Overgeared Chapter 1036:

The Berith crisis spread to Agnus .  The masses urged him to yield the Stone of Life, and the media further encouraged them by convincing and defending the public’s attitude .  It was an abnormal flow .  There was no certainty that the Stone of Life could drive Berith away, and the public had no right to demand that someone give up their private property .  So, why was Agnus a target?

The experts analyzed this .

『 You reap what you sow . In the meantime, Agnus has been famous for his PK . In order to monopolize the hunting grounds and fulfill his own quests, Agnus slaughtered players for selfish reasons . There are many people who are afraid of him . He is a suitable target to be a scapegoat . The public’s anxiety and fears—which have been called unavoidable despair—need hope to be resolved, and Agnus was chosen as the subject of hope . 』 

『 It doesn’t matter to people if the Stone of Life is effective or not . They just want to share their insecurities and fears with others . Agnus is a good fit for the target . 』

Kraugel headed to the Haken Kingdom along with Kirinus and Spear Saint Rachel .  As the night deepened, Kraugel logged out while the two people were sleeping, and he became unnerved .  He felt disgusted when he heard the story of Agnus, which had been a hot topic lately .

Reap what you sow? It was nonsense .  The PK was just a good excuse to buy people’s hatred .  PK was a system that used both the strong and weak as needed .  It was the PK system that protected one’s rights, interests, and self-esteem, making it loved by many people .

Those who were talking on the news panels right now would be the same .  PKing wasn’t exclusive to Agnus, yet only Agnus was harshly criticized .  Why? It was because he was easy to deal with .  The Agnus of a few years ago had been the head of a huge organization called Immortal while the current Agnus was alone . He was easy prey because his position was weak, just like when he was falsely accused and on the guillotine .  The people who once envied him for running wild in the world without any fear were now trying to touch him .

‘That person named Zelgah is counting on this and targeting Agnus . ’

Zelgah was the essence behind it .  He used the people’s fear of Berith and turned Berith into a target to be avoided rather than raided .  The players of the ‘absolute majority’ weren’t capable of raiding Berith and easily agreed with Zelgah, causing the enthusiasm of those dreaming of raiding Berith to cool down .  In the end, Berith entered the vicinity of the Haken Kingdom, but no players were willing to stop him .

‘Based on what I see, the Stone of Life isn’t what Zelgah wants . ’

The destruction of the Haken Kingdom—this was Zelgah’s wish .  There was no other way to interpret the situation .  Kraugel was convinced .

‘There is the Yatan Church behind him . ’

The purpose of the Yatan Church was to summon the 33 great demons and turn the world into **** .  From their perspective, they didn’t want Berith to be raided .  However, if they openly helped Berith, then they would be pointed out as the enemy of the entire human race and completely isolated .  Thus, they played tricks by using Zelgah .

‘In the first place, Agnus was framed by the Yatan Church for killing the accessory makers . . . ’

The Yatan Church’s plan was to protect Berith and eradicate Agnus .  The influence of the public and media could be maximized because they exerted influence in the background .

‘Rose . . . ’

She was first on the black magician rankings and someone who possessed enormous wealth and power as one of Yatan’s Servants .  When Kraugel met her by chance, Rose’ attitude had been kind and friendly .

‘In fact, she might be a scary woman . ’

In any case, it was a headache .  Since people stopped coming to raid Berith, Kraugel had to fight Berith purely with Kirinus, Rachel, and Rachel’s knights .  It was a struggle without any helpers .  Kirinus’ life could be in danger .

‘It might be presumptuous . . . but I have to ask Hao and Alexander to participate . ’

Kraugel needed enough power to open up a chance to retreat at any time .  Thinking this, Kraugel pressed the button of his smartwatch .

***

“Bah!”

“Che!”

The imperial army barely reached the ruins after a few weeks of sailing .  They came here in a hurry as reinforcements for the vanguard .  After more than a month, they arrived at the historical site and had to quickly join the vanguard to support them .  However, the procession of the soldiers wasn’t smooth, and the marching rate was as slow as a tortoise .

The 10,000 soldiers and dozens of nobles were busy looking at each other with distrustful eyes .  At the centre was Huroi, who was disguised as Earl Baget .

“Huhuhut . . . ” He was the only laughing man in the procession of 10,000 troops who were filled with confusion and anger .  Huroi was very pleased with the current situation that occurred due to his high-level incitement .

‘I have delayed the meeting of the empire’s advance team and the reinforcements by three times the original length of time . I should be proud and consider it a great success . ’ 

His liege, King Grid, had already arrived at the site and must’ve had a hard time exploring while avoiding the eyes of the empire .  He might’ve suffered hair loss because he was threatened by the powerful imperial army led by three dukes .

‘If the empire’s reinforcements arrive in such a crisis . . . ’ 

His liege would suffer a greater crisis and would have to give up on his exploration of the ruins .  However, Huroi had taken action .  The supreme loyalist managed to use maneuvers to prevent the empire’s reinforcements from arriving in a timely manner, helping King Grid to explore the ruins .  Huroi was confident that he had been active enough .  He shrugged as he was reminded that Grid was somewhere praising him .

Marquis Fulbas approached Huroi and sighed, “Hah . ”

The marquis’ eyes, which used to be full of energy, were long dead now .  The dark circles under his eyes had also deepened .  He had been suffering too much during the last few months .  Marquis Fulbas felt betrayed by the colleagues he trusted his whole life, and every day was like **** .

Huroi got rid of his smile and faithfully played the role of Earl Baget . He looked at Marquis Fulbas with a worried expression . “You look very sad . ” 

Marquis Fulbas said to him, “There is a rumor that Earl Silva is talking nonsense again . ”

“No, really? That dog again . . . No, why are you worried about his absurd insinuations?”

