Chapter 261

　　Chapter 261: Thanks for the Meal

　　The Valhalla army’s intentions are clear .

　　Kwak Jun spoke .

　　“Clear?”

　　What they need is time .

　　“ . . . !”

　　Isn’t there a cliché saying that attack is the best form of defence?

　　The crux .

　　Kwak Jun was tackling the fundamental reason behind this war .

　　The Valhalla army is not aiming for victory .

　　“ . . . !”

　　It hasn’t even been a year since the nation’s birth . Hence, its main priority would be to stabilize the domestic affairs and achieve harmony within . That alone takes time! The enemy would rather launch an attack first than to be attacked by a gigantic force called the Gullveig Alliance . And while its soldiers fight outside the nation’s borders, Valhalla plans to strengthen its cohesion .

　　“Yes, that’s right! You are right, Kwak Jun!”

　　Vilhelm nearly slapped his forehead in epiphany .

　　The Valhalla Kingdom has no interest in achieving victory . It would be good if they could, but it’s difficult to expect anything from its smaller-scale army . Moreover, the Supreme King of the West himself is not partic.i.p.ating in the war .

　　“Does that mean…?”

　　Yes, the enemy only desires small victories or defeats . Consequently, Valhalla will try to sign an armistice after multiple small battles .

　　“Those sly b.a.s.t.a.r.ds…! You think I will let you?”

　　You certainly will .

　　“Why would I? What do I have to lose…?”

　　Vilhelm stiffened up, but Kwak Jun quickly corrected his thoughts .

　　Isn’t the Gullveig Alliance similar?

　　“ . . . !”

　　A mob - that is the reality of the Gullveig Alliance . Great in number, but poor in quality .

　　That was the truth .

　　The Gullveig Alliance had comparable equipment and supplies to the Valhalla Kingdom, but the quality of soldiers was vastly inferior .

　　The soldiers of Valhalla were extremely well-trained through high intensity battle simulations .

　　In addition, they were proud to be soldiers thanks to Kang Chul-In’s policy which respected the veterans . The fact that they were part of the ‘unbeatable army’ also reinforced their morale .

　　To top it all off, the Valhalla soldiers possessed the most battle experience in Pangaea .

　　“Ahem…!”

　　Vilhelm cleared his throat . He didn’t feel comfortable listening to this “insult,” but it was a gesture that he agreed .

　　Tactician Kwak Jung is a scary man, but what made Valhalla so strong is the quality of its army . Strictly speaking, isn’t the Valhalla army objectively the greatest army in Pangaea?”

　　“ . . . ”

　　Our Gullveig Alliance is fighting against those men . If we do not achieve good results in this war, your Majesty would have to withdraw your army and sign the armistice . We would be running low on resources .

　　That was the reality .

　　The Gullveig Alliance boasted an incredible economic power, but that wasn’t enough to sustain through a long, tedious war .

　　“If that happens . . . ”

　　Yes, we would be playing by Kang Chul-In’s rules . As you know, the combination of the Supreme King of the West and Overlord Lee Chae-Rin is a threat . Power and money . What could be scarier?

　　“ . . . !”

　　With time, Valhalla will eventually be on par with the Gullveig Alliance in strength . And then . . . ”

　　“That must never happen!”

　　Vilhelm shouted .

　　“How could we ever let that happen!?”

　　Yes, that’s right .

　　Kwak Jun nodded .

　　That should never happen . Therefore… don’t be fooled by Kwak Jung’s tricks and just charge at the enemy with brute force . It’s wiser to deploy the whole army to conquer Deathwin .

　　“But . . . ”

　　Yes, Kwak Jung will do anything he can to stop this all-out attack . But do not be swayed by that . We can trample on the enemy soldiers with a sheer number of men, which is indeed the main advantage of the Gullveig Alliance .

　　Thump!

　　Vilhelm was shocked .

　　Brrrr!

　　Even his body trembled .

　　Right, why didn’t I think of this? I shouldn’t have been swayed by Kwak Jung’s schemes!

　　It was a simple but effective solution, as the Gullveig Alliance lacked the strategizing mind of Valhalla . Even if it was tedious, the best action was to conquer the land of Deathwin, which was situated at the two giants’ boundaries .

　　“Kwak Jun…!”

　　Vilhelm stared at the screen .

　　Yes, your Majesty?

　　“You are right . ”

　　I’m flattered . It’s just a trivial suggestion .

　　“No, I will follow your plan . ”

　　Your Majesty, please think about this carefully . If you just hastily follow my plan, you may end up in a sticky situation .

　　“There’s nothing to think about further . If we fail, the blame lies on me and my army, not you . I’m not an idiot who blames it on others . ”

　　In other words, Vilhelm had decided to heed Kwak Jung’s opinion fully, and attack the land of Deathwin .

　　“Kwak Jun, can you help me for a while?”

　　I beg your pardon?

　　“If you come here and command our alliance army . . . ”

　　I apologize .

　　“ . . . ”

　　His Majesty Vito Clemenza is currently very ill . I can’t leave Paramount at such a critical time .

　　“What a pity . ”

　　I, too, wish to help your Majesty to the best of my abilities . I apologize once again .

　　Kwak Jun bowed at Vilhelm via the screen .

　　d.a.m.n it!

　　Vilhelm was dying from anxiety .

　　He wanted to observe Kwak Jun’s abilities personally, but he had refused to join him in the war .

　　Vilhelm couldn’t threaten or kidnap him as well . Kwak Jun had a valid reason to decline .

　　I will make you my subordinate no matter what .

　　Vilhelm swore .

　　Kwak Jun .

　　He was the key to fighting against Kang Chul-In’s tactician, Kwak Jung .

