Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Operation: Recruiting the Pushover King (3)
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“That means you’ll accept it.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, Ivan nodded with an expression like he was sorry enough to die.
“But this is the last time. Next time, I’ll definitely give you something instead.”
Ivan made a firm vow to himself.
If Kang Hyun-soo asked for his life?
He looked ready to hand over his own neck.
“My final gift is one buff. Once you receive it, all your stats will increase by at least 30% from what they are now.”
“Huh! That much?”
“Yes. And you’ll also be able to converse with me freely anytime.”
“That’s amazing!”
“Of course, there’s one massive drawback.”
“What is it?”
“Once it’s applied, it can’t be undone. It means you’ll have to share life and death with me forever.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words.
“What kind of drawback is that? That’s an advantage, not a drawback. I’m actually worried I might be a burden to you. Aren’t I just a rookie who barely graduated from training?”
“No way. I believe in Player Ivan’s effort and tenacity.”
He truly did.
Before regression, Ivan had stood at the pinnacle with the title One-Man Army.
He’d gained a new class called One Leads Ten instead of One-Man Army.
‘He has all the qualities to reach the top again.’
On top of that, his new class One Leads Ten.
‘It’s a class I’ve never even heard of.’
It was definitely Unique-grade.
The class skills themselves were strong, and their synergy effects were incredible.
If there had been room in the number of Replica skills he could hold?
‘I’d want to take them all for myself.’
But that was.
‘Too greedy.’
With Herculean Strength acquired, the total number of Replica skills was ten.
Even though Replica had become S-Rank.
‘Only one slot left.’
Ivan’s class skills were linked to each other, amplifying their effects.
Taken individually.
They couldn’t match the ten Replica skills Kang Hyun-soo held.
For now.
‘I need to be satisfied with bringing Ivan Yamelliconnen under my command.’
Kang Hyun-soo smiled and used Commander Appointment on Ivan.
“Ah, this must be it.”
Ivan accepted the Commander Appointment skill without a shred of doubt.
“Huh? But it says my stats only went up 5%?”
Ivan asked with a puzzled look.
He’d been promised 30%, so 5% was understandably strange.
‘That’s because I appointed you as squad leader.’
A squad leader’s stat amplification was 5%.
But there was no need to worry.
The remaining 25%.
‘Commander’s Blessing.’
He planned to fill it with the blessing.
“Oooo!”
As all his stats shot up 30% at once, Ivan’s face lit up with ecstasy.
“Ivan, please don’t tell anyone about me.”
This was a request.
And an order.
“Understood.”
“Even your tutorial comrades—it has to stay secret.”
“I’ll do that. If this gets out, won’t it just cause trouble for you, Mr. Kang Hyun-soo?”
Ivan was a pushover.
But not an idiot.
“Now it’s time for us to part ways.”
“I’m really sad about it.”
-There’s no need to be sad. No matter how far apart we are, we can talk anytime.
-Ah, right. This is so amazing.
-Contact me often from now on. You can consult me on worries or just chat about what’s been happening.
-Yes, I will.
-See you next time.
-Next time, I’ll show you an even stronger me.
With those words.
Ivan returned to the Rokto Imperial Army’s garrison.
***
‘It wrapped up easily.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s biggest reason for coming to the Rokto Empire was to meet Ivan.
There were two reasons he absolutely had to meet Ivan.
The first was Ivan’s unique skill, Herculean Strength.
The second was bringing Ivan under his command.
‘The first was a given, but the second had me a bit worried.’
Acquiring Herculean Strength was easy—just meet Ivan.
The second required toasting him up within three days.
‘He really was a total pushover.’
Kang Hyun-soo had met Ivan after he’d shed a lot of his pushover tendencies.
That’s why their relationship had been close yet distant.
They thought of each other as friends.
But they hid what needed hiding and only gave what they chose to.
‘Well, the fact that he got close to me proves he still had some pushover left.’
Before regression, Kang Hyun-soo’s Replica ownership had been public knowledge.
Getting close to him despite that.
Meant tolerating the risk of his skills being copied.
Kang Hyun-soo had reunited with Ivan, his only true friend before regression.
And properly reeled in the pushover.
He now held Ivan’s entire life in his hands.
It was an act so ruthless that even Ivan’s tutorial comrades who’d backstabbed him would look like angels.
However.
‘I won’t let you regret today’s choice.’
Ivan would suffer many losses ahead because of his pushover nature.
‘And he’ll gradually resemble his pre-regression self.’
Pre-regression Ivan had done countless pushover acts.
But he’d never made a single true ally.
This time was different.
‘I’ll be your real friend.’
A friend who would never betray him, believe in him to the end, and stand by him.
That was the one gift Kang Hyun-soo could give Ivan.
***
The Rokto Empire was a great power with vast territories.
It was also the suzerain over numerous vassal states.
Naturally, it was impossible for one emperor to rule this massive empire single-handedly.
Thus, countless nobles assisted the emperor in governing the Rokto Empire.
At the pinnacle among them were the Rokto Empire’s Five Great Dukes.
The First Duke handled national defense.
The Second Duke, law and order.
The Third Duke, administration.
The Fourth Duke, diplomacy.
The Fifth Duke, surveillance.
The Rokto Empire, with its expansive lands, had fourteen dukes in total.
But the ones wielding the greatest real power were these Five Great Dukes.
And one of those Five Great Dukes, the Fourth Duke, was.
