Chapter 176: Kingdom of Winter 1

After locking Princess Eleonora in the bedroom, Woohyuk decided to plan out measures.

The Imperial Palace and the Holy See would discover that she had visited this place sooner or later.

In order to avoid unnecessary suspicion, he had to decide on a lie with Eleonora and match their testimonies.

'I should also notify Rosenkreuz.'

Eleonora had visited him for the purpose of keeping Woohyuk from joining the Pope’s faction.

Rosenkreuz was aware of this fact, so he was most likely very concerned right now.

So, in order not to dissatisfy him, Woohyuk’s position had to remain neutral on the surface.

'I could join the war using this opportunity.'

Even if he had captivated her heart, he couldn't stand by and support Eleonora right now.

He still couldn’t make the Church his enemy.

Therefore, rather than participating at the northern front and helping the Holy Aperian Empire, it was better to come up with a cause of their own and advance to the Norton Kingdom.

'The border area of the Norton Kingdom can also be seen as a potential northern front.'

If Nigel, the Lich Lord, left Dreadlore and moved south with his army of the dead, the Lydia Kingdom and the Norton Kingdom would be destroyed in no time.

In the past, they had conquered the Dane Kingdom along with the Rhine Kingdom to its west.

The ex-necromancer Logan had played a big role during this conquest, but Nigel also had the same potential.

If Woohyuk informed the others about the dangers in advance, King Colesman of the Norton Kingdom would not hesitate to lead his army.

When his thoughts reached that conclusion, Woohyuk immediately wrote a letter to King Colesman.

The contents were information about Nigel and the dangers he could bring, based on his past memories.

Since Woohyuk had done a lot of research before regressing, it was not difficult to write convincingly.

After finishing his letter and signing at the bottom,

Knock knock.

He heard some knocks on the door along with Tinia’s voice behind it.

“May I enter, Your Majesty?”

“What is it?”

“I want to report about my tasks.”

Since he had kept the Rhine Kingdom’s throne empty for a long time, Woohyuk had given his role of king to the vassals he had left behind.

Once Woohyuk gave his permission, the door opened.

A beautiful woman in a red dress appeared before him.

She had paid a lot of attention to her clothing since they hadn’t seen each other in a long time.

“How are Silvia and her friends doing?”

“Everyone seems to like the Academy quite a bit. Thanks to a talented master, her magic skills have improved a lot.

Silvia's friends were Yoo Kayoung, Song Anna, and Undine.

All of them are apprentice magicians with high growth potential.

Woohyuk still couldn’t use them in practice, such as battles, but he expected them to become reliable vassals in the future.

He had the greatest expectation in Song Anna. She had a hidden class called “Child Blessed by the Seven Stars”, so she could challenge the Divine Thrones if she grew powerful.

As Woohyuk received reports from Tinia, the door swung open again and Lia jumped in with a bright expression.

“Daaaaad~!”

She was wearing a cute light blue dress Leifina had prepared for her.

Woohyuk lifted her up and carefully placed her on his shoulders.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes, Mom taught me how to cook too!”

“.. What?"

The usually dignified Woohyuk's face was suddenly filled with confusion.

Tinia covered her mouth and giggled when she saw his reaction.

“Leifina is terrible at cooking. I'm not very good at it either, but she was a considerable sight to see.”

“...”

Woohyuk was speechless for a while.

Leifina's special dish could be served this evening.

But if he didn't eat it, she would be disappointed.

'Even though I warned her so much not to cook...’

It seemed that she had gained an interest when Hans, the King of Cooking, arrived.

As Woohyuk's face darkened, Lia tilted her head and spoke.

“Dad, are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. It’s nothing.”

He couldn't express his grievance to a child who was only one year old.

After noticing his thoughts, Tinia gently leaned forward and whispered to Woohyuk.

“Instead of forcing yourself, why don’t you give her a harsh comment? There's nothing worse and more painful than forcing yourself to eat bad food...”

Tinia was keeping Leifina in check in her own way, because she knew that Woohyuk cared a lot about her.

Moreover, the golden dragon Lia was entrusted to her, so the trust between Leifina and Woohyuk was very deep and strong.

As Tinia stared at Lia, Woohyuk summoned Carnelian.

“Say hello to her. She’s your mother.”

“...”

Carnelian looked at Woohyuk with absurdity written all over her face.

As she didn’t obey him, Woohyuk asked her,

“Is there a problem?”

“Didn’t you say that the being who gave birth to me was Arcana, the Red Dragon King?”

“Arcana is dead. So you need someone else to care for you and raise you.”

Therefore, Tinia was going to be her adoptive mother.

At Woohyuk's explanation, Carnelian slightly bowed to Tinia.

“.. I’ll be in your care.”

“Oh my, you're leaving such a cute child with me? Thank you so much."

Tinia smiled like an angel and hugged Carnelian.

With this, she could face Leifina as equal rivals.

In addition, she was in a very good mood because Woohyuk had recently granted her a vast territory in the Dane Kingdom.

“You two will get along very well. Carnelian is a red dragon, so she has a fiery personality.”

“.. I hope that was a compliment.”

Tinia pouted and turned her head to the side.

