Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: ACT.10 Throne of Greed (3)
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“It was bound to happen anyway. It was just a matter of time.”
In fact, I was grateful.
This was far better for my plans than them coming to surrender obediently.
Jeong Ha-yeon looked at the man and frowned slightly.
“I won’t let this stand, you petty scoundrel!”
The man cracked his knuckles and slowly approached.
I didn’t know who he was, but he was obviously another ruler from nearby.
Was he in that much of a hurry to come himself? Another ruler could have raided his empty base.
Was he so desperate that he couldn't think of that, or was his brain just not working?
Guess you could say he was living up to his bear-like appearance.
“Come out right now! Face me in a fair one-on-one fight!”
The man roared.
He doesn’t even care about aggroing the monsters.
If I hadn’t cleared out the nearby monsters yesterday, this place would already be a mess.
I turned my gaze from him to check on the construction site.
Perhaps because so many people were working on it, a considerable length of road had already been built.
“Cha Eun-ha. Take the people and return to the base.”
“Right now?”
“This is enough construction for now. We’re going to start on something else.”
[Character Information]
Name: Wang Jun-ho
Gender: Male (33)
Strength: 30(+2) Stamina: 30(+2) Agility: 10 Mana: 0
Unique Ability: (None)
Traits: Strengthened Body (C), Strength Amplification (D)
Skills: Superhuman Strength (D), Heavy Blow (C)
I used Extreme Eye to check the man's information.
He was exactly the type of guy he looked like, through and through.
The Strengthened Body trait was like a common trait that most people with physical enhancement abilities had.
You could almost see him as a carbon copy of Yang Gyu-hyeok.
There was nothing threatening about him.
Zero mana. At this rate, he'd even lose a one-on-one fight against Jo Min-woo.
“Die, Kim Se-hyeon!!”
Wang Jun-ho spread his arms wide and ran to grab me.
It seems he really can't think straight.
I sighed and extended my arm forward.
*Thwack!*
When I caught his fist with my outstretched hand, Wang Jun-ho couldn't move an inch.
He broke out in a cold sweat, trying to push his fist forward, but it was immobile.
As our eyes met, I could see his face gradually distorting.
I let out a soft, airy chuckle and pulled him towards me.
“Huh, huh?”
“Idiot.”
*Thud!*
“Gah,” With a short cry, Wang Jun-ho's body fell flat on the ground.
The shock must have been great; his body trembled as he barely managed to push himself up, only to collapse back down, unable to muster any strength.
Looks like I controlled my strength just right.
“I... I was taken down in one hit...?”
“We're fighting in my territory. Of course I'd be overwhelmingly stronger.”
As I said it nonchalantly with a pitiful look, Wang Jun-ho's eyebrows trembled as if he'd just realized his mistake.
“Th-this isn't fair!”
“Are you an idiot? You came to someone else's territory.”
I was wondering which it was, and it turns out he's the stupid type.
Then again, if he had a working brain, he wouldn't have just stormed over here in a fit of anger.
[You are victorious.]
[You have gained the right to decide the fate of character ‘Wang Jun-ho’.]
Even if it's not a coup, in a fight between rulers, the winner gets to decide what to do with the loser.
They can take everything, or they can show mercy.
‘Usually, taking everything would be the obvious choice, but...’
I shook my head.
Was it around the time I saw the 56th ending?
There was a time I played while being as vicious as possible, monopolizing everything.
But that just led to me getting stuck more often than when I didn't monopolize things.
The devil's trap.
There are many reasons, but the biggest one is the massive acquisition of coins from being a ruler—a very sweet, yet fatal, trap.
“You saw the system message, too.”
Wang Jun-ho flinched and cautiously watched my expression.
The system decided this.
As a player, you know full well you can't defy it.
“Essentially, it's safe to say I hold the power of life and death over you.”
“A-are you going to kill me...?”
“It might be something more painful than death.”
As I slightly moved the sword resting on his neck, the color drained even more from Wang Jun-ho's face.
“What should I do? Should I convert everything into coins and take it? Then you'd be no different from a regular person. If I don't let you into the base in that state, you'll be surrounded by monsters... Ah, you probably can't go back to your old base either. The survivors there will be grinding their teeth, waiting for you to return.”
This is why you don't fight recklessly between rulers.
How horrifying the consequences were of coming after me rashly, led by emotion without a second thought.
Realizing this, Wang Jun-ho, pale as a sheet, began to plead.
“N-no. Please! Anything but the coins... please...!”
The more power one gains, the more they fear losing it.
Because they know better than anyone the misery of being powerless.
[The ‘Angel of Benevolence’ requests leniency.]
I glanced at the message and turned my eyes back to Wang Jun-ho.
It's still too early to give up the angel's patronage for various reasons.
If my relationship with the angels sours, it'll be difficult during the 'Fallen Angel' event later on.
I sheathed my sword and extended a hand to Wang Jun-ho.
“It was a joke. I'm not going to do anything.”
“Huh...?”
“I'm going to create a world where everyone can survive. We shouldn't be played by the devil, killing each other. To do that, I need talented people.”
Wang Jun-ho stared up at me blankly.
One thing people forget while caught up in playing ruler is that this world is hurtling towards destruction, and they could face a life-or-death crisis at any moment.
The will to live is a primal desire every human possesses.
It's not difficult to persuade them by reminding them of that fact.
Of course, the possibility of betrayal isn't zero.
“Oh, and I really hate traitors.”
“...!?”
When I deliberately gave him a chilling smile, a terrified Wang Jun-ho nodded his head frantically.
