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Raldo was hailed as the owner of the throne of the Warrior’s Nation, the Overlord, and the successor of the Overlord’s Technique.

“Thank you…”

The words that slipped from his mouth meant a lot of things.

Minhyuk had hurriedly swapped his current armor with the Monarch’s Armor and dashed toward Raldo without any hesitation the moment the Overlord’s Technique was activated.

Why did Minhyuk do such a thing?

It was not because he wanted to stop the Overlord’s Technique from activating. It was so that he could cover Raldo with his entire body and take the damage that would befall the man. Minhyuk’s HP, which had fallen to 1%, along with his MP, had immediately recovered to 100% thanks to the recovery effect and the special ability attached to the Monarch’s Armor.

However, the fire and explosion created by the Overlord’s Technique was still so intense and overwhelming that it had depleted his HP in an instant.

Raldo slowly came back to his senses amidst the burning flames. When he saw this, Minhyuk, with sincerity tinting his voice, desperately voiced the stories of the past. Raldo finally believed him, since these stories included secrets that he had only shared with Ravanberg before.

“I love you, son.”

Minhyuk’s voice was so soft and warm that Raldo saw Ravanberg’s image flash on the man’s face before disappearing completely. Raldo watched the disappearing Minhyuk, while recalling his father, Ravanberg.

‘My father.’

Lumae Kingdom’s hero and king had chosen to go down in history as a crazy tyrant himself because he wanted to protect his son, Raldo. Not knowing the truth, Raldo had always blamed his father and hated him for becoming so, not even building a humble grave that could honor his father and his life.

“Sob, sob, sob, sob, sob!”

No one said anything as Raldo sat there crying his heart out for a very long time.

The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s prisoners of war that saw this scene were all dumbfounded. None of them had expected Raldo to awaken. And even though their king had awakened, they did not have any thoughts of being freed as genuine respect filled their hearts.

‘The Beyond the Heavens’ King sacrificed himself… for the sake of the Warrior God…’

‘How can he sacrifice his life just so he can tell the truth?’

‘The Beyond the Heavens’ King deserves due respect.’

The hearts of the prisoners of war shook violently.

Meanwhile, the guild members of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were all left speechless after seeing what Minhyuk had dropped.

“The only things that Minhyuk dropped are food ingredients…”

“But I think Minhyuk must be crying right about now…?”

That was right. By some strange luck, Minhyuk had not dropped any of his artifacts. However, he had dropped his most cherished ingredients before disappearing.

Raldo stood up and wiped his tears. Then, confusion took over his expression when he saw the place where Minhyuk had disappeared earlier.

“Why are there ingredients here…?”

He had no choice but to wonder, since everything on the floor was food ingredients.

***

Ending the connection and exiting his capsule, Minhyuk screamed, “Noooooooooo!”

Minhyuk had dropped some of the ingredients that he wanted to cook after successfully waking up Raldo. The biggest problem here was that he had also dropped his most anticipated and most cherished chicken legs.

“Damn it…!”

Minhyuk’s eyes welled up with tears.

‘My guild members will take care of it, right?’

Minhyuk comforted himself with such thoughts as he stood up and appreciated his first forced logout.

‘Is this what a forced logout feels like? I felt like I was really dying back there.’

Because Minhyuk was one of the top rankers, the penalty that he would receive would be huge.

‘I wonder what will happen to my and Raldo’s relationship in the future?’

There was also no guarantee on that part either. After all, the only thing that Minhyuk had heard was the soft ‘thank you’ before everything had gone black. But in the end, Minhyuk had been able to clear the quest. He immediately checked his character’s notification window through his phone that was connected to Athenae.

[You have completed the Linked Quest: The Warrior God’s Curse.]

[You have acquired the incomplete Overlord’s Technique.]

[As a special privilege of acquiring the Overlord’s Technique, you can use 150% of the technique’s power without any of the required Overlord’s Mana for a total of one time.]

Minhyuk had already experienced the full power of the Overlord’s Technique, and just a few minutes ago too.

‘The amount of damage it can deal is truly ridiculous.’

The complete Overlord’s Technique had not only cut down the HP of Minhyuk, one of Athenae’s top rankers, forcing out his lifesaving skill, but it had also immediately brought him to his death even after his HP had recovered to 100%. The first hit had dealt tremendous damage, while the continuous damage dealt by the fire generated after the strike was also beyond anybody’s imagination.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t expect too much?’

