Chapter 236
Chapter 236: The Struggle
“How dare you!?”
Rothschild, who was standing on the high spire of Cyamodus, bellowed angrily at Kang Chul-In .
“You dare step into my territory? You bastard!”
His voice contained a mixture of resent and murderous intent .
“How scary . ”
Kang Chul-In snorted .
However, Rothschild couldn’t hear him from afar .
Therefore,
Chuk!
Kang Chul-In pointed his middle finger at Rothschild to reveal his intentions . Wasn’t it just the best to insult Rothschild?
Flash!
However, Kang Chul-In’s entertainment didn’t last long . The lightning strikes had yet to cease!
Psst!
Kang Chul-In flung his body away .
Bang!
Immediately, a lightning strike struck at where he was standing just moments ago . He had no luxury for a relaxing conversation with Rothschild .
“You, you bastard, will never get out of here alive . I swear to make this place your grave!”
Rothschild declared .
That’s what you think .
Kang Chul-In simply ignored the infuriated Rothschild and chased after the escaping Cyamodus soldiers .
“D-Don’t come near me!”
“Y-You devil!”
In the soldiers’ eyes, Kang Chul-In was the death reaper himself .
The Lightning God!
Who could even challenge Kang Chul-In, when just standing next to him could guarantee an electrocution? All they could do was run .
Rothschild grit his teeth as he watched this .
“Alright then, let’s see how long you can keep up that rampage of yours . I will slaughter you, Kang Chul-In!”
Whatever .
Kang Chul-In paid no attention to Rothschild . He continued to run here and there, summoning lightning bolts everywhere . Cyamodus soldiers, beware!
“Let’s go, Cyamodus!”
Rothschild shouted .
-Keuhhhh…!
Cyamodus, the giant fire turtle, slowly raised its body .
Kang Chul-In, I will do whatever it takes to capture you!
The territory’s capital would be in ruins after deploying Cyamodus, but Rothschild believed that it was inevitable .
He could pour in gold to reconstruct the territory anytime he wanted to, but opportunities like this didn’t come by often . It was a worthy investment as long as he could capture Kang Chul-In .
***
Upon deploying the fire turtle, the territory was completely ruined .
Rumble,
Bang!
A lightning bolt struck towards Kang Chul-In .
Flick, flicker!
Cyamodus, the fire turtle, breathed a pillar of flame .
Thump, thump!
To top it all off, the gigantic fire turtle fumbled around, creating harmful vibrations throughout the city .
All of these factors contributed to the destruction of Rothschild’s territory, even without the squall and earthquake promised by the artifact .
“Arghhhh!”
“Y-your Majesty!”
“M-Mercy… Kuhuk!”
The casualty rate was extremely high as well .
Many lives were lost from Kang Chul-In’s electrocution and the fire turtle’s stampede . It was almost as if a war had happened .
“Go, capture him! I said to stomp on him!”
However, Rothschild was focused solely on inciting the fire turtle . He couldn’t care less about his people and soldiers .
That’s right! You’re doing well, Rothschild!
Kang Chul-In was highly motivated thanks to that .
What a hilarious situation!
It was entertaining and energizing to watch Rothschild break his own territory apart just to capture him .
Rothschild’s rash actions didn’t just cost money . If he continued to neglect his soldiers and people, how would he handle the aftermath? They would lose faith in him as their leader, which was difficult to recover from .
Rothschild should have maintained his composure even if he suffered a little damage . Lee Gong-Myung would have done that without a doubt .
Damn it . . . when are these lightning strikes going to end…?
Of course, Kang Chul-In was on the verge of collapse as well .
Notification!
At that moment,
The Aura of Jealousy will stop soon!
Lightning strike will stop soon! (Remaining: 20 bolts)
A notification popped up to inform him of when the lightning strikes would end . It was fantastic news for Kang Chul-In who was desperately trying to find the right time to escape .
A lightning strike takes roughly… five seconds .
Kang Chul-In calculated quickly .
Twenty bolts, each five seconds apart… that’s 100 seconds in total . The problem is how do I escape . . .
He laid his gaze in the direction towards Laputa .
The escape route was to the west .
The problem was that he still had 100 seconds of torture left and he had not yet established his escape route at all .
Flash!
Another bolt of lightning struck .
A bit more!
Kang Chul-In flung his body aside with all of his might .
He had to endure this penalty before he could even plan his escape . If not, the lightning bolts would just be a neon sign revealing his location to Rothschild .
***
While Kang Chul-In busily ravaged throughout Rothschild’s territory, Kwak Jung visited Lee Chae-Rin’s Dorado territory as Laputa’s diplomat .
“Welcome . ”
Lee Chae-Rin, who was sitting on her mithril chair, greeted Kwak Jung .
“Thank you for coming such a long way . ”
“Haha! No worries! I came here via a magic circle! Anyway, Ms . Chae-Rin . . . ”
Kwak Jung was about to continue his statement when . . .
Flash!
A chilling glare could be felt from his surroundings .
Shit…!
Kwak Jung immediately realized his mistake .
Lee Chae-Rin was a Lord .
In fact, she was an Overlord .
To call her ‘Ms . Chae-Rin’ was not only rude, but also a diplomatic disaster .
