novelraw Chapter 305: Episode 305
Chapter 305: Episode 305
Chapter 79: The Final Continental Battle
The death of the necromancer, Flyten. Many expected the momentum of the Undead Soldiers to wane in the wake of his demise, but contrary to those hopes, the immortal legion only grew fiercer by the day. The Hereis Kingdom, designated as their first target, had seven of its cities annihilated by the endlessly surging Undead Soldiers, leaving only its capital standing. Meanwhile, the Burton Empire was fending off the offensive at the front lines, desperately buying time. Realizing the terror of the immortal army, several nations organized alliances and pushed forward with plans to subjugate the Aneis Kingdom, but this coalition was disrupted by the unexpected fall of the Derk Empire.
Meanwhile, the Ain Kart Holy Kingdom, which had been struggling against dozens of Dungeon Masters, saw its situation settled when Pope Luminus directly channeled the power of a god. The Pope’s authority was a supernatural phenomenon that occurred when borrowing a portion of Behel’s Divine Power. Even for an S-rank Dungeon Master, it was simply too much to handle. As a result, Taehyun ordered the Resistance forces to retreat and began preparing for the final battle in the west.
The Frost Army in the North, the Ain Kart Holy Kingdom’s forces in the Center, the Church of Abundance and the Eastern Federation in the East, the Aneis Kingdom and the Western Alliance in the West, and finally, the Balak territory holding the Resistance forces. If the Peshant Empire from the South pushed its way into the fray, it would lead to a massive clash spanning half the continent.
’Was Flyten not the only necromancer? If so, I need to eliminate the others just to curb the immortal army’s momentum.’
Since it wasn’t just a fraction of the Tarantula faction that had been captured, there was a high chance that other Main Forces with the same class existed. Rather than cowering within his territory, it was time to personally march out and strike Ashlan, the capital of the Aneis Kingdom. Since the Church of Abundance had made the bold move of having Archbishop Messiah step up personally to face the Sword Saint Repilder, the Eastern Federation would likely advance from the Golpein Territory, aiming straight for Ashlan.
’The Aneis Kingdom was located above the metropolis of Magritte, I think.’
Anyone could tell just by opening a world map that the Aneis Kingdom was situated in the center of the West. Based on that, the battlefield layout would probably look something like this:
- Far North: Frost Army
- Far East: Ain Kart Holy Kingdom, Peshant Empire
- Far South: Balak, Eastern Federation
- Far West: Western Alliance
It was a layout completely surrounded on all sides. Although, right before reaching the Aneis Kingdom, the Ain Kart Holy Kingdom and the Peshant Empire... and Balak and the Eastern Federation would encounter each other separately. Unless there was a specific reason to engage, they would target their original goal, the Aneis Kingdom, first. If they succeeded in dealing with their target, it would turn into a total shitshow afterward, but if he pulled out early, he expected there wouldn’t be much damage to his own forces.
"Riel, contact Karon Deike and Viscount Momonte Anslake to inform them of our deployment. Tell them the time has finally come."
—"Yes, I’ll relay the message immediately."
"And contact Narae to check on the progress of the Control Steles. It needs to be at least enough to tie down Yuslan."
—"Don’t worry. I’ll ask her right away."
All preparations were complete. He had already temporarily halted the Balak Merchant Guild’s supply runs and concentrated their resources within the territory, so they lacked nothing to wage war.
’Those Ain Kart Holy Kingdom bastards will probably rush Balak first to retrieve the Holy Sword Ludwig, but if the Peshant Empire interferes, we can delay them a bit. In the meantime, I’ll mobilize the Resistance alongside Viscount Anslake’s guild to go for Leon’s throat.’
The cards he had gathered so far weren’t brought in simply to develop his territory. As long as they stepped up with the right response at the right time, it was possible to twist the battlefield layout to some extent. Finally, the end of the continental war was in sight. Taehyun raised his head with a much more serious expression. However, the serious atmosphere was instantly shattered by the guests visiting the Master Room.
"I see. So you’re our little knight who claims to be the knight of Balak. It’s dangerous to carry around sharp things like that, Grai. Here, leave it with me."
"Who are you calling a kid?! L-let go of this!"
"Oh my. How can you be so cute? I’m sure you’ll set many women’s hearts on fire when you grow up, Grai!"
"Urgh. S-Summoooon!"
It was the prince and princess who had come to Balak from the Aneis Kingdom. Regia, in particular, showed an unusual interest in the regressed Grai, currently stretching and squishing both of his cheeks.
[Regia van Noah]
[Favorability: 52]
’I think I’ve only talked to that woman once, yet her Favorability is weirdly high. On top of that, to be able to play around with Grai like that when he’s strictly a Main Force of the dungeon... it’s almost fascinating.’
She hadn’t shown any fear of a Dungeon Master during their first meeting either, so her behavior made sense to a certain degree. Taehyun lightly gestured toward Yuda, who was watching with a dissatisfied expression.
"What? Do you have something for me to do already?"
"No. Bringing the princess is fine and all, but did you just bring her here without explaining anything?"
"Hah, I explained our current situation and everything that’s happened since the raid party was wiped out in detail, but she’s still acting like that. That’s why I’m asking you this—I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lay a hand on Regia."
The two, who hadn’t been on good terms previously, seemed to have reconciled because of Leon. It was easy to see how much he cared for his sister, but the moment Yuda’s gaze shifted to the squirming Pinyas, Taehyun realized there was a deep misunderstanding.
"Hey, it’s not like that. I don’t have those kinds of hobbies."
"You’re a Dungeon Master, so it’s entirely plausible. I understand. But not my sister. No matter what happens, I don’t want to make that child shed any more tears. So..."
"What are you two talking about so intently?"
