Chapter 55: The Kings Slanderous Decree
Garrick the Rebel’s expression soured at Liam's words.
"Frost Monarch, we have no Divines here. Naturally, there is no one who can grant you a Divine Blessing."
Liam wasn't in a hurry. It would have been stranger if he could obtain a scroll like that with just a few words.
"No matter. Since I’m already here, is there anything you need help with? If there is, I’ll do what I can."
Garrick looked slightly moved. He fell into thought for a moment before speaking. "We need to escape our current predicament. We need a territory of our own, rather than hiding like rats in these woods."
"You want to establish a Fiefdom?" Liam asked, surprised.
Garrick nodded. "An ordinary Fiefdom won't do. We need a high-level Fiefdom—ideally, we need to seize a city."
Liam’s lips twitched. "I'm afraid I can't satisfy that request. My current strength isn't enough to go around capturing cities."
Garrick let out a helpless sigh. He seemed to have expected such an answer from Liam.
"What about a Lord's Heart?"
"I should be able to get my hands on one, but it will take some time."
"Fine." Garrick nodded. "Bring me a Lord's Heart, and I will provide you with unexpected benefits."
For Liam, trading a single Lord's Heart for the prerequisite Quest Scroll for the Blessing of the Gods was an absolute steal.
After leaving the area, Liam began planning how to obtain the item. He knew a few strategies for acquiring a Lord's Heart, but there weren't many known methods within The Astral Kingdom.
In his past life, very few people had managed to obtain a Lord's Heart and establish a Fiefdom within this specific kingdom.
But there were some. For example... Misty Snow!
Liam truly felt that Misty Snow’s luck was absurd.
The Luck State was a hidden stat; no one knew their exact numerical value. It was rumored to be tied to one's reality.
In his previous life, Liam's parents had passed away, his sister had died, and he was nothing more than a corporate slave. His Luck State was bottom-tier. According to later analyses, many probability issues in the game were directly linked to the Luck State.
Furthermore, there was a mechanic known as LCK Suppression.
For instance, if Liam’s Death Cycle had a one-percent trigger rate, his actual trigger rate would be even lower than that because of his poor Luck State. Exactly how much lower depended on the specific value of the stat.
Then there was the LCK Suppression itself.
If someone with a high Luck State encountered an opponent with a ninety-five percent critical hit rate, that opponent might hit them ten times without landing a single crit.
It was even more ridiculous when a low-LCK player fought a high-LCK player. Even with a ninety-nine percent critical hit attribute, the low-LCK player might not trigger a single crit in ten hits against the high-LCK target.
Conversely, a high-LCK player with only a five percent crit rate might land four or five crits out of ten hits against a low-LCK target. That was the staggering gap between them.
Misty Snow had always been known as one of those players with an incredibly high Luck State.
She had obtained Gold-Grade Gear in the Novice Village and secured a Lord's Heart before she even reached her Second Advancement.
The kicker was that she wasn't particularly strong individually. Nor were the people around her, as she tended to favor her own inner circle regardless of talent. Yet, a person like that always managed to stumble into incredible opportunities.
In his past life, Misty Snow hadn't publicly released the guide on how she got her Lord's Heart. However, since Liam had been a Gold-Miner for her company back then, he still knew a thing or two.
It seemed she had completed a chain quest—and the most frustrating part was that it wasn't even a high-difficulty chain.
Liam had earned many rewards on his journey so far, but almost none of them had come easy. They were all rewards he had carved out through sheer violence using his Beyond God-Tier status.
Emerging from the Black-Wind Mountains, Liam headed straight for Blackwind City. Misty Snow's chain quest had apparently started there.
However, before Liam could reach the city, a message from Berserk arrived.
"Frost Monarch, my people just saw a notice posted at the city gates. There’s a ban issued against you."
Berserk followed up by sending a screenshot of the proclamation.
PROCLAMATION OF BANISHMENT
The Frost Monarch is a heartless Berserker who knows no bounds. In broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of the heavens, he dared to attempt to violate our beloved Princess Tiana.
Thanks to the loyal protection of the nine Silver-Grade generals of House Volkov, Princess Tiana was able to escape that den of iniquity.
