King of succubus

Chapter 273 The Ghost Town. 2

"The adventurers who are involved in the exploration of this planet have discovered ancient remains that are several millennia old. An entire city is hidden behind an invisible barrier: the ghost town!"

"...The ghost town?" Alvine asked, doubting that he had misunderstood Vandel's words.

"Yes, a city that, if I rely on the leader of the adventurers' guild, is probably bigger and more mystical than the city where we currently live!" Vandel said in a monotonous tone.

Alvine remained silent for a long time to deal with the news he had just heard. He then looked at Assiaphir, who was sitting next to Vandel.

Understanding the hidden meaning of Alvine's gaze, she shook her head. "Never heard of it, even when my father was alive. But, even if my memory is blurred because of my young age at that time, my father still told me a story during his rare free time."

"A story?" Alvine asked curiously.

"Um, but it's more like a children's tale than a legend. But as he was obsessed with the remains of the goddess, he kept telling me that there was a palace hidden on our planet that could grant all wishes. And he constantly said that to reach his goal, he needed to access this palace, and to do so, he constantly said that he needed something that belonged only to the monarch of death. Even now, his words remain a mystery for me, and I still don't know if this tale links with Sir Vandel's information."

Following Assi's information, Alvine, still dissatisfied and tense, asked Vandel again: -Have you noticed signs of life?

"Precisely, this is where it becomes interesting. The adventurers took their legs on their necks from the moment they inadvertently crossed the illusory barrier. Even if they had not noticed a living creature or a civilization, they could not help but flee because of the murderous aura they felt. And according to the report of the guild leader... Even if it is not confirmed, they classified the area as an indescribable danger zone!"

"Indescriptible?" He asked with a confused air.

At this moment, Yasmine enters the conversation. "Milord, it is the classification system that the adventurers' guild has created to classify the areas they explore. The safe zone, Mortal areas, destructive areas, catastrophic areas, and indescribable areas! The safe zone is as its name suggests. Mortal is a dangerous area for the divine mages of the lower rows and below. Destructive areas are forbidden zones for any divine mages of low row and below. As for catastrophic, it is an area that high-level divine mages should only explore. Intermediate divine mages will be highly likely to die if they venture into such areas. And finally, there are indestructible areas! ...these areas are places that exceed the threshold of danger that high-ranking divine mages can define!" Yasmine gave this explanation without further delay.

"Normally, there would not be such an untenable classification. (After all, until recently, I myself did not know that there could be such a legendary planet, including the existence of the primordials). After a long discussion, we decided to integrate the indescribable rank into the ranking. It is quite normal that there are ferocious beasts that exceed the rank of high-level divine mages on a rank one planet. But I never imagined that we would discover their existence anytime soon!" She added.

'Hmm, an indescribable rank threat, huh? I will have to treat Linn here while monitoring this area before taking care of it. This city that Asssiaphir and the others took so much time and effort to build would be too in danger if such a threat attacked it.' He says to Himself in his thoughts.

"Sigh, you were right, grandpa Vandel. It is impossible for me to leave here by leaving such a threat behind me." He announced after careful consideration.

"I knew you would know how to make the right decisions." Vandel breathed a sigh of relief while saying these words.

"But one thing intrigues me, what were the ranks of the adventurers who discovered this area with an indescribable level of threat?"

"It's the strongest team among adventurers. They were a team of ten, including six intermediate mages and four high-level divine mages! That's also the main reason that prompted the guild master to submit this report to me without further delay." Vandel explained following Alvine's question.

"... Four high-ranking divine mages, huh? I don't remember having such many strong people on this planet. What exactly did you do during my absence?"

"Hohoho~, even this old man did not expect the new reward system to be so effective against the residents of this planet. At this rate, they will all be residents of the second-zone neighborhoods. But the most impressive thing is the planet that provides divine energy so pure that some cultivators had trouble supporting it. In addition, the cultivation method of Mistress Sabrina and that of Mistress Sylvia are beyond imagination."

"Their effectiveness is unprecedented and allows practitioners to gain ten years of cultivation in less than twenty-four hours! Not to mention the first-class resources that are constantly provided; we were worried at the start when we saw people progress with so much diligence. But after hearing Mistress Sylvia's complaints that they were slow, we finally abandoned our research into this detail."

Alvine frowned after Vandel's explanations. "These girls...! Sigh, to say that they didn't teach me anything about these methods." He then murmured with a disappointed air.

"..." Upon hearing him complain, everyone remained silent, except Assiaphir...

