Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

“Ahhh!”

With a short shout my sword went from top to bottom with a great swing.

As a result of the violent friction with the air, an overwhelming wind pressure burst out.

The sudden gust of wind blew No. 3 away. He was holding a sword in front of himself and for the first time looked embarrassed since he didn’t know my strength was this high.

I reached right in front of him before such embarrassment could be dispelled.

No. 3 hurriedly surrounded his body with aura, but it was too late. I grabbed his face and smashed it to the ground.

Crack.

A cracking sound came from his head.

Still, he wouldn’t die from this due to the aura around his body.

However, because he was struck nearly one meter into the ground, No. 3 became like a pole stuck in the ground.

Like this, he wouldn’t be able to come to his senses right away.

Soon after, I pulled the guy out of the ground. I dusted my hands off once I’d checked on No. 3’s crushed face and upside-down eyes.

“As expected, this is the most convenient way to suppress someone.”

Up to the Sword Master level, it was possible to suppress someone with power even without using aura.

Of course, if you went up to the level of Grand Sword Master, it might be a little difficult with just power alone.

‘I’m looking forward to Floor 50. Beings at the level of Sword Emperor will start appearing there.’

Of course, I’d have to deal with Ha Il-Sung before I went to Floor 50.

As I was thinking about that, those who’d been away for a while due to No. 3 came in one by one.

I dragged him behind me by the back of his head as if I was carrying luggage.

“Rush, long time no see. Have you been waiting long?”

When I greeted him, Rush smiled more maturely than before.

It was natural for him to grow up after personally experiencing a war.

Plus, humans change when they overcome a crisis.

“I didn’t wait long.”

“How’s army life? Was it fun?”

“Haha, it was terrible.”

The Security Forces Chief broke into a cold sweat while quietly listening to us.

“But, Chun-Sung… These past three months, I’ve been convinced.”

Three months was time that would instantly pass.

But it was different in the army.

Time in the army was different from ordinary life.

So for the past three months, Rush must have been pondering over my proposal.

Meanwhile, I took a look at what the Gratia Empire was like.

After 20 years of peace, numerous absurdities and aristocratic troubles remained, but the last two years were the worst of it.

The aristocrats took the exploitation of the people for granted and ridiculous laws were born in a flurry. As a result, the country had gotten out of control.

I was convinced by the indicators compiled through the survey.

If there was a natural disaster like a drought in this country…

The Gratia Empire would immediately collapse.

The Gratia Empire. On the outside, the citizens were laughing, but on the inside was nothing but endless rot.

And that was what Rush, having lived here for 20 years, knew better than me.

He must have felt all of this.

“I was convinced that this country had to change. Chun-Sung, I’ll become the emperor. I want to change this country.”

From the moment he learned he could become emperor, Rush’s thoughts would’ve been consumed by the question of what to do. That worry seemed to have naturally lifted him up to be a man who could stand above a crowd.

He had the blood of the imperial family.

That bloodline might be starting to exert its power only now.

Perhaps that’s why Rush’s eyes contained a will that I had never seen before.

“All right. Rush, the preparations are complete.”

Having said so, I reached out to the seated Rush, and…

“Become emperor.”

Rush held my hand.

* * *

We returned to the House of Andrew’s mansion with the unconscious No. 3.

Rush had only been an ordinary soldier and seemed to feel awkward since it was such a large mansion.

Thus I advised him.

“Get used to it. First impressions control everything. If you reveal even a small opening to the aristocrats, it will be a weakness that will bite you in an instant.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Since he’s been a commoner all this time, I’ll have to train him for about a week.

Thanks to my previous big fight with No. 3, rumors will spread to the ears of the aristocrats about why we went there.

It would certainly take time until the rumor was ripe.

In the future, it would naturally serve as a stepping stone to elevate Rush to the throne.

“No. 10, take Rush and wash him properly. He’s a mess. And give him some food and clothes. I need to talk to this guy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

No. 10 answered me and tried to guide Rush, but he looked back at me with some regret.

Like he was sorry he couldn’t speak with me more.

For the time being, I’d be spending all day with him for mental training.

By that point he’d be scared from the sight of me.

With that in mind, I dragged No. 3 to the basement and placed him on a chair.

I checked everywhere after stripping him.

‘There don’t seem to be any devices for suicide or anything of that nature.’

Just in case, I used both thumbs and placed them on his cheeks.

I instantly pressed with my thumbs using aura and his jawbone broke, causing his mouth to automatically open.

“There’s nothing around his tongue either.”

It could be in his gut, but there was no way I could dig it out. When the search was finished, I poured a moderate amount of potion onto the guy before bringing over a chair and sitting down.