Now, the Overlord’s Technique’s power had been halved, which meant that it would definitely not have the same power as what Minhyuk had experienced earlier. If Minhyuk had great expectations, then he would also suffer from great disappointment. That was why he discarded his expectations and opened the Overlord’s Technique’s information window with a clear heart.

(Overlord’s Technique)

King’s Authority

Level: 4

Minimum Overlord’s Mana Required: 40

Penalty: None.

Cooldown: 240 hours.

Effects:

•The Overlord’s Fire with an additional 3,000~4,000% attack will attack everyone within a 40~60 meter radius.

•The Overlord’s Fire is a fire that cannot be easily extinguished. Once it attaches to the target, it will deal continuous damage.

•You are an Overlord’s Technique’s user that already has another King Authority. You can just choose one of the two types of mana and set it to use to build up the mana required for the authority.

Conditions for Growth: You can develop the King’s Authority by fighting against an enemy that is leagues stronger than you are, or fight against an overwhelming number of people in a war. You can also develop it by learning under the tutelage of a strong individual. Your growth will depend on how much you learn.

“OMG…?”

Minhyuk choked from surprise from the information that he saw. The Overlord’s Technique was classified under the same category as the ‘Worship’ skill that he received from Iris. It was a skill that could not be triggered using one’s ordinary MP, but instead used ‘Overlord’s Mana’ the same way Worship used ‘Authority Mana’.

However, this skill was far more astonishing than Worship. It was like the difference between a knight and a soldier. Minhyuk could deal 3,000% damage with a minimum of 30 Overlord’s Mana, and even reach 4,000% damage at the highest. The radius of effect also started at 40 meters.

‘If I can fill up the required Overlord’s Mana and reach the radius of effect of 60 meters then…?’

Minhyuk gulped dryly. The Overlord’s Technique was a skill that could also cause continuous damage once its fire had latched onto the enemies. There was also something else that had to be taken into consideration with regards to the Overlord’s Technique.

‘It can grow.’

Simply put, even though Minhyuk only had half of the Overlord’s Technique, he could grow and develop it into its complete version.

‘Then, maybe I can do that too…’

Minhyuk still could not forget the battlefield that he had seen in Raldo’s dreams. Ravanberg slashed with his sword engulfed with black flames, covering his 30,000 enemies with a huge tidal wave of flames and turning them into ashes.

‘It’s not impossible.’

Minhyuk smiled pleasantly. Then, he tried to access the game, only to wake up from his daydreaming when his access was denied.

‘Ah. I can’t access the game right now.’

Minhyuk usually did things unconsciously—he was not used to being denied access, since this was his very first forced logout. So, instead of playing, Minhyuk moved to his room to get enough rest.

***

The various kings of Asgan Continent heard a very pleasing ‘report’.

“What did you say?! The Beyond the Heavens’ King has died under the sword of Raldo?!”

“Raldo did not show any mercy and killed the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s King?!”

“Raldo is also trying to push for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s ostracization?!”

It was truly happy news! They heard that Raldo had killed Minhyuk, the king of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. They even exaggerated the news and ended up saying that Lumae Kingdom was pushing for the ostracization of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. They did not know how Minhyuk had died; they just took this opportunity to spread wild rumors about how he died in Raldo’s hands.

“This is our chance.”

“Summon our troops now!!!”

“We’re heading straight for Beyond the Heavens Kingdom now!”

That was right. It was an opportunity. Due to the battle with Akhan a few days ago, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had lost a lot of troops and were currently still in their recovery period. In such a state, their king died under the hands of Raldo. The Beyond the Heavens’ king was a foreigner, an immortal that would die and come back to life.

However, they believed that since Minhyuk had been cut down by Raldo without even a fight, then the kingdom’s morale must have definitely plummeted.

Anyone could tell that the kings of Asgan continent were marching there to devour the kingdom when they summoned their troops. They did not spread any rumors among the troops and only moved silently to avoid Ellie’s eyes and ears. The number of the troops that they have gathered reached 120,000. That was when they heard another piece of breaking news.

“Raldo is immediately making his way to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom with 1,000 elite knights?!”

“Hooo~! Raldo must be very angry. After all, he immediately went to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom the moment he woke up from his deep sleep!”