“He said that my daughter, who married two years ago, would be with her husband for 100 years . ”

“N-No? Such **** . . . ! That son of a bitch! He is truly a lowly human!”

“Haha . . .  That’s right . I never dreamed that I would hear such a terrible curse in my life . ”

Marquis Fulbas’ daughter had married a 41-year-old man .  It was an arranged marriage .  Marquis Fulbas had always felt guilty for being forced to send his daughter to an older man .  The marquis hoped that his white-haired son-in-law, who recently started to suffer from dementia, would die as soon as possible . He prayed that his daughter would be able to enjoy freedom, even if it was late .  Yet Earl Silva, who had been respectful to him for 20 years, was hoping that his daughter would spend 100 years with her husband .  A great shock and sense of betrayal caused Marquis Fulbas’ eyes to darken . He felt there was no one in this world he could believe in .

“This . . . It is disgraceful behavior . ”

Was he not supposed to treat people with charity and kindness? It meant he had been living wrong .  This feeling of skepticism caused Marquis Fulbas to hurriedly wipe his wet eyes .  He was ashamed and unable to raise his head .

“Please take this . ” Huroi handed him a handkerchief .  It was a handkerchief that smelled like chicken poop, but Marquis Fulbas felt thankful .

“Earl Baget . I only have you now . ”

“I will never betray the marquis . ”

Then it happened while they were absorbed in the conversation .

“There is nothing in the temple . ”

“I was able to find traces of a huge battle near the temple . ”

At the summit of the mountain that was past the jungle, the knights returned after searching the temple there and gave a report .

“A huge battle? I thought the followers only emerge one by one?” Drunk Duke Diworth responded immediately while drinking a bottle of alcohol and scratching his stomach .  “That means it wasn’t a fight against the followers?”

Diworth’s eyes glittered for the first time in awhile . He had been annoyed by the pathetic actions of the nobles fighting each other in the back .  He focused his eyes, directly checked the signs of battle near the temple, and lowered his gaze down the mountain .  Far away, a vast expanse of reeds could be seen .  Blood stained the reeds that had been cut or crushed to pieces .  

“The blood hasn’t died yet . Let’s hurry . ” Diworth went in front of the nobles who were busy questioning and doubting each other .  He decided that the advance team and Overgeared Kingdom had already met each other and were fighting .  Diworth believed that the advance team were tracking the Overgeared Kingdom .

‘I can’t let Grid talk about Piaro . ’

He admired Piaro, but the other dukes who still missed him would be agitated . It was hard to tell how Grid would take advantage of their agitation .  Before that, he should join the advance team and cut off Grid’s head .

“Go . ”

Diworth started to descend the mountain quickly .  It was a speed that didn’t take the soldiers into consideration .  In the first place, Diworth seemed to think he was only accompanied by nobles and knights .

‘This—!’ Huroi anxiously chased after the procession as the marching speed accelerated sharply .

On the other hand, Grid’s party . . .

“Pant . . . Pant . . . Pant . . . ”

The difficulty of the ruins rose rapidly starting from the reeds .  The Overgeared members, who barely managed to break through the reed field after a few days of struggle, faced a crisis without time for a break .  It was because the followers who had learned six secret techniques started to appear in groups of four .

There were even those who had learned the ‘unconditional counterattack’ and ‘unconditional avoidance of skills seen more than twice . ’ Surrounded by 30 followers, the Overgeared members and dukes were exhausted . It was enough to make them think that this expedition was impossible .

‘It is a pity to eat the White Peach here . If I link 100,000 Army Swordsmanship and open up Astaroth’s Strength, it might be possible to open up the path of retreat . ’

Grid’s vision flashed red .  Vantner was in a dying state, and Grid’s health was also falling to dangerous levels as he acted as a tank in front .  He had a means to break through the immediate crisis, but there was the question of how much trust he could place in the dukes .

Yura came up to the hesitating Grid .  Armed with shining armor as white as her skin, she spoke with a determined expression, “I’ll summon the elemental king . ”

In fact, she was also hesitant .  She couldn’t easily judge if she should let it be known that she had contracted with an elemental king .  However, Grid and her colleagues were currently in a desperate situation .  She couldn’t ignore her colleagues because of political issues .  A circle of light was drawn around Yura as she started the summoning .

“Wait!” Lauel stretched out his hand on behalf of Grid, who couldn’t easily make a decision .  An elemental was a power that most humans coveted .  More than that, the empire’s desire for the elementals would be great .  Exposing the elemental king in a situation where they couldn’t be sure of the relationship between the empire and Overgeared Kingdom was going to be risky .

Thus, Lauel tried to stop Yura, but the dukes were one step faster .

“There are very few people in the empire who know why I am called the Immortal King . ”

Trust . . .

Grid didn’t show it, but the dukes showed it first .  Grenhal started taking off the armor he had been wearing the whole time .  From his gauntlets and leggings to his helmet, shield, and even body armor—every time a heavy piece of equipment fell to the ground, a loud noise rang out due to the heavy weight .

Grenhal revealed a scarred and muscular body .  His eyes were stained with a red light .  A berserker—he was an ultimate fighter who showed extreme attack power and blood-sucking ability as more of his health was consumed .  This was Grenhal’s reality .

“Not many people know why I am the Beast King . It is because they die the moment they figure out the reason . ” Then Morse’s body became covered with rough beast-like fear as his teeth and nails sharpened .  

Perhaps the reality that Beastman Toon would ultimately reach could be seen through Morse .  At this point, the gazes of the party members focused on Basara .  The embarrassed Basara blushed . “I-I can’t transform like that . ”

“ . . . ”