“You’re up, aren’t you? I did that on purpose just now to wake you up.”

When I spoke to him, No. 3 closed eyelids moved, lifting up.

For a moment he looked at me silently and I, in my armor, stared back.

“Anything you want to say?”

Silence. Unlike the others, he had risen to the level of Sword Master.

In that case, it was clear that his mental strength was quite high compared to the other Numbers, so he would never open his mouth from most interrogations.

I got up from my seat once my thoughts reached that point.

My aura gradually began to spread out as if it was eroding the surroundings.

“You guys seem to think that I don’t know how to use aura.”

And the spread aura filled the room in an instant.

The aura, so dense it made him feel nauseous, slowly began to choke him.

“Hmf.”

No. 3 reacted for the first time to an aura that he had never experienced before.

I didn’t miss the response and slowly came up to him.

Then I grabbed his chin with my hand and took off my helmet, throwing it to the floor.

“Look carefully at whether the No. 1 you trust and follow is above me or below me.”

As soon as he was forced to meet my eyes from me grabbing his chin, his expression changed as if an unknown fear had hit him.

In this world, he would have lived a successful life even as a Sword Master.

In fact, the existence of a Sword Master on this Floor was so grand that they belonged to the Six Bladeworks and were recognized by the country.

He’d never met anyone at this level, or even someone similar to his own level. Right now, a human being who had reached that level stood before him.

Perhaps because of the fear caused by this, the eyes of No. 3 crazily shook so as not to make eye contact with me.

Before long, the aura that filled the room began to cause his face to pale as cold sweat poured from his whole body.

His face instantly grew old and his eyes sank.

His hair began to turn white and around that time I retracted my aura.

“Are you ready to talk now?”

I didn’t tie him up.

To begin with, there was no way for No. 3 to run away from me.

He must have realized it because he bowed his head to the floor.

“Every…Everything. I’ll tell you everything.”

There was no more hostility from him.

Though, to be exact, he couldn’t be hostile.

“Really? That’s great.”

With a smile on my face, I started talking to No. 3.

* * *

After a long time, No. 3 poured out all the information using the last of his energy and passed out.

After leaving him to the others, I took off my armor and changed into a casual outfit.

I entered Rush’s room and saw him just taking his meal.

“Rush.”

“Oh, Chun-Sung.”

When I called his name, Rush rose from his chair and welcomed me.

“There’s no time to rest now. We’re going straight into training starting today.”

“What training?”

“The attitude of an emperor. For those who like formalities, you need to meet that expectation. I will teach you how to be as confident as a tiger in a wolf’s den, and as a bonus, how to use aura.”

“Oh, a-aura? Me, use aura?”

“Don’t worry. You don’t need aura to protect your body or sword. You’ll learn how to put aura into words, and I’ll teach you how to make it look as big as possible.”

“Why do I feel like it’s going to be really hard…?”

I slammed my foot between his legs.

A startled Rush trembled and I looked up at him with a shadow on my face.

“You said you’d be the emperor with your own mouth, right?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Then you have to take responsibility for what you said. I’ll tell you, it’s going to be harder than the army. I’ll make you think you’d rather go back to the army.”

“Uh… Oh, really? Ch-Chun-Sung, it’s been a while since we saw each other. Aren’t you glad to see my face?”

“I’ll fix that tone and brain first.”

And that day, Rush’s screams rang all through the night.

His screams were enough to make even the Numbers tired.

Since then, I had been next to him every day for a week and taught him things one by one.

There was one thing I realized while climbing Crown Road.

No matter what, anyone will learn to avoid a beating.

Of course, a carrot-like award would have to be added, but a week was too short to put carrots in.

So I gave Rush a mad whipping.

As a result, even the way Rush walked changed.

Confident and dignified steps and the formation of charisma that rose with every step, leaking out subtly.

Next, the straight waist and eyes that only faced forward. The corners of the mouth that symbolized relaxation, and the low voice that could suppress the opponent every time he spoke with aura.

There had been many changes, but the problem was that because he was forced to awaken his aura, he had very little. He couldn’t yet handle it skillfully, so this charisma was temporary, only lasting about 30 minutes.

Still, during those 30 minutes, Rush was raised to the level that would make him emperor.

“Not bad. It’s become very plausible.”

“I do not know. It has been but a week, so I do not think any difference has been made.”

“Don’t use that tone in front of me. You sound cocky.”

“Alright.”

I checked the time with my pocket watch when I saw Rush’s figurative tail droop.

The time was almost up and I had prepared a place for him to show up as the emperor.

“Let’s go, Rush. It’s time to become the emperor.”

____