Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Dark King (3)
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'Success.'
Kang Hyun-soo let out a cheer in his mind.
The emergence of the soul contract meant one thing.
Cecilia had decided to join hands with him.
'It was impossible to force a one-sided subordination from the start.'
Even as an illegitimate child, she was direct royalty of the Rockto Empire.
A mastermind who had turned the Shadow Guard into her personal puppets.
On top of that, she was the head of an intelligence network that had a firm grip on information about the next Atlantis Dimension.
She wasn't someone he could slowly build rapport with and recruit like Song Ha-na or the Beast Emperor.
Nor was she a pushover like Ivan Yamelliconen.
That was why he had so many worries.
What if she refused to ally with him at all?
But.
'In the end, it worked.'
Joining hands with Kang Hyun-soo was a huge gain for Cecilia as well.
No less so.
'It’s an enormous gain for me too.'
And for humanity as a whole, it was a massive boon.
"What kind of support can the Dark Knight provide me?"
Cecilia asked Kang Hyun-soo.
"If you need funds, I'll provide money. If you need force, I'll send Ranker Players to back you up."
"Money and force. Then, could you provide me with 1 billion gold and ten Ranker Players?"
Even a massive guild representing a nation would struggle to mobilize such funds and manpower.
But.
"Of course, that's possible."
The Golden Lord Saemaal, who monopolized Guopi sales, was raking in money across the entire Atlantis Dimension.
1 billion gold was an enormous sum.
'But it's well within my means.'
Ten Ranker Players.
Even major guilds rarely had ten Rankers on hand.
But from Kang Hyun-soo's perspective.
'Summon just ten familiars, and it's done.'
During the Mara Dragon Karas raid, he had turned over three hundred Named Players and Rankers into familiars.
He could easily mobilize not just ten Rankers, but a hundred.
"It's puzzling."
"What's that?"
"That a group with such immense funds and power has been hiding in the shadows."
Cecilia seemed genuinely shocked.
"Is there anything else you need? I can provide even more funds and Rankers if you wish."
At Kang Hyun-soo's words, Cecilia let out a scoffing laugh.
"More would be nice, but..."
Cecilia trailed off.
There was only one reason.
She knew the truth of the world: nothing comes free.
Receive more support?
And you'd have to pay an even greater price in return—that was the way of the world.
She had said she'd become his if he paid a fair price.
'But I thought that was impossible.'
She believed the Dark Knight lacked the capacity to pay her a fair price.
So, she planned to give back only as much as they offered.
But.
'It's already more than I can handle.'
Cecilia had requested 1 billion gold and ten Rankers.
But that was an exaggerated test of the Dark Knight's capabilities.
'I heard that during the Mulan Kingdom incident, about twenty Named Players and Rankers under the Dark Knight were wiped out.'
That's why she judged their forces to be significantly weakened.
Yet.
'Not at all.'
Since she was already committed, she figured she might as well ask for more boldly.
Even if it meant staking everything she had.
"Then, could you provide 10 billion gold and a hundred Ranker Players?"
Cecilia swallowed hard.
With 10 billion gold?
She could rapidly complete her intelligence network in its foundational stage.
And that was just the beginning.
It would also greatly aid in buying off nobles and building her faction.
Plus, a hundred Ranker Players?
'That's the power of an entire nation.'
Even a national monarch couldn't mobilize a hundred Rankers without just cause.
A hundred was a number achievable only by scraping together every Ranker from the royal family, kingdom-affiliated forces, and major guilds in a crisis threatening national survival.
Such vast funds and manpower.
Even if they controlled the Shadow Guard, the emperor's cleanup crew.
If they were willing to provide that to a mere imperial bastard.
'How massive a force have they built?'
They might even have the power to rival the Rockto Empire's imperial family.
'Is it possible?'
It seemed unlikely.
But if it was.
'It's worth betting my life on.'
With that kind of power.
She would beg to be taken in first.
She wouldn't trust them completely.
'My future self said she was a failure.'
She ultimately failed to become emperor of the Rockto Empire.
Instead, she became the culprit behind its downfall.
By Cecilia's standards, that made her.
A failure.
No—destroying a nation and letting hundreds of millions of subjects die in agony?
'A traitor to humanity, not just a mere failure.'
For the current Cecilia.
The very idea that she could gain enough power to destroy the Rockto Empire felt unreal.
"I can provide that support."
Kang Hyun-soo's straightforward answer made Cecilia's face stiffen.
"Then let's make the contract."
Kang Hyun-soo nodded, and Cecilia drafted the soul contract.
In the midst of it.
"What must I give in return?"
Cecilia asked Kang Hyun-soo.
Depending on what was written in the soul contract.
She could end up as his puppet.
'That's the one thing I want to avoid.'
She knew it was selfish.
Even if she joined the Dark Knight.
She didn't want to be a lowly grunt following orders from above.
She wanted to be one of the upper echelons issuing commands.
"Just accept the position I assign you without refusal."
"There must be restrictions."
