Angelo Zard was the emperor of the empire of Zard. The young heroes were full of energy as they descended upon the palace. The emperor sounded stunned as he double-checked with the hero.

  “So you want us to give you all our Artifacts? Right now?”


  “If you don’t want to give it to us, you don’t have to.”


  Artpe let out a bright smile as he spoke.

  “You’ll probably take it from us anyways.”


  “Then you should just give it all to me.”


  The emperor slowly nodded his head as he spoke. Artpe had been about to carry out his task, but Artpe became surprised at the emperor’s reply. He almost tripped over his own feet.

  “You are just going to give it to me? I’m going to take an extremely high amount of your Artifacts, yet you plan on giving it all to me?”


  “It is said that it’s not over until it’s over. However, that is true up to a certain point. You can easily overcome my empire by yourself. What is the point of putting up a fight right now? Moreover, the heroes are needed in defeating the Demon King. I don’t have any grounds for refusing your request.”


  As expected, they spoke the same language. When Artpe grinned, the emperor got up from his throne as he sighed.

  “Of course, these are only words. It’ll be hard not to incur the resentment of the nobles. I’ll try to help in carrying out the task, but in the process, you will shoulder most of the blame. I have to blunt their anger and hate in some way. If you feel your ears burning in the future, you only have yourself to blame.”


  “Do that. I’m fine with it. Undoubtedly, there will be some that won’t listen to me. At that point, I’ll have to use my power.”


  In truth, Artpe did something he should have done at an earlier date. The empire had inherited all the magic technology developed by the magic kingdom. The hero’s party used the groundbreaking visual communication system developed by the empire. They sent out a transmission asking for Artifacts and Magic Stones, since they needed it.

  [This message will be repeated once again. If you give up your Artifacts and Magic Stones without making a fuss, there will be no bloodshed.]

  “Hey. I told you that you should speak a bit more softly!”


  Artpe watched the image floating atop the capital. Maetel had a kind smile on her face, yet she spoke as if she was an overlord. When he saw this, Artpe yelled out in fright. Angelo Zard had a benevolent smile on his face.

  “At the very least, there is no way I will be blamed for this now.”


  “Good for you.”


  Artpe grumbled in a low voice as he rolled back his sleeves. It was time to carry out his plan.

  “Ah, Mr. emperor. I need help with one more thing.”


  “I hope you aren’t asking me to accompany you to the Demon King’s castle.”


  Angelo Zard was powerful, but he was powerful according to the human realm’s standard. He could probably fight a 1 on 1 battle with one of the officers under the Four Heavenly King. Moreover, he was an emperor that had founded an empire. He was too valuable to use as a mere soldier. Also……

  “I already destroyed the Demon King’s castle. You don’t have to worry about it.”


  “How can I not worry? You just said you destroyed the Demon King’s castle. Doesn’t that mean you were able to destroy the Demon King’s castle, yet you weren’t able to defeat the Demon King!? Where the hell is that bastard now!”


  As expected, the emperor had an interesting reaction to his news. Artpe cackled as he moved onto the main topic.

  “I’ll feel guilty if I only loot the nations. That is why I’m going to loot the merchant companies.”


  “Merchant companies? I don’t think you are talking about the small-to-medium-sized companies……”


  “Anywhere, Might and Seros.”


  All the Dungeon Merchants were affiliated with these three companies. These were mega merchant companies that had bases in each nation. When the emperor heard Artpe’s words, he cackled.

  “Oh oh. The hero finally lost his mind. You want to steal from the merchant companies? These are the companies that won’t break even if there was a all-out war between the human realm and the Demon realm.”


  “That’s right.”


  Artpe was speaking in a spirited manner when he came up with a good idea. He clapped his hands.

  “Let’s just falsely accuse them of having improper communications with the Demon realm.”


  “You said it with your lips. It is a false accusation. It is all wrong from the start.”


  “I’ll just frame it like this. If they don’t have any improper relations with the Demon race, they should give up the assets of the company as proof. If a company hides their assets, we can label them as being in league with the Demon race. We can wipe them out…… What do you think? It’s perfect, right?”


