Second World

1878  Chapter 1878. Sangrod’s New Emperor

The pressure Arlcard exuded while under the Dark Lord Incarnation wasn't something that could be endured by these nobles. These nobles had rather high grades. They were special elites and rare elites, but their levels were low. They were all below level 50. They didn't train much and mostly relied on their soldiers to do the heavy lifting. Hence, when faced with a power they couldn't comprehend, they were overwhelmed.

Two-thirds of the nobles fell and sat on the ground. The other one-third were motionless with fear.

"One!" Arlcard's voice boomed.

These nobles were inherently cowards. Cut off from their soldiers and forced to face the danger themselves, they broke at the first count.

"I submit! Please don't kill me!" One of them exclaimed while falling to his knees.

"I… I also yield to your rule," Another spoke.

The others followed suit. They submitted one by one. The soldiers behind them also stood down.

Arlcard ended his Dark Lord Incarnation. He turned around without speaking to these nobles. He walked toward the palace's entrance, where Jonathan and Caleb were watching with speechless expressions.

"Show me the way to the throne room," Arlcard said to them.

"This… This way," Caleb said. His soldiers, who were guarding the entrance, made way for Arlcard to enter.

Entering the throne room, Arlcard went directly to the throne. When he touched the throne, a notification sounded in his mind.

"Maxius' bloodline detected. Do you wish to ascend to Sangrod's throne?" The voice asked.

Arlcard did not need to destroy the throne. His blood made him a legitimate heir. If another heir existed, the system would give a waiting period of one week for the responsible party to decide which heir would ascend the throne. Otherwise, Arlcard could just destroy the throne, but forcefully taking the throne like that would annul him from the ruling powers the previous sovereign might have saved.

As for Arlcard, he wasn't given the waiting period because the world system detected him to be the only remaining Maxius. There was no need to decide when there was only one heir. He could take the throne immediately if he wished.

He answered yes.

At that moment, a notification sounded in the mind of every Sangrod's citizen, including the outworlders. Arlcard was the emperor of the Sangrod Empire.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty," Caleb said. "Usually, there should be a ceremony…"

"We don't have time for that," Arlcard cut him. "Send a transmission to the retreating Sangrod army. Tell them to go to the prepared defensive line at our country's border. I will go there to lead the army myself."

"Right away, Your Majesty, but if you don't mind my advice. I suggest you spend another day meeting the nobles. Not just the ones who cause the ruckus outside, many other nobles have taken a temporary stay in this capital. A short meeting with them will be beneficial to let them acknowledge your rule."

"Hmph. Fine. Go ahead and arrange it, but I will only spare them one day. I will leave afterward," Arlcard said.

Caleb bowed and went out to send the transmission to the army.

Arlcard sat on the throne. The monarch system was activated. He was slightly unclear about what to do.

"If you like, I can help you with the monarch system," Jonathan said. He knew about the system. He learned about it from John and Linda. He had also been helping Horatio with the monarch system. That was one of the reasons he became close to Horatio and was appointed as one of the late emperor's advisors. His status as Sangrod's court advisor was still valid. His portrait was on the officer's page.

Arlcard nodded to Jonathan's offer. Jonathan approached the throne. He could see the interface window because he was an advisor.

"Hm… How odd…," Jonathan muttered.

"What is it?" Arlcard asked.

"I see that the interface is slightly different from when Horatio operated this monarch system."

"It's just a difference in display. It's not important," Arlcard said.

"I don't think it's that simple. Can you please check your sovereign power?" Jonathan asked.

When Arlcard was unsure what Jonathan was referring to, Jonathan told him where to click.

"I see… I have heard John and Linda mentioning this, but I didn't see this when Horatio was a sovereign," Jonathan said after reading the list of Arlcard's sovereign powers.

"What do you mean?" Arlcard asked. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"It seems you have the same benefit of an outworlder sovereign," Jonathan explained. "You have all the sovereign powers they have, including Call to Arms and Mass Drill. Horatio's sovereign powers were a much weaker version. With these powers, you can recruit lots of new soldiers. I bet you will also have the same benefit when you do manual recruiting on each settlement."

