Become Tyrant On My Own Way
Chapter 171 – ALBERT LEADS BATTLE IN NORTH
“Albert, sorry. I was forced to approve your election as the leader of the expedition north to deal with the monsters there.”
“This is my job, Master. Why does the Master feel bad about everything? The passage from this place to the northern border of the continent now no longer even takes more than an hour.”
Helios could only smile wryly looking at Albert's pale face. He knew that it was not right for Albert to go into battle now about the condition of his wife who was seriously ill, but the lack of personnel he could rely on had Helios decide to choose Albert who was sent there.
“I will take care of your wife and child during your departure, Albert, so I hope you can concentrate on your work there without worrying about the situation here.”
“Thank you, Master.”
Thus Albert fulfilled the emperor's order to deal with the problem of monsters on the northern border of the Continent of Ernoa by leaving the guardians of Lilia and Allios to Helios.
***
[POV Albert]
If asked if the task was burdensome to me, perhaps the answer is yes. However my wife is still sick and I don't want to leave her a second. But that doesn't mean I can refuse this task.
I was a fool, so unable to understand politics well, unable to understand the veiled intentions of the two-faced nobles. All I know is that the Master is having a hard time and is unable to leave his position in the capital on various matters. Whether it was due to the threat of an invasion of the Maosium Kingdom in the south, or the recent suspicious movement of the witch in the west.
It was enough for me as an excuse to help the Master as his accomplice. After all it is a good thing if the Master remains in the capital at this time regarding Lady Talia being in a state of great pregnancy which may be about less than two weeks away from giving birth. Given that Master was almost crazy for not being able to be next to Lady Talia at the birth of their second baby, I would no longer want to see Master like that.
And although I am this stupid, I can also understand the obvious actions of the paladins of the holy temple. Ever since they had a Hero by their side, they had started to do all sorts of unusual things.
I also did not understand what they were trying to accomplish by doing those actions because I was stupid, but they obviously seemed to be trying their hardest to attract the people by their side, especially those from inland areas far from the capital.
Many small conflicts in various corners of the Meglovia Empire they dealt with and somehow it had an impact on the growing lack of people's trust in the Master. Even this foolish me could tell what would happen if the task of dealing with the problem of monster invasion in the north was handled by the noble faction of the region, let alone by those paladins, surely the people's trust in the Master will be reduced.
It seems that the black death disaster in my region became the main trigger about that. The master did not tell me, instead trying to hide it in order to understand well my current sad condition regarding my wife's illness, but those cunning sycophant nobles most likely blamed me as the head of the territory as someone so incompetent that the black plague made it into my territory.
Then it is the Master who has to bear alone the fruit of my ineptitude.
But I think Master has done very well. I don't understand because I'm stupid, but isn't that the black death that once brought down the ancient empire? And for such a severe outbreak, it is usually not strange that almost half of the continent will be submerged in death.
But it's not really so. Although 600 victims fell on the second day, but Master managed to stop the transmission of the disease the next day through his brilliant science.
But still the cunning nobles are looking for a gap.
The master was blamed for the treatment of patients who did not follow the ethics of humanity locked up like livestock, also separated from their families without even being given the opportunity to meet to just see their faces.
I do hate the Master's actions as well, considering that the patient is in such a critical condition that it could have been the last day they could have seen their family, but because it was Master, Master, I'm sure it must have had its own meaning that I failed to understand because I was stupid.
For that reason, in the battle against the monsters flying from this Arteic Continent, I must obtain achievements in order to improve the good name of Master.
***
“Who are you?”
Albert, who had previously heard strange noises calling him to the Arxena dungeon, could no longer ignore the call.
One day, he meets an invitation to a suspicious voice.
After battling various monsters such as Cyclops, centaurs, and minotaurs, Albert finally arrived at the deepest part of the Arxena dungeon.
It was there that Albert met the astral apparition of the former party's first hero, Arxena. Surely Albert would not have known about the first hero and his party since the historical information regarding their whereabouts had been altered by Baal in the past.
“Finally you arrived too, O friend of the chosen. I have been waiting for you for a long time.”
“Mean the chosen one? What does that mean?”
But instead of answering Albert's question, the figure simply continued to speak as if his embodiment was just some sort of hologram that functions automatically.
“You are strong, but injuries in your past have stopped you from growing further. The injuries on your mana circuit have been healed to some degree, but it seems that even the hero class has limitations that are not as good as the grand priest class in curing.”
“It has seemed cured from the outside, but if we use a nano-microscope, actually there are still small holes visible everywhere on your mana circuit that cause you to be unable to collect a larger amount of mana to activate a more powerful aura style.”
“Unfortunately I am also not a grand priest, I am a grand master. That's why I helped you in another way. From now on, in order to cover up your shortcomings, I will train you in this place at least until you reach the grand master class.”
Thus from then on for four years, each Albert had free time, he would visit the dungeon of Arxena to practice a match with the former greatest grand master in history. Later, Albert finally found out about the identity of the first forged hero as well as the existence of the party of the first hero, and that further motivated him.
Given that Damian who now bears the title of the hero began to show a struggle against his master, it increasingly makes Albert motivated to develop. If Damian was indeed about to kill his master like what was in the prophecy, he would stop him with all his might.
But for that, of course, Albert must get stronger. Especially since being promoted to the hero class, Damian's strength has grown significantly which now surpasses Albert.
However, despite having practiced for 4 years, Albert only rose 2 levels after that, becoming a level 7 master swordsman, exactly the same level that Kanazawa Junoichi had, after all, the sword teacher, who also has not improved since becoming Albert's teacher until now. No, the existence of a level 8 swords master and above alone, moreover a grand master was indeed extremely rare.
There have only been three grand masters in the world for the past twenty years, even one of them has now died from being killed in a war by Helios, none other than the former emperor Vlonhard, Ethanus. The other one had disappeared since it was last seen in the Arteic Continent. Then the last one, had long entered his old age with the age of 120 years and was now in the Tong Kong Empire.
By becoming a grand master, you can indeed manipulate mana to slow down your aging process. However, you still will not be able to beat the name of aging because of the age that will one day surely arrive however it tries to be slowed down.
***
The sophistication of gate technology thanks to Master's brilliant idea, makes it easier for humans to move from the southern tip of the continent to the northern end, which was once a month, it took a month, now it can only be taken for less than an hour.
It didn't take long for me to reach the northern border of the Ernoa Continent. But what I saw above the sea, which had been almost mostly frozen with the cold, were the winged monsters that were running wild.
Without wasting any longer, I immediately led the soldiers to set up defensive formations in the fortress.