I started to get a headache. Several situations had twisted together. It seemed like I wouldnât be able to easily solve this. I glanced towards Okullos and the dukes.
A quandary. The Cruel Commander really made everything become tangled up. The Cruel Commander and his corps who called me âMaster!â I somehow gained the qualifications to cut off the Cruel Commanderâs head here. I didnât know why he referred to me as the Emperor. But.
âWaking up.â
I caught those words. This guy obviously knew about the Heart of the Hell Monarch. The Heart of the Hell Monarch played an important role in raising my intelligence. Even so, he said that it had yet to fully awaken.
If awakened properly then my problem could be solved. The problem of how to get out of this crisisâŚ
I immediately looked with Mindâs Eye.
Name: Cruel Commander Maxium
Occupation Emperorâs Knight Title * No Decay (U, Strength +6)
* Steadfast (U, Stamina +6)
* Undead Commander (Ex U, Agility and Intelligence +4)
Stats
Strength 85 (+6) Intelligence 82 (+4)
Agility 81 (+4) Stamina 88 (+6)
Magic Power 74
Potential: (410+20/410)
Uniqueness: A faithful knight defending the treasure trove for tens of thousands of years.
Skill: Lustrous Golden Sword (Epic), Cruel Leadership (Epic)
It was considerable. He reached all his potential and even got 430 points. He had as much as 3 titles. And there were two epic grade skills.
âThere is no growth potential so he is in an almost finished form.â
This was enough for a high class creature. A little stronger than the griffin or Gigantes.
The skeleton soldiers around were also usable. The regular soldiers were intermediate level while the knights reached advanced. Greed emerged.
Nevertheless, it was too early to have Okullos as an enemy. I was wearing a mask butâŚthat wouldnât be able to fool a grand dukeâs keen eyes.
Then Cruel Commander Maxium said to me.
âYour Majesty. The new Maxium will help you by sweeping away the dirty demons and creatures. After a long time, I finally have the privilege of fighting on the battlefield with you.â
His eyes shone. It was filled with expectations.
But my eyes were still looking at Okullos. He was slowly moving towards me with the dukes.
âI donât know what to do.â
Overall I was weak.
Maxiumâs army was decreased. His numbers were similar to the creatures. In qualitative aspects, I was slightly lacking. I had a chance of winning if I faced the grand duke and dukes. But one direct hit might reveal my identity.
However, my concerns were surprisingly useless.
âRandalph Brigsiel.â
Okullos said to me.
I really couldnât deceive a grand duke? I was able to outsmart the marquis and earls gathered in front of South Koreaâs dungeon. Even Tashmal was unsure but Grand Duke Okullos was certain as soon as he saw me.
To make matters worse.
âIt is bittersweet.â
I inwardly sighed. It was already exposed. I took off the mask. And I pulled out Wrath.
âFirst, reveal my strength. I need to do a lot of damage.â
Tilt the balance of power fully onto my side. If there was an all-out war with Okullos then the damage would be very serious. So it was best if I took action before Okullos.
I organized my thoughts and opened my mouth.
âMaxium. Follow me.â
âNew Maxium, I will show my constant loyalty to Your Majesty.â
He knelt down as his body trembled. It was the same for the other skeleton soldiers. Their appearance seemed like they were having an epileptic seizure.
Despite having the chance of freedom, they never seized it.
Loyalty. Despite the fact that my âmemories were incomplete,â Maxium didnât care. First he would deal with this situation before worrying about the awakening. In the future. It would naturally open.
The skeleton soldiers quickly drew back.
âDark Sword.â
Buuuuong!
Wrath was surrounded by darkness.
âParanormal.â
-One of the five blessings of Paranormal, âall stats +2â for an hour has been applied.
âFinally!â
It was the first time I received a useful blessing. Did it depend on the chances of victory?
Anyway, it was good news.
The griffin flew in the sky while the spartoi, lich and saber tigers followed closely.
Maxium?
He was standing right next to me.
âYour Majesty. Do you need a mount? I will dedicate myself.â
âThere is no need.â
I would show my worth with my own two feet. I had no need for a mount.
I quietly watched the front. Okullos and the other demons were advancing.
âThey wonât let me pass.â
I needed to hit them without fail.
Tsk, things had been so twisted.
I lifted Wrath and said.
âFollow me. Annihilate the enemy.â
Kung!
A large step forward. All the troops moved forward at the signal.
Twin head ogres. An advanced 4Lv creature that was a variant of the normal ogres. 3 twin head ogres hacked away at the skeletons.
Peng! Pepeng!
