The Overlord of Blood and Iron

Chapter 290





“Let’s move . ”


The black silhouette led Lee Ji-Tae away .


“Pausing time is not an easy feat for me too . ”


“T-That means… I can survive . . . ”


“Don’t make me repeat myself . ”


“ . . . ”


“Didn’t I tell you already that you are too important to die here? Well then, let’s go . ”


The black silhouette then grabbed Lee Ji-Tae’s arm .


Flash!


With that, the two of them vanished . Time began to pass again, and the headquarters collapsed .


***


“Woah! This is just . . . ”


On Zeppelin, Kwak Jung was standing on the bow, watching the Itaracia castle fall .


“Kueh… absurd… absolutely absurd… does this insane firepower even make sense?”


It wasn’t an exaggeration . Valhalla Kingdom’s firepower was terrifying . The fortress in Itaracia might have been small, but to demolish it in 10 minutes was quite jaw-dropping .


“Well then, since the mission is complete… shall we begin the base construction?”


Base construction . Any soldier would dread those words . However, Valhalla had people who were specialized in such laborious tasks . . .


Werber Engineer Brigade, and Mithril Engineer Brigade!


Kwak Jung shouted through the loudspeaker .


Yes, commander-in-chief!


Yes sir!


Several soldiers who were riding on Zeppelin and Temeraire replied . They were not humans . The Werber Engineer Brigade comprised ants, while the Mithril Engineer Brigade comprised Dwarfs .


In other words, they were made of ‘genuine laborers!’ And thus, they possessed 20 times the efficiency compared to an Engineer Brigade comprising humans .


Begin the base construction immediately after the battlefield has been cleaned up!


Kwak Jung commanded .


You have three days . Construct a more durable fortress than the previous Itaracia fortress! Can you do it?


He was asking for the moon . How could a fortress be built in just three days?


Yes, commander-in-chief!


Three days are enough!


However, these professional laborers didn’t even flinch .


We will try to finish it in two days!


That’s right! Two days are enough!


In fact, they even deemed the three days to be too long .


T-those crazy bastards!


Kwak Jung was absolutely astonished . He was certain that if they went to Earth, many human laborers would be jobless and might starve to death .


Oh well, that’s settled then .


Heh .


Kwak Jung smiled . The Itaracia Fortress located in the Chamonix mountains was a gateway that bridged the northern and central region of Baldur . It was a crucial location to restrict Atal Ramanujan’s growth .


How could his people survive? Despite an exponentially increasing population, his territory lacked cool weather and fertile land to harvest food .


100,000, no, 1,000,000 people may starve to death… but . . .


From a humanitarian point of view, what Kwak Jung was doing (Kang Chul-In’s idea, of course) was absolutely sadistic .


One should always eliminate any source of danger . Yup!


Kwak Jung was cold-hearted . He was the tactician of the Supreme King of the West . To make Kang Chul-In’s ambition – to conquer the whole of Pangaea – a reality, Kwak Jung had to devise brutal strategies as such .


Was it too harsh? No, it wasn’t . Atal Ramanujan was a serious threat . For that reason, it was crucial that Shatyameba fall . If Kwak Jung tried to be compassionate, then the Valhalla Kingdom might collapse instead . This was the law of the jungle . The weak were the prey of the strong in Pangaea .


***


“W-What!?”


Dorian, who was fighting the Shatyamba soldiers with great force, stopped moving when he heard a huge explosion .


“Kang Chul-In!”


He knew who the culprit was immediately .


Who else could create such an explosion?


“W-What is it?!”


“Bombardment, huh . ”


“Eek . . . ”


The startled Shatyameba soldiers also stopped moving .


“What the hell did you do… Kang Chul-In…?”


He was lost for words . Dorian was much stronger after consuming 40% of the Dragon Heart, but he still could not comprehend what just happened . Well… even Kang Chul-In himself was shocked by the incredible destructive power of the Overpower Bracelet . It was natural for the others to be astonished .


“Hmm . . . ”


The cause of the explosion, Kang Chul-In, observed his surroundings, now covered in a thick veil of dust .


“Hmm… for my investment to be brought to naught… welp . . . ”


Kang Chul-In smacked his lips . Despite being the one who displayed this destructive strength, he was regretting breaking the cormorant’s neck .


It was a pity . Kang Chul-In had no way to find out how Brynhildr got hold of the Sonic Ring . More importantly, how was he supposed to find that item now? Well, he could if he really wanted to, but Kang Chul-In was a busy man who often slept little and ate sandwiches for meals in the office . He didn’t have time to look for the Sonic Ring .


In fact, he didn’t even have time to attend to his family vacation due to his hectic work schedule .


“That’s why I warned him . . . ”


Kang Chul-In mumbled as he glanced at the fan-shaped destruction he had caused ahead of him .


Chuk!


In front of the collapsed inner castle, a knight in white armor was struggling to get himself up .


“Kang… Chul-In . . . ”


“ . . . !”


“It’s not… over… yet… I… won’t… die… from this . . . ”


Brynhildr survived .


He barely got his foot on the ground and ignited his fighting spirit .


