The Overlord of Blood and Iron (WN)

“Ahh…”

Kang Chul-In now recalled that it was around this time period that the overall Lord Rankings were first revealed. The rankings were…

<Total Lord Rankings>

• 1st Place: Kang Chul-In 667P (Extremely likely to become Overlord!)
• 2nd Place: Baruk Al Yusuf 559P (Likely to become Overlord!)
• 3rd Place: Albrecht Vilhelm 551P (Likely to become Overlord!)
• 4th Place: Skadi Andevari 498P
• 5th Place: Alex Rothschild 495P

• The position of Overlord will be granted to the Top 10 Lords as a reward once every year at the yearly Lord meetings.
• When granted the position of Overlord, a special “authority” for each Lord will be granted.
• The Lord who is ranked first at each yearly Lord meeting will be granted 1 random Epic Item.

Of course, Kang Chul-In was proudly ranked 1st.

He had even outranked by a large margin Baruk Al Yusuf who, at the first Lord meetings sat at the very highest seat and bragged about himself.

Other than that, Albrecht Vilhelm, the future leader of the Gulveig Alliance, and Rothschild, his archenemy, also ranked respectively at 3rd and 5th place.

He also saw two people that would die.

The other two Lords that ranked within the top 5, Skadi Andevari and Baruk Al Yusuf… They did not show up at the Second Lord meeting.

For the case of Baruk Al Yusuf, though he was an extremely powerful Lord that even Kang Chul-In acknowledged, he had tried to set up an Islamic empire in Pangaea and acted as a tyrant before being slowly pulled down by the other Lords that had allied against him.

Skadi, on the other hand, died 3 days after she became an Overlord. She had lost her life to an assassin that someone had sent after her.

It was nothing surprising.

Since people in high positions got constantly got picked off due to jealousy, it was regular for Overlords and Lords at high rankings to die.

But what was really interesting was something else.

To Kang Chul-In, the rankings between 6th~10th place surprised him more.

-6th Place: Hecate 392P

-7th Place: Ao Xin 380P

-8th Place: Aleister 373P

-9th Place: Dorian Explorer 361P

-10th Place: Lee Chae-Rin 355P

It wasn’t weird or strange at all to see Hecate and Aleister so high up on the list as they were also Overlords when Ragnarok first started.

As for Ao Xin, it made sense that he was also this high up as he was also one of the future pillars for the Gulveig Union, known as the “leader of a million men”.

Finally, it also made sense for Dorian to be placed 9th. Though it was different from the past, he was personally tutored and taught by Kang Chul-In.

The fact that Lee Chae-Rin had ranked in the top 10 was extremely surprising.

Even though it was true that Kang Chul-In had saved Lee Chae-Rin from a crisis, but 10th place? For someone like Lee Chae-Rin with an extremely weak military to be ranked in the Top 10, something had probably happened.

Did she find an extra gold mine or something?

Kang Chul-In thought that Lee Chae-Rin’s special ability Abundance might have been activated, allowing her to be extremely lucky and finding an extra gold mine. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to rank this high so quickly.

But even though it was surprising, it was nothing bad for Kang Chul-In.

If Lee Chae-Rin had found an extra gold mine, then it was also beneficial for Kang Chul-In.

After all, Kang Chul-In and Lee Chae-Rin’s previous agreement was that he would gain 40% of the profits from the mines in Nidavellir. The more gold and precious gemstones she mined, the more it would benefit him!

Lee Chae-Rin. Maybe she’s actually a woman who will last longer than I had expected.

Kang Chul-In thought that maybe, just maybe, he would ally with her in this life to fight against the other alliances that had appeared during Ragnarok.

If Kang Chul-In was to be the one fighting in the front lines, Lee Chae-Rin would back him up from behind, using the astronomical sum of money she gained from her gold mines. The combination of wealth and military strength. This was his wish that had been ungranted in his past life.

It’s changed.

Looking at the Lords ranked in the top 10, Kang Chul-In realized that the future had been changed due to his actions.

Previously, the Overlords in the 1st Lord Meeting would only have a survival rate of 50%. 5 of the 10 had been eliminated from the competition due to the fierce ganging up that occurred afterward.

But it was different now.

Kang Chul-In, who had previously ranked out of the top 10 at 13th Place, was now ranked 1st, and Dorian, as well as Lee Chae-Rin, had been added to the top 10 as well as a result of his help. This would change the fates of the 3 Lords that had died in his previous life as they were now ranked out of the Top 10.

Of course, there was no real need to worry.

There wasn’t a saying, “the ones who will fall will fall”, for nothing.

The ones who would survive would survive until the end, and the ones who would be eliminated would be eliminated sooner or later. Just because there was a change in the Rankings didn’t mean that the future would change completely. After all, the only thing that made a difference was Kang Chul-In himself.

“Milord, what are you looking at so carefully?”

As Kang Chul-In was thinking deeply, Lucia, who had stood in front of him for quite a while, interrupted him.

