Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Shadow King
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‘A gift is appreciated, but I’ll pass on the tricks.’
Kang Hyun-soo unsummoned the Earth King and didn’t resummon him.
‘The EX-Rank ring from the emperor.’
It was a poisoned apple.
The odds it was tagged with a location-tracking skill were 100%.
‘With the Earth King holding the item, it might as well not exist if I don’t summon him.’
Once he left Rokto Empire territory, he could remove the tracking skill and make good use of it.
‘I wonder how he’ll react?’
Time was short.
The emperor had only three years left to live.
He had to settle things within that timeframe.
Even if he couldn’t take out the Four Dukes right away.
‘He’ll be suspicious.’
What if suspicion turned to certainty?
‘He’d eliminate the Four Dukes and overhaul the system.’
What if the emperor didn’t make a move?
‘I’d just handle it myself.’
Still, he’d accomplished everything he’d come to the Rokto Empire for.
‘And scored some nice bonuses too.’
An EX-Rank item, no less.
‘Once I level up, I can surpass Guardian God Lee Cheol-min’s defense.’
Ring of Protection.
Ring of Vitality from the emperor.
Beast’s Heart Ring from Duke Kalmus.
Plus the Dragon Armor from hunting the Dragon Karas.
For a tank, it was the ultimate setup.
‘And I’ve got Superhuman Strength skill too.’
For a dealer, Superhuman Strength was as cheat-like as it got.
Mana was a bit lacking, though.
‘Heart of Mana can cover that easily.’
Perfect.
It felt like he’d gained both the strongest shield and the strongest spear at once.
‘And I won’t have to worry about lacking stats to create summons anymore.’
If he dumped all the stats he’d piled up from leveling into Strength?
Even at F-Rank, it’d balloon tenfold.
‘Plus, Superhuman Strength is a Replica skill.’
Meaning it could balloon sixteenfold, not just ten.
The higher the Replica and Superhuman Strength skills ranked, the greater the synergy.
‘Skill Enhancement allows infinite leveling, and Stat Fixation lets me stack stats.’
The perfect setup to easily secure stats for summons while rapidly growing stronger himself.
‘Now, just make Replica EX-Rank and grab the remaining four skills.’
Upgrading Replica to EX-Rank would let him add four more skills.
He’d already decided what those four would be.
Fill those slots, and...
‘Replica setup complete.’
Of course, something like Song Ha-na’s Heart of Mana, Earth King’s Primal Sense, or Duke Kalmus’s Beast Transformation could pop up out of nowhere.
‘Then I’d ditch Future Foresight.’
He already had it as a regular skill anyway, and it was the least useful to him, so a good replacement?
He’d drop it in a heartbeat.
Plus.
‘For Skill Enhancement and Stat Fixation, if I can get skillbooks, I could ditch Replica too.’
He’d miss the Replica boosts, sure.
But if better replacements showed up?
Better to discard for the future.
The problem was that unique skills rarely dropped skillbooks even if the owner died.
‘Not urgent right now.’
He could think about it later.
***
‘Quick on the uptake.’
Emperor Rodius I of the Rokto Empire began flood preparations the very next day after receiving Kang Hyun-soo’s message.
He released the dam to lower water levels, built massive levees on a grand scale, and dug drainage channels to brace for the flood.
‘Means he took my words as truth.’
Emperor Rodius I of the Rokto Empire believed the Dark Knight possessed Future Foresight.
‘This is a huge weapon.’
He’d get the same results in future negotiations with the Rokto Empire.
‘I need a solid intel network.’
He was gathering info through the merchant guild led by Golden Lord Saemaal, but.
It still fell short in many ways.
‘He’s probably settled in by now.’
Shadow King.
The king who lurked in darkness, overseeing all information.
‘No one knew his identity.’
More shrouded in mystery than Death Emperor Song Ha-na, whose name and gender were known.
‘The silver lining is he revealed himself in the final battle.’
If he hadn’t?
No one would’ve known a thing about the Shadow King.
‘His actual combat prowess surpassed those with the king title.’
If he’d shown himself and acted openly?
He might’ve been called Shadow Emperor or Shadow Sovereign instead.
‘Can I win him over?’
Killing him was out.
The Shadow King was essential in the war against the Demon King’s army.
Without him?
Humanity would’ve crumbled faster and more pathetically.
But his personal vendetta had cost humanity dearly too.
‘If I could make him move to my tune, he’d be perfect.’
Easier said than done.
Worse, if he botched it and turned hostile?
‘Nothing more headache-inducing.’
For now, even if full recruitment wasn’t possible, building friendly ties was best.
‘Even just friendly relations would help immensely.’
