Before leaving for the Eastern Conquest Expedition.

Woohyuk didn’t forget to enjoy a meal with his young dragons.

“It’s a special dish made by the King of Cooks, Hans. Do you like it?” he asked.

“Wow, it’s really delicious!” Lia exclaimed.

“It’s different from the cooking that my aunt does!” Canelion added on.

“Hahaha… these girls…” Leifina awkwardly snickered with a guilty expression.

While Lia and Canelion were eating deliciously, Hans entered the room.

“If it’s not enough, feel free to tell me. Today, a lot of ingredients came in from the Rhine Kingdom,” he said heartily.

“Then, a little more. These kids’ stomachs are endless pits,” Woohyuk said proudly.

Even though they were polymorphed as humans, Lia and Canelion’s appet.i.tes were as active as if they had taken their dragon form.

It was probably because they were at a growing age.

When Woohyuk placed an additional order, Lia suddenly asked a question, “By the way, Dad, why are you entering the East country?”

“It’s for the peace of the continent. A monarch there has succ.u.mbed to madness and is about to wage a war of conquest on the entire continent,” he replied.

“You don’t need the help of dragons? If you want, I can give orders to the heads of the nine dragon tribes to give a.s.sistance,” Lia said, trying to be some help. 

Lia acquired her Dragon Lord cla.s.s, so none of the dragons of the dragon races could disobey her.

Her suggestion was appealing, but Woohyuk shook his head.

“The role of the dragon tribe is to protect Inotia. If you intervene beyond that, the Creator will do something else,” he gently answered.

“But wouldn’t it be okay for a few to partic.i.p.ate in the war? Lia is busy managing the dragon tribes, but she wouldn’t care if I followed,” Canelion mentioned from the side.

Canelion seemed eager to fight, throwing a feeler out at Woohyuk.

“No, you need to help Lia by her side. She will need a friend to rely on when things get tough,” he replied.

“If you say so. I’ll do as you say. But where did Tinia’s mother go?” she asked, changing the subject.

“She left for the Norton Kingdom with her family. She probably won’t be back for a while.”

Originally, Tinia was supposed to be in charge of Canelion, but she was currently unable to do so due to the recent circ.u.mstances.

However, now that the dragon race was taking care of Canelion, it didn’t seem like any problems would arise.

After a while, once they finished their meal, Woohyuk stroked the heads of the two young dragons.

“I’ll see you both again soon. Take care, Lia and Canelion.”

“Take care, mom and dad!” Lia shouted out.

“Lia and I will guard the house during your absence,” replied Canelion.

For the two young dragons, Heavenly Island was their home.

After parting with them, Woohyuk headed to the main gathering area where all the Eastern Conquest forces were. He was currently taking the flying shuttle.

“Please try this red tea. I added some of my own scent creations. I hope it suits your taste.”

During the flight, King of Cooking Hans served tea.

After sipping some of the offered tea, Woohyuk and Leifina looked at him with admiration.

“You’re very skilled and professional, Hans,” Woohyuk complimented.

“This is basic. Hahaha…”

Hans was planning to play an active part as Woohyuk’s exclusive cook during this expedition.

He didn’t want to rely on eating Leifina’s burnt, tasteless food anymore.

When they arrived at their destination, they saw the Eastern Conquest forces organized and lined up.

As Eleanora promised, there were about 300,000 soldiers.

Indeed, it was a huge army. 

Woohyuk went up to the podium and started his speech.

“Today we are leaving to punish our enemies who disturbed the order and peace in the West.”

The soldiers fell quiet as they intently listened to his voice.

“Peace is never given freely. If we do not fight against our enemies, our territory will be devastated and turned into ruins. If you don’t want to face such dire consequences for you or for the following generations, follow me. A glorious victory awaits us at the end.”

“Yeah~!”

“Long live the Hero King!”

The soldiers’ shouts pierced the sky.

Woohyuk took the lead and started the campaign for the Eastern Conquest.

‘The Theresia Empire must have gotten wind of our movement. They’re probably scrambling right now.’

In the eastern part of the Theresian Empire, the demonic fleet was probably conducting their surprise raid. Most of the empire’s troops were probably focused on that eastern corner.