However, the Frost Monarch, enraged by his failure, committed an act that outraged both gods and men. He turned his depravity upon the nine Silver-Grade generals of House Volkov, committing acts beneath the dignity of a beast.
Despite their desperate resistance, the nine Silver-Grade generals were brutally murdered by the Frost Monarch, their bodies left stripped and naked in the wilderness.
This King shall seek justice for Princess Tiana and the fallen generals of House Volkov. Effective immediately:
From this day forward, the Frost Monarch and dogs are forbidden from entering the Capital City of The Astral Kingdom. The citizens of The Astral Kingdom are hereby forbidden from issuing any quests or providing any assistance to the Frost Monarch.
Issued on September 11th, Year 6661 of the Astral Calendar, by King Abraham!
Liam’s mouth twitched as he read the contents.
A ban was one thing, but what the hell was this long-winded nonsense?
And the way they twisted the facts was absolutely insane. He tried to "molest" Tiana? Fine, whatever. But when did he ever commit "acts that outraged gods and men" against those nine burly men of House Volkov?
This was slander. Pure, unadulterated slander!
And another thing. It was bad enough to ban him from the city, but why did they have to add "and dogs"?
Liam felt a sudden, burning urge to erase Tiana’s name from The Tome of Mortality and replace it with King Abraham’s.
But he quickly suppressed the thought. The health-drain ability of his Tome of Mortality wasn't yet a threat to a powerhouse of Abraham's level.
"Thanks. You saved me a wasted trip," Liam replied to Berserk.
He had a bit of a headache now. Being unable to enter the Capital City meant he couldn't take quests from NPCs. King Abraham had effectively checkmated him.
Liam had suppressed Tiana, weakened Seraphina, and prevented Leona from obtaining The Stellar Mercantile. Now, Abraham was using the pretext of Tiana and the nine generals to exile him, ensuring that everything in The Astral Kingdom remained under his control.
"Heh. After everything I did, it turns out I was just working for you, King Abraham. You really are a master manipulator."
A cold glint flashed in Liam's eyes. "But so what if you've calculated every move? If you want to play, I’ll play along."
In his past life, he had spent his whole existence as a corporate slave. In this life, having finally risen, he despised the feeling of being someone else's pawn. Even if the one manipulating him was King Abraham, it wouldn't stand.
"I thought attacking the Capital City was impossible before. Now, it seems there’s no other choice!"
Liam’s eyes burned with killing intent and a hint of... madness.
Liam had originally planned to take his time and play around with the power players of The Astral Kingdom, using the opportunity to collect the Divine Blessings of the ten Eastern Deities.
But since Abraham wanted to treat him like a pawn, Liam had no choice but to deliver a "Kingdom Fall" gift package to his doorstep.
Against other nations, even with his current stats, standing his ground would be incredibly difficult. However, he happened to possess the ability to negate Cryo-Element damage. In a nation like The Astral Kingdom that worshipped Eira, the Frost Goddess, the vast majority of damage dealt was Cryo-based.
In other words, fighting above his level was entirely possible here.
Tiana was proof of that. Her combat power was certainly lower than the veteran powerhouses of the kingdom, but the gap wouldn't be insurmountable. The power ceiling of The Astral Kingdom was generally capped within the Third Advancement. Under normal circumstances, there were no Third Advancement or higher classes here. Even if they did exist, they likely wouldn't interfere casually.
Therefore, Liam had a genuine chance at a city-wide massacre.
As for his confidence? Beyond God-Tier, the Purifying Jade Amulet, Death Cycle, The Deicide Mark... these were all his trump cards.
But his greatest reliance for taking on the Capital City was the skill Instant Rebirth.
While it was true that dying would cause him to lose levels, he could revive instantly. Furthermore, his gear basically had no level requirements. As long as he ensured he could trigger Instant Rebirth upon death, his gear was safe.
Still, attacking the Capital City alone wasn't enough. Even with the eighty-five percent crowd-control resistance from the Purifying Jade Amulet, he could still be CC’d to death.
He needed allies.
For example, The Insurgents of the Black-Wind Mountains or The Night-Walkers of The Demon's Den. Both were groups Liam could potentially recruit.
But they weren't the core solution. They could help, but they couldn't solve the fundamental problem.
