Who could have dared so much as imagine his return.
Everyone present fell silent, not knowing what to do about this man who suddenly made an appearance.
In the midst of this stunned silence, the first one to respond was the members of the Order of Extinction.
The cultists who were already preparing to use Lesser God Transformation was just about to take out a heretical scroll to call upon forbidden power.
But Sungchul had been watching the entire conference take place from where the Artists were gathered, where everything was visible.
He reached out with his hands.
“Chain Lightning.”
The enraged current cooked alive the mass of cultists even before they could call upon the Lesser God.
Only one cultist remained that could attempt the transformation.
Sungchul charged forward to kill him personally with Fal Garaz.
Not even a Lesser God that personally advented into the world could survive such a hit. Therefore, it was unthinkable that someone merely borrowing their power could hope to withstand a strike.
“Kek!”
The man covered in black flames became embedded into the ground like a nail upon being struck by the hammer and died instantly.
All of this took less than 10 seconds since the unexpected return of Sungchul.
It was much too sudden for anyone to do anything about it.
A convener of the World Parliament made the conference room his in mere moments.
“Destroyer!”
Marakia came flying in and hugging Sungchul’s legs with his wings and arms.
He must have been having a tough time.
Sungchul, however, shook him off and said to him calmly,
“Keep your eyes on the Order of Extinction.”
“Ah…alright!”
It wasn’t just Marakia.
Sungchul had the various kings who had secretly supported Sungchul in spite of everything go and send out their units to keep an eye on the forces from the Floating Archipelago, the traitors of the Human Empire, and the Order of Extinction.
If there was an exception, the Elvan Prince Hesserdein was hesitating because of the old elf standing behind him. But once Sungchul showed himself, just simply glancing at him was enough to turn him back to Sungchul’s side.
Hesserdein answered Sungchul’s expectations of him.
“Please step back, teacher. I am your master, not your servant. I shall make my own decisions from here on out.”
The old elf who had been influencing and manipulating the prince bowed and backed off.
Hesserdein, who finally broke free of the influence from his teacher, ordered the elvan archers to move and keep an eye on the Kromgard faction.
And just like that, Kromgard’s faction that was in control until just a moment ago found themselves cornered.
And one more thing.
A short spear appeared in Sungchul’s hand.
The Weapon of Calamity, Oom Brook.
Sungchul threw it at Schnellmerker without hesitation.
“Ack!”
The spear pierced through Schnellmerker.
And with this, Sungchul managed to accomplish most of what he wanted to do by disguising himself.
‘If I had simply shown up at the World Parliament without a disguise, it would have been all but impossible to catch this sly racoon.’
Now that Schnellmerker was essentially a prisoner, he will obediently tell all he knows.
Schnellmerker was a man who moved not by the ideals or lofty goals but rather his personal gain and interests.
Now all that was left to deal with was Kromgard.
To address the issue with Kromgard, Sungchul walked up to the main tables of the Conference Room and stood before Dimetri.
Dimetri looked blue in the face and was sweating profusely.
“Get off.”
Sungchul said calmly.
Dimetri stood up and yielded the seat of the chairman to Sungchul.
Dimetri had his head down and walked into the crowd of audience, blushing all the way up to his ears with shame.
“I said no one is allowed to leave.”
Sungchul said to Dimetri who was just about to leave the Conference Room.
Dimetri had no choice but to stay.
He had to remain standing awkwardly in the corner of the Conference Room as an unwilling audience while enduring embarrassment with his head down.
Now that the obstacles were removed, Sungchul looked towards the man sitting across from him, wearing the helmet that did not allow one to peer within.
“Take off your helmet.”
Sungchul said.
Kromgard paused.
Sungchul could feel subtle tremors from under the table.
He was trembling.
The man known as the Third Champion of the Continent, the Wandering King Kromgard.
‘As I thought. He must be fake.’
Sungchul thought to himself as he once again, but this time with the malicious tone, spoke to the man in the helmet.
“I will not repeat myself a second time.”
There was no one here who could defy Sungchul.
“You cannot take off the helmet!”
A high ranking general whispered to Kromgard as if to command him. But a single ray of light extended out of Sungchul’s fingers and pierced through his forehead.
Glare.
It was the first offensive magic Sungchul had ever learned.
It was a spell he seldom used due to how powerful his enemies have gotten, but it was the most efficient spell for moments like this.
The general from the Floating Archipelago spewed fountains of blood from the newly formed hole in his head as he kneeled over the table and slowly slid off to the ground.
“Hiiiii!”
Kromgard, no, the man who was pretending to be Kromgard, quickly took off the helmet.
And as expected, there was someone entirely different within.
The various kings gathered at the table let out sounds of exclamations once they saw the face.
“Oh my.”
“How can this be? To think of sending a body double to impersonate himself to the sacred sessions of the World Parliament.”
“Who are you? You don’t look like King Kromgard from my memories.”
The fake Kromgard trembled as he hastely stood up from the chair and left the table on his own while all the kings watched on.
