Dictator From Outer Space

Chapter 197: The Second Son of the Count

Chapter 197: The Second Son of the Count

“The point you need to keep in mind is that the master is a nobleman…”

The continent of Astera had a mix of political systems, such as feudalism, absolute monarchy, and republicanism.

In fact, the political situation was not much different from Earth, and there were also nobles.

The only difference was that the nobles here had noble bloodlines, unlike the honorary titles on Earth.

“Depending on the case, the nobles of Astera are called golden ether instead of red blood. There is also a saying that ether flows instead of blood. That means that the nobles have a close relationship with ether.”

Indeed, the nobles lived a life close to ether from an early age.

They could not escape this fate even when they grew up, so most of the nobles became knights, magicians, or ether engineers.

It was best to become a knight who could ride Goliath, a decisive weapon, but magicians also received considerable treatment.

The most despised ones were ether engineers, who were criticized for doing something unworthy of the golden ether.

“However, it can be said that the engineers are the ones who lead the ether engineering, including Goliath.”

“It seems that engineers are underestimated everywhere.”

But even though they were despised, it was only in the noble society. 

The commoners could not dare to look down on them.

“In that sense, you can be a little more impatient when you use this person’s body.”

“Is he a bit arrogant?”

“He has been a mercenary for a long time. He has a personality that punches instead of warning.”

“He must have had many enemies.”

“Mostly elves. They are the strongest force in Astera, after all.”

The era of war.

The empire of Elvrande came to dominate or exile those who caught their eyes.

The elves were paying back what they had suffered in the past to humans.

That past was so long ago that even the records were faint, let alone the memory. But for the long-lived elves, it was only a few generations ago.

This difference in perception of time made the elves more arrogant.

Now they claimed this:

—We have flourished in magic and civilization since you were slaves of dragons.

—Our forests protected you and the world tree provided you with food. But you burned the forests and broke the branches of the world tree.

—Is that all? Your ancestors enslaved our ancestors. Now we will hold you accountable for that.

To these claims, humans shouted:

—Why are you making a fuss about something that happened hundreds of years ago?

—Didn’t you suffer almost no direct damage?

The elves responded with mockery to their shouts:

—Your ancestors lived on the land they built and inherited their civilization. Can you really say they are separate?

—If you want to claim that they are unrelated, then leave that land.

Of course, it was not easy to leave the land that they had lived on as their homeland for hundreds of years.

The human kingdoms fought desperately while suffering great losses, and the elves mocked them and expanded their land through war.

As a result, now about a quarter of Astera’s continent had fallen to Elvrande.

“Thanks to that, the forest is lush, but there is one problem. Mainly from the human perspective.”

“They can’t develop it.”

“Yes. The elves hate clearing the forest.”

The recent conflict between Elvrande and human kingdoms was mainly about this.

They had to clear land to accommodate the growing population and expand their kingdoms, but they were prevented from doing so.

But they couldn’t push them away with force because the elves were much stronger.

They had long lives, excellent ether sensitivity, and agility that led them to win wars easily.

If you look at the whole empire, there were more than 2,000 knights who qualified to ride Goliath, so it was barely possible for humans to compete with them if they united.

“Of course, such an alliance is only possible in dreams. It would be faster to bring peace to the Middle East.”

He left Earth a long time ago, but it seemed harder here.

Anyway, he learned from Yu Ji-ha what kind of attitude and behavior he should have as a nobleman.

“The important thing is that you are king in your territory. That doesn’t change even if other nobles or royalty come…”

“Legally speaking, that’s true. But in reality, it depends on how much military and economic power each noble has.”

“Reality is always cruel.”

The etiquette for nobles varied from country to country, but Yu Ji-ha’s place followed the traditional Astera style without much deviation.

It meant that he was no different from a king in his territory and only had to pay attention to higher nobles or royalty.

He looked at his territory shining on Yu Ji-ha’s screen.

It was the place he would rule from now on, stuck on the west coast of the continent.

“Being close to the sea is not a bad condition, but there is a problem on this planet Terra. There are ocean monsters and shadow elves.”

“…More elves?”

“You will hear more about elves from now on.”

“I’d better get used to it. Go on.”

“Shadow elves are different from wood elves in skin color, like black, white, and yellow races on Earth, and also in behavior. They mostly live by piracy.”

“Pirates. I guess it’s hard to subdue them.”

“Yes. They are very elusive and cunning.”

“They are quite large. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the whole race is pirates. And since it’s hard to resist the advance of the Elvrande Empire, there is no force to oppose the pirates.”

“I see… So most of the countries have abandoned the sea?”

“Some countries that have some resources do limited fishing activities. Elvrande is a typical example.”

Yu Ji-ha frowned.

Do they spare them because they are the same elves? Or do they have some kind of deal?

He didn’t get that information, but it was clear that the two elf races didn’t clash easily.

One reason was that they had different areas of activity.

“So what kind of place is our territory? If you give it a score?”

“It’s the worst of the worst. The administration is shattered by the death of the lord, and there are not many troops left. The people of the territory are also leaving to find a way to live. The only good thing is that there are not many big enemies who want the territory.”

