Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 265. How Absurd (3)

In front of everyone, the Hegemon King spoke in a hollow voice.

“To think this is the reward for fighting and risking our lives to save our brothers of the same East… it has become absurd.”

“……”

“Did my soldiers shed their blood and fight just to save such people?”

“……”

The Sword Queen could not say a single word in response.

She had nothing to say, even if she had ten mouths.

Even if the Hegemon King were to spit on her here, she would just have to take it.

But the Hegemon King neither blamed her nor drew his sword.

And after a moment, he spoke….

“I thought the Decator Kingdom was a brother to us, of the same East.”

“……”

“But it seems that was just my one-sided thought.”

“……”

Every word from the Hegemon King struck her heart like a blade.

They had repaid pure goodwill with betrayal.

What excuse was possible?

A hellish time of humiliation and disgrace passed.

And the Hegemon King spoke.

“I will return.”

“……”

“I cannot let my soldiers and knights shed their blood for those who are not our brothers. This war was my mistake.”

At the Hegemon King’s words, the Sword Queen could not utter a single reply.

And then….

“Plea… Please wait a moment. Hegemon King.”

The one who intervened at this moment was Dustin Robski.

He spoke to the Hegemon King with an urgent expression.

“If you are to return now, what do you plan to do about the rest of the war?”

“Why should I be the one to think about that?”

“……”

“This is no longer our war. From now on, it is something you all must handle on your own.”

Yes.

That was right.

It was the right thing to say.

However, if that right thing were to actually happen, the fate of the Decator Kingdom would become extremely perilous.

The Decator Kingdom had been greatly devastated by the war with the Kaisar Kingdom.

If the food supply from the Yusef Kingdom were to be cut off right now, people would begin to die of starvation.

Since they won the war, they could just squeeze it out of the Kaisar Kingdom?

Not a chance.

The one who won this war was the Hegemon King.

The person of the Kaisar Kingdom’s king was also in the Hegemon King’s hands.

That meant the Decator Kingdom could not demand anything as a victor in this war.

‘I-… It’s over.’

In the end, the Decator Kingdom had to rebuild their ruined country without any external help.

Not only was it uncertain how many years that would take, but if an external invasion were to happen before that was even possible, there would be truly no way to stop it.

Marquis Dustin Robski, having grasped the situation, went before the Hegemon King and bowed his head.

“Please, save our kingdom. Oh, Hegemon King.”

At Dustin Robski’s appearance, people were surprised, as if it were unexpected.

‘Was the Marquis that much of a patriot?’

‘To think he would kneel on his own for the sake of the country.’

‘Of all people, that Marquis Robski….’

Marquis Robski’s usual reputation was that of a 7-star knight who had pioneered the supreme realm, but at the same time, he was strongly regarded as a snob who was fond of money and full of vanity.

He would demand huge tuition fees for accepting the sons of noble families as his disciples, and on top of that, he would gather money by extorting concessions from the nobles of surrounding fiefdoms under various pretexts.

A poor, fallen noble who achieved the 7-star realm and became self-made, but on the other hand, he was also evaluated as a vulgar, nouveau riche upstart.

No one had expected such a Marquis to be the first to step forward and kneel like that.

Of course, if one were to look into Marquis Robski’s inner thoughts, there was a reason of his own.

‘You fools…. Don’t you get it yet? If we are abandoned by the Hegemon King here, everything is over.’

The reason Marquis Robski could gather money and satisfy his vanity was because the Decator Kingdom was still intact.

If the Decator Kingdom were to fall like this, his fortune, which he had gathered like blood over several decades, would also disappear.

He could go to another country and start over, but the thought of losing all the wealth he had accumulated was unbearable.

‘I need a country to protect my money.’

Although it was thoroughly for his own sake, it was Marquis Robski who had most accurately assessed the future of the Decator Kingdom in this place right now.

And following him, others appeared who also knelt before the Hegemon King.

“Oh, Hegemon King.”

“Please, have mercy.”

“Please do not abandon us.”

