Game of Divine Thrones

Chapter 258: The Rule of the West 4

As expected, many people were involved in the plan to assassinate the Queen.

Woohyuk tortured them one after another and imprisoned the last one into the royal dungeon.

The punishment given to everyone was, of course, the death penalty.

The execution of the punishment was publicly carried out. Since the public executions, the number of royals and lords targeted for assassination in the Rhine Kingdom had significantly decreased.

‘This should be enough for the time being.’

Currently, the hottest areas on the Eeth Continent were the places where the epic dungeons were located.

The Rhine Kingdom was far from those places and was located in a remote corner of the western continent, so there was less conflict.

When Woohyuk left the palace with Leifina, the Black Dragon King, Drakia appeared in front of him.

“I heard that you once again saved Joanna’s life,” he murmured.

“I was lucky. In many ways,” Woohyuk replied solemnly. He had no intention of voicing his own merits.

As if he appreciated this appearance, Drakia gave Woohyuk a gift.

“This is something I stumbled upon in the past. I hope it is useful for you.”

[Abyss Dark Crystal].

It was an item that was dropped with extremely low probability when a time-space fissure occurred.

Additionally, there was no explanation about the item in the system because it was impossible for the system to analyze something that originated outside of it.

Woohyuk expressed his gratitude after receiving the black crystal from Drakia.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” Woohyuk responded.

“No worries. If you have anything to ask, you can come to me anytime.”

Drakia was showing a very favorable attitude toward Woohyuk, who twice protected Queen Iona’s descendants.

After parting ways with Drakia, Woohyuk returned to Inotia with Leifina.

“You can’t even rest, even for a moment, because of the new quest. Everyone sees each other as competitors and tries to get ahead, even by a little,” Leifina pouted.

“In the first place, that’s what the system was made to do. However, the chaos and unrest has been further stoked recently by the Creator,” he replied.

Still, he wasn’t too worried because each region had reliable allies and trustworthy personnel.

All of the talents he was currently raising were also excellent.

“You said you recently got your sixth ability?” Woohyuk asked Song Anna, as she was passing by.

“Yes, it’s a wide area buff this time.”

Song Anna explained the abilities she had gained since she became the Child Blessed by the Seven Stars.

The first ability was to give corporeal reality to the spirit.

The second ability was to directly possess control over natural objects, such as animals and plants.

The third ability was to give animals and plants an anthropomorphic reality.

The fourth ability was the ability to create a new spirit.

The fifth ability was to transform oneself and other targets into animals and plants.

The sixth ability, gained this time around, was to give a wide area Blessing from Mother Nature by playing an instrument or singing.

‘It’s a direct Blessing from Mother Nature.’

The wide area buff itself could be cast by a bard or a musician, but the key was what effect it had.

Woohyuk made Song Anna play her flute.

Eventually, the sound of a flute reverberated indoors like a babbling brook, and a system message appeared in his mind.

[The Blessing Buff from Mother Nature has been granted.]

[Resistance to abnormal magic. The power of natural magic increases by 80%.]

[Health and vitality are restored 1% every second during the playing period.]

[The duration of various beneficial effects increases by 50% and skill cooldown decreases by 50%.]

[All stats start to rise gradually during the playing period. They may increase up to 20%.]

Truly, a tremendous buff effect.

Indeed, it was overpowered enough to be considered a hidden class skill.

Woohyuk encouraged and complimented Song Anna, who had always worked hard and then spoke with Irene.

“Do you have any new abilities?”

“Since I ate the Dragon Heart the other day, I’ve obtained similar powers to a dragon.”

Since Irene was the highest-level chimera, she could absorb the abilities of other monsters and creatures by consuming their heart or core.

Irene was like Roan, a Gluttony Homunculus, who stole the opponent’s abilities with his Ragnar weapon.

‘I also have the Immortal Armor.’

Although limited as an artifact, the Immortal Armor had the ability to evolve itself.

The possibilities were endless.

Therefore, like his artifact, Irene could also become stronger as long as she was given suitable conditions.

‘I wish I had something to compensate for Irene’s instability…’

She was a chimera based on a dead Saint, so she possessed unique characteristics, but her fundamental foundation was poor.

As Aris warned, if she overdid herself, her body would melt from the inside.

After considering her predicament, Woohyuk decided to go to Irene and feed her Alice the Queen of Thorn’s heart.

“I think it’s best if you take this too. Alice’s abilities don’t fit humans.”

“I’ll eat it well,” Irene responded.

She bowed her head in an expression of gratitude and then bit into Alice’s beating heart.

Blood splattered all over the place, making it a pretty grotesque sight.

However, perhaps because of her beautiful appearance, the scene had its own charm.

“Do you feel any changes?” Woohyuk asked.

“I can feel the power rising from within. But it feels a little different from when I ate the Dragon Heart.”

It felt like a giant snake was slithering inside her.

At Irene’s explanation, Woohyuk brought out Verserios.

“Let’s see how strong you’ve become.”

Since he had invested the heart of the Queen of Thorns, it was natural that he was curious about the outcome.

When Woohyuk wielded Verserios, Irene summoned a pitch-black scythe to block the attack.

Ka-Rang!

Ka-Rang!

Sparks flew out, and Irene was pushed back a little.

‘To be able to endure this much against me… she’s definitively developed.’

Her potential and power level were proof as to why she was given as the hidden reward on the Twilight Tower’s last floor.

If he continued to feed her in this way, she would become much stronger than the actual Alice the Queen of Thorns.

Woohyuk’s assessment of Irene rose more and more.

“Is it over now?” she asked.

“Yeah. If your regeneration ability is at this level, you’ve passed,” Woohyuk replied.

