â...â I was too shocked to even say a word. Marriage? Me? With a dragon?
âErm⊠excuse me but.â I tried my best to avoid hurting Emiliaâs feelings. âLet me ask you something.â
âSure.â
âBy any chance...â
â...?â
âHave you gone senile?â
â...â
âI knew it...â
â...â
âI should have known when someone like the Dragon Lord proposed an alliance between dragons and humans...â
I dared to say that Emilia had definitely gone senile.
âIt seems old age affects everyone, regardless of your species.â
â...â
âDo dragons have old folksâ homes...â
âNo!â Seemingly disturbed by my crude remark, Emilia shouted. âNobodyâs senile.â
âO-Oh, is that so?â
âOf course.â
â...â
âA dragonâs mental stability is permanent. Diseases like dementia do not exist in our dictionary.â
âThen why did you spout such rubbish...â
âRubbish?â
âW-Were you being serious?â
âYou thought I was joking? Me, the Dragon Lord?â
I could not rebut her statement, but her request for me to marry her daughter still sounded absurd.
âYou donât believe me, do you?â
âOf course not.â
âBut Iâm being serious.â
Serious? I began to fear Emilia.
âWhyâŠ?â
âMy daughter...â
â...?â
âThe last dragon⊠she is destined to live alone as the sole survivor of the species...â
âWhat does thatâŠ!â
âThis war.â Emilia placed emphasis in her words. âAs we strive to protect Pangaea from the Agnagas, there is a very low chance of survival for us dragons.â
â...!â
âCurrently⊠thereâs only 25 dragons left, including me and my daughter. We are strong, but thereâs only a few of us.â
âI see...â
âThe Agnagas are stronger. To protect Pangaea in this battle⊠the extinction of our species seems inevitable.â
ââŠIs the situation that dire?â
I couldnât believe Emiliaâs words. Dragons were the strongest of all creatures, but even 25 of them couldnât promise a victory in this war against the Agnagas?
So itâs impossible to win this battle after all.
I finally realized that the despair that I had tasted for the past two years was not unfounded. I had been fighting an unwinnable battle since the very start.
âIn any case.â Emilia added. âThereâs not a chance that the current you and my daughter will get married.â
âWhat do you mean?â I couldnât comprehend her words. âDidnât you just ask me to marry your daughter?â
âI did.â
âThen what nonsense are you...â
âYou will die.â
â...!â
âYou are strong. I know that you are the greatest amongst the human race, with power even comparable to an ancient dragon.â
â...â
âAs such, you will have to join this battle to save the world, which may lead to your demise.â
âI donât quite get you.â
âHowever...â
âHoweverâŠ?â
âYour reincarnation.â
â...!â
âI plan to leave my daughter to your reincarnationâs care.â
It gradually began to make sense.
âYou⊠knew?â
My eyes met Emiliaâs. Her dragon eyes gleamed with an immeasurable wisdom accumulated over countless number of years.
âAs long as you have the Wheel of Three Lives, you are destined to become the messiah who can save the world.â
â...â
âAlso...â Emilia continued her speech. âThe reconstruction and revival of this world.â
â...!â
âThatâs right. You are responsible for not only the worldâs present, but also its future, not to forget my daughter as well.â
ShiverâŠ! A chill ran down my spine. I hadnât the slightest clue about the meaning behind the Wheel of Three Lives. âMessiah,â she says. âSave the world,â she says. âResponsible for this worldâs reconstruction,â she says. I didnât know that my life had to shoulder such a huge responsibility.
âDonât worry, leader of the human race.â Emilia spoke. âYou only have to focus on the present.â
âThe present...?â
âYour reincarnation can be responsible for the worldâs reconstruction and my daughter.â
â...!â
âYou and your reincarnation will share the same soul, but you two are distinct identities. Your traits may be similar, but your background can be totally different.â
âAh?â I could follow Emiliaâs explanation. âSo itâs none of my business?â
âThatâs right.â
âThen I...â
âYou just have to leave it to your reincarnation. Buck-passing⊠thereâs nothing more attractive than this concept for leaders like you.â
She was right. I often resisted the urge to dump all my paperwork on my underlings and just vanish.
âReconstruction of this world? What do you mean?â
I noticed a strange assumption in Emiliaâs speech.
âYou make it sound like this world is eventually going to be destroyed.â
âNot totally.â
âThen?â
âItâll be a lose-lose situation.â
â...!â
âBut even that may be too idealistic.â
My heart sank.
âEven if we win this battle, we wonât be able to eradicate the Agnagas completely.â
âWhy?â I inquired.
âThey...â
â...â
â⊠Have someone who can control time and space.â
âW-WhatâŠ!?â
âTime Lord Milenius⊠as long as he exists, the Agnagas will return even if we win the battle. It will definitely happen, be it 500 or 1000 years later.â
âGod damn itâŠ!â
Todayâs victory might not promise a bright future. That meant that this devastating battle could be nothing but futile. Were my soldiers and subordinates at the frontlines dying in vain?
âThat wonât do. â
It was a difficult truth to swallow. I refused to let any sacrifice go to waste. Millions of people have been killed. I had to win this battle on their behalf, and also prevent this damn Milenius from turning the table.