They gathered one by one, knelt before the Hegemon King, and bowed their heads.

As long as they were nobles.

The Hegemon King looked at them silently, then shook his head and said.

“Unfortunately, I cannot….”

“Please accept. Your Highness.”

It was then.

A figure who dared to cut off the Hegemon King’s words appeared.

It was none other than Marquis Noah Gregory.

“Noah, where have you been all this time?”

“I had to move busily in my own way. More importantly….”

Noah Gregory looked at the subjects of the Decator Kingdom prostrated before the Hegemon King and said.

“Please accept them. Your Highness.”

“Why should I? They are traitors.”

“But if we return like this, the blood shed by our kingdom’s soldiers and knights in this land will truly become meaningless.”

“……”

The Hegemon King bit his lip tightly.

And Noah Gregory bowed his head before the Hegemon King and said.

“Your Highness, please entrust the negotiations for this matter to me.”

The Hegemon King pondered for a moment before nodding.

And Noah Gregory, having taken the initiative, spoke towards the Sword Queen.

“Now that the King of the Decator Kingdom has passed away, I understand that the highest elder of the royal family is Duchess Leona Maybus. Is that not correct?”

“…I no longer use the surname Decator.”

“I do not believe there is anyone in the current Decator Kingdom with the guts to make an issue of that, though?”

“……”

That was true.

Although the former king had children, most were young and powerless.

Among the living royalty of the Decator Kingdom, there was no one who could object to the decision of Sword Queen Leona Maybus.

Noah Gregory made that point clear and said.

“As you know, Sword Queen, our Yusef Kingdom helped the Decator Kingdom out of pure goodwill. But you all betrayed this goodwill and made the blood shed by our soldiers in this land meaningless.”

“……”

A scathing criticism.

The Sword Queen, unable to make a single excuse, simply closed her eyes.

And Noah Gregory said.

“If we return like this, only ill feelings will remain between the two countries, and the damage will be borne entirely by the people living in this land. Just cutting off the food we are supplying will cause a surge in starvation deaths.”

“Hmm….”

“The Hegemon King does not wish for the common people living in this land to suffer meaninglessly due to the foolish choice of the royalty.”

“…What would you have us do? Tell us.”

It was, in effect, a declaration of surrender.

She, who could no longer turn a blind eye to the miserable reality and her country’s wrongdoings, wished for the person before her to quickly state their demands.

And Noah Gregory.

The man known to the world as the Hegemon King’s Serpent spoke.

“Those who live in the land of the Decator Kingdom. Come under the Hegemon King’s shadow. If you do so, we too will not turn our backs on you.”

The serpent was about to swallow its prey.

The entire massive prey was the Decator Kingdom.

***

“The Sword Queen just accepted that meekly?”

At Patrick’s question, Red shook his head and said.

“Of course not. All hell broke loose. I heard she even drew her sword.”

“A feisty grandmother.”

But it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.

From her perspective as a royal of the Decator Kingdom, how would the suggestion to hand over the country have sounded?

If Patrick had been in that position, he would have cut off Noah Gregory’s head.

But….

“According to your report, I heard that the merger of the two countries has already been decided.”

“That is correct.”

“How did that happen?”

“The Sword Queen and a significant number of others opposed it. They did, but….”

“But?”

“There were far more who were in favor.”

“Hmmm….”

“Led by Marquis Dustin Robski, quite a few nobles agreed to the merger of the nations. For them, it must have been judged right to choose survival, even if it meant changing their flag, rather than the ruin of their country.”

“I see.”

“On top of that, crucially, the public sentiment of the Decator Kingdom was entirely tilted towards the Hegemon King.”

“Right. That bastard is good at that sort of thing. He’s like a bad guy version of Liu Bei.”

“What is a Liu Bei?”

“There is such a bad guy.”

Red didn’t quite understand, but it wasn’t the first or second time this evil archdemon had said strange things, so he just let it be.

“Anyway, since that was the opinion of the people, the nobles also gradually changed their minds, and in the end, except for a few opposing nobles, most agreed to the merger of the nations. In the end, even that Sword Queen changed her mind.”

