Chapter 50_ Cork Island (3)

The people in Reinhardt, could see the warmth of justice and benevolence radiating from their new king, Lexus, and it embraced all of them in its protection. All of those who were grateful to him sang praises of him to those that they came by. Because of the state that were caused by the invasion of the golem army, the state of life in the capital city was pretty much harsh for them.

But with their new ruler's swift actions about it, they were very thankful for him. The despairing parents who had their children kidnapped by the human traffickers that took advantage of the golem invasion were brought back to them told their children time and time again to hold Lexus' grace deep in their hearts. Those who were liberated from the mire of debt by the loan sharks placed upon them were grateful for the new life they had been given, and they swore to give their all for the Eternal Kingdom.

One had to know that it was the vulnerable ones who numbered in the majority in society. Through their word-of-mouth, the approval ratings made a miraculous turnaround. From someone who was little known and whose competency was viewed with skepticism, in less than half a month since his appointment, Lexus' reputation soared higher than anyone else.

To the people, he was Goddess Rebecca's envoy, the Holy Son, the light that banished the evil. The commoners spent every single day toiling hard just to eke out a living, so they could hardly be bothered about other matters. Be it the other Noble Houses, or the other royals, all of those mattered very little to them. The only one that they truly recognized and respected was the Undefeated King Lexus, for he was the only one whose magnanimity interfered in their mundane matters and lent a helping hand to them.

In the king's office, papers were piled like mountains.

"Your majesty, people nowadays salute us whenever we patrol the streets in our military uniforms. There are quite a few young knights who have found female companions too," said Dovie, the knight who was currently in charge of his protection.

She had her cheeks turned bright red. She had never felt so fulfilled in her job before. To be honest, the operation was hardly worthwhile in terms of gains and losses at all. Mobilizing so many valuable military forces for such an operation was extravagant. One must know that the knights and soldiers were strong enough to make a strategic difference on the battlefield, but here they were, mobilized for 'less important' matters that would have normally never fallen into their hands.

Dovie had never heard of any king going to such an extent for the common populace before, but Lexus did it, and with overwhelming success at that! Perhaps his majesty is indeed different from the other rulers of the kingdom. Returning back to the same old question, how could one win the support of the people?

Wise old sages of the past had said that those who could win the hearts of the people would win the world. Lexus had an advantage in the sense that he came from an era of information, so he could tap into the experience of those who had walked on a similar path before and learn from them.

Winning the support of the people had become such an important topic in the modern world that Lexus couldn't be more familiar with it. So, what was the secret then?

To serve the people, of course!

The people had eyes to see for themselves what kind of person their king was, whether he was good or evil, inept or competent. Lexus was born an aristocrat in this life, so he couldn't go with the typical sort of pretext like ' A leader born from the people '. Still, he could at least be a leader that reached out to the people.

The operation brought about a significant financial net loss. Despite confiscating the properties of the criminals, the Eternal Kingdom had lost money overall. However, it did bring Lexus popularity and support from the people. These were things that were hard to buy even with money.

At the same time, it brought the military together too.

He worked closely with the Finance Department and Public Relations Department in order to kickstart the operation, and this collaborative work allowed them to familiarize themselves with one another. On top of that, the success of the operation also brought them a shared sense of glory.

This was also the reason why Dovie was so happy. She was rejoicing not just over the accomplishment of the mission but the happiness of being able to uphold justice in her hometown. Aside from it increased her rank to the new ranking system, it had brought her a good reputation, and it gave her a sense of pride at being able to work under Lexus.

The same applied for the other young men in the military. They knew they were working for a good cause, and this could be seen from the earnest respect the people treated them with. The grocers would give them some free food from time to time, and there were people who would shout out thanks to them while they were walking on the street.

... Though the one that delighted them the most was that they were receiving more confessions from women than they ever had in their entire life.

The numerous stories about 'heroes saving beauties' going around were swiftly freeing the members of the Eternal's knights and soldiers from their singlehood!

The most popular one of all was still their highest superior, Lexus. There were many young women on the lookout for his movements as they camped out at certain locations just to catch a glimpse of him. He would also receive over a dozen confession letters every single day, and some of the nobles and officials' daughters even offered themselves as his concubine.

Of course, all of these offers were turned down by Lexus under the pretext that he did not have any free time.

"A king is a person who rules millions of people. I should never forget. My thoughts and actions can affect and change the fate of a large number of people."

Hearing the thoughts of Lexus, Madra replied.

「 I understand your position but that's where you're mistaken. 」

"....?"

Sensing his confusion, Madra continued.

