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1 gold
‘heaven-.’
Haberlit gulped as he looked at the bright and shining white capital.
Rumors spread that the capital had become a paradise and that anyone could enter it.
Haverit didn’t believe him, but he was almost forced into his brother’s hands.
But when I actually saw the capital, I had no choice but to admit that the rumors were true.
The huge, pure white walls that were not stained at all by time, and the countless white-winged knights flying above them, looked like angels to anyone who saw them.
The biggest evidence was at the center of it all.
‘···god?’
Beyond the huge walls, something huge existed.
It was so huge that it seemed to reach the sky, and it was filled with a brilliant white light. It was an undeniable god.
There was a sense of affection in the way he looked down, whether bending down to look at her or in a somewhat uncomfortable position.
That was definitely heaven.
It was an undeniable fact.
In fact, the line of people waiting to enter heaven stretched from the gates so long that the end was not in sight.
Their faces, gathered from different places, were filled with happiness and anticipation. No one doubted that this was heaven.
“That’s why I told you to come earlier. You’re just being annoying and I’ll have to wait in line for days.”
Haberrit laughed awkwardly at his brother’s irritated voice.
As soon as my brother heard about heaven, he said he wanted to leave right away.
However, Haberlit, who had a rebellious spirit, held out until the end and was finally dragged in now.
“But why are you lining up? Isn’t this a problem that can be solved by just leaving it open?”
“Idiot, if you don’t line up, everyone will fight to get in. Don’t you know people yet?”
Haberrit kept his mouth shut at his brother’s rebuke.
It was like this every time. Whenever I offered my opinion, all I got in return was reproach.
“Anyway, don’t cause any trouble. Even if it’s heaven, they’re knights. If you cause any trouble for no reason, you’ll be in big trouble.”
My brother said with his eyes wide open. Haberrit nodded. My brother patted Haberrit on the shoulder and returned to his family.
However, Haberrit’s discomfort remained. Even though he had clearly seen heaven, Haberrit could not smile like the others.
But since I had nowhere to tell it, I just swallowed it. As time passed, people’s laughter grew louder.
Having lived a hard life of working from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed, even the boredom of the present seemed sweet.
Then, Haberrit’s eyes met with the woman in front of him.
A woman who was a little further away from my group was also unable to smile like Haberlit. She was a woman whose gaze I had somehow drawn to.
The long line seemed endless. After quite some time, Haberrit naturally found himself standing next to the woman.
The clumsy Haberlit had no idea what to say. Then the woman spoke first.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s strange.”
“······huh?”
“If it’s heaven, why are you forcibly gathering people here? You don’t even look at their qualifications. You’re just shoving them all in. I saw earlier that some thugs got in too.”
At the woman’s candid words, Haberrit was startled and looked around.
Fortunately, everyone was talking nonsense and no one was interested in this. When I turned my head, the woman was glaring at me with impassive eyes. Haberrit scratched his neck and answered.
“······There are only people going in, but no one is coming out. No matter how big the capital is, the line is this long.”
Finally, I met someone I could communicate with. And that person happened to be a beautiful woman.
“It’s heaven.”
The woman spoke while wiggling her fingers. It was quite cute.
For the first time, Haberrit thought it was a good idea to follow his brother.
They made a rule that every time they said the word ‘heaven’ they had to bend their fingers.
As the story progressed, more and more strange things happened.
First, there were many strange things, from the one who had gone to the capital city to the one who had returned from heaven and bewitched the townspeople, to the petty empire kindly providing a means for him to come to the capital city.
They tried to tell their family what they had discovered, but they would not listen and only yelled at them. Haberrit was even slapped.
“Should I just throw it away?”
At the woman’s question, Haberrit touched his chapped lips for a moment. Was he really in heaven when such a beautiful woman asked him to run away with her?
but···.
“I’m sorry, I can’t leave you behind. You’re like a father to me.”
Haberrit shook his head. Although his brother was tyrannical and unruly, he was Haberrit’s only family. He couldn’t leave him like that.
“I’m just kidding. Even though he’s stupid, he’s family. We should go together.”
The woman answered with her lips sticking out. Looking at her, Haberrit felt belated regret.
Later, they realized that their worries were useless. They saw a man who was trying to turn back because his feet hurt was caught by the knight and taken inside.
