The Swords of the Gods grew even more shaken when they heard Nerva give his permission to Minhyuk. God of Archery Miao even murmured to herself, “No way. It’s not true, right…?”

Of course, there was a chance it was not the truth. But what was Nerva so afraid of right now? Why was he willing to send Minhyuk and his men away when they tried to kill him?

This might be the only natural course of action. There were already three living and breathing witnesses present in this hall. If Sword of the Gods Luo opened his mouth and said, then the words that Rålszd and Don said would gain more credibility.

Luo was naturally Minhyuk’s man. However, he was also once a member of the Luvien Empire. The same was true for Rålszd and Don. If all three of them turned against the Luvien Empire and told the people what Nerva had done, chaos would ensue.

But even if Nerva told them, none of the Swords of the Gods would move. Even though he was an emperor, the thought alone that the man they served used immoral and despicable means to reach that height was enough to confuse them. To top it off, Rålszd and Don, the two people they trusted and followed, might not actually be traitors added to their confusion.

Meanwhile, Duke Vlad, sitting on the sidelines, suddenly had an idea. He thought,

Minhyuk helped Don up while Sword of the Gods Luo protected him on the side. Before leaving with his men, Minhyuk turned to look back at Nerva Sephiroth.

“Your Majesty! How can you let them go just like that?!”

“Is it true?! Did you really sit on your throne by using such immoral, despicable, and evil means?!”

Duke Vlad stopped them from questioning Nerva. He stepped forward and said, “Enough. Even if that is true, it does not remove the fact that he is the emperor you serve, right?”

Minhyuk’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Duke Vlad.

Of course, Duke Vlad’s words were valid. After all, nothing would change even if they knew that Nerva ascended to his throne using such despicable methods. Ultimately, the Swords of the Gods would continue to fight for the Luvien Empire and follow behind their emperor, Nerva.

However, there would be no end to the hushed conversations that they would have amongst themselves.

Duke Vlad and Minhyuk’s eyes met. Minhyuk realized that he could not read anything through the man’s expression.

Meanwhile, Nerva stood still as he looked at the debris of his statue on the floor. Minhyuk was about to step outside and saw Rålszd looking at Nerva.

“Sir Rålszd?”

Rålszd was now Minhyuk’s talent. Of course, just like he said before, he only had a few days left to live. Perhaps he would die today, or if not, maybe tomorrow. But with the help of Saintess Loyna or the God of Alchemists Mandala, his lifespan could still be extended for at least a year or two.

However, Rålszd just turned to look at Minhyuk with a bitter smile before shaking his head slowly.

“...”

Minhyuk could not say anything. In the first place, it seemed like Rålszd did not want to live any longer. It was purely Minhyuk’s greed to take him in so he could reinforce his military power.

Brod gently placed a hand on Minhyuk’s shoulder. There was also a bitter smile on his face. Rålszd should have had a very relaxed and comfortable death. But he chose to help them get Don out of his predicament even if it cost him his life.

Right now, Rålszd was like the brightest Sun. The only thing that Minhyuk could do was bow to him.

Rålszd thought, greeting Minhyuk with his own small bow.

Minhyuk left the imperial palace with his men, leaving Rålszd behind. Then, Duke Vlad said, “We should go out, too. It seems that His Majesty and the traitor have something to discuss.”

“...”

Those words were not said for the sake of Nerva and Rålszd. Theyhad something to talk about—an emperor and a traitor? That was already enough to cast doubts among the people. But Nerva did not make any excuses, and this was also why the previous words gained more credibility. At this moment, the trust and faith of the Swords of the Gods in Nerva were slowly collapsing.

After Duke Vlad took everyone out, Rålszsd continued to look at Nerva, standing in a daze in front of the wreckage of his collapsed statue.

“Why? Why did you do it?”

“...”

Nerva did not regret what he had done. However, for some reason, a sense of dejection slowly flooded his senses. He could also tell that Rålszd’s days were numbered. Perhaps it was because he knew this fact that he was willing to speak his heart out to this subordinate, who once trusted and followed him.

“I was jealous of ” Nerva said as he stared at where Brod disappeared from. “I knew it right from the beginning. I lack the qualifications to become the Sun. But even so, I still wanted it more and more. I did not want to disappoint you and the others.”

“...”

“After trying it once, it became much easier. Since then, I have lived a life of taking things when I need them and throwing them away when they are useless to me. It was very convenient.”

“...”

“You must think that I’m dirty and hideous too, huh?” Nerva asked, his gaze focused on Rålszd.

At that moment, Rålszd suddenly keeled over and vomited a mouthful of blood. “Urk!”

Down on the ground, he looked up at Nerva and said, “You might be dirty and hideous, but you are the emperor I served.”

Just like Minhyuk had Ben, Nerva once had subordinates who were willing to risk everything for his sake. There were even some who were willing to give their lives just so they could protect him. And one of them was Rålszd.

“I still can’t forget it. You told me that you would create a peaceful world and build a place without war and fighting. You even told me that you would live with me there.”

This was the Nerva of the past. But now, not even a shadow of this man was left behind in Nerva. Even so, Rålszd stretched out his trembling hand and held Nerva’s. He said, “Your Majesty.”

“...”Nerva’s eyes reddened. Perhaps it was because he was facing a dying subordinate, and that was why the pureness he had left behind in the past had reappeared. Rålszd was very much aware that Nerva had already come a long way and could never return to how he was before.

“You have become bigger, stronger, and more powerful. So, why does it look like you’re unhappy? I hope that you can shine brightly and…” The light in Rålszd’s eyes slowly dimmed. As his head slowly fell, he used the last of his strength to say, “...be able to smile.”

