Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Fallen Conspirator (3)
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"Women would go crazy for this."
The primary demand came from the nobles.
For NPCs, the effects were limited to skin regeneration and beautification, but it made their skin moist and plump like a baby's. That alone was enough for noblewomen to throw big money at it—they were a dime a dozen.
Next came the users. They got similar effects, but with one special feature applied.
"Plastic surgery isn't possible here, after all."
That was "cosmetic alteration."
Using a beauty potion brought up a skin improvement effect along with a window to select a changed appearance. By repeating this process multiple times, it was even possible to craft a near-perfect face.
Sure, it was just a face in The Lord, but there would be no shortage of people willing to pay a fortune for that.
In a game, beauty for women was power in itself. They could just avoid meeting up in real life, right?
In his previous life, some people had used beauty potions to alter their looks and run scams, but Rokan had no need to worry about that.
"Character customization has its limits."
Even in the initial character creation customization phase, some tweaks were possible, but they were closer to body type adjustments than facial changes.
The core face couldn't be helped—at least not until now.
But from here on out, things would change. Beauty potions would allow modifications to whatever style they desired.
'And men are no exception?'
Did only female users care about looks? Beauty potions would be expensive, but Rokan was certain the demand would be there.
Plus, for users, a single beauty potion wouldn't show proper results, so all that was left was raking in the cash.
"Research mass production of beauty potions."
Letting those who had dabbled in corrupted power—and knew Count Astafel's secrets—go free could be risky, but Rokan knew the opposite: it would chain them down.
They hadn't directly taken the corrupted power, but just being known to have researched it meant their lives, and those of their families, friends, and associates, were no longer guaranteed.
That's why Rokan chose not to eliminate them. Instead, he'd pay them appropriately and let them continue their research.
With one condition: shut down all irrelevant projects and focus solely on beauty potion production.
The day mass production began, The Lord's economy would shake once more.
"It should be about time for word..."
Having finished managing internal affairs, Rokan waited for something.
The emperor's trial was the day after next—news was bound to come.
"It's here."
After waiting a while, the edge of his vision flashed. A "letter" had arrived, one that couldn't be delivered physically.
[Count Astafel died in his underground cell. Suicide suspected.]
"Suicide, huh."
The message was simple.
Count Astafel, imprisoned underground, was dead.
No signs of external intrusion, so suicide was presumed.
But asking Rokan to believe that was unreasonable.
For a man with such a strong will to live, suicide was as absurd as calling Rokan anemic.
"One of the three, then."
Rokan wasn't shaken at all. As if he'd expected it, he nodded and opened the ledger again.
He focused on the three names written inside.
"The first to make contact will be the culprit."
One of them would move now. Through blackmail or persuasion. They'd be itching to know how much Rokan knew.
So all Rokan had to do was sit and wait.
"Strengthen security. Deploy more security personnel."
Of course, he had no intention of meeting them easily. He needed to make them sweat.
To that end, Rokan assigned additional security forces to his territories and shifted the territory settings to security-focused. They could send formal envoys expressing intent to parley or skilled infiltrators, but overwhelming the guard perimeter with numbers would deter even high-level thief-types from approaching carelessly.
Make them sweat, and they'd bet more boldly or desperately.
"I need to get back in shape myself."
With everything handled, Rokan stood.
The other territories would run smoothly on their own now, so it was time to focus on himself.
He had to build the strength to handle all he'd stirred up.
'Master level first.'
Rokan saw that as the bare minimum.
There were higher realms like high master, and even grand master beyond that, but hitting master level alone opened up a lot.
At least on this continent.
"Territory return."
Rokan used the lord's unique territory return skill to head back to his main territory, Regalia.
He'd been away for quite a while, but no one ignored or treated him coldly.
It wasn't just fear of the lord's authority or nobility—Rokan had left behind massive funding in his absence.
Welfare for territory folk and soldiers had improved, and even a small supply of dwarf-made weapons reached the knights, boosting morale and yielding better results than before.
[You have acquired Merit 4.]
[You have acquired Merit 6.]
Those results were naturally from battles against the Black Dragon Legion forces. What other achievements were possible in this disputed zone?
The numbers per batch were similar to before, but he was accumulating merit faster.
Normally, merit was reinvested in gear, more knights and soldiers, or siege weapons, but Rokan had settled it all with cold hard cash.
Thus, merit piled up without consumption, already reaching a considerable amount.
