Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: After the Dragon-Phoenix King Falls
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Splash!
Yoo Seongwon's sword slashed mercilessly, unleashing the Overlord Heavenly Sword Style's Earth Star Flash—a wave of light that spread like a tsunami.
Everything in its path burned away in the brilliance, with only the elite guard captains barely surviving through their mana and skills.
[Arghhhhhhh!]
But the target was the Dragon-Phoenix King's incarnation, after all.
A sky-shattering scream erupted from the shadow behind the canopy on the dais, and both the canopy and the shadow vanished in an instant.
The guards inside the Imperial Palace froze upon hearing it. Then, a sound like shattering glass rang out from the heavens, and specks of light began drifting down to the earth.
"My body... it's losing strength!"
"Ah... His blessing... the laws are fading."
"The constellation... is gone? What happens to us now?"
Guard captains, guards, and the newly reinforced troops stared blankly at the sky and their status windows, dumbfounded by the phenomenon.
With the enemy's leader—the Dragon-Phoenix King—gone, further fighting was pointless.
Yoo Seongwon snapped back to attention, sword in hand, and shouted to those around him to wrap things up quickly.
"The Dragon-Phoenix King's incarnation has vanished! This is our victory! Stand down! No need for more pointless sacrifices! Surrender! Drop your weapons!"
"...We surrender."
"All forces, surrender! Without the constellation, we're done!"
"Damn it!"
"Fighting on like this just means death."
The guard captains and the Dragon-Phoenix King's forces surrendered swiftly.
Even if they won, they couldn't revive their constellation anyway.
Yoo Seongwon didn't stop there and immediately issued orders to his knights.
"First, round up all the guard captains! Heavenly Army General—head to the southern border with the Chinese Communist Party and assemble the Commander Legion to stand guard. I'll contact the border defenses on your way."
"Yes, General!"
"Akaron and Seom-myeol, check the border situation on the Qin Emperor's side. Jinseok, take the full Heavenly Sword Army and lead them north toward Russia! I'll contact the border defenses there too! Move out now!"
"Yes!"
Victory in a game-like scenario didn't mean everything was over.
The real work came in the aftermath.
This had been a swift, brutal civil war with no warning to outsiders, but foreign powers would soon notice the collapse of the Dragon-Phoenix King's system. Defense was critical.
Yoo Seongwon gathered the remaining guard captains, brought in by others, and began persuading them.
"We're not here to conquer or rule this country. The Dragon-Phoenix King was the one who locked me up and tried to steal my knights first. But even so, if we just up and leave irresponsibly, this place will descend into chaos."
"...So you're going to rule it?"
"Didn't you hear my opening statement? I have no intention of ruling! But abandoning it entirely would lead to disorder here, an apocalypse scenario, or the Chinese Communists and Russians going mad and invading. Then it'd spiral into chaos and destruction, shaking the whole world. You're top-tier, right? Super-elite?"
"Then what should we do?"
"For now, I sent our knights to secure the borders, so contact your border defenses and units there. Tell them to cooperate with us—make something up. Announcing the constellation's gone would just cause more panic..."
Nods.
They weren't thrilled about cooperating with the man who felled their constellation, but the guard captains had no choice. Ignoring him risked the nation's peace. They immediately relayed orders to their units and defenses to coordinate.
True to the nation's rigid hierarchy and control, the super-elite and top-tier guard captains' words were followed without question. Border defenses and military units nationwide calmly shifted to external vigilance.
***
Two days later.
After erasing the scars of battle, quelling the immediate fires, and getting some rest, Yoo Seongwon and his group reconvened with the guard captains in the conference room.
"We've caught a breather. But... we're not out of the woods. Now we have to figure out how to proceed without that Dragon-Phoenix King bastard..."
"You're really not planning to rule?"
"I said no! Sigh~ Should we just leave? Can you guard captains handle the aftermath yourselves? Announce the constellation's gone and plan operations? Want chaos or getting carved up by neighbors?"
"...Then what's your goal? Just kill the constellation and take nothing?"
"Don't make me repeat myself. I said your constellation picked the fight first! We just want you to maintain the national system quietly. Chaos here strengthens other constellations... and we don't want a world war breaking out..."
Distrust and lingering resentment hung in the air, but with no alternatives, they began stabilizing the Dragon-Phoenix King's China under Yoo Seongwon and the guard captains' oversight, maintaining the system.
But this was just first aid. Real measures were needed to protect it from future threats, including neighboring countries.
"We can hide it for now, blame the damage on Yutian's attack, but rumors will spread soon. Running the country after the constellation's system breaks is the issue..."
