Chapter 365

Chapter 365

* * * * *

Raen’s Oval Office.

In the Oval Office were Raen and Alec, the current leader of the Knights of the Shield. Raen was being briefed by Alec, who looked very surprised, and Alec was briefing Raen, who looked very serious.

“Da, say it again!”

As soon as Alec finished his report, Raen called out.

“Duke Rekal has rebelled, and the rebels are now rallying in front of the palace.”

“…”

Raen was speechless.

“How already.

We already knew from Marx’s reports that there would be a revolt, but we never expected it to happen so soon.

“We’ve closed the gates, but we won’t be able to hold them for long.”

Alec’s words made Raen realize that this was not the time to be distracted. He walked over, reached into his armor, and spoke to Alec.

“I want all the troops in the palace mustered. Now.”

“Your Majesty, the odds are too stacked against the rebels right now.”

“Well, what are we going to do about it, we can’t just sit around like this.”

He couldn’t afford to be still and die. And though the odds were stacked against her, she felt empowered and confident that she would not be easily defeated.

“Avoid.”

Alec said.

Stop

As Raen donned his armor, Alec’s words gave him pause. But only for a moment, and then Rhaen put on his armor again and spoke to Alec.

“I can’t leave the palace.”

Fleeing? It was ridiculous. Where would he, the king of the kingdom of Elpanus, simply abandon his palace and go?

“This is the royal palace because His Majesty is here.”

“…”

“It’s not just today, you should avoid this place for now and save it for later.”

Alec continued.

“We’ve got the registry, so we can get back to the palace with the nobles who didn’t join the rebellion, and-“

Alec paused for a moment, wondering if he should say this or not, but then he spoke with a determined look on his face.

“There is the Duke of Harlot and the Duke of Parrettinan, and with them-“

“Ser Alec knows that they and our royal family are not on good terms.”

Rhaen said, cutting off Alec’s words. As Raen had said, the royal family of the Kingdom of Elpanus and the Dukes of Harlot and Parethinan were not on good terms.

It wasn’t all bad blood from the start. It was during the reign of King Feraten, the first king and father of Raen.

“What the heck happened…

Raen sought to find out what had caused the rift between them, but there was no information left, and no one else knew much about it. Raen was forced to put off restoring his relationship with the two draftsmen, leading to the current situation.

“There is one thing your highness does not know.”

Alec said.

“…?”

Raen could only shake his head at Alec’s comment.

“The two dukes are already on your side.”

“…”

Alec’s next words left Raen speechless. The Dukes of Harlot and Parrettinen, who have never gotten along, are already on his side? Rhaen couldn’t understand Alec’s words.

“The Great King Ferraton thought this day would come one day.”

Alec continued.

“When he was at a loss as to what to do, Lord Ferraton summoned Duke Alem, Lord of the House of Harlot, and Duke Hegeron, Lord of the House of Parrettinan, and they talked for a long time.”

“That means…”

Raen knew what was coming, even though Alec hadn’t finished speaking.

“I’ve contacted Duke Alem, he should be here soon, we’re running out of time, Your Majesty.”

“…I see.”

Alec’s words finally made Raen nod.

That was the moment.

“Your Majesty!”

At the very moment Raen chose to avoid, Marx called out from outside his office. Marx’s voice was urgent.

“No way, already?

Marx’s urgent voice reminded Raen of a bad situation.

“Come in.”

Profit

As soon as Raen spoke, the door opened and Marx entered. Marx’s expression was urgent, as was his voice.

“…?”

But Raen couldn’t help but wonder at the look on Marx’s face, for he too had a smile on his lips. What kind of smile was that in the face of rebels?

“Your Majesty, I have great news!”

Entering the Oval Office, Marx dropped to one knee and said yes.

“Good news?

The rebels have gathered in front of the palace. There was only one thing that could be considered good news at this point.

“The rebels have retreated!”

“…!”

Marx’s next words startled Raen. She wasn’t the only one who was surprised. Alec was here, too.

“Are the rebels backing down?”

Alec asked in surprise. The rebels had been rallying in front of the palace. Why would they suddenly withdraw?

“Literally. The gates have been smashed, but the rebels are retreating, no, fleeing.”

“Run? Did you say run?”

Marx continues, and Raen asks, “I don’t understand stepping down, but running away?

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Tell me more about what happened.”

“It’s…”

Marx smiled broadly at Raen’s words and began to explain.

“The reason the rebels fled was because of Myeonghu and Yeonjae, who entered the palace just before the rebels gathered… and that’s how it happened.”

Marx is done explaining.