I-I screwed up…!
Kwak Jung shuddered .
Lee Chae-Rin’s subordinates were glaring at him with such unbearable intensity .
“Ehem…!”
A low, heavy voice let out a fake cough .
“Excuse me . ”
A man stepped forward .
E-Eek?!
Kwak Jung was shocked to see this man .
He had seen plenty of other races, including Drakan, the dragon-human of Laputa, but it was different this time .
It was because this time, the man in front of him was,
C-Cerberus?!
A three-headed canine .
“Tactician Kwak . ”
“Yes?”
“I am Anubis, a humble servant of her Majesty and the leader of the royal guards of Dorado . ”
“Ah, yes… nice to meet you . ”
Kwak Jung thought otherwise .
Wah… this guy looks real scary . . .
He wasn’t wrong .
Anubis was originally a low-level canine who used an S-rank Infinity Stone to upgrade into a three-headed canine . His new appearance was horrifying indeed .
-Grrrr…!
-Grrr…?!
In addition, the other two heads attached to his shoulder growled menacingly, further escalating the pressure .
“Tactician Kwak, please do mind your language . ”
“ . . . ”
“You may be from the same hometown as her Majesty, but she is still an Overlord . Isn’t it common courtesy to greet her with some respect?”
Anubis was speaking the truth . Kwak Jung couldn’t rebut him and consequently apologized to Lee Chae-Rin .
“I apologize, your Majesty . I am not fantastic with words… Please forgive me . . . ”
“Not at all, Tactician Kwak . ”
Lee Chae-Rin smiled and shook her hand .
“I understand . You don’t usually put up a pretense . ”
“Haha . . . ”
“Moreover… I can accept 10, or even 100 mistakes from someone who receives full trust from Mr . Chul-In . ”
“I-Is that so?”
“Of course~!”
“Hahaha~! As I expected, your Majesty is no normal heroine . ”
“You flatter me, hohoho~!”
Thanks to Lee Chae-Rin’s witty comments, a comfortable atmosphere could form between the two of them .
“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you . ”
That was at least until Kwak Jung mentioned ‘that story’ .
“It’s a crucial matter . ”
“Go on . ”
“Do you mind if I just tell you now?”
“Not at all . ”
“Your Majesty . ”
Kwak Jung’s eyes gleamed .
“Yes, Tactician Kwak . ”
“Let me ask you as the chief tactician cum diplomat of Laputa . ”
He spoke in a heavy, serious tone unlike before .
“Do you, the ruler of Dorado, have any intention of marrying his Majesty, Kang Chul-In?”
“M-M-Mar . . . ”
Lee Chae-Rin didn’t expect this question at all . She was too shocked to continue her sentence .
Heh, she’s surprised as expected!
Kwak Jung grinned inwardly .
Now, shall we start fishing for more?
And hence began Kwak Jung’s plan .
***
Meanwhile, Kang Chul-In was fully occupied with dodging the 19th lightning bolt . He had not the slightest clue of what Kwak Jung was planning to do .
Flash!
Bangggg!
A lightning bolt landed on the food warehouse, which was one of Rothschild’s most essential infrastructures .
Thump!
To add on to that, Cyamodus, the giant turtle, stomped on that very same warehouse . The territory now had no means of preparing for the incoming winter .
This was very satisfying for Kang Chul-In .
He intentionally ran towards clusters of people and vital buildings to dodge the lightning, while Rothschild was thankfully causing havoc on his own land .
“You little rat!”
Rothschild screamed in fury .
Shudder, shudder…!
Kang Chul-In slipped out of Rothschild’s grasp every time, as if mocking him .
“Keke! How long do you think you can last?”
However, Rothschild was somewhat confident .
Despite his incredible abilities, Kang Chu-In was still a human . He couldn’t possibly dodge at that speed for 365 days straight .
Wasn’t he bound to hit his limit someday? Rothschild’s judgment was precisely on point .
One last bolt .
Kang Chul-In didn’t care .
Immediately after the 19th lightning strike, he swung his body towards the west --- the direction towards Laputa .
It was time for him to escape without even turning back .
Escaping here is my first priority .
Kang Chul-In was about to turn his body when,
Crack, crack!
With a sharp screech, hairline cracks began to appear on his armor .
“ . . . !”
Kang Chul-In stopped moving for a moment .
He wasn’t the one who stopped .
He was bound by some kind of effect .
String!
The culprit was a metallic string which boasted an enormous durability .
Grasp!
Tens of metallic strings instantly began to wrap around Kang Chul-In’s body, locking him down .
The opponent had formidable skill .
God damn it!
Kang Chul-In could identify the user of these metallic strings, but that was the least of his concerns . The impending 20th lightning bolt was of a much bigger concern .
Flash!
The lightning bolt appeared .
…I can’t dodge this .
Kang Chul-In was fully locked down now . Any movement of his could rip him into pieces . As even his neck felt a stinging sensation, he could be headless if not careful .
Damn it, I guess there’s no choice but to get hit .
He had to acknowledge that he couldn’t possibly dodge the last lightning bolt .
Thump!
However, before he was hit, someone dropped straight down from the skies and embraced Kang Chul-In .