NOVEL NEXT Chapter 514
<514 – Total Man>
Reap couldn’t sleep last night due to the thump-thump footsteps of the newly joined Giant Mud Golem, so with a heavy heart, she decided to write her will.
━━━
To my Butler.
I’m leaving this letter just in case I can’t fulfill your request.
The Lady has become a big deal too soon. I don’t know if she’s trying to play revolutionary games, but with such a massive army, it’s hard for her to escape the spotlight now.
We are currently advancing towards the imperial capital and the Jeido, absorbing all the monster clans along the way with an army of 100,000.
Behind us are five legions, including the elite units of the empire’s southern front, ready to attack the monster army at any moment.
If things go wrong, please take care of the herbs in my poisonous garden. There are 1,280 types of poisons for internal use until the Lady grows up.
If we die, please use that poison on the imperial guys for the sake of the Lady and myself.
And make sure those Gift Academy brats who ruined the Lady pay the price in blood.
This is all. From the Maid who used to take care of the Lady with you…
━━━
There was no need to keep injecting Dark Mana into the strongest entities of each monster clan to make them obey.
Most were too startled by the scale of the monster army to hide in their homes or bow their heads in submission.
Only when the Lady and the Princess personally intervened, like the Glowing Dinosaur or the Giant Mud Golem, did they struggle to release Dark Mana on their own.
‘So dense is the Dark Mana that it can tame colossal creatures. I felt it when I first saw the Lady, but I never expected her to master mana control to this extent…’
Honestly, I didn’t know.
Back then, she seemed like a no-good girl who would get taken down by street magicians.
What about now?
No matter how I look at it, that talent, that skill…
It’s not something that can be explained by what she learned at the academy.
I began to wonder if the Lady really was just an orphan picked up by the director from the street.
The way those two looked at the [Tower of Training] was definitely father-daughter material.
Their personalities and actions were strikingly similar.
“There’s a problem. The legion stationed ahead is led by Galik Fried Chicken, the younger brother of the head of the Fried Chicken Ducal House, who is sworn allegiance to the Hwangtaeja. The Galik Legion is stationed beyond the riverside, accompanied by three nearby legions.”
“I guess we can’t just pass through without a fight. What will you do, useless Oknodie? Attacking an enemy camp along the river is a tough formation in military strategy~?”
“Who cares, let’s just fight!”
“…Are you really going to fight? Against an imperial army? One battle and you’ll immediately become the new arch-enemy designated as the Three Great Evils right after the revolutionaries~?”
“If a player does something big, they can become one of the Three Great Evils or a heretic in the eyes of the gods too!”
The boldness of someone who doesn’t know the fear of the empire and the excitement was evident.
Anyone familiar with the real-life form of the director of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation would nod and say, “Just like father, like daughter,” “Oh no, another terrible evil has arrived!”
A messenger who formally expressed, ‘Before we clash, let’s at least see what kind of scoundrel they are,’ had just arrived.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Please do!”
“Of course, I’m going too♡”
As the Masugaki went, Eungchilgeom couldn’t be left out either.
All the folks from the monster legion came out.
An army of humans lined up against a monster legion on the plains.
On a table placed between the two sides were dishes and baskets, and unexpectedly, the savory smell of garlic chicken wafted delightfully.
“Behold! This is garlic chicken developed by me, Galik Fried Chicken.”
A man with a shifty appearance like a courtier lifted the cloth covering the basket.
The chicken, beautifully golden and appetizing, glistened with oil.
“I don’t know what grudges you hold, but isn’t this all just to make a living? This chicken is made from the prized throat of a Coca-tries from the Demon Realm. If you have the courage to accept my goodwill, you’re welcome to eat.”
“No way!”
“Think again, Lady. The body of the Coca-tries carries supreme poison. If the chef messes up or doesn’t properly clean the innards, the poison could spread through the flesh.”
Reap quickly offered advice.
Then she sensed something odd shortly thereafter.
“Lady, did you just say you don’t want it?”
“Yep! I don’t want to eat that!”
“…Can you please explain why the Lady who loves food is refusing it before I even explained?”
“It’s a secret!”
The Lady could easily differentiate between food she likes and the food she couldn’t eat.
While Reap was impressed anew, General Galik chuckled and spread his arms grandly.
“Did you see that? Record this, scribe. The garlic chicken of Galik Fried Chicken is so fearsome that it cannot even be eaten by the heir of the foundation and the fallen princess leading an army of 100,000 monsters!”