“We should also make haste!”

The kings giggled and chuckled as they hurriedly moved along.

How angry was Overlord Raldo at the Food God, for him to rush to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and their king with 1,000 elite knights?

However, having only 1,000 elite knights accompanying him did not mean that they could just ignore Raldo. These knights were of a different quality from the knights that accompanied Prince Votto. They were the finest knights that lived solely for Raldo and would only move at his name and command. Thanks to Raldo’s passive skills, these knights had already surpassed their limits several times. The kingdoms combined were afraid of Raldo and his 1,000 elite knights.

Although this was supposed to be a silent attack, there were several players that joined among the troops. They began posting in the community sites that Raldo was in a hurry to attack the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and that the other kingdoms were also moving to join. As the discussion began to flood the community sites, the players that migrated to Beyond the Heavens Kingdom felt fear, despite not knowing the truth of the matter.

“In the end, will Beyond the Heavens Kingdom collapse?”

“How can that be…?”

“Shouldn’t we hurry up and escape?!”

“Everyone, calm down. Our Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will not collapse. Besides, if you choose to run away now, then you will never have another chance of stepping foot inside Beyond the Heavens Kingdom again.”

“…!”

Because of that, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s soldiers were able to control the panicking players. Of course, the players could just log out at that point in time. But the harsh words that Beyond the Heavens Kingdom uttered made them stop.

Not long after, an unexpected situation unfolded inside the kingdom. Despite many of the players trembling in fear, none of them logged out. They just started to gear up and prepared to greet the enemies to protect the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Then, loud trumpet sounds rang in the open air.

Vwoooooooooong—

Vwoooooooooong—

Vwoooooooooong—

The allied forces carrying the flags of four kingdoms appeared in their vicinity. Both the players and the citizens of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were terrified at the scene. There was even someone saying that this was the end of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

At the same time, Raldo and his 1,000 elite knights stepped foot in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s territory on horseback, a step ahead of the four allied kingdoms.

“Crazy… Why aren’t you stopping them?!”

“Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s soldiers?!!! Have you lost your will to fight even before the fight started?!!!”

Players could not also rashly make their move. After all, Overlord Raldo, an NPC that was only second to Ellie, was standing at the vanguard. At the same time, the players were also watching Raldo and the dignity that was emanating from his body in awe.

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Raldo and his knights were all clad in black armor, black horned helmets, and black capes with the pattern of a sword on them. Even the horses that they were riding on were black. Both the players and the citizens of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom could only hold their breath at the awe-inspiring appearance of Overlord Raldo and his men.

Minhyuk, whose access restriction had finally been lifted, appeared. Wearing a bloody red armor and a silver cape on his back, Minhyuk appeared with the dignity of a king himself, as he walked in a majestic manner, with his entourage of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s executives.

The kings, who were hiding together with their escorts, also watched the scene intently.

‘That’s right, Raldo. Quickly cut off the Food God’s head!!!’

‘Cut the bastard’s neck off and signal the start of the war!!!’

The kings desperately hoped and prayed for Raldo to finally make his move. Meanwhile, Raldo, who was looking at Minhyuk through the gaps of his black horned helmet, slowly got off his horse.

What did he do next?

Shiiiiiiiing—

Raldo drew his sword. Someone showed a deep smile on his face while another showed frustration. Then…

Stab—

…Raldo drove his sword into the ground with all his might. The players could not understand the situation for a moment. But the NPCs and the kings understood.

‘The meaning of the king stabbing his sword on the ground…’

‘Means that he does not have any intention to fight…?’

Everyone’s eyes shook.

‘Why did Raldo reveal that he does not have any intention to fight?’

But then, something more shocking happened. Raldo and the 1,000 elite knights that came with him all took off their black horned helmets. Then, Raldo slowly knelt down on one knee.

Overlord Raldo, the king of the Warrior’s Nation, someone that even Sword Emperor Ellie was helpless against, knelt down on one knee and said, “You have my gratitude. I hope you can grant us your forgiveness, my benefactor.”

Swoosh—

Swoosh—

Swoosh—

Swoosh—

At the same time, the knights unmounted and knelt down on one knee in front of Minhyuk and paid their courtesy. Then, Raldo placed both of his hands on his legs and declared, “You can take my head.”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Everyone was shocked speechless.