Chapter 127 – Shady Characters

A massive army was on the move.

In this other world, where the immortal Demon King was dead and gone, they thought there would be no more war.

But that was a misconception.

Even with the Demon King’s army gone, monster settlements remained, and some tribes had grown in power while humanity was on the path to ruin.

A prime example was the orcs of the Urakai tribe.

They had united under their chieftain, a being of immense charisma. And now, they had brought an army of five thousand to invade the last city of humanity.

A city that had lost the goddess’s protection.

There were nearly seventy thousand humans in Pandel. But the chieftain knew this was just a number; the vast majority were civilians who didn’t know how to fight.

In contrast, the five thousand elites of the Urakai tribe were an army so powerful that even the Demon King’s forces wouldn’t have dared to provoke them lightly.

Now that the Demon King had fallen, the throne of this continent was vacant.

There was no way they would miss such a golden opportunity.

“The Urakai will stand by.”

The chieftain raised a hand, bringing his army to a halt.

By now, the city’s inhabitants would be terrified and in chaos.

They had recently fought the Demon King’s army and suffered losses.

Having fought against that formidable army, their remaining soldiers were surely nothing more than a ragtag bunch.

“Urakai of the Urakai tribe declares! Open the gates and surrender! The age of humans is over. Welcome your merciful new king!”

The Urakai chieftain’s thunderous shout echoed through the surroundings.

The powerful, magic-infused roar was sure to instill fear in all who heard it.

“We will wait for the enemy to surrender. A ruler must know how to show magnanimity.”

At Urakai’s words, his subordinates couldn’t help but admire their chieftain, a warrior among warriors.

Uniting the disparate orc clans under a single name would have been impossible without his charisma.

Thus, they had no doubt that this campaign would turn the continent upside down.

Just as the Urakai chieftain had predicted, the city gates opened.

The chieftain bared his molars in a grin, and his subordinates were once again filled with admiration.

An envoy of surrender was surely on its way from the city. But the scene that unfolded was different from what they expected.

“What’s this? Why is the surrender envoy armed?”

“They carry spears and swords. Weak as insects, they still don’t know the power of the Urakai.”

The chieftain smirked.

An easy victory would be no fun anyway.

He raised a hand, signaling to his honorable warriors that a bloody battle was imminent.

It was just as he’d expected.

The enemy’s forces were a mess.

A group dressed in priestly robes, emblazoned with a symbol that looked like a stylized muscular arm, emerged from the gates.

With no proper knights, all they could muster were mere priests.

The orcs laughed as if they were watching an amusing spectacle.

“Ask for no mercy!”

Like a raging wave, the orcs charged toward the foolish humans.

The priests charged head-on toward the advancing orcs.

The two armies rushed toward each other, ready for a frontal clash.

It was then that the Urakai chieftain sensed something was off.

He had scoffed at the humans for abandoning the advantage of a defensive siege and charging out, but their builds were larger than he’d thought.

Even larger than his own orcs.

More importantly, the bodies visible beneath their clothes were incredibly solid and bulging with muscle.

*CRACK!*

The priests with the muscle emblems swung massive iron maces, smashing the orcs to pieces.

“Big Three 700 Unit, advance!”

From behind the muscular priests, even larger priests emerged.

They were a hidden ambush.

They were utterly ruthless and cruel.

They started lifting nearby orcs as if they were barbells and throwing them, kicking them away as if performing leg extensions.

Amidst the orcs flying around like balloons, the chieftain felt bewildered. But then, they revealed another hidden army.

“Big Three 1,000, charge!”

He didn’t know what the code meant, but the higher the number, the more ridiculously muscular their bodies were.

Half-naked men with flowing beards ran about, laughing as they searched for orcs to use as barbells and dumbbells.

They were like predators lunging for their prey.

“We will not be slaves! We will be the masters of the world!”

“That’s our line…!”

The Urakai chieftain was struck by the Justice Chop of Miss Ismael, an apostle of the Hero Cult, and died screaming.

Once their chieftain fell, the orcs began to flee without a second glance.

The retreating orcs’ morale shattered as they witnessed the evolution of humanity.

* * *

I’m losing muscle mass. This is a disaster.

Why, you ask?

I got hooked on developing the city.

[-The priests of the Hero Cult are roaring after their great victory.]

This is it. Now that’s an army.

I was a little worried when I saw the orc army heading for the city I rule.

Just in case, I sold some Faith Coins in the shop to buy a Dimensional Transfer Stone, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

[-Your city is steadily growing.]

[-Hero Cult Faith has reached 781.]

Do you have any idea how good it feels to strengthen myself and develop endlessly?

Why do you think stories about a bullied student learning to fight and taking down the bullies are so popular?

Growth and reward.

It’s a combination that can’t possibly be boring.

It’s the foundation of any good story.

A weak protagonist gets an ego sword and grows stronger, things are going well, then he’s suddenly betrayed and hits rock bottom, and everyone around him turns into an enemy.

Though I suppose there are also crazy authors who drag things out by having even the heroine turn against him, forcing the protagonist to act villainous.

I got a little sidetracked.

Anyway, I’ve reached the limit of my growth for now.

Of course, there’s still room to grow. But at the level of low- and mid-tier dungeons, my growth is limited.

Nothing beats wiping out the Demon King’s army for leveling up.

It even makes me want to invade a dimension with another Demon King.

But then I’d be no different from a Demon King.

I haven’t just focused on my own growth; I’ve developed my team members as well.

Thanks to that, my team has become renowned.

They’ve gotten so strong that PvP has become their specialty.

The two Kims will likely rank up to A-Rank Hunters soon.

It’s probably an unprecedented rate of growth in this field.

The growth of my team members—my knights, that is—also brings me experience points.