“I-I'll do it! No! I will do it! Please, accept me as your ally!”
“A wise decision.”
Reminding him of the overwhelming power gap will ensure his cooperation.
After that, all that's left is for him to follow me, driven by his desire to live.
[Ruler ‘Wang Jun-ho’ relinquishes his authority.]
[The ‘Chungjeongno Station’ base is now included in your territory.]
[The ‘Angel of Benevolence’ sighs in relief.]
[The ‘Devil Who Mocks the Heavens’ gives an inscrutable smile.]
***
It seems Wang Jun-ho was the biggest of the small-to-medium-sized rulers in this area, because once the rumor spread that he was overwhelmingly defeated, others came to surrender on their own.
The fact that I didn't take anything from him must have also played a big part.
They must have thought, ‘If we get on his bad side, we might lose everything. Better to surrender quickly and ensure our safety than fight a losing battle.’
A wise choice.
“It seems a few places are still holding out.”
“They're trusting in the ruler's stat bonus.”
They probably think that if they fight within their own territory, they might have a chance.
A foolish thought.
I'm only leaving them be because I don't need to go out and conquer them myself.
If I put my mind to it, I could conquer a single base by myself in under an hour.
I chuckled and pressed the ruler trait to check the status of my territory.
‘It's done.’
Seeing their loyalty towards me had risen considerably, I smiled with satisfaction.
This is complete enough.
The more dramatic the situation, the greater the reward.
This was the cornerstone for that.
“Kim Se-hyeon-nim! We have testimony from the newly arrived survivors! They say the ruler of the west is preparing to attack!”
“A survivor from the central area is saying something similar! They think a war will break out soon...!”
“The first group of survivors from the south has arrived! It's a long way off, but they say the south is also displeased and preparing to make a move!”
“I understand. Please provide the newcomers with suitable shelter and food. I'll handle that matter.”
The west and the center. And the south.
They're moving just as I thought they would.
Naturally, there's only one stance they can take.
‘Form a temporary alliance and deal with the most annoying one, the north, first.’
When I did the same thing with the central area as my base, it was more difficult because I had to fend off enemies from all sides, but being in the north has actually made it a bit easier.
But that's only when it comes to defending.
In fact, for the plan to proceed smoothly, a 'situation where it's easy for enemies to attack' works to my advantage.
Still, this part seems to be proceeding without any major issues.
‘Is the east not making a move at all?’
My brow furrowed.
The current ruler of the east, of Cheongnyangni Station, is someone I don't know, someone from the original reality.
The only information I have is that he's presumed to be someone who played 'End of Apocalypse' enough to impersonate the Strategy King.
While I can predict his actions to some extent, at other times, I can't predict them at all.
I wonder what he's thinking, staying quiet like this.
He'll get a penalty if he doesn't fight at all.
Come to think of it, there are no immigrants from the east.
Could it be that he's not collecting taxes either?
If he wasn't going to collect taxes, why didn't he declare it?
I shifted my gaze to the crystal ball sitting on the desk.
There had been no contact from Lee Seon-yul since then.
Either Lee Seon-yul hasn't found anything new since then, or he's in a situation where he can't make contact.
It was a bit of a shame that the crystal ball could only receive communications.
‘If only the phone network were restored, communication would be much easier.’
But for now, it's impossible, which is unfortunate.
I dismissed everyone and leaned back in my chair.
Each ruler will likely try to persuade their people to participate in the war with various rewards.
On the other hand, the people here will participate voluntarily, if only because they don't want to go back to a life of paying taxes.
‘Still, thanks to the immigrants, I've gathered information on each of the rulers.’
As expected, not just the central ruler, but the southern one as well, is not the person I knew from before.
I guess it's a relief that the western ruler is the same as before.
The other rulers probably won't have stats or skills that are vastly different from the original rulers I knew.
They were strong enough to push out the old ones and take over, so they're probably a bit more skilled.
Anyway, stats have a limit. There shouldn't be a big difference in stats.
And it's not like they could have just raised the ranks of their traits or skills willy-nilly.
Because raising the rank of a trait or skill requires a significant amount of coins.
Plus, rulers have to pay a higher 'usage fee'.
I think a ruler with a golden crown had to pay a million coins every day.
It's proportional to the amount of tax collected, so that would be the minimum.
You get a golden crown when your group exceeds five thousand people, and you can get that much just by collecting 200 coins from each person.
In other words, the only way they can really power up is...
“Through equipment.”
I tapped the pommel of the Sa-in-cham-sa-geom.
As for equipment, you can pretty much assume it doesn't drop from monsters, and if you want to craft it, blacksmiths who can make player-exclusive gear are few and far between.
So, it's safe to assume they're armed with the best things they can buy from the shop with their coins.
Even so, the equipment you can buy from the early-game shop is just expensive, not very good.
At best, it's inferior to, or on par with, the Hunter's set.
All things considered, I had the upper hand in every aspect.
‘It's a good thing I don't have to pay the usage fee thanks to my special privilege.’
If I had to pay the fee, I probably would have used a different, more troublesome method.
I once again felt grateful for my privilege.
“Se-hyeon-nim.”
Im Byeong-hwi rushed into the room.
His face was bright, as if he'd finally found what he was looking for.
“Looks like he's here.”
“Yes. A report came in. He doesn't seem to be doing anything yet, but what should we do?”
“I'll go myself. If I leave it to others, he'll slip away easily. Im Byeong-hwi-nim, please continue with your original task.”
I smirked and rose from my seat.
I was just thinking it was about time for that guy to make a move.
A big fish has finally been caught in the net I laid out.