Dictator From Outer Space

The staple food of Asterain was bread made from wheat and a crop called goyang.

Most of the Ains, except for some carnivorous beastmen, ate bread and steamed goyang.

Bread was acceptable, but goyang was a rather miserable crop. It had no taste at all.

It was not that it had a bad or bitter taste, but literally no taste whatsoever.

It also had a crumbly texture that made it unpleasant to chew. 

The only advantage it had was that it grew anywhere and very fast.

And because of that advantage, goyang became the staple food of the commoners.

The nobles realized that the commoners would not die if they only ate bread and goyang.

—They also breed well and live decently. So there is no need to give them more than that.

This was not what they actually said, but this kind of mentality was widespread.

Except for the elves who enjoyed various foods thanks to the blessing of Yggdrasil, most of the Asterains had a poor food culture.

Nevertheless, they had enough bread and goyang to survive without any problems.

Having many children was considered a virtue after the Great War, thanks to the existence of Granber, whose presence was confirmed even then.

That’s why, excluding the beastmen who naturally had many children, the birth rate of the Ains easily exceeded four or five.

In a way, the reason why the nobles despised the commoners was also because of the ever-increasing population.

“They think they can just throw people into the mines when there are too many commoners.”

“It’s more accurate to say that they keep the population at a reasonable level even if many die. Bagran is not that populous, you know.”

The Kingdom of Bagran was a small country with a bad location, so its population was only about three million.

Considering that the Kingdom of Galisto, which was right next to it, boasted a population of seven million, it was a very small number.

However, Leobold’s position was quite good.

It was because he had access to the coast of the continent.

Being able to use the sea was a great advantage, but in Asteria’s sea, monsters were rampant and shadow elf pirates were causing trouble, so they could not use it properly.

That reality also affected their food culture, so there were not many seafood dishes in Asteria.

The elves traditionally did not eat seafood, including fish, and other countries used to enjoy it but were blocked by pirates.

How else could even places like Zaium Empire have a craze for Sardines dishes?

Asteria’s Sardines was not bad in taste, but for Leobold who had enjoyed all kinds of seafood, it was just one of the cheap fish.

“We need to revive that culture. The problem is people’s perception… They don’t eat crustaceans at all?”

“There is a crustacean monster called gatgae in the sea… People think of crustaceans as monsters.”

“If I eat crabs, I’ll be rumored as a lord who eats monsters.”

Leobold enjoyed seafood quite a bit thanks to his activities in 21st century Korea.

He originally had a style of eating anything well, and he got used to it while imitating Koreans.

He could not afford to leave the sea alone, which could be another source of food for him.

The obstacle was the shadow elves who occupied the sea.

“We have to exterminate the shadow elves who are the root of all evil. How many pirates are there?”

“About 5,000. This is not the entire population of shadow elves.”

“They are overflowing in other seas as well.”

“According to the gravity radar scan results, there are about 500,000 shadow elf pirates and their dependents. This includes slaves.”

“It’s amazing that they eat and live by piracy alone.”

“Some pirates collude with merchants and sell slaves.”

“That’s no different from Earth.”

The world where people lived was similar everywhere, and that was no exception for Asteria.

Leobold was more interested in their numbers than their cruelty.

“400,000 pirates and 100,000 slaves might be useful manpower.”

“I would advise against accepting shadow elf pirates. The cost of re-education would be too high.”

“How high is it?”

Instead of answering, Arma showed him some videos he had collected.

All kinds of cruel contents such as assault, torture, rape, cannibalism, murder were displayed on the hologram.

Even Leobold, who had some immunity after experiencing a long war, turned his eyes away for a moment.

“…They can’t be called Ains at all.”

“The elves of Elvrande recognize humans as Ains. But shadow elves treat them as livestock. This is the result.”

Simply put, other races except their own were considered food by the shadow elves.

Food that could be disposed of and eaten at any time.

“Is it because they lack the minimum device to curb the arrogance of the elves? They are completely insane.”

“Some of them might be re-educable. But the cost would be too high.”

“Then I’ll give up if you dissuade me that much.”

However, the slaves captured by the elves had a possibility of salvation.

Not all of them had lost their humanity.

