Chapter 25

Thud!

The spear impaled the undead speeder egg with full force.

The egg, which was expected to be incredibly tough, was pierced far too easily.

"What… the…?"

Theo involuntarily lifted his head.

Just then, he saw five worms descending from the sky in quick succession.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

The egg squirmed.

As Theo took a step forward, not knowing what had happened,

An explosion occurred.

"Get… get away!"

Theo shouted belatedly, but it was already too late.

The blast had already enveloped the Holy Sword Knights.

The explosion did not end with just one.

Multiple explosions followed.

The forest of deadly poison was filled with deafening noise.

Kane, who was watching this scene from atop a tree, smiled with satisfaction.

"Perfect. If I had used mana above 2nd class, all the armor would have been damaged."

The reason he had been reducing the number of Holy Sword Knights through such cumbersome methods was simple.

He wanted to sell their armor and weapons at a high price.

"Since it also inflicted significant damage on the Undead Speeder, this is sufficient."

He had killed two birds with one stone.

The combination of the 'Phoenix Spear technique' and the 'Blood Mark' exceeded his expectations.

No, it boasted terrifying destructive power.

As the poisonous miasma cleared,

The Holy Sword Knights were all lying on the ground, not a single one unscathed.

They would never be able to wield a sword again.

'If 'Phoenix Spear technique' is this powerful, it will be spectacular when I improve the rank of 'Blood Dance'.'

The 'Blood Mark' does not belong to one of the 4 great marks.

[A/N: The essence behind this sentence was that Blood Mark wasn't under the jurisdiction of other elemental Runes and was much better than them.]

Moreover, the 'Blood Dance' of the Blood Knight, saved the continent from the Celestial Realm.

If he could perfectly use this skill, which was completely compatible with the 'Phoenix Spear technique', he would not lose to anyone.

Furthermore, 'Blood Dance' was a growth-type skill.

"Let's check the message."

[You have flawlessly executed the acquired skill 'Meteror of the Exploding Phoenix.'.]

[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]

[You have acquired the skill 'Phoenix Spear technique (SR)'.]

[You can now use the 'Phoenix Spear technique (SR) – 1st form : Flame of Severance'.]

[You can now use 'Phoenix Spear technique (SR) – 2nd Form: Winding Phoenix'.]

[You can now use 'Phoenix Spear technique (SR) – 3rd form: Meteror of the Exploding Phoenix.'.]

He was pleased.

He had obtained the SR-grade Skill: Phoenix Spear technique.

But it was too early to be surprised.

[A remarkable achievement reward: You have gained 1 million gold.]

[Double reward: You have gained 2 million gold.]

[Triple reward: You have gained 4 million gold.]

In total, 7 million gold.

It was enough to build seven buildings.

"How amusing."

The smile on his face didn't fade.

As time passed, it became even more enjoyable.

The highlight of this game was the territory system.

Although it required enormous amounts of gold,

If you had enough money, you could feel more exhilarated than anything else.

You could witness the development of your territory with your own eyes.

"Ugh…"

At that moment, Theo groaned as he regained his senses.

And then, he saw someone in his line of sight.

Despite the tremendous explosion, Kane Rehinar was slowly approaching him unscathed.

"You… how…?"

Theo managed to utter.

"It is what it is."

"Wh-What…!"

Theo groaned, clutching his heart.

"First, I'll deal with this disgusting egg."

Kane approached the squirming egg.

It continued to squirm as if trying to break free from its shell.

"Not a chance."

Kane roughly pulled Cedric's spear.

Splat-!

Liquid gushed out of the egg.

The more it did, the more violently the egg shook from side to side.

"Stop struggling and die."

He reached out towards the egg.

Gathering mana to its maximum, he burst it in one go.

The sound of a balloon popping was followed by liquid splattering everywhere.

"Disgusting."

The liquid that touched the ground seeped into the soil.

It was evident how potent the poison was.

[You've defeated the boss monster of the hidden territory 'Forest of Deadly Poison'.]

[The land is slowly being purified.]

"The next one is that guy."

Kane turned to look at Theo.

Holding Cedric's spear, he walked towards him.

"All of this… was your doing?"

"As you can see."

"You lured us here…?"

Kane nodded.

A cold smile appeared on his lips.

A smile completely opposite to his innocent face.

That made it even more chilling.

"…Why are you… doing this to us?"

"Are you asking because you don't know?"

At Kane's question, Theo spoke with difficulty.

"…Is it because of what happened at the main gate…?"

"Didn't you say that you'd kill me?"

Theo trembled.

The moment he met Kane's eyes, he felt like his heart would stop.

The cold murderous intent made it hard to breathe.

"You must pay the price for your arrogance in front of me."

"…Rivan too, you…!"

"It was your precious Dyer Family who provoked first."

"When Dyer finds out… you think they'll just sit still? Rehinar will be devastated."

"As long as I'm here, Dyer can't touch a hair on Rehinar. Do you know why?"

"…"

"Because I'll erase Dyer from the map before that happens."

"You're insane."

"I haven't even shown you the truly insane part yet."

Kane turned and moved to the side.

Thud!

"Gah."

He stabbed the chest of a still-breathing holy knight with the spear, killing him.

"What… what are you doing!"

Despite Theo's outcry, Kane continued moving around, cutting off the Holy Knights' breaths.

"Stop it alreadyyyy!"

Theo screamed.

Only then did Kane turn to look at him.

"How does it feel to see your comrades die?"

"You bastard. I won't let this go."

"What can you do in your crippled state?"

