Chapter 223: Whispers of the Hero

A screen appeared in the sky. Was this the third time already?

Gazes, dulled by familiarity, were cast upward for a moment. But then, the high-ranking officials of each nation confirmed the face of the man on the screen, their expressions hardening as they mobilized their troops.

Their destination: Den Merchant Guild.

From the moment they learned of the connection between Dan and Deon Hart, they had kept his face etched in a corner of their minds. This swift action was possible because of that.

‘For him to reveal himself so openly like this…’

‘Does this mean he’s abandoning or withdrawing the trading company he operated in the Human Realm?’

Den Merchant Guild was the largest trading company in the Human Realm. Having established a near-monopoly, their withdrawal would inflict immense damage in many ways. The faces of the rulers grew cold.

They knew it was poison, but they left it be because it was necessary. If they didn’t use the trading company, they would immediately face inconvenience and hardship in many ways. It was like drilling a hole in their chest for a bit of relief, using another poison to stop the spread until they found an antidote.

And now, before they could find the antidote, the poison had burst.

When they received reports that all branches, including the headquarters, were already deserted by the time the soldiers arrived, how devastated were they? Some even ran a hand down their faces, unable to bear the bitter emotions at the news that not a single herb was left behind—they had taken everything.

And then, in Dan’s statement and the heated debate that erupted with the intrusion of the Revolutionary Army leader…

“Deon Hart is the Hero,” the King of Rweche murmured quietly. For humanity, this should have been incredibly shocking news, yet he maintained his composure.

Because he didn’t care.

It was surprising, but that was all. A fleeting memory surfaced—of grieving his brother’s death and wishing Deon Hart would become the Hero and avenge him instead—bringing a subtle expression to his face, but it was momentary. Soon, he regained his composure and organized his thoughts.

‘Dan Merchant Guild’s withdrawal… It’s a bit regrettable, but there’s no significant damage.’

Losing a useful errand boy and a convenient channel for money was regrettable, but there was no real damage. Rweche was a country with abundant resources, capable of self-sufficiency from the start.

‘Cruel Hart’s death…’

He had heard that Deon Hart and Cruel Hart didn’t have a good relationship. Was that not the case?

The rumors of their bad relationship couldn’t have arisen from nothing. It seemed to be a relationship of love and hate. They hated each other, but not to the point of wanting death; rather, a relationship where they would risk their lives to protect each other in the face of death.

As the King of Rweche mused on this peculiar brotherly affection, he suddenly thought of his own brother, who had already left this world, and pressed his jaw firmly. His thoughts continued slowly.

‘…That’s unfortunate.’

The Duke killed him, he had said?

With the sudden mention of the Duke as the culprit, the situation quickly became clear.

The Duke of the Empire was the Emperor’s greatest internal enemy at the time, and Cruel Hart was someone under him. Someone of the Duke’s stature wouldn’t abandon a useful pawn simply swayed by emotions. This must have been a necessary killing, not one driven by emotion.

‘In the world of nobles, ‘necessary killing’… how predictable.’

The two brothers were caught up in a political struggle.

Now it made sense why Deon Hart had sided with the Demon Realm and targeted the Empire first and foremost. To respect his brother’s will, who sent him to the Demon Realm, and to avenge the Duke, that would have been the best course of action.

Cruel Hart’s death, unlike a typical death, was a sacrificial one to save another person. He even seemed to have witnessed it directly. To maintain reason in that situation and make the best choice… He must have been out of his mind.

The King of Rweche sighed deeply.

‘Of course, admiration or sympathy aside, I have no intention of defending him.’

Too many people had been sacrificed for the sake of revenge alone. The consequences of his actions were too devastating to admire, and Deon Hart’s sins were too great to sympathize with. The king cleanly put aside any human emotions towards Deon Hart.

Because no matter what, the most important conclusion remained unchanged.

‘Do not interfere in the war and focus solely on internal affairs.’

Unless Rweche specifically takes action to scheme something, the Demon Realm will place Rweche last in the order of conquering the Human Realm. We are a kind of example to show what benefits are given to a kingdom that moves as the Demon Realm wishes.

So, until then, quietly strengthen military power. So that we are not easily defeated when the Demon Realm turns its attention here. It would be good to create a pawn that can bring the opponent to the negotiation table, beyond simple reinforcement.

“The Empire will have a hard time,” he chuckled.

Already in a precarious situation with weakened military power, and now one of the major kingdoms was insisting on non-participation in the war.

Not just military power, the owner of the throne had changed, and the capital had changed. With the death of former Emperor Eudoardo Deserte and the Duke, another center of power, the power structure was also bound to be chaotic.

Unless Eudoardo Deserte was resurrected, or even if he was, it would be difficult to control the situation. Could the young royals navigate this situation well?

“Still, it’s fortunate that Rweche will not side with the Demon Realm.”

Not that they would be grateful for it.

Rweche would not turn to the Demon Realm. It wasn’t just because of the promise he made with the upright knight of the Empire on the day he lost his brother. The king no longer held resentment towards the Empire.

He had heard how the Emperor died.

A story that silenced listeners even for a moment. Even having heard it through a report rather than seeing it directly, he was overwhelmed by the content. It was an unavoidable reaction to the tale.

‘My apologies to my brother keep increasing.’

It wasn’t that his brother’s death had become dull. Time had passed, and he had acknowledged the emptiness and resigned himself, but the memory still occupied the largest place in his mind, and the emotions were still vivid.

