I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

Conflict and division in the Kingdom of Lota was at an all-time high.



With so many people living together with little interaction and no sense of kinship, it’s only natural that conflict would arise.



Soon, small-scale riots broke out here and there, and public opinion became extremely vicious.



But after Otto’s return, the Kingdom of Lota is one of the most harmonious and united nations in the world.



Upon his return, Otto set up a dais in front of the throne room and placed the Scripture of Reconciliation on it.



*Swoosh!*



An auspicious aura emanated from the Scripture of Reconciliation, radiating throughout the kingdom of Lota.



[Notification: The effect of the <Scripture of Reconciliation> has been activated!]



[Notification: In the future, the people will share the same values as you, and will be united beyond conflict and division!]



The performance was unmistakable.



A day after Otto triggered the effects of the Scripture of Reconciliation, 90 percent of the complaints from across the country were reduced.



The great sage Eldologon.



The dwarven sage, known in his lifetime as the Great Sage, had spent a lifetime working on this holy artifact, and it worked miracles that no one else could.



“My Gods.”



Archduke Wazir was stunned when he saw the Scripture of Reconciliation .



He was right, the Scripture of Reconciliation was a treasure among treasures, coveted by every nation in existence.



How many nations had perished throughout history because they were unable to overcome conflict and division?



The larger the state, the greater its power, and the more difficult it was to keep the people together.



Why would competent monarchs and statesmen try so hard to appease and placate the people?



It’s impossible to win the hearts and minds of so many people.



But the Scripture of Reconciliation makes it possible, and it is a treasure that no nation could fail to covet.



If the existence of the Scripture of Reconciliation were known, Lota would be invaded by nations from all over the world.



“I never knew there was such a sacred text in the world.”



Archduke Wazir, a politician and administrator, marveled at the Scripture of Reconciliation .



“If I had this, I could run the biggest empire in the world and not be ruined by internal problems.



But only for a moment.



“It’s good that you have this scripture.”



Archduke Wazir looked back at Otto.



“But.”



“I have to be good, of course.”



“Huh?”



“Because my values and thoughts are shared by my people. If I make a wrong judgment, if I harbor the wrong values, the whole country will be shaken. If I am corrupted, even by a small amount, even the largest empire would crumble overnight.”



Otto was already aware of the side effects of the Scripture of Reconciliation .



The Scripture of Reconciliation was a double-edged sword.



If the king is a competent person, the effect of the Holy Relic is maximized.



However, if the king is a tyrant of the highest order, the side effects are enormous.



The Scripture of Reconciliation is a sort of collective intelligence-though not a complete one.



But if the monarch at the center of it was fucked up, it was as obvious as fire that the people would be fucked up, too.



“You know that very well.”



“Of course, I don’t have the brains for it.”



“Hehehe.”



Archduke Wazir smiled, pleased that Otto had once again outwitted him.



“Perhaps this snotty little country will be my final retirement project.”



“Make that retirement work, your immortalized masterpiece.”



“Hehehe… An immortal masterpiece…. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”



Even as he said this, Archduke Wazir was secretly looking forward to it.



He was beginning to think that Lota, still a small country on the periphery, might become a continental power.



* * *



While Otto was using the Scripture of Reconciliation  to unite the people of Lota.



A major incident occurred on the western trade route.



Ego Top, a goblin merchant named Ego, was transporting cargo as usual.



However, he was suddenly attacked.



*Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!!!*



With a sound that shook the earth, the nomadic horsemen attacked the top of the procession.



“Ugh!”



“Help, help, please help… Uggh!”



“Keukk!”



Rushing in like a storm, the nomadic horsemen slaughtered the people at the top without asking, without questioning.



It was a slaughter that bordered on genocide.



The top people scattered for their lives, but unfortunately, not many survived.



“Kahahahaha!”



“Where do you run!”



The nomadic warriors gave chase relentlessly on their horses – a Tatar breed – and slaughtered almost all of the fleeing Upper People.



“Take those who are still useful as slaves,” he said, “and kill those who seem beyond recovery.”



The warrior in command of the nomadic cavalry gave the order, and with that, he gulped down the cargo the Ego Top was carrying.



A few days later.



“My, my….”



Ego, the goblin merchant and owner of the Ego Top, nearly fainted when he heard that the Top’s procession had been attacked.



An unprecedented event.



The cargo that had been raided this time was of immense value.



It was loaded with all sorts of luxuries, spices, and Lota’s specialty, the Lloyd Potion.



But that wasn’t the problem.



“Are there only two people?? Are you saying there are only two of you?”



“That’s right.”



“Oh… oh… oh… oh…”



Ego was more upset that only two people had survived than that the entire cargo convoy had been taken.



“We’ve lost so many workers, what can we do… Alas….”



The money will be made again.



We can pay compensation to the families.



But the loss of people was not something that could be easily repaired.



Cargo transportation was never an easy task, and skilled workers were an extremely valuable luxury.



Ego’s grief was compounded by the fact that most of these workers had worked with him since his earliest days at the top.



“I will definitely… take revenge…. I will make them pay… for messing with our merchant group…. Ugh!”



Ego’s bloodshot eyes flashed as he vowed bloody vengeance.