Sungchul glared at the representatives of the Floating Archipelago as he chastised them as well.
“Where is your king?”
No one answered him.
Sungchul asked once more.
“I asked where is your king?”
Sungchul increased his grip on Fal Garaz.
The people of the Floating Archipelago were afraid.
But despite knowing what the consequence of silence could be, they did not speak up until the end.
Sungchul once again felt that their fanatical loyalty was quite similar to the Order of Extinction.
“Alright.”
Sungchul walked towards the representatives of the Floating Archipelago.
His eyes revealed the intensely dense bloodlust he carried.
Right before the moment of no return, one woman removed her mask and stepped forward.
“He’s at Aege.”
It was Ryze Himerr.
Those who recognized her were shocked.
“The princess of Rutheginea? She was still alive?”
“Unbelievable. I thought she died long ago.”
Those who recognized Ryze also knew what her relationship with Sungchul was, but they could not say it out loud.
It was unthinkable for anyone to say something that could rub the wrong way with Sungchul in this current moment.
But Sungchul did not seem the least bit surprised by her appearance in the slightest.
“Aege? Why is he at Aege?”
Sungchul replied as if he was talking to a complete stranger.
“It is because that’s where a God’s Dungeon is.”
Ryze Himerr also reacted as if Sungchul’s attitude towards her presence was normal and responded naturally.
She pointed towards Schnellmerker standing off in the distance as well.
“The Order of Extinction also are servants of Kromgard. They…”
As she was trying to explain, the members of the Floating Archipelago pulled out their swords to silence her.
“Traitor!”
But their efforts were nullified by Arcanite, Daincraft, and Hesserdein’s direct intervention.
The Kings’ sword, axe, and arrows stopped the blade of those who tried to get in the way and cut them down.
Ryze Himerr continued to speak as if nothing was happening behind her and had nothing to do with her, speaking with her care free attitude.
“Order of Extinction is a private army set up by Kromgard. Their true objective is to unleash the God’s Dungeons to help their high Priest Kromgard obtain higher power and ascend as an immortal. That’s the purpose of their existance, and the true Sa-Meong.”
Ryze was revealing all the secrets she had been hiding as if she had been planning this for a while.
Sungchul could take a glimpse into her rage at Kromgard through her eyes.
It was because he was now aware of her cruel fate having lived half her life as a slave after losing her family and all other blood relatives.
Sungchul remembered back to when they had left the great sewers together.
She couldn’t escape from Kromgard’s influence back then, but now the situation had changed.
“…Take this woman some place safe.”
Sungchul used his authority to separate Ryze from the forces of the Floating Archipelago, and Kromgard.
The representatives of the Floating Archipelago glared at the back of her head and cursed her, but that was the extent of what they were able to do.
Sungchul did not take a break as he moved onto the next on the agenda.
This was a far more important topic than the issue with Ryze.
It was the reorganization of the army.
It goes without saying that Daincraft or Arcanite’s armies would willingly follow Sungchul’s orders without question. But the Coalition forces currently had multiple armies that wouldn’t.
The armies that belong to the Floating Archipelago and the former Rutheginean nobles, as well as the traitor fleet of the Empire.
The leaders of the traitors were locked up following Sungchul’s orders.
Sungchul had no plans on throwing away this valuable army.
The enemies were tens of thousands of Barbarians.
He needed every man he could get.
Even if it is just one more, even if they had to be compelled, they had to be sent to stand in formation.
Only then could they could defeat the Barbarian armies and rescue La Grange.
“I shall begin the interviews now.”
Sungchul remained seated at the seat of the Chairman of the World Parliament as he indicated for Dimetri to come sit across from him.
The former loyal servant of the Empire sat before Sungchul.
Sungchul glared at him as he asked.
“Whose command shall the Imperial Fleet follow from here on out?”
To this, Dimetri answered with a croaking voice while looking quite ill.
There was two choices available to him.
Live and cooperate with Sungchul, or die and have his army taken away anyway.
The former right hand of the Emperor understood Sungchul very well. He made a smile and answered with great difficulty.
“…The Commander in chief.”
Sungchul who obtained the power of the traitor fleet now had the next person sit across from him.
He was an imperial lord and a previous Rutheginean noble.
Sungchul asked the same question as the previous traitor.
“Whose command shall your army follow from here on out?”
There was only one possible answer.
–
Sungchul who was thought to be dead not only managed to regain his seat in one go, he also managed to force armies of opposing faction to follow his orders.
There was almost no loss in army strength or infighting.
Although a few of the ships from the Floating Archipelago escaped, that was the extent of it. Through threats and appeasements, Sungchul even managed to get the right to directly command the armies of the Floating Archipelago.
Now that the coalition forces were reunited and the World Parliament set straight, the Kings wanted to throw a banquet in Sungchul’s honor.
But Sungchul completely shut down their request.
It was because there was far too much to do left.
