Chapter 120: The Cursed Puppeteer 1

After taking control of Tenas, the capital of the Dane Kingdom, Woohyuk captured all those who had ties with the demons.

Some of them originated from the Eeth Continental, but there were also a number of adventurers from Earth.

In the case of adventurers, he could’ve taken the clan leaders as hostages to dominate the clan members indirectly, just like the Hwarand and Exodus Clans, but they were executed in the same manner as the native people.

These were measures he had taken to gain support from the Dane Kingdom’s people.

Since he had conquered several kingdoms in the past 40 years, Woohyuk knew how to bring the citizens to his side efficiently.

‘With this, we’ve overcome a hurdle.’

While sitting on the throne and discussing matters about the Dane Kingdom with his vassals, Woohyuk paused.

All the demon kings of the Ars Nova Circle were sealed, and the witches Kriemhild and Priscilla were killed and absorbed by Verserios.

He still worried about Aleister Crowley, but he wasn't easy to find, so Woohyuk could only keep an eye out

Now, he only needed to destroy Angrboda sanctuary before the witch returned.

If the sanctuary were destroyed, she would most likely give up and settle elsewhere.

When Woohyuk tried to bring up the story of the Elrond barony,

“Your Majesty, the 3rd Corps Commander Maximus returned after defeating the Arisen County subjugation.”

The door to the throne room opened, and Maximus entered and knelt.

historical

A man with a sturdy physique and dignified appearance.

He had always been a true soldier fighting for the Rhine Kingdom with his life on the line.

“Commander Maximus, good work. I must give you a great reward.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Maximus nodded with a loyal face.

Woohyuk watched him for a while and then spoke again.

“That is why I will appoint you as the Viceroy of the Dane kingdom.”

“..!”

“..!”

“..!”

The vassals lined up on the side were astonished by Woohyuk's unexpected declaration.

The governor of a small kingdom in the world.

The Dane Kingdom was of a similar scale compared to the Rhine Kingdom’s mainland, and had abundant mineral resources such as black iron and platinum.

No one had expected that such an important place would be left in the hands of the corps commander instead of the royal family.

“Your Majesty, with all due respect, I believe..”

“Your successor as commander will be Aiden, the commander of the Northeastern Guard Camp. He has done great achievements during this war.”

Woohyuk had previously promised Aiden the position of corps commander.

Tenan, his lieutenant, would also be placed in a key position in the 3rd Corps in advance.

He was planning on selecting the next Northeastern Guard Commander amongst the existing deputies.

When Woohyuk firmly made his statement, Maximus couldn't refuse anymore and bowed his head.

“It would be an honor to serve, Your Majesty. My life is yours.”

“I have no doubts that you will do excellently. However, you need to be a bit more flexible, so I will choose an aide to help you.”

After saying so, Woohyuk's eyes turned to Hong Yuri.

Hong Yuri stared at Woohyuk with a confused expression.

“I, I have to manage Eaton County in the Lydia Kingdom.”

“I’ll assign another lord to take over it.”

In the first place, Hong Yuri was sent to the Lydia Kingdom to prepare for this incident.

So he doesn't have to leave her there anymore.

As for the governor's aide, in terms of rank and status, it was by no means inferior to the average countess.

“Boo.. I also want to go to the Rhine Kingdom”

“Don’t be lazy and stay faithful to your mission.”

To hide Hong Yuri's vampire forces, the Dane Kingdom was the most appropriate.

This was because it was actually the territory of the Rhine Kingdom, and many estates remained vacant since several lords had been purged this time around.

The vampires were absolutely obedient to the queen, Hong Yuri, so there would be no problem.

Subsequently, after solving a few more issues, Woohyuk brought up the topic he was trying to talk about.

“.. And as for the Elond barony, we will have to clean it up before Angrboda returns.”

“Please leave it to me. I will burn everything so that not a single trace of the witch remains.”

“No, I could do better in terms of witch hunting.. .”

To establish their positions, the vassals volunteered one after another.

But Woohyuk shook his head and spoke again.

“The Dane Kingdom subjugation is yet to be complete. So I will need everyone to help Viceroy Maximus day and night.”

King Philip II of Lydia had returned to his country for post-war treatment, and the Spiritual Society had also left for the Izuna Kingdom after the contract was fulfilled.

In addition, the mainland is also busy with internal maintenance and processing the remnants of the Witch Cult, so there is no manpower left.

These small tasks had to be handled by the guards in order to proceed on schedule.

“Then do you intend to deal with it yourself, Your Majesty?”

"It's related to witches, so I cannot neglect it."

It was difficult to leave the Witches of the Seven Sins to his vassals, because they often used tricks to avoid their pursuits and could do all sorts of evil acts behind the scenes.

“But at least a few of us should accompany you..”

“Lady Leifina is more than enough.”

The Elrond barony was originally a territory that was hers to rule.

Since there was a clear justification, the vassals could no longer object.

“Now that that’s dealt with, let’s depart today. Lady Leifina, organize a subjugation team. Three thousand men should be enough.”

“I understand, My Lord.”

Leifina’s eyes shone as she bowed next to him.

Her lifelong wishes were finally about to be fulfilled.

***

The subjugation team consisted mainly of spearmen and archers.

It was because the use of cavalry in poor terrain with severe slopes or lush vegetation wasn’t recommended.

