Level 0 Master

Chapter 45: Vol. 2 – Episode 20

Her adjutant general started to complain as soon as he saw her.

“It was the king who ignored your advice and walked into the enemy’s trap. You are the one who fought against two top generals from the enemy. Why do you have to be the one to take responsibility for the defeat?”

“Stop it. We lost one-third of our land. It is natural that the king is disappointed. Moreover, I was not able to cover for his mistake, so it was my fault.”

“It is absurd to blame you for not being able to do the job of three generals, while the king was not even able to do half of his job.”

“Stop it. What I need is not blame-shifting but to find a way to protect our country. From now on, I will work on a military plan, so don’t let anyone in until I allow it.”

“Understood, General.”

Her adjutant general had no choice but to bow down.

Now, I must admit that he is powerful.

She didn’t know if Sungjin also had enough power and capacity to fight against the Holy Nation, Rupellion, and the Golden Nation, Eldorado.

Objectively speaking, it was possible that the short, bloody glory from the unification of the four kingdoms would lead him to miserable destruction. But at least, her initial thought that the alliance of the three kingdoms had the upper hand against him was completely wrong.

He is a strong man...

He was not just someone who would talk about his idea but was someone who had the potential to break through the walls of reality.

But we still have a stronger force; we just lost our spirit to fight.

And Sungjin was able to be strong because he was on the defensive.

Sungjin was not the first one to use his knowledge on his own terrain. His traps and plans were just the next level of intelligence.

I need to concentrate on defense, and later, I can recover our land.

She thought that if Sungjin took his time, she could try to maintain the front lines of her army, and if Sungjin rushed to take over, she could defend and maybe recover her land as well.

All I need is one thing—I need to study and prepare the battlefield thoroughly to give him no chance to use his tactics.

She opened the maps of the battlefields.

But I must admit that his intelligence is superior. I need to start by admitting that.

She had to admit that he would find an unimaginable way of using any given situation to his advantage. So she tried to prepare the battlefield where he couldn’t use his plans so that she could utilize her superior number of military forces.

I still have enough of a chance. When he defeated the Blood Ruler, Riad, his victory was not a flawless one.

She concentrated on trying to find the best way to achieve her goal.

...

On the third day, her adjutant general tried to make her take a break.

“General. Even if you have a lot of Heroic Power, I think you need to take it easy. Please take a break.”

“Our country is in danger. The king must be restless as well. I will take a break after I set up a clear plan.”

“But what if you end up losing your health...”

“If I need to rest, I will rest after setting up a plan. Now stop distracting me and leave.”

“Take care of yourself, General.”

* * *

Fifteen days later, she finally left her mansion.

The sun was almost violently shining, and she was holding a few maps in her hands. Fifteen days of no sleep and no food was exhausting even for her, who was level 7. But she was walking fast.

I can protect my country with this.

She couldn’t wait to report the plan to the king and help him to stop worrying.

Even though Sungjin is strong, if we are fully prepared and ready to defend, it won’t be easy for him to attack us.

She was quite sure this time.

Concentrate on defending on a battlefield that was thoroughly prepared. She was sure this plan would stop Sungjin who had a superior level of intelligence.

Now I need to report this to my king.

She had to think about their lost land, but she was certain she would be able to defend for now.

It hurts to think about the lost land and people belong... huh...

When she thought of that, she couldn’t help but make a bitter smile.

Sungjin’s land was not like Eldorado or Rupellion. The people who were now ruled by Sungjin must be overly happy by now.

What they feared was to be ruled by Seyzo II again.

To limit the privilege of the heroes and protect the people, his idea of a Merciful Rulership is... a great cause.

The heroes would hate it and stand against it, but the people would support him for his great cause.

Since he would never be able to have the legitimacy as a hero, that was the best path he had chosen to become an Arc Master.

But still... I’m a loyal servant of Seyzo II.

It was her job to make the people feel that life under Seyzo II’s ruling was good, not hand over the country to a better king.

First, I should protect my country, and then I will lead my king to do better.

Now, I will only think of my king.

She promised herself and rushed to the castle, but the scene in front of the castle stopped her.

There was a huge pit, and there were human beings crawling around inside.

If they were little babies in a living room, that would be something cute to look at. But they were all grown-ups and had cracks all over their bodies. They were bleeding, and there were some black and wet, unknown creatures wriggling in their wounds. It was a miserable scene that was not easy to look at.

“Ugh.”

“Ughhhhh.”

Their eyes were begging her to kill them, but they couldn’t even speak.

When they opened their mouths, their tongues were gone. Some dark-colored maggots were replacing their tongues and eating them from the inside.

But soon, they couldn’t even beg for mercy with their eyes.

“UGHHHHH.”

Suddenly a maggot cracked their eyeball and crawled out.

Eustasia tried not to fall down. She was a general who had been to numerous battles, but this was upsetting.

This... this...

If killing innocent people was a great sin, she didn’t know what to call this.

The people became the host of a strangely shaped monster and were slowly dying in pain.

Being killed by a sword or beaten by a monster would be a merciful death compared to this.

Even the guards around the pit were shaking around it.

“What is going on?”

When she asked, a solder answered in a trembling voice.

“The king...”

“The king?”

“To get rid of that ruthless extra, sacrificing the other extras would be seen as a loyal act and...”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“We don’t really know. We were ordered to throw these extras into the pit and to throw something on them that looked like black seeds. And then this is happening.”

“Okay...”

She didn’t ask more. It was an order from the king, the soldiers wouldn’t know anything.

Although she didn’t know much about magic, it was clear to her that this was some kind of a sacrificing ritual.