From Kang Hyun-soo's words, Cecilia realized that the positions granted within the Dark Knight organization itself served as a constraint and penalty.
'That must be why the Dark Knight organization remains untainted and intact.'
"Yes. Will you stop drafting the contract?"
Kang Hyun-soo asked Cecilia.
Cecilia agonized over it.
But no matter how much she thought.
'I can't pass up this opportunity.'
The path ahead for Cecilia was a thorny one.
And success was far from guaranteed.
'The future can change.'
The Dark Knight organization approached as an ally now.
But if she refused the contract?
'It could become an enemy.'
It might stand against her to prevent the Rockto Empire's fall.
'I have no choice.'
Now that she had a glimpse of the Dark Knight's power.
Cecilia had no options left.
She had to devour the ferocious beast called the Rockto Empire and make it her own.
But if the equally untamable beast known as the Dark Knight turned hostile here.
She would be torn to shreds.
"Let's proceed. But promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"Guarantee my free will. I've had enough of living as a puppet following orders from above."
"Of course."
At Kang Hyun-soo's response, Cecilia added that clause to the soul contract.
A moment later.
The soul contract was complete.
"Take a look."
Cecilia handed the soul contract to Kang Hyun-soo.
Kang Hyun-soo read it over.
The terms were straightforward.
No tricks or twists.
"No issues. Shall we seal it?"
Cecilia nodded at Kang Hyun-soo's words.
Thud!
Cecilia pricked her finger, used her blood as ink, and pressed her thumbprint.
Thud!
Kang Hyun-soo did the same, pricking his finger and using his blood for his thumbprint.
Once both Cecilia and Kang Hyun-soo had affixed their prints.
Whoosh!
The soul contract dissolved into light and split into two.
It was then absorbed into Cecilia and Kang Hyun-soo's bodies.
"Now uphold your end of the contract."
At Cecilia's demand.
"It's a bit cramped, but doable."
Swoosh!
Kang Hyun-soo summoned a hundred familiars, created from Named Players and Rankers, appointed as company and platoon commanders.
"What is this?!"
Cecilia gasped as the mana flowing from Kang Hyun-soo's body took on human forms.
All hundred familiars were fully armed company and platoon commanders.
Not a single inch of skin was exposed.
'I appointed fifty made from Named Players as company commanders and fifty from Rankers as platoon commanders.'
As a one-man army, he could appoint sixty-four company commanders and each could appoint 192 familiars.
'The ones based on Rankers are a bit weaker.'
But the Named Player-based company commanders would cover for them.
'Overall strength is at least equal to—or greater than—a hundred Ranker Players.'
Kang Hyun-soo had faithfully fulfilled the soul contract.
"I sense no life in them. They're not human, are they?"
Cecilia asked, her face full of shock.
"Correct."
"May I examine them closely?"
Kang Hyun-soo nodded at Cecilia's request.
Cecilia stood and approached the familiars.
"They look human at a glance, but up close, it's obvious they're not. No breathing, no heartbeat. How do such beings exist?"
She marveled as she inspected them closely.
"Do they possess strength equal to Ranker Players?"
No sooner had Cecilia asked.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The hundred familiars simultaneously drew up their mana.
"It's real."
Cecilia's face paled under the pressure of mana from the hundred familiars.
Swoosh!
The familiars reined in their mana.
Cecilia was stunned by the hundred familiars.
But Kang Hyun-soo was surprised by something else.
'No one came.'
They must have sensed the familiars' mana.
Yet not a single one of Cecilia's subordinates entered.
'I can feel presences waiting outside.'
It wasn't a lack of loyalty.
'They trust Cecilia that much.'
Cecilia probably had separate ways to signal for external help.
"Here you go."
Kang Hyun-soo handed Cecilia a card.
Modeled after Earth's cards, it functioned just like an ATM card.
"It's a debit card with 10 billion gold."
Cecilia took the card with trembling hands at Kang Hyun-soo's words.
"The Goldroad Merchant Group must belong to the Dark Knight."
Cecilia confirmed the card was issued by Goldroad Merchant Group and asked.
"Yes."
"I heard they're raking in money across Atlantis with Guopi herbs."
"Correct."
"You truly see the future."
Satisfaction bloomed on Cecilia's face.
Not just because of the powerful familiars and vast sum.
Knowing the future was the greatest power of all.
Cecilia was thrilled that she could now share in that power.
"I've fulfilled all the contract terms."
Cecilia swallowed hard at Kang Hyun-soo's words.
Now it was her turn to uphold the contract.
Since Kang Hyun-soo had paid the price, Cecilia couldn't refuse.
"Bestow the position upon me, my lord."
Cecilia knelt gracefully and bowed her head.
'Appoint Commander.'
Kang Hyun-soo appointed Cecilia as a squad leader.
[Player Kang Hyun-soo has used the Commander Appointment skill. Do you accept?]
[Yes] [No]
Cecilia hesitated for a moment, glanced at Kang Hyun-soo, then selected Yes.
Dark King (4)