Chapter 202
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Points for a City
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Silence spread through the temple.
Ju Gonghyeok declared once more.
"I'm selling all my points. Anyone want to buy?"
The city representatives eyed each other with stiff expressions.
The hunters under their command buzzed with murmurs.
"He's selling contribution points?"
"What does he want? If he's the lord of a single city, claiming the Twilight Legion's ownership wouldn't be a bad deal."
Lilianne shouted in a panic.
"Wait a minute!! What am I supposed to do if you sell those? If you hand over all the points, there won't even be enough left to cover the SS-rank item I gave you!"
"Don't care. Shut up."
Gonghyeok blatantly plugged his ears, feigning ignorance.
Lilianne forced a smile as she sidled up beside him.
"Ah~~ right, right. You could sell the points. You're still a long way from floor 88, after all, big bro. But... selling everything is a bit much. Couldn't you hold onto at least 300,000 points? Even selling 200,000 would cover most things. Right?"
"Hmm."
She begged desperately.
"No, leave me 250,000—no, 200,000 points, please. With that, I could pay off my debt to the Grand Duke of Venomflame and patch up the urgent stuff first..."
"Don't you trust me?"
"No, I do! Of course I do. Who else would I trust but you? Please, just hold onto them..."
Lilianne pleaded with teary eyes.
"You're gonna leave me some, right?"
"Nope. Selling it all."
"...You shameless fucking bastard! Didn't you hear a word I said, demon-style?"
"Lilianne."
Gonghyeok warned her.
"The archangels and those with detection traits can see you. How about saving some face?"
"When have you ever cared about my face!? My life's on the line—do you think that's the issue right now?!"
The succubus whipped around with glaring eyes.
"What're you looking at, you punks! Eyes off!"
A few hunters awkwardly averted their gazes.
Nathaniel covered her eyes in embarrassment.
- You're so ugly. So ugly.
"Shut it! Has a demon ever gotten anything extra for being pretty? The world's ugly by nature!"
Lilianne flopped onto the temple table.
"I don't know anymore. I can't give you 300,000. Cut me open if you want."
The lewdly dressed demon sprawled out on the table like a starfish, leaving some people unsure where to look.
- Panties showing.
"Like they weren't before? Go ahead and look."
- ...
Ju Gonghyeok stroked his mask's nose while eyeing Lilianne sprawled on the table.
"You really wanna go there?"
Lilianne flinched for a split second.
If he said the word, he'd carve her from head to toe without mercy.
She knew his patterns better than anyone.
'Should I say it's a joke right now?'
No. Can't do that.
Showing weakness here would mean slaving away under him for life.
Overcoming her fierce survival instinct, she barely managed to speak.
"No. Please spare me."
The three angels watching the farce covered their eyes in unison.
Nathaniel hid her face with both hands.
- Lilianne... you're so ugly...
"...Ah, damn it, slipped out."
Mission failed.
A desire-driven demon overcoming survival instinct was impossible.
Lilianne slid off the table and crawled toward him pitifully.
"Please let me live, master. Boo-hoo."
Gonghyeok gave a sly grin as she clutched his pant leg.
"Why would I kill you? Whining like this is so cute."
"Boo-hoo, I'll be even cuter and sexier in serving you from now on, master. I gotta eat too. If I go home like this, I'm dead. Sniff."
"Yeah, yeah. You think I wouldn't set you up proper?"
Lilianne stopped crying and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You got something for me?"
"Of course. Take it without letting anyone see."
Gonghyeok discreetly offered her an orb.
Her eyes went wide as she took it.
What he'd given her was the 'Essence of the Wicked Grand Duke Baphomet.'
'You're my dedicated demon. Late, but you should get 200,000 points from the beastkin side.'
At Gonghyeok's whisper, Lilianne burst into tears.
"Thank you! Teacher, thank you so much!"
"Yeah. Head back quick."
Lilianne blew her nose on a handkerchief and vanished from the conference hall.