“About 50,000 out of 100,000 might be usable as manpower. Assuming that they are provided with proper nutrition and treatment.”

“That much investment is necessary.”

Leobold erased the pirate island located in the eastern part of the continent with his finger.

He did not need pirates in Asteria, which he would unify.

“Let’s sweep this place and search the seabed thoroughly. There must be something.”

He was curious about what the map from Denova’s vault was pointing to.

It was probably not something ordinary.

****

After the spring of 1037 in the continental calendar passed, the patience of the shadow elves was almost at its limit.

They had failed to land several times.

It was not that their destination had a strong fortress or a defensive force.

The Barony of Vandus was a typical rural territory, and its objective power was at the bottom of the continent.

If hundreds of shadow elves attacked, the defense line should have been pierced like an arrow through a string, and they should have plundered the wealth and taken the slaves.

They did not promise to do so, but it was natural for the shadow elves.

But since last winter, it was no longer natural.

The people of the barony sailed on the sea as if it was their own territory and caught fish to make money.

It was an intolerable act.

—Since when did humans sail on the sea?

—The sea of Asteria belongs to us elves!

But they had no way to deal with it.

Some factions that sailed out of impatience were swept away by a storm and waves that they could not understand, and their own forces were weakened.

The winter sea was fierce, but it was not enough to hinder the shadow elves who were trained by piracy. It easily swept them away.

It happened several times, and they had no choice but to be angry.

—Who is interfering with us? Is it the false god of humans who has revealed himself again?

—The god of humans would not care about a small territory like Vandus. It is just a coincidence.

—There are too many suspicious things to dismiss it as a coincidence. The man called Vandus Baron is not ordinary.

The Black Skull Pirates, who occupied the pirate island in the eastern sea of Vandus, were cruel but not a group of fools.

They realized something was wrong when they lost more than a hundred men to high waves and started to collect information.

And they found out that Vandus Baron was at the center of the change.

—He sells Sardines to make money, lands on the floating continent, and defends his faith in Altima from the Elven Knight? He sounds like a protagonist of a ridiculous written by humans 500 years ago.

—Whether we like him or not, he is the lord of Vandus territory and he makes a lot of money.

—We don’t know what his appearance has to do with the sudden roughness of the sea. What we do know is that he has to pay the price.

The price for daring to catch fish and make money on the sea of shadow elves without permission.

What bothered them was that he won in the territorial war.

However, it was not easy to obtain accurate information. 

The fact that Zaium’s knight was dispatched was buried, and only the fact that he fought with Ohamel Baron was known.

The pirates laughed at the part where he attacked with Goliath on an airship.

—He must have confused his delusions with reality. Does he think that makes sense?

—If that’s true, why doesn’t Zaium subjugate us? They just need to come with Goliath on an airship.

There were many pirates on the pirate island, but there was not even one Goliath.

If they could attack with Goliath on an airship, subjugation would have been easy.

In that sense, the pirates thought that the rumors about Vandus Baron were not all false, but exaggerated.

There were too many things that did not make sense logically.

Delphina, the leader of the Black Skull Pirates, concluded that Vandus Baron was outstanding among ordinary nobles, but not enough to control the sea after analyzing the information.

“That is God’s domain. The god of humans is dead and can no longer help them. Therefore, those waves that hindered us are coincidences.”

As evidence, she heard that some galleys had approached near Vandus Barony and succeeded in reconnaissance recently.

If God really protected that territory, galleys would not be able to get close.

“Don’t be discouraged by losing some comrades! We can always have more children, and we will plunder and enslave humans! That is our right!”

Like the elves of Elvrande, the shadow elf pirates were filled with infinite hatred for humans.

They had the same history, so they had no choice but to have the same root of hatred.

Zigarion and other dragons thought that humans were not so evil, but they did not bother to mention it.

They were not very interested in it, and Leobold did not ask either.

That hatred gave them an excuse for their cruel acts along with their sense of superiority over humans.

–We were slaves, collars, and food for humans in the past. Now it’s your turn.

This was their principle of action, and shadow elves added savagery to it and did not hesitate to do cruel things that Leobold saw.

They went wild without even the slightest restraint.

Delphina, who was at the forefront of them, ordered a reconnaissance of Vandus Barony.