"What do you plan to do?"
"I'm not deciding that. You're the next in line after the Dragon-Phoenix King, so gather and... form a National Reconstruction Committee or something. What would you want? Public opinion?"
"We—and the people—probably want to keep things as they are."
"Yeah."
No need for complex thoughts—just follow the Dragon-Phoenix King's orders, enjoy the status and treatment given.
Even the lowest class got housing, food, marriage, and jobs, living worry-free.
People under his rule couldn't imagine life without him now.
Suddenly forming their own government? They wouldn't accept it easily.
"The old generation... mostly gone?"
"Yes. Only a tiny few remain, from the Dragon-Phoenix King era."
"Ah... what a headache."
They couldn't deceive forever.
The goal: naturally form a new government from locals, establish systems to protect lives. But with a structure of passive workers, even that was painful.
"How about... electing a representative from you guard captains? Need an interim national head..."
"Could... you take it, Mr. Yoo Seongwon? No reason not to, and it's temporary..."
One guard captain raised a hand with a bombshell suggestion. Yoo Seongwon recoiled in horror.
"Does that make sense? I'm a foreigner! Even if I did, would anyone buy it?"
"If we say you beat the Dragon-Phoenix King, they'd accept it."
"No way! Don't shove it on me! I have my own stuff—hey! No clapping! Stop clapping! Who's that? Suddenly pulling an Imperial March from Star Wars?"
Yoo Seongwon was utterly exasperated.
These people, conditioned to helplessness, rarely thought for themselves. Telling them to do so wouldn't work. Some guard captains subtly pushed for him as leader.
"Man, this is frustrating. What now? Can't just abandon it..."
Pushing wouldn't help, so he told them to discuss among themselves and retreated alone to the palace in the Imperial Palace, lamenting while gazing at the view.
The citadel was cleaned up, people resuming duties mechanically, as if nothing happened.
[Why not just have the Contractor take the throne?]
"Gaulf, isn't ruling one city tough enough? A whole country—that's too harsh."
[You have to eliminate all the world's constellations anyway... Having a nation as an ally wouldn't hurt. Broaden your view. Then this country looks small.]
"Sigh~ Maybe. But we can't just take it out of nowhere."
[If you don't, someone else will. Unless you teach these passive humans how to survive.]
A moment's thought per Gaulf's advice revealed countless threats eyeing this land.
Decades of the Dragon-Phoenix King's nurturing had built top-tier infrastructure, economy, culture, and wealth—enough to eclipse the old Chinese Communists and claim China's mantle globally.
"...The Communists would flip if they knew. Ugh, terrifying just thinking."
'This was originally ours! Hand it over! We'll reabsorb and care for the people!'
Amid distorted views of China, Yoo Seongwon imagined the Communists forcibly annexing the Dragon-Phoenix King's domain.
With territory split among Qin Emperor, Dragon-Phoenix King, and Slaughter King—national power weakened—this prime slice around Hebei and Beijing gone? They'd rejoice most.
"If those bastards were intact, we could hand it over and done... pity."
Even divided into four, the Communists and people hadn't changed.
Still clinging to Sino-centrism and dictatorship, controlling tighter, population in billions letting them swagger.
Yoo Seongwon resolved: never hand it back to them.
"Thinking of Uyghurs, Hong Kong—what horrors if they reclaim this? Horrifying."
[Then unify it all outright. Haha! Can't accept such evil.]
"Ridiculous again. Sigh~ Anyway, we came to cooperate but beheaded him—other constellations must be on edge now?"
Humans might not know, but constellations would notice one playing on Earth vanishing, pinpointing Yoo Seongwon.
Next ones would be tougher.
[Self-defense, right? He tried stealing, paid the price. From the story, he wasn't stubborn as a constellation—if he'd cooperated without baiting the Heavenly Sword Army, outcome might differ.]
"Yeah, that's why he's a constellation. No choice but summon Yutian Emperor. But that... backfired. Otherwise..."
They'd face perfect command under the disrupted system, fighting guards without means to strike the constellation—fleeing with subordinates the limit. That was the plan, though.
Victory owed to enemy's greed and luck—Yoo Seongwon couldn't get cocky.
"Is that why? Or that Overlord Knight? Weird—no usual rewards despite winning. Tsk. This sword's enough, but missing them after always getting feels off."
[Bound to happen sometimes. Anyway... break time's over. Back in, Contractor.]
"Got it. Time to work."
With Yutian's sword—a near-divine new weapon—he shrugged off missing rewards and followed Gaulf back to the conference room.