I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

Otto had an idea why Argonne would come to Loredin.

‘It must be because running things from the Trading Company is getting difficult, and he wants to swallow up the Loredin Kingdom so he can take the throne himself. He doesn't have the funds to support someone and then take advantage of them.'

Argonne the Great was a master at using money to beguile and backstab his would-be host.

But now that Oberhauser's business had been destroyed, he could no longer use that tactic.

Therefore, he must have scraped together the last of his funds and traveled to the Kingdom of Loredin.

At this stage, taking control of Loredin and ascending to the throne was the only hope for Argonne the Great.

"So he's currently occupying a region and swaying the local populace?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Hmmm."

"Let's leave him alone, it's cute."

"What?"

"Besides, starting a fight in that area wouldn't be ideal for us, and we're much faster."

"Are you saying it would be faster for you to take the Kingdom of Loredin than for Julius' power to grow?"

"Exactly."

"That makes sense in a way.", said Ego.

"Then I understand."

Otto grinned.

"Keep the food supply coming, and just keep the disruption to Julius' forces to a minimum.". instructed Otto.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Otto decided not to pay much attention to Emperor Argonne for now.

Since the Kingdom of Lota's army had already entered the Kingdom of Loredin, Argonne the Great had no chance of winning.

If anything, it would be Rivolt, one of the Hundred Lords and the owner of a holy relic, joining hands with Argonne.

‘Then it's going to be a problem.'

It was indeed a troublesome situation.

‘Rivolt is a powerful individual, one whose true strength is unknown. Not to mention the Argonne.'

Among all the lords encountered so far, Rivolt was the most powerful in terms of military might.

As of now, even if Otto, Camille, and Kairos were to join forces, it would still be difficult to guarantee victory.

The same applied to Emperor Argonne as well.

‘With Kairos' current level of skill, he won't be able to defeat Argonne.'

Otto was worried about that.

Kairos had only been resurrected with a new body for about three years, but Emperor Argonne had been reincarnated with all his past memories intact. It was natural for there to be a difference in their levels.

Of course, Kairos used to be overwhelmingly powerful, and Argonne the Great could never hope to escape his position as second in command.

It was a pity that even with two hundred of Argonne's most loyal and powerful subordinates trying to capture Kairos, they were unable to kill him.

‘I'll just have to prevent them from joining forces.'

With that thought in mind, Otto went to bed and closed his eyes.

He lay in bed for several hours.

"…What is it?"

Otto was awakened from his sleep by a sudden noise outside.

*Oomph!*

*Crash!*

*Smack!*

*Oomph!*

From somewhere, there was a deafening noise that seemed like the sky and the earth were collapsing, making it impossible for Otto to continue sleeping.

It wasn't just Otto who was awakened.

"You're awake."

The sudden noise had woken up everyone, including Camille, who had been sleeping.

"What's that sound?"

"Well."

Camille responded with a nervous shake of his head, as if feeling awkward about the situation.

"Listen carefully."

"Huh?"

"It's that sound."

"What do you mean, that sound?"

"It sounds like a drunken couple having their first night together."

"No."

Otto was appalled.

"They're celebrating their wedding night, but it sounds like the sky and earth are collapsing?"

"Yeah, well."

Camille wrapped a tired hand around his face.

"I don't know exactly how they're celebrating their wedding night, but it seems they're doing it quite loudly."

"….."

"I hear sounds of banging and crashing. I hear swearing too. That… sounds like…

I might die."

"…They're really an extraordinary couple."

Otto shook his head, plugged in some earplugs, and went back to sleep.

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The next morning.

"…Are you even alive?"

Otto was stunned to see Kairos turn into a walking wreck.

In just one night, Kairos had turned into a mangled mummy.

Otto couldn't imagine what had happened.

"Ho ho ho!"

Ariel, on the other hand, seemed to be in a very cheerful mood.

She was so vibrant and radiant, one could have sworn she had gotten 200 years younger.

Ariel was certainly beautiful, but as she gradually entered middle age, her mature beauty began to shine more than the youthful bloom of her younger days.

However, after what seemed like a restorative elixir last night, Ariel now looked as if she had regained the appearance of her prime when she used to chase after Kairos.

‘Heok, vampire?!'

Otto thought that perhaps Ariel had rejuvenated by drawing vitality from Kairos.

Or maybe she was a succubus disguised as an elf.

‘Serves him right.'

Otto inwardly felt smug seeing Kairos shambling around like a zombie.

After mocking Otto for being "caught" by Elise with all that talk about being a real man, it turned out that Kairos himself couldn't even utter a single word to Ariel.

Kairos usually talked about how he was a real man when he got the chance.

"You're going to be under her thumb your whole life?"

"What?"

Kairos was outraged.

"Do you think I, will live under the thumb of a mere woman?"

"No?"

"Of course not!"

Kairos puffed out his chest and boasted.

"It's just pretending to be caught! A true alpha should conquer his wife!"

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

"Rea… Eup!"

Kairos clamped his hand over Otto's mouth.

"Pansy, do you want to see someone die?"

"Eup! Mmm!"

"Please shut up! You're going to get me killed!"

"Mmmm!"

Otto saw Kairos' desperation and stopped trying to snitch on Ariel.

"Tsk tsk."

Otto clicked his tongue at Kairos.