　　 ***

　　“Wis.h.i.+ng you the best for the war, your Majesty . ”

　　Kwak Jun told Vilhelm and ended the call .

　　“Now to hint to the other party… Kwak Jung, let’s see how good you are . ”

　　He mumbled to himself and began to write on a scroll .

　　The encrypted, confidential message was as follows:

　　[To: Kwak Jung, the tactician of the Kingdom of Valhalla . ]

　　Instigated Albrecht Vilhelm to launch an all-out attack . (You should know the reason)

　　Target: Deathwin territory .

　　Will be difficult to defend .

　　I will observe your decisions .

　　Good luck .

　　[Sender: Kwak Jun, the tactician of the Paramount territory . ]

　　 ***

　　Kwaaaaaa!

　　The magma breath from the fire turtle Cyamodus announced the start of Rothschild’s gold dragon raid .

　　Success rate… around 30%?

　　Kang Chul-In predicted .

　　It was a risky raid, indeed .

　　In fact, it was almost an impossible mission . There was a reason why everybody who got the awakening quest left it for later .

　　To attempt the quest immediately after hitting level 70 was a suicide call .

　　Well, whether they succeed or fail is none of my business .

　　Kang Chul-In grinned .

　　Indeed, it didn’t matter whether Rothschild could clear the quest .

　　All Kang Chul-In had to do was watch with some popcorn in his hands and make his move when the timing was right .

　　“Now, Rothschild! Hurry up, make my throne! Hahahaha~!”

　　Kang Chul-In laughed like a crazy man .

　　“Huh?”

　　Dorian intervened .

　　“What throne? Don’t you have a throne? The one made from mithril? I heard Ms . Chae-Rin gave you that as the dowry?”

　　“I do . ”

　　“Then why is Rothschild making you a throne?”

　　“Not all thrones are the same . ”

　　Kang Chul-In smiled and replied .

　　“Isn’t a throne made from a gold dragon’s skull the most befitting for a cla.s.sy king like me?”

　　“I-I suppose . ”

　　“Of course it is . And it’s more comfortable too . ”

　　“How do you know that? Not like you’ve sat on one before!”

　　“I have . ”

　　“Huh? When? Where?”

　　“Very long ago?”

　　“You are lying!”

　　“Believe it or not . ”

　　Kang Chul-In grinned .

　　Lying?

　　Nonsense!

　　His throne in the previous life was made from a gold dragon’s skull!

　　Moreover,

　　“I will leave it to you again, Rothschild…! Hehehe!”

　　That throne was loot from Rothschild’s territory!

　　In other words, Rothschild had successfully hunted down a gold dragon in the past as well .

　　 ***

　　The battle was incredible to watch .

　　Roarrrr!

　　50 metres in length .

　　The gold dragon that had come out of its lair was magnificent, vicious, beautiful and mysterious at the same time .

　　Just think!

　　Those brilliant golden scales!

　　They were emitting light .

　　From its head to the tail, the gold dragon was covered in a brilliant ray of heavenly light .

　　“Holding, holding!”

　　Rothschild shouted .

　　“The chains, chains!”

　　“Magicians, cast your AOE binding spells!”

　　“Arrows!”

　　All the explorers and soldiers were doing their job .

　　Bang, bang!

　　Meanwhile, magic-engineered artillery fired sh.e.l.ls at the gold dragon and Cyamodus the fire turtle unleashed its magma dreathe .

　　Not bad .

　　It was a sight to behold .

　　Dragon hunting was a rare occasion . Kang Chul-In was even munching on some popcorn while he watched .

　　About four hours pa.s.sed .

　　The entire area was in ruins, but the battle between the humans and the gold dragon seemed to come to an end .

　　“Let’s go . ”

　　Kang Chul-In threw his half-eaten popcorn packet aside and began to move .

　　 ***

　　Grrr, Grrrrr…!

　　The gold dragon growled in agony .

　　A total wreck .

　　Its brilliant scales were drenched in fresh blood . Two of its three horns were broken, and its right wing was completely torn into pieces .

　　To top all of that off, its long tail had been chopped in half .

　　However,

　　Roarrrr!

　　Dragon Fear!

　　The gold dragon did not show any signs of weakness . Befitting the strongest creature in Pangaea, it never lost its dignity even in its final moments .

　　“Huff… puff . . . ”

　　 Rothschild gasped for air as he stared at the gold dragon .

　　“Let’s…end this . . . ”

　　Rothschild pointed his epic-ranked sword, ‘Sigurd,’ at the gold dragon .

　　The sword was in a bad state .

　　It had chips and crack lines everywhere, making it practically unusable .

　　Flick, flick!

　　However, the sword still had a strong current of energy surrounding it . That was because Sigurd was a ‘dragon-slaying sword’ .

　　Dragon Slayer!

　　Sigurd added +50% damage on any dragon-type monsters .

　　Thus, it was releasing its final bit of energy to fulfill its duty .

　　Rothschild grasped Sigurd tightly .

　　With this… I will surpa.s.s Kang Chul-In!

　　It was the final moment .

　　Awakening!

　　A new world would open up for him the moment he sliced the gold dragon’s throat .

　　Psst!

　　Rothschild propelled himself forward .

　　I did it, I really did it!

　　Rothschild’s eyes gleamed in excitement . He had a juicy prize right before him .

　　“Thanks for the meal!”

　　At that moment .

　　An irritating voice could be heard .

　　“ . . . !”

　　Rothschild’s face crumpled in horror .

　　The corners of his mouth were curved upwards .

　　Kang Chul-In . His arch nemesis was stabbing Kaiforce into the gold dragon’s neck .

　　“N-Noooooooooo! You f.u.c.kerrrrrrrrrr!”

　　Rothschild screamed desperately .