Lia giggled and extended her hand at Carnelian.

“Hi, I'm Lia! Nice to meet you!”

“.. Yeah, me too.”

The small hands of the two young dragons united.

A bond was formed between them for being of the same race

Woohyuk spoke to them all after watching their exchange.

“Carnelian was subjected to severe torture and needs treatment for a while. She will receive psychotherapy from a specialist, so pay special attention to her.”

Incidentally, there was a renowned doctor in this field in Leifina's fief.

And if he also ordered Alphone, who could peer into souls, to help the specialist during the treatment, there would be some positive results.

Carnelian would become one of his main forces in the future, so this treatment couldn't be neglected.

Tinia nodded with a serious expression.

“I won't disappoint you. I will do my best.”

The man she loved believed in her and had entrusted her with an important task.

She could not neglect it.

As Tinia patted Carnelian with a determined look,

Knock knock.

This time, Dexter’s voice resounded behind the door.

“My Lord, this is Dexter.”

“Come in.”

Woohyuk had called Dexter for equipment customization.

Since he had explored many historical sites so far, he had numerous artifacts piling up in his possession.

It was a good opportunity to try to upgrade his equipment.

“What mission will you give me this time?”

“I'll give you some items I don't need, so find out what kind of higher-level equipment you can produce with them.”

When it came to equipment production, it was difficult to create new items and production methods unless it was done by a craftsman-class like a blacksmith.

Woohyuk knew of many production methods, but Runesmith Dexter would be able to create better items than him.

Dexter's eyes widened when Woohyuk took out the items he had collected.

“Just, just where did you obtain all of these items..?”

“I explored countless ruins strategically.”

Places with moderate rewards were excluded from his plans.

As a result, all the items in his possession were of high quality.

One could not find better materials than these to be able to create high-grade equipment

“I, I will do my very best.”

"Wait. There is something you need to do before that.”

Woohyuk pulled out a rather short and transparent string from his pocket.

Then he tied it to Dexter's wrist.

[The Shackles of the Prisoner of War has been activated.]

[You can be remotely controlled by the person who shackled you, and your location will be revealed to them in real time.]

[The shackles cannot be removed unless the other party's permission is given.]

A series of system messages appeared before Dexter's eyes.

“This, this is...”

“It's a control device. It would be troublesome if you turned your back on me.”

Dexter hadn’t been Woohyuk's vassal for long.

So if he got blinded by greed, he could throw away his own territory in the Dane Kingdom and run away.

Considering the value of the items entrusted to him, Woohyuk had to take these extreme measures.

"Please don’t worry. If he shows any suspicious signs, I will kick his ass.”

Tinia glanced at Dexter with a confident expression.

Since their fiefs were adjacent to each other, it was easy to know what the other was doing.

“Then I should resurrect the Valkyrie now.”

Now that the internal arrangements were over, Woohyuk stood up from his seat.

Afterwards, he summoned his vassals in front of the mansion and ordered Sieg to bring Brynhild's coffin.

“Does it have to be outside?”

“We can’t have Leifina’s mansion potentially collapse by doing it inside.”

It was a ceremony to summon the soul of the demigod Valkyrie.

He didn't know what kind of effects it would have or what unexpected things would happen.

The blue sky gradually darkened as Woohyuk drew the White Ghost King’s stigma in the air with a serious expression.

historical

A total solar eclipse caused by a red moon.

When the sun completely disappeared, a dark portal appeared before Woohyuk, and the White Ghost King emerged.

“You called, Lord Asura?”

“I'm going to begin the resurrection ceremony now, so take over if something goes wrong.”

He had to prepare for the worst case scenario.

When the White Ghost King knelt down on one knee in obedience, Woohyuk took out the Valkyrie's Dagger.

“Rejoice, Sieg. Today is the day you reunite with your old lover.”

“If you save Brynhild, I will offer Tinia as your queen.”

He just didn't know when to give up.

Woohyuk looked at Sieg with a tired expression and then concentrated on the ritual again.

Rumble.

The Valkyrie's Dagger emanated a brilliant energy like an aurora, and it circled around Brynhild's coffin.

Shortly thereafter, a dazzling pillar of light descended from the black sky and lit up Brynhild.

'This is taking a long time.'

Perhaps the Valkyrie's soul was in heaven.

As Woohyuk stared up at the source of the pillar of light, Brynhild gently opened her eyes inside the coffin.

“Hmm...”

“Brynhild!”

Seek ran towards her with a thrilled look.

A reunion after thousands of years.

The two hugged each other in silence for a while.

“But Sieg, why do you have demonic energy inside you..?”

“This man here saved me. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn't be here today.”

Back then, Sieg was extending his life after having signed a contract with Kriemhild.

Therefore, he should have disappeared together with Kriemhild after her death.

At Sieg's explanation, Brynhild looked at Woohyuk in surprise.

“You saved Sieg.. Although you are a demon, I must thank you.”

“If you’re truly thankful, I'll need something in return.”

Woohyuk spoke as he held out the Valkyrie's Dagger.

He is a monarch who never made losses.

He already had a plan on how to use Brynhild during this expedition.