The Overlord of Blood and Iron (WN)
chapter-17

The “scout hawk” was a one-time use scout that was sold in the “Lord’s Store” for 10 gold. The Lord that sent the hawk would be looking at Kang Chul-In’s territory through the scout.

10 gold.

Converting 10g of gold (97.8% purity) into Korean currency would come out to about 4,000 dollars, which meant the Lord who sent the scout hawk invested 4,000 dollars for this.

Idiot, doesn’t know how to use his gold.

Kang Chul-In snorted, looking at the impudent scout hawk that was circling above his head. The scout hawk was only operable for an hour, and the distance that it could travel was about 20km, making it not worth its price. It was not an advised option unless there were emergencies.

“Bow, does anyone have a bow and arrow? If not, a gun will work as well.”

“Here, milord.”

At his words, the one soldier who had a bow among the Royal Guard handed it over.

4000 dollars, I’ll dismember it in the air.

Kang Chul-In was going to shoot the hawk and bring it down.

Of course, he was not just going to shoot it thoughtlessly. It was built using magic, so it was impossible to intercept with plain physics.

It’s been a while. I wonder if I will hit it.

Kang Chul-In thought as he tugged at the bow.

He could not remember clearly the last time he had shot a bow and arrow.

He was a man of the military arts, but he was a swordsman. He was not too familiar with the use of bows.

Well, this should be doable.

However, he was not completely lacking in self-confidence either.

Although he was not an expert archer, he had an excellent foundation for all martial arts. One scout hawk was nothing. Kang Chul-In was confident in his ability.

Aim and… fire.

Whoosh!

The arrow that had left its bow became a glint of light as it shot towards the scout hawk.

Eeeeeeeek Eeeeek!

The scout hawk that felt the impending danger let out a haughty sound but did not attempt to dodge the arrow. It was as if it was mocking Kang Chul-In, saying, “What can you do to me with an arrow?”

Stupid.

Seeing this, Kang Chu-In smirked.

Kang Chul-In had not shot “just an arrow”. He put a bit of magic on the tip of the arrow before loosing it. It was not strong magic, but the scout hawk had extremely weak defense.

It was a secured win if the arrow hit its target.

Crack!

The arrow hit its target and lodged itself in the scout hawk’s belly.

Squeak?

A confused cry emanated from the hawk’s beak.

As the magic from another interfered with the body that was made of magic, sparks began to form, and with a bang, the hawk disappeared without a trace. It had blown up. A 4000-dollar scout.

“Woah!”

“Amazing!”

“The Lord is also good with a bow!”

The soldiers who saw this applauded and praised his skills.

It will hurt a little.

Kang Chul-In smiled, satisfied, not caring about his troops’ praise.

A scout hawk has a mechanism where it was connected to its Lord mentally, so the moment it was destroyed, the Lord would also receive the same damage.

It was a penalty of sorts and the reason why one must be cautious when using the scout hawk.

Although he couldn’t see it for himself, the Lord who sent the scout hawk should be holding his stomach and groaning painfully as if he himself had been shot with an arrow.

“All troops, return to base.”

Kang Chul-In ordered.

“Already, milord?”

James asked.

“That was a scout that another Lord sent. Therefore, it means that there is another occupied territory within 20km.”

“Ah!”

“I don’t know what this Lord’s intentions are, but they might attack suddenly, so it is best to go back to headquarters and prepare. It might just be a routine patrol.”

Kang Chul-In tapered off. He stopped himself from saying, “In Pandemonium, only the war-crazed are everywhere.”

It was true.

It was a paradise for conquest Lords, the war-crazed, and the devils. It would not be out of the ordinary or strange for them to start fighting and ripping each other apart.

“Tell the workers and farmers to retreat as well. It doesn’t hurt to be careful.”

“Yes, milord.”

It bothered him that farming would cease for a couple of days, but something told him to do so. If the enemy invaded, innocent lives would be lost.

“Ugh!”

Deep within a tunnel in the northern plains, the Lord of the Burrow Lands clenched his abdomen and groaned.

“Lord! Are-are you alright, milord?”

The Secretary of the Burrow, Timothy, helped his Lord. Timothy was a Goblin with a large white beard.

“Ugh!”

“Oh, Lord! Did your scout hawk get ambushed?”

The Lord of the Burrows was unable to answer for a while despite the questioning of his Secretary. It was difficult to be in the right state of mind as the pain of an arrow penetrating his abdomen consumed him.

His pain lasted for 30 minutes. As the pain subsided, the Lord of the Burrows ground his teeth in anger.

“Wretched bastard!”

“Are you okay, Lord? Here is some cold water. Please drink this.”

“Shut up!”

Timothy brought cold water and served it to his Lord, but the Lord hit the hand that was holding the cup. The cup dropped to the ground, soaking it.

“You ugly Goblin! I told you to not call me Lord! Call me Shogun, I said!”

“Ah, yes! Yes, Shogun!”

“Stupid idiot! Are you stupid because you are a Goblin? You old, disgusting thing! Sigh, why is my Secretary a Goblin of all things?”

The Lord of the Burrows, Kimura Hideki, criticized his Secretary Timothy and vented out his rage on him.

“Useless idiot! Why did I get a stupid Goblin? Sigh, it would have been better if it was a girl!”

“What is that expression? You, you have a problem with what I said?”

“Ah, no! No, not at all, milor… no, Shogun!”

“What do you mean no?”

Kimura yelled.

Slap!

With a loud noise, the Goblin Secretary’s head turned.

“Dirty Goblin bastard!”