Raising these guys actually gives me more experience than swinging a sword in low-tier dungeons.

But now, a groundbreaking new way to farm has appeared.

[-Following your revelation, the missionary unit is proselytizing in other cities.]

[-Your apostle is sweet-talking the lord of ‘Pergamon’, a city of the faded goddess.]

[-The lord of Pergamon is greatly swayed.]

[-Your apostle demonstrates a ‘physical’ prayer.]

[-Congratulations! Pergamon has accepted the Hero Cult.]

[-The Hero Cult is prospering day by day.]

Nice.

Muscle will benefit the world.

If even Dangun had known how beneficial muscles could be to humanity, he would have made the bear and the tiger do squats.

Three cities remain.

One of the best ways to unite people is religion.

There are now three cities outside my authority.

I thought it would be difficult since most of the people believed in the Goddess’s cult.

It seems my name in this other world is finally living up to its reputation, which is satisfying.

I was in the middle of monitoring when a text notification sounded.

[Im Jae-joon: Isn’t it about time you came to work?]

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I last went to the guild.

I was too focused on developing the city.

This is a bit of a problem for me. When I get into something, I dive in like a madman.

[Im Jae-joon: That thing you mentioned before, I’ve looked into it.]

That was fast.

I guess I should head to the guild for the first time in a while.

I snapped out of my shut-in mode and changed my clothes.

I quickly left for work and ran right into Seo Hyun-ji as I was about to get on the elevator.

This time, her entire clan went back to their homeland, but only Seo Hyun-ji returned.

Well, I honestly expected it. Unlike the others, Seo Hyun-ji came here when she was young, so she has less longing for her homeland.

And once you experience modern civilization, it’s not easy to go back to your original world.

“It’s… been a while.”

Seo Hyun-ji greeted me awkwardly.

“Did you have a good vacation?”

The elevator doors closed, creating a private space for the two of us.

“The other world was quite… impressive.”

Impressive?

Ah, you must have seen the Hero Cult.

“Just what in the world is that person called ‘Hero’ doing over there?”

“What do you mean? It’s for the benefit of all mankind. Hongik-ingan. No, maybe I should call it benefiting all muscle-kind? Hehe. Ah, does that sound a bit weird?”

“More importantly… there’s something I want to ask, if that’s okay.”

I wanted to crack a dumb joke like ‘ask me gently,’ but I held back, fearing I’d sound like an old man.

Seo Hyun-ji’s expression was serious.

“Don’t think it’s weird. I’m just asking, just in case.”

“What is it? Gentl— I mean, go ahead.”

Seo Hyun-ji’s face showed a moment of hesitation.

Then, as if she’d made up her mind, she looked at me.

“Did you lie about your age?”

“What?”

“I think you told me you were thirty.”

“Yes, that’s right. Why the sudden question?”

“…”

Seo Hyun-ji paused for a moment before speaking awkwardly.

“I was just wondering if you were actually in your forties.”

This little punk?

“Aha, I see.”

I smiled at Seo Hyun-ji.

“So in your eyes, Hyun-ji, I look like I’m in my forties.”

“Uh, no, that’s not, that’s not it…”

“Oh dear. Don’t worry, I still have plenty of stamina. It seems you’ve been skipping training lately, Hyun-ji, leading to not just muscle loss but other losses as well. I’ll be sure to fill you right back up. Right up.”

“Huh? Th-that’s not what I…”

“My apologies for looking old. Haha. My, my, I look old.”

The elevator doors opened.

I left Seo Hyun-ji behind and headed for the director’s office.

Honestly, I thought it was kind of cute that Seo Hyun-ji came back.

But she just dug her own grave.

From now on, I live for myself.

When I entered the director’s office, Im Jae-joon and Olivier were waiting.

“Have a seat.”

“Did you have a nice meal with your mom?”

“Ahem.”

Even though she serves him food that could cause food poisoning, he still loves his mom’s cooking.

Shouldn’t a Demon King show a more villainous side? Why is he acting like such an ordinary citizen?

Meanwhile, Olivier brewed tea for me and Im Jae-joon.

I glanced at Olivier.

Her expression was a poker face.

I carefully swapped my teacup with Im Jae-joon’s.

Olivier still looked composed.

Huh, did she not mess with the tea this time?

As I was about to take a sip, I saw the corners of Olivier’s mouth twitch ever so slightly.

I put the teacup down. Then I swapped it back with Im Jae-joon’s and drank.

I could see Olivier’s pupils tremble.

Really, you never change.

Just like a succubus, so persistent.

I took a sip of the tea, and a rich flavor filled my mouth.

Now this is what I’m talking about.

“First, about the matter you asked me to look into.”

As Im Jae-joon drank his tea, a flustered Olivier flinched.

Im Jae-joon’s expression slowly soured, and he looked at Olivier.

Olivier silently took Im Jae-joon’s tea back.

“Was it cold again today?”

“It was cold.”

Stop covering for your subordinate.

It’s nice for a director to look out for their staff, but at this point, you should just chew her out. Seriously.

“First off, there was no military unit with the insignia you described.”

“So it wasn’t a military unit?”

“Right.”

Im Jae-joon handed me a file from the desk behind him.

“Chimera.”

The insignia on the very first page of the file looked familiar.

A lion symbol with a snake in its mouth.

“They’re registered as a private military company.”

I flipped through the document, page by page.

Mercenaries with extensive combat experience.

A PMC composed of veterans who had participated in monster subjugation operations.

They don’t just operate domestically; they’re a global organization.

No, to be precise, it’s unclear which country founded it.

Which means…

“They’re very shady.”

Among the photos of Chimera PMC agents in the document, a few faces looked familiar.

They were faces from the immortal Demon King’s memories.

Nice to see you again, 100 Mages.