Genome FliesâŚ
The advanced 5Lv creatures that could use self-destruct. They were only 1 metre in size but tens of thousands of them self-destructing would cause huge damage.
Creatures that werenât sold in the Store of All Things. It also didnât appear at the Demon World Auction. A creature obtained through special events. They were creatures that needed to be disposed of but I had to handle something else first.
Kwaang!
Okullosâ skill âNatureâs Punishmentâ had emerged from the ground. A huge, green stalk popped out in front of me. Next, the other three dukes hindered my movements.
âIt isnât easy to face the four of them.â
In my previous life, I would not have been able to handle a duke properly. But now I was strong. Stronger. I would be able to confront the four of them. This situation was a problem but I should be able to beat at least one opponent.
âThis guy! Letâs see you avoid being damaged by this!â
Pasak!
I hurriedly twisted my body to avoid an attack.
Duke Karqui. One of Okullosâ three thugs and a demon famous for his âLight Spray.â But thanks to Paranormal, my agility had reached 92. My senses were always active. I moved as I detected the attack.
But my goal wasnât Karqui.
Okullos. He was the only one I was running towards.
There was persistent interference but I almost reached him. I looked at Okullos and opened Mindâs Eye.
Name: Okullos
Occupation Demon Grand Duke (Dungeon Master) Title * One Who Deals With Nature (Epic, Intelligence +4, Magic Power +7)
* Master of the Largest Forest Olmot (Epic, All stats + 3)
Stats
Strength 73 (+3) Intelligence 85 (+7)
Agility 83 (+3) Stamina 73 (+3)
Magic Power 87 (+11)
Potential: (401+26/500)
Uniqueness: The heartbeat of the forest can be heard. The only demon to deal with nature.
The dukes also had stats close to 400. This was their pure abilities without the help of items like me. If I stayed stagnant then they would have caught up with me in a year or two. This would be tight. I had no intention of going easy on them since they knew my identity. Right now, I was in a position where I was their âenemy.â
Chwahahak!
Natureâs Punishment. I sliced the giant, green stalk. The magic power was similar so the attack worked well. But that also applied to me. There was a need to be as careful as possible. I maintained a distance of 200m from Okullos. It was a distance I could cross in one jump.
It had taken me 40 minutes to reach this location.
At that moment, Okullosâ cool eyes fell on my body.
-Pending Question (U) has been triggered.
It is looking for Randalph Brigsielâs weakness.
Mindâs Eye (Ex U) has successfully detected it. Defended against 70%.
-Intelligence calibration!
But the opponentâs magic power is too high. Defended against 81%.
Defense against Pending Question (U) has succeeded.
I started frowning. Grand Duke Ariel also had a mental skill. Okullosâ Pending Question seemed to be something similar. The difference was that it was looking for a weak point instead of dominating the opponent.
âIt would have affected me if it wasnât for Mindâs Eye.â
I wasnât sure what my weaknesses were but Pending Question would have found it. Anyway, the presence of Mindâs Eye was quite helpful.
Okullosâ face twitched slightly. A surprised expression.
I leapt forward with Wrath.
Saack!
I cut something. But it wasnât Okullos. Countless branches had emerged from Okullosâ body. They were blocking Wrath.
Okullos gave a slight smile.
ââŚRandalph Brigsiel.â
I pointed Wrath at him.
âYou managed to recognize me.â
âYes, you are quite interesting.â
The words reached the Cruel Commander and his army. I just laughed.
âIâm glad that you find me interesting.â
âHuhu. Interesting, interesting. I have been keeping an eye on you since the beginning. Ever since you challenged us in the Demon World. I think you have grown into a really interesting person.â
ââŚâŚâ
I was at a loss for words.
Certainly, I had once challenged the grand dukes
Ariel broke me and I was never Upaâs opponent. Pandemonium? He thoroughly enjoyed torturing me. Okullos had looked at me with an unknown expression and cut off my arm. But I didnât think any of them had remembered me. Ariel and Pandemonium treated me like it was the first time we met. It was natural for Upa not to know me since we never met in the Demon World.
ButâŚ
He remembered?
I closed my mouth. I clenched my fists with rage. I never thought anyone would remember me but this guy had just brought up my past.
Mysterious. A really weird feeling that was hard to describe in words. Joy, bliss? There were no such things. I didnât know how to explain this anger and annoyance.
âUnlucky.â
Thatâs right. It was really unlucky. Okullosâ expression subtly changed. But underneath was a mixture of âinteresting.â
âI remember the first time you walked into the centre of my forest.â
AhâŚthat made sense.
The enormous Olmot Forest. Okullos was the master.