What is... Going on in the king’s mind?

Now she had to run to the castle. She couldn’t leave the extras dying like that.

When she entered the castle, she was able to hear some cheerful music.

“Where’s the king?”

“He is enjoying a party in the back garden,” a servant answered her quickly.

“At this time?”

“He... said... he had to get over this depressing situation...”

“Take me there!”

“Yes, General...”

The servant tried not to upset her and led her to the back garden. And it was exactly as the servant had said.

There was a glamorous party in the back garden. In the middle, Seyzo II was drunk between two beautiful girls who were not wearing much. And next to him, there were ten bottles of wine called “Dragon Tears” imported from a faraway land. They were worth three years’ salary for an extra family.

“Your Highness.”

“Eustasia, you want a drink?”

Seyzo II seemed to be in a good drunken mood; he was smiling, unlike when he was kicking her out earlier.

“This is not the time for this! We need to take care of the aftermath. Especially now since we’ve been defeated, and there are so many things that we should take care of. How come you are enjoying a party!”

That was what she wanted to scream, but she didn’t. Anyways, the king was not one who could understand the situation or stop even if she told him that.

If he was a king who could understand the gravity of the situation, he wouldn’t have started the party in the first place.

Eustasia knew all that and still served him.

But...

But...

The party alone was not what was bothering her the most.

These were not the appropriate actions of a great king, but it could be seen as a human act to get drunk to forget about the defeat for a short amount of time.

But there was something that she couldn’t stand...

She tried not to shake or raise her voice.

“Thank you, Your Highness. But before I try the wine, I have one question.”

“What is that?”

“On my way here, I saw some strangely shaped creatures. What are they?”

“Ohhhh, those!”

Seyzo II held out his hand to show her his ring.

He was supposed to be wearing a ring with the crest of the kingdom, but he was wearing something completely different.

There were two snakes twisting around each other, and there was a black pearl in the middle instead of the crest. The black pearl contained some kind of darkness, and the darkness was moving with strange evil power.

“While you were gone, I checked the secret warehouse of the castle, and I found this secret treasure that my ancestors left for me.”

“The relationship between that and... the creatures...?” Eustasia asked.

“This is seal calls upon the strong monsters among the outer beings. Now I feel better about our situation,” said Seyzo II with a big smile on his face, but Eustasia looked shocked.

Outer beings...

Among the gods who created Valhalla, there were holy gods, evil gods and neutral gods.

So heroes in this world were free to use the power of light or the power of darkness, whatever suited them.

At the same time, those powers were restricted by the rules of the battlefield. But there was also a power that didn’t adhere to the rules.

It was different from the evil power from the evil god and was called the “evil from elsewhere.” The creatures who were made up of this power were called “aberrants from elsewhere” or “outer beings.” They were a forbidden power, even for heroes.

And the rules of the battlefield didn’t apply to those beings. As long as they were on land, they would destroy everything in their path. Ereka’s father was killed by some creatures like that.

Eustasia finally understood why there were so many extras in the pit.

Unlike the evil from the evil god, outer beings were forbidden things, and they had to be constantly fed to be used.

They offered a power that wasn’t bound by the rules, one that was beyond the power of your level, but the people had to be sacrificed. So if one kept using the outer beings, all the people would have to be sacrificed, and the country would diminish.

The ring was called the “Forbidden Evil,” and it had such evil power.

I need to stop this.

She wouldn’t expect Seyzo II to follow a Merciful Rulership. But there was a line even a king shouldn’t cross.

She had to stop this.

She wanted to tell him to throw that ring away, but she couldn’t.

“Your Highness. Here is the defense plan that I’ve promised.”

First, she handed over the present to make the king feel better.

“Oh. This is it? Okay. Good.”

Seyzo II took the scroll with a smile.

“Is there anything you want as a reward?”

“I serve my king with loyalty, I never expect a reward. If I can protect you from the enemy with my plan, that would be the best reward for me.”

“I know your loyalty. But I want to grant you a reward. So tell me.”

“Then, I don’t really want anything, but I’m worried about your well-being.”

“A few glasses of wine won’t harm me.”

“Not the wine... but the ring with a bad omen... You should take care of yourself and rule for a long time, but through history, the users of the Forbidden Evil have all had bad ends.”

“Are you saying that this ring will do harm to me?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Eustasia bowed down and sighed silently.

Actually, it was not about the well-being of the king; it was a forbidden power that no one should touch. She couldn’t understand why the king lost his mind and used it.

Is your madness getting worse even after being defeated by Sungjin?

She planned to lead the king down a better path when the situation settled down.

“Your Highness. The other generals and I will protect the country with our lives. Please don’t use such a plan that could harm you. You are too important.”

She was not trying to tell him to stop his tyranny, because that wouldn’t work now. But if she could stop him from using this ring, that would bring the same result.

This can help clean up the mess a little bit.

She planned to think of what to do later.

Looking at Eustasia, who was manipulating the king as usual, the nobles around them agreed with her. They didn’t have the guts to say anything to the king, but she was good at it and was loved by the king. That was natural because she was the most loyal servant of the king who protected the country and saved them when Eldorado attacked.

“Is that what you think?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Hmm, so that is what you think.”

“That power is strong, but it will harm you, so please trust me and keep it away from you.”

Eustasia tried to nail it.

“Shut up!”

The king suddenly shouted with anger.

“Your Highness?”

“An evil force is trying to kill me! How dare you say that the power I’ve got to fight against this evil force is something bad!”

The king’s anger sent a chill down Eustasia’s spine.

Something... is... wrong.