Chapter 380
This was an even more astonishing story.
‘Why is the Dark King involved again?’
The Dark King was a calculating man.
He would know that attacking Ruina’s Opalma Kingdom would put him at odds with the Three Empires behind it. Yet, he declared war?
“What’s his objective here?”
“Ahhh! I don’t know either! Our Opalma Kingdom has been falsely accused of attacking his own people.”
As Ruina continued her story, Chris realized this situation was far from ordinary.
“Waaah! The Swordsmanship Clan is threatening to slaughter all the people of our Opalma Kingdom. Please, save us!”
They were planning a massacre.
It was incomprehensible, regardless of whether it was acceptable or not.
‘Why would the Swordsmanship Clan do something like this?’
No matter how rotten the Swordsmanship Clan was, it was still a proud and respected family within the Union.
Why would they commit such atrocities—things only corrupted demons would do?
And without any apparent reason.
‘…No, there must be a reason.’
Suddenly, a theory flashed through Chris’s mind.
Even demons corrupted by evil don’t commit mass slaughter without cause.
There was always one reason for such massacres.
Human sacrifice.
It was clear.
The Swordsmanship Clan had allied with the Dark King to use the people of Opalma Kingdom as offerings for some horrific ritual.
They headed straight for the Gray Zone.
Using Ruina’s relic, they arrived within the borders of the Opalma Kingdom.
“This is my Opalma Kingdom!”
“…A modest kingdom.”
It was barely more than a small territory.
Still unorganized.
No proper walls, only crude wooden palisades surrounding the area.
“That’s because it’s just the beginning. Watch and see! People are gathering even now, and one day this kingdom will grow to rival the Three Empires!”
Ruina’s voice brimmed with renewed energy.
At their arrival, the kingdom’s people flocked to them.
Small children ran up and clung to Ruina.
“Big sister Ruina!”
“Your Majesty, to call you ‘big sister’! Your Majesty, have you received any outside support?”
Though she was the kingdom’s queen, the atmosphere felt more like family.
Ruina gently set down the child clinging to her and beamed proudly.
“Who do you think I brought? This is the hero!”
The people’s eyes turned to Chris.
Then—
“Waaahhh!!!”
“The hero has come to save us!”
“Long live the hero!”
“We’re saved!”
Chris looked bewildered.
The reaction was far more enthusiastic than he expected.
It was as if they were under some kind of spell.
‘Wait, haven’t I met these people before? Even if I’m famous, this is a bit much.’
The reason became clear quickly.
“Didn’t I say? The hero will never ignore your plight.”
A familiar voice, one that made Chris want to tear his hair out just hearing it.
Evan.
“I believed in you.”
“……”
“Everyone, open your eyes wide. This boy is the hero who will save you. You have nothing to fear now.”
“Hero! Hero! Hero!!!”
“Speak up! Don’t you know the hero can hear you?”
“Waaahhh!!! Long live the hero! Long live!!!”
The cheers felt almost fanatical.
‘…Evan, what on earth are you doing?’
At that moment, a dignified woman appeared, looking at Evan with a disapproving expression.
It was Lanya.
“…Evan, please do something about this. He’s gone mad.”
“…I’m at my limit too.”
“You’re the one responsible, aren’t you? You talk about him all the time—I’m about to go deaf.”
“I don’t know. I really don’t.”
She genuinely wanted to pretend she had no idea.
If this weren’t related to the Swordsmanship Clan, she might have thrown him far away.
“Anyway, let’s talk. We need a plan.”
They headed toward the castle.
…Though calling it a castle was generous—it was just a slightly better building.
“What’s the exact situation?”
Lanya answered.
“Magic surveillance shows the Swordsmanship Clan is preparing their knights. They’ll probably attack here within a few days.”
“That’s tight.”
Chris frowned.
‘Getting support from other forces will be difficult.’
They had enough troops to mobilize.
Chris now controlled most of the Union’s forces.
The problem was time.
There wasn’t enough time to summon troops from the Three Empires.
‘We could call in some elites from the Magic Tower or the Round Table.’
But even that wasn’t ideal.
‘There will be a lot of bloodshed, whether from the Swordsmanship Clan or us.’
The Swordsmanship Clan’s strength rivaled that of a small nation.
It was said that even combining all seven families of the Round Table couldn’t match the Swordsmanship Clan alone.
They were the undisputed top family of the Union.
A direct confrontation would cause irreparable damage.
‘We can’t afford such losses with the end of the world looming.’
They had to preserve the Swordsmanship Clan’s strength as well.
‘Not everyone in the Swordsmanship Clan is a villain.’
Though the leadership was rotten, there were many honorable people in the clan.
‘The problem is the rotten heads.’
In his previous life, those rotten leaders had prevented the Swordsmanship Clan from fulfilling its true potential despite its power.
