Transcendent Warrior with a Dimensional Shifting Inventory

26

What Minhyuk had intended to negotiate and receive from the emperor was his own territory that would not be subject to the empire’s interference.

However, the emperor’s mouth uttered that he would give him the entire Asdel Empire.

It was a completely unexpected and absurd statement.

‘Has he gone senile?’

To be honest, he had been a little strange since earlier.

Just what did he see in him that made the emperor suddenly want to give him command of the entire expedition?

And now, he was going a step further and saying he would hand over the entire empire to him.

He understood that this expedition was an extremely important task that absolutely could not fail, but that was too much as a reward.

Minhyuk wasn’t the only one surprised by the emperor’s statement.

The princess’s eyes were also wide open and her mouth hung agape.

She observed the situation and carefully opened her mouth to address the emperor.

“Your Majesty, is this perhaps because of what I mentioned before···?”

She wondered if the emperor was doing this because she had said she would marry Minhyuk.

She wanted to dissuade the emperor, but she couldn’t help but let her words trail off.

She couldn’t bring up that statement again in front of Minhyuk, the person concerned.

The emperor continued to speak to Minhyuk.

“However, there is a condition. If you wish to become the lord of Asdel, you must marry the person I choose.”

At the mention of marriage, Minhyuk roughly grasped the situation.

He was trying to tie the princess and himself together in a marital relationship.

And he was saying he would give his son-in-law the authority to govern the household, the housemaster rights.

However, Minhyuk pretended not to know and asked, stalling for time.

“Marriage, you say? To whom?”

“The princess of the Asdel Empire and my only daughter, Christina···.”

“Father!”

The princess cried out.

In a conference room that wasn’t even a private space, the princess called the emperor ‘Father.’

That showed just how desperately she wanted to shut the emperor’s mouth.

However, the emperor did not stop.

“Marry Princess Christina. Then I will grant you all the rights to rule the empire.”

Minhyuk glanced at the princess.

He thought her face and body were fine.

‘What am I thinking right now?’

Minhyuk quickly regained his senses and asked the emperor.

“What if I succeed in the expedition but can’t marry the princess?”

“Like the others, I will grant you a territory commensurate with your achievements.”

Receiving a territory from the emperor and becoming a lord meant that you were the sole authority within your territory, but ultimately, you were still a subject of the emperor.

You could collect taxes from the inhabitants of the territory, but you had to pay some of it to the imperial palace, and when the palace needed it, you had to provide manpower and resources.

“Even if it’s small, please give me an independent land that is free from the empire’s interference.”

“That’s out of the question! If you don’t like my conditions, then just drop out of the expedition! I can just give the command to someone else!”

The emperor came on very strong.

Minhyuk didn’t provoke him any further.

His opponent was the emperor.

It was a situation on a different level from bargaining over the price of goods at the market.

Hmm—

Minhyuk was lost in thought.

Becoming the master of the empire was the best option for Minhyuk.

The more subordinates he had, the faster he could accumulate return time,

and if he came to rule Asdel, he would have all the troops of the fortress under his command.

He could also train the people and increase his forces.

The image of a ‘heroic emperor’ leading a vastly increased army and hunting beasts outside the territory of Kaho to accumulate return time came to his mind, and his chest swelled with grandeur.

‘But I have to get married.’

Minhyuk looked at the princess again.

She was covering her flushed face with both hands.

Judging from the fact that she was not objecting angrily, it seemed that if the emperor pushed her and she agreed, the marriage would be successfully arranged.

‘Should I just go ahead and get married?’

When he watched dramas, political marriages often appeared.

Marriages without love, for the sole benefit of each party.

Once he had the empire in his hands, if the princess was nice to him, he could show her affection, and if she misbehaved, he could just cast her aside.

While Minhyuk was thinking all sorts of arrogant thoughts in his head, the emperor continued speaking.

“I will not ask you to decide right now. First, succeed in the expedition and return.”

In the end, Minhyuk received a very unique contract from the emperor.

The gist of the contract was as follows:

Michael would be in overall command of this expedition.

And if he succeeded in the expedition and returned to marry the princess, he would gain the right to rule the Asdel Empire.

If he did not wish to marry the princess, he would be granted a territory commensurate with his achievements, just like the other nobles.

After the emperor left, only Minhyuk and the princess remained in the war room.

The princess still had an awkward expression on her face because of the marriage talk.

But she knew what she had to do right now.

The princess said to Minhyuk.

“For now, let’s just focus on the expedition. If we fail, there’ll be nothing left.”

Minhyuk nodded.

If the expedition failed, they might not be able to restore the Altar of Protection ever again.

If that happened, the castle would be overrun and everyone would die.

The princess summoned General Drake and Professor Raymon.

And she informed them that Minhyuk would be in charge of the expedition.

And even though it was late at night, the strategy meeting began.

As the key figures in the expedition, they needed to figure out the basics before gathering the substitutes tomorrow to discuss the necessary details.

As the commander, Minhyuk led the meeting.

“Professor Raymon.”

