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A barren land
 the Nrburg mountains in front of Lee Gong-Myung were in ruins. Suddenly, Lee Gong-Myung felt a chill running down his spine.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump!
His heart began to race.
Drip.
Cold sweat flowed down his skin.
Don’t tell me...
He didn’t have a good feeling. In fact, it wasn’t just a feeling. The sight in front of him was telling him a rough story. Evidence of battle, splashes of blood everywhere. Destroyed weapons lying around.
And

“Cyamodus!”
The death of the gigantic fire turtle, Cyamodus, was extremely shocking.
“What in the world
!?”
Something was definitely wrong.
However, it was unlikely that the whole group had been massacred by just the Gold Dragon.
Most notably, there wasn’t a single dead body in the area.
If a massacre did happen, then numerous corpses of the soldiers and explorers were to be expected.
Think about it. Would a monster like a dragon clean up the battlefield?
One could assume that the Gold Dragon had eaten all the dead bodies, but Lee Gong-Myung did not buy that explanation. Even if that were true, a limb or two would have been tossed around.
There was only one other explanation.
A cleanup.
Someone had deliberately cleaned up the battlefield.
That’s right, I probably arrived too late. His Majesty would have returned to his territory after the raid and cleanup

Lee Gong-Myung tried his best to be optimistic. He began to seek for traces of Rothschild.
-Bark!
While he was searching, something barked at him.
-Grrrr
!
About ten Dire Wolves flashed their sharp canines at Lee Gong-Myung. Seeing how they were gathered around, it seemed like they were feasting on a body that had been missed out on during the cleanup.
“...?”
Beyond the ten Dire Wolves, Lee Gong-Myung noticed a sign.
The following was written on the sign with atrocious handwriting, even worse than that of a kindergartener’s:
[Here lies Rothschild, the ultimate coward, idiot and fool.
– The Supreme King of the West, Kang Chul-In.]
Thump!
Lee Gong-Myung could feel his heart sink.
Kang Chul-In.
The horrendous handwriting aside, that name left such an ominous impression on this situation.
This name never meant anything good.
-Grrrr!
The Dire Wolves paid no attention to Lee Gong-Myung’s feelings or thoughts. They began to charge at the intruder.
Psssst!
And they soon met their end.
“Y-your Majesty
 this can’t be
 your Majesty
!”
Lee Gong-Myung, who had easily ripped the Dire Wolves apart, began to walk forward as if he was possessed.
After walking some distance, Lee Gong-Myung finally let out a scream of despair.
“Ah, ah
 ahhhhhhh
!”
A corpse. Not only was it missing both arms and its head, it was also disfigured due to the Dire Wolves’ feasting.
“A-Alex...”
However, Lee Gong-Myung could immediately identify the corpse. His bond with his master was deep and genuine. The body was that of a monster’s and was heavily disfigured, but Lee Gong-Myung could point out Rothschild’s physical traits in one glance.
Pitter-patter!
Cold rain crashed down onto the crestfallen Lee Gong-Myung.
“E-Even though
 I have returned...”
His voice contained a tone of resentment and regret.
“I’ve even become a cursed being
 just to
 just to meet you again
 just to be by your side
 Alex
 Alexxxxxxx!”
Thump!
Lee Gong-Myung collapsed onto the ground and embraced Rothschild’s corpse, after his cry of despair.
He then began to wail in anger and agony.
“Keheuk
 heuk
!”
He just couldn’t stop crying.
His tears were as relentless as the heavy rain pouring onto him.
“My Alex
 my dear Alex
 Keheuk
!”
To Lee Gong-Myung, his master’s death was more heartbreaking than his own.
***
“Urgh
 urghhh
!”
For the first time in his life, Kwak Jun experienced an indiscriminate beating known as ‘mental training’.
“H-How
? This is too p-painful
 Eek
!”
“There is a saying that you can tell as much truth as your experience.”
“...?”
“After being beaten up countless times, I’ve finally mastered the technique. Turns out the art of violence is quite a complex one.”
Kwak Jung shrugged. He had learned well from his teacher Kang Chul-In, the king of violence.
If he had witnessed this, he might have felt proud and said, ‘Hmm
 not bad, Kwak Jung!’
“Oi, Kwak-something.”
Kwak Jung said coldly after completing the mental training.
“Yes, yes...”
“This is my first and final warning.”
“...”
“If you mess up my big picture with your stupid ideas one more time
 you know what’s going to happen.”
Kwak Jung did not have to explain further. Kwak Jun knew that only death awaited him.
“I-I understand...”
“I will be keeping a close eye on you.”
“Certainly, I will report before arriving at any decision.”
Kwak Jun bowed.
“Right right~! Do it better next time! You get it?!”
“Yes...”
“My apologies for hitting you.”
“...”
“We are partners, aren’t we? Let’s not dwell on such trivial things.”
“O-Of course...”
“Ahem. Don’t take it too personally.”