'No need to spend merit yet.'
But he still had no plans to use it. Money could cover those needs, and merit would be crucial later for title promotions and grander purposes.
Instead of territory management, Rokan sought out Osram, the Iron Wall Master.
"You've come, my lord."
Osram looked much healthier than before. Supplies flowed steadily, and Rokan's influx of defense-favorable siege weapons made repelling enemies far easier.
Regalia was in a disputed zone, but defense demands far outstripped attacks, so the difference from before—when tight forces defended without rest—was night and day.
Even so, Osram and his knights made defense possible. Double the funding without them, and who knows what would've happened.
"I haven't been able to pay attention for a while. How are things?"
"Thanks to your consideration, my lord, things are excellent. We now have enough leeway for soldiers and knights to rotate rest, even send out scouts alongside defenses. Casualties have dropped, of course. All thanks to you."
Seeing Osram genuinely joyful and crediting him fully pricked at Rokan's heart, but he simply nodded. He hadn't come for praise.
"Then it's time for a counterattack."
"Counterattack... you say?"
Osram blinked in confusion, but his eyes sparkled. A high master of immense skill, he'd been stuck on defense without unleashing his full power—it was only natural he'd be intrigued.
From master level on, each was a strategic weapon. His body had to be itching.
"From now on, we'll strike the enemy instead. And there's a perfect opportunity."
"What opportunity?"
Rokan paused briefly before whispering his plan. He saw a flicker of ambition in Osram's eyes.
* * *
Black Dragon Legion camp, Sanuha Territory.
This place was in a peculiar situation.
Deep in the outer edges of the Black Dragon Legion camp, yet the flag planted here belonged to the Golden Lion camp—human faction, specifically.
One of the spots Rokan had conquered and stripped bare after the corruption wave.
Some such places had been handed to the emperor, filled with human occupation forces, but Sanuha and a few others had tough geography for defense. They held only basic defensive troops, no major preparations.
Even that was beyond what users could touch.
With users still rare who could 1v1 a single guard, who'd dream of invading?
But they weren't left entirely alone.
"This is our chance! Succeed here, and we'll get titles! So no mistakes—focus on supporting the knights over direct combat!"
A top guild had sweet-talked a noble of their race into lending troops. They'd sworn to reclaim Sanuha.
Impossible for users alone, and the noble hadn't fully trusted them.
But with his private guards and race-supplied forces, retaking a hollowed-out Sanuha seemed easy. So he'd issued the quest.
"Advance! Into the gates!"
"Sweep them all!"
Perhaps that's why. With ample forces secured, they charged straight in without real strategy.
Guards on the walls loosed sporadic arrows, but they trusted their overwhelming numbers and quality to crush them.
"Slaughter the guards! Reclaimers, with me to the lord's castle!"
And their calculations almost hit the mark.
Raising shields overhead, the whole vanguard entered the city unscathed, clashing with guards.
Users meant endless guard respawns, but overwhelming numbers rendered it meaningless.
The quest party shook off guards and raced to the lord's castle for the key point.
"What's that?"
"Take it down!"
They faced someone guarding the entrance.
"Welcome—first time at the fireworks show?"
Squeeze.
Too eager, perhaps? Users hesitant against guards paused, and the blocker pulled a button, squeezing it.
Boom rumble rumble boom!
The fireworks began.
Bombs buried citywide detonated, poison and explosion potions in piles chained reactions, turning it into hell.
"Crazy!"
"What the...!"
Rumble crash.
Even the walls collapsed.
Massive debris blocked every gate. No entrances or exits.
"Neither dead nor alive. I'll send you where you belong."
Boom rumble boom!
Deep in the city, amid soldiers panicking from unexplained blasts, a figure dropped down.
High Master Osram.
"Iron Wall Master" didn't mean purely defensive. It was just a nickname from holding impossible positions with personal might.
Now, his true power was on display.
Thousands sent confident in victory, but without a single master-level—mere scarecrows.
"Gonna keep staring?"
The lord's castle side with Rokan was the same. Sensing Osram's start from extra blasts, Rokan surged with momentum, launching a "defense battle" against the reclaimers.
[Title 'First Knight' effect: 'Knightly Valor' activates. All stats +10% in defense battles.]
[Title 'First Occupation Force' effect: All stats +20% in defense battles.]
[Title 'First Occupation Force' effect: Attack and defense rise proportional to enemy numerical superiority.]