This incident was probably their doing.
‘What are they thinking? Even if they’re corrupt, I didn’t think they were this insane.’
Chris shook his head.
First, they had to bring the Swordsmanship Clan to its knees and then figure things out.
“How’s the overall mood in the Swordsmanship Clan? Not everyone supports this, right?”
Ruina replied.
“From what I bribed my way into learning, it’s a mess. Most of the lower-ranking knights doubt the truth behind this and are unhappy.”
“And among the leadership? Surely not all of them agree.”
“A few elders oppose it. Ugh. I tried to bribe them out of gratitude, but they said they only follow true justice, not money, and chased me away.”
Chris nodded.
The situation painted a rough plan.
“Evan, have you made any progress?”
“So-so. I’ve been trying to get closer to you.”
Surprisingly, Evan had reached the 8th Star.
An astonishing achievement.
‘Talent, yes, but mostly thanks to the blessing of the Constellation.’
Evan’s role in this operation was crucial.
Chris looked at Evan for a moment, then said something no one expected.
“Evan, have you thought about giving up the blessing of the Constellation?”
“!!”
Everyone was shocked.
It was an incomprehensible request.
Without the blessing, Evan’s power would drop significantly.
Yet—
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
“…You’re not asking why?”
“I trust you.”
“……”
An answer with no plan.
“You’re making that offer for me, aren’t you?”
“…I guess so.”
“Then it’s settled.”
Chris sighed and explained in detail.
“You’re weak.”
A hard thing to accept.
He was an 8th Star, after all.
An absolute powerhouse anywhere on the continent.
But the role Evan was expected to play required more.
“The blessing of the Sword Star has helped you greatly, but it also limits you. You need to complete your own sword.”
The Sword Star’s blessing was the favor of the Sword Constellation.
It allowed explosive growth but had a downside.
Because growth was so easy, it actually hindered reaching the highest levels—completing one’s own worldview and advancing to the upper 8th Star or 9th Star.
‘Evan has grown without facing much adversity.’
Here, adversity meant the hardships of sword training.
Most reach the 8th Star only after countless setbacks and trials, but Evan hadn’t experienced any of that.
‘That’s partly my fault. I guided him too well.’
In his previous life, Evan had faced far greater hardships alone during the Age of Destruction.
His growth was slower and harder, but those trials laid the foundation for reaching the 9th Star.
“Evan, I want you to reach the upper 8th Star right now.”
“!!”
An impossible demand.
But—
“Of course, I know it won’t be easy. But you have to do it. Only then can you become the head of the Swordsmanship Clan.”
The room fell silent.
Yes.
This was Chris’s plan.
Drive out the rotten leaders of the Swordsmanship Clan and make Evan the new head.
‘It’s possible. We just need to win over those in leadership who oppose this.’
There was one crucial condition.
Evan had to prove his skill with the sword.
In other words, he had to defeat the current clan head—the Sword King.
For reference, the Sword King was at the upper 8th Star.
With Evan’s current strength, it was impossible.
“I’ll try to buy us some time. Fifteen days to reach the upper 8th Star.”
Also impossible.
What could be done in just fifteen days?
But—
“Alright.”
Evan’s eyes blazed with determination.
“I’ll do whatever it takes. I swore to help you.”
“…No need to say such heavy things.”
“Besides, you made this offer for me, didn’t you? To help me settle my grudge with the Swordsmanship Clan.”
“……”
Evan smiled.
“Thank you, Christian.”
Chris scratched his head.
He couldn’t say there was no truth to that.
“Enough chatter. Just get stronger already.”
Chris moved quickly to buy time.
First, he rallied the Three Empires to condemn the Swordsmanship Clan.
Whether the Holy Empire, Golden Cross, or Karn Empire—all were under Chris’s control, so it was easy.
He also urgently summoned the heads of the Round Table families and senior mages from the Magic Tower through a gate.
“We’re here, hero!”
“…Even as a hero, you’re making us work this hard.”
They grumbled a bit, but since they owed Chris a favor, everyone followed without complaint.
‘With such heavy hitters from the alliance here, the famed swordsmanship clan won’t dare act recklessly.’
But that wasn’t all.
Other forces from the Gray Zone were also making moves.
Yulian took charge of that.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Gray Zone,” Yulian said.
Originally, Yulian was an elf from the Gray Zone.
He knew the various races living scattered throughout the Gray Zone inside and out, so he came to lend a hand.
“You’ve gotten stronger,” Chris remarked, noticing something different about Yulian after their long separation.
Yulian had originally been a six-star warrior.
But in the time they hadn’t seen each other, he had reached seven stars.
“Yeah, Jupien and I have both been working hard. Like you said, it’s dangerous, but—”
Chris had forcibly activated their latent potential at their request to become stronger.
It was a risky gamble, but thankfully, it seemed to have paid off.