‘The Demon King’s minion.’
His true identity had only been revealed after the Rokto Empire’s fall.
‘The biggest problem was that the one in charge of diplomacy was the Demon King’s minion.’
He was the mastermind who dragged his feet on Rokto Imperial Army movements under the pretext of curbing vassal state powers.
‘I need to take him out.’
Only then could the Rokto Empire avoid destruction, and the Atlantis dimension win against the Demon King’s army.
‘It won’t be easy.’
The Five Great Dukes’ power was so entrenched that even the emperor couldn’t touch it lightly.
But flip that around?
‘The Five Great Dukes themselves are thorns in the emperor’s side.’
The current emperor was wise.
He maintained a delicate balance with the Five Great Dukes to rule the Rokto Empire.
But his successor.
‘Was utterly incompetent.’
He hated work and loved play too much.
As a result, most of the Rokto emperor’s power shifted to the Five Great Dukes.
‘And he was the only son, so nothing could be done.’
The incompetent successor was the current emperor’s sole heir.
He ascended the throne without issue.
‘The Five Great Dukes actively supported the crown prince too.’
It was natural—they’d gain more power with an incompetent emperor.
‘I have to eliminate the Fourth Duke while the current emperor still reigns.’
Once the successor took the throne?
Removing the Fourth Duke would be impossible.
To make it possible.
‘I’d need to turn the crown prince into my man.’
But that was nearly impossible.
How could he bring the Rokto Empire’s crown prince under his wing?
Even meeting the crown prince through his tight security was a pipe dream.
‘First, a warning shot.’
Kang Hyun-soo summoned the Poison King.
‘In terms of skill, Fist Emperor and Martial Sovereign are superior.’
But those two were Rokto natives.
If their identities leaked?
It would cause all sorts of problems.
‘Go.’
At Kang Hyun-soo’s command, the Poison King infiltrated the imperial palace.
***
‘Easy.’
Kang Hyun-soo observed through the Poison King’s eyes.
The imperial palace was enormous.
And its defenses were insanely tight.
But.
‘Sewers are still the best.’
They couldn’t station guards everywhere, even in the sewers.
‘The problem is it ends here.’
He’d breached the outer palace easily.
But the inner palace where the emperor resided had no sewer connection.
‘It’s not just the sewers—all passages linking the inner and outer palaces are cut off.’
The inner and outer palaces were essentially completely separated.
‘And the defenses are overkill.’
Beyond knights guarding it like a fortress, detection skills blanketed every corner—no rat could slip through.
‘Sneaking in while hiding identity is basically impossible.’
So the remaining option?
‘Frontal assault.’
Thud. Thud.
The Poison King, following Kang Hyun-soo’s orders, approached the inner palace openly.
“What’s your business?”
The imperial guard knights at the inner palace gate questioned the Poison King.
‘They think I’m friendly.’
The Poison King wore armor mimicking an imperial guard knight, forged from mana.
Of course, the details were lacking.
But at a glance?
It resembled a Rokto imperial palace guard knight.
Plus, while not as secure as the inner palace, the outer palace’s defenses made infiltration by outsiders nearly impossible anyway.
‘It’s not unreasonable for them to assume ally.’
But such a crude disguise wouldn’t get him into the inner palace.
Even real imperial guard armor wouldn’t suffice without thorough identity verification.
‘In the end, only this way.’
The Poison King spoke.
“I’ve come representing the Dark Knights to see His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Rokto Empire.”
“What?”
“Dark Knights?”
The guard knights jumped in shock.
They’d thought him a comrade, but he represented the Dark Knights?
“Please inform His Imperial Majesty that the Dark Knights have come to share a way to prevent the Rokto Empire’s downfall.”
“The Rokto Empire’s downfall?”
“How dare some intruder spout such nonsense!”
The guard knights swarmed, surrounding the Poison King.
“If you won’t relay the message, I’ll take my leave.”
With those words, pitch-black mana began seeping from the Poison King’s body.
“Wait here.”
The apparent leader of the guard knights ordered his subordinates to watch him closely, then entered the inner palace.
‘Success.’
A bright smile bloomed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
‘This was the crucial part.’
The Rokto emperor wouldn’t possibly refuse such an offer.
The issue was whether word of the Dark Knights’ arrival reached him, or if they attacked on sight.
‘I figured the odds favored attack.’
Unauthorized intrusion into the palace.
Beheading on the spot wouldn’t be surprising.
Even if they spared his head to report, they’d likely dismember and subdue him first.
That would be trouble.
Injury in combat could expose the summon’s identity.
Kang Hyun-soo would unsummon him, and they’d fail to meet the emperor.
‘Lucky the captain had a brain.’
Otherwise?
‘Higher-ups might’ve prepped protocols for Dark Knight encounters.’
Like orders not to attack rashly.
The current Rokto emperor?
‘He’d have issued such directives in advance.’
Moments later.
The guard knight who’d entered returned with someone.
‘First Imperial Guard Captain, Duke Rojas.’
Duke Rojas was a named player with the Sword Saint title.
And commander of the imperial guards.
‘Still the same.’
Unlike Fist Emperor or Martial Sovereign, Sword Saint Duke Rojas never lost his title.
Far in the future, he’d be hailed as one of Atlantis’s Three Great Swordsmen, his fame even greater.
“Follow me.”
At the Sword Saint’s words, the Poison King, under Kang Hyun-soo’s guidance, entered the inner palace.