"So you serve whoever wins, whether it's the old royal faction or the duke's faction. The new king must be something else."
Duke Giess Raging had received the proclamation from the new king.
The coronation hadn't even taken place yet, but the new king declared, "Enough with these tedious ceremonies—done," and personally slaughtered any court official who dared object.
It was pure tyranny.
Even Alan wouldn't resort to something like that.
But there was no way to formulate a countermeasure when the opponent held the [Hero] skill.
Not only could he defeat an army single-handedly, but the skill of one man overpowering a thousand made it impossible to win even by mobilizing an entire military force.
In fact, the remnants of the royal faction had rallied and attacked with a massive army, only to be routed by Achilles alone.
The previous king hadn't exactly been a good person, but he had at least received an education befitting a ruler throughout his life and could just barely keep the country running.
From a man like Achilles, there wasn't a shred of that kind of refinement.
If this continued, the country would collapse.
◇◇◇
"Eh, hmm. Doesn't a commoner's life stay the same regardless of who's king?"
Duke Giess himself had gone to Alan to ask for his help, and this was the response he got.
It was a long shot, but he'd try muttering the following:
"The new king, Achilles, has completely stiffed the Flowery Butterfly on all payments for the brothel's services—I wonder how one might go about collecting that debt…"
Alan twitched.
The Flowery Butterfly, which Alan had brought under his control, was just now being turned into a respectable establishment under his watch.
"Come out, Scruffy. Go teach this Achilles fellow a lesson."
◇◇◇
"Your Majesty, we're under attack!"
The aide delivered the news with what could only be described as glee.
"What, there are still idiots out there who don't get it? I'm the one fit to be king, obviously."
"Well, the opponent appears to be the 'War God' who went missing so many times that he was ultimately fired from his position as Grand Master of the Adventurers' Guild."
The aide desperately prayed that the War God would be able to handle this situation—or rather, that he would be made to handle it.
"What an overblown title. Alright, I'll go take a look."
"Everyone! His Majesty Achilles is heading into battle! Burn that magnificent figure into your eyes!"
The aide used amplification magic to announce Achilles' sortie to everyone in the castle.
Without the battle cry upon departure and the customary "Bravo, Achilles!" upon his return, the new king would be in an absolutely terrible mood.
◇◇◇
And so, the two of them faced each other in the courtyard of the royal castle.
"............King... understand..."
"What is this guy, a walking corpse?"
"...Shine... Destruction."
The former Grand Master's deadly punch hurtled toward Achilles.
The destructive fist connected squarely with Achilles' abdomen, but it only managed to leave a large bruise.
"Tch, that stings a little. My turn now. True Ascension Fist!!"
Achilles unleashed a right uppercut that flowed seamlessly from the elbow strike thrown with his left arm.
The former Grand Master took the full brout of the blow and dissolved into light, vanishing from sight.
"As expected of Lord Achilles!! The 'War God' was no match for you at all!!"
"Naturally! Praise me more — sing my praises even louder!!"
Achilles was perfectly content with the blatant flattery.
Since crossing him could lead to death, his retainers trembled as they heaped praise on Achilles once again.
◇◇◇
"Huh, Beardscruff disappeared. Is the new king really that strong?"
The connection to the former Grand Master, whom he should have been controlling through [Dark Magic]'s Full Necromancy, had been severed.
Looks like I have no choice but to go there in person.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
The end of Part One is almost in sight.
Skills: [Reverse] [Divine Eye] [Sword God] [Phantom Thief Gentleman] [Dark Magic] [Rock-Iron Magic] [Holy Magic] [Spacetime Magic] [Scorching Heat Magic] [Freezing Ice Magic] [Magic Hand] [Seduction] [Pain Relief] [Complete Status Abnormality Resistance] [Fire Spirit's Protection] [Phantom Demon] [Swift Wind and Thunder] [Dark Spirit's Protection] [Supernatural Strength] [Thunder God Sword] [Great Luck] [Clear Storm Magic] [Humility] [Heaven's Gate] [Ninja Master] [Eloquence] [Seeker of Truth] [Abyss Contractor] [Super Intuition] [Spear God] [Fist God]
Rank: Orichalcon
Thank you as always for reading😊