“They must have really pushed her into a corner.”

Patrick thought for a moment, then said.

“How are the people of the Decator Kingdom?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m asking about the situation of the people.”

“Ah, that is not bad. The Hegemon King, just as he did when he swallowed the Flame Kingdom before, does not treat the people of the occupied territories with discrimination.”

“……”

“Both the Kaisar Kingdom and the Decator Kingdom are gradually finding stability under the Hegemon King’s rule. Thanks to that, the Empire and the Holy Theocracy are in a panic.”

Following the territory of the existing Yusef Kingdom, the Flame Kingdom, the Decator Kingdom, and even the Kaisar Kingdom….

The territory of the Hegemon King, who had integrated as many as four countries, had already surpassed the Empire.

Of course, that was only when considering the simple size of the territory, not the internal stability of the nation, but it was clear that the balance of power on the continent had shifted greatly.

Moreover, from the perspective of the Venator Empire, which now shared a border with the Hegemon King due to his swallowing of the Kaisar Kingdom, they would want to keep him in check somehow.

But….

‘The Empire probably doesn’t have the luxury for that right now.’

The war between the Empire and the Holy Theocracy was becoming longer and more intense than expected.

Recently, there were even reports that one of the Holy Theocracy’s paladins had been killed at the hands of the Imperial Sword Saint.

With both sides in a situation where it was difficult to back down first, they wouldn’t have the capacity to keep another country in check.

‘Well, that’s none of my business….’

Patrick scratched his head and said.

“Pay more attention to the movements of the Yusef Kingdom and gather information. Especially focus your investigation on things like the treatment of the occupied countries.”

“Yes, understood. But is that important?”

To be told to focus on investigating the situation of the people rather than the treatment of other nobles or the situation of the surrendered 7-star knights?

Investigating it wouldn’t be difficult, but Red wondered if that was really the first thing to be concerned about.

But to Patrick, that was the most important thing.

The lives of the people were the measure of whether the Hegemon King was keeping his warning or not.

Whether a powerful nation arose in the north or not was none of his business.

But if that brat forgot his warning and crossed the line….

‘Then I will do what I have to do.’

Until then, he planned to leave him be for now.

Because that was the promise.

‘…Should I have just killed him?’

Thinking about it again, it seemed a bit troublesome.

***

A deep cave in the Great Forest.

There, four great beasts were gathered.

Beings with an overwhelming presence, too much to be simply called beasts.

The Walking Calamity, Black Tortoise.

The Falling Despair, Vermilion Bird.

The Rushing Death, White Tiger.

The Reigning Terror, Azure Dragon.

Beings who, in another world, were called the Four Gods and revered as sacred entities.

But in this world now, they were called this.

The Apostles of Kalaron, the God of Destruction.

They usually focused on their duty of staying in their own territories within the Great Forest and guarding them.

But now, for the first time in a long while, they were all gathered in one place.

[It has been hundreds of years since we gathered like this.]

[When losers gather together, it only adds to the misery. What’s so good about gathering?]

[Must you speak so sharply? Vermilion Bird.]

[What? I call a loser a loser. How should I put it? Dropout? Failure? Rabble?]

As the Vermilion Bird continued to speak, a faint flame rose from its body.

That flame was a super-hot divine flame, hot enough to make the stone walls inside the cave boil and turn into magma with just its aftershocks.

At the Vermilion Bird’s sharp response, the Black Tortoise sighed and said.

[I shouldn’t have said anything.]

The Black Tortoise sighed and backed down.

And it spoke towards the Azure Dragon.

[I don’t agree with the Vermilion Bird’s words, but why did you call us?]

Then the Azure Dragon, in its coiled state, lazily turned its head to look at the White Tiger and said.

[I am not the one who called you today.]

Then the gazes of the three all focused on the White Tiger.

[White Tiger?]

[What brings you to call us?]

Usually, it was the Azure Dragon who led the four of them.

