Chapter 250: The Demon Wave 3
Chapter 250: The Demon Wave 3
Woohyuk ordered Aris to mass-produce a pill that could cure the side effects of Qliphoth’s Fruit.
The cost was not a problem anymore, as he properly robbed the demon’s vaults.
However, he didn’t want to cheapen the distribution of the pill or lose any money from it, so Woohyuk set a reasonable price.
‘1 silver per pill should be about right.’
… He based the price based on the pricing in the world where Woohyuk lived before.
In the Eeth Continent, where the concept of patent rights didn’t exist, it was unheard of to sell an effective treatment at-cost. His price point would be looked upon as a tremendous favor upon the Eeth people.
Distributing the treatment would also present quite an annoyance.
“Sell as many of these pills as you can. We should be able to guarantee a reasonable distribution profit,” Woohyuk said to Erica.
“Okay,” she answered.
Erica, the colossus merchant of the Free Seaport City Landium, lifted up her dress and gave a polite curtsy.
She was a person who was knowledgeable about good deeds, as she ran an orphanage Landium with the proceeds of her enormous profits and wealth.
Even if she didn’t make a large profit from this transaction, she didn’t think undertaking this distribution was regrettable.
When Erica left the room, Fiona, the system manager of Inotia, appeared out of thin air and relayed her report.
“Heroic King, it seems that some of the 72 Demon Kings who were recently subjugated came to us.”
“… Let them in.”
He could roughly predict why they came to visit him.
They were probably planning to criticize him for ruthlessly robbing their vaults and safes a while ago.
However, it never crossed Woohyuk’s mind that he’d give back any of the loot he took.
‘I am a demonic tyrant. An absolute monarch like the everlasting sun.’
It was very important for him to tame the 72 Demon Kings, as he would become the Demon Lord one day.
He believed that it would be much more efficient for them to do things voluntarily than for him to force them to do something.
Woohyuk decided to be strict from the beginning because he planned to ultimately guarantee their autonomy once he fulfilled his plans.
“Asura, no matter how justified you are in taking the resources from our territories, you shouldn’t take all the territories’ resources!” a Demon King clamored.
“We don’t expect you to return everything, but please leave us at least half or even a third!” another chimed in.
“Since the earth of the demon world is fruitless and infertile, it’s hard for us to harvest even a single silver coin!”
“Please listen to our heartfelt concerns and be magnanimous in your decision!”
As soon as the Demon Kings entered the room, they implored Woohyuk with requests. They did so in a manner as if they would die soon.
Woohyuk coughed into his closed fist and spoke with a stern expression, “Ahem… calm down. I will explain it.”
“Please speak!” they answered simultaneously.
“I didn’t take your resources for self-interest. So, don’t give up and start anew. I am hopeful and confident that you all will can overcome this trifling trouble.”
“Ah, Asura! It took us so long to accrue those resources… how could you speak so coldly!”
“Please do not turn away from our difficulties! Please present a suitable resolution!”
“Aigo!”
The disgruntled and embarrassingly open cries of the Demon Kings only grew louder.
Woohyuk frowned and yelled at them, “Are you going to starve to death just because your vaults and safes are empty? If you want gold and silver treasure, do some work.”
“W-What do you mean…” a Demon King asked perplexingly.
“Attack all the ruins in the Eeth Continent, except for the epic level ones. I will give you 60% of the treasure that you find inside the ruins you attacked,” Woohyuk answered.
There were still countless untouched ruins on the Eeth Continent.
Hearing Woohyuk’s words, the Demon Kings bowed their heads down in seeming defeat and continued to vent their frustrations, “Ah, that’s so unfair Asura! Why do we only get to keep 60% of the treasures from the ruins that we attacked ourselves?”
“A 40% tax is too much, Asura!”
“Since we’re doing all the legwork, wouldn’t at least 80% be fair!”
It was certainly unfair to ask for 40% of the total revenue without doing any of the work.
However, Woohyuk didn’t retreat and doubled down on his stance.
“Do you know how much money we need to operate in this chaotic era? If I had my wish, I would take 90% and guarantee only 10%, but I raised it up to 60% because you all are saying that you’re in bad shape financially. If you keep complaining, I will lower the distribution percentage,” Woohyuk said sternly.
“Huh…”
The Demon Kings looked up at Woohyuk, who was sitting atop a throne, with dumbfounded expressions.
When the room fell quiet, Woohyuk continued to speak with a satisfied expression, “Then, since there are no further objections, I’ll consider the matter settled. We will not speak of this topic again.”
“A-Asura. About the large-scale civil engineering project that you mentioned on the Isle of Chaos…”
“Yes? Is there something wrong?”
“On the list of people who are supposed to build the large-scale project, our names were also included… is this correct? Was it a mistake? No matter what, we’re monarchs in the demon world…”
“Wouldn’t the civil engineering work progress better if it is led by the demon monarchs?”
“Well, that’s…”
“Are the Demon Lords dissatisfied because my name was not on the list? If anyone thinks that way, come forward,” Woohyuk said with gusto.
The inside of the room fell silent once more.
No one wanted to reproach and argue against Woohyuk’s weird logical argument.
Woohyuk forcefully coughed aloud and raised his finger towards the door, “If you have nothing more to say, go back. I am busy.”
The Demon Kings left the meeting room without another word.
Leifina, who saw this entire fiasco, said to Woohyuk, “Master, it looks like there will be a severe reaction from this discussion. I think you’ve done enough whipping, so shouldn’t you at least dangle some carrots?”
“Hmm, that’s a good idea,” Woohyuk said after giving her words some thought.
After this civil engineering work was over, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give them a week off.
