Overgeared

“This is the key to resurrecting a real god...”

The breath of the red phoenix adorned the center of the treasure house. The Cho king faced the mysterious bead with a spark that never goes out and looked sad.

“The breath of the sacred creatures has been known to be a blessing bestowed upon those who ascend to become a daoist immortal. However, reality is different.”

The king had met one daoist Immortal. At that time, he was confrontational and didn’t want to bend over to the yangbans, but he seemed unable to resist the will of the Five Seniors. This meant the daoist immortals were also likely to be subordinates of the Five Seniors. It was unlikely that the breaths of the sacred creatures would be a blessing bestowed upon them.

“This breath is the same as the three breaths we kept in Pangea but it is different.”

“It is the same but different?”

“The breaths kept in Pangea were given by the yangbans under the name of ‘managing the Red Phoenix Bow.’ This breath is a unique national treasure that has existed since the days of King Geonguk in the past. It has a deep meaning.”

“The days of King Geonguk?”

“It was such a long time ago that even the Red Phoenix Bow didn’t exist yet.”

“It must’ve been the days when the red phoenix was real... did the red phoenix give it directly to your forefathers?”

“I suppose so. I didn’t know this until now.”

The records said:

The land enjoyed abundance due to the divine flames from the Red Phoenix Breath.

How did the red phoenix share its breath in the distant past? How much did it love the people of the land it defended?

‘It is really sad that the red phoenix was forgotten.’ The Cho king lamented as he held the Red Phoenix Breath in his hands. The Red Phoenix Bow was actually a tool for sealing the red phoenix. The breath was required to unseal the bow so it was necessary to make a decision. “Please... please resurrect God Red Phoenix.”

“....”

Grid stared silently at the breath that the Cho king was holding. It was a breath that had nothing special. It was just like every other Red Phoenix Breath that Grid had seen and touched. However, it was a special thing for the people of the Cho Kingdom. They believed that the present Cho Kingdom existed due to this breath. This was the reason why...

“I’ll cherish it,” Grid vowed.

“Hah...” The Cho king felt admiration. He read the determination in Grid’s eyes.

“Seokbong... the people of Pangea will be happy.”

“Who knows? I don’t know.”

A king of the West and a king of the East smiled at each other. It was a story that shouldn’t have existed. If it wasn’t for Grid, originally the empire would have crossed the Red Sea and waged war with the Cho Kingdom.

***

[The Gauss Kingdom that boasts a long history has been destroyed.]

[The Overgeared Kingdom has taken over the territory of the Gauss Kingdom.]

These world messages emerged. The Overgeared army, led by Piaro, Lauel, and Teruchan, had completely conquered the Gauss Kingdom. People clicked their tongues.

-Wow, it took less than two weeks to conquer one country? It was even without Grid?

-Why was there no Grid?

-He left the war to Lauel and wrote an epic on his own.

-I think that’s right. Crazy...

-Is the Overgeared Kingdom now stronger than the empire?

-No, it isn’t. Even if they conquered Gauss, the territorial difference is more than 10 times.

-What is the use of a large territory and large population? There’s a lot of talent.

-Yes, the empire has a lot more talent.

-That’s true right now but there are no legends in the empire. The Overgeared Kingdom will catch up.

-ㅋㅋㅋ The four legends of the Overgeared Kingdom ㅋㅋㅋ

-Wasn’t it Grid, Yura, Piaro, and Mercedes?

-ㄴㄴ The Overgeared Guild now has three legends.

-Why? Are you leaving Yura out?

-No? Grid is a myth so it is three legends.

The dominance of a single force was likely to draw a lot of backlash. Many people expressed their concerns after the Seven Guilds attacked Reidan and self-destructed, causing the Overgeared Guild to become the number one guild. Experts argued that many disadvantages would occur if there were no forces to restrain the Overgeared Guild.

Now it was different. People didn’t feel the need to bother to keep the increasingly growing Overgeared Kingdom in check. It was because the Overgeared Kingdom had shown excellent behavior over the years.

First, the Overgeared Kingdom didn’t show unscrupulous behavior. They enjoyed the rights given to them but there were no exploitations of the powerless people, which was ‘typical behavior.’ 

In today’s society, where streamers with a large number of subscribers would use all types of incitement and social media to bury those with relatively few subscribers, it wasn’t too much to say that the actions of the Overgeared Kingdom were ‘model behavior’ and they gained more support over time.

The power of public sentiment was huge.

-Since the territory of the Overgeared Kingdom has increased, the restrictions on becoming a resident will be loosened. I’m going to move to the Overgeared Kingdom right away.

-I’m not sleeping right now. My login restriction will only be released after three hours ㅋㅋ

-Won’t these three hours be a thrill? I heard there are already people coming to the Overgeared Kingdom to apply for immigration.

-How many tens of millions of people will be recruited in three hours?

-...It will be over in two hours. ㅠ ㅠ

-Don’t be too disappointed. In any case, Lauel will work to filter people out again. There will be some vacancies at that time.

-What do you mean by filtering people out?

-Lauel doesn’t accept players with a history of serious crimes.

-God Lauel.

-Sh...it... God Lauel is nonsense... A person who plays games might commit some crimes by mistake... Driving people away just because of that? Garbage... crap...

-Not even a king? How can they do this when Grid is still there?

-Yes, the next criminal.

The population of the Overgeared Kingdom nearly doubled after acquiring new territory. The good news was quickly conveyed to the Saharan Empire.