“That means it’s a useless land.”

She nodded.

“Yes.”

He chose such a place because he wouldn’t get much attention even if he ran it as he pleased.

He would eventually attract attention if he developed, but by then he would have enough power.

“By the way, let me tell you that the body you will use is the second son of the lord, and now the only heir to the title of count after the death of his parents and older brother. His name is… Leobold Vandus.”

“The son of a count, I see. He lived as a mercenary and hurried back to his territory after receiving the news of his death?”

“Yes. He left his territory when he was young, so there are not many people who remember him among the people. The royal palace doesn’t expect much from him either.”

That meant that they wouldn’t find it strange even if he acted a little suspiciously.

The fact that his territory was a mess was not a big problem compared to that advantage.

It was almost certain that he would develop quickly now that he had arrived with the pioneer group.

But there was one more thing he needed to do to act like a real Leobold.

That was to control Goliath.

***

Goliath was a common bipedal weapon on Astera continent.

The height varied depending on the model, but it was about 7 to 8 meters, and there were also types that exceeded 10 meters, but most of them were ceremonial.

“It weighs close to 100 tons and its main weapons are swords and spears. It also uses ether cannons, but they can’t be used in real battles because they cause power system failures.”

It used various cores for power, mainly from demons, or Plagues.

This core supplied ether from the sun to the whole body and maintained the magic circle.

He looked at the small core graphic and asked.

“Is that the same as a Plague core?”

“Yes. The structure is exactly the same. There is a big difference in handling ether at a larger scale, though.”

“Don’t we have a lot of cores?”

“We have one Plague Queen-class, seven Leviathan-class, twenty Behemoth-class…”

Most of the over 500 cores were small Beast-class, but they far exceeded Astera’s ether core size.

“If core size is proportional to output, we can make a Goliath with tremendous output.”

“But we don’t know anything about it.”

That’s why he had to study ether.

He couldn’t call an assault armor or a settler ship to smash things up when he clashed with outsiders, could he?

Of course, he could do that when he reached a stage where he didn’t have to care about others, but this was the prophet’s homeland.

He didn’t want to be too noisy and provoke any enemies that might exist.

Another Plague or a dragon that had been gone for a long time, or even a god-like being.

“By the way, let me tell you that the beings that are usually called gods in Astera are unlikely to be prophets. There are quite a few gods who are worshiped.”

“Are there any gods who actually give their power?”

“Yes. Those who receive the power of gods are called champions. They did great deeds in the past dragon war.”

There were also factions that worshiped gods, such as holy states or orders, and they had considerable influence throughout Astera.

It makes sense that they couldn’t ignore them if there were real gods.

“But from our perspective, they are hard to call gods.”

“These gods are more like lower personality gods than transcendent beings. There are many records that show their imperfection, such as retreating from fighting dragons.”

“Then the only true god is the prophet.”

That was just a possibility.

Anyway, he needed to grow his territory to study ether.

Most of the ether engineers were nobles, and even if they were weak, they wouldn’t easily go to a shabby territory.

Arma gave an example that it was similar to the job seekers with specs who didn’t want to work for lower companies.

“The engineering world is sensitive to trends and rumors, and it’s hard to survive in such a society. You need to get a job in a well-off territory from the start.”

“It’s hard to climb up once you go for a lower option.”

“Yes. People’s perception is cold and cruel. An ether engineer who entered the count’s territory can only hope for the best as a count-level. If he gets along well with his siblings, staying in his father’s territory is also a good choice.”

It seemed that people were similar everywhere.

But there were some territories that ether engineers preferred even if they had low ranks.

“They prefer places that can provide a lot of research funds. Ether engineering requires a lot of money.”

Money meant gold.

There was hardly any civilization in human history that didn’t value gold, and it was even more so on Astera.

Ether engineering used a lot of gold.

Fortunately, the pioneer group had a lot of gold.

He had nearly 100 tons of gold on board when he left in 2177, and he collected more gold after he returned to the past.

It was about 150 tons in total, and it seemed useful.

Arma brought a Goliath for Yu Ji-ha, who wanted to see it.

The mechanical doll that was placed in the hangar looked sturdy, but it was too old.

It looked even more so compared to the assault armor that was restrained in a cage.

“Where did you get this?”

“I got it from a battle with Elvrande. You can think of it as transferring ownership in advance since we’re going to clash anyway.”

“Let’s just say that.”

Yu Ji-ha examined the Goliath and Lucia flew over and sat on his shoulder.

?This model is quite outdated. It’s not used much these days. Its name is Zagan.

“Really? You seem to know a lot about Goliath.”

?I’ve suffered a lot from them… Do you know that? Goliath is an advanced version of golem. It used to be a simple mechanical doll.

He was busy looking at the Zagan-class Goliath, whether she whispered in his mind or not.

He was a pilot, so he was familiar with and preferred the concept of riding something.

This mechanical doll didn’t have much combat power, but it was enough to arouse his curiosity just by being bipedal.

“How do you ride this?”

Lucia flew up and sat on top of the Goliath.