It was a suspicious sight to anyone, but those who had already entered heaven did not listen. There were even those who pretended to be sick, saying they were jealous of those who had entered first.
Time continued to pass.
“Then see you in heaven.”
The woman in front headed toward the open gate first. The woman entering with her family had an excitement that she couldn’t hide on her face.
The inside of the gate was so blindingly white that it was impossible to see inside.
Gulp. Haberrit swallowed without realizing it.
“Hehehe. I was worried whether this guy would ever get married, but I didn’t need to be. Judging by his expression, he’s already in heaven!”
Haberrit laughed awkwardly at his brother’s mischievous joke. He thought that if he could meet her inside, it might really be heaven.
Then it was their turn.
As always, my brother went in first.
It was a habit as a father.
As the light disappeared, Haberlit’s breathing became ragged due to the rising anxiety.
At that moment, the knight snapped his fingers. It was a signal to go in.
Haberrit was unable to move his legs. Then the knight suddenly gave Haberrit a rough push.
When you try to protest-.
White light enveloped the haven.
Contrary to expectations, the white light was cool.
Just as I was about to take a step back, my vision, which had been blurred by the light, returned.
“Have a go! Run away!”
My brother was being dragged into something strange.
Haberlit, who had been reaching out to him, froze in place.
What looked like a god on the outside was, on the inside, indescribably horrific.
It was as if people were packed in like bricks. A tangled mess of people made up the inside.
Aaaah! Haberly’s mind came back to him at the sound of a tearing scream. It wasn’t just one scream. Shouts and screams poured out from all directions.
This was hell.
Just as he was about to rush to his brother, something grabbed Haberrit. Then it roughly dragged him away. The force was so strong that he couldn’t even resist.
In an instant, my surroundings became distant. When I opened my eyes to the excruciating pain that felt like my bones were breaking, I found myself pinned to the wall.
Crumpled like everyone else-.
At that moment, a familiar scream was heard from the side.
It was her.
***
‘Heaven-. What a funny thing to say.’
I muttered curses at what was written on the paper.
The story was that people were flocking to the capital on their own accord, believing it to be a paradise.
‘How clever.’
He wasn’t just a rumor, he actually decorated the capital with splendid and pious decorations.
They were already medieval people who were prone to superstition. With the name of the empire and the appearance of an empire, there was no way they wouldn’t fall for it.
It was a strategy tailored to the uncivilized medieval bastards. In fact, it is said that even now, there are very long lines. They are not dragged, but they stand in line to be eaten on their own feet.
‘This is God.’
I clicked my tongue slightly as I looked at the picture depicting its appearance. It was a picture of something crouching beyond the walls of the great capital city.
With its numerous large wings on its back, it had an appearance that anyone who didn’t know could only assume was that of a god.
However, as someone who had actually seen Oman, I was shocked. To think that a god could be that great.
‘Tsk-.’
He clicked his tongue and turned his gaze to Selena. Selena gently stroked Kanna’s head in her arms.
Kanna sat quietly, though her expression wasn’t particularly comfortable. For some reason, Kanna listened to Selena quite well.
I bit my lip as Kanna watched me.
I had no intention of taking Kanna to the battlefield.
Although Swallows said that Kanna was absolutely necessary to activate the mana suppressor, I flatly refused.
I told him to somehow prepare for the winter in the North and find a way out.
Actually, Kanna came secretly, hiding. When I realized it, he had already come quite far, so I couldn’t send him back.
In the end, we compromised by placing him at the rear. If anything went wrong, we planned to escape with Vivian in a bungee.
Kanna, who met my eyes, slightly lowered her head. She looked like a puppy that had done something wrong.
‘I can’t just be a child, though-.’
I pressed Kanna’s round head hard. Kanna looked up at me with sparkling eyes.
“I need to speed up.”
I smiled bitterly and turned my finger to Selena.
“Yes, I understand.”
I guess he expected it, because he nodded immediately.
As time goes by, he will continue to grow stronger, so I had to go as fast as possible.
I was getting impatient, but it wasn’t something I could rush. If I rushed, I might lose soldiers.
‘There was a method… Ah, that was it.’
I raised three fingers as a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Then, the third wyvern approached from afar. Joanna and Adela were sitting on the third wyvern, each holding a rein.
It was absurd how they could drive a wyvern like that, but the two of them handled the wyvern better than Dylan.
