Inside the main hall of the royal palace in the Royal Capital, Halongze.
On the throne, a tall, dignified old man with slightly curly golden hair sat casually.
His head bore the golden crown of absolute authority, his broad shoulders were draped in a mantle made of gray fur, and he wore loose black-and-gray garments.
This was the supreme ruler of the Human Kingdom.
The King of the Human Kingdom, Gilgamesh.
Of course, he was not the legendary Heroic King who had slain a Supreme Being.
It was a tradition of the royal family: upon inheriting the throne, one also inherited the name “Gilgamesh.”
The ruler’s title was then determined by the most outstanding achievement of their life.
This was a rule set by the Heroic King himself, meant to spur his descendants to action—to ensure they didn’t live idly, but accomplished at least some feats in civil and military affairs.
For example, the current king on the throne, Gilgamesh V, had as his greatest achievement the time he led an army in his youth to crush tens of thousands of Divine Kin lurking at the border.
Legend had it that Gilgamesh V always personally took to the battlefield, and he especially loved to charge at the front as the vanguard, breaking through enemy formations.
Thus, his title became the Army-Breaking King.
And now, though aged, this Army-Breaking King was still full of majesty.
Just by sitting casually on the throne, the aura he emitted made some of the weaker-nerved nobles below tremble, as if facing not a man, but a thundering army of thousands.
“You should have heard about what happened recently, right?”
The Army-Breaking King spoke slowly, his tone heavy and dignified, carrying a strong air of a Supreme Being.
It was like an old dragon coiled on the throne, letting out low roars at those below.
“These foreign races have already breached Loluste, leaving the northeastern gate of the kingdom wide open. What are your thoughts on this?”
The nobles below were all silent.
Those of lower rank or younger age did not know the ins and outs of the matter, but the nobles gathered here were all those of Viscount rank and above from throughout the kingdom.
Among them were many with long experience who knew a few of the kingdom’s secrets.
However, such people were mostly blood relatives of the royal family, so naturally no one would bring that up in this setting.
Thus, the thought in most people’s minds at this moment was…
When it came to the Supreme Beings that humanity had offended, one could not avoid mentioning the [Ancient Rock Dragon Horsiris]. Could it be that the Divine Kin under this Ancient Rock Dragon had come to exact revenge?
With that thought, all the nobles shrank their necks.
When talking about dragon Divine Kin, the powerful foreign race known as Dragonborn was unavoidable.
Their intelligence was on par with humans, but these cold-blooded creatures lacked imagination.
Most Dragonborn were antiquated beings who rigidly followed their ancestors’ traditions, whether in combat or craftsmanship.
That was why the Dragonborn villages encountered outside the kingdom were usually very primitive in structure; some even still ate raw meat and blood and used live sacrifices.
But what their lack of imagination bought them was an innate ability to step into the supernatural.
Upon breaking out of their eggs, Dragonborn already possessed Sub-Bronze Rank strength.
By adulthood, even without training, they could reach Middle White Silver Rank.
They also raised Wyverns as mounts, much like humans raised warhorses.
Wyverns inhabited all parts of the world. These powerful creatures were, in the end, the mixed-blood descendants of the Ancient Rock Dragon.
The weakest Wyvern required more than two White Silver Rank human knights to deal with.
If a powerful Dragonborn tribe had developed and grown, and then, to avenge their Supreme Being, they had breached Loluste…
That might be reasonable enough.
Sending one’s hard-trained army to fight those monsters would surely result in heavy casualties—even total annihilation.
No great noble with fiefs would willingly take on such a thankless, troublesome task.
But then again, the northeastern gate being wide open affected not just the northeastern part of the kingdom.
It was also a major hidden danger for the eastern and northern parts.
Thus, many nobles turned their gaze to the two top leaders of these regions:
Marquis Grosert Batios and Count Lansford Martinsa.
As the “Uncrowned King of the East,” Grosert said nothing. He stood expressionless, his red eyes fixed straight ahead, showing neither joy nor sorrow.
But if he could remain calm, that didn’t mean others could.
Take Lansford, the representative of the northern part of the kingdom, for example.
Unlike Grosert, he did not have such a firm grip or high title. He governed like the King ruled the kingdom—personally stationed in the largest city, delegating power to the other Viscounts.
Thus, his control over the north was not particularly secure. If those monsters advanced north, they could directly threaten his headquarters.
By the time others sent reinforcements, it would be too late.
He had to secure enough help and promises now!
Of course, he couldn’t say that openly…
“Great King, since this is a crisis for our kingdom, I believe everyone has a duty to contribute.”
Lansford stepped forward and knelt on one knee before the Army-Breaking King above.
“Our Green Shade City has a standing force of 5,700 soldiers. They are all willing to join the front lines!”
As soon as Lansford said this, everyone inwardly cursed the old bastard for being shameless.