"At this point, it's not being under her thumb, it's being raised and bred."

"……."

"Do better from now on. Stop complaining for no reason. I can just snitch everything away."

Kairos was about to snap at Otto's threat, but he kept his mouth shut.

It was better to just endure it than to provoke Otto and get completely mauled by Ariel.

"She's a complete suppressor, a deterrent.'

With that thought, Otto showed the map to Kairos.

"Here, look."

"Hmm?"

"Argonne has occupied this area and is expanding his influence," Otto explained to Kairos.

"What!!"

Kairos, who had been cowering a moment ago, burst out in anger.

"You mean the bastard shoved his spoon in here?"¹

"Yep."

"So how are you going to cook him this time?"

"First."

Otto pointed to another part of the map.

"This sector here. It's controlled by a guy called Rivolt. This is where we'll start."

"Hmm?"

"This Rivolt fellow is very strong, what would happen if he got along with Argonne?"

"Isn't that what you call a mess?"

"Yes."

Otto nodded.

"You can leave the other factions alone. There aren't any big players among them anyway. They'll either be crushed by us or eventually surrender. But Rivolt is different. He'll only get stronger as time goes on," Otto explained.

"I understand, Pansy."

For the moment, Kairos agreed with Otto.

He was more comfortable leaving the strategy to Otto.

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Two days later.

The Lota Kingdom forces, led by Otto, and the rebel forces, led by Kairos, immediately headed for Rivolt's occupied territory.

‘Time is of the essence. If we strike now, they will crumble.'

Otto was well aware of the weaknesses of the rebels led by Rivolt.

The quality of Rivolt's forces was very low.

This is because, until a few months ago, the overwhelming majority of their forces were ordinary civilians, not soldiers.

This was an inherent weakness of any rebel army.

Most of the soldiers hadn't received proper military training, and there was a severe shortage of competent officers, making it almost like a ragtag group.

This would be remedied over time, of course, by absorbing the existing Loredin Kingdom forces, but Otto had no intention of giving them that time.

‘Right now, it's just Rivolt's personal strength leading to consecutive victories,' Otto thought.

Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of Rivolt's forces well, Otto boldly maneuvered his troops.

With the current strength of the Lota Kingdom's army, Otto judged that they could win the battle by simply charging in, regardless of strategy and tactics.

So without hesitation, Otto advanced his forces into the area occupied by Rivolt.

And so the first skirmish took place.

"All troops, advance."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

As soon as Otto gave the order, the soldiers started running at breakneck speed toward the enemy fortress.

Otto didn't just watch from behind.

"Let's go."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Otto dived into the fray with Camille.

But were they the only ones?

Kairos and the Soul Knights also joined the fighting, mowing down enemies as they came.

The results were nothing short of astounding.

"We won!"

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Long live the Kingdom of Iota!"

"Hooray!"

The battle was over in the blink of an eye.

Rivolt's forces lasted less than half an hour against the forces of the Kingdom of Lota.

The power of an army composed entirely of regular soldiers, without a single conscript, was simply overwhelming.

It was impossible for an army made up of conscripts to even stand a chance against the Lota Kingdom's army.

"Never kill those who surrender."

Otto issued a strict order upon taking the stronghold.

"There will be no forgiveness for unnecessary killing and war crimes, and they will be court-martialed."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Otto had zero tolerance for war crimes.

War crimes are one of the worst factors in deteriorating public sentiment.

In the long run, it had a tremendously negative impact, tarnishing their reputation and increasing notoriety

While slaughtering those who surrendered might be cathartic and fun in the moment, there was always a consequence later.

"Continue the advance."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Otto pushed his troops forward, deeper into the territory.

Experience had taught him that the best way to neutralize Rivolt's influence was to storm him without giving him time to react.

*Clink!* *Clomp!* *Clink!* *Clomp!*

Under Otto's orders, the Lota Kingdom forces continued to advance, closing in on Rivolt's position.

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"What!"

Meanwhile, Rivolt bolted up from his seat at the report.

"Our defenses have been breached? In just one day?"

"Yes, General."

The adjutant unfolded a map and filled Rivolt in on the current situation.

"The forces of the Kingdom of Lota, along with those of a man named Kairos, have broken through our defenses and are advancing."

"Lota Kingdom forces? Kairos? For fuck's sake!"

Rivolt exclaimed in disbelief.

The breach in the defense line was a fatal blow to Rivolt.

While they were in the midst of expanding their forces and defeating the Loredin Kingdom, their rear defenses were breached, and if they made a mistake, they could be surrounded and annihilated from both sides.

"Are these forces trying to support the Loredin Kingdom?"

"I don't think so, but things are not looking good."

"How bad can you say things are?"

"Reports indicate that the enemy is advancing at a tremendous rate. At this rate, they'll be here by the third day."

"I want you to issue a combat readiness order, now!"

"Yes, General."

Rivolt immediately prepared for battle against the advancing Lota Kingdom.

The speed of the Lota Kingdom's advance was so swift that for now, they had no choice but to build a new defensive line and secure the occupied territories.

< Kairos Illustration >

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TL/N:

1. Don't think I need to explain it, but for the sake of others. When someone sticks their spoon into someone else’s food(AKA: Otto and his group already have plans and almost finish taking Loredin) it can be seen as rude or disrespectful. It implies that the person is invading personal boundaries or asserting dominance.