Chapter 208

Chapter 208. The Road to the Summit (3)

─ They really descended directly into the Material Realm and subjugated Pandemonium...

─ Then does that mean they really secured a method for Constellations to descend?

─ But how? Is there some Constellation Skill that can send other Constellations down to the Material Realm?

─ Does a Skill like that even make sense?

─ Didn’t the Nameless King gain something after defeating the King of Avengers?

In one corner of the Spirit Realm stood the throne of the B-rank Constellation ‘Golden and Silver Children.’

There, Geumgak was chatting with other Constellations.

─ Still, it really was incredible.

─ The Wise Returner, the Pure-White Hero, the White-Feathered Knight, and the Knights of the Round Table... Was the one who flooded the building at the start the Fairy Who Controls Water?

─ I never thought we’d get to watch Constellations fighting directly.

─ Constellation Tube was absolutely packed with viewers.

─ The Nameless King uploaded a promotional video beforehand.

─ But he must’ve spent a huge amount of Origin Power mobilizing all those Constellations.

─ Maybe. But they say he defeated the King of Avengers and seized his fortune.

Some time ago...

the Nameless King uploaded a video to Constellation Tube announcing that he had defeated the King of Avengers.

He revealed that the King of Avengers had been using him all along, and that he had murdered other Constellations such as the Consulting Detective of Truth and the Taoist of Transformation in order to conceal the truth.

He also exposed that the King of Avengers had repeated such acts for a long time, with several Constellations, including the Young Man of Red and Black, already having fallen victim.

And then...

he released footage of his duel against the King of Avengers.

─ The Nameless King fought really well too.

─ Just watching that battle against the King of Avengers was enough to tell he’s no ordinary Constellation.

─ That attack he used to finish Marbas... that was the monkey’s Ruyi Jingu Bang, right?

─ Yeah. Big Brother’s Ruyi Jingu Bang.

─ Then was the Nameless King also the one who attacked Asmodeus in China last time?

─ So he’s been operating in the Material Realm quite a lot without anyone knowing.

Until then, the Nameless King had concealed his appearance completely.

The battle against the King of Avengers was the first time he revealed himself.

And he showed himself fighting evenly against the King of Avengers, one of the major figures of the Spirit Realm...

before ultimately defeating him.

Many Constellations cheered when they saw the footage.

Those who had watched the previous videos were already furious with the King of Avengers.

So seeing the Nameless King personally punish him was naturally satisfying.

And in the video that followed, the Nameless King revealed that he had inherited all of the King of Avengers’s property.

The sheer boldness of it sent chills through the viewers.

The Nameless King’s standing soared without limit.

─ The moment he inherited the King of Avengers’s fortune, the Nameless King effectively became one of the top Constellations in the Spirit Realm.

─ Rumor says the King of Avengers had one trillion Origin Power.

─ That’s a hundred times my entire fortune.

─ And just defeating the King of Avengers probably raised the Nameless King’s Origin Power by more than ten million points too.

─ Until now, the Nameless King was just a ‘promising rising star.’

─ Now he’s genuinely a ‘giant among giants.’

─ So that’s why he could mobilize other Constellations.

─ I don’t know how much Origin Power he spent bringing them down, but he probably earned even more than that.

─ Right. What happened this time was just that unprecedented.

Exactly.

Constellations personally descending to the Material Realm to eliminate demons of Pandemonium was unprecedented.

There had occasionally been cases where one or two Constellations descended through special Constellation Skills.

But never before had such a large group descended together and carried out a coordinated military operation.

And because the entire thing had been livestreamed through Constellation Tube...

the entire Spirit Realm had been thrown into chaos.

─ But is this really something that should be allowed?

─ Yeah. There were quite a few Constellations objecting in the chat too.

─ It reverses the proper order of things. Constellations are supposed to protect the humans of the Material Realm.

─ If Constellations descend and fight in place of the humans, it starts looking strange.

─ If anyone other than the Nameless King had done this, people wouldn’t have stayed quiet.