If he wanted a true ally, there was only one choice: Hanba the Drought-Bringer!
Hanba's questline hadn't been triggered in his past life, but Liam had brought her out in this one. His past experience told him that Hanba was far more than just a simple world boss.
She was Fire-aligned, while The Astral Kingdom was Ice-aligned—an Stage 2 elemental conflict. There was almost certainly a deep connection there, and they were most likely mortal enemies.
However, Liam didn't know where Hanba was currently. She had disappeared after her initial appearance, likely busy with her own affairs.
"The Blade, I’m using your Fiefdom to log off."
Liam didn't dare log off in just any random spot now. Setting aside whether players would attack him, those old foxes in the Capital City wouldn't let him off easily. If they did something untoward to his character while he was logged out in the wild, he’d have nowhere to go to complain.
He needed to log off because he had been online for three days straight. He had to check on his sister. Even though he had hired people to care for her, he worried that they might get sloppy if he didn't show up for too long.
Berserk replied after a while. "Sure. If you need anything from the Capital City, let me know. Small favors are no problem."
"Thanks." Liam felt his opinion of the man rise significantly.
He arrived at Berserk's Fiefdom, which was currently under construction. Berserk had chosen a site on a mountain adjacent to the Black-Wind range; it was a natural fortress, easy to defend and hard to attack. Likely, the analysts from The Regency had picked it out.
Through the eyes of a normal player, the location was excellent. But in Liam's eyes, it was just... okay. Not terrible, but certainly not great—a barely passing grade.
He didn't say anything, though. There was no need. He entered Berserker's Domain and logged out.
Stepping out of the nutrient pod, Liam stretched his stiff limbs. While the pod provided all necessary nutrients, it couldn't compare to the satisfaction of hot pot, skewers, and a cold beer.
He called Barney to log off as well, and the two headed to the hospital.
"Liam, Monty's Innate Talent finally awakened. Guess what? It’s absolutely beastly!" Barney exclaimed. "The Polymath's Grace. It’s total development—all his stats are balanced. He chose the Warrior class. I feel like if it weren't for you, Liam, he’d be even more of a monster than me!"
Liam gave a noncommittal smile. He knew a bit about Monty’s talent. Instead of the usual five Ability Points (AP) per level, he would gain twenty-five, which would be distributed across all ten basic attributes. In other words, every level-up was the equivalent of gaining two hundred and fifty AP.
Of course, if that were the only benefit, it wouldn't be enough to truly stand out in the long run.
The two arrived at the hospital. The hired nurse was doing a great job; truthfully, there wasn't much to do for a person in a vegetative state. His sister was recovering well and was expected to be discharged in about ten days.
After visiting her, Liam and Barney grabbed hot pot before heading home.
Back online.
Liam began sketching out the plan to invade a Capital City. Before the main event, he needed to visit The Demon's Den and negotiate with those Night-Walkers. He needed to see if they could act as a distraction.
The Demon's Den was located deep within the Black-Wind Mountains. Since they were the sworn enemies of The Astral Kingdom, the mountains served as their natural shield.
Liam moved toward the location he remembered. In his past life, the Kingdom had once issued a national quest to invade The Demon's Den. Back then, killing a single Night-Walker rewarded ten AP and Kingdom Reputation.
He wondered if his presence this time would trigger a different outcome.
As he neared their territory, Liam found his path blocked. Standing before him was a Shrouded Guardian, draped in a black robe that completely concealed his features.
Mysterious Shrouded Guardian: ???
HP: ???
Attack: ???
Skills: ???
(Description: A mysterious existence living within the Black-Wind Mountains. He is immensely powerful. It is best to stay away, or he won't mind giving you a free trip back to the city.)
Liam knew this man was one of the protectors of The Demon's Den. He stood there silently, like a statue. But Liam knew that this Mysterious Shrouded Guardian was actually one of the three leaders of the Night-Walkers. Because he was always veiled, players had eventually named him The Veiled Overseer.
"You killed Valerius Geryon, yet you dare show your face here."
The Veiled Overseer spoke, his voice raspy and laced with killing intent. He had clearly recognized the mark left on Liam by Demon King Geryon.
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