Little Tyrant Doesn’t Want to Meet with a Bad End

Roel believed that every fight fought should come with its rewards, but the reward he received from the Battle of Scorched Earth was not anything he had expected.

“Hu, hu, hu…”

Listening to her light breathing, touching her smooth skin that was comparable to the finest silk, and feeling her body’s warmth, Roel looked at Charlotte’s sleeping visage with gentle eyes as he thought about recent happenings.

An intense fight over Roel’s nights had commenced when Lilian awakened him the other day. Even Wilhelmina had joined the competition, hiking up the already intense rivalry. Admittedly, Wilhelmina mostly spent the nights chatting with him, not attempting anything, but it still brought him glares from the other three women.

Of course, this was just a minor matter compared to the recent happenings in the united army.

On the united army’s second day at Hawe Desert’s outskirts, Holy Eminence John and the others returned from the battlefield safe and sound, though they didn’t escape unscathed from their fights with the deviants’ Race Sovereigns.

Deviants were blessed with superior physical prowess and regenerative capability, making them difficult opponents for human transcendents of the same Origin Level. It was inevitable that the three renowned Origin Level 1 transcendents suffered significant injuries after a day of battle.

Holy Eminence John and Principal Antonio had mostly recovered from their injuries by the time they arrived at the temporary barracks, but Sword Saint King Friedrich was less fortunate. The injuries he had sustained from his battle with Swordghost were infused with a blood-red mana that interrupted his recovery.

Much to Friedrich’s relief, Nora was able to assimilate and neutralize the blood-red mana with her Angel Sovereign Bloodline, allowing him to recover without a hitch.

Following that, Holy Eminence John and the others paid a visit to Roel to check on his condition and update him on the most recent happenings.

The Six Calamities continued to linger above Hawe Desert after the united army’s retreat, but they showed no further signs of aggression. The human armies stationed along the eastern border’s frontline had also withdrawn their troops, thus concluding the battles on that front.

There was a mix of victories and defeats, but on the whole, humankind had gained much more than it had lost in this battle.

Roel’s triumph over the Deviant Sovereign and the return of the disappeared Tark Stronghold’s personnel had greatly roused the morale of the united army. Nora had a touching reunion with her father, Kane Xeclyde, and Holy Eminence John was spared the agony of losing a son.

Holy Eminence John had previously expressed his intent to confer sainthood upon Roel after he defeated one of the Six Calamities, but Roel had suddenly gone missing. There had been some contention regarding this matter within the Genesis Goddess Church back then, but all voices of dissension had fizzled out now that he had saved Tark Stronghold’s hundred thousand soldiers.

It helped that there were a number of high-ranking clergymen among Tark Stronghold’s hundred thousand elites, and Roel’s victory over the Deviant Sovereign sweetened the deal.

“There are very few precedents of living saints in our Genesis Goddess Church. The influence you wield will be comparable to mine. However, I promise you that you won’t be forced to take on an official position in the church. You’ll be able to remain an independent and neutral party,” Holy Eminence John told Roel inside the tent.

“Grandpa?” Nora widened her eyes.

She had intended to exploit this matter to get Roel to spend more time at the Holy Capital, but she could only drop those thoughts now. She could only direct an annoyed glare at Roel.

Prince Kane also paid a visit to Roel to relay his gratitude. He asked about Carter, seemingly intending to look for his old friend to recuperate together. Getting devoured by Shrouding Fog had left him and Tark Stronghold’s hundred thousand elites with some side effects. It would take them some time to recover their strength, though no one was too concerned about that.

The victory at the Battle of Scorched Earth had tilted the scales between humankind and the deviants. Humankind was no longer facing an immediate risk of extinction, especially since the Six Calamities weren’t making a move. Elation rippled in the united army, and the atmosphere finally lightened. Quite a few people were planning to take a break.

Much to Roel’s surprise, Holy Eminence John and the others didn’t lighten up despite humankind’s long-awaited comeback.

“This event is a turning point. Humankind finally has the power to oppose the gods, but this is only the start. Humankind’s greatest threat is the Tripartite Alliance’s apocalypse prophecy. We can’t drop our guard as long as the war between the Savior and the Mother Goddess persists.”

“…Indeed.” Roel’s fevered emotions cooled down upon hearing Antonio’s words. He thought about the battles that had unfolded in the ancient era and nodded in agreement.