  It was an idea that came from a absolutely mad lad. However, the emperor put on a broad smile when he heard Artpe’s words.

  “I kinda like that idea!”


  “Alright. I’ll take that as you agreeing to cooperate with me.”


  There was an old saying that some people revel in others’ misfortunes. An agreement was made between the emperor and Artpe based upon this concept. His empire’s treasury would be emptied, and it would cause financial difficulties within his empire. However, it wouldn’t be a problem if Artpe looted everyone else’s treasury also! Artpe just had to make everyone equally poor. He had a truly devilish mindset.

  Soon, the emperor of Zard gathered the heads of the mega merchant companies. They were gathered in one place. Since the emperor had requested the meeting, it was impossible to send a subordinate. Everyone sat under the same tent as the emperor.

  “Let’s start.”


  “I would like to ask you a question before we start. I heard that the hero has gone to each nation, and he has stolen all the Artifacts and Magic Stones……”


  The head of the Might company struck first. The head of the Anywhere company and the Seros company frowned slightly. It seemed they had also heard about the calamity that had occurred within each nation. Maybe, the emperor gathered them here to vent his anger. His anger might be directed towards them. He might ask them for something! All three representatives were having the same thought.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, but the merchant companies have already suffered enough losses in this venture. We cannot be more accommodating to your empire.”


  “At this moment, the storage houses of our companies are being emptied in order to fight against the Demon race.”


  “Everyone should calm down. Emperor Zard just wanted a meeting. There is no way he would made such a rude overture.”


  The emperor didn’t even have the chance to say anything. The heads of the merchant companies spoke back and forth with each other. They started constructing a line of defense with their words. However, state of affairs always came faster and stronger than one expects.

  “That is why I’m here!”


  “Hero!?”


  Artpe had used Blink, and he had appeared atop the table. The heads of the merchant companies were taken aback. They pushed their chairs backwards. However, there was no way they would be able to run away from Artpe!

  “Ta-da.”


  “Koohk! Barrier!?”


  “It is a high rank barrier of incredible quality!”


  As soon as Artpe appeared, he flicked his finger to place a barrier over the entire tent. He had use the Materialization spell alongside the Mana Strings. Neither Mana nor any physical substance could exit the barrier!

  “You were in league with the hero from the start! How can this be!”


  “You were jobbed by the hero, yet you are cooperating with him? You sold us out!”


  The emperor saw the blood vessels pop out on the necks of the representatives. He spoke in sly manner.

  “I’m still an emperor of an empire, yet you guys are being pretty rude with your words. Above all else, I am on the side of the hero, because I want him to kill the Demon King. I’m not trying to persecute or frighten you. I just want all of us to sacrifice a little bit, so peace can come to this continent……”


  “Liar! If what you say is true, why are you grinning!”


  The emperor was having a hard time keeping his expression under control, so Artpe stepped forward. After trying to break through the barrier couple times, the heads of the merchant companies realized that the they were trapped. Artpe sat on the table as he looked at each representative. Every one of them couldn’t face Artpe’s domineering attitude. They looked away.

  “I think you guys already know the full story of what is going on.”


  Artpe let out an unusually bright smile as he explained.

  “That is why I’ll skip the details. I’ll cut to the chase. In order to defeat the Demon King, I need to create a large scale magic. I need your help in doing this. Basically, I need a lot of Artifacts and Magic Stones.”


  “You emptied an empire, yet you need more?!”


  “If you think you can bully us by mentioning the Demon King, you are mistaken. We aren’t naive idiots. Of course, you are the hero, and you are the opposer of the Demon King. However, that doesn’t mean we’ll stand by and do nothing when you point your sword towards us!”


  The representatives planned on resisting against Artpe as a group! However, Artpe’s attitude remained unchanged. He had a carefree attitude.

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not really asking for your help. I just want to explain the current situation I find myself in.”


  “What······?”


  “Moreover, I’ll just carry out what I have to do.”


  In that moment, Artpe’s smile became twisted. His overwhelmingly dense Mana swept over the entire conference tent. It pressed down on their shoulders.

  “Koo-huhk!?”


  “Koohk······!”


