'You have picked up strange vocabulary.'
Iriel noted, glancing at her parchment.
"The soldiers barely had to lift a blade.
In fact, it turned into something of a turkey-eating competition for the mages and archers since they were the only ones with anything to do.
We sent the melee troops and the healer classes to sleep, leaving only a bare minimum for caution."
Mu Zhong leaned back in his chair, tapping a finger against the table.
Is there also a Turkey competition in a Medieval World?
Thought Mu Zhong for a while and then remembered the Presence of Reincarnators and understood.
Never mind.
"Good.
They need the rest.
But don't get too comfortable.
Here is the reality of the situation."
He activated a projection of his internal map using Light Element, showing the small golden freckles he had carved into the darkness.
"I cleared 30,000 square kilometers today.
It sounds like a lot, but this continent is 149 million square kilometers.
At this rate, I'll be an old man before I find Julian's front door.
That is Unless I use my real power which I don't want to unless I am forced."
The silence that followed was heavy.
The Captains and Iriel stared at the map, their fists clenching until their knuckles turned white.
The sheer, unfathomable scale of the Black Calamity—the realization that they were a single speck of dust in a world of ink—made several of them tremble.
Mu Zhong shook his head, breaking the gloom.
"So, I'm changing the plans.
I'm not going out for long-distance flights anymore.
I will stay here at the fortress and provoke the Evil of the World until it loses its patience and comes to me."
"Provoke it?
How?" one Captain asked, looking puzzled.
"You just said it's thousands of kilometers wide."
Mu Zhong gave a wide, predator-like grin.
"Simple.
I'm going to apply the principles of Projectile Physics—specifically, how Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles operate.
I don't need to be there to hit them.
I'll just conjure exploding Light Spears, calculate their trajectories using my Hacker and Super Computer talents, and throw them into the stratosphere."
He laughed, a sharp, meta-aware sound.
Correct.
The Best way to use magic is to be ingenious.
A normal Hero might try and go for an extremely tedious adventure but at this moment, Unless the Evil of the World comes out by itself, The Hero might never find the Demon King by himself.
Of course if I had some destiny type abilities then this would not be an Issue.
My System is so lousy, it doesn't even have a Map System.
[...]
Cough----
"We're going to turn this dying world into a 'Global Village,' military style.
I can bomb any corner of this continent from the comfort of the ramparts.
While I do that, you lot will focus on strengthening yourselves.
I'll be reinforcing the fortress's defenses to make sure we're an unbreakable shield for when the beast finally wakes up."
The others shuddered, the technical jargon of "Ballistic Missiles" and "Global Villages" sounding like an unfathomable ancient language which they naturally didn't understand, but the confidence in his voice acted like a buff.
They didn't know how deep his power went, but for the first time in the history of Valroy, they were actually confident they could defeat Julian.
Of course they could only trust him at this point.
With the new directive set, the meeting ended.
Iriel remained at the table for a long moment, her heart feeling complicated—a mix of professional respect, lingering annoyance at his attitude, and a budding, terrifying hope that she couldn't quite name.
Mu Zhong didn't linger for the sentiment.
He gave Clara another gentle pinch on her soft cheek, ignoring her playful pout, and headed back toward his small, quiet storage room sanctuary.
"One hour for the King, sixty minutes for the God," he muttered to himself as he fell onto his comfy bed.
"Tomorrow, the real fireworks begin."
…
…
…
While Mu Zhong prepared his high-altitude Rapid-Spear Fire in the physical realm, the narrative shifts deep into the metaphysical "Void"—a twisted inner world designed like an infinite chessboard of black and white tiles beneath a sky that has forgotten the concept of light.
In the center of this silent dimension, a Tri-colored Soul—shimmering with an unstable mixture of Gold, Gray, and Black—floated like a captive star.
It was entangled in a suffocating web of black strings, each thread vibrating with the "Evil of the World" that Julian had been wrestling with for twenty years.
Suddenly, the soul-ball shuddered.
The irregular, flickering face of Julian manifested on the sphere, his features twisting into a very human-like frown as he felt the distant, rhythmic Dropsof Mu Zhong's SS-Rank "Void Discharge" hitting the continent's crust and frowned.
After all, Evil of the World was technically it's body and damaging it would still cause him some pain.
Hmmm.
A needle prick like pain.
Thought the soul in silence until--
A boisterous, grating laugh shattered the silence.
From the shadows of the chess tiles, a massive Demon Soul emerged, its features sharp and terrifyingly prominent.
"It seems they have finally sent someone."
The Demon Soul, Malazar, bellowed, his voice echoing across the void.
Julian's Tri-colored soul tightened, but he remained silent, his focus entirely on the black threads that bound him.
"Come now, Julian."
Malazar prodded, circling the captive soul with a child--like amusement.
"Your fellow with the same occupation has finally arrived.
Won't you go out and greet the new Hero?"
Julian's frown deepened.
His grip on the black threads intensified, his entire being straining to suppress the instinctual hunger of the "Evil of the World" that wanted to lunge toward the fresh scent of Mu Zhong who was obviously damaging it for the first time in the known world.
After all, The Real Evil of the World was still a child and did things instinctively and this was the first time it was actually hurt other than the tickling of other people which merely amused it.
"How long will you keep suppressing your instincts?"
Malazar asked, unfazed by the silence.
"This person... is still too weak."
Julian finally spoke, his voice sounding like grinding stone.