Her body parts that had been sliced by Verserios began to quickly heal.

He didn’t feel the need to cut limbs to verify the ability’s efficacy.

Furthermore, Irene’s body was still unstable, so it was better to handle her development and nurture with care.

‘Well, if I really want to know, I can always experiment on my own body.’

If he used the Black Constellation, Baal’s skill, with Liandry’s Ring, he could borrow Irene’s abilities.

This meant that the more he grew and developed his vassals and followers, the stronger he would become.

This was Woohyuk’s unique advantage that other monarchs and rulers couldn’t enjoy.

“Let’s see, is Allen next?”

Allen also succeeded in overcoming the trials in the Arcane Tower. He had become a powerful archmage.

When Woohyuk approached Allen to discuss his development, a man’s voice sounded in his mind.

[Sovereign, there’s a problem on the Dreadlore side.]

It was the Death Knight Huperion, who guarded the Death Castle Dreadlore.

“What is it?”

[The Norton Royal Family is trying to drive out your main troops by agitating the people of the kingdom. They’re probably doing this because of the recently created epic dungeon, but…]

There was no way that the Norton Kingdom, which had been studying the secrets of immortality for generations, would not be interested in the Divine Thrones.

Woohyuk rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming on.

“Just when I set the Rhine Kingdom straight, the Norton Kingdom is veering off course,” Woohyuk said silently.

[If you give the order, I will subdue them all. However, in the process, I expect that some of the garrisoned troops you’ve left will receive some losses.]

The army that Woohyuk stationed in the Norton Kingdom was a clan coalition led by the Ragnarok Clan.

Woohyuk was able to make the clan coalition do his bidding because he held most of the clan leaders hostage. The number of the garrisoned forces exceeded 50,000.

Ahead of the Eastern Conquest plan, Woohyuk couldn’t afford to lose these forces.

“Alright. I’ll be there soon.”

The Dreadlore was equipped with a homing device, so the monarch, Woohyuk, and his vassals could easily return.

Woohyuk mulled over who he should take. He chose Leifina and Song Anna.

“Lord, why is that child…” Leifina said with concern.

“I plan to use her hidden class this time, the Child Blessed by the Seven Stars.”

Until now, despite her high potential, Song Anna had focused only on her growth because she was young and physically weak.

However, she was now ready to enter the field.

Whoosh!

When Woohyuk chanted a spell, a magic circle spread out on the floor, and the surroundings were surrounded by a flash of light.

***

Death Castle Dreadlore.

There, countless undead were welcoming the Lord who had just returned.

If one counted the undead who were currently working outside the castle walls, there were about 60,000 undead in total.

It was about the same size as the clan coalition that was stationed to maintain order.

“Lord, it seems like you have grown even stronger,” Huperion said in marvel.

Death Knight Huperion gazed at Woohyuk’s pitch-black wings while kneeling on one knee.

As a knight who once reached a high level of power, he could feel Woohyuk’s hierarchy as a Demigod.

Although not a complete god, the gap between a Demigod and an undead was truly enormous.

“Report in detail the movement of the Norton Royal Family,” Woohyuk directed.

“Military conscription orders were issued simultaneously in the capital of Gettingsburg and several military cities around it. In the current situation, where there is no external hostile force, I can only presume that their purpose is to use the forces for an internal matter.”

To secure the epic dungeon located close to Dreadlore.

Under Woohyuk’s direction, Death Knight Huperion was making sure to control the perimeter and not allow anyone to enter.

While maintaining this strict perimeter, Huperion and Woohyuk’s other forces received many complaints from the Norton Royal Family.

After the death of King Colesman, Woohyuk had, in all intents and purposes, ruled over the Norton Kingdom.

“Their actions mean that there are quite a few local lords who support the Norton Family,” Woohyuk stated.

“Not all the local lords are friendly with the Royal Family. However, I would say about 60% of them are,” Huperion replied.

60% meant more than half, a considerable majority.

Woohyuk took out a military map and asked Huperion about the propensities of each local lord.

“In general, the farther from the capital, the lower their level of support,” Woohyuk summarized after listening to Huperion’s explanation.

“In the case of the border areas, a lot of people who have been relegated to those border areas by the royal family. Those people have little to no exchange with the royal family,” Huperion went on to further explain.

Even though Huperion was undead, he knew the internal circumstances of the Norton Kingdom.

He had been collecting various information by violently torturing the humans he captured.

Woohyuk nodded his head and pointed to the capital, Gettingsburg, where Ragnarok Clan was stationed.

“My clan is currently in the most dangerous area. They’re in the middle of the enemy camp,” Woohyuk stated.

“Will you summon them here first? I heard that you have that ability,” Huperion asked.

“No. First of all, I’ll draw the attention of the Norton Royal Family.”

If his clan members suddenly disappeared from the capital, the Norton Royal Family would surely take precautions and become warier.

Thus, Woohyuk decided to utilize the undead army to properly divert their focus.

Woohyuk entrusted this tactical role to Death Knight Huperion.

“Take 50,000 undead and slowly start southward toward the capital. Death Castle Dreadlore can be defended with 10,000 troops,” Woohyuk explained.

“Then, where will your lordship go?” Death Knight Huperion asked.

“I will immediately infiltrate the capital with my vassals and come to an agreement with the Norton Royal Family.”

There was no need to wage a large-scale battle.

The only thing that needed to be done was reaching an agreement with the Norton Royal Family, the originators of the problem.

Once that was done, the local lords who were attached to them would lose their pillar of support. Once that happened, they could be defeated individually.

Woohyuk eyes lit up as he gazed at the fortified cities marked with red flags on the military map.