“Yes...”
An apology after such a beating.
Kwak Jung shamelessly brushed the dust off Kwak Jun’s shoulders and straightened his collar. That drove Kwak Jun crazy.
“Hahaha~! A mistake is a mistake. Let’s put that aside and work hard together!”
“Yes...”
“Hahahahaha!”
Kwak Jung laughed.
Abominable bastard
 trying to act intimidated, are we?
Behind his faade, Kwak Jung was glaring at Kwak Jun with cold, apathetic eyes.
You are probably thinking that this is a profit. Since getting beaten up once to gain access to our army’s anti-Gullveig Alliance database is good enough.
According to Kwak Jung’s suspicion, Kwak Jun had drafted a plan for Vilhelm solely because he was 100% sure of the Valhalla army’s defeat.
Our army and the Gullveig Alliance
 you are planning to have both parties under your control and stick to the winning party at the most decisive moment to gain maximum profit.
He was right.
Trusting Kwak Jun was a gamble.
Depending on the situation, he could be on Kang Chul-In’s or on Vilhelm’s side.
Well, it certainly depends on how you do it
 but do you think I will let you off, after seeing through your insidious plan? Huh? Hehe
 today may just be a beating
 but next time
 I will drive a knife into your belly, you sly bastard.
Sharp insight!
Kwak Jung knew Kwak Jun’s intentions inside out. He could certainly kill him off at this moment to prevent future hindrances, but he decided to let him live for a while longer. Kwak Jun could prove to be useful.
“Hu
 alright, I guess there is no choice.”
Kwak Jung shook his head.
“S-Sorry
 because of me...”
“If you know, do better next time.”
“Yes...”
“It’s gonna be a hard one but
 what to do? We shall have to brawl it out.”
“D-Does that mean
!”
“We will fight.”
“...!”
“It’s possible to follow your plan and forfeit Deathwin after faking some losses
 but it’s a bit troublesome.”
“Tactician Kwak, that won’t do! There’s too...”
“Too much loss?”
“Yes, it’s a loss.”
“What to do, then?”
“...”
“His Majesty hates losing, even if it’s a pretense.”
“...”
“He strongly believes that a man shouldn’t be taking short cuts. Would you dare to ask him to forfeit the Deathwin territory?”
“But that is just...”
“Stubborn, I know.”
Kwak Jung immediately glanced around his surroundings. He instinctively made sure that Kang Chul-In wasn’t around to hear him.
“But what to do? That is my master for you.”
“...”
“All I can do is to obey him. Sigh!”
Kwak Jung shook his head and turned around.
“Take care. I shall be leaving to clear up the mess that you have created.”
“I apologize...”
“Nah~! Well then, farewell~!”
Kwak Jung replied and jumped into the warp gate with the Mir mechanized infantry members.
Flash!
Kwak Jung disappeared.
“Hu... freaking painful, that damn bastard.”
Kwak Jun mumbled as he massaged his aching muscles.
“Well, it’s still good for us since we have gained control over the two gigantic forces.”
Kwak Jung’s suspicions were spot on.
***
Pitter-patter!
Heavy rain relentlessly fell onto the Nrburg mountains.
“Alex
 Keheuk
 Alex!”
Even long after the sunset, Lee Gong-Myung refused to let go of Rothschild’s corpse. How could he? Rothschild was a special existence to Lee Gong-Myung. Someone he could never let go.
“I’ve never told you this before
 I was worried that you would leave me
 not once in my life...”
A late confession. Lee Gong-Myung began to reveal a secret.
“I
 loved
 you
 Alex Rothschild
 I still
 love you
 forever
 Keheuk...”
That was it.
Behind Lee Gong-Myung’s unquestionable loyalty to the incompetent Alex Rothschild laid an extremely special and secretive emotion.
In fact, that was the only reason why a genius like him decided to be Rothschild’s aide.
Think about it. Lee Gong-Myung was an unprecedented genius in domestic affairs, politics and strategizing. Rothschild, on the other hand, was incompetent. Back on Earth, he was an extremely sociable, promising young heir of the Rothschild family with a good business mind. However, he was an unsalvageable trash in Pangaea. Consecutive losses, poor decisions, countless embarrassing moments, violence and more. He was insignificant compared to Kang Chul-In or even Vilhelm.
Lee Gong-Myung stuck to this man till the end and even helped to bring down his nemesis, Kang Chul-In, in the past.
Purely out of love.
However,
“Come back
 please
 My dear Alex
 Heuk
 if you die
 I...”
Alex Rothschild had already left this world. He was killed by none other than Kang Chul-In, and he didn’t even receive a proper burial. Instead, his pitiful corpse was left to be eaten by monsters.
Furthermore
 he had died as an Agnaga. Alex Rothschild was no longer able to revive. In a sense, he had died ‘perfectly’.
“Kang Chul-In!”
Lee Gong-Myung screamed.
It was a cry of resentment and agony.
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