****

“Summon the monsters, find the weakness! Let’s put a knife on the necks of the humans who come out to the sea and catch fish!”

At her command, well-trained corpse eagles flew up.

These eagles were almost monster-like birds that were well trained by pirates.

Hundreds of them roamed over the village, and the villagers were afraid and did not come out.

Soon, countless sea monsters invaded the coast and broke the stakes and traps.

They were also monsters trained by shadow elves.

However, they could not land completely, and the villagers knew that well.

There were quite a few sea monsters that could act on land, but they were nothing but prey for Goliath.

It was not for nothing that land monsters in Asteria were on the verge of extinction.

Meanwhile, Leobold received a report that monsters had invaded massively from Ohamel City.

According to the satellite view, nearly a thousand sea monsters occupied the coast.

“Are they all poisonous? What a pity.”

“Some of them are not poisonous, but they taste terrible anyway.”

They were useless in their current state.

They might be edible like fish cakes if they went through a deodorization process and mixed with spices and sweeteners, but they could not eat them or use them for anything else.

They had to get rid of them because they were dangerous.

“Get rid of them all tonight.”

On the night of the order.

Death rays rained down on the coast full of monsters.

These rays were ether lasers fired by the Sivir combat support satellite, and they pierced through the hard shells and armor of the monsters as if they were nothing.

—Kyaaak!

—Krrr!

As the death throes echoed from all sides, the ether laser indiscriminately slaughtered the monsters.

A golden line appeared in the air for a moment, and the body of the monster below was neatly cut off. There was no way to stop it.

Some monsters tried to flee, but they were blocked by their own kind.

The quiet coast was dyed with blood, and most of the monsters were dead within an hour.

That included high-ranking monsters that had caused terror, such as crabs and dragon turtles.

After two hours, there was not a single monster left.

“We need to clean up the corpses. And change the seawater a bit.”

“I’ll use the Settler.”

As the ether field spread, the coast began to return to its original state as if time was going backwards.

The corpses of the monsters disappeared into the deep sea, and the sand and seawater filled with blood and fluids were replaced with those from the seabed.

The scene was like a child playing with sand, but the result was not pleasant.

The Settler finished all the work and retrieved the ether field before dawn.

What was left was a clean coast with only a fishy smell.

The villagers who looked at the coast with a telescope in the morning all had blank expressions.

“What? Where did all the monsters go?”

“It looks like they ran away.”

“But doesn’t the coast look different? Wasn’t there a rock over there?”

They had become familiar with the terrain after catching fish for months, so it was impossible not to know.

The villagers cautiously approached the coast and were shocked.

All the terrain they knew had changed completely.

“I don’t know what’s going on…”

“There should be some traces of monsters. Where did they go?”

“Let’s report this to the lord!”

When news of the disappearance of monsters reached Ohamel City, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other hand, the officers of the Black Skull Pirates lost their minds completely.

“My trained monsters!”

“Vandus bastards are back on the sea catching fish!”

“We can’t take it anymore! Captain! Let us cut off Vandus bastards’ necks!”

When more than five thousand pirates’ leader Delphina kept silent, other factions of pirates went wild.

“Coward, Delphina.”

“Don’t you see my men starving? Vandus bastards have a lot of silver, right? Let’s kill them and take it!”

“Why are you afraid of that slow Goliath? It takes ages to deploy!”

In fact, deploying Goliath in pirate landing operations was not a good choice.

It had overwhelming combat power, but it lacked mobility.

If pirates attacked and ran away with galleys, it would only waste ether stones and stop.

The shadow elves on Pirate Island often raided Zaium’s coast as well, so they had relatively rich experience with Goliath.

In their eyes, Goliath was nothing but a big doll.

“And Delphina is a coward who is afraid of that doll!”

“She ignores the gold and silver in front of her! Who is a pirate who does that! Who is a pirate who protects Vandus bastards!”

“Delphina! Delphina!”

Hundreds of shadow elf pirates holding torches went mad in front of Delphina’s residence.

Relatively patient officers came into her residence and advised her.

“The situation is very bad. They want to attack Vandus territory right away.”

Delphina tied her black hair tightly behind her head.

“…The sea rejects us and thousands of monsters disappear cleanly. Do you still want to fight?”