Sungchul quickly had soldiers go assault the torture chamber and the Soldier of Salvation production facilities built by the Kromgard faction and release all the innocent people jailed there. He ordered colluders and leaders who were responsible be given punishment equal to their crime.
Next, Sungchul went to visit the underground prison.
Captured in one of the dark cells underground was his former adjunct Schnellmerker.
“Have you been well?”
Sungchul asked calmly.
Schnellmerker who was pierced by Oom Brook wiped cold sweat off his brows as he replied.
“…I’ve lost.”
He admitted his defeat right away.
But he had no choice.
The power of the God of Order or Sungchul’s potential as the true god’s tool was not something a human could fathom or hope to understand.
Schnellmerker had worked with the assumption that Sungchul had completely died and had acted accordingly.
His several layers of fail-safes and backup plans were meant to deal with Marakia and uncooperative kings, it had not taken into consideration the possibility of Sungchul’s appearance.
Sungchul asked a few questions to his former subordinate.
As Ryze and the Emperor had claimed, the true cult leader of the Order of Extinction was Kromgard himself.
And the members of the Order of Extinction, the people of the Floating Archipelago, and the former nobles of Rutheginea were organizationally kept separate from each other so completely that no one aside from the highest ranking members of each group knew that they all served the same leader at the top.
“It’s a terrifying ability. No other King can come close to the sheer organizational prowess of King Kromgard.”
Schnellmerker said, sounding quite awestruck.
Sungchul thought that this was more than possible.
Because Kromgard had lived through thousands of years, having existed together side by side with essentially the entire history of the continent.
Had he put his mind to it, he was more than capable of doing much more.
Meanwhile, Schnellmerker explained that the true objective of the Order of Extinction was not all that different from what Ryze had claimed.
The true objective of the Order of Extinction was the unveiling of the God’s Dungeons.
According to him, two additional dungeons were unearthed aside from the one located at Aege, in the east that were now covered in the Miasma of death. And in the case of the Dwarven Kingdom, the Order of Extinction hired dwarven outlaws to dig towards the entrance.
That meant until now, four God’s Dungeons were accessible.
“Kromgard is going to try and obtain ultimate power through each of the dungeons.”
Schnellmerker said with a trembling voice.
Sungchul could understand him to an extent.
But there was a common flaw in both Schnellmerker and Ryze’s statement.
“Someone at the level of Kromgard wouldn’t need all dungeons unearthed. Does he need them at all? He should be able to ascend with just two of them at most.”
In this world, once someone goes above a certain threshold of abilities, they are unable to remain in the mortal realm and are automatically sent to the Transcendent World.
This is called Ascension.
Sungchul had once heard from the Emperor about Kromgard’s abilities.
According to him, all of Kromgard’s stats were suspiciously close to 700 as if it was intentionally set up that way.
It wasn’t clear what the exact requirements for an Ascension was, but it shouldn’t be difficult to accomplish through God’s Dungeon.
According to what the God of Chaos had said, many could be made to ascend from a single God’s Dungeon, so it might even be possible for an immortal to be born by raising even a single stat.
It would be well aligned with the true god’s intentions for humans, who have pursued one path to the absolute pinnacle and reach some superhuman heights, to become Lesser Gods.
“I do not know for what reason he wishes to do such a thing. For he did not share all there is to know with me either.”
Schnellmerker began to breathe heavily as if his pain was getting worse.
Sungchul watched his former adjunct as he asked in a low voice.
“For what reason did you agree to work for Kromgard?”
Schnellmerker managed to smile despite his suffering and made an effort to answer.
“Do you remember? What the guide that led us to this world had told us?”
All those who become transmigrated into this world are guided here by an unknown man. And the guide had called this world by this word.
“Paradise.”
But such a word was immediately and utterly erased in the Summoning Palace.
“Kromgard has promised us true paradise. In the idyllic world he would create called the Realm.”
Realm.
It was a miniature world that could be created by the Lesser Gods of the Transcendent World. And at least in the Realm, the Lesser Gods would play the role of the true creator God.
‘So that’s it.’
He understood the situation better now.
The desire for the cultists of the Order of Extinction to go to Paradise.
Even the fact that the more specific and possible the Paradise is, the stronger its allure becomes.
“I shall give you a chance.”
Sungchul said to Schnellmerker calmly.
“Help me and lead the Order of Extinction into the fight against the Barbarians. If you do so, I shall grant you freedom.”
“Truly?”
Schnellmerker who had been drowning in the mire of pain and agony suddenly brightened up with the small ray of hope.
Sungchul nodded before continuing.
“I shall entrust the most dangerous work with you. If that’s acceptable, I shall allow you to join my banner.”
Schnellmerker who was pierced by Oom Brook had no other choice.
It was the moment when Sungchul finally had access to a powerful weapon by the name of Lesser God Transformation.
But Sungchul did not stop there.
He took out the silent coral whistle and blew it.
Ahmuge appeared from the darkness.
Sungchul turned to look at her as he said in a low voice.
“I have something for you to do.”
3 more chapters are out!
Thank you!