“Yes, Supreme Commander! No, should I call you the prince consort? Or Your Majesty, the future emperor?”

Rumors spread quickly in the palace.

And Raymon wasn’t the type to let such rumors pass him by.

The princess glared at him.

Minhyuk ignored it and asked Raymon what he was curious about.

“In your judgment, how much time do we have?”

He was asking when the dragon that had killed Kudakang would start moving again.

“According to the ancient texts, it is said to take 90 days for a dragon to completely absorb and make its own the magical power it has absorbed from a single king.”

This time, Minhyuk asked the princess.

“How long has it been since Kudakang died?”

“It was 35 days ago that the messenger left Melbeck. And at that time, Kudakang had already been dead for about 15 days.”

There was information in the scroll that estimated the time of Kudakang’s death based on the level of decomposition of the body.

In the end, the story was that 50 days had passed since the dragon killed Kudakang.

So there was a high probability that the dragon would resume activity in 40 days.

40 days.

That was the time they had left.

They had to get their hands on Teidon’s heart within that time.

‘Time is running out.’

Minhyuk asked Raymon the second most important thing.

“Is there an easy way to hunt Teidon?”

Before, General Drake had mentioned in passing that there was a way to hunt Teidon with a small number of troops.

He was asking exactly what that method was.

Come to think of it, Raymon had all the key information.

There was a reason why the talkative professor was able to keep his position in the palace.

The professor opened the ancient text he had brought with him.

There was a picture of Teidon in it.

It looked like a bear on the outside.

However, it was a whopping 10 meters tall.

“Taedon has a unique habit. He enjoys drinking alcohol on a full moon night.”

A bear that enjoys drinking alcohol on a moonlit night.

“Where does he get the alcohol to drink?”

“Taedon makes his own alcohol. There is a large rock in his territory with a bowl-shaped hollow in the center. He collects fruits from the forest and puts them in there to ferment and make alcohol.”

As soon as Taedon finishes drinking, he immediately fills the hollow in the rock with fruit again.

And he lets it ferment until the next full moon.

“So, the trick is to put poison in his alcohol?”

“Something like that. We will squeeze the juice of the poisonous fruit called Pookari into his drinking hole. If he drinks that, he won’t die, but he will fall into a very deep sleep. Then we can approach him, cut open his chest, and take out his heart.”

“Are you sure that method will work?”

“That’s what the book says.”

“Where can we get that fruit?”

“We have to get it in the forest on the way to Taedon’s territory.”

We have a rough plan.

4,000 troops will travel to Taedon’s territory, hunting the beasts they encounter along the way and collecting Pookari berries at the same time.

And when they arrive at Taedon’s territory, 200 special forces will sneak into his lair and mix Pookari juice into his alcohol.

When Taedon falls asleep, Minhyuk will cut open his chest and take out the magic bead.

The princess spoke.

“The full moon will rise in 5 days. But even if we send out an expedition tomorrow, it is impossible to reach Taedon’s territory within 5 days. So, we only have one chance, 35 days from now, when the next full moon rises!”

.

.

.

The meeting ended after midnight.

Minhyuk returned to the mansion with General Drake.

And he taught him swordsmanship until dawn.

The general, looking at the morning glow, said to Minhyuk with a smiling face.

“If either you or I die on this expedition, our swordsmanship lessons will end.”

Minhyuk smiled faintly and said nothing.

The general continued.

“If anything happens to me, go to Melbeck and find a man named Tarman. He will give you the rest of the map.”

***

The ministers gathered in the civil war conference room.

Minhyuk was also there.

On behalf of the emperor, who was sitting on the throne, the princess relayed the contents of the letter from Melbeck to the ministers.

The fact that they didn’t have much time left and that if the expedition failed, they would all die was clearly conveyed to the ministers.

“So, we must all stake our lives on this expedition!”

As the princess finished speaking, the emperor officially announced that Minhyuk would lead the expedition.

“I will entrust Michael with the overall command of the expedition!”

And a full-scale meeting began on the troops and funding needed to organize the expedition.

The long and tedious meeting, which dragged on for hours, was about whether or not they could do it.

And then they had a short break for a meal and a nap.

Minhyuk also moved to the dining room and sat down.

Rumble-

A group of nobles flocked to Minhyuk and sat nearby.

They had all heard the rumor that Minhyuk might become a consort.

There were also rumors that the emperor might give him the right to rule Asdel.

The man next to Minhyuk introduced himself as the group’s representative.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Count Teran. I am the representative of the Blue Rose.”

The Blue Rose was one of the most successful noble gatherings in Asdel.

“If you need anything for the expedition, please let me know. We at the Blue Rose will do our best to prepare it for you.”

Minhyuk said without hesitation.

“The only things that will save the soldiers’ lives on the arduous expedition are good equipment and potions. Things like rare metal equipment and high-level potions.”

“Those things are so rare that even a lot of money can’t buy them…”

“I’ll get the items. You just pay for them.”

Minhyuk’s full-fledged money-making operation had begun.