Nathaniel and a few hunters wore strange expressions, but most—who couldn't see Lilianne—were conferring among themselves.
"Our city's pooled points total 30,000. Converting to coins gets us 9 yellow coins."
"Arithmetic says buying out the Death Sovereign's points needs 150 yellow coins. Anyone got that many?"
"Nope."
Yellow coins were so rare even Celestial Knights couldn't use them freely.
Top hunters who could boost stats with yellow coins numbered barely ten fingers, and no city could muster 150 at once.
"Death Sovereign. What do you want?"
Edgar spoke up as the de facto representative.
"Anything among the coins or items we can offer? Or some other bargaining chip?"
All eyes turned to the masked Gonghyeok.
Ju Gonghyeok playfully twisted his black-gloved fingers.
"Hmm. Something you have... and something you don't."
The metal fingers formed a pyramid on neural signal, then spiraled grotesquely.
Edgar grimaced at the inhuman motion's revulsion.
"You want something."
"Yeah. I do."
"If it's something we can provide, we'll consider it positively..."
Crack—
Gonghyeok's fingers shaved a desk sculpture.
"One city."
The castle-shaped carving rose on the table.
"Hand over 500,000 points and one city."
"...Serious?"
"Yeah. Immaculate City Illivatus would be ideal."
Poof—
The carving crumbled to sand in his grip.
"I'll make Illivatus part of my floor city, Niflheim."
"Ridiculous!"
The seated representatives shot to their feet.
"Three legions remain!"
"No guarantee they'll all fall to human hands!"
"Still! Can't just hand over a city for unproven compensation!"
The Death Sovereign smirked.
"'A-2,' your thoughts?"
A-2, standing for Illivatus's owner Animus, replied.
"We can't decide that. We're under high-level City Alliance control."
Humanity's betrayer.
Illivatus, once Ju Gonghyeok's ally, had become a de facto colony.
Its entire force under City Alliance command, 70% of production forcibly requisitioned.
Ju Gonghyeok's old city, Wyrm City Deserto, was the same.
Only Company, under hero Alphard who'd ousted Gonghyeok, was exempt.
"I'm dead against it, at least."
Nirvana's armed monk, Narsing Kumar, stated firmly.
"Fought the Death Sovereign a few times in the past. Don't want to hand a city to that monster. Hate imagining what Illivatus hunters or citizens would face under him."
"Citizen rights are an issue, sure."
Many nodded.
The idea of handing over tens of thousands like objects grated their consciences.
Of course, even before rights, one city's proven value outweighed an untested legion.
"Shame."
Ju Gonghyeok shrugged ritually.
He hadn't expected them to yield easily.
That was his goal from the start—part of it.
"Then I'll take Illivatus's rightful production rights we should've claimed."
"Production rights?"
"Production rights."
Ju Gonghyeok scanned the room.
"Your ten cities took 7% of Illivatus's production monthly, citing losses from humanity's betrayer Ju Gonghyeok. But my city suffered the same."
Gonghyeok smirked at arguing while cursing himself.
"I'll take those rights. Won't be free. Cede 7% production rights, get 70,000 contribution points."
Representatives murmured.
"70,000 points is roughly 20 yellow coins."
"Not bad? Enough to make an Edgar- or Surtr-level city lord hunter."
"Or keep as legion shares instead of coins..."
Higher floors saw coin value drop.
Illivatus's annual 7% gear and goods might outvalue 20 yellow coins.
But instantly forging a mid-tier hunter into Celestial Knight monster was tempting.
Thud!
Blade Wolf Undram Ochirbat raised his hand.
"Good! Sold!"
"Nice. 70,000 transferred."
First deal sparked; calculator-tapping reps raised hands in succession.
"We'll deal."
"I'll cede Illivatus production rights too."
Seven of ten cities ceded.
Meaning three refused Ju Gonghyeok's deal.
Gonghyeok eyed Legion lord Edgar, eyes heavy-lidded.
"Why? 70,000 points not enough? Matches your whole floor earnings."