"How can you complain like this? If I may, the first time I spoke with you was not even ten years ago, and at that time, you were a mage who had just started his cultivation. In less than ten years, you have become a divine mage of intermediate rank! And it's because I calculate this time based on the flow from the lower planets. These figures will be suspicious if I calculate them with the standards of this planet."

"What?! Ten years?!" Yasmine looked at Alvine with similar eyes to the others in a situation similar to her at the time.

"... F-Finally, I guess they have personal reasons for not telling me about such methods," Alvine replied, seeing the conversation turned to his disadvantage.

"Is there anything else to mention?" He then asked when he saw everyone's silence.

At that moment, Yasmine raised her hand to ask permission to speak.

"Sigh, we are not in class. You can talk without needing such futile ceremonies."

"T-Thank you for your "easygoing" your majesty. Ahem, I had proposed something to Sister Assiaphir, but she asked me to wait until you came back to talk about it. Because, according to her, it is a sensitive subject that cannot be dealt with without your presence."

She then took a break to regain her cool after the shock.

"The planet is currently understaffed, drastically limiting our momentum towards sustainable and effective development. That's why I thought it would be effective to welcome more people to accelerate development in the right direction. Some races are talented in a fixed field, such as dwarves, who are naturally gifted in the profession of forging and creating high-ranking artifacts. Giants who will be more productive in the mines with their extraordinary strength and endurance, hybrids who are excellent alchemists, etc. In addition, having more subordinates is not only limited to the advantages I have just mentioned; it also has the advantages of strengthening the number of military forces."

Hearing her list such advantages one after the other, Alvine nodded satisfactorily. 'She finally shows her observation talent.' he comments to her in his thoughts with a slight smile.

"Indeed, I agree with everything you have just mentioned. But during this, you seem not to have taken into account the disadvantages. I am not against foreigners or globalization. But unfortunately, these factors also come with their problems. Interacting with the outside world also means letting them interact with you. First of all, I would like to clarify one point, I am not someone with the skills of an unfailing leader, but the nature of people, and their greed for power, are factors that are not unknown to me. That is why, even if I find your proposal adequate, at the moment, I cannot apply it because of the fragility of our kingdom. But after a few years, we will have nothing to fear to climb to the top."

Following these words, Yasmine profoundly sighed while nodding her head. "You're right; I think I'm also affected by such greedy feelings. I apologize for being so...

"Why do you apologize? I don't hate ambitious people at all. The desire to want more than we already have is second nature. But being greedy without tactics is a behavior that has led and will lead many people to their losses. That's why be patient. If I planned to rule only one small rank one planet, I wouldn't be there now." He said with a distant look.

Seeing his eyes filled with an unfathomable thirst for power, Yasmine nervously gulped while trying to guess Alvine's goal. But she finally fell silent, lest her question would be offensive to the king.

But unlike her, Vandel did not miss such an opportunity.

"Ahem, seeing you like that, this old man is starting to be curious about your goal. If you intend to become a conqueror, how many planets do you intend to rule? About ten? Or maybe a fifteen?" He asked with a mysterious smile.

'Thank you, old man.' Yasmine replied internally with her sharp ears pricked up for not to lack any words from her king.

"Hm? A man grows up gradually with his goals. Even if the word conqueror is a little exaggerated in my case... in short, it doesn't matter. But for now, don't you find it strange that he doesn't have a new candidate for the supreme throne for millennia?" He said in a thoughtful tone while caressing his chin.

But at that moment, the most confused person was none other than Asiaphir.

"What do they have to do with the goddess's throne? W-Wait, are we talking about the same goddess?" She stammered these words.

"Reha? The supreme tree? Yes, we talk about one goddess!" Alvine tilted her head with a questioning air.

"!!"

But seeing their eyes, his smile fainted. "Is there a problem?" He then asked.

*A-Are you able to pronounce the name of the supreme goddess? W-With so much disregard in addition to that? * Assiaphir asked with disbelief. At the same time, Vandel and Yasmine remained silent without understanding Alvine's words.

*Hm? Is there a problem with that? * Even if he did not understand why Assiaphir suddenly decided to address him telepathically, he still did not ask himself a question too much.

"In short, my goal is to rise to the top. I would be a ruthless demon for my enemies and a saint for my allies and family. An executioner for traitors and those who try to harm my people. But while playing these different roles, I would make sure to create a kingdom that will be above all the others. Whether in power or influence."

"..."

Seeing everyone silent, he acted as if he had said nothing. "For now, let's take care of the exploration of the mysterious town. Grandpa, you will assemble an exploration team, including Assiaphir and me. We will investigate the mysteries of this city tomorrow!"