─ But it’s the Nameless King.

─ Exactly. He’s a member of that ‘Committee’ now.

─ The Mountain-Sea Alliance supports him, and so does the Great Unification Society.

─ Even every Knight of the Round Table participated in this operation.

─ Who exactly is going to pick a fight with the Nameless King?

─ If you provoke him and he retaliates, you’re the only one who loses.

─ Still, there will probably be organizations that try to keep him in check.

─ Of course. The Committee and Mountain-Sea Alliance aren’t the only powerful organizations.

─ And what happens if the Nameless King gets angry and leads every Constellation under his influence into a counterattack?

─ Then the Spirit Realm goes into an all-out war.

─ Is that even possible? Is there somewhere to fight?

─ What if he sends one Knight of the Round Table to each enemy Constellation’s throne and assassinates them one by one?

─ I... should upgrade my security system.

The Nameless King had now become one of the most prominent figures in the Spirit Realm.

Other Constellations were now in a position where they had to look up to him...

or fear him.

“Big Brother...”

Beside him, Eungak spoke in a trembling voice.

“This is honestly terrifying. To think the Nameless King became such a major figure.”

“Yeah...”

Geumgak nodded.

“It really is incredible.”

“But... I don’t hate it.”

“You don’t?”

“No.”

“I’m actually really excited.”

"..."

Geumgak silently agreed with his younger brother.

It really was exciting.

Not long ago, the Nameless King had been a rookie begging for attention by uploading videos.

Now he had become the greatest superstar in the Spirit Realm.

A Constellation they had watched and supported from the beginning had reached this level.

How could they not be excited?

“But listen, Eungak.”

“Yes?”

“The Nameless King still hasn’t reached the absolute summit of the Constellations.”

“You don’t think so?”

“Of course not.”

He had inherited the King of Avengers’s fortune.

He had also demonstrated enough influence to lead multiple Constellations into the Material Realm and seize territory.

That alone gave him an enormous presence in the Spirit Realm.

But it was still difficult to call him the one and only absolute peak.

He was not yet an untouchable supreme power whom no one dared challenge.

“There will be people who refuse to acknowledge the Nameless King.”

“Then a fight will happen.”

It would not be an ordinary conflict.

It would be a decisive struggle...

to determine who stood at the summit of the Spirit Realm.

The Committee’s salon stood in one corner of the Spirit Realm.

The moment I stepped into the modest building, everyone already inside rose from their seats.

“Welcome, Nameless King.”

“We have been waiting.”

Powerful Constellations bowed their heads to greet me.

I nodded, then spoke calmly.

“Let’s all sit first.”

A huge round table had been prepared inside the salon.

I expected there would be many future occasions where large groups gathered for meetings, so I had arranged it beforehand.

I had worried that it might clash with the salon’s original interior, which was designed for small groups to gather and chat comfortably.

Fortunately, Arjuna had procured an extremely elegant round table, so it didn’t feel out of place at all.

“It’s rather crowded.”

After everyone sat down, the first to speak was the S-rank Constellation ‘Wise Returner,’ Odysseus.

“I never imagined this salon would have so many people inside.”

“I don’t think it is a bad thing.”

The one who replied was the S-rank Constellation ‘Pure-White Hero,’ Arjuna.

“I was quite attached to the old salon as a place where three or four people could gather and speak quietly.”

“But now, we are trying to begin something new together.”

“Honestly, I feel a little out of place.”

The A-rank Constellation ‘Knight of Ruin,’ Mordred, muttered with an awkward expression.

“I’m not sure I really belong here.”

“Mordred, you are here as the representative of the Knights of the Round Table.”

“Hold your head high.”

“Even so...”

Despite Arjuna’s words, Mordred scratched his head, still unconvinced.

Originally, Mordred had not been a member of the Committee.

As a Constellation with relatively little fame, he hadn’t possessed the qualifications required to join.

“The Nameless King approved you.”

“You should simply accept that.”

“I know.”

There had once been conditions for joining the Committee.