  Everyone present were pretty confident in their skills, yet they couldn’t even raise their against Artpe. Artpe was the master of all Mana within the barrier. The only ones that were tranquil were Artpe and the emperor of Zard, who had promised his cooperation from the start.

  “When did I give you the impression that you guys had a choice in this?”


  This line should crack the top 5 lines that a hero should never say. It was a vicious statement.

  “I don’t care what you guys think. I just wanted to tell you guys that there is a legitimate reason for doing this. I’m going to take all your Artifacts and Magic Stones. Do you understand me?”


  “This is ridiculous······!”


  “Even if you are a hero, do you think you can get away with committing a crime!”


  “This bastard isn’t a hero. He is more vicious than the Demon King…… Koohk!”


  The waves of Mana overlapped each other. The representatives had tried to raise their heads, but their heads were shoved back towards the table. They looked very polite in such a pose.

  “If you turn down my offer, I’ll assume that you are working with the Demon King’s army. In such a scenario, the applicable companies will be broken up and destroyed. That is why you should make a wise decision right now.”


  He was more vicious than the Demon King! The representatives of each company realized that Artpe wasn’t speaking in hyperbole. Their eyes widened is dismay. Artpe looked satisfied. He raised one hand as he nodded his head.

  “Since I have a good history with Mycenae, I’ll start with the Anywhere company. Everything’s better when you get it over with early on even if it is a beating.”


  “W……what?”


  When Artpe waved his hand, Mana Strings extended from his hand. It bound the head of the Anywhere company.

  Since they were meeting with the emperor of an empire, the heads of the companies didn’t bring any bodyguards. (Of course, it wouldn’t have made a difference even if they were present.) The head of the Anywhere company couldn’t even put up a fight as he was dragged towards Artpe. Artpe locked eyes with him.

  “I’ll be concise with my words. You have a storehouse, right? They hold the truly valuable items that you haven’t released to the continental alliance.”


  “Koohk······!”


  In truth, the representative of the Anywhere company had somewhat let his guard down. It was as Artpe had said. The Dungeon Merchant Mycenae was affiliated with the Anywhere company, and she had worked with the hero’s party from the beginning. She had a close relationship with them. In fact, Mycenae had facilitated a pretty big deal during the incident in Paladia.

  Moreover, the Anywhere company was planning on using the heroes for profit after they defeated the Demon King. So how did things turn out like this? The representative felt mixed emotions.

  “I have it. I always carry it with me.”


  “I like the fact that you are handing it over without causing me any trouble.”


  He unfastened the locket that was hanging around his neck. When he opened it, he took out a very small pouch. It wasn’t big enough to fit a single ear of grain. When Artpe saw it, he knew he had hit the jackpot.

  “Good. Very good.”


  “Hero, you really are acting like a real gangster.”


  “Shut up.”


  It was a miniature Dimensional Pouch. Despite its size, the compression of the space within the pouch was pushed to the extreme. It boasted a robust interior space where around 500 people could fit within it.

  Artpe checked the content of the mini Dimensional Pouch, and he nodded his head in satisfaction. There were 16 Artifacts. They were infused with incredible amount of Mana. He also saw Magic Stones harvested from monsters around level 250 and 300. It even had top grade potions. He didn’t need the potions for his spell, but he took it anyways.

  “What else?”


  “That’s it. That is all I have. Do you realize how much we’ve expended in the war? We already supplied the rest of the Artifacts and magic stones to the continental alliance. It is all being used in the war efforts.”


  “Ok.”


  When the representative saw Artpe back down, he inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Obviously, he had handed over extremely valuable items, but he had carried it around for his own emergency uses. The Anywhere company’s true safehouse was located at the headquarters.

  He had been worried about the next steps he should take, but the hero had backed off without making a fuss. It seemed fate was smiling down on him! These were reasonable assumptions to have in his current situation.

  “You are next. What do you want to do?”


  “Koohk······.”


  On the other hand, the other representatives had been spectators, and they had been feeling optimistic. Maybe, the hero might stop after taking what the Anywhere company had to offer. Yes, there was no way he would loot all the companies!

  However, there was something they didn’t know yet.

  While Artpe threatened and blackmailed the representatives, his other party members were executing his plan.