「 A king must be greedier, laugh louder, and be more furious than everyone else. He must exemplify the extreme of all things, including good and evil. 」

「 That is exactly why his subjects envy and adore him and why the flame of wanting to be like the king can burn in the hearts of every civilian. 」

"Undefeated Master...A king should make any sacrifice to ensure his country's prosperity, right?"

「 No. 」

Hearing his plane answer, Lexus was taken aback but Madra continued.

「 The king does not sacrifice anything. It is the country and the people that sacrifice themselves for the king. Absolutely not the other way around. 」

"Isn't that just...qualities of a tyrant? Must the king be alone in his superiority?"

「 You don't understand at all. A king must live a life more vivid than any other and be a figure for all to admire. The king is the one who collects the envy of all his subordinates and stands as their guide. 」

「 Therefore, the king is not alone. For his wills exceeded that of all his followers combined! A king is not a slave of the people. 」

Then the next words, unlike his dignified tone, Madra's tone sounds downcasted.

「 For a compassionate and soft king can easily experience betrayal. I learned this the hard way. 」

The glorious Undefeated King Madra, met his demise with the betrayal of his son and people because of their fear for the Saharan Empire. Listening to the words that were based on Madra's experience, Lexus nodded in understanding while he let out a deep exhale, as he felt his heart was light. His mind became clearer and his vision widened as he slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were strangely like the sea, deeper than ever.

"This feels much better."

•~~~•

As the work continued to pile to no end, Lexus decided to take a break. He had spent too much time in the office already. Back at the training grounds, he requested a spar towards Chucksley to check if he had now grown stronger than the Great Swordsman of the kingdom.

Lexus had a high level of insight. Thanks to that, he could observe a brief information about a target who's a level higher than himself.

Name: Chucksley Rokan.

Level: 313

Before Lexus ascended as the king, the average level of the royal soldiers was 130 and the level of the knight commander greatly outclassed them.

Following the will and desire of his superior, he threw away his hesitation. Chucksley pointed his sword at Lexus. His momentum was great. Great Swordsman. He had the title of one of the continent's strongest swordsman, so he didn't shrink back despite the opponent being Lexus.

"During the Reinhardt invasion, I was somewhat lacking. I could only watch from a distance."

But.

"Since then, I have made an effort to become stronger than before."

Chucksley wielded his sword. It was a straight trajectory with no flaws. It truly was a sleek and sophisticated blow. The knights, the soldiers, and all the people that watched the spar of the knights commander and their king exclaimed from a considerable distance.

'Too fast!'

It was an unavoidable attack. They were sure that Lexus would be hit first.

But.

Jeeeong!

A red sword emerged from a dark space in front of him and his attack speed surpassed that of Chucksley.

'Fast!'

It was so fast that it couldn't be seen!

"Then, did that make me amazing as I am now stronger than you?"

Lexus said with a smile.

Chaaeng!

Chucksley and Lexus' red sword collided in an impressive manner and dust flew all over the place. It was an ignorant attack. Lexus and Chucksley exchanged looks through the dust. Unlike the composed Chucksley, Lexus somehow didn't look very good.

He was confused because the opponent was exceedingly stronger than he expected.

'What is this guy?'

He had high status resistance and his swordsmanship was odd. His technique seemed simple, but it was strong when actually facing it.

'This is the first time.'

The great swordsmen he expected were the masters of anomalies. They used unconventional swordsmanship to confuse and overwhelm their opponent. Then what about Chucksley? He didn't show any gaps, because he was faithful to the basics and excluded variables.

The more he competed with the sword, the more he understood Chucksley's strength. The extremely honest, but fast and powerful sword, put a bit of pressure on Lexus.

"Rising Sword!"

It was an extremely irregular technique that looked like it rose from the ground. Chucksley was sure that Lexus would be hit by this technique. But he was wrong. The reason why he was unable to subdue Chucksley despite his speed advantage was due to the firmness of the swordsmanship. Chucksley used a big technique and abandoned his own strength, revealing a gap.

Then...

"Your swordsmanship...I've seen it all."

[Strength Augmentation has been activated. Your attack power, defense and movement speed will increase significantly for 20 seconds.]

[Blacksmith's Rage has been activated. Your attack power and attack speed will increase significantly for 20 seconds.]

Chucksley suddenly felt an ominous sensation when he saw the smile of Lexus. It didn't took long for his eyes to widen in surprise.

"This is impossible!"

He was at a loss for words. The great swordsman Chucksley, who had been dominating the whole time, was now bleeding from the chest.

Pagma's Sword Dance, Pinnacle.

Pinnacle descended. Blood spurted like a fountain from Chucksley's chest, filling his field of view as Lexus raised his sword to strike again. Chucksley felt a pain that couldn't be ignored.