This affected your region the most! If you don’t send troops, who will?
Now, showing loyalty before the King, claiming it’s the kingdom’s crisis and everyone has a duty—that’s just putting everyone else on the fire!
Well, helpless as they were, the Army-Breaking King above slowly nodded, acknowledging Lansford’s words.
“King, our Floating Petal City is also willing to send 2,000 troops to support Loluste.”
“King, Dragon Roar City is willing to send 1,500 troops to support Loluste!”
“King…”
Immediately, the nobles began to speak up, mostly offering around a thousand troops each. Individually it didn’t seem like much, but together they added up to nearly 70,000 soldiers.
After everyone had spoken, some eventually turned their attention to the one who had remained silent all along—the “Uncrowned King of the East.”
Only when the King’s gaze also shifted to him did Grosert speak slowly.
“King, the Crystal Capital can dispatch 20,000 garrison troops as reinforcements.”
A collective gasp sounded around them…
Grosert really lived up to his reputation as the one who ruled the East with an iron fist.
From his words, it was clear the Crystal Capital’s garrison was far more than 20,000, but that was only the Crystal Capital—not all the forces this “Uncrowned King” could mobilize throughout the East.
Thinking this, some nobles smiled bitterly to themselves.
If they had known, why had they bothered to join in? They could have just left it all to Marquis Grosert…
“Good. The Royal Capital will also send 10,000 royal troops as the final trump card. We’ll assemble an army of 100,000 and march to Loluste.”
The Army-Breaking King above slowly nodded.
“This time… I will personally oversee the battle.”
Hearing this, the nobles were shocked again!
Then they understood the old, majestic King’s intention.
He was not content with his achievements in his old age. He did not want to enter his tomb bearing only the title “Army-Breaking King.”
Army-Breaking King—though it sounded mighty, it was still too narrow in scope.
Its meaning fell far short of the original “Heroic King.”
Though aged, Gilgamesh V still harbored an unquenched pride in his heart.
If it truly was the remnants of the Ancient Rock Dragon tribe, then this time…
He might be able to change his title to “Dragon-Slaying King.”
…
Before a house in Six Wells Village.
Reliel shouldered her pack and mounted the Spectral Horse, which snorted blue flames from its nostrils.
Compared to normal horses, the Spectral Horse’s greatest feature was that it never tired, but it needed to be regularly fed “Death Aura” to stay active.
In Holly’s words, the Spectral Horse was like a motorcycle, and Death Aura was like gasoline.
Add fuel and it ran; it could keep going indefinitely.
This Spectral Horse had been in the Underworld for a while and was already full. At full gallop, it could go for half a month without feeding.
From here, riding hard to the Crystal Capital would take at most seven or eight days.
Clop clop… Grasping the reins, Reliel adjusted to the horse’s handling for a moment, then turned to look at Ileya.
Her gaze unconsciously drifted to a certain part of the Lady’s body.
“Let’s go.”
She said softly, then pulled the reins.
The Spectral Horse let out a long neigh and galloped forward on all fours.
Watching the distant figure of rider and horse, Ileya suppressed the urge to use the Spectral Horse’s control to throw Reliel off.
Of course, she wouldn’t admit she gave up the idea because she was afraid Reliel might get hurt…
She just… disdained such low-level tactics!
Hmph! These past two times, for some reason, she always felt like she had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.
This guy seemed to have a natural ability to counter her. When it came to this kind of thing, she always ended up being inexplicably suppressed.
‘Is it my fault?’
Thinking this, Ileya turned to look at the only one still beside the carriage—the newest member of the group, the catgirl who was diligently organizing the supplies on the cart.
Pat pat pat…
The Lady stepped forward slowly, watching the catgirl’s tail swing widely left and right, and rubbed her chin.
She had never owned a cat before, but she knew…
When a female cat was in heat, patting the base of its tail could relieve it quite well.
Even if the cat wasn’t in heat, doing so would make it happily lift its rear.
Thinking this, Ileya subconsciously reached out and gently patted the base of the catgirl’s tail.
Pat~
“Meow!?”
( ﾟ口ﾟ )–!
Mierpasi’s tail immediately puffed up! Her ears shot straight up! Her arms, supporting her body, instantly gave way, and the next second she collapsed face-first into the carriage compartment!
Turning her head, the catgirl showed a confused and terrified expression.
These people… why… why did they always pick… that spot to touch…
“Hm? Such a big reaction…” Ileya tilted her head curiously.
She reached out her sinful hand again.
Pat pat pat~
“Don’t… don’t… Lady… meow–!!? Ah… ah meow♡ Ah… ah… owooo♡…”
After playing for a while, the Lady noticed that a sweet, sticky scent had somehow filled the air.
And the seemingly broken Mierpasi…
On her pants, there were now some suspicious wet stains.
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