“I am sorry I am a Goblin…”

Timothy thought it was unfair he was struck for no apparent reason, but he said nothing.

There was nothing he could do.

He needed to endure it even if it was unfair, even if it hurt his pride.

The destiny of the Secretary was to endure, again and again, regardless of what kind of human his/her Lord was. Who would want to be an Secretary to this savage? The only thing that Timothy could do was to accept that he just had a bad draw, that the roll of the dice had an unfortunate result. Compared to this, it could be said that Lucia, who met a wise and competent Kang Chul-In as her leader, was an extremely lucky case.

“The Lord in the farmland shot my scout hawk.”

“H-he did, milord?”

“That bastard… I thought if I sent the moles, he would give up the land, that stubborn bastard!”

Indeed.

The one who sent the moles to Kang Chul-In and hindered him in his quest was Kimura. More accurately, Kimura, who wanted to escape his underground headquarters and have territory above ground to rule was advised by Timothy to target Kang Chul-In.

“Shogun, what are you going to do?”

Timothy asked.

“What do you mean what am I going to do! I will attack right now!”

“But…”

“What?”

“If the scout hawk got ambushed, that means they are able to use magic. There is a possibility that he won’t be an easy opponent.”

“I got played. Me!”

“I, sir, completely understand how you feel. It is definite that you were surprised and hurt. But Shogun! War is not play.”

“Shut up, shut up I said!”

Kimura had no intention of listening to Timothy’s advice, advice that would become flesh and blood. The thing that was most important to him was revenge against the man who killed his scout hawk. For him, other facts such as Kang Chul-In’s ability to control and use magic were not important.

“Hey, Goblin.”

“Yes, Shogun.”

“Prepare my troops. I will invade his headquarters right now.”

“Shogun, could you listen to my dearest wish just once, please?”

“Your wish? I need to fulfill your wish?”

Timothy accepted Kimura’s scoffing and spiteful glare. That was the role of the Secretary. No matter how badly they were treated, they were to serve their Lord with everything they had.

“Yes, Shogun. This Timothy, as you said, is nothing but a Goblin, but I am still quite useful. If you leave it to me…”

“What will you do then?”

“It isn’t an overstatement to say that a war’s victory depends on the intel. If you give me just two days, then I will give a full detailed report on the enemy’s current military status and facilities. If I do that, don’t you think the chances of a victory will increase?”

“Hm… so are you thinking that I am going to lose?”

“N-no, Shogun! It’s just that it is said, ‘if you know your enemy and if you know yourself, you will win a hundred battles’. I am just following the basic rules of war.”

“I know that too!”

Kimura yelled.

“You think I don’t know at least that much? I was going to do that too!”

Kimura shamelessly spoke as if Timothy’s idea was his and made a thoughtful expression.

“I will take all available scouts and analyze his strength.”

“Oh, Shogun! You are so wise!”

“You dare shoot me? I will repay this debt, bastard.”

He was obviously way too into it.

Kimura Hideki had been in Tokyo Tower when he was brought to Pangaea by coincidence. He was a high schooler who could not believe the situation he fell into at first.

Anyone would have had a hard time.

One day, without warning, if you were transported to a different world and then made to fulfill quests that you don’t know the origins of to rule over your territory, you would have normally denied reality. However, Pangaea was reality, and Kimura accepted his status as Lord. As expected of a Japanese person, he quickly adapted to reality and adjusted. Kimura decided to follow the quest, defeat the monsters within his territory, and then follow his tendency as a conquest Lord to expand his holdings.

It was good up to that point.

However, the problem was that although he had accepted reality, he wasn’t conscious of the “realness” and severity of the situation.

Death in Pangaea was equal to death on Earth. This was the way of nature, and the laws of life stated that if one was a living organism, one could not undo death. Only the man named Kang Chul-In had used the power of Soul Backup to return to the past once.

Kimura wasn’t conscious of this important fact.

Attacking another Lord with only the excitement of being a Lord, like a high school gamer, was a prideful and stupid decision.

If one was to take the life of another, one should also be prepared to lose one’s own. But in the Kimura’s mind, there was only the image of his grand self after he conquered Kang Chul-In’s territory.

It was a foolish act that did not consider the aftermath of a war.

However, it would be too late when he did consider it. After all, he had chosen Kang Chul-In as an opponent of all people.

After that day, Kang Chul-In felt war clouds forming.

It became more frequent to see scout hawks circling Laputa, slightly beyond the reach of an arrow, and within two days, there were about five or six scout hawks around Laputa. He had openly started to patrol and spy on Laputa. It was obvious to anyone that he was announcing an invasion.

Although I’ll need to push back my return to Earth for a couple days, it’s good that something like this happened.

Kang Chul-In smiled.

His territory’s economy was all over the place anyways.

The cost of most territories was about 3-4 thousand gold. However, Laputa cost 9,800 gold. Due to the price that was almost three times that of another territory, they were on the verge of going bankrupt. At such a critical time, another Lord wanted to invade with his own two feet. He had to be thankful.

The Lord who won in a battle gained a lot.

He would take the enemy Lord’s gold, land, people, and military. In addition, he would be rewarded with Lord points as well as levels, which meant that it was a shortcut to becoming an Overlord. From Kang Chul-In’s perspective, it was a gift from the heavens.

“Lucia.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Soon, another Lord will invade.”

“The one that sent the scout hawks, my Lord?”

“Yes.”

“He is a stupid and foolish one.”

“I agree.”

“He is someone who will bring wealth to our territory. We will welcome him well.”

“Of course.”

Kang Chul-In said, smiling.

A welcoming party?

He was going to go all out.

And pulverize them.