Hong Yuri would also soon move north with her vampire clan from the southern tip of the eastern continent.

‘There’s only the frost giants left now.’

He had already mentioned his plans to them when he encountered some of them last time.

Therefore, his existence and plans must be known to them to a certain extent internally.

He felt it would be easy to establish communications if he sent a messenger.

“Send this letter to the Chief Frost Giant of the Aizu Kingdom and bring me back his answer,” Woohyuk ordered Catsy.

“Nya~ong~! Okay!”

Catsy p.r.i.c.ked her ears and disappeared with the letter Woohyuk had prepared in advance.

Shortly thereafter, she appeared again from the void and began to recite what she had written down.

“To the successor of Frost Queen Ariandne, we will always cooperate with your orders. If you need the help of our clan, just say the word. But before that, I would like to meet and talk in person. Please visit in the near future…”

In short, they were requesting him to come in person to the Aizu Kingdom to prove that he was Ariandne’s successor.

Woohyuk nodded his head as if he expected as much.

“I have to go see him,” he muttered.

“Meow! Then shall I go back now?” Catsy asked.

“No. You stay here and take over for me. Make sure to act the part,” he replied.

Woohyuk gave Catsy his Jester’s Mask and made her disguise as him.

Afterward, after turning Catsy into his own form, he used stealth magic to slip away.

‘There’s still some time left before the forces reach the Krobaichen Isthmus.’

If they crossed through the Strait of Isis, the travel time would be relatively quick. However, since he had a large troop, if they were to be caught in the middle, the entire fleet could be eliminated.

Furthermore, an amphibious operation was also a strategy that Marcus had tried unsuccessfully, so he possessed a blueprint on how to defend against a water-based crossing.

‘As for me, I think taking the Thunderbird will be better than utilizing the flying shuttle.’

Since the Thunderbird flew faster, it would be possible for him to get to and from the Aizu Kingdom very quickly.

When Woohyuk summoned the Thunderbird, he heard its cry from afar.

“KyAh!”

“W-What was that?” a soldier asked nervously.

“Is it a flying monster?” another added on.

The soldiers stared at the sky in confusion.

Then Catsy, who was in Woohyuk’s image, rea.s.sured them.

“Meow, don’t trouble yourselves! That’s my Thunderbird!”

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

“To capture and domesticate such a legendary bird!”

The soldiers laughed and cheered as they saw the low-flying Thunderbird approach Catsy.

Meanwhile, Woohyuk quickly got on the Thunderbird’s back once it was close.

“Go on, to the Aizu Kingdom.”

“KyAck.”

The Thunderbird was quite intelligent despite being a bird.

Leifina scratched her head as she watched him fly up into the eastern sky.

“Master is really moving around… in no time he’ll be in the east and then back again in the west…”

With the flying shuttle and Thunderbird, the entire Eeth Continent was Woohyuk’s playground.

‘But what if something happens when he isn’t here?’

Leifina frowned as her worries deepened.

The Aizu Kingdom was blanketed in a blizzard.

Woohyuk was meeting the Frost Giant tribe in the middle of a snowy field.

“Are you the successor to the Frost Queen Ariandne?”

“Yes. I have her necklace as proof.”

“Oh! The rumors were really true!”

When Woohyuk pulled out the Frost Queen’s necklace, the Frost Giants knelt together.

As the situation was easily resolved, Woohyuk immediately gave an order.

“Leave only the minimum required Giants behind and take the rest south. I want you all to strike the Theresian Empire from the north. They should already be at their wit’s end.”

“Successor, we were preparing to strike their territory anyways. They waged war on us first.”

Marcus thought that the Frost Giants would be a threat in the future, so he had invaded the Aizu Kingdom several times in the past.

Woohyuk nodded after hearing the Frost Giant Chief’s words.

“After I conquer the east, I will help you live in peace in the Aizu Kingdom.”

“It’s nice to hear that, successor. The Frost Giants will do their best to help you win this war.”

A solid alliance system was established.

After negotiations with the Frost Giants, Woohyuk heard an interim report from the Demon King Agares.

“What is the current situation in the east?” he asked.

[We’re pus.h.i.+ng in. At this speed, we might capture the capital before the Eastern Conquest forces arrive.]

