The Cursed Forest Where I Was Exiled Had Somehow Been Designated As A Sanctuary. - Awakened to the Purification skill, I, Surrounded By Divine Dragons And Great Spirits, Become The King of A Nation - Episode 38

Noticing the commotion on the ground, Zess descended from the great tree, and one after another, soldiers from the Arclight Kingdom were entering the village.

It’s a different group from the kingdom soldiers we brought back for treatment the other day.

They pushed aside the villagers who called out to them and began inspecting the fields and buildings with an air of ownership.

“You guys, what do you think you’re doing showing up out of nowhere?”

Before the villagers cower before the armed soldiers, Zess openly displays his anger.

Then, from among the soldiers lined up on the outskirts of the village, a mocking voice came.

“What do you think you’re doing? That’s my line.”

The one who appeared was a boy with a face very similar to Zess’s.

Contrary to his slightly younger appearance than Zess, his face was twisted with unparalleled joy, bearing a sadistic smile.

“――Baumann, why are you here?”

“Tch, don’t speak so casually to a sinner like me.”

With an irritated huff, he nudges the soldier next to him and says, “Hey.”

As if repelled, the soldier took a letter from his pocket and began to read it aloud.

“From this moment on, this land will become the territory of the Arclight Kingdom. We will conduct a property review in accordance with the laws of the kingdom, and thereafter, the appropriate taxes will be collected. You shall follow our instructions.”

“That’s right. Rejoice, you who have lived in such a place, you can become honorable citizens of the kingdom.”

“W-What are you doing on your own?”

“That’s right, that’s right! Who would follow an oppressive state!”

The villagers shout in unison.

“What, what, are these guys enemies? Should we kill them?”

“Wait, wait, calm down.”

Sonia, who appeared out of nowhere, tilted her head and casually said.

As he was soothing them, Baumann let out an annoyed sigh at the villagers’ backlash.

“Don’t you understand that this is the extent of our mercy? We could execute you for harboring criminals and consider it just.”

Saying that, Baumann looks around.

Among the villagers, there are also former nobles.

And then, finally, I glared at Zess.

“If you hand over those filthy scum over there quietly now, we would welcome you warmly as citizens of the kingdom.”

“Filth? Are you saying Lord Zess is filth?”

The villagers, bewildered and angered by the Baumann’s tyranny, exude a murderous intent.

Amidst all this, before anyone noticed, Larrado, armed with a weapon, stepped forward.

“Lord Zess extended a helping hand to us who were living in fear of monsters at the edge of the Great Tree Sea. This land was built with Lord Zess’s power. There’s no way we would hand it over to barbaric people like you!”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

“Get out, you thieves!”

“Mr. Larrado, everyone…”

The roar-like voices eventually overlap like a chant, transforming into a ground-shaking sound that intimidates the kingdom’s soldiers.

In that scene, Zess, feeling as if he were being pushed from behind, stared at Baumann and the others.

“The reason you don’t drive us out is because you know. You need us to make the most of the resources available here. You can see that, can’t you? We can survive on our own. We don’t need the kingdom’s rule. — Now, please leave.”

While making a coherent appeal, Zess was simultaneously giving up.

If they would just back down here, they wouldn’t have barged in suddenly in the first place.

“Don’t underestimate me. This isn’t a negotiation. It’s an order. If you defy me, you’ll be punished!”

In response to Baumann’s voice, the soldiers ready their weapons.

“Did you get carried away thinking you were a king in the remote land? You’re just a criminal! You’re nothing but a spare, a used-up tool with no power, who just happened to survive!”

“I’m not trying to act like a king or anything. Besides, both me and those who were exiled here have already served our sentences the moment we were sent to this Great Forest Sea. There’s no reason for you to criticize us.”

“No need to say anything. If you don’t obey, I’ll make you obey!”

The soldiers of the kingdom are slowly closing the distance.

Zess looks at the figure with cold eyes.

“Do you think the neighboring countries will tolerate such tyranny? If it comes to that, it will be the kingdom that ends up isolated.”

“What are you talking about? This is the Great Tree Sea, you know? Even if it were between countries, what’s the problem with occupying an undeveloped land first?”

“I see, so that’s your thinking…”

Zess couldn’t help but be astonished by Baumann’s words.

Or is this what it means to live as a “conqueror”?

While thinking about things that were pointless to consider, Zess turned his back to Baumann.

And so, I smiled at Larrado, the dwarves, and the elves who were about to confront the kingdom’s soldiers.

“I actually wanted to take a bit more time to hear everyone’s thoughts, but it seems like that’s not going to be possible. So… is it okay if I take the lead?”

While Zess scratched his cheek and asked, the villagers all understood his intention.

At first, Larrado let out a faint smile and knelt down, saying, “I have been saying this from the beginning.”

All the dwarves followed suit.

Next, the elves also said, “Lord Zess is the only one we worship.”

The former nobles took the knight’s salute as if it were a matter of course.

“What, what do you mean?”

Sonia, who didn’t understand what was happening, suddenly brightened up at Flora’s whisper, raised her hands, and exclaimed, “Master is the greatest!”

Flora and Peter bowed their heads as they had done before.

And at the tip of the great tree, Yggdrasil was quietly smiling.

“What the hell are you guys doing?”

Centered around Zess, the villagers who had been causing a commotion until then showed a composed attitude of submission, causing Baumann to raise his voice as if feeling a sense of dread.

Zess, who had turned to face Baumann, slowly opened his mouth.

“Baumann. This land does not belong to the Arclight Kingdom. It is neither an undeveloped land nor a place that belongs to any nation. — From this moment on, this is a country that I govern.”

As soon as Zess made the declaration, a brilliant light burst forth from within the great tree.

When the light shot up into the sky, it traced a path like a shooting star and descended before Zess.

The dwarves who saw the light cheered.

“The Scepter of Divine Right…”

In the light, there is a single staff.

The handle, emitting a mysterious luster, radiates an even more intense light, and the jewel set at the top trembles with joy.

In the light, rather, it is the light itself.

At the sight of that divine figure, the fighting spirit of the kingdom soldiers who were about to move to suppress it under Baumann’s orders was diminished.

This village, and the person before me, are not entities that someone like me should intrude upon.

As the kingdom soldiers, who instinctively held such awe, lowered their weapons, only one person harbored irritation and hatred towards the royal scepter, as well as hostility towards Zess.

“Don’t mess with me.”

To Zess, who was about to take the “Scepter of Divine Authority,” Baumann shouted with a furious expression.

“――Authority Control!!”