“The power of the Overgeared Kingdom is great. I was so worried that I couldn’t sleep for a few days. Today, I’ll be able to sleep better.” Empress Basara smiled brightly. She had been exhausted since ascending the throne so the three dukes were relieved to see her smiling after a long time.

Immortal King Grenhal laughed. “Overgeared King Grid is the one who beat the followers of the war god and a great demon. How can the Gauss Kingdom stop such a hero’s advance? The triumph of the Overgeared Kingdom was already scheduled.”

Rachel frowned. “I heard that Grid was only temporarily in the vanguard before withdrawing? Duke Grenhal, you’re a duke of the empire. How could you be so ignorant about the situation? Aren’t you too lazy these days?”

“You are picky about everything. Don’t you know that Sir Grenhal has been busy monitoring Prince Dulandal?” Beast King Morse scolded but Rachel’s tough attitude wasn’t broken. 

“Isn’t it true that he is duller than a year ago? I’m happy that we have a strong ally in the Overgeared Kingdom but we have to be alert. We don’t have only one or two enemies. The dead King Nemesis was a man of great talent. We were struck by him and our feet tied. Fortunately, the Overgeared Kingdom won. If things went wrong then it would’ve been an indelible humiliation for the rest of our lives.”

King Nemesis foresaw the war against the Overgeared Kingdom and sent an envoy to the empire.

Since the new empress Basara cited the release of the various ethnic groups in the name of the ‘Era of Peace,’ he asked for her to mediate in the conflict between the Gauss Kingdom and Overgeared Kingdom. He argued that a war would lead to a new war. In order to achieve the Era of Peace, the empire had to stop the advance of the Overgeared Kingdom.

However, the empire was unable to grasp the ankles of the Overgeared Kingdom and refused to mediate using all types of excuses. The empire self-inflicted shackles on themselves. Some of the excuses that they used in their refusal to intervene led to the empire losing justification to support the Overgeared Kingdom.

King Nemesis’ plan was brilliant. In retrospect, King Nemesis guided the empire from the beginning to force the empire to place shackles on themselves. He completely stabbed the holes caused by the chaotic empire undergoing the process of a change. 

“Nemesis was a great man. It really wasn’t an ordinary talent. However, it can’t be tolerated that the great Saharan Empire was played by one man. Has there ever been a genius in history who dared to play tricks on the empire? Perhaps the empire is currently in the most precarious situation in history...?” Rachel was speaking with a serious expression only to close her mouth.

It was because Grenhal and Morse’s attitude when listening was too relaxed. Digging at their ears while discussing the empire’s crisis? It happened as Rachel was about to yell at them.

“Duke Rachel, look objectively.” Basara stepped in and restrained Rachel. Then she spoke with a somewhat embarrassed expression, “It is our empire that lost Piaro and the Red Knights due to the tricks of one man. It is our empire who changed rules due to the intervention of one man. The empire has never been perfect yet it has always been arrogant and left behind many missteps.”

“...”

Rachel closed her mouth. Certainly, the empire had never been a perfect nation. Nevertheless, they were arrogant. Rachel was too ashamed to raise her head and Basara smiled at her.

“That’s why it is as Duke Rachel says. We should all work hard. It is to build a new empire like never before.” The empire must be strong. Peace and prosperity like never before would be achieved. Basara reaffirmed her commitment.

“...?!”

Suddenly, a big earthquake occurred. The chandelier on the ceiling fell as the great hall shook.

“What is this...?!”

A natural disaster occurred in the capital? This had never happened in the long history of the empire. It was the worst omen.

The empress and dukes frowned.

“T-Tower of Eternity!” Suddenly, a knight rushed into the great hall with a pale face and shouted, “A meteorite fell on the Tower of Eternity!”

“...!?”

***

"W-Why... Why are you...”

Magician King Goldhit—she secretly supported the Gauss Kingdom and was dying at the end of her encounter with Braham. No, she was already dead and only her head remained.

“Braham! Why me?!” 

The unwanted transcendence after death—Goldhit was unable to accept that she was forcibly turned into a lich and shouted with all her strength. She expressed the hostility and malice she accumulated over the course of more than a hundred years of living at the expense of children’s bodies.

However, Braham held her head tightly and didn’t even scoff. The insane man blew up the legendary magic tower that contained hundreds of years of knowledge and reacted with disgust.

“Why should I care about this garbage?”

“How many times have I said it? I...! I am Lilis’ disciple! The disciple of your disciple!”

The evidence was presented. Rather than delivering the secret of the enhanced magic to her, he killed her and turned her into an undead? He broke down the Tower of Eternity? She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t understand what was happening right now and why she had to go through it.

Braham’s fingers poked at Goldhit’s temple as she was becoming increasingly irrational and confused. Goldhit’s reason came back and Braham declared, “You have to die because you claimed to be the Magician King. Shouldn’t you be grateful instead of resentful? I made you a lich and gave you the eternal life you wanted. Why are you dissatisfied with being a lich?”

“T-This is crazy! Oof! Oof oof!”

“Hrmm.”

Goldhit’s mouth was gagged with magic power while Braham looked down at the ground. He felt a great deal of magic power far below the ground.

“The Abyss... it is the gateway that connects two continents...”

Curiosity was the power that caused Braham to act. His worries didn’t last long. Light engulfed his position and Braham soon disappeared. Of course, Goldhit was also with him.