"Good… We need troops," Arlcard said.

"Hm… It's probably because you are an outworlder's companion. That's why you are granted this benefit. I mean, you already receive our fast leveling perk among other benefits. It makes sense that you also receive the same benefit when you become a sovereign."

Arlcard wasn't interested in the why. Jonathan was explaining things to himself for all he cared. He was simply interested in how he used this monarch system to help them face the underworld forces.

"How do I use these sovereign powers?" Arlcard asked.

"Just click on the one you want to use, but you need ruling powers to use them. Luckily, you inherited Horatio's ruling powers. He saved up quite a number. He couldn't use them on too many things, after all."

Arlcard's sovereign level was only level 1, but he had 191 ruling powers. If he had destroyed the throne to become a sovereign, these ruling powers would have been lost. He would have to start from scratch.

Following Jonathan's instruction, Arlcard did a manual recruit on each settlement. He then used Call to Arms and Mass Drill. He didn't have a problem with the high expenditure. Sangrod had plenty of reserve gold coins. Both Marcus and Horatio were good at managing the economy. Sangrod could be considered a prosperous country like Palgrost. If not for the limitation of a native sovereign, Sangrod wouldn't have lost to Themisphere in terms of amassing the army.

After using the sovereign powers, Sangrod received a large number of troops all of a sudden. They were all low levels, though. But with the State of Emergency enchantment, some of these recruits should hit the minimum required level to join the battlefield within one week, especially those sent to train at the war academies or barracks.

Caleb had returned to the throne room by then. Arlcard instructed him to manage the recruits. He was to prioritize the higher-grade recruits first for the slots of barracks and academies.

They continued working using the monarch system. They constructed more barracks in each settlement so more recruits could level up faster. Arlcard used his ruling powers to build these barracks instantly. He also used his ruling powers to hasten research that might help the war.

By the time he finished using the monarch system, he only had 7 ruling powers left. He didn't bother saving these ruling powers. The way he saw it, he didn't need them anymore if they lost the war. He might as well make full use of them now.

Arlcard also appointed new officers to fill up the officer portraits. He didn't know anyone in the empire, so he simply followed Caleb's suggestion for the court officers.

Arlcard was pretty sure Caleb chose his own people for the posts. Arlcard pretended not to know. He couldn't afford to play politics for now. Even if Caleb strengthened his political position with this move, at least that helped keep the country stable during the war. This was better than having multiple conflicting organizations vying for power and causing havoc. Arlcard couldn't afford the distraction. If they survived the demon calamity, then only would he deal with this matter.

As for the military officers, Arlcard made his own choices. He didn't know any officers. He simply picked among the soldiers in the army that retreated from Palgrost not long ago. He chose the ones with the highest levels and grades. He didn't care if they were good or bad. If they were willing to fight the demons, they were okay in his book. By choosing them as officers, he gave them buffs, which helped them fight better.

Before he closed the monarch system, Jonathan said, "Open the diplomacy page. There is a marking there. That means you have something new to see there."

When Arlcard entered the diplomacy section, Jonathan uttered, "Tribute?"

In the diplomacy interface, there was a tribute stated under their relationship with Themisphere. The tribute said that Sangrod would send a monthly tribute to Themisphere composed of 5% of their income on gold coins and mana.

"Why do we have to pay tribute to Themisphere?" Caleb protested.

"Can we deactivate it?" Jonathan asked.

Arlcard tried to, but the system rejected it. The tribute was permanent.

"Maybe because you are the companion to the Themisphere King…," Jonathan conjectured.

"This is preposterous! We have to ask the Themisphere King to cancel this tribute!" Caleb announced.

"I doubt even if the Themisphere King wants to, he might not be able to," Jonathan said. "This seems to be preset by the system. That is, of course, unless you want to quit being the Themisphere King's companion."

"This is a small matter. We can talk about this after the demons are beaten back," Arlcard stated.

Since Arlcard had said so, Caleb didn't push the issue further. They continued to discuss state matters until an attendant entered the room carrying four sets of lavish clothes and armor.

"What is this?" Arlcard asked.

"It's your regal outfit, Your Majesty," Caleb answered.