“ . . . ”


Kang Chul-In was lost for words . He was in awe . There was no conceivable reason for his opponent to be so persistent . Where did this man’s endless fighting spirit come from?


“Well, but thanks . ”


Kang Chul-In smirked and thanked Brynhildr .


“What?”


“For being alive . ”


“A-are you worrying for me?”


Brynhildr was surprised .


That demon was worried for him . Pigs might fly .


“Of course . ”


Kang Chul-In nodded .


“I almost killed the goose that lays golden eggs, how could I not be worried?”


The problem was that his worry originated from greed .


“I was scared that you might have died . ”


“ . . . ”


“Thank god you have a durable body . ”


How could one be so shameless? Kang Chul-In nearly killed Brynhildr, and now he was thanking him for being alive .


“Kang Chul-In!”


Brynhildr growled .


“That sort of . . . ”


“Go!”


Kang Chul-In cut Brynhildr off .


“Come back stronger!”


In the end, Kang Chul-In decided to let Brynhildr off again . A merciful heart indeed . He was almost the Buddha himself . Their first encounter, the second time in Baldur’s forest, and the third time here in Zolushka . This was the third time he was letting Brynhildr off!


“A-are you not going to kill me, again?”


“This is the last time . ”


Kang Chul-In emphasized .


“No more mercy . ”


“ . . . ”


“Challenge me one more time, and I will kill you without hesitation . ”


A final warning . Of course, he planned to visit Brynhildr the moment he got the Sonic Ring . It was a special service .


“Ah, also . ”


Kang Chul-In added .


“Let me request one thing . ”


“Request?”


“Can you relay this message to Vilhelm?”


“ . . . ?”


“Tell him that marriage is a crazy thing . ”


“ . . . ”


“It’s up to you to tell him . ”


Kang Chul-In sniggered . A demon’s grin .


***


“W-Where is this…?”


Lee Ji-Tae looked around .


“Where else?”


The black silhouette replied .


“We are in Atal Ramanujan’s territory . ”


“ . . . ?”


“To be precise, we are in a remote area in Shatyameba . ”


“Ah…!”


Lee Ji-Tae exclaimed . He had escaped from that collapsing Itaracia fortress!


“Who are you, by the way?”


Lee Ji-Tae turned to face the black silhouette .


“Do you want to know?”


The black silhouette asked .


“Alright then . It’s no secret, anyway . ”


“ . . . ”


“I’m Milenius, the last Agnaga . ”


“ . . . !”


“I’m the controller of time . ”


Thump! Lee Ji-Tae could feel a shudder .


Ba-dump! Ba-dump, ba-dump!


It was a sense of kinship and instinct . They were of the same kind . As only a few Agnagas existed in the whole universe, Lee Ji-Tae felt a special feeling when he encountered his own kind .


“Milenius… the controller of time . . . ”


“Do you know who you are?”


“Me…?”


“As I said earlier, you are the only one who can command our army . ”


“W-What are you talking about…?”


“You are Cereb, the great mind of Agnaga . ”


Incomprehensive words .


“I don’t get you . ”


“Of course not . ”


The black silhouette agreed with Lee Ji-Tae .


“But you will soon figure it out, anyway . I don’t see how my explanation will change anything . ”


“Figure it out anyway?”


“Just a matter of time . Be patient . ”


“ . . . ”


“You won’t appreciate whatever I say now . Just focus on developing your abilities for now . ”


“My… abilities?”


“I’m referring to this . ”


The black silhouette tapped his own head, which was covered in a hood .


“Your incredible intelligence is the sole reason for your existence . Once you develop it, you will realize everything yourself . ”


“How…?”


“Your appetite . ”


“ . . . !”


“You didn’t think that your overwhelming appetite exists just to tear the skin and meat off of humans, did you?”


“ . . . !”


“Hey, Cereb . ”


The black silhouette explained .


“We Agnagas are advanced . How could a lame desire like appetite exist in us?”


“T-that means!”


“Your appetite exists not for survival . It exists to develop your abilities . ”


“I don’t understand . . . ”


“Cannibalism . ”


“ . . . !”


“I’m sure you didn’t just eat your human preys’ meat and blood . ”


Tap tap .


The black silhouette tapped his own head again .


“The brain . ”


“ . . . !”


“You probably found the human brain to be particularly delicious . ”


“ . . . ”


“You would’ve eaten the brain and all of its cerebral fluids, even if you left unfinished bits elsewhere . ”


That was true . Lee Ji-Tae definitely did that .


“By consuming human brains, you can become the true Cereb . ”


“That means . . . ”


“Now that you know the method, I hope you won’t just stay still . ”


“ . . . ”


“Eat as much as you want . And awaken your true abilities . This land has plenty of humans . There’s no better place for your growth . ”


The black silhouette began to walk away .


“When you’ve finally developed your abilities, we shall meet again . ”


“W-wait!”


Lee Ji-Tae shouted .


“Who are you, really!?”


“Who am I, you say…?”


The black silhouette pondered for a moment .


“Curious?”


Then… the black silhouette turned around .


Flick!


The hood came off .


“Argh!”


Lee Ji-Tae screamed the moment he realized the silhouette’s true identity .



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