?Every Goliath has a start-up magic circle when it is made. Only the maker and the dedicated knight know that, but this one has a destroyed magic circle, so it will just open.

“So what do I do?”

?You’re good at handling living metal, right? Imagine opening the abdomen while spreading your psy-field.

It was like handling ordinary black metal, no, living metal.

When he touched the Goliath and spread his psy-field, its abdomen opened with a clank.

There was a chair inside that barely fit one person.

“It’s pretty cramped for a cockpit.”

He tilted his head slightly and went inside.

Before the cockpit closed, Lucia clasped her hands and said.

?Since there is no start-up magic circle, just imagine standing up and it will stand up.

“Thanks for the advice.”

A moment later, the cockpit closed and Lucia sat on Arma’s shoulder. 

They stepped back a little.

And the Zagan-class Goliath vibrated faintly and stood up… not really. It made a bang sound and spewed smoke, then collapsed as it was.

“Master.”

Arma quickly opened the cockpit forcibly and rescued Yu Ji-ha.

Lucia was amazed by his strength.

?Who is the master here…?

Yu Ji-ha muttered while sitting in a medical walker.

“What’s wrong with this?”

?The Zagan-class Goliath is an old mass-produced model. It has a low ether tolerance.

“So it couldn’t handle me.”

But there was something strange.

No matter how old it was, there wouldn’t be much difference in ether tolerance between models.

They were designed generously so that they could change knights at any time.

That meant that Yu Ji-ha was a monster out of specification.

And he couldn’t even use his full abilities because his ether circuit was broken.

What if he could use them all?

Lucia remembered the legendary Goliath that the dragons created to fight against the gods.

And the champion who controlled that Goliath.

‘Maybe he could match them…’

To confirm that, he needed to get a proper Goliath first.

While the medical walker moved Yu Ji-ha, Lucia sat on Arma’s shoulder and wrote letters in the air.

?I know a place where there is a good Goliath…

***

Yu Ji-ha and Arma watched Leobold Vandus from the main bridge.

He was currently fleeing after losing most of his troops in a battle.

All he could do was run blindly into the forest without any hornbirds or comrades.

“Are the pursuers Elvrande again?”

“There are some beastmen mercenaries hired separately. They are unmatched in tracking.”

He saw beastmen for the first time.

They had fur all over their bodies, so he thought they were dogs of Astera continent at first, but they were close to humans.

According to Arma, they spoke normally and had no difference in intelligence from humans.

“To be honest, I’m more curious about those walking dogs than anything else.”

“There are also races with wings, but we haven’t found their habitats yet.”

The important thing now was to secure Leobold’s body.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t help him before he died.

Yu Ji-ha watched him run away through the camera of Siberi satellite.

He seemed to have quite stamina considering he was still fine after running for a long time.

“He looks like me somehow.”

“It was hard to find him because he’s so tall.”

“By the way, what happens to Arma when I become a count and inherit the territory?”

“I’ll be your maid and butler. They’ll believe that I picked up a wanderer while I was a mercenary.”

“She stands out too much for a wanderer, but I guess it doesn’t matter.”

He was the king in his territory.

Even if other lords or the royal palace coveted Arma, he could just take them one by one using that as an excuse.

But he had to stabilize his territory first.

While they were watching, the distance between the pursuers and Leobold was getting closer.

No matter how good his stamina was, it was hard to shake off the beastmen.

The encirclement narrowed and an elf finally shot an arrow that pierced Leobold’s thigh.

“Ugh!”

He spat out a stifled groan and rolled on the ground.

It was close to a steep slope, so he rolled down and the beastmen who were chasing him stopped.

The elves who came late ordered them.

“What are you doing? Don’t you go down and check?”

“It’s so steep that we won’t be able to collect even his bones.”

“Maybe he’s dead?”

The beastmen mercenaries showed their reluctance to go down, and the elves got angry and spat out anything.

“That’s why you guys are wanderers without a home or a territory!”

“You live in burrows, so rolling down is normal for you, right? Go down quickly!”

The lips of the mercenaries curled up and their fangs were exposed, but they couldn’t talk back.

As Arma said, the elves treated all races like that. 

The shadow elves were a little better, but not much different.

“He’s quite a race… What happened to Leobold?”

“He died. He suffered shock from full-body burns after running out of stamina.”

If he hadn’t been dead for long, he could use the soul exchanger.

“Retrieve him. And do you know anyone who knows about this?”

If the elf knew Leobold and was hostile to him, there was a high possibility that he would cause trouble in the future.

Arma shook his head.

“He joined as a mercenary and he was such a minor noble that the upper echelons wouldn’t know.”

“Then get rid of them.”

As soon as the order was given, a shuttle nearby sent out a walker and retrieved the body.

The beastmen who were grumbling and going down and the elves who were on the cliff were surprised to see the surroundings brighten.

“What, what is this?”

“Attack first!”

Before they could put arrows on their bows, coilgun projectiles fired from the shuttle pierced their chests.

The pursuers were all killed and soon a gravity crane buried everything around them.

There was no evidence left.