It had taken me 1 year to find and challenge him. Now I would never do that again. That 1 year hadnât been for nothing. I still had bad luck. I frowned as I recalled that time.
âI found you interesting so I didnât cut your throat.â
Then he sent me a chilly gaze. The three dukes were ready to jump at me at any time. Dark Sword was pointed at Okullos so it wasnât easy for them to recklessly jump in.
âCertainly you seem to have grownâŚsomehow you seem to have some knowledge. I am curious about the secret behind your strength and the high class creatures.â
Okullos didnât lose his leisurely air. First, there were three dukes surrounding them. He also had faith in his skills. He had the upper hand in the situation. There was no need for him to be impatient. In addition, he was âconfidentâ that he could catch me at any time.
Okullos turned and looked at Maxium.
âI will punish the undead that attacked the dungeon of my demons. You can leave if the Cruel Commander is left behind.â
âThat isnât possible.â
Leaving him behind wasnât a big thing. But the Cruel Commander knew something about the heartâs awakening. Additionally, I didnât like leaving any of my property behind.
An opponent acting free and confident towards me was unacceptable. My primary goal was to create tension among the grand dukes and win the throne. I couldnât show weakness in our first encounter. I lightly chanted.
âWrath.â
-High magic power (98) has caused strength, agility and stamina to rise by 9.
Intelligence has dropped by 20 but your original pure intelligence is more than 76. Due to the unique characteristics caused by Astral Code, you wonât be taken over by the âWrathâ state.
Strength 106, Agility 101, Stamina 96. Including the effect from Paranormal, two stats had risen beyond 100.
Of course, Paranormalâs blessing only had 10 minutes remaining but I didnât care.
The blood vessels in my body reduced and my heart beat faster. I wasnât taken over by an abnormal state. However, intelligence was greatly lowered due to the Wrath skill.
âI can use it in conjunction with Sloth butâŚâ
I recalled the terrible time when I tested both Wrath and Sloth. There was no need to risk attacking my allies. Wrath was enough.
I had my reason but I was still in a state of excitement. I automatically clenched my teeth. My sword trembled. The darkness in the surrounding area increased.
I lifted my gaze and faced Okullos.
Okullos detected danger and his brows furrowed. A number of blue lights immediately emerged from his body. Roots entered the ground and he became a strong tree that wouldnât move. An instinctive movement. This change wasnât unusual to me.
Epic grade skill âNaturalization.â The downside was that Okullos couldnât move but this skill gave him absolute defense and offense.
Suaack!
Thousands of long grass started sprouting and grabbed hold of me. The grass stretching from the ground meant I had a limited space to move. I couldnât simply demonstrate strong attacks. ButâŚI clearly saw small gaps where my sword could enter. This was due to agility. Once it went beyond 100, I could see things I normally couldnât.
I made decisions with cold reason. My eyes didnât leave Okullos.
âOkullos. I will make you aware of it.â
I was still immature when I was running around the Demon World.
I was an âenemyâ that could truly threaten him!
Slowly but surely, I started to move through the gaps.
* * *
Cruel Commander Maxium.
He kept on eye on his master while causing devastation on the battlefield. The magic power that could be felt even from a distance was obviously the heart of the Emperor. The reason why it entered the body of a demon didnât matter. Maxium was excited by the overwhelming appearance of the demon.
Electrifying. The power to beat everything. The sword moved quickly and the afterimage struck countless enemies. He would unleash a stronger power as he fell into a deeper crisis.
âFor the Great Emperor!â
Maxium wielded his golden sword. The sword now emitted a brilliant light.
The Great Emperor. His master was struggling alone in enemy territory!
Dalgurak! Dalgurak!
The skeleton soldiers moved. He directed them to certain positions. They cut the necks of the enemies and advanced forward. The limbs were cut off as they moved. Their bodies continued advancing even without arms or legs.
A switch in momentum. The battle became taut.
At the same time, the griffin and other creatures couldnât be ignored. They werenât under Maxiumâs command so he disliked them. But they were the Emperorâs creatures.
âHuhaha! Look! The demons are being overcome by His Majestyâs overwhelming power!â
Maxium laughed while wielding his sword.
From Maxiumâs point of view, the four demons didnât have a strong partnership. In particular, one person felt completely different from the rest.
But those demons. They werenât all his opponents. Even if he couldnât recover all his power, Maxium had no doubts about the Emperorâs victory. It was a breathtaking moment as he felt his masterâs power rise by leaps and bounds in front of certain demons. The air started vibrating from an abnormal change.
And the struggle started.
âGreat! Your Majesty! Take care!â
Kung! Kung! Kung!
All the skeletons knocked on their shield with their sword. The sound resonated and spread all over the place.
