The Overlord of Blood and Iron

Kang Chul-In, the meeting with Lee Chae-Lin behind him, drove his Mustang towards the marketplace near Gyunggido, Buchun . His mother ran a fruit shop in the marketplace for 20 years .

Yes .

If Alex Rothschild was the typical privileged born-to-wealth scenario, Kang Chul-In was a commoner that was raised by a single mother after losing his father at a young age .

‘Are you there?’

His mother Park Sun-Ja, who he noticed from far away, was staying warm in front of an antique heater, fighting the cold winter wind .

It was late .

All the other stores had closed its shutters one by one, and the grandmas who were selling different things on the ground were packing up, but Park Sun-Ja was not moving with her eyes locked on the TV .

“I need to work hard and earn money if I want to give you a nice home when you get married . ”

Kang Chul-In remembered what Park Sun-Ja always said to him .

A nice home .

Park Sun-Ja, who could not give him an apartment worth $400-500, but still said she wanted to get him at least a nice home for rent, opened her store the earliest and closed the latest compared to anyone else . It was her determination to not send her son off with empty hands .

“Son?”

Park Sun-Ja noticed her son Kang Chul-In right away and smiled widely .

“What are you doing here? It is the weekday… you haven’t contacted me in a while!”

“I’m back, mother . ”

Kang Chul-In smiled, and unlike his usual self, responded back to Park Sun-Ja . It’s been 7 years .

Kang Chul-In helped Park Sun-Ja close the store, and went home for a late dinner .

Kang Chul-In spoke, with the fruit in front of him after the meal .

“I changed my job . ”

Kang Chul-In made up something .

“Changed your job? Why? You were doing well . ”

With the surprising news, mother Park Sun-Ja seemed surprised .

It was expected .

2020’s South Korea was filled with the fight for jobs amongst the young like Kang Chul-In with the westernization and unemployment .

‘Employment Front, Unlimited Competition!’ was a slogan and saying that was spreading amongst the young . In those sorts of times, Kang Chul-In had left his job, so it was understandable that Lee Sun-Ja was worried .

“Intern again? Then, it would be better if you worked at the store with me…”

“No . ”

Kang Chul-In shook his head .

“I got to know the president of a trade company, and decided to move to that job . The company isn’t too large, but it is going to be listed soon, and there is a big possibility that it will become about medium sized . Also… I am an official employee . ”

“Employee?”

“Yes . There are a lot of business trips, but the pay is good and there are good benefits, so it is much better than the company I was at before . ”

“…!”

In that moment, Park Sun-Ja’s eyes opened wide .

“Is… is that true?”

“Yes . ”

“Oh… who is that president? Taking my Chul-In in… . he will be blessed, he will!”

“President Kwon Hyung Woo… he is known in the trade business . He is almost eighty, but he is well enough to still work in the field . ”

Kang Chul-In sold out old man Kwon .

He felt a little guilty lying to his mother, but the world still thought of Pangaea as a dangerous, foreign planet . What sort of parent would be glad if her son was going back and forth to such a place . It would be better to tell a little white lie right now, even if he was to tell her in the future .

Also, for him who would be gone often to Pangaea, a trade company job would be a good excuse to avoid Park Sun-Ja’s worries and doubts .

“Oh, I see! Oh… seems like your father is looking out for you in heaven!”

Park Sun-Ja mentioned Kang Chul-In’s father who had passed away and teared up .

‘I will be good to you . ’

Kang Chul-In watched Park Sun-Ja and pledged that he would be a different son from before, different from the stoic, detached son from the past .

“No, this can’t do . ”

Park Sun-Ja thought of something and made a serious face .

“Son, go to an academy starting tomorrow . I will give you money . ”

“…!”

Kang Chul-In’s face hardened at the words .

It was as if he got hit on the back of the head .

“You said there are a lot of foreign business trips . Aren’t you not good with foreign language?”

“…”

Park Sun-Ja was right .

The Kang Chul-In who Park Sun-Ja knew was not someone who had the ability to go on a business trip . It was also true that he did not have the background or the specs either .

