NOVEL WEB Chapter 31
In [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort], male students are desperately trying to imitate wire action.
They clumsily jump out of the tall building windows, repeating this useless act.
They laid down layers of soft mattresses on the ground to avoid injuries, but it’s easy to break a neck with just one misstep.
“Damn it! Another failure!”
“Men have grit! We’ll keep practicing until we succeed!”
“Live like Xiang Yu! Conquer the world with just one sword! Let’s go—!!”
Thanks to guys like these, the phrase “Good children, do not try this at home!” is absolutely necessary.
By the way, unlike [Admiral Lee], they avoided localization this time to enhance the exotic feel.
They used names like Xiang Yu, Liu Bang, Fan Zheng, and Han Xin, which sound quite unfamiliar from the start.
It might sound a bit strange to the otherworlders, but who cares? Let the Westerners fill up on their Orientalism!
Regardless, the popularity of this [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort] could be deemed a kind of a craze.
Compared to previous works, it’s an almost lethal dose of dopamine and adrenaline focused solely on fun.
You can check its influence just by looking at the notes piling up on the school’s review board.
“Spoiled Melon Score Meter – The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort: 100%”
“└ Why is the evaluation of The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort so low? It should be at least 200%!”
“└ Dude, the perfect score is 100%, what do you want me to do? Argue with the board admin.”
“└ So when is the second part coming out? Someone tell me quickly, I’m in a hurry!”
“└ Fact is, The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort is helping to normalize the spoiled melon board!”
The first part of The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort covers the heyday of Xiang Yu of Seochopawang.
It depicts him rising with his uncle, defeating Zhang Han in the Battle of Gaolu, entering Hanyang, and destroying the Qin dynasty.
Finally, the plot leads to a grand sword dance at Hongmuen, chasing his rival Liu Bang into Puzhou.
‘And the overly cruel actions during this process have been set aside for now.’
Killing soldiers and civilians alike or burying 200,000 Qin prisoners alive in what’s now dubbed the God of the New Massacre—all those atrocities.
Considering the audience, Xiang Yu’s evil deeds were expressed in a roundabout way: “He crushes those who threaten him with fear, and he spares no one who resists.”
‘…Of course, only for a short while. It’s just temporarily omitted in the first part.’
Anyway, Xiang Yu has been reborn as a romantic hero that appeals strongly to this otherworldly palate.
In reality, the current craze could be better described as the Xiang Yu craze rather than The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort.
“Hey, Balthazar. Since we’re on the topic… did you really just make up that martial art setting for fun? It’s not actually a martial art used by elves, right?”
“How many times do I have to say it? Professor Gabi, the elf, made it clear that The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort is fiction.”
“Hmm, that’s a shame. I wanted to learn Lightness Skill and fly barefoot.”
“Is that so?”
After all, there’s still no flying magic in this world.
To fit the genre of martial arts, custom martial art techniques were assigned to the protagonists Zhang Han, Liu Bang, and Xiang Yu.
First, the unique martial art of the black-clad Qin’s Zhang Han is Absorbing Nature Law.
It’s loaded with his desire for immortality, like the King of the Hell’s way.
Then, the unique martial art of the red-clad Han’s Liu Bang is Buddha’s Gait.
Although it’s anachronistic, it reflects the Buddhist martial art based on Liu Bang’s popularity in [The Records of the Three Kingdoms].
Lastly, the unique martial art of the blue-clad Chu’s Xiang Yu is Lightness Skill.
Plus, his dedicated sword is set ablaze by the Triple Transformation of Zen.
‘When he swept through enemies with the flaming Long Sword, the audience was absolutely blown away.’
Thanks to that, immediately after the premiere of [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort], there were countless requests to invite an Eastern martial arts instructor to the Academy.
So much so that people went to Professor Gabi, responsible for the arts, asking to take them on as a disciple.
Of course, the professor sharp, flatly refused to teach the secret elven techniques to humans.
