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Chapter 1018

“Noodles?! Soup?!”

“Herakel and Conir can also switch your head with your hands,” the young man said as he punched the huge stone beside him.

Crack, crack, crack–!

“...”

Cardin’s eyes grew wide from the ridiculous display of power. It looked like a light punch, but the colossal stone shattered into tiny pieces. Cardin realized that his words were wrong when he saw the two acting like hooligans(?) and glaring at him.

‘Hoo. What do I have with me right now?’

There was a very precious potion that he had obtained before. The potion, Becoming Hero Elixir, could increase the person’s stats upon consumption.

Cardin slipped the potion to them. The boy quickly grabbed it. Then, with blazing eyes, he said, “Noodles or soup?!! Answer!!!”

“N, no. If you won’t take it as payment, please give it ba...”

“Noodles?! Soup?!”

“Herakel is angry.”

Cardin was rendered speechless. Did that mean that he gave out his potion for nothing? That potion was worth a hundred million times more than what he had eaten. But their faces had grown uglier than before.

Conir placed one of his hands in his pockets. Then, he shook his leg as if impatient before raising his head and saying, “You. Do you really want to do it this way?”

At the same time, Herakel tapped his club on the palm of his hands once again.

“Ptew!” Herakel pretended to spit as he copied Conir by placing his hand in his pocket and shaking his leg.

‘This– Are they really hooligans?’

Cardin had already taken out and given them a very precious potion.

‘But it’s true that I did something wrong, too.’

He ate food in a restaurant, but he did not have any money, so he tried to skip paying for his meal. After pondering deeply, an idea struck his mind. He said, “Please wait a moment.”

Then, Cardin hurriedly rushed off. And the loud roars of monsters rang in the direction where he went. In the world of Athenae, both NPCs and players alike could get gold by hunting monsters.

Cardin picked up the gold the monsters dropped and gave it to the two brothers. Herakel excitedly accepted the gold. He said, “He– Herakel! This is Herakel’s first time making money in Herakel’s life!”

“Wow. Herakel! Herakel is very amazing! Conir took three months before Conir made his first money in his business!”

“He- Herakel is a cool man! A manly man!”

Cardin could not help but give a bitter smile when he saw the scene before him. He said, “Since I’ve got a lot of gold, I’m giving you more. Consider this an apology for earlier.”

Then, he gave the two brothers all the gold he acquired. The two immediately bowed and rubbed their hands together.

“Hehe, customer. Did you like our dishes?”

“Fufu, customer. Please visit us again next time!”

“Alright. Then, about the potion that I gave you earlier...”

“Hehe, customer. Would you like to have another bowl?”

“We can also give you another roll of kimbap.”

“No, I’m talking about the potion I gave you earlier...”

“???”

“???”

The two brothers looked at Cardin as if they could not understand what he was saying. They even tilted their heads cutely and showed him an innocent expression! At this moment, Cardin realized that the two hooligan(?) brothers had played him for a fool! When he tried to say something, he saw Herakel’s muscles twitch.

‘This- this is a threat...’

Cardin gulped dryly. “F- fine.”

There was something far more important than the potion. Since the two brothers could come here, there was a high chance that they knew how to get out of this place.

“By any chance, do you guys know how to get out of this place?”

At that question, Herakel and Conir piped up.

“My goodness! He says he doesn’t know the way out after coming to this place!”

“Hyung said that we shouldn’t ignore a person with special needs(?) and should make sure we embrace them! That guy looks like he is someone with special needs.”

“That’s right. He looks(?) like he is someone with special needs. Okay, we’ll bring you along.”

The two were obviously whispering to each other, but strangely enough, Cardin could hear them clearly. In fact, even the monsters within a twenty-meter radius heard their voices.

“Herakel... Herakel helps those in need!”

“Hyung told Conir never to ignore someone with special needs and to embrace them!”

The two brothers patted their chests. Then, they looked at Cardin with their eyes that had already grown red.

“...?”

After that, they rushed toward Cardin and gave him a huge hug.

“You’re already that age but still can’t find your way. You must be someone with special needs...”

“We will help you.”

“I see. Th- Thank you.”

At this moment, Cardin unknowingly felt awkward.

***

Ever since Nerva stepped down from his position as the emperor, his aide had always heard him mutter to himself. He sounded as if he was possessed.

‘The only emperor that I have and will acknowledge...’

The aide believed that Nerva, who had everything underneath the heavens, would only acknowledge Prince Cardin as the next in line to the throne. How could the aide tell? Because Nerva was now going to the Beyond the Heavens Empire, a place he hated the most, he could make sure that Prince Cardin could come back safely.

They had already contacted the Beyond the Heavens Empire guards secretly and were on their way. They were currently riding a carriage and speeding through the darkness. Not long after, Nerva and his aide met with Minhyuk.

Minhyuk was very surprised that Nerva came to see him like this. The two immediately told Minhyuk the reason why they came here.

‘If Balaman becomes the emperor of the Luvien Empire, then he would rule as a tyrant. Meanwhile, the prince is wiser and more flexible than Nerva and Balaman.’

The fact that an existence like Prince Cardin was in the Luvien Empire was not favorable to Minhyuk.

‘So they have an outstanding prince like that, too.’

The Luvien Empire could quickly regain stability if that wise prince became the emperor. Also, the Luvien Empire might be revived and rise further.

Be that as it may, they also could not allow a tyrant like Balaman, who saw the Beyond the Heavens Empire as a thorn in his eyes, to sit on that throne.

‘A warmonger.’

Although Minhyuk had only heard about Balaman, he could tell he would immediately strike the Beyond the Heavens Empire when he became emperor on that throne. He would use the excuse of reclaiming the honor that the Luvien Empire had lost to declare war and invade the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Minhyuk rubbed his chin. Then, he asked, “What do I get out of this?”