‘She is smart in these ways . ’

Kang Chul-In was taken aback for the moment, but it was just that – a moment .

JAPANESE FROM THE ORIGINAL BOOK

(Didn’t know how to type these words out)

“…?”

Park Sun-Ja looked confused as he spoke Japanese unexpectedly .

“Meanwhile, I have learned conversation in whatever I can (in English) . ”

Kang Chul-In had begun to speak foreign languages .

CHINESE FROM ORIGINAL BOOK

(Didn’t know how to type these words out)

That was not all .

For a while after, Kang Chul-In showcased more foreign languages, and Park Sun-Ja, who did not know any other languages, was close to fainting at her son’s skills .

“Although I am not fluent in Japanese, English, and Chinese, it is enough for me to work . It may be awkward, but I can slowly learn while I work . There isn’t time for me to go to an academy because I am working, as well . ”

“Did you study separately until now?”

“Yes . ”

What studying .

He had drunk a potion from a special tree in Pangaea and had mastered the languages on a whim, not studied formally .

What time did he have amidst all the battles and attacking dungeons to study?

“Aigoo… my son, I’m so proud of you . The academies cost so much, so I could not pay for a good education… but… I’m so proud…”

Mother Park Sun-Ja’s eyes turned red, and finally released tears .

‘Crap . ’

Kang Chul-In who did not expect his mother to cry, was put in an awkward position . He had conned his mother, but she was crying .

“Son… I’m sorry… I should have supported your education more… my son is this smart…”

“…”

Kang Chul-In was going to say something, but he was a stoic and emotionless man by nature, so he answered by solemnly holding his crying mother .

After Park Sun-Ja cried up a storm, Kang Chul-In took out a thick envelope from his inside pocket .

“What is this, son?”

“The president must have taken a liking to me, and he gave me bit of a bonus . It is for you . ”

“No, you need to use that when you get married . I don’t need anything like that . Speaking of which…”

“…?”

“I want grandkids . A granddaughter might be better . I have had a son, but I have never had a daughter . Now my son is an official employee, so you need to get married soon . Right?”

“…!”

As the feared marriage talk came up, fear appeared for the first time on Kang Chul-In’s face .

‘Crap!’

For the last 10 years, he was too busy fighting battle after battle and had no time to date, much less to get married .

He had spent brief fiery moments with charming women, but those were only single nights . And, for Kang Chul-In to hear his mother talk about grandchildren, it was quite burdensome .

“It is before I have settled down… it is not too late to talk about that after I have settled in more . ”

“I know that . But… you can bring a nice lady within this year, right?”

“…”

“I’m going to say it again, but I want a granddaughter . ”

“…”

Park Sun-Ja emphasized ‘granddaughter’ and Kang Chul-In broke out in cold sweat every time she mentioned it . Even the great Kang Chul-In was just a powerless son in the face of the marriage weapon .

But, he did not know then .

Kang Chul-In, nor his mother Park Sun-Ja . What would happen in just a couple of months .

Second day .

After he had breakfast with his mother, he got on his Mustang and headed towards Seoul .

He first payed off the loan in the bank and others that he borrowed, and chose to purchase the Mustang . It did not seem like he would be able to buy a good car anytime soon, because the economy of the land was still unstable .

And that night .

Kang Chul-In headed to the 63 building in order to return to Pangaea .

A couple of soldiers and a couple researchers from the government was around the building, but there wasn’t anyone stopping him .

Although the 63 Building acted like a sort of dimension door, it was limited to the outside of the building . The inside was still used by people . Also, one did not have to go inside the building to go to Pangaea anyways . 2km within the building and you could go to Pangaea .

Pzzt!

Kang Chul-In opened the dimension door, not caring if anyone looked or not .

“Return . ”

When he said the command, the golden light that came from the 63 Building fell on Kang Chul-In, and he could return to Pangaea, disappearing without a trace .

“Sovereign, welcome back . ”

The one that greeted Kang Chul-In the moment he was back was Lucia .