“I’ve just looked at the announcement for the Total Lord Rankings,” Kang Chul-In said.

“The Total Lord Rankings? Then… milord…”

As the Secretary of Kang Chul-In, it was natural that she was curious about his rank.

“1st.”

Kang Chul-In spoke as if it didn’t really matter.

“1st place!!”

Yet, to Lucia, it seemed like she cared about it a lot.

“As expected of milord! Congratulations!”

“It’s nothing much.”

Kang Chul-In, who was ranked 1^st, really didn’t care much about it.

“There are still around 5 months before the First Lord Meetings. There’s no real guarantee that I will stay in 1st Place until then. There’s no point if I’m 1st right now. What matters is that I stay 1st.”

Kang Chul-In was calm.

If this announcement was revealing the scores of a mock-exam before the real test, then the First Lord Meeting would be the revealing of the SAT scores.

Kang Chul-In didn’t really care about his rank of 1st place either. For the rank of 1st, he had kept it up after the 3rd Lord Meeting after all.

“Milord.”

Lucia spoke again.

“Why don’t we hold a festival when we get back to the Laputa Territory?”

“A festival?”

Kang Chul-In tilted his head, confused by the sudden suggestion made by Lucia.

“Because we’ve been so busy going around conquering other territories, our citizens didn’t really have time to celebrate our harvest this year. And not only that, didn’t milord successfully become the ruler of the Eastern Plains due to our successful war campaign? Since the Laputa Territory hasn’t had a festival since milord has been appointed, we should hold a festival at this opportunity to celebrate milord’s great achievements, mourn the deceased, and celebrate the harvest. Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?”

Listening to Lucia, Kang Chul-In felt that she had a point.

“And if milord also reveals the rewards to our citizens using this opportunity, not only can we save time, but we can also create an advertising effect.”

Holding a festival was actually more important than it seemed.

There was no better method of raising the happiness of the citizens than holding a festival in the territory. The citizens of the territory would praise Kang Chul-In even more after this.

“Very well.”

Kang Chul-In nodded.

“We will hold the festival as soon as we get back.”

Since Kang Chul-In’s Lord Points would also rise along with the happiness of the citizens, there was no reason for Kang Chul-In to refuse.

“Give an invitation to Lord Lee Chae-Rin of the Dorado territory and also call Drakan.”

“...The Lord of the Dorado Territory?”

As soon as Lee Chae-Rin’s name came out, Lucia’s face stiffened.

“It’s the first festival. Rather than inviting some outsiders and foreigners, wouldn’t it be better if we held it just by ourselves?”

“That is also a good idea, but Lee Chae-Rin is a very important Lord to us and our alliance. It is better to create a stronger bond with her. And not only that…”

Kang Chul-In paused for a second.

“She has placed 10th in the Total Rankings.”

As soon as Kang Chul-In said that, Lucia’s eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

“I-Is that so…?”

“Lord Points don’t lie… I’m guessing that the Nidavellir dwarves have found another gold mine or something.”

Although Kang Chul-In couldn’t see because Lucia had turned around, she was cringing.

‘T-This… stupid woman with nothing but money!’

Lucia couldn’t stand that Lee Chae-Rin was becoming an important person to Kang Chul-In. They had even had a small invisible clash.

Training, the only answer to this is training!

Lucia swore to herself that she would start an intense training programme during winter. The only thing a Secretary like her could do was to beat Lee Chae-Rin in strength.

A huge festival was held.

Kang Chul-In walked up to a stage where he could see all of the gathered citizens of the Laputa territory at once.

The 50 Specter Knights that were standing behind Kang Chul-In added to his majestic demeanor.

Furthermore, that wasn’t all.

The 6 Atlases that Kang Chul-In had taken as spoils of war during the battle against Franz were standing to his left and right.

The White Lion Knights also stood diagonally away from Kang Chul-In, making way for him to look at the citizens and giving the citizens a view of their ruler.

Finally…

Krrr!

In front of the throne, the godbeast Altaica knelt down and roared. This added even more to Kang Chul-In’s imposing manner.

“First of all, I would like to thank our brave soldiers and warriors for fighting for us.”

After the mourning of the dead was finished, the festival started honoring the ones that had done especially well in the war campaign.

Then, the fireworks began.

Nilus, as well as Princess Arshelly, showed fantastic collaboration as they created artificial fireworks with their magic.

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

With the colorful and fancy fireworks being the signal that started the festival, all of the citizens of Laputa had a great time, laughing and eating. It was also good for the lucky travelers and adventurers from Earth visiting the Laputa territory as they were also able to participate. Thanks to this, Kang Chul-In gained an extra 50 Lord Points.

Within the Castle of Laputa, a meeting for the high-ranked officials of the Laputa territory was held.

“Mr. Chul-In?”

Lee Chae-Rin, who had brought over 5000 gold in a wagon all the way to Laputa, approached Kang Chul-In slowly holding a bottle of whiskey.

“Hmm.?”

Kang Chul-In was startled as he looked at Lee Chae-Rin’s appearance. She had… changed.