"...Don't want hasty deals."
Refusers: Alphard's "Company," Edgar's "Legion," mercy city "Nirvana."
The three reps glared at the Death Sovereign.
He took their stares lightly, opening inventory.
"Let's change terms."
Clatter!
Yellow coins rained onto the table.
Dozens, hundreds piled up.
Hunters gaped at the golden mound.
"My God."
"No way. Those... real?"
The Death Sovereign nodded.
"Real as can be. 260 yellow coins."
He scooped a handful and tossed to city lords.
"I'll split them all among you. In exchange, the remaining three cities cede production rights too. Shortfall covered in yellow coins."
All cities cede production rights, no exceptions.
That was the Death Sovereign's revised condition.
"A city mustering 150... exists."
Twice the "impossible" amount they'd sworn by piled high.
Every hunter fixated on the Death Sovereign's gold, save one.
Alphard's white-masked eyes remained calmly still.
Alphard didn't lack coins.
Edgar apparently did.
Nirvana's rep had yielded early; others pressured silver-armed Edgar loudly.
"The Sovereign's lost it! What else you gonna take?!"
"Edgar, think cold. You get 40 yellow coins. Boost those stalled stats by two ranks?"
"Want war contributions over coins? Say it—I'll swap!"
"If you don't, we all lose! Needs full ten-city consensus!"
Reps veins bulged around Edgar.
Doubt etched his face.
'He'll fold.'
Decided, Alphard raised his hand.
"Deus accepts the Death Sovereign's deal."
Alone now, Edgar pondered over an hour before agreeing.
Thus, City Alliance gained 500,000 war points and 260 yellow coins; Death Sovereign claimed 70% Illivatus production.
"Haha! We're rich! Gonna be rich!"
Amid cheering leaders, Edgar approached Alphard.
"Alphard. Sovereign tossing yellow coins like candy means..."
"His stats are beyond yellow coin boosts."
"That's the real madness."
Edgar couldn't fathom.
"All six stats at 1,000? For real?"
"Only rival to traitor Ju Gonghyeok. Makes sense. But..."
Alphard trailed off.
"String together the obvious coincidences, and you see a picture nothing like the history I knew."
* * *
Illivatus's production fully returned to Ju Gonghyeok.
'No time for 70% junk.'
Illivatus, as his factory, had to meet promised "Titan-class" deadlines.
Losing Deserto, slated for "Dreadnought-class," hurt too.
'Take 'em back one by one.'
Three legions left, three factories.
Plenty of trade room.
- Hmm~
Nathaniel chimed in slyly.
- Legions are angel-prepared rewards too. Okay to just hand 'em over?
"Three left ahead. And they're limited-use for me anyway."
Legions weren't 100% yours even owned.
Twilight Legion cloned hunters or monsters via traits.
Cheap infinite fodder replacing mid-to-high floor cannon-fodder hunters.
Mass production demanded vast resources and manpower beyond "traitors" or small-city "Death Sovereigns."
'Would've differed if I'd built human empire as savior per plan.'
Chuckle escaped.
As always, 'Fucked it.' No rewinds.
Irreversible mistakes; he'd shoulder them to save the world.
Nathaniel eyed Gonghyeok worriedly.
- You seem sick lately.
"Have I ever looked normal to you?"
- Well, yeah, but that's different from this!
The little angel sighed softly.
- That coin dump? People'll get way stronger. Probably added five Celestial Knights just now?
"So what. Humans powering up is what angels wanted, right?"
Nathaniel met Ju Gonghyeok's eyes, replying slowly.
- Stronger people means endings like this—no deaths—get harder.
"Don't worry."
Gonghyeok stroked the angel's tawny braided hair.
"No matter what, I'll take responsibility for this world."
- ...
"No matter what means using every means I know, doing whatever it takes..."
A dry smile tugged his lips.
"To save this world, no fail."
Nathaniel turned away unwittingly.
Ju Gonghyeok's eyes gleamed clearer, more chilling than the past she'd seen.