Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 101

Player Who Became a Constellation – Episode 101

“Hahahahaha-!”

The soldiers following Lord Halloom froze in their tracks.

Conversely, Lord Halloom, who was commanding them and attempting to return to their homeland, erupted in laughter, raising his hands high towards the sky.

A magnificent spectacle of golden light cascaded from above.

The mere sight of it sent shivers down his spine.

Soon after, he could discern the screams echoing from beyond the barrier.

‘It’s the Constellation’s miracle!!!’

Halloom had directly witnessed Loki’s powers firsthand.

The miracle potion, and the brilliant strategy and overwhelming power against the Ronia army!

Indeed, his choice had been the right one.

That demon, no, the Constellation, was the one who would immortalize him as a figure worthy of being recorded in mythology.

The one who would elevate him to become a great king!

“Great being-!”

Now, he only had one task to fulfill!

“Great Constellation! According to your command-!”

‘I will capture Ash Ronia!’

-Head to the royal capital. And.

The order Loki had given.

-Open the gates of the royal capital.

He hastened towards the royal capital, eager to unleash another wave of poison.

***

The Ronia army, comprised of 10,000 vanguard troops, 20,000 central troops, and 50,000 main troops, had suffered near-total annihilation.

This was attributed to harsh environmental conditions, logistical failures, and unforeseen ambushes.

Among these factors, the most devastating event was the catastrophic disaster that occurred at the frozen barrier.

-Don’t…! Don’t fight them! They are demons!

-They cast a curse! A curse that spreads light, causing the skin to rot…! Tens of thousands have evaporated!

-Demons? Gods? Ha, haha…hahahaha!

These were the frantic words of those who had survived and escaped the frozen wasteland.

Light of death descending from the sky…? Moreover, the evaporation of tens of thousands of people?

Such tales were relegated to the realm of myths.

But one thing was certain.

Asgard possessed unimaginable power, and they had begun to reveal it in earnest.

The mightiest warriors of mankind were now poised to march towards Ronia.

***

Ronia’s capital, Lost.

Ash meticulously followed the news regarding Asgard’s conquest, not missing a single detail.

When Ash initially received word that Asgard’s frozen barrier had been breached, he was overjoyed and filled with hope.

No matter how formidable the opponent, they were still human. Against a large enough force, their power would be rendered useless!

Shortly after dispatching sufficient food, water, and reinforcements as requested by the outpost, he received the news of Lord Halloom’s return.

He had secretly hoped for Halloom’s demise, and his safe return filled Ash with disappointment.

The high-ranking nobles were preoccupied with coveting Halloom’s wealth and shielding him, leaving insufficient grounds to execute him outright.

But more than anything, what plunged him into despair was….

“…They have suffered losses close to annihilation.”

The evaporation of tens of thousands of troops.

Ash could scarcely believe his ears.

“They unleashed large-scale magic! The main force was wiped out in a single blow….”

“D, do they have wizards?”

The nobles buzzed with unease.

Halloom’s report was enough to agitate the nobles.

“This is the first I’m hearing of this,” Ash said, surprised, glancing at the foreign envoys among his vassals.

They were the ones who had pledged troops to support Ronia.

“We provided soldiers under the understanding that we were to punish barbarian groups, but we were not informed of such high-risk elements.”

Ash’s expression hardened.

“Our country will withdraw from this Ronia conflict.”

“Wait! The agreement was different!”

“Wasn’t it Your Highness Ash who presented a different picture! Wizards? Where on this continent is there a wizard capable of evaporating tens of thousands of people with a single spell!?”

It must be an exaggerated rumor… the foreign envoys reasoned.

But the fact remained that 80,000 troops had been decimated.

They deemed it wiser to retreat than to confront such adversaries.

The foreign envoys departed from the king’s audience chamber.

As Ash stared blankly at their retreating figures, a sudden realization struck him.

“…Supplies!”

The supplies sent before Halloom’s return had ended up being handed over to Asgard.

“…Ugh-!”

Ash screamed, clutching his head.

“I’m going to die! I’m going to die! I’m going to die…!”

Ash shook his head wildly.

“Y, Your Highness…!”

“C, calm down!”

The nobles attempted to restrain Ash, but he lashed out at them.

“You’re saying you seized the frozen barrier? But it’s already fallen? All 80,000 of my troops are dead…?”

“N, no. Some of them are still alive!”

“Isn’t that the same thing! Being captured by those guys is no different from being dead! Damn it! Find the one who gave the first report and tear him to pieces! And his entire family…!”

Ash succumbed to despair and slumped down on the throne.

The nobles exchanged worried glances, whispering amongst themselves.

‘…The barbarians will invade Ronia.’

‘What will become of us now? They are the ones who defeated 80,000 troops! What if they attack…!’

‘This is all because of His Highness Ash, who initiated war against an unknown country!’

The nobles secretly criticized Ash, some of whom had initially advocated for the subjugation of the barbarians.

Ash lowered his head, overhearing their hushed conversations.

‘Perhaps we should reconsider the matter of the throne now….’

‘But there are no remaining members of the royal family, are there?’

‘…There is Prince Eron.’

‘We don’t even know where he is, do we?’

‘Wait, I heard he went north?’

‘…Then does that mean Prince Eron has won over those barbarians?’