But apart from personal feelings, the Emperor’s death, like his actions, burned brilliantly until the very end. Anyone had to acknowledge it and express respect.

So, in exchange for his death, who no longer existed in this world, he would settle the grudge for his brother’s death.

He meant he would no longer resent the Empire. In other words, Rweche would not interfere with the Empire led by his nephews and nieces. And in the unlikely event that circumstances or his heart changed and it became necessary, rejoining hands was not entirely impossible.

‘He already seemed to have carried so much alone in his death. Adding one more thing won’t even make a dent, right?’

You take it all. Let’s call it even.

Eudoardo Deserte would probably gladly accept.

Thus, the King of Rweche unilaterally notified the deal to someone who could not hear, cleanly settling his grudge against the Empire.

***

And there was a vassal state that the King of Rweche had overlooked.

A small kingdom that had been focusing on internal stability, being in a slump due to its lack of presence, and had been overlooked.

“Deon Hart is the Hero…”

The King of Taehon Kingdom squeezed his eyes shut.

Why Deon Hart, out of all the humans? It seemed the world was finally about to end. And Starbe Illuster, was it? Why did the Duke do that? Wasn’t it because of that that Deon Hart crossed over to the Demon Realm?

After briefly expressing resentment towards the Duke, whose face he didn’t even properly know, the king calmly composed himself and looked down at the desk.

‘With the main forces of both sides changed, I need to recalculate.’

He placed white and black stones on either side of a pen, then moved his hand.

A large white stone was moved towards the black stones. He looked at it placed side by side with a large black stone and sighed. A groan escaped him.

“What should I do from now on…”

Taehon Kingdom was a very small and weak kingdom, so its king had to rack his brain more than anyone else to protect the country, and had actually survived that way.

Tightrope walking was also naturally part of that category. The King of Taehon Kingdom thought, ‘In a situation where even the Hero is on the side of the Demon Realm, can Rweche really protect this kingdom?’

The conclusion came quickly.

‘Impossible.’

He thought about it again and again, but the answer was the same. Impossible.

The Demon Realm was not attacking Rweche right now, but that was only postponed to a later priority. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t attack in the future.

Moreover, without cooperation with other kingdoms like this, it was only a matter of time before the higher priority Sanguo and the Empire collapsed. If that happened, Rweche, the next in line, would also collapse like dominoes. Taehon Kingdom, belonging to it, would be no different.

‘So, I must decide.’

Whether to side with the Demon Realm or to remain.

Before making a decision, he had read enough information about demons in ancient texts and other books. Demons were defined as ‘evil.’ It was an extremely biased perspective, so it was hard to believe it as it was.

So, he recalled the time when the border with the Demon Realm was discovered in this Taehon Kingdom not long ago. The period when demons who hid their identities frequently came and went.

There were minor crimes like stealing things, but he remembered there were no serious crimes like murder. Rather, they even showed foolish… no, innocent appearances, unable to properly hide their identities. Of course, these were also just a part of the demon race, so he couldn’t judge the whole based on just a fragment…

“…I’ve decided.”

After a long period of deliberation, the king made a decision.

***

Even Rweche, with only one vassal state, was failing to properly control the signs of betrayal. What about Sanguo, which had many vassal states?

Due to this incident, Sanguo had almost watched as the vassal states they had brought in transformed into poison. If that had happened, they would have suffered immense losses, such as wasting troops to monitor from within in preparation for possible betrayals. If it hadn’t been for the capable strategist they had recently acquired, they might have watched helplessly as they were taken advantage of.

However.

Previously, Sareen, who had joined as a strategist and immediately examined Sanguo’s situation, had said something.

[Sanguo has brought in too many vassal states. This is dangerous. Unless you completely trample and conquer them to the point where they can’t even recover, achievements made through persuasion will easily crumble under another’s persuasion. It might be fine for now, but someday it might become an internal headache.]

[Then what should we do?]

[I have one idea in mind… it might sound absurd. No, it will definitely sound absurd. But I hope you will trust me and listen… Will you listen?]

[Tell me then.]

King Yeonhwa of Sanguo, who had been reminiscing, turned to Sareen, who was standing on one side.

The screen appeared in the sky, and Den Merchant Guild withdrew. Especially Sanguo, which relied on the trading company, was bound to suffer a major blow. Nevertheless, that was all. They were not greatly affected by the words the man on the screen had uttered. Thanks to having a capable strategist, Sanguo was able to suppress the vassal states from turning into poison.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, we were able to reduce unnecessary troop waste.”

Sareen, who had come to Sanguo alone and risen to the position of the king’s strategist solely through her ability, smiled faintly.

“We can’t completely prevent the impact, but this will make them hesitate to betray us to some extent.”

“Yes. You are also quite unique. How did you even think of making a country’s king into a ‘god’?”

“It sounds unfamiliar when you say ‘god,’ but if you look closely, it’s nothing new. Originally, weren’t the people praising and following wise rulers? I just helped to express that a bit more actively.”

The method she took to prevent the vassal states’ betrayal was truly unconventional.

A method that no one would have thought of, and even if they did, they would have dismissed it as a ridiculous idea and not attempted it.

[Many rulers overlook something, but the people’s sentiment is the will of heaven. The ruling class is a minority, and the people are the majority. The reason why the minority can stand above the majority is because of the majority’s tacit permission. What Your Majesty needs to grasp is not the ruling class, but below them, the people’s sentiment.]

Sareen turned the entire country, including the vassal states, into fanatics who followed only one king.