Nod nod.
“Found me!”
He clicked his tongue and pointed down at the sight of the two of them looking very excited.
“Go down and tell them to turn the aura boost to blessing instead of suppression. They need to increase the speed as much as possible.”
I said, pointing to the monstrous thing that looked like a cross down there.
Adela smiled coolly and patted my chest as if she had been waiting for me.
“I understand! That’s something only I can do!”
Adela, whose heart was pounding, pulled the reins.
Joanna followed suit and pulled the other rein, causing the wyvern to head down gently.
Since they were both lung-level, they matched very well. When they got down to a certain height, Adela quickly jumped down.
“You can do it! I’m sure it’ll help!”
Kanna, who shouted vigorously while looking at me, quickly jumped down from the bungee. She fell slowly as if she had opened a parachute.
‘It’s helpful···.’
When I was the youngest in the mercenary corps, it was similar to what I said, and it made my mouth taste bitter. Because I knew how he felt.
There was a commotion down there. The guys around pulled the rope and straightened up the monster that had been lying down.
Kuung-. Adela quickly climbed up to the monster that had risen with a heavy sound.
“Knight Adela! I will answer the call!”
The screaming was so loud that I could hear it even though I was quite high up. Vivian and Brighton then took their places next to me.
At the very top sat Kanna and the northern winter.
When Kanna raised her hand, the drums that had been pounding began to form a steady rhythm. As if that was a signal, the magicians below began to recite spells.
I could feel the atmosphere gradually building up and the heat.
First, a light arose from the direction of Brighton. A brilliant, pure white light passed through the balloon that connected to Brighton and headed towards the center.
Kanna waved her hand, and a magic circle appeared behind her as if assisted by the northern winter. It was a spectacular sight even from afar.
Then, a strange noise came from Vivian’s side. Vivian herself was smiling brightly and greeting the people around her.
Eventually, the light emanating from Brighton and the invisible energy radiating from Vivian clashed with each other at the center of Adela, causing the volume and size of the light to grow abnormally.
Then-.
“Knight! Adelaide!”
Adela cheered loudly.
Adela did nothing, she was just a medium.
All she had to do was just stay still, but Adela was screaming with all her might. To anyone who looked, it looked like Adela was doing everything.
Even Vivian turned her head slightly.
At that moment, the amplified light spread around as if it had burst. The light did not disappear, but rather lingered softly.
As cheers erupted, the speed of the troops quickened.
‘Okay.’
I nodded at the sight of it being applied more easily than I thought. As expected, they were wizards.
I looked at the ridge and licked my lips.
“I think we can pull it in half way from what we planned.”
Selena tilted her head slightly as she spoke. She didn’t need to stick close since the windbreaker and chair were already set up, but when she saw her sticking close, she turned her head-.
Selena held something out.
It was a luxurious pouch, carefully packaged.
First, after packing, I opened my pocket and-.
It was packed full of gold coins.
‘Why gold coins···?’
I picked up the unexpected gold coin pouch and raised my head.
“Once for 1 gold-.”
Selena was speaking in the aforementioned voice and was taking off her clothes one by one. He hurriedly put Selena to bed.
‘What on earth are those rumors···.’
After I picked up the fallen Selena, I counted the gold coins in my pocket.
There was so much gold, it just kept coming out endlessly.
‘···231 gold?’
I was astonished at the large sum of money I had never seen before.
Certainly, the ambition was different.
***
‘It’s quiet.’
Even though they were advancing openly, there was no significant action from the imperial side.
Selena explained that Hypocrisy would rather wait for her to come to the capital.
It seemed like they thought of this as delivery food. Of course, I welcomed it.
It was quite an arduous task to cross a vast continent with so many people. If the bastard had been scheming, it would have been quite a shock.
We tried everything we could to increase the speed.
By using subways and horse-drawn carriages, luggage was minimized, and bunk beds were placed on top to block out sunlight.
I continued to walk through the blessing through Brighton, and even mobilized magic tools to increase the speed as much as possible. I invested everything else I could.
like that-.
We were able to arrive at the garrison where the noble alliance was staying much earlier than expected.
The coalition of nobles led by the Archduke was the next largest rebel force.
Since it was an army of the original noble alliance, I had some expectations. Since its members were nobles.
Of course, considering the current situation, I didn’t have high expectations.
‘···Is this the Noble Alliance Garrison?’