Holy Eminence John and the others proceeded to share their idea with him.

“You want humankind to become a third power to balance the influence of the Mother Goddess and the Savior? That doesn’t sound plausible.”

“It would have been impossible in the past, but you now possess the power to defeat the gods. That’s enough for you to assume the role. For one, your triumph over the Deviant Sovereign had created an opportunity for the Mother Goddess’ Six Calamities to strike.”

“…” Roel was rendered speechless.

It belatedly struck him that he had the power to influence the war between the Mother Goddess and the Savior now that he had grasped Sia-fication. This meant that he was no longer a pawn but one of the players on the table.

Even so, he was still averse to Antonio’s proposal due to the memories of his time spent in the Witness State.

He had no idea if the happenings in the Witness State had changed the Mother Goddess, but they had most definitely changed him. He had initially viewed the Mother Goddess as an enemy and vowed to exterminate the Six Calamities, but that was no longer the case.

Perhaps he had been averting his eyes from the possibility of confronting the Mother Goddess in battle, but the circumstances were forcing him into it. It didn’t help that he had no leads on Alicia, who had most likely left under the Mother Goddess’ influence.

Frustrated, Roel fell silent.

Holy Eminence John and the others, who knew about Alicia’s situation, understood his dilemma and decided to change the topic to another matter—Roel’s reproduction plan.

“Ah? Having children? Me?” Roel gaped.

“Of course! You’re the only one who possesses the Kingmaker Bloodline. That’s too dangerous! What if something happens to you? For the sake of humankind, you need to expand the Ascart House quickly!” Holy Eminence John said.

“The usual way is to gather in a hundred suitably-aged women and keep trying, but I suppose there’ll be strong objections to that, right?” Antonio asked as he glanced at the four women with awful complexions standing by the side.

“Please don’t joke about this, Principal Antonio. I absolutely won’t allow such a thing to happen,” Nora declared with a cold, affirmative voice.

“Are you asking me to share my fiancé with a hundred women?” Charlotte asked menacingly as if threatening anyone else to affirm those words.

The murderous intent seeping from the two women made Antonio heave a helpless sigh. As if this wasn’t frightening enough, the frigid-faced Lilian stepped forward.

“Even within the Kingmaker Clan, the chances of giving birth to a transcendent of Roel’s caliber are extremely slim. This is evident from the Ascart House’s genealogy. Rather than blindly dive in and hope for the best, I believe it’d be wiser to go about it in a more strategic manner.”

“What do you propose?”

“We should only select the most outstanding women to nurture the descendants of the Kingmaker Clan. Unless someone is able to defeat us, I believe that the three of us suffice.”

“The three of you?” Antonio first glanced at Lilian, Nora, and Charlotte with narrowed eyes before turning to Wilhelmina, who had turned pale from the direction the conversation was going. “Yes, I see your point, and I agree that’s the wiser move here. However, if you’re talking about someone who can defeat you, Her Highness Wilhelmina fulfills that criterion too, no?” ｂ𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎ｌ.ｎｅｔ

Nora and Charlotte widened their eyes, whereas Wilhelmina’s face turned bright red.

Wilhelmina was an Origin Level 1 transcendent who possessed the Dragon Bloodline and had mastered Swordheart despite her young age. There was no doubt that she was one of the most outstanding women in the Sia Continent. In fact, Lilian had knowingly avoided mentioning her so as to use her as one of the chips in the negotiation.

“Ah? M-me too?”

“…Fine, I’ll permit it. This is the greatest leeway I can allow. Principal Antonio, I hope that you’ll accord us the respect we deserve and not probe our limits any further than this.” Lilian paid no heed to the flustered Wilhelmina as she declared her stance.

Antonio could sense the threat lying beneath her words. He might have made this proposal with humankind’s survival in mind, but it was clear that the four women weren’t willing to reason it out with him.

Even if the world ended tomorrow, they would never allow a hundred women to cuckquean them.

Nora, Charlotte, Lilian, and Wilhelmina were future rulers who would inherit the crowns of their respective countries. They might not be able to stop Antonio if he insisted on having his way today, but they would make sure that he dearly regretted this decision in the future.

Unless the Country of Scholars found a way to escape from the face of the Sia Continent, there was no way he would be able to escape from their frightening wrath.