“…”

“…”

When he finished, Raen and Alec were speechless. Marx’s explanation was so far-fetched that they thought it was a lie, but knowing what happened yesterday, they had no choice but to believe him.

“Where are you two?”

Raen asked.

“He’s at the gate.”

Marx replied.

* * * * *

[You have completed the quest ‘Slay the Rebels’].

[Killing rebels no longer increases quest merit].

After 10 minutes, the message appeared.

“Blood Wave.”

Seeing the message, Ming Hu cast Blood Wave once more, dispelling the blood mist. Then he focused on the next message.

[Earn rewards based on quest merit].

[Currently, ‘Ming Hu’s’ quest achievement is ‘2,010,570’].

“That’s a lot for 10 minutes.

Ten minutes ago, Ming Hu’s quest achievement was 1.39 million, not 1.4 million, but within ten minutes, Ming Hu’s quest achievement was over 2 million. That’s a huge increase.

[Earns 1st place reward].

[1st place reward is the ‘House of Elpanus’].

[20 million merit increases].

Not surprisingly, Ming Hu was first, and when he saw the message, he opened his inventory.

‘I’m losing my hand.

In the first compartment of his inventory, he saw a previously used and destroyed royal card. Ming Hu smiled wryly as he looked at the royal cards and closed the inventory.

“But is that the end of Farang’s meritocracy?

It was nice to be defeated and gain 20 million merit, but it felt like too little reward for stopping the rebellion.

‘I think that’s it…’

He waited, but no message appeared. Ming Hu realized it was over and entered the palace through the broken gate.

“Minghu!”

Upon entering the palace, Jueyi greeted Ming Hu.

“Have you had a lot of kids here?”

“No, not much, and Mr. Marx came and went.”

“Mr. Marx?”

“Yeah, so I explained it to him and told him I’d be there soon.”

“Really?”

With that, Ming Hu and Jian Chen began to walk toward Lao Yan’s office, talking, and after a while, Ming Hu and Jian Chen arrived in front of the building where Lao Yan’s office and bedroom were located.

“Myung-hoo, Ji-yeon!”

Marx, who had been waiting for Myung Hu and Jie Jie in front of the building, smiled broadly as they arrived and approached them.

“Thank you so much.”

Marx bowed at a ninety-degree angle and thanked Ming Hu and Jie Li.

“Let me walk you through it.”

Then he turned and began to pace in front of them. Ming Hu and Jie Li followed Marx into the building, heading for Raen’s office.

Smart

“Your Majesty, this is Marx. Myung-hoo and Ji-yeon are here.”

Arriving at the door, Marx knocked and called out.

Profit

The door opened and Marx stepped aside. Minghu and Jiejie pushed past Marx and entered the office.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

When I walked into the office, Raen bowed to me with a look of gratitude and respect.

[Your closeness to Raen Elpanus, King of the Kingdom of Elpanus, has increased significantly].

[Relations with Raen Elpanus, King of the Kingdom of Elpanus, have risen to ‘Trust’].

As soon as I said hello, a message appeared. The message said that the relationship had grown to trust as intimacy increased.

“And this one.”

Raen bowed, then extended his hand to Ming Hu and Jie Li. In her hand were two small boxes. The extra reward in the message was clear. Minghu and Jieyi took one box each.

[You have obtained a chest containing the key to the palace treasury].

“…!”

When Ming Hu picked up the chest, he was surprised to see the acquisition message. The chest contained the key to the treasury of Elpanus’ kingdom.

‘If it were a treasure trove…’

Ming Hu thought back to the imperial treasure house in the Helioca Empire. The Elixir Chamber at the end of the Guitar Warehouse, to be exact.

“These are the keys to a treasure trove. If you want anything, feel free to take it.”

Laen said.

[Gain additional rewards from the quest ‘Slay the Rebels’].

[5 items can be purchased from the Palace Treasury without spending Merit].

[It starts with the first item you buy, so please buy carefully].

When he finished, the message appeared again.

“…!”

Ming Hu was thinking about the elixir and was surprised again when he saw the message.

“That wasn’t the end of it.

I thought that the royal hands and exploits I earned as the #1 reward were also worth less than 20 million rewards, but that wasn’t the end of it.

“Thank you so much.”

Finished speaking, Raen bowed once more in respectful thanks.

“No, it was supposed to be done.”

Feeling good after seeing the reward, Ming Hu smiled broadly and told Lao Yen. A short time later, Myung Hu and Jie Jie finished their conversation with Laen and came out of the office.

“Where are you going?”

Jie asked as he came out of the office. Ming Hu opened his mouth to answer with a wide smile on his face.

“Once a treasure trove.”