Kang Hyun-soo pondered.
‘Guess I’ll test the waters.’
After much deliberation, Kang Hyun-soo made his decision.
Any other time?
He couldn’t meet the Shadow King this easily.
Because the Shadow King...
‘Vanishes on his own soon enough.’
Even if recruitment failed.
‘Better to meet face-to-face now and secure friendly ties while I can.’
Nothing to lose.
***
The capital of the Rokto Empire teemed with countless people.
Common folk, imperial family, nobles.
But one being didn’t belong to any of those.
“Found out anything?”
“Yes, miss. His Majesty the Emperor met in person with the Dark Knight’s envoy.”
“What did the emperor and Dark Knight discuss?”
“They say he told them the Rokto Empire would fall.”
“Hoo, bold enough to say that to the emperor’s face. The reason?”
“He claimed the Four Dukes were the Demon King’s minions. Also...”
Details of the imperial palace flowed smoothly from the reporter’s mouth.
“Dark Knight, huh.”
“Are they trustworthy?”
“Their claims don’t make them enemies, at least. But not allies either. Any new info on the Dark Knight?”
“None.”
“Not a single one?”
“Yes.”
“People that strong don’t just drop from the sky. Weird.”
Maintaining an organization required money.
People needed to eat, sleep, dress.
Especially with so many powerhouses—proper support was essential.
‘Definitely a hefty sum went into it.’
Yet no trace of such funds moving.
‘Another oddity.’
Humans all had their own desires.
‘Selfish and egocentric, too.’
With that level of strength?
‘They’d want to flaunt it.’
Be it wealth, power, or fame.
Such desires fueled human growth.
Yet the Dark Knights had hidden in shadows for ages.
Not content with that, they’d thrown their lives into defending the Mulan Kingdom—unrelated to them—for free.
‘How the hell?’
At first, she’d suspected they were a Mulan royal outfit.
But no.
‘Jealous.’
The hardest part of running a secret org was satisfying members’ desires.
‘Money’s the easy fix.’
But powerhouses traditionally shunned worldly things.
They craved power and fame over cash.
‘Pacifying glory-hungry idiots who itch to show off ain’t easy.’
So how had they done it?
‘What if their desires were all noble pursuits of honor?’
Possible.
Some did serve and sacrifice anonymously.
But.
‘Even they move by their desires.’
Desire for faceless angel fame.
No one knew their identity.
Which let them seize even greater honor.
Didn’t matter if others were clueless.
It fulfilled their craving, brought massive satisfaction.
But.
‘One or two, maybe. Not a whole crew of that caliber.’
That’d be a miracle.
Moreover.
‘The Dark Knights only surfaced recently.’
How had they satisfied desires before?
If Dark Knights lived purely for the grand cause of safeguarding the Atlantis dimension, desire-free...
Possible.
‘As if.’
She believed no such desireless saints existed.
“Dig as hard as you can. Investigate every soul who entered the capital in the last three weeks.”
“Yes, miss.”
“Go.”
The subordinate bowed quietly and withdrew.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
She drummed the desk, lost in thought.
If the Dark Knight’s words were all true?
How could she exploit it?
Could the Dark Knight fulfill her desires?
Deep in contemplation.
“Miss.”
The subordinate returned.
“A guest has arrived.”
“A guest?”
“Yes.”
She tilted her head.
No one was due.
“Who?”
“Claims to be a Dark Knight.”
“Someone claiming to be Dark Knight came to see me?”
“Yes. What should we do?”
“......”
A long silence.
“Let him in.”
“It could be dangerous.”
“Maybe.”
But she figured the odds were low.
If they meant to kill her?
Better to use a false identity than announce Dark Knight.
Decisively.
‘I wanted to meet one anyway.’
Only through direct talk could she gauge their desires.
Plus, she’d struggled to find a trail so far.
‘Might snag a real lead this time.’
Gains outweighed risks.
“What’re you waiting for?”
The subordinate bowed politely and left.
Moments later.
A man cloaked head to toe appeared.
“Dark Knight, you say? But why come to me...?”
She eyed him with brimming suspicion.
Slam!
He knelt respectfully.
“I greet Sovereign Princess Cecilia.”
Her suspicious gaze chilled at those words.
“Rise.”
He stood at her command.
“I’m no sovereign—just a baron’s daughter. Never call me that again.”
“As you wish.”
“How did you know?”
She asked.
Sovereign was a title for the crown prince’s daughter.
Officially, she’d never received it.
But she was the crown prince’s daughter.
The issue: that fact was top secret.
‘How the hell?’
The Dark Knight knew info no outsider to the Rokto imperial family could possibly have.