…However, surprisingly, it wasn’t only Xiang Yu that received attention.
“Am I the only one who feels that Liu Bang is a better leader?”
“Totally. Xiang Yu’s distribution of lands was all completely arrogant, and his personality is just too impulsive. In contrast, Liu Bang is calm and knows when to bend.”
There was a minuscule fanbase for [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort]’s other protagonist, Liu Bang.
Elevated yet simultaneously sharp, he is both cunning and wily.
He was crafted as a strategic character who mixes the political skill of Yu Bei with the cleverness of Cao Cao.
‘In fact, there’s a folk tale in China where the cunning Cao Cao outsmarts the foolish Xiang Yu.’
Yet, is it because his roles to highlight his shrewdness outshine his combat skills through Buddha’s Gait?
Compared to the invincible Xiang Yu, the evaluations on the bulletin board were exceedingly low.
“└ What’s wrong? If you’re so unhappy about the distribution, shouldn’t you learn Triple Transformation and Lightness Skill?”
“└ Liu Bang, the bugger (brave one), come here!”
“└ If it’s Liu Bang, crying and writing in a corner, then it’s recommended.”
“└ Liu Bang gets arrested at home in Puzhou.”
“Honestly, Fan Zheng’s flattery feels so old. Why is timid Liu Bang and Han Xin, who crawls between other men’s legs, too scary to get rid of? Doesn’t this old man think of his lord’s dignity?”
“└ He’s just a moron. Even watching Xiang Yu sweep the Qin army at Gaolu is insane.”
“└ He pretends to be wise, but I honestly don’t get what’s wise about him.”
“└ It seems like Phantom Writer included a stereotype character just to make him look bad.”
“……Looks like these kinds of evaluations are possible if you don’t know the ending.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Nothing at all.”
In a medieval society, the most valued trait is undoubtedly personal power.
Thus, it’s inevitable that there’s a lot of infatuation with Xiang Yu.
His violent, hot temper transformed into a charisma that made the world tremble.
His aloofness toward others is seen as a steadfast view of an undefeated hero.
His contempt for the enemy was disguised as a well-founded confidence of an unbeatable hero.
However, this is not solely because the protagonist is strong.
‘The first part of [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort] is best compared to a typical overpowered web novel.’
A protagonist disregarding power balance, rampaging freely? That’s an undeniable fact in pure entertainment.
I also enjoyed overpowered web novels like [One Punch Man], [Sword Art Online], and [Overlord] quite a bit.
Especially for the otherworlders who have never been exposed to overpowering concepts, it’s only natural to think everything revolves around the protagonist, right?
“……But if this goes on, writing the second part is going to be a bit scary.”
“Why suddenly? Are you worried about spiraling into another situation like with Admiral Lee and the Crown Prince?”
“Yeah, for real.”
Admiral Yi Sun-sin valiantly perished protecting his country.
Xiang Yu just died because he couldn’t control his temper and caused chaos.
While it’s a historic fact on Earth, isn’t Xiang Yu merely a fictional character created by Phantom in this realm?
‘I’ve read my fair share of web novels in my lifetime to know.’
If a protagonist dies foolishly in heavy immersion, it takes a day to fill the comments section with 5,700 characters.
The otherworlders currently raving about Xiang Yu are probably not much different from those web novel readers.
In the end, some reasonable explanation is needed.
Rather than simply saying “Xiang Yu is stupid,” there should be a device to explain his downfall in a coherent way…
“…Ah!”
A bright idea suddenly popped into my mind. A setting often seen in martial arts genres, fitting Xiang Yu’s actions rather well.
‘Repeatedly murdering while accumulating karma, resulting in an evil spirit gradually blinding him?’
As the conflict in [The Records of the Three Kingdoms] nears its end, Xiang Yu’s growing brutality and arrogance would align well with that setting.
It wouldn’t be bad to slyly connect those and help the audience understand the protagonist’s downfall without hiding Xiang Yu’s inherent flaws.