The 72 Demon Kings seemed to be relieving the stress that they had acc.u.mulated so far.

Woohyuk felt the need for his own forces to hurry and join the battle as well.

"On the way back, let’s stop by the Krobaichen Isthmus, Thunderbird."

“Kyi-Ah~!”

The Thunderbird emitted a blue electric current before launching into the sky.

Woohyuk was planning to stop by the Krobaichen Isthmus because of Fort Randel.

The Fort Randel was a nearly impregnable military base that guarded the entrance to the Theresian Empire from the west. Due to its geographical location and well-staffed military unit, it was difficult to capture even with a large force.

‘It shouldn’t be that difficult for the current me.’

He also had the Seven Color Rainbow Ring and Reinforced Andvaranaut.

Furthermore, he had the Immortal Armor.

As he flew over the fortress on Thunderbird, a guard sent a report to the commander of the fortress’s defensive force.

“Captain, a strange bird is wandering around above us,” he reported.

“Shoot and drop it!” the commander barked out.

The defense commander, who was brewing some wine, replied with an annoyed voice.

Fort Randel was a military base that hadn’t been captured in the last thousand years.

As long as the sun didn’t rise from the west, he thought that nothing of note would happen today.

Hwi-Ing!

A spearhead arrow flew through the air and pa.s.sed through the Thunderbird’s body.

An ordinary bird would have screamed and fallen to the ground, but the Thunderbird was a creation of magical power.

It didn’t even move to avoid such a c.r.a.ppy physical attack.

“KyAck!”

The Thunderbird gave a sharp, ear-piercing cry and descended towards the fortress.

Then, a transparent container fell towards the ground.

The container contained Wild Fire, which s.h.i.+ned ferociously, letting out a glowing aurora through the clear container.

Kw.a.n.g!

With a fierce bang, Fort Randel shook.

Only after feeling the aftershock did the defense commander notice something wrong.

“What the h.e.l.l is going on?! Who’s doing this?” he wailed aloud.

“I don’t know, sir!” a soldier confusingly replied.

“All I see is that weird bird!” another shouted while pointing upwards toward the sky.

Woohyuk was hiding his figure by utilizing the Deception of the Earth G.o.d, so he couldn’t be seen by his enemies.

When a commotion and mess broke out in Fort Randel, Woohyuk summoned his undead troops.

“Crush-rush-rus.h.!.+”

The undead, whose complexion were ghastly blue, began to bite into the soldiers.

On the other hand, the soldiers, who had gotten used to the daily boredom, didn’t respond appropriately. They were either eaten alive or fleeing their positions.

“Ballista! Aim the Ballista!” the commander shouted out.

“Pour oil and set fire to keep them out of reach!”

Only the veterans were able to move around with fairly clear consciouses. They began to regroup and give orders to the other soldiers, who seemed to be moving at random like headless chickens.

However, the veterans didn’t want to face the undead first, so they stood back from the front line, hoping to not take damage.

‘This is a completely second-rate army.’

The long-lasting peace and the imperial system had weakened them.

Of course, even so, it would have been difficult for Woohyuk’s ground forces alone to defeat this rugged fortress.

To avoid any additional people from meddling in his affairs, he decided to quickly end this charade.

“Body explosion.” 

“Body explosion.” 

“Body explosion.”

Whenever Woohyuk cast his Necromancer skill, his undead soldiers exploded.

Soon, when the interior of the fortress was cleared of smoke, he landed and entered the defense commander’s room on the top floor.

“Oh, don’t come in! Otherwise, I’ll detonate a bomb!” the commander cried out in abject fear.

The defense commander was crouched in the corner with something like a bomb in his hand.

“You don’t qualify as a commander. So, no honorable death for you,” Woohyuk said in disgust.

Pu-Wook!

An undead soldier appeared like a shadow and stabbed the defense commander’s heart from behind.

After confirming that the commander died painfully, Woohyuk climbed on top of the Thunderbird again.

“Let’s go back to the place where the Eastern Conquest forces are.”

Having opened the gateway to the Theresian Empire, the rest was easy pickings.

Leaving the now tranquil Fort Randel behind him, Woohyuk soared into the western sky.