‘The one thing no one else could do…?’

‘He could do it.’

‘Above all, Marquis Fam is by his side, isn’t he? Even though the family is gone, if he has his strategy….’

‘…Maybe we can serve Prince Eron again.’

Upon hearing those words, the muscles around Ash’s eyes twitched.

Before he knew it, Eron was on the verge of being crowned king.

“Eron….”

He was flustered.

The nobles were startled and looked at Ash.

Ash laughed while sobbing.

Mad laughter escaped his lips as he glared at the nobles as if he wanted to kill them.

“Why? Is my brother so much better than me?”

“No, Your…Highness?”

“Prince? Did you say prince? I am the king! Ash Ronia! The ruler of this great Ronia…!”

Ash jumped up and glared at the noble who had addressed him as ‘prince.’

The noble couldn’t withstand the intense gaze and lowered his head, trembling.

“If you want to go to Eron’s side so badly…I’ll send you! But you won’t go alive! You are destined to live or die with me! You are my servants and vassals, the king! You must live for me, the king! I believe you know how I got to this position…!”

Ash looked at the nobles and shouted, and they averted their eyes.

Clap…! Clap…! Clap…!

A faint clapping sound echoed in the hall, and Ash frowned.

To dare clap in the presence of the king?

How rude is this…!?

“Who is it! Who dares to clap in front of me…!”

At that moment, the door of the main hall shattered.

Splinters flew, showering the nobles, and the door itself was embedded in the wall right next to the throne.

Ash was startled and slumped down on the spot.

Clap-! Clap-! Clap-!

The clapping sound, previously muffled by the door, now rang out clearly.

Ash looked towards the entrance of the main hall.

A colossal figure, reaching 3m in height, with a shaved head and a brown-skinned, obese physique, lumbered into the hall.

No, it was a human who resembled a monster.

One of the 12 heroes, the ruler of the Kron Empire, Emperor Kashar Kron.

Clad only in rags and a pair of pants, he thumped heavily as he approached Ash, continuing to clap.

Ash flinched with each clap.

Kashar ceased clapping directly in front of Ash.

“Ha! Forgive my rudeness, King! I was so moved by your touching speech that I couldn’t help but applaud!”

“Kashar Kron.”

He lowered his waist to meet the eye level of Ash, who remained seated.

The Emperor of the Kron Empire…!

The emperor of the great empire that had supported 40,000 troops had now arrived in the Ronia royal capital.

“Hmm… Is that Stingger guy here by any chance?”

At those words, the nobles gathered in the main hall flinched.

Kashar made eye contact with each of them and licked his lips.

“I guess not. There was a rumor that he was missing and dead…. I guess it’s true?”

He couldn’t help but remember the Stingger family of Ronia, no matter what.

This was because he was blocked by him every time the Empire invaded Ronia.

“Too bad. I wanted to cut off that guy’s head myself.”

Failing to occupy even a single territory of Ronia was tantamount to tarnishing the achievements of the Kron Empire and its Emperor.

“W, what brings you…here…?”

“Huh? If the Emperor himself has stepped forward, shouldn’t you be bowing your head?”

“…….”

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Kashar retrieved a document from his robes and handed it to Ash.

“What’s that…?”

“It is a pledge to cede 20% of Ronia’s territory to our great Kron Empire and to offer 3,000 slaves and food as tribute every year.”

“……!”

Kashar brought the document closer to Ash’s face.

The pungent, fishy odor assaulted Ash’s nostrils, but he had no time to dwell on it.

Kashar looked Ash in the eye and said.

“I will protect you from those barbarians. What will you do…?”

Ash trembled, meeting his gaze.

The corners of Kashar’s mouth curled into a smile.

“You have to protect that throne, don’t you?”

***

“Reporting.”

The grand hall of Valhalla Palace.

Loki, seated on the throne, barely paid attention to Aum’s report from the side.

“Currently, the survivors of Ronia have been arrested as prisoners, but there are too many injured, making them difficult to manage. What should we do?”

“Whatever.”

“…Understood. Next is about the frozen barrier. Most of the facilities have been burned to the point of being unusable, and the air is polluted. Restoration is underway, but it is expected to take a considerable amount of time. What should we do?”

“Whatever.”

“Understood. Next. Recently, Ronia’s supply unit arrived at the frozen lake. The supply is enough to feed about 50,000 troops comfortably for two weeks. What should we do?”

“Whatever.”

“…Understood.”

Aum glanced at Loki.

His face was obscured by the goat bone helmet, but his mood seemed to permeate the very atmosphere.

‘Annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying.’

Perhaps he was thinking something along those lines.

He must be feeling irritated that he had to exert himself directly because of the invasion of Ronia.

While he was radiating such annoyance, an unexpected guest arrived to see Loki.

It was Eron and Marquis Fam.

They addressed Loki.

“Please lend us your troops.”

That was quite a sweet whisper to Loki, who was consumed by annoyance.

“We will invade Ronia.”

King Elron, who lost 100,000 troops in the Northern Expedition and suffered from dementia.

Prince Ash, who sold his people and territory to the Holy Church and the Kron Empire to survive.

And now, Prince Eron, who declared his intention to invade his own country.

“…….”

Ronia was a truly crazy place.