“You will have a close and friendly relationship with the new master of the Luvien Empire. If you want, I can also give you treasures and gold. But I believe we don’t need to talk about this right now, no?”

This was the truth. Minhyuk’s choice here would determine which emperor of the Luvien Empire they would face in the future. It was something that gold could not buy.

Of course, agreeing would not mean that the Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Luvien Empire would suddenly have a friendly relationship. But they would be guaranteed to maintain a soft and flexible relationship. Minhyuk pondered deeply for a moment. Finally, he reached a conclusion.

“I refuse.”

Nerva frowned.

“Let me tell you about the other side to this. Right now, you are telling me, the Beyond the Heavens’ emperor, to move secretly and save your prince.”

Indeed, this was the whole point of this meeting.

“But if, during that secret mission, Balaman found out that I, the Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor, saved the prince and prevented Balaman from becoming the emperor, then it would be more like us pouring oil on fire.”

If that happened, then Balaman, who could only use the pretext that they would restore the glory and honor of the Luvien Empire, would be given a justification to start a war against the Beyond the Heavens Empire. And he would even frantically ostracize the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“And from what I have gathered, Balaman is aware of the prince's existence. Not only that, he is also moving to stop his return to the Luvien Empire. On top of that, Balaman is as strong as Duke Vlad. Not only that, but many members of his forces, such as the Black Skull Knight Order, are comparable to the Swords of the Gods. Fighting against them would be very dangerous for me and my empire.”

At this moment, Minhyuk was weighing the benefits and losses of this deal more than anybody else. The easiest method for him was to let Balaman kill the prince first, and then they would get rid of Balaman. But that was practically impossible. Aside from that, it was a method that Minhyuk did not like.

“What we will gain is far too little for something so risky.”

Minhyuk had concluded this. Now that he knew Balaman was going to attack them, he could prepare in advance.

Nerva completely understood. If he were in Minhyuk’s place, he would also turn down the offer that he had made.

Nerva’s aide turned to look at him. He thought, ‘What are you trying to do?’

Now that Nerva had come down from his position, he was left with no supporters. Even so, Nerva still felt he had a mission to protect the Luvien Empire. And he wanted to start by appointing an upright emperor.

At that moment, the aide heard the words that Nerva always murmured.

“The only emperor that I have and will acknowledge...”

The aide thought that Nerva was murmuring these words because he regretted that he could not let the prince sit on the emperor’s throne.

On the other hand, Minhyuk frowned and said, “Are you trying to praise the prince, who I do not wish to help, in front of me right now...”

“...is Brod.”

“...?!”

The eyes of both Minhyuk and the aide grew wide from shock when they heard those words. Nerva had just mentioned a person's name that should have never come out of his mouth. Only at this moment did the aide understand.

‘The only emperor that His Highness Nerva has ever and will ever acknowledge is not His Highness Prince Cardin, but Brod?!’

Nerva’s words might be brief, but they had very heavy meanings.

Nerva was the type of person who had never clung to his flesh and blood. He believed that only an outstanding person was qualified to become the true master of the Luvien Empire.

And who would that be? Was it the still young yet intelligent prince? No. It was the fallen emperor. He was the one who should have been the true master of the Luvien Empire. Nerva wanted Cardin to become the emperor so he could ultimately give the Luvien Empire back to its rightful owner.

“Do you understand now?” A grim smile flashed on Nerva’s face. “This is the second step toward that goal.”

The first step was for Nerva to step down from his position.

Minhyuk knew that even though the Beyond the Heavens Empire could grow large enough to rival the Luvien Empire and win against them in war, there was something he could not do.

‘I can never be the emperor of the Luvien Empire.’

No, even if possible, Minhyuk was not confident he could lead the Luvien Empire. But thanks to Nerva’s words, Minhyuk realized another path was open for them.

‘It might be impossible for me, but that’s not the case for Brod.’

Even if the Luvien Empire of today would grow bigger and stronger, Brod might still become its emperor. And to top it off, Brod was Minhyuk’s beloved and faithful vassal. Even if Brod became the emperor of the Luvien Emperor, that fact would remain the same. Minhyuk shuddered at the thought of Brod wearing his crown and standing in front of the tens of millions of troops of the Luvien Imperial Army as its emperor.

Minhyuk finally nodded. “Alright. I’ll accept your offer.”

Then, he immediately stood up. Since he had made a decision, they had to make a move quickly. And since they were going to move secretly, he had to minimize the number of troops he had to deploy.

‘It’s okay for me to move alone for now.’

He could just use the Almond of Subordinates whenever he wanted.

“What’s his estimated location?”

“Training Land. That’s the only information that we have as of the moment.”

Minhyuk’s face grew ugly. Not only could Nerva not make any hasty moves, but there was also the chance that Balaman, already running rampant, had gotten to the information first.

“What if Balaman had already located him and disposed of him?”

“Then, there’s a high chance that all the work I have done will be for nothing,” Nerva said.

Minhyuk immediately headed toward the Training Land after his conversation with Nerva.

***

At the same time.

Gulp–

Prince Cardin gulped dryly. Everything was going smoothly. He could leave where he got caught and got lost with the help of the hooligan brothers. But when he thanked them and tried to rush to where his comrades were waiting for him, more than 100,000 soldiers suddenly appeared around them. And there were skulls painted on the back of their cloaks.

‘Why do I feel like the air around them has changed?’

The young boy standing in front of the wreckage of their ramyeon handcart looked at the 100,000 troops. There was killing intent evident in those eyes.

“Hey. Do you put the noodles first or the soup first?”

Then, with his huge and sturdy build, the young man looked at the army with a cold and frigid gaze and said, “Herakel will switch all of your heads with your feet.”