Scratch-scratch.
The scribe’s pen busily moved.
“Huh~so slow! That’s first-year first-semester level!”
Masugaki Princess laughed at the scribe’s speedwriting and felt a sense of superiority in a strange place.
“Well, it’s not that I can’t eat out of fear. Eating garlic-flavored food leads to bad breath, you see. Then I can’t use the mosquitoes to drink blood!”
“Did you hear that, scribe? The heir of the foundation is like a vampire bat, weak to garlic, and this Galik Fried Chicken is indeed the destined foe!”
Scratch-scratch-scratch.
As if consciously aware of the princess’s smirk, the scribe’s pen began to move a bit faster than before.
Seeing this, the Masugaki Princess stifled a quiet chuckle and pulled out a notebook and pen.
Shishishishishi.
“!!!”
The scribe’s pupils trembled wildly.
This is what true speedwriting looks like!
But Eungchilgeom, peering over the notebook, looked like someone whose chaos was unleashed.
These were not the sort of people to lose their cool.
Though they’d shown moments of detachment from life throughout their journey, they were fundamentally gentle souls who seldom got mad.
What could be making him so angry?
Reap quietly moved towards them.
And while recalling Eungchilgeom’s pain, she understood it deeply.
[I can write faster than you, so you’re mad right? I’m controlling the scribe’s feelings now!]
He was clearly holding back laughter, not anger.
This trickster princess was jotting down any nonsense!
“Then would you like to try this, uncle?”
The Lady pulled out a pitch-black candy from the very bottom of her pocket.
The formidable Galik General was taken aback by the blue glow emanating from the magic recess.
“Oh my, the heir of the foundation walks around with such a sinister candy. Are you asking me to eat poison that could wipe out colossal beings in a single bite?”
“Hmm. Scribe Uncle, write this down too. General Galik is such a cowardly general that he can’t even eat a candy handed to him by a child!”
Fueled by the Masugaki Princess, the scribe’s hand moved with such intensity it seemed ready to pierce the paper.
“That doesn’t need to be recorded!”
Even Galik General’s retainers struggled to suppress their laughter, their faces turning red.
With the morale disbanded and the military discipline shattered, Galik General pointed at the Lady, commanding like a warden.
“Immediately disband the monster legion and calmly put on control cuffs, or His Majesty the Emperor will immediately execute you. This is your final warning. The moment you refuse, you become an enemy of the empire.”
“Ooooh, I see.”
“Do you know the seriousness of this situation? Whether you remain a mere innocent led astray by the evil Masugaki Second Princess or become infamous as a Dark Princess allied with evil depends on you!”
Surrendering and being dragged away or risking becoming an imperial enemy by fighting.
Even on this daunting crossroads, Reap thought there might be a chance for a peaceful surrender considering the absence of casualties among the imperial soldiers.
The Director of the Wahyhiemhai Foundation.
Papa Oknodie had that kind of power.
But both father and daughter laughed dismissively at Reap’s notions.
“Well, I guess there’s no helping it. Let’s just have a little more fun on the way!”
“What…?”
Galik General, astonished and stammering, suddenly found his body refusing to listen to him as he quickly channeled the Mana Flow Technique throughout.
He realized something.
Something as tiny as a mosquito stinger had punctured the nape of his neck, injecting loathsome Dark Mana.
A cunning paralysis poison tricked his senses, and a refined mana control technique made sure the Dark Mana flowed with his mana.
By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.
His neck and spine were quickly claimed by Dark Mana, rendering him unable to move.
In the brief 1.5 seconds he was preoccupied with trying to dispel the Dark Mana, the Lady lightly tapped his uvula with her finger.
“If the Garlic Uncle is a true man, you wouldn’t fear death and would struggle on. Or, alternatively, if you want to give up and surrender peacefully, that’s alright too.”
“Ugh…”
“But considering the scribe’s watching, it would be quite embarrassing to show a cowardly side. Wouldn’t it?”
“Ughhh…”
“Wow, you’re trying to be a real man? I’m touched! Even if you die today, history will record the dashing Garlic Uncle as the one who rejected the Dark Princess’s offer of surrender and chose death. How cool! Total Man!”
General Galik frantically shook his head in a clumsy plea for survival.
The terror-stricken expressions of his retainers looked on as the Lady boldly proclaimed.
“Your general is now my hostage. Clear the way!”
Reap pondered for a moment and thought she didn’t need the will tucked away in her pocket, so she crumpled it up.