Although the cavalry could be terrifying under certain circumstances, in this case, it was not a surprise operation such as an ambush but a simple march on the field.

Woohyuk came up with a plan while advancing within the capital Tenas, as the citizens watched over them.

“Petos, is it true that the Elrond barony has an executive of the Witch Cult remaining?”

[Yes, that is correct. She is someone who used to get pampered by Angrboda.]

Petos was hiding in Woohyuk’s shadow, avoiding the eyes of people.

The other demons had yet to be summoned.

There had been numerous requests so far, but Woohyuk rejected them all in consideration of his reputation.

“Tell me more about her.”

[Her name is Alphone. She looks like a 14-year-old girl, but is actually well over 100 years old. Oh, but she is on the young side according to this world’s standards.]

According to Petos, Alphone was cursed by a death god and had stopped growing.

She couldn’t become an adult, nor marry someone and have a family.

In addition, if she didn't make a stuffed toy every day, she would become a day younger every time. So she had threads and needles on her at all times.

“Why did she get such a curse?”

[Because she tried to harm the shaman in the temple where the death god was enshrined.]

Alphone's father was a famous weaver.

He had been making fabrics for the lord every month, but one day, he happened to stop by the temple and fell in love with the shamaness.

Afterwards, he went to see shamaness three to four times a week and gave her a high-quality silk as gifts.

Alphone was dissatisfied by this fact and told her father not to forget her deceased mother. However, she got beaten by her own father.

“It seems that the incident led to her holding a grudge against the shamaness.”

[Yes, she even learned curse magic at such a young age.]

Alphone's father was close to a member of the Golden Rose Society.

The two used to meet in a studio or in the house to talk secretly. Alphone noticed this one day and asked the member of the Golden Rose Society to teach her curse magic.

As a result, she used the power of a witch to make the shamaness sick and weak through a doll.

However, after hearing the shamaness’ prayer from the temple, the death god intervened and the girl’s act of revenge in one day. Thereafter, Alphone got cursed by him.

“Do you know where Alphone is hiding?”

[Ah, even I don’t know that.. We don’t usually enter the witch's sanctuary since we never know what could happen.]

For Solomon's 72 demon kings, witches were religious beings.

Lilith was the only one who could receive revelations from the abyss in the Chapel of Origin and could use its powers, albeit with certain limits.

For this reason, even Baal, the Great Demon King who ranked first, did not interfere with the work of witches.

“I'll start looking around the chapel first. Since Angrboda is away, Alphone might’ve taken over it in her stead.”

[I'll help with all my passion and energy.]

Petos' ability was tracking.

Once he got closer and could feel one’s presence, he could easily find the location of said target, and witches were no exception to his skill.

“Good. I look forward to your performance.”

[Thank you for thinking so highly of me.]

He was quite good at flattering. Maybe it was because he was a servant of Dantalion, the crafty and sly demon king.

After ending the conversation, Woohyuk turned to Leifina who was riding a horse next to him.

Her head was down and her gaze stayed on the ground, as if she were in deep thoughts.

“I will let you take over your father's territory once this subjugation ends.”

“..Thank you."

“If you want, you settle down here.”

Woohyuk obviously wasn’t being honest. He wanted to keep her by his side, but he suggested this pretending to be indifferent to confirm her determination before setting the next plan into action.

The ordeal he had to overcome was further ahead of what he had planned, so if she lacked a resolute conviction, he couldn't let her stay by his side as she was now.

“I, I..”

Leifina blurred her words with an unreadable expression.

As the eldest daughter of the Ecclet family, she obviously wanted to be the lord, but she didn't want to leave Woohyuk.

Woohyuk, who saw her reaction, asked another question.

“Is the territory a bit small to live on your own? Then I can combine the Euler county and Ben County with the Elrond barony and create a new province called the Ecclet County.”

“N-no. That isn’t what I want...”

Leifina's face turned red, trying to express her sincerity.

Woohyuk patiently waited for her to give sincere answers and tried to help her out.

“If you want to live with dignity as a knight, you can leave the territory to a representative and return to the Royal Palace of Rhine to continue serving as the Royal Guard Commander.”

“The honor and dignity I currently have.. is more than enough.”

“Then, do you want to start a family now? You’ve been through all kinds of hardships until today. If that’s why you’re getting interested in cooking...”

“A, absolutely not!”

Leifina, whose face was burning of embarrassment, instinctively shouted out loud.

After a while, she hurriedly shut her mouth and silence ensued.

“A, Apologies. It was a sensitive topic, so I couldn’t help but..”

"It’s okay. In any case, what do you want? You have made the greatest contributions among my vassals, so I will listen to anything you want.”

Anything.

Oddly enough, Leifina’s heart accelerated at those words.

However, she couldn’t dare to say her thoughts out loud.

Eventually, she revealed her wish by downsizing it.

“I want to stay by your side as is, My Lord. I cannot live without you because of the bond of fate.”

"I see. Understood."

In truth, he wanted to hear these words.

Woohyuk glanced at Leifina who was dying of embarrassment.

‘I will definitely protect you.’

After Lucretia had died, he vowed that he would never repeat his mistakes, but it wasn’t as easy to do as he had hoped.

Woohyuk galloped onwards, hoping that the day would come when he could have a sincere talk with Leifina.