She was not a fool and heard many rumors from monsters and informants.

According to them, Vandus Barony was a strange place.

Despite being a small territory, it always easily overcame external pressure and even succeeded in repelling Zaium’s knight.

Wasn’t it amazing that Lantis Earl, the great lord of Bagran’s east, was angry and intervened?

Of course, Black Skull Pirates had plundered such nobles as well, but now something was wrong.

She appealed that to other faction’s admirals, but they all shook their heads.

“Delphina, we can’t hesitate any longer. We need silver and Vandus Baron has it.”

“If you want to keep your position, give the attack order. Right now.”

If she did not give the order, Delphina might be hanged upside down on the pier.

She had no choice but to draw her sword and go out of the tent.

“Listen, comrades! The time has come to show our power to those Vandus humans!”

“Woooh!”

“Remember our history of persecution! Everything we do is justified! The sea of Astera is ours!”

Of course, the pirates had no interest in history.

They just wanted to go out to the sea as soon as possible and plunder and enslave the humans who were fishing.

“Set sail! Row!”

“Charge!”

Finally, when Delphina gave the order, hundreds of pirate ships left the island.

***

One thing had changed since Leopold took over Vandus village.

It was that people’s eyes showed determination.

It was not that they were not afraid of pirates, but rather that they had something to protect and decided to fight.

It was the iron mine and various facilities of the territory, the tools and wages for fishing.

They were trivial things to the nobles, but they were precious things that allowed the people of Vandus village to live on.

So they picked up weapons when they heard that pirates were coming.

“We can’t let pirates ruin our village anymore!”

“I was going to make some money and propose, but pirates came to stop me? I can’t forgive them!”

“Let’s fight! Let’s throw the pirates into the sea!”

The people of Vandus Barony burned with hatred as much as, or more than, the shadow elves had for humans.

They were already hard to live by, but suddenly pirates came and plundered and took them as slaves. There was no way to feel good.

That had accumulated for years, and everyone was angry.

Carson, the administrator who managed the village on behalf of the lord, gathered the soldiers.

“Distribute weapons to the people and prepare for defense. We can win if we hold on.”

“Administrator, how long do we have to hold on?”

“There was a report from the scouts that there are too many pirates. Elven galleys are blackening the sea.”

“They look like at least a thousand.”

“A thousand…”

The soldiers murmured at the huge number.

There were only about 50 soldiers stationed in this village.

They had one Goliath, but it was a spare one and the knight who could move it was in Ohamel City.

Carson could only tell them to hold on, and the people were anxious.

Did the lord only care about the friction with other territories and miss the pirate’s movement?

That anxiety was amplified several times when hundreds of elven galleys began to appear beyond the horizon.

“Shadow elves…”

“There are more than what the scouts reported!”

“W-what do we do? They look like at least two thousand!”

The villagers who were burning with determination were also terrified when they saw hundreds of elven galleys.

Goliath was an unbeatable opponent without Goliath, and Goliath’s placenta was in Ohamel City.

What was more desperate was that three airships that could carry Goliath had left for Floating Continent.

They must have reported to the lord, but there was no way to deal with it right away.

The people looked at the growing elven galleys and muttered hopelessly.

“I guess we’ll die without a fight…”

“I’ve been making money and getting married for a few months. I’ve been doing well. My wife will be taken care of by the lord.”

“We have nowhere to run anyway. So let’s fight until we die.”

There was good news in this desperate situation.

The lord arrived at the entrance of the village with some soldiers.

The people hoped that Goliath would come with him, but there was no such thing.

“The lord and Granden Knight came with a few soldiers! There was no Goliath!”

What did they come with just their bodies?

As tension ran along the coast, Leopold arrived with Granden.

“I sent airships to make money and pirates made a fuss.”

“I’ll fight, my lord.”

Granden stepped forward, but Leopold stopped him.

“You have something else to do. They’re going to raid Pirate Island. Tell the soldiers to get ready.”

“What? Where are you going?”

It was a shocking statement even for Granden, who was known for his boldness.

Where was Pirate Island that he could easily counterattack?

Leopold climbed onto a Raum-class Goliath without caring.

The 7-meter-tall mechanical doll picked up a heavy weapon.

It was a weapon they had never seen before.