âThatâs why I wish to make a proposal.â
âWhat proposal?â
âAn arrangement for the future generation.â
â...!â
âTime Lord Milenius is undoubtedly going to try to exert its evil influence on this continent again. Thatâs why we have to start preparing from now. We have to devise plans to protect this worldâs future â to not let our victory go to waste.â
I agreed wholeheartedly to her idea.
âCount me in.â
As the leader of the human race, I could not afford to reject Emiliaâs proposition.
âGood.â Emilia seemed satisfied by my decision. âThen letâs begin immediately. Timeâs not on our side. We have to move quickly. Not only do we have to win the war, but we also have to carry on with the project.â
âProject?â
âIâm referring to the plan for the future generation.â
âSo fast? Whatâs the solution...â
âIâm the Dragon Lord, remember?â
âYou already have a plan in mind?â
âYes.â Emilia nodded. âItâs called âProject Erinyes.ââ
â...!â
âThis is the project that will be responsible for this worldâs future.â
At that moment, I could not fully understand what the [Project Erinyes] was about. However, I instinctively knew that only this could save the world from the Agnagas...
3 years passed since that eventful day. While battling against the Agnagas, I roamed around the whole continent to carry out Project Erinyes. My role was to empower my reincarnation with great strength to protect the world from the second coming of the Agnagas.
I left no stones unturned. Through Agrippa, the Archwitch, I learned more about my reincarnation and prepared countless obstacles and challenges on his path to stimulate his growth. In addition, I did not forget to pass on the lovers whom I failed to take responsibility for.
He was going to be tremendously misfortunate with women, but I didnât care⊠as long as it wasnât me. So what if my reincarnation is nagged to death by his many âwivesâ or dies from too much sexual intercourse? That was none of my business.
To be honest...
Eat this, you bastard.
I also wanted my reincarnation to suffer tremendously like I had with women.
However, this didnât seem enough. The main theme of System Erinyes entailed summoning 300 lords and 297,700 warriors from a different world who can rescue and reconstruct this world. My reincarnation would be one of the 300 lords.
He will go on a rampage.
I believed that my reincarnation, who would have been living an ordinary life previously, would gain strength exponentially and eventually go insane.
âYour Imperial Majesty⊠your reincarnation⊠will be consumed by his overwhelming power⊠become a notorious tyrant⊠and eventually meet his demise...â
Agrippa agreed with me.
âNo choice then.â
As a result, I added in the Wheel of Return to [Project Erinyes], disguised as an ability called [Soul Backup]. This would allow my reincarnation to live a second life. After an initial round of failure, my reincarnation would hopefully realize his mistakes, develop into a true sovereign and claim victory over the Agnagas...
Another year passed by as I prepared everything.
âItâs complete.â
When the war between the alliance (led by me and Emilia) and the Agnagas was coming to an end, Emilia finally succeeded in completing [Project Erinyes].
âWith this, our plan is finished.â
âGood work.â
âYes, it was not easy...â
Emiliaâs face was full of fine wrinkles.
This was surprising. A polymorphed ancient dragon â the Dragon Lord, in fact â had new wrinkles on her face. It was an indication of the effort she had put in to finish [Project Erinyes]...
âNow...â Emilia spoke. âWeâre only left with the selection process.â
âRight.â
âYou can take care of the human candidates. I can take care of the remaining species.â
âWill do.â
The selection process aimed to choose living organisms that would be part of the system. [System Erinyes] was akin to Noahâs Ark. Knowledge, intelligence and all living organisms except for dragons were to be stored in Erinyes. In the distant future, this would allow the 300 Lords from the other world called Earth to reconstruct this world.
âAh, and also.â
Moreover...
âLetâs incorporate a ranking system.â
âA ranking system?â
âIs there a hard and fast rule that my reincarnation must be the one to save the world?â
I despised the stubborn way of thinking that âit has to be meâ. The messiah didnât have to be me. Right, anyone would do. As long as the new hero can protect this world from the second coming of the Agnagas and make our sacrifices worthwhile, nobody would care who he or she was.
âLetâs make the 300 Lords compete against each other. The strongest individual who rises to the imperial throne shall save and reconstruct the world. It doesnât have to be my reincarnation.â
âJuliusâŠ!â
âLetâs do it.â
I refused to compromise.
â⊠Alright then.â
Emilia could not persuade me otherwise and incorporated the ranking system into Erinyes in the end.
***
What the fuckâŠ!?
Kang Chul-In, who stood in the Emperor of Blood and Ironâs shoes, could finally realize the truth about the mechanism behind the âGreat Summoningâ!
How was it?
At that moment, the Emperor of Blood and Iron spoke to Kang Chul-In.
But itâs not over yet.
...!
Watch till the end and accept them.
Accept what?
All of my memories.
...!
By doing so, you will become the most perfect existence. Information superiority is more valuable than any weapon, isnât it?
Information superiorityâŠ!
And thus...
The Emperor of Blood and Iron added.
You will be able to see through Time Lord Mileniusâ plot perfectly! This is my last arrangement for you, Kang Chul-In!
With that,
...!
All the data from the Emperor of Blood and Ironâs life experience flowed into Kang Chul-Inâs mind.
Please go to https://www.novelupdates.cc/Overlord-of-Blood-and-Iron/ to read the latest chapters for free