Eurius and Lee Cheongmun.

The leaders of both sides agreed, and the negotiation was done in an instant.

The conditions they proposed were very simple.

The winner takes all.

It was a natural outcome, since the war itself would be meaningless if one of them fell.

“Then we have settled the terms. Let’s meet at the place of the duel later.”

Knowing that it was the final battle, Lee Cheongmun readily agreed to the demand to release the people he had detained in the palace.

“Hmm…”

“Father! Are you all right?”

Eurius hurriedly ran to support the old man with a sturdy physique who walked out of the palace.

Rescuing the emperor was one of the reasons he negotiated.

He didn’t know what Lee Cheongmun would do, but he didn’t trust the Holy Kingdom either.

“Eurius! You bastard!”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Instead of supporting him, the emperor punched Eurius in the head.

It was a sincere punch that made him feel pain.

After all, he had been wandering around without permission, hadn’t he?

Come to think of it, he had also fled to the Eastern Continent in a rogue-like manner.

‘He must be very angry this time. How do I appease him?’

In fact, this kind of punch was nothing to Eurius, but he pretended to hold his head and cry out in pain.

“Ow… I came to rescue you and you hit me? Father, you’re too harsh.”

“You… still…”

The emperor glared at him with an angry expression, but soon sighed.

“Phew… For now, explain what’s going on.”

‘I’m glad he looks healthy.’

Eurius breathed a sigh of relief inwardly and briefly explained to the emperor what had happened so far.

.

.

.

.

.

“…That’s how it happened.”

“Hmm… You went to the Eastern Continent without a word and now you’re up against someone absurd again.”

It was a hard-to-believe story involving players, Lee Cheongmun, Sharnos the Great Emperor, and so on, but the emperor accepted it for now.

He also saw Lee Cheongmun, who had taken over Leon’s body, so there was some evidence.

‘Then what about Leon, that kid?’

“…”

There was no finger that didn’t hurt when he bit all ten fingers.

The emperor’s face darkened for a moment as he thought of his second son, but soon returned to a calm expression.

“So do you have confidence in winning? From what I heard, it’s a dangerous gamble where you lose everything if you lose.”

He looked worried about Eurius’s decision.

Lee Cheongmun was one of the two legendary warriors in the history of the continent. No matter how outstanding Eurius was, he was not even thirty yet.“I have to win. No, I will definitely win.”

But Eurius emphasized his victory in front of his father.

He wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t say anything weak.

“Hmm… Is that so?”

The emperor smiled contentedly and made a condition.

“Then can you promise me one thing as your father?”

“A promise?”

‘Well, it must be something like come back alive, right?’

Eurius thought it was no big deal and quickly answered.

“I will keep any promise you make.”

“Is that what you said?”

The emperor smiled meaningfully and got to the point.

“I don’t want to be emperor anymore.”

“What?”

“I’ll prepare your coronation ceremony as soon as this is over. I’ll hand it over to you and take a break.”

“…!?”

‘Oops! I forgot because he was so calm.’

Eurius’s face turned into that of someone who had eaten a bug. How busy had he been?

He had traveled back and forth between the north and south of the continent, fought fierce power struggles in the palace, and experienced all kinds of things in the East.

He wanted to rest for a few years after solving this problem.

‘This invasion by the Holy Kingdom is a huge event… Even if I solve this, I won’t be able to rest for years!’

“Hmm… I understand.”

But he couldn’t take back what he had said in this situation.

The emperor chuckled as he saw Eurius bow his head with a grim expression.

“So don’t you have one more reason to win for me?”

“…!?”

The emperor emphasized with force.

“You have to win in order to receive the throne. This is an order from me as an emperor!”

“…”

Eurius clenched his mouth for a moment. He realized the emperor’s intention behind offering such a condition before the result was even out. It was a sign of the emperor’s full support and trust in him.

It meant that he had no doubt that he would win. And so did the others who believed in him.

‘Sigh… I can’t afford to lose. It would be a disaster if I did.’

He let out a light breath and felt the burden on his shoulders become heavier, but his mind became lighter.

‘I will win for sure.’

At this moment, he felt his chances of victory increase by a notch.

***

There was a vast plain in front of the imperial capital. This was the place that Eurius had chosen as the battleground.

Buzzing.

Today, this place was filled with countless people who came from all directions.

The people who came from the capital side were the forces of the Holy Kingdom.

And on the opposite side, there were tens of times more people gathered on the plain than those who came from the capital.

“Your Majesty, I wish you good luck.”

“I trust my friend. You are not someone who would lose in a place like this.”Marius and Nuada, who came down from the north.

They were the ones who had known and been with Eurius for the longest time, both in his previous life and now.

Their encouragement was especially precious to Eurius.

“I owe you a great debt. I hope you consider this as a partial repayment.”

Karim, who led the troops of the Desert Kingdom.

He readily agreed to come up with his enemy country Kalihara, who had a personal grudge against him, at Eurius’s request.

It was because he believed that Eurius’s request was worth it.

“I pray for your victory, my lord.”

“Hehe… It’s ironic that your last opponent is Lee Cheongmun, the martial arts examiner. But it’s also a challenge.”

Finally, the people of the Eastern Continent, including Jegal Sehak.

In fact, Eurius did not expect them to cooperate either. The enemy was their martial arts examiner, the legendary master Lee Cheongmun.

“What’s so difficult about that?”

“Didn’t you know, my lord?”

“What?”

Emperor Scharnos looked at him with a disappointed expression.

“Didn’t you have a way to beat that old man? That’s why you boasted so confidently, right?

“Of course, I have some ideas of my own.”

“Then why…”

“But you’re still hiding something from me, aren’t you?”

“…!?”

“You don’t expect me to fight him with nothing but my bare hands, do you?”

The Emperor was speechless for a moment.

“…Did you know?”

Eurius replied with a good-natured tone.

“I didn’t know for sure, but I was convinced after I got hit by Lee Cheongmun’s fist. I don’t think I can beat him even if I reach a higher level of cultivation.”

“I see… You’re a quick-witted one.”

The Emperor licked his tongue and then told him the truth he had been hiding.

“The truth is, he has more than just cultivation that sets him apart from you. He has a fundamental advantage in his specs that you can’t overcome unless you’re an unprecedented genius. It’s hard to beat him by normal means.”

That’s right!

Just like Eurius had been knocked out by one blow before, Lee Cheongmun had hundreds of years of training and experience, as well as a powerful inner force. And he had taken over Leon’s body, which was like adding wings to a tiger.

“To be honest, I would have lost too if I had only relied on martial arts. I was a gamer, not a martial artist.”

“…!?”

But then how did the Emperor manage to defeat Lee Cheongmun? The answer was in the ‘quest’.

The Emperor shook his index finger from side to side.

“Do you think I asked you to do that for no reason? You also learned about the player’s knowledge once, right?”

“Ah!”

Eurius caught on. The Emperor smiled slyly and held out both hands.

“If this is a world with a game system, then the outcome is not determined by skill alone.”

Whiiiiing!

Ziiiiing!

In one hand, he had a bead that swirled with intense whirlwinds. In the other hand, he had a bead that vibrated with tingling sensations.

[Essence of Azure Dragon – Consuming it will give you the power of the Azure Dragon that controls wind and rain.]

[Essence of White Tiger – Consuming it will give you the power of the White Tiger that controls earth and metal.]

What the Emperor brought out were two divine artifacts that Eurius had not yet obtained.

He chuckled and muttered.

“If I’m not skilled enough, I’ll have to rely on [items], right?”