Our Star Master is invincible.
He possesses a carapace that no attack can penetrate.
The sturdiness and thickness of that carapace—none of our Legion soldiers can dare to compare.
He is so tough, comparison itself is meaningless.
That is why our Star Master, Sir Raster, is immortal.
No attack in this world can hurt him, and no strike can make him kneel.
That is the truth of the 3rd Star Legion!
That is the might of the 3rd Star Legion!
…Or so everyone had believed.
Everyone thought it was the undeniable truth.
Today, every single one of the 3rd Star Legion soldiers here, without exception, thought so too.
But today, the world they believed in—the heavens they trusted—came crashing down.
SMAACK!
A millstone smashed down on the crown of the 3rd Star Master!
A heavy, devastating blow to the frontal lobe!
'Guuh…... ugh…...!'
The 3rd Star Master's eyes went blank.
His legs gave out too.
He desperately tried to regain his senses.
'N-no…'
This can't be.
He couldn't collapse like this.
He had just barely completed his molting.
Only now was his real strength about to shine.
He had to drive out that cowardly Demon King once and for all… absorb the forces of the 2nd Star Legion and then, march with pride and raise the banner of conquest toward the human world.
That—only that—was the rightful future.
And yet… why…?
Why am I falling?
So helplessly.
Without even the slightest resistance.
Like a puppet with its strings cut.
…THUD!
As the 3rd Star Master fell back, the ground shook with a thundering crash like a great tree falling, pounding into the chests of all who witnessed.
"......"
Silence fell.
Raster, the unconscious 3rd Star Master.
The 3rd Star Legion soldiers who had watched the battle.
The 2nd Star Legion soldiers who had been guarding the walls of the stronghold.
Even Zephyros, who had been nervously watching from just behind.
All were stunned into silence, a chill of shock gripping their hearts.
And in that silence, Kim Jangcheol moved.
"Phew, up we go."
He caught his breath.
Reached out his hand.
Grabbed one of the 3rd Star Master's limp legs.
And started dragging him off to one side.
The 3rd Star Legion soldiers nearby hesitated and stepped back. A path opened naturally. He passed through. And in that time, not a single one thought to block his way.
Just like that, he strolled right through the encirclement.
He arrived in front of the castle gate.
Knock knock.
He knocked on the gate.
Eventually, a response came.
Creeeaaak…
The gate creaked open slowly, hesitantly.
Through the crack, the faces of the 2nd Star Legion soldiers opening it could be seen.
They must have seen it clearly too.
And realized—
What had just happened to the 3rd Star Master. And what would happen to them if they dared ignore this guy's "knock."
He stepped inside the open gate.
Still dragging the unconscious 3rd Star Master.
All while being watched by the nervous, backing-away 2nd Star Legion soldiers.
Just as he was about to pass fully into the inner fortress, he stopped for a moment.
Then glanced over his shoulder and called out.
"Zephyros?"
"…Yes?"
"What are you doing, just standing there?"
"Huh?"
"Get in here already."
"Ah, y-yes."
Creeeak—CLUNK.
As soon as Zephyros stepped through, the gate shut firmly with a solid thud.
Kim Jangcheol moved again. Drag, drag. Still hauling the unconscious 3rd Star Master behind him, surrounded by stunned 2nd Star Legion soldiers who trailed after as if in a trance.
He crossed the inner courtyard.
Climbed the stairs.
Reached the upper battlements above the gate.
There stood an abandoned well.
The territory of the 2nd Star Master—Swamp of Decay.
This well was the region's representative portal point.
"Whew."
Thank goodness.
Even amid the sudden chaos of war, the well was unharmed. Not a scratch on it.
Which meant it would function just fine.
"Alright, Tbong?"
Kim Jangcheol whispered gently toward his chest. In response, there was a faint wriggle from inside.
"Kyuuu? Tbooong?"
Had he been peacefully asleep this whole time? Even while this side had been fighting a brutal battle? Well, he is a baby, after all.
Wearing a soft daddy-smile, Kim Jangcheol carefully pulled out Tbong. Cradling the drowsy creature in both hands, he gently brought its plump little bum to the well's rim—tap.
…FWHOOOM!
The well awakened.
He reached into the glowing well. Even then, he didn't forget to give instructions to Zephyros.
"Zephyros? Grab this guy's claw. Unless you want to be left behind."
"Ah, yes!"
Zephyros quickly grabbed the 3rd Star Master's claw. Kim Jangcheol gave a small grin and looked down over the gate.
And then he said,
"Farewell, everyone. I've finished all my business in this swamp. Now I'm off to tend my farm."
And with his parting words—
FWSHHH!
Tbong was the first to vanish.
Then Kim Jangcheol, who was holding him.
Next, the unconscious 3rd Star Master, whose leg Jangcheol still held.
Lastly, Zephyros, clutching the Star Master's claw tightly.
One by one, they were pulled into the light of the well.
…Whoosh.
They were completely gone.
Everyone who had been watching in a daze—
In the next moment, the 3rd Star Legion soldiers all came to a single realization.
That their commander, the 3rd Star Master, had just been snatched away—by the Demon King—in what could only be called a kidnapping.
***
…FWOOAAAH!
Body floating.
Mind floating.
Spirit… shredded.
Drifting somewhere.
Being swept away somewhere.
What's going to happen to me now?
"Cre… dos… y-you… coward…"
The 3rd Star Master of the abandoned land, Raster, barely opened his eyes.
He was dizzy.
His entire body was wrapped in a silver current, his whole being afloat. A strange sensation, as if being transferred somewhere else.