But…

Lucia did not look happy .

Lucia, who had the aura of a headstrong, passionate career woman had a rather cold and picky look to her, but she was always widely smiling towards Kang Chul-In .

But how was Lucia’s face now?

Serious, and more serious .

No, actually, her face was hardened beyond seriousness .

‘Something is up . ’

Kang Chul-In saw Lucia’s face and realized something bothersome had happened .

“Is there something wrong?”

“It’s…”

“Speak . ”

“Yes, Sovereign . Please do not be surprised . ”

Lucia seemed to think for a brief moment, and spoke .

“Four workers and five Ants died . ”

“…!”

Kang Chul-In’s face hardened .

“The cause of death… no, who did it? Is it a Sovereign?”

If it was a simple accident on the building site or a fall, then there was no way Lucia would have this sort of response . This meant that it was another Sovereign, or… .

“or is it a monster?”

There was rage on Kang Chul-In’s face .

He had returned to Earth, made deals, searched for Kwak Jung, and even gone to see his mother . He had come back with a light heart, but his precious people had died .

For Kang Chul-In who was extremely possessive and valued ‘his things’, his anger was understandable .

“It is a monster . ”

Lucia answered .

“What kind?”

“A peacock dragon . ”

“…!”

Kang Chul-In’s eyes glistened sharply upon hearing the attack was by a peacock dragon .

Peacock dragon .

It was a monster that was a dragon, but was also not .

In Pangaea, dragons existed, but usually dragons were red, gold, blue, or the like, and were pure bloods . But, there were so few in existence, and were so rare that it was difficult to even see one in one’s lifetime . Kang Chul-In, too, in his 10 years at Pangaea saw only one blue dragon .

But, a subspecies like a peacock dragon was not too difficult to find . Roughly about ten different species… but it did have dragon blood and was not a monster to take lightly .

Kang Chul-In in his prime called the dragon subspecies ‘fake dragons’ and poked fun, but for the current Kang Chul-In, peacock dragons came as a definite threat .

“Peacock dragons… is it from the Drogonia mountains?”

The Drogonia mountains were the mountains located in the Eastern side of Laputa . Like the name, it was well known to be home to dragons and its subspecies for a long time .

“It seemed so . ”

“Hah…a peacock dragon invasion at this time… I’m mad . ”

This was a time to focus on internal affairs and build the governing system of the land . And, for the peacock dragon to invade at such a time, Kang Chul-In felt like his ankles were grabbed from behind as he was trying to move forward .

“Lucia . ”

“Yes, Sovereign . ”

“From this moment, announce to the entire land that we are at war, and to stay inside their homes . ”

“I will fulfill the order, my Lord . ”

“Also, I will use the land’s hiding specialty to prepare for future attacks . ”

Based on the diet of the peacock dragons that liked human meat, a second attack was inevitable if the first had already come . If he was to avoid additional casualties, it would be a wise decision to hide the land, even if it would cost him gold .

“Instruct Administrator Timothy to take care of the compensations for the families of the deceased . Ah also…”

When Kang Chul-In tapered off as if he was thinking about something, Lucia spoke quickly .

“The Royal Guard is already waiting on orders, and are fully armed . If you give an order…”

“No, not that . ”

Kang Chul-In shook his head .

“If you say no…”

“Peacock dragons are strong monsters . With our military strength right now, we will suffer immense casualties . It is time for us to grow our land, not shed blood . ”

“But if you just leave the peacock dragon like this, there will be continuous casualties . ”

“I did not say that I will leave the peacock dragon be . I will take care of it as quickly as possible . ”

“But how… Sovereign, a battle cannot be won without bloodshed . ”

“I know . But in this battle, our blood will not be shed . ”

“Then…”

“Explorers . ”

“…!”

“I will use them to hunt him . ”

Kang Chul-In’s eyes glistened .

Explorers .

Kang Chul-In was going to get in touch with the dimension travelers from Earth and hunt the peacock dragon .