A cheer. Roars. Praying for his victory. He should not be defeated. Winning was the only way to prove himself.
Maxium kept an eye on the Emperorâs fight against the demons.
âHuhahaâŚ!â
He wasnât amused.
The Emperor was forced to fight in a confined space and were surrounded by demons.
He frowned every time the tree like demon Okullos was cut. He couldnât feel relieved. The branches cut by Dark Sword couldnât recover. Thousands of branches had to be sliced by the sword before eventually revealing the underside.
The remaining three dukesâŚtwo of them didnât even enter the fight. They couldnât find any gaps.
Maxium couldnât help even if he wanted to. He couldnât barge into the fight.
He shook his head. The fight was violent and sharp.
His hands unconsciously started trembling but he soothed them.
This was the battlefield given to him. He could stop some worry by taking care of this fight.
Chwahak!
At that moment, the Emperorâs sword fiercely sliced the body of a demon. It wasnât a fatal blow but it was adequate. His face changed. It wasnât complete but there was a small smile. His master couldnât help smiling.
It was then that Maxium realized.
âŚHe would win!
âOur God has returned!â
His heart had already stopped but it was burning hot.
At the same time, I succeeded in leaving a long stab in Okullosâ side.
âNext is the neck.â
Ssik!
I smiled, revealing my teeth.
Okullos had a confused expression.
âYouâŚare you really Randalph Brigsiel?â
âThen who are you looking at?â
âWho, who are you?â
The attitude wasnât easily recognized.
It was natural. I was completely different compared to the Demon World. Decades had passed for me before I came back in time. He thought I only became moderately stronger but I brutally broke his defenses. He no longer mentioned âinteresting.â All that confidence had disappeared.
âOkullos-nim!â
The dukes approached them. But Okullos stretched out his hand and stopped them.
âI can see with Naturalization. I know the essence of all life. You are not Randalph Brigsiel.â
âDonât make me laugh. Arenât you just trying to escape?â
âIâŚâ
Okullos opened his mouth. He seemed to be suspicious of something but Okullos couldnât express it. Okullos hesitated for 10 seconds before shaking his head.
âThere is not beneficial for both sides to be fighting each other. That skill of yours is gone and I wonât be able to stay in this state much longer. How about we withdraw for now?â
It was accurate. I didnât know how much longer Wrath would last. Prolonging this fight would do more harm than good.
âWhat? Haha!â
But I just let out a big laugh.
One of the 4 grand dukes, Okullos had requested a truce.
âYou certainly have an abnormal growth. If you are lucky then you might be able to kill me here. But you also canât avoid death.â
That was also right. Okullosâ words were likely to be true. I knew that this battlefield was fierce. It wouldnât be easy to get away from the three dukes when I was in a weakened state.
âIs it really like that?â
But I couldnât just accept it.
âDo you want to go to the end?â
Okullos asked like I was stupid.
âGive up one arm. Then I will think about it.â
I suggested.
I couldnât let go so easily.
And in factâŚOkullos was better alive than dead.
If Okullos disappeared then the balance of power would be completely destroyed. The entire situation might get back to the other grand dukes. If Okullos died then the rest of the demons would scale up rapidly. In addition, variables would appear.
If I wanted to get rid of the variables, I would need to get rid of the rest of the demons in Okullosâ faction. Grand Duke Upa was also my enemy right now. It was still too premature.
âOne armâŚcheaper than I thought.â
Okullos knew that it would never recover if I cut off his arm with Dark Sword. Even so, he gracefully accepted. Obviously something had happened to make him change his mind.
âOkullos-nim!â
The dukes were filled with resentment. However, Okullosâ expression didnât change.
âYou donât have to worry. I got my hands on some very large information today. The value of my arm canât even be compared.â
At that moment, the dukes became quiet. They only said a few words of complaints.
âA bluff?â
Okullos was quite unknown. So it wasnât easy for me to determine what was true or false. Personally, I thought he was just bluffing. There had to be a reason why the dukes were looking like that.
âCut it.â
Okullos released Naturalization and held out his right arm. Okullos directly stretched out his arm towards me. It wasnât easy to remember that he was a grand duke.
I grasped Wrath.
AndâŚ
Suuk!
Duk!
The war was over. Okullos and his demons started to back off.
I stepped back after cutting off Okullosâ right arm.
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I looked at the situation around me. In less than an hour, the troops had been reduced by more than half. I could tell how long and violently they had been fighting.
âYour Majesty!â
The Cruel Commander Maxium came running over.
I blocked him from kneeling down. I caught Maxiumâs shoulder and looked straight into his eyes.