"If you don't stop right now, you'll regret it."

"Bluffing when you can't even use your mana heart anymore."

Before Kane finished speaking.

"Argh!"

A spear flew and lodged into Theo's thigh.

"Only bluff in front of those who will fall for it."

Kane said, his eyes gleaming.

Even as he spoke, he continued to move around.

Finally.

Thunk.

He ended the life of Rick, Theo's right hand man.

"You bastard!"

Theo tried to force himself up.

But the spear in his thigh prevented him from standing.

"How does it feel to be the weak one? Filthy, isn't it?"

"You devil. Everyone is fooled by your mask."

"Any last words?"

"I'll, ugh!"

Before Theo could finish speaking, Kane pulled the spear from his thigh and thrust it into his head.

"Still didn't know your place till the end."

Extermination.

Everyone was dead.

Thanks to the Holy Sword Knights fighting the Undead Speeder, Kane had won easily.

Others might find it unsettling, but he didn't.

Victory was all that mattered.

History only records the victors.

"Hmm."

Suddenly, a sense of regret washed over him.

"I should've left a few alive to kill later."

The thought of stripping the armor from the dead Holy Sword Knights alone made him dizzy.

It was his most common mistake.

Killing those who fell out of favor without considering the grunt work.

Mikhail had been the one to handle such tasks before.

Despite his massive size, Mikhail was incredibly rational.

An expert at getting things done.

Without Mikhail by his side, situations like this arose.

"If I didn't have my spatial pocket… I don't even want to think about it."

Without it, he would have had to move all this armor and weapons by himself.

But with the spatial pocket, all he had to do was strip the bodies.

Next, he could store them in the pocket and transport them to Rehinar.

"Let's finish quickly and head back."

Rolling up his sleeves, Kane began stripping the armor off the corpses.

The task was tedious and exhausting.

Armor covered in blood and flesh.

As he removed the gear from bodies missing arms, legs, or heads, he started contemplating the meaning of life.

Yet, he quickly stripped the armor from the corpses.

As expected of the wealthy Dyer family, the Holy Knights wore expensive equipment.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to strip all the armor.

"Haa. This is harder than fighting."

He laid on the ground, resting for about 5 mins,

Then, he got up.

"I wonder how much this will fetch."

The thought of making money made him smile despite the hard work.

"If I sell the corpse of the Undead Speeder too, I'll make quite a bit."

With 7 million gold in hand, he felt secure.

After finishing his tasks, he left the secret area and returned to his territory.

It was a time when everyone was asleep.

Kane stood by the western gate, looking over his land.

'Developing this place will make the hidden traitors regret their actions.'

He didn't bother to hunt down each traitor individually.

Even though he knew where they all were, he pretended not to.

His plan was to make them deeply regret turning their backs on Rehinar.

Except for making an example out of a few, he hadn't taken any action against them.

'Seizing the land deeds of the western territory from the traitors was a masterstroke.'

The exiled traitors held the land deeds of the western territory.

And it was the most suitable area for building various facilities.

That's why he targeted the moneylender and the Baor farm owner first.

With the western territory back under Rehinar's control, he could develop it freely.

'Though I'd like to build the Belmore Military Academy ASAP, commercial facilities take priority.'

Commercial facilities were closely linked to income.

They were essential for running the territory.

He reviewed the list of buildings to construct under the commerce tab.

Three items caught his eye.

He set the area before constructing the buildings.

[There are no signs of life around the designated shantytown area. Do you want to demolish it? (Y/N)]

'Yes.'

[2,000,000 gold has been used.]

As he nodded, the designated area vanished entirely.

Only the parts where people lived were left standing.

And in that place, buildings were erected.

[1,000,000 gold has been used.]

[In the western territory, a blacksmith shop is being constructed. (Construction time: 5 days)]

[1,000,000 gold has been used.]

[In the western territory, a general store is being constructed. (Construction time: 5 days)]

[1,000,000 gold has been used.]

[In the western territory, a weapons shop is being constructed. (Construction time: 5 days)]

It was as if the buildings were being constructed by magic.

Wood and stone floated into place and assembled automatically.

At that moment, a message appeared.

[Do you want to complete the blacksmith shop immediately? (Y/N)]

[Immediate completion cost – 100,000 gold]

Completing all three would cost 300,000 gold.

Since he wouldn't be using the facilities right away, he skipped the message.

'No.'

In a flash, 5,000,000 gold was gone.

This was just the cost to build level 1 structures.

Now, he had only 2 million gold left.

One last task remained.

He needed to relocate the Blue Merchant Guild and the Blue Guild from the commercial district to the western territory.

When he clicked on the Blue Merchant Guild, a message appeared.

[Additional cost required to move or remodel the facility.]

[Moving cost – 500,000 gold]

[Remodeling cost – 500,000 gold]

'This is truly daylight robbery.'

Shaking his head, he moved the Blue Merchant Guild and the Blue Adventure Guild to the western territory.

[The Blue Merchant Guild has moved to the western territory.]

[500,000 gold has been used.]

[Remodeling of the Blue Merchant Guild has begun. (Reopening period: 3 days)]

[500,000 gold has been used.]

[The Blue Adventure Guild has moved to the western territory.]

[500,000 gold has been used.]

[Remodeling of the Blue Guild has begun. (Reopening period: 3 days)]

[500,000 gold has been used.]

His remaining funds were now zero.

The tasks in the territory were complete.

Though he felt a pang of emptiness with all the money gone, he knew he could always earn more.

Shaking off the sense of loss, he began moving towards Philaec.