Regia abruptly wedged herself between the two. Yuda changed the subject with an awkward expression, but her gaze was fixed solely on Taehyun.
"We met in the Marius Garden, right? Do you still remember that time?"
"Well, it was during the royal succession ceremony, so I haven’t forgotten. But could you back up a little?"
"Those words you casually threw at me back then... I still can’t forget them. Maybe it was because of those words that I realized things, even if it was late. I was definitely angry the moment I heard them, but looking back, I realized I was the one in the wrong. I’m very grateful for that."
The words poured out of her like rapid fire. She was so proactive in expressing her emotions that she even grabbed his hands, her eyes sparkling. Yuda belatedly narrowed his eyes and stepped in to stop her, but her gaze didn’t waver.
"That’s enough. Let’s go. We need to go meet Hicleu, too."
"Ah! L-let’s talk again next time, Taehyun."
She left a very bright impression as she was forcibly escorted out. In a way, you could just see her as a very curious princess.
’Is she feeling grateful that I spared Yuda? What a naive princess.’
It felt like a typhoon had just swept through. Taehyun gathered his scattered wits and looked down at Grai, who was clinging to his leg.
"S-Summon. Can I weally go back to my normal body?!"
Taehyun fell silent.
His clumsy speech and tearful expression made him look like nothing short of a pitiful child. Meanwhile, Pinyas, who had been on the sofa, rolled over and started rubbing her face against his other leg, so it was perhaps natural for Yuda to misunderstand. Taehyun tried his best to ignore them both and let out a dry cough. Just then, a scream rang out from the screen.
"Ahhhh! T-The bear!"
"H-Hicleu, what are you doing there?!"
"This woman is my woman now, Kuma!"
"Why, why did you have to show up at this timing of all times!"
It seemed a completely unexpected reunion had taken place. Taehyun belatedly remembered Kuma Kuma and scratched his head.
"Well, it’ll work out somehow."
---
Dimensional travel is something everyone dreams of at least once. The kind of premise where you travel to another dimension like in a novel, become a hero, or save people. He never really felt interested in helping others, but it was an imaginary scenario he had sometimes wished for.
"I shouldn’t have adopted him. I feed and house an orphan, and now he’s smearing mud on our family’s name. To think he can’t do a single thing right. We should just throw him away!"
"H-Honey. Even so, if you hit the child... Ah!"
"Move. Look at those eyes even now. I need to beat some sense into this brat!"
The abuse worsened by the day. In a life where he had to be conscious of the stares of others even outside, all he felt was misery. Simply because he was an orphan, simply because he didn’t know how to do anything, he had lived without even being treated like a proper human being. Then one day, thanks to reports from the neighbors, the man called his adoptive father was investigated, but it wasn’t something to be happy about.
"You little shit. You snitched to the others, didn’t you? Huh? That’s what happened!"
He remained silent.
"Die. Just drop dead!"
Fortunately, he wasn’t kicked out of the house that day either, but the increased severity of the beatings became a poison instead. He had hoped someone would step up and extend a helping hand, but all the bystanders did was simply report it. After that, the gazes of the neighbors only felt disgusting, and the thought of wanting to escape this reality only grew. And as if understanding those feelings, a miracle occurred.
[Welcome. You have been selected as an NPC Player.]
A continent he had never heard of in his life, a body that wasn’t his own, and the unfamiliar environment of a royal palace. It was exactly the kind of dimensional travel that would happen in a novel.
From that day on, he lived as an NPC named Leon van Noah and gradually adapted to the Aneis Kingdom. Although he wasn’t some childish hero or savior, it was undeniably a fantasy world where Attackers and Dungeon Masters existed. In such a world, he was royalty, the biological son of the king ruling a nation, and he quickly grew accustomed to the status of a prince. And then.
"Brother Leon, it’s Regia. May I come in?"
He didn’t answer.
"Okay, I’ll come in then."
About a month in, he realized his ability.
[Regia van Noah: Brother’s condition seems to have been strange lately. Maybe I should talk to Father about it after all.]
The special ability of an NPC Player was reading people’s psychology as messages. Especially with the NPCs in the royal palace, without exception, he could see right through all the words they kept hidden in their hearts. From that day on, Leon looked more closely into his skills and special abilities, and a few days later, he clearly realized that he was a different existence from an Attacker.
[NPC Player’s Final Objective]
[Kingdoms Destroyed: 0/70]
[Empires Destroyed: 0/20]
The objective was none other than continental conquest. It was so vague that he was dumbfounded on one hand, but he also thought of it as a destiny handed down by whoever brought him here. Since he had rejected his life in the modern world from the start, he didn’t care much about returning, but there was one thing that bothered him. No, to be exact, there was one person who bothered him.
[Leopard Van Noah]
The man called his father, who, despite being the king ruling the Aneis Kingdom, couldn’t properly grasp royal authority and was swayed by Count Dinen. Pathetic beyond measure, he had always emphasized peace within the kingdom and was satisfied with his current lot. In a way, he could be called a sage king, but Leon didn’t like Leopard. He had a completely opposite disposition to his modern adoptive father, but for the sake of continental conquest, he needed him to die quickly. And so, through the Magic Tower, he...
[The Flashback System has ended.]
Before long, he returned to his original perspective. Leon, sitting on the throne, opened his closed eyes and looked down straight ahead.
"Y-Your Highness, Leon, why..."
Leon remained silent.
"Why are you doing this? I have devoted my loyalty solely to the royal family. T-True, I was part of Count Dinen’s faction, but even during the internal strife, I remember supplying resources under the name of the Anslake family. So, why on earth?!"
Viscount Momonte Anslake’s resentment burst forth. It was probably because of Valona, who was held captive in the basement. Leon took a deep breath and replied.
"That is because you are a pathetic fool. Does that answer your question?"