But after inheriting the Count’s share and gaining influence within the organization, I changed those conditions.

At present, there was effectively only one qualification required to enter the Committee.

Had the S-rank Constellation ‘Nameless King’ approved the person?

That was all that mattered.

“Enough small talk. We should begin the meeting.”

The one who spoke was the A-rank Constellation ‘White-Feathered Knight,’ Bradamante.

She had not originally been a Committee member either.

But after accepting my invitation, she had joined this time.

“Nameless King, may we begin?”

“Yeah. Start.”

At my permission, Bradamante nodded energetically and smiled.

Ever since the battle at the Louvre, she had begun treating me almost like a king.

“Then, everyone, let us review the results of our previous operation.”

Bradamante manipulated the device placed on the round table.

A map of Paris appeared above it.

“In the previous battle, we attacked the Louvre in Paris.”

“As a result, the demon command center established within the Louvre was destroyed, and its commander, Marbas, was also killed.”

Bradamante placed a white chess piece on the Louvre at the center of the Paris map.

“At the same time, resistance groups waiting around Paris launched their own attack.”

“With the demons’ command structure shattered and their forces thrown into confusion, the resistance eliminated the demons throughout the city.”

“For reference, the man who commanded the resistance was my older brother over there.”

“You didn’t need to mention that.”

The one muttering was the A-rank Constellation ‘Poor Knight,’ Renaud de Montauban.

Like Bradamante, he was one of Charlemagne’s Twelve Paladins who appeared in works such as Orlando Furioso.

Depending on the source, he was sometimes portrayed as the second strongest of the twelve knights.

He had once quarreled with Charlemagne over the magical horse Bayard.

He was also known to wield the sword Flamberge, whose blade resembled flames.

“Well, since I’ve already been mentioned, I might as well say a few words.”

“The resistance groups entered Paris from five separate directions.”

Renaud moved five chess pieces across the map.

“They exploited the demons’ confusion and finally succeeded in liberating Paris from their control.”

France had been under Pandemonium’s rule.

But many Contractors had hidden underground and continued resistance activities.

Renaud had been supporting those movements.

Through Bradamante, we contacted him and coordinated the resistance attack with our own operation.

“And then...”

Bradamante manipulated the device again.

This time, the map of Paris expanded into a map of all France.

“After hearing that Paris had been liberated, Contractors from France and other parts of Western Europe who had taken refuge in Britain began to move.”

Bradamante shifted several chess pieces from Britain and landed them in northern France.

“Currently, intense fighting is taking place across northern France.”

“Judging by the situation...”

“Hahaha! There’s no need to worry! My Contractors are wiping out every demon they meet!”

“Astolfo, don’t interrupt while I’m speaking.”

Bradamante frowned.

“And if someone heard you, they’d think your Contractors were the only ones there.”

“You only have five or six Contractors in the landing force.”

“I had about that many too.”

“Come on! The commander of the landing force is my Contractor!”

“So their victory is basically the victory of this ‘Handsomest Knight’ too!”

“Please stop saying that Constellation title out loud. It’s embarrassing just hearing it.”

“Why? It sounds great!”

The A-rank Constellation ‘Handsomest Knight.’

His true name was Astolfo.

Like Bradamante, he was one of Charlemagne’s Twelve Paladins.

As his absurdly confident Constellation title suggested, he was extraordinarily handsome.

One writer had supposedly described him as “the handsomest man.”

According to his cousin Bradamante, however, Astolfo was a reckless loudmouth who constantly exaggerated his abilities.

He was also the weakest among the Twelve Paladins.

But because he possessed absurdly good luck, he had somehow accumulated many accomplishments.

“Don’t you agree, Your Majesty?”

“Were you talking to me?”

“Of course, Your Majesty Nameless King!”

Astolfo smiled brightly at me.

“You’re basically our king now, aren’t you?”

“So let’s just call you Your Majesty!”

“Why not hold an official coronation too?”

"..."

Somehow...

the conversation had suddenly taken a very strange turn.