King Ferdinand sat on his throne with a pensive expression.
The destruction of Heaven and the disappearance of Kong along with the two dukes arrived at a time when their strength was desperately needed.
Starting with Duchess Serenthia, the kingdom had lost all the dukes, including the oldest as well the strongest.
The Pala of today was a giant beast without the legs to support its weight. The peak rank 9s could only hold it for so long before it collapsed.
And now, even a peak rank 9 like the Martial Saint was in an unknown state.
Perhaps this kingdom was going to meet its en—
King Ferdinand's eyebrows jumped as he watched a familiar young man walk into the empty throne hall. The past replayed in his mind, contrasting it sharply with the present.
The king released his aura, just like he did back then. Varian froze without resistance then but now, he took steps with leisure, demonstrating that his strength was no longer something the King could ignore.
"Really, what a twist of fate." Ferdinand withdrew his aura and leaned back into his throne, weakness showing on his ever stern face for the first time.
The throne hall went from full to empty.
The confidence of the king and his kingdom crashed from peak to the bottom.
The young man who couldn't even face a bit of his aura had grown up so much that Ferdinand's instincts were warning him to be careful.
The king felt as if he had seen the lady luck dancing on top of the Pala kingdom. Playfully, she tilted the scales of their fortune.
Owing to her whims, here they lay, helpless as everything that was built up by effort crumbled in front of the might of nature.
"Fate…is truly impossible to resist, huh." The King sighed, clutching the armrest so tight that it cracked.
"I believe the opposite. Fate can be resisted, if you do the impossible." Varian spoke for the first time.
And as he did, a platform rose under him and on it, a throne. Showing himself as an equal to the King, he sat on it with a calm expression.
"Are you here to fight?" Ferdinand asked and a trident glowing in red light floated next to his hand.
"To propose a deal." Varian gave the king a smile. "To reach glory you'd have never imagined. Not even with Isadora."
"Are you really her brother-in-law?" Ferdinand asked something unexpected.
"No." Varian smiled. "I'm her husband first."
"As suspected." The king sighed, the disbelieving expression on his face not helping his words. "But I reject. Pala is fighting for survival. To even dream for glory in this situation would be to remain delusional. Survival comes before glory."
"I will be taking all the risk." Varian leaned forward, his eyes shining with a dangerous glint. "You just have to show some balls and pick up the reward."
"…"
The king would've chopped the head of anyone who dared to speak to him like that. But this was not someone he could kill. The prediction of his natal treasure regarding Varian was still fresh in his mind.
Given the ridiculous pace of growth shown by the young man, Ferdinand was inclined to believe he was going to succeed in whatever he was trying to accomplish.
Rubbing his chin with a complicated expression, he eventually asked. "What is the plan?"
"First, I assure you it's not as crazy as it sounds." A smile formed on Varian's lips.
*** *** *** ***
"So you are the Null Agent this time?" A octopus-headed humanoid in a black military uniform asked in a raucous voice.
"Yes, Sir." Varian, disguised as a thirty-year old Palarian with purple skin and six fingers, answered with a salute.
"You better accomplish something with your pathetic life. No one of your ilk has anything to add in the section of achievements." The presiding officer said with half-disgust and half-disappointment.
"I will make it count!"
Varian made a symbol with his left hand's fingers, placed it on his head and vowed. In some of Palarian cultures, it was a symbol for eternal vow, performed only in the most serious of ceremonies.
The officer seemed unimpressed and threw him a uniform.
An hour later, Varian tied up a palarian who looked exactly like himself, knocked him out and threw him in Hortus.
He then swiftly reached a Synthetic World stationed at the edge of Pala border.
"Young Master!"
The entry was smooth and the reception was smoother.
A few military officers greeted him with a flattering smile and welcomed him into a building reserved for special officers.
"A batch of reservists of 7th Prince's army are going to be deployed in the Vether region's 34D sector. They don't have extensive combat experience. Our reports say some of them are even prisoners sentenced to death." An old man with a goat beard explained.
Before Varian could respond, the plump lady sitting next to him picked up.
"To score as many merits as possible, you could propose that they'd be spared if they surrender. They won't believe it, but they will hesitate. Use that opportunity to kill as many as you can and then withdraw."
Varian leaned back against the chair and nodded with a nonchalant expression.
"Yeah, yeah, don't tell this young master what to do. I have studied everything from back to front and top to bottom." With arrogance oozing out of every word, he waved his hand at them, shooing them away.
"That is…"
The officers looked at each other, a hint of disgust flashing in their eyes which was quickly covered up by flattery.
"Then we wish you the best of luck, young master!"
"We await for your glorious records!"
"The young leader of Daxis family will show the Pala kingdom what he's made of!"
Flattering him with practiced faces, they slowly left the room. And before they did, Varian snickered and pointed down with a lewd smile.
"Ah yes, yes. We'll send a few freshly captured slaves."
As they promised, three beautiful military prisoners were sent to the executive room that turned into a temporary bedroom.
"M-Mi…"
"Please,"
"Kill me!"
Looking at the three female prisoners, Varian kept the lewd expression on his face but his eyes flashed with a silver light, sweeping their souls with his power and throwing them into a sexual dream.
While the three moaned so loudly that it was audible even outside the building, rumors of young master of Daxis, nicknamed as the Lustful Demon, spread in the official quarters.
The lustful demon in their words, however, didn't touch or even look at the women. Distancing himself from them, he used the power of illusions to erase their presence from his perception. The room was peaceful once again.
With a serious expression completely unlike the arrogant one he showed to others, Varian checked the plan for any improvements.
So far, everything had gone as planned.
Like every department, military too had corruption.
The Daxis family, one of the prominent pillars of the kingdom, with a peak rank 8 powerhouse, was planning to use its influence to create favorable conditions for its young master to farm military merits and use that as a justification to gain more political power in the coming days.
For that reason, they painfully considered many factors before finally deciding a suitable battlefield for the heir.
Unfortunately, their plans were fully visible under the king's spy network. Varian used the opportunity to 'become' the young master.
To accomplish something as great as capturing an entire satellite galaxy, not alerting the enemy was absolutely neecssary.
This disguise was critical for the plan to succeed.
"Lionar, here I come."