There was no particular hierarchy of superior and inferior among them, but the Azure Dragon, with its prudent personality, had always represented them and made decisions.

So they had naturally thought the Azure Dragon had called them.

The White Tiger, receiving the gazes of the three, spoke.

[The human of the prophecy has appeared.]

At that moment, a terrifying power erupted from within the cave.

“Kuhuhuhuhung!”

“Kahahang!”

“Awooooooooooo!”

The vassals of Kalaron waiting outside the cave.

Monsters, each of whom would be called a national disaster-level threat if they went outside, all cried out and rampaged in terror.

Some of them foamed at the mouth and fainted just from the aftershocks of the power that leaked out of the cave.

And inside the cave….

[The human of the prophecy?]

[Are you certain? Where is he?]

[Has the time of liberation come? Finally?]

Seeing their brightened faces, the White Tiger spoke.

[The human of the prophecy is currently leading the humans who follow them in a fiefdom adjacent to the Great Forest.]

[What? Wasting time on such child’s play?]

The Vermilion Bird, upon hearing the White Tiger’s explanation, was unrestrainedly furious.

As he spread his wings and released his energy, an enormous super-heat was emitted as if to blow away the cave.

And the Vermilion Bird glared at the White Tiger and said.

[Is that human truly the human of the prophecy? Is he the human who can liberate us from this cursed fate?]

[He has passed my trial.]

[You must have gone easy on him?]

[And he has also received the acknowledgment of the World Tree.]

[That prudent woman acknowledged him?]

[That is correct. I have personally confirmed that the seed of the World Tree lives and breathes within him.]

[Huuuum….]

The Vermilion Bird folded its spread wings again and fell into deep thought.

And the Black Tortoise looked at the Azure Dragon and said.

[What do you think?]

Then the Azure Dragon, after a moment of thought, spoke.

[As you know, the human of the prophecy is the one and only chance given to us. A single chance….]

The others fell into a heavy silence, as if they knew.

If the human of the prophecy did not liberate them, what awaited them was only a terrible doom.

There was no one to blame.

It was they themselves who had challenged, crossing the world’s wall, hoping for an ascent in divinity, knowing that this future existed.

The human of the prophecy was the one and only chance and the Creator’s mercy given to such beings.

[If that human is truly the human of the prophecy, he must never die. Do you know anything about the changes in the world?]

Then the Black Tortoise spoke.

[I have performed a divination, and it seems the era of war clouds has arrived on the continent. It will not stabilize until a storm of blood has passed.]

[Is that the trial given to the human of the prophecy?]

[I do not know that much. But the seeds of demons are mixed in these war clouds. The aura of baleful slaughter towards the world is full.]

[The seeds of demons are involved…. The death of the World Tree, the human of the prophecy, and the stirring of the demons…. Everything seems to fall into place.]

[If so….]

[But I wish to be fully prepared.]

[Azure Dragon.]

[It is a single chance. A single chance!]

[…….]

[…….]

[…….]

Everyone fell silent.

They knew it too.

That this was a very dangerous gamble.

But it was also an unavoidable gamble.

[It is impossible for us to intervene directly, but how about giving a command to the clans we have gathered in this world and indirectly lending our strength? It will be helpful in overcoming the trial.]

[Is that possible? Although we are in charge of them, they are fundamentally vassals of Kalaron.]

[I am not suggesting we move the entire clan. Wouldn’t it be fine to personally command just one or two? Even if the backlash of causality blows, we should be able to handle it.]

[Hmm, that would be fine.]

[It is a hundred times better than doing nothing.]

[I agree as well.]

Thus, the policy was decided.

The White Tiger, having left the cave, looked far to the west and said.

[Human of the prophecy, no, Patrick Schneider. You must be doing your best even now to overcome the destiny given to you, right?]

The White Tiger looked in the direction of the setting sun and spoke in a resolute tone.

[This is my reward for your efforts and noble devotion. I hope it will be of help in the work you intend to do.]

The White Tiger already believed in Patrick absolutely.