Nerva held Rålszd’s hand tightly and could not let go for a very long time.

***

The moment Minhyuk led his men out of the palace, he warped back to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Not long after he returned, he heard a notification.

Although they hadn’t been together for a long time, Minhyuk still found the man to be unfortunate and pitiful. Seeing that he had died, Minhyuk still felt a sense of bitterness well up in him.

“Sir Rålszd has died,” Minhyuk said.

Brod said, “Please don’t take it too much to heart. Sir Rålszd might have hated Nerva, but he was loyal to his very core. He must have been happy that he was able to fall into eternal sleep in Nerva's arms.”

Minhyuk nodded, recalling the bittersweet scene. However, he still put it behind him and immediately summoned the Beyond the Heavens’ priests. He also ordered someone to bring him some of Mandala’s Recovery Potion. The moment they came, they immediately began to heal Don, who was suffering from several severe and life-threatening injuries.

“How is he?”

“He’ll stabilize soon,” one of the priests answered.

Minhyuk nodded. Now, all that was left for him to deal with was Valentino. He turned to the man and said, “Valentino, immediately set out for Aveid Territory. Pioneer and develop this barren land.”“I understand.” Valentino did not say anything more. He was very much aware of the situation that he was in. He immediately left after receiving his orders.

Minhyuk, who watched him leave, checked out the status of their newly recruited talent, Don.

Don was a more powerful talent than Luo. However, based on what he had experienced, he looked like he needed to take a break first. Besides, even though Minhyuk was highly favorable to him, he could not say that they had a close relationship as an emperor and a vassal. That was also why he intended to leave Don by Brod’s side for now.

Minhyuk was feeling quite hungry. Perhaps it was because he had been working hard lately?

But didn’t the others say that people would go and find something delicious whenever they were sad, too?

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Minhyuk said, only to see Carron entering his office.

Minhyuk met and talked with Carron a lot these past few days. After recruiting the man to their side, Minhyuk saw a significant increase in migrants joining Beyond the Heavens Empire. And this was all thanks to Carron’s efforts.

“I’m thinking of uploading Valentino’s interview next. I came here to ask for your approval. Is that okay?”

“You interviewed Valentino too?”

“Yes. Aside from Your Majesty, Ali, and Death, I believe it would help us recruit more tankers if Valentino was interviewed. After all, it would give them insight into why a person from the Luvien Empire decided to change sides and join the Beyond the Heavens Empire.”

“I see.”

“You look quite exhausted,” Carron suddenly said.

Minhyuk could not deny those words. “That’s right. I think I would feel better after eating something delicious. Do you have any good ingredients with you?”

“Don’t we have a lot of ingredients here in the empire?”

That was right. There were plenty of ingredients for Minhyuk to choose from and eat in the empire. But what Minhyuk wanted were not those ingredients but something special, something a bit more… delicious.

Seeing the expression on Minhyuk’s face, Carron realized that Minhyuk wanted some special ingredients. So, he thought long and hard about where Minhyuk could find some. Then, he said, “Your Majesty, why don’t you try and participate in the Infinite Battlefield?”

***

The executives were currently in the middle of a meeting inside one of Joy Co. Ltd’s conference rooms.

“We have seen a slight increase in stock prices after experiencing positive effects from our recent events and ads.”

President Kang Taehoon nodded in understanding. The Event Team’s leader used the light from the projection screen, the only light in the room, and pressed a button to shift to the next slide of the presentation.

“Next, we’re going to talk about the Infinite Battlefield.”

Simply put, the Infinite Battlefield was a place where anyone could duel. Players could freely join and fight to their hearts' content, and this had existed since the start of Athenae.

Kang Taehoon nodded as he listened to the report about the Infinite Battlefield.

“Ever since the update, the utilization rate of the Infinite Battlefield could be said to have increased by almost five times the normal utilization rate.”

“That’s right. Thanks to the update we made two months ago, the players could now compete freely against each other regardless of the players’ level.”

President Kang Taehoon looked at the next slide of the presentation and exclaimed in admiration, “That’s amazing.”

Then, he saw a familiar player’s name on the list of participants. This player was Alexander, the Weapon Master and the first Eight Pillars-class player.

“He has won 786 matches out of 786 in just two months…”

The executives were left stunned when they saw the report.

“This is proof that the Weapon Master is the best.”

The main reason why Alexander decided to participate in the Infinite Battlefield was because of his class. That was right. This was related to how he could acquire additional skills from his Weapon Master class.

If he could win 100 consecutive wins in the Infinite Battlefield, his qualifications would be recognized, and he would be able to obtain more skills. After receiving those skills, Alexander had grown rampant inside the Infinite Battlefield.

“From what it looks like, we can say that Alexander is undoubtedly going to be the Infinite Battlefield MVP this year,” President Kang Taehoon said. And, of course, no one could deny that.

“Let’s first discuss the ‘Infinite Battle’ and the ‘Battle of the Stars’, which will both be held inside the Infinite Battlefield.”

The Infinite Battle and the Battle of the Stars were events that Joy Co. Ltd. had prepared. However, disregarding the Infinite Battle, everyone knew that the Battle of the Stars would only be fun and exciting if excellent people like Alexander participated.President Kang Taehoon smiled bitterly.

President Kang Taehoon left the conference hall after entertaining such thoughts. When he walked out, he saw Team Leader Park Minggyu at the other end of the hallway. Why was Team Leader Park Minggyu not present during the meeting? His work had nothing to do with what they discussed in the meeting.

Team Leader Park rushed to Kang Taehoon and said, “President, I have something to report.”

“What is it?”

Minggyu said, “Player Minhyuk has created a character in the Infinite Battlefield.”