Truly— Misfortune was something the wicked would meet, sooner rather than later.
Simulated blood splattered throughout the pavement of the city. Cobweb-like cracks appeared on the brick road; the Dark Mane Guild members were unmoving, lying quietly on the chilling ground. They weren't dead, yet— but at this point, why would any of them dare move when they were all surrounded by hundreds of terrifying giants, ready to pummel them without restraint at any second?
Apparently, none of them would.
It was a disastrous scene that even Lang could not deny. The atmosphere became oddly serene; the ground shook as the gigantic Freyans moved away from the players who were barely alive at this point. Jin walked towards Lang who had a perturbed expression.
"You… How were you able to command these creatures!? They don't even look like demons to me! Were… were they not created by your spells? But… that shouldn't make any sense! You don't even have that much MP to cast a low-tier summoning spell!" Lang suddenly rebuked; his cool expression moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
Was Seyna really that domineering to have this brazen fellow suddenly cower?
Getting stabbed repeatedly without stop shouldn't be that bad, right?
Was he not the one who provoked such action to be taken against him?
They were the once intruding the Priyan Kingdom in the first place…
"I… don't have to answer any of your questions." Jin bluntly replied, "Die and never come back here, or I'll let you suffer the same fate." He added. The dark flames caused by the Corruption effect gradually swallowed what was left of Lang's character. Eventually, his HP dropped to zero. Of course, he'd be able to respawn soon, however, Jin was hoping that the brutality caused by the ambush was enough to scare them away for good; but in Jin's heart, he knew that this might be just wishful thinking.
With blinding speeds, the demonic sword Seyna swooped over and sliced the Dark Mane Guild's remaining players, finishing them off in literal seconds. And with all this, Jin finally got rid of the first pesky intruder in his kingdom since the raid. Everything was so premature, of course, that it felt rather anti-climatic and not something worth celebrating.
Was all that because he was strong? No... It was because he did everything right without risking the lives of anyone else... It was, and should always be, how he would face anything and everything. He might have gained strength through his ability to level himself up, but he shouldn't forget the other strength that brought him great success in the past— He was calculative and would always do things within the spectrum of his scheme.
~Always one step forward, always one step ahead.
Jin then looked over the Freya people; none of them seemed to have been injured. He then sighed a breath of relief. This time, his plan worked for the best. Although he orchestrated everything, he was unable to account for things that might have been out of his expectation. Fortunately, the trespassers were acting within what he anticipated.
'These players act all the same.' Jin thought.
...
[You defeated player 'Lang Shi Hwang'— "Rift Lang"]
[You received 40,000 EXP]...
[Level Up! Congratulations!] — [LV 21]
[You defeated player… ] [You defeated player… ] [You defeated player… ] —
[Level Up! Congratulations!] — [LV 22]
[You defeated player… ] [You defeated player… ] [You defeated player… ] —
…
[Level Up! Congratulations!] — [LV 31]
[57,500/170,650 EXP to LV 32].
…
A sudden downpour of notifications popped up in front of Jin, turning his attention back to the bodies of the defeated player as they gradually dissipated into thin air. If there was something which the intruders were good for, it would be that; they gave Jin a lot of experience points. It would still be best for Jin to become stronger, no matter how bad things might have gone; in more ways than one.
However, a runic circle was left imprinted on the ground where Lang's corpse was.
'Right… that guy saved before facing me. He'll be back here; he basically has no choice." Jin pondered. Lang would obviously come back, even without being forced to respawn inside the Priyan Kingdom. It was apparent by the way he ogled at the mere idea of Jin having a demon-race character; the guy was simply a fanatic, and he would obviously stop at nothing in order for him to get what he wants. Jin carefully contemplated the actions he would have to take in the future to deal with such kind of player. 'Fortunately, he'd be alone when he comes back. I could take care of him personally.'
…
Jin slowly approached Meldor and the rest of the Freya race. A solemn expression was painted all over his face. The incident that occurred was something that he shouldn't take lightly although it ended smoothly as he planned. Staring at the pitch-black gate and the timer ever so slowly ticking down to zero… Jin pondered—
It would seem like inevitable trouble would come knocking on his kingdom's door.
He was left with no choice but to act his part, both as a player, and as a king.
"Meldor, assign a team of Heaths and Corus to look after this runic circle. Make sure they keep alert at all times. Immediately restrain anyone who comes through it, then call me as soon as possible." Jin instructed.
Looking at the impressive looking gate, Jin added, "If there is more work left that you can do to strengthen the gates, please do so. The stronger our fortification, the better it would be for us in the future." Tapping with his foot on the broken brick road, Jin continued," Spare your energy and rest after that. For now, don't pay any attention to broken roads and houses. We're going to repair it later."
"I'm deeply sorry to drag all of you into all this trouble. The path to our success, however, would always be among the thorns. Before we can achieve peace, we should get used to having wars..." Jin solemnly added.
Meldor looked at Jin with a blank expression,' Since when did this demon child lead this good? Well, it should be given as he's a demon royal decent.' Meldor thought... though none of it escaped his lips. The others listened carefully as they unanimously nodded in agreement. Although they were technically savages — the Freya race showed a good deal of understanding that Jin did not find it the slightest bit harder to instruct them compared to when he ruled the demon race. It even felt somewhat similar.
'In turn… I'll become stronger myself. I will, as a king and a player, protect all of you…'