“Have you done plastic surgery or something?” Kang Chul-In asked.

“Huh?”

Lee Chae-Rin’s face stiffened.

Was I wrong?

Kang Chul-In was confused.

After all, Lee Chae-Rin had become much more beautiful since the last time they had met. She was almost a different person now. Even her body had become more glamorous and more voluptuous, so it made sense for Kang Chul-In to become confused. At this point, Lee Chae-Rin was pretty enough to shame most of the celebrities on Earth.

“Sigh… that’s not it, Mr. Chul-In.”

Lee Chae-Rin explained.

“I’ve hit the jackpot in the Nidavellir mines.”

“Yes, I know that. Oh, did you go to a famous plastic surgeon since you got a lot of…?”

“No!” Lee Chae-Rin said with a slightly upset face.

“O-Of course, I didn’t have an extremely beautiful and pretty face… But to say it was plastic surgery… you’re too mean, Mr. Chul-In.”

“Hmm? There’s no way for a person to change with just make-up though.”

But rather than understanding Lee Chae-Rin’s feelings, Kang Chul-In just continued to ask about how she changed.

“Huu...”

Lee Chae-Rin sighed deeply.

“You don’t have even a little bit of interest to women, do you Mr. Chul-In?”

To be precise, she didn’t mean “women” but “me”.

“It’s because of a ‘transcendence stone’.”

Lee Chae-Rin finally told him the truth.

“Is it really… the transcendence stone that I know?”

“Yes, that’s right. This time I was lucky enough to find a bunch of C-rank Transcendence stones. The one I used personally, though, was a B-rank one.”

A transcendence stone as the name suggested, was a stone that allowed someone to “transcend” the limits of a human. Though it wasn’t as great of a treasure as a dragon heart, it was still extremely valuable. It made sense that Lee Chae-Rin had suddenly gotten more beautiful and gained a lot of stats if she had used the stone.

“I also plan to send you 30 transcendence stones by next week too, Mr. Chul-In.”

Out of Lee Chae-Rin’s mouth came something that Kang Chul-In had hoped for.

“You need it, right?”

“Of course. I will use it very well,” Kang Chul-In answered, laughing in satisfaction.

Nice!

Thinking that she had finally captured Kang Chul-In’s interest, Lee Chae-Rin celebrated inwardly. If she used this to continue and ask Kang Chul-In to dance with her…

“Father~ Oh? Is Lord Chae-Rin was also here?”

But suddenly, Arshelly appeared and grabbed Kang Chul-In’s hands.

....Sigh….

Thanks to this, her plan to dance with Kang Chul-In fell to pieces.

“What is it?”

Kang Chul-In looked at Arshelly with his “nice face”.

Arshelly’s eyes twinkled.

“Milord, I also…”

From somewhere, Lucia also appeared and tried to grab Kang Chul-In’s attention.

T-T-That woman!

Lee Chae-Rin clenched her fists and tried her best to restrain her anger. It was because Lucia’s provocative gaze towards her was telling her “why don’t you go somewhere else?”

Her guess was accurate.

Hmph, why don’t you go somewhere else? How dare you try to hit on milord!?

Lucia’s eyes clearly held that nuance.

‘I’ve become pretty too!’

Though Lee Chae-Rin tried to stare back at Lucia…

Pft, with just that?

Lucia didn’t seem to feel any sort of threat from Lee Chae-Rin.

You’re still not even close. Not with that immature body of yours.

Lucia slightly posed her body.

To Lee Chae-Rin, Lucia was a western lady with a perfect body. After all, Lucia was 170cm tall, so she had an unfair disadvantage from the beginning.

“Mr. Chul-In!”

But Lee Chae-Rin didn’t give up.

“What is it?”

“C-Can I also go inside as well?”

However, Lucia stood in front of Lee Chae-Rin, blocking her.

“No, you cannot. This is a meeting about the inner workings of the Laputa territory. It is not a place for a foreign Lord, even an allied one, to come in.”

Though Lucia’s words seemed impossible to argue against…

“No, it doesn’t matter. Actually, it might be better if she joins us.”

Kang Chul-In thought differently.

“Milord! How can another territory’s Lord…?”

“I thought we were going to speak about Arshelly’s desire of wanting to go to school, was I wrong?”

“B-But…”

“For something like this, asking Lee Chae-Rin would be a good decision. I don’t have any idea whatsoever of what to do about this issue right now after all.”

Kang Chul-In’s decision made sense.

As a workaholic that didn’t care much about any other issues than Pangaea, Lee Chae-Rin would be much better at these sorts of issues than Kang Chul-In.

T-This… woman without any sort of common sense!

With this, Lee Chae-Rin and Lucia had given a blow to each other.

It was an invisible battle, a dirty battle between two beautiful women.

However…

The man that was the reason this fight broke out…

The reward of Overlord… I wonder what Epic item will be given to the 1^st-ranked Lord…?

He was busy thinking of other, more “important” matters.