The ruined walls and the countless corpses displayed in front of them. Even the crows gathered around them. It seemed like they had been attacked by the Empire first.
However, the gate was broken outward. It was not an attack from outside.
‘There’s internal strife.’
There was a familiar face on the wall.
The second eldest daughter was covered in red blood. Her eyes were red with burst blood vessels, and her body was trembling as if she was holding back anger.
In her arms was what appeared to be a man, but he seemed lifeless.
She met my eyes and slowly moved her mouth.
‘······The Grand Duke is dead?’
My head started to get complicated because of the unexpected situation.
[Don’t trust humans. Humans.]
I shook my head at BbungBbungIl’s whisper.
It was a needless worry.
There was no way I could trust those medieval guys.
***
“There was a rebellion.”
The second eldest son clenched his hands and spoke, and every time he did so, the hardened blood fell like powder.
“revolt?”
Another rebellion in the rebel army. I laughed at the story of the rebel army squared. No, if it’s a rebellion in the rebel army, is it right to call it a rebellion?
“Suddenly, there are more and more people who believe in the rumor about heaven. That anyone can go to heaven without any conditions. Believing that… I can’t believe it. Sher tried to turn those fools around somehow, but-.”
The second eldest son chewed his lips. His anger was tangible and poured out in streams, but its concentration and presence were stronger than before. It seemed that he had drunk quite a bit of blood.
I tapped my fingers lightly and calculated the situation. The death of the Archduke was quite a painful loss. However, the Archduke’s death also allowed the Noble Alliance to be firmly ruled.
The profit and loss calculation was ambiguous.
“Already, Grand Duke Scherharten’s judgment has tended to be finite.”
In a quiet atmosphere, the five elders spoke.
It was a moderately rude remark that the five eldest sons would make, but it was not a very nice thing to say in front of a widow.
Sharp momentum. I clicked my tongue and grabbed the hand of the second eldest son who was aiming for the fifth eldest son. The speed and strength were not bad.
“Honestly. Wasn’t it already well known that the five eldest sons were unstoppable?”
First, Balhar Khan came forward and calmed the second eldest son.
Balhar Khan was a man who was just as stubborn as the five eldest sons, but he was quite good at mediating things after he reached puberty.
“You’re expressing your anger in the wrong place.”
The second eldest son gathered his strength at the words of the five eldest sons. It seemed that he originally thought of that kind of kid.
At that moment, Ben, Vermunt, and Brock Lesnar, who had been sent to check the exact damage situation, came in.
“I checked and there are about a third of the troops left.”
Ben said in a low voice.
“The war hasn’t even started yet, and we’ve already lost a third of our army.”
Everyone let out a low, sobbing voice at the five elders’ reproachful mutterings.
That was true. Losing a third of the noble alliance was a pretty big loss.
‘There’s half a cup of water left.’
I muttered a dry joke and stroked the sentences on the table.
The death of the Archduke was a bigger deal than expected. The Archduke had been the one who had brought the noble alliance together, and now that center had disappeared. In addition, one third of them were dead.
However, the incident had already happened.
If they were the kind of people who would be swayed by such rumors, they would be the ones causing trouble at any time. It could be seen that they had filtered him out.
Moreover, the Duke was a person who could not be handled here, so this was rather-.
‘···Opportunity.’
I nodded slightly, looking at my second eldest son.
“Who has the initiative in the noble alliance?”
“I. I pulled out all the heads of those idiots.”
The second eldest son raised his hand diagonally with his usual sinister smile. Judging from the way his eyes shook violently, he seemed to be holding back his anger.
As the wife of the Archduke, it was not a bad justification.
However, to really get a grip on it, I needed to apply a little more force.
The quickest way is-.
“I declare you the mistress of the king of demons.”
There was a slight stir at my remark. The second eldest son’s face crumpled as if he had been insulted.
However, he didn’t seem to have any objections as his head seemed to be working quite well. I didn’t bother to explain the reason either.
“There is no change in the plan.”
I said firmly.
This was an arrow that had already been shot.
It was either going to get stuck in the opponent’s neck or roll on the ground. If it stopped, it would just get stuck in the ground.
The rebellion that arose over the rumor of heaven was not limited to the noble alliance.
While many joined out of ill will or resentment toward the Empire, others simply followed along out of vanity or the lure of rumors.