It all combined into a swirling vertigo.
His insides churned.
He was about to throw up…
"Urgh, blegh…!"
He couldn't hold it in.
And at that very moment—
CRASH!
The floating sensation disappeared in an instant. Weight returned to his body. And a cold stone floor slammed into his face.
"…Gah!"
The pain of reality rushed in, all at once.
The nausea that had been rising suddenly vanished.
It came alongside a sharp jab to the ear.
"I know you're awake. Open your eyes."
"......"
The 3rd Star Master raised his head with difficulty.
Thanks to that, he was able to see it.
'Credos...'
The Demon King, Credos, looking down at him.
He remembered what that bastard had done to him earlier. He'd fallen for every cheap, underhanded trick in the book. He'd even been smashed on the crown of his head by a massive boulder while mid-transformation.
"........"
Was his crown okay?
Had the carapace helmet been crushed?
It shouldn't be. That would be bad. His mother's greatest point of pride was always how beautifully shaped his head was.
That sudden worry made the 3rd Star Master reach up and feel his own crown.
A faint grin tugged at Kim Jangcheol's lips.
"It's not crushed, dumbass."
"......."
"You think I'm lying again?"
"…Of course I do."
The 3rd Star Master's face twisted into a grimace.
Considering all the lies and deception he had just endured? He'd reached a point where he wouldn't believe it even if the Demon King said he breathed air.
'Anyway… this place…'
Where was this?
The 3rd Star Master looked around with a complicated gaze. A dim, desolate room. At first glance, it looked ordinary, but inside, a well faintly glowing with silver light.
He could roughly figure it out.
He had been dragged to the Demon King's Castle.
'How…?'
How had he gotten from the swamp fortress of the 2nd Star Master—All the way up that sheer cliff, to the Demon King's Castle, in the blink of an eye?
It made no sense.
But one thing was certain.
'I'm finished now.'
He had rebelled against the Demon King.
He had imprisoned the king's messenger.
He had moved the legion without orders.
He had invaded the neighboring territory of the 2nd Star Master.
That alone was already enough to count as treason—and he had even fought directly against the Demon King.
"...So, what do you plan to do with me now, Credos?"
He would probably kill him.
In the most miserable way possible.
Using the cruelest methods imaginable.
A horrifying death, filled with disgrace, to serve as a lesson to all.
But the 3rd Star Master Raster didn't feel fear.
No, rather—he was angry.
"Yes… are you planning to humiliate me now? How pathetic. You, who have so selfishly turned your back on the great cause that the people of the Abandoned Land have poured their hearts into and long awaited for over 300 years—the great invasion of the human world."
"........"
"So cowardly Credos. Are you really going to stay cooped up here out of fear? Do you truly believe that will change anything? That doing so will bring liberation from the hunger and poverty that have plagued this land?"
"......"
"No. Of course not. That's why I can't help but feel resentment. That someone as petty and despicable as you is stronger than me, and sits upon the Demon King's throne. That you control the fate of all who live in this Abandoned Land."
"...."
"So go ahead, kill me. Stop insulting me, Credos. You, a wretched Demon King who will never be recognized as a true leader by anyone."
"…Tch. You're really laying it on thick, it is a bit harsh."
"What?"
The 3rd Star Master Raster, mid-rant, froze.
What did he mean, "harsh"?
He had only spoken sharp, unvarnished truth.
Though he was on his knees, devoid of strength, the 3rd Star Master still glared at Kim Jangcheol with eyes sharpened like blades.
In contrast, Kim Jangcheol just gave an awkward smile.
"Forget it. No point explaining. You'll figure it out soon enough—from first class."
"......."
First class?
He wanted him to see something?
What the hell…
'What is he talking about?'
To the 3rd Star Master, it was an absurd, incomprehensible statement.
But Kim Jangcheol didn't care.
Without any dramatic phrasing, he simply grabbed the 3rd Star Master by one ankle. And then, dragging him along the ground, left the well chamber.
Across the corridor, up the stairs, around the corner, through a doorway, and out of the Demon King's Castle.
Then, he set up a new stake in an empty space beside a potato field, and turned to Zephyros.
THUNK!
"The mat?"
"Right here."
"Okay. Thanks?"
"Don't mention it."
Zephyros, quick on the uptake, handed over the mat he had prepared. Kim Jangcheol laid the still-dazed 3rd Star Master onto the mat.
And began to roll him.
Like a kimbap.
Fwoooop…
"…!"
In that moment, the 3rd Star Master felt a bizarre wave of powerlessness drain through his whole body.
That was the end of it.
Rolled up like that—something not foreseen by his fate, his zodiac, his blood type, or even his MBTI test—he was hoisted up and tied to the stake.
The official birth of the third lightning rod.
The demons of the farming corps cheered.
Sirgi was horrified, Baal was ecstatic, and Asurat felt a strange chill even as he was secretly pleased by the arrival of a new junior.
But there was one exception.
Among the Four Heavenly Kings, only Hartok was different.
The most sinister of the demons, the Archduke of Fog.
Even faced with the astonishing feat of Kim Jangcheol—who captured the 3rd Star Master in just one day and strung him up like a lightning rod—Hartok remained unimpressed. He felt no awe, nor any need to submit.
Treason.
He was still quietly coveting Kim Jangcheol's throne.
Which is why he had no idea—
That from this point on, Kim Jangcheol would slowly boil him, soften him, and shake him up—until he'd be completely won over.
And that soon, in the not-so-distant future, he would become Kim Jangcheol's most devoted, most loyal, head-over-heels fan club president.
[T/L: Read more chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]