great territories and the leader of this gigantic northern alliance . ”
He was right . Nobody could look down on her now .
“That’s not all . ”
“Not… all?”
“I, Overlord Andrei Ivanovic, and Overlord Neptune Spear, will support you . ”
“ . . . !”
“Of course, we are not charity workers here . However, what we wish for can be easily granted by you . ”
“I-Is that true?”
“Yes, your Majesty . ”
Andrei Ivanovic nodded his head at Mei Ling in a gentlemanly way .
“Neptune Spear, the ruler of the southern sea, has no interest in the fight for hegemony in the continent . ”
“Then?”
“He wants the future ruler of Pangaea to leave him alone with domestic affairs, acknowledge his sovereignty and sign a semi-permanent non-aggression pact . ”
Sponsored Content
“Overlord Neptune Spear is going to be a king soon?”
“I believe so . ”
“Semi-permanent refers to . . . ”
“500 years . ”
“ . . . !”
“He does not want the Gullveig Empire in the future to invade his territory for the next 500 years . That is his condition . ”
“G-Gullveig Empire!?”
Mei Ling was shocked .
“H-How . . . ”
“If you lead the alliance army in this war to destroy the Valhalla Kingdom, then it will happen . ”
“ . . . !”
“The Empress of the great Gullveig Empire . . . that is you in the future . ”
Brrrrr!
Mei Ling trembled . It hadn’t really sunk in yet, but she could feel a surge of excitement .
“And now,”
Andrei Ivanovic looked at Mei Ling .
“As for my condition . . . ”
“Yes?”
“I want your love, Mei Ling . ”
“ . . . !”
“I love you, Mei Ling . ”
After a surprising confession, Andrei Ivanovic wrapped his hands around Mei Ling’s waist with his characteristic ghost-like movement .
“What are you talking about…!”
Mei Ling tried to push his hands away . However, she couldn’t resist when Andrei’s mellifluous voice wormed its way into her ears .
“A beautiful lady like you . . . ”
“ . . . !”
“You will never know how agonizing it was to hear that you were being abused by a villain like Vilhelm . ”
“M-Mr Andrei!”
“The reason why you let Kang Chul-In into the Pentagon, wasn’t it due to motherly love? That was no betrayal or treason . It was just a beautiful struggle of a mother trying to protect her dear son from that demon called Kang Chul-In . ”
“D-Do you really think so?”
“Of course . ”
Andrei gently caressed Mei Ling’s cheeks .
“Don’t you understand why I joined the Gullveig Alliance in the first place?”
“T-That!”
“I don’t care about who rules Pangaea in the end . I only care about . . . ”
“Mr . Andrei . . . ”
“You, Mei Ling . ”