Revenge was not an option, but a necessity.



Vengeance for the workers who had served him was one thing, but just as important was the restoration of broken trust.



A merchant’s life depends on trust.



It’s no secret that Ego’s trust has been severely diminished by this incident.



Who would want to do business with a merchant who robbed them of all their cargo?



To restore trust, Ego needed to get revenge.



And he had to get all the stolen cargo back.



Otherwise, it was only a matter of time before Ego Merchant Group was shut down.



“Right now….”



Ego spoke.



“I’m going to the Kingdom of Lota.”



* * *



After using the Scripture of Reconciliation to calm the people, Otto immediately set to work on his next move.



It was late fall.



“For a while, I will work on my internal affairs and build up my military strength.



Otto’s next goal is to get out of the western fringes and onto the continent.



So Otto decided to spend this winter building up his military strength.



But then something else happened.



He had been back in the capital for less than a week.



“Your Majesty, Targo, a warrior from the Kongurat tribe, has come to see you and asks to see Amukhan.”



“Ah.”



Otto nodded in agreement with Camille’s report.



“He’s here because of the sudden disappearance of the chief and his warriors.”



“That seems to be the case.”



“Then let me meet them.”



“Understood.”



Otto took Amukhan to meet the Kongurat warrior.



“Huh, Chief. What is this?”



“Targo….”



Amukhan said bitterly.



“It… happened.”



“Chieftain….”



“I and my warriors are no longer warriors of the Kongurat tribe. We have become his servants. So you must go home. Do not seek me out again. Tell my mother that it is so.”



“You can’t do that!”



Targo grabbed Amukhan by the pants and clung to him.



“Chieftain, what shall I do when you are away at such a time as this? N-no, no, no.”



“What… is going on in the meadow?”



“Five hundred warriors of our tribe who were out in front… were killed in a surprise attack by the Kerrates.”



“……!”



“The Kerrates are advancing with momentum. We’ve already lost five pastures.”



“What the hell was Kaisei doing!”



Kaisei is Amukhan’s favorite subordinate and the current ruler of the Kongurat tribe.



Amukhan believed that Kaisei was capable of leading the Kongurat without him.



Indeed, Kaisei was capable of doing so, and he was also an accomplished warrior.



“General Kaisei… has been killed in action.”



“What!”



“At the hands of Togril, the chieftain of the Kerrate tribe….”



“My God. Kaisei is dead.”



Amukhan’s expression darkened.



“So… what is the situation now?”



“We continue to retreat. At this rate, we won’t last a month and our clan will be wiped out.”



“Mother, Mother!”



“I have warriors with me, but even they are not enough. Ulaanbaatar¹ is also in danger.”



<Ulaanbaatar was a territory of great importance to the Kongurat tribe, the equivalent of the capital of a nation.



“By now, the western trade routes have already fallen into their hands.”



That moment.



“Those bastards!”



Otto bellowed, vomiting out his anger.



“Why are they biting the bubble all of a sudden?”



“Why are those fucking luminescent again?”



Camille and Kairos scratched their heads at Otto’s sudden outburst.



“I’m hungry… I’m hungry….”



Meanwhile, Quran, the demented dragon, was whining about being hungry even though he had just eaten, but no one cared.



Unless he was whining for his diaper to be changed….



“No! That western trade route connects to our kingdom! If they take it away, it will cut off the flow of logistics to our country!”



If they cut off the flow of logistics, trade will cease, and the economic losses will be enormous.



It was not unreasonable for Otto to speak out.



“Arteriosclerosis²! Arteriosclerosis! What will happen then? We’ll all die! All of us! Don’t you know how important the economy is? If it goes south, there’ll be riots, there’ll be revolts, there’ll be rebellions, and I’ll end up with my head on the ramparts because the angry people won’t leave me alone!”



He wasn’t exactly wrong.



The economy of the Kingdom of Lota was now largely dependent on trade, and if the western trade routes were cut off, the damage would be enormous.



In addition, food was in short supply this winter due to the growing population.



If they couldn’t get food through the trade routes, at least tens of thousands of people would starve this winter.



Another variable.



It was a butterfly effect of Amukhan’s absence.



“Then why are you crawling back here, making all this trouble! You should have stayed back in your Tribe!”



Otto shouted at Amukhan as he performed a dropkick.



“Kuck!”



The dropkick sent Amukhan flying into the distance.



“…I should have told him to run away.”



Camille muttered to himself.



*Squeak!*



Otto grunted.



“As if I weren’t busy enough, you’re going to make a scene? Really?”



“I’m sorry…”



“Is that all you have to say, huh?”



“Oh, no.”



“If you’re so bad at managing your forces, you should have taken the trade routes in that brief moment.”



That time when Otto was about to go after Amukhan in earnest.



Then.



“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”



“Your Highness!”



“Ego, Your Highness!”



Goblin merchant Ego.



And the merchants who usually traded with the Lota Kingdom began to rush in.



****

TL/N:

1. Ulaanbaatar – Capital of Mongolia



2. Otto uses a metaphor for a vascular disease, to explain what would happen if the trade route they’ve opened and established gets cut off.