He was a tyrant who worked his subjects raw day and night for months on end, only to give them a week off.
This was Chun Woohyuk.
***
“How’s the progress on stopping the Flood?” Woohyuk asked.
“The right day to enter the Ark of Knowledge hasn’t arrived yet. Please wait a little longer,” Helena answered.
As Solomon’s direct lineage, Ibn Rusud was allowed to enter the Ark of Knowledge but only on the night of the full moon each month.
Hearing Helena’s explanation, Woohyuk frowned.
“Why is it so complicated?” he asked.
“How should I know. That’s how the system is set up, so don’t blame me,” she quipped.
Helena was also very frustrated.
She knew that if the Great Flood occurred before the next full moon rose, they would all be helpless.
Woohyuk decided to keep that possibility in mind.
‘I should make a huge ark…’
Inotia, the City of Magic and Engineering, was located on the Heavenly Island, so it would be safe even if the Great Flood occurred.
So, he was considering whether to issue an order for his main talents to gather in Inotia and build an ark for their own survival.
Of course, they wouldn’t be able to build a large enough ship capable of carrying all the people living on the continent, so the loss of life was unavoidable.
‘No, that’s not a good idea.’
In the first place, preventing the Flood itself was the right and most efficient approach.
Helena sighed as Woohyuk continued to think.
“Phew… No matter how much I think about it, it’s impossible to save everyone from the impending Great Flood. Outside of everyone moving to another dimension altogether…”
“I heard that some magic books in the Ark of Knowledge describe how to move people to another dimension,” Woohyuk asked, cutting her off mid-sentence.
“That’s not something anyone can do. So, it’s pointless to consider,” she quickly explained.
Whether the flood would occur before or after the next full moon was purely in the realm of luck.
Therefore, it was a more desirable and more effective use of time to clear the epic quest of the Nag Hammadi Chronicles during this lull.
After hearing Helena’s advice, Woohyuk nodded.
“Alright, that sounds about right. Anyway, there’s nothing more we can do about this impending catastrophe.”
“You brought some soul stones from the ruins in the Northern Island. Since you have that, you can restore the Nag Hammadi Chronicles now.”
It was the last of the three ancient documents that he had to restore.
To restore the Nag Hammadi, Woohyuk had to call upon the Goddesses of Fortune with the soul stones.
Woohyuk injected his mana into the soul stones while sitting face-to-face with Helena in his office.
Sa-Ah~!
Blue flames fluttered from the soul stones, and soon, the surroundings were covered with white flashes.
[Who has called me?]
A woman’s voice rang out from the air.
Woohyuk knew who she was.
‘The goddess in charge of the past, Clotho.’
She remembered all the names of the lost Einherjars who were chronicled in the Nag Hammadi.
[My name is Chun Woohyuk. I called you to restore the Nag Hammadi Chronicles.]
[… Oh, so it’s you. You should already know the process, so shall I recall all the names on the list?]
Clotho remembered Woohyuk from the last time she met him, before his return to this world.
Woohyuk nodded his head and picked up a recording device that was developed by Aris.
[Speak. List them off. I’m ready.]
[Then, I will start.]
Clotho listed off countless names without a break.
After a long time…
[Is that all?]
[Yes, good job. You didn’t actually write the names down though.]
[It seems you can see me from the lakeside of Lake Urdarbrunn.]
[Since I’ll meet you soon, shouldn’t I investigate to a certain degree?]
Clotho was a cheerful goddess.
However, Woohyuk didn't believe in her words at all.
‘The three goddesses of destiny didn’t tell me anything about my past lives before.’
Furthermore, originally, Leifina was also the Goddess of Fate.
It was strange that a single position in the past was split into three different identities.
Woohyuk thought that this was due to the aftermath of the failed Odyssey Plan.
‘Since the system was somewhat derailed due to the irregular code, it’s possible.’
Goddess of the Past, Clotho.
Goddess of the Present, Lachesis.
Goddess of the Future, Atropos.
The three seemed to be sisters.
Last time around, he didn’t know anything, so he just passed by this division, but this time, he vowed to definitely uncover their secrets.
Drinking from the well of Urdarbrunn would bring back his previous life’s memories, so if he was told a lie, he would not easily be deceived.
Woohyuk played the recording device and started restoring the Nag Hammadi Chronicles with Helena.
“I see a lot of familiar names. Of course, there are many names I don’t recognize, too,” Helena commented from the side.
“History doesn’t remember all the heroes,” Woohyuk muttered.
Just as not everyone could become a hero, not all heroes could leave their name in history.
The human world is always grim and cold.
‘The Nag Hammadi Chronicles recorded the secrets of the gods.’
From the Godslayer weapon, Epion, to the destined ends of the gods…
There were many things written down in the Chronicles, but this epic quest was about the Einherjar.
‘After the restoration work, I have to go to Heavens and fight one of the Einherjars.’
Heroes who made big names for themselves in the past.
The pressure to fight and win against people like Reinhard, the best Paladin that Woohyuk ever met, was still considerable.
His current stats were greater than his previous life’s.
His equipment was also not inferior but fighting and defeating an Einherjar was by no means easy or simple.
Helena laughed when Woohyuk revealed his worries.
“Hahaha, are you nervous? Tell me, which Einherjar did you fight last time?” she asked.
“Penthesilea. She was a female Amazonian barbarian warrior,” he answered.
Certainly, she was a character that could be called a hero, but she couldn’t compare to the current Woohyuk.
Of course, he had fought her night and day for two days straight at that time. Only after a long, arduous battle did he succeed in defeating her.
Who would he be matched up with this time?
Feeling anticipation and anxiety, Woohyuk completed writing the last letter.