If rumors could lead you all the way to the easternmost point of the country, then rumors could lead you to heaven.
We had to roll faster before the rebellion became a cube. We couldn’t give them time to think about anything else.
However, simply rolling it quickly wasn’t enough. Knock knock. He knocked on the table.
There is no stopping the spread of rumors about heaven.
Even if you explained that the rumor was not actually heaven, but a hell created by hypocrisy, the uncivilized medieval people would not have believed it.
If so, rather-.
“Now, let’s change the name from capital to heaven.”
If that’s the case, then since the destination is the same anyway, there would be no reason for those who were drawn to heaven to run away separately and risk being caught.
“Rather, there are rumors that it is a procession to heaven.”
It was a so-called heaven package tour strategy.
“Then I won’t necessarily leave.”
This time, the reactions were sharply divided. Selena, Vermunt, and Brock Lesnar nodded, but Jang Ja expressed his rejection.
In particular, the five elders had expressions of disbelief. The five elders who suddenly got up looked at me and opened their mouths.
“If you take the great undertaking lightly in that way, it will weaken its cause. When you arrive at the capital, there will be trouble.”
His voice was full of genuine concern.
Justification and power according to the name. I knew what he was talking about. It wasn’t for nothing that nobles searched through ancient books from a hundred years ago to find justification for their territory wars.
However, it had nothing to do with me in the first place.
“I guess you’ve never been to a war zone.”
Vermunt answered for me. Vermunt and the desert guys have been in charge of the training so far.
The Desert Beasts were men who had spent their entire lives on the battlefield. When it came to war, the Empire Beasts could not keep up, so they were put in high positions.
There was quite a bit of backlash, but what can you do? It was the king’s order.
I had no doubt that the desert guys would be the most active when the Aura was blocked.
“A pretext is only a door that opens war. What closes it is murder and the sword.”
Everyone’s expressions hardened at Vermunt’s subsequent frank remarks.
On the contrary, the corners of Vermunt’s mouth went up.
Not only Vermunt, but also Brock Lesnar smiled brightly as if he was waiting for something truly enjoyable.
‘···I’m dying of joy.’
I clicked my tongue slightly and waved my hand.
As everyone retreated, Brock Lesnar approached.
Brock Lesnar held out three red gold coins whose provenance was questionable.
“I heard it costs 1 gold at a time. Here, I’ll give you 3 gold, so you can have it. There’s nothing better than mating before a war-.”
Brock Lesnar said that and licked his lips with his tongue.
“1 gold? It’s cheaper than I thought.”
Even the second eldest son’s muttering, regaining his polite smile-.
For now, I only took the gold coins.
***
“Okay, we’ve done Sophia… Then who else…? Oh, Vivian’s left.”
Dylan nodded, looking at the piece of paper with the rough drawing on it.
I almost forgot the most important person.
“Ugh… To receive 1 gold from a beauty… As expected from a big brother-.”
When Dylan realized the full story, he couldn’t help but be amazed.
I had never heard of a prostitute receiving such a huge sum of money as 1 gold. But that bastard, even though he was a man, received 1 gold from a beauty like Hannah!
This was a greater feat than a rebellion. No matter how great an emperor may be, he could not have accomplished such a feat. It was something that had to be recorded in history.
When Dylan later became crown prince, it was the first achievement he listed.
“Who says they’ll get 1 gold?”
At that moment, a soldier asked from the side. Dylan, who was about to go to Vivian, scratched his beard for a moment and nodded.
Good achievements become sweeter the more they spread.
“The King of Demons always receives 1 gold even if his opponent is a stunning beauty.”
“······You’re saying you’re not giving but receiving? What kind of nonsense are you talking about···.”
“Don’t you know that the king of demons was called the mating king?”
Dylan continued his explanation calmly. Those who were hesitant at first soon became impressed by Dylan’s well-organized explanation.
‘Ah! Vivian!’
Dylan, who was very excited about bragging about his ten puppies, thought of Vivian and ran in a hurry.
“······So Baron Fullfoot, the king of demons and the mating king, is accepting 1 gold?”
When a soldier who had joined the conversation belatedly asked, tilting his head, the other soldiers nodded. The eyes of the soldiers who answered were filled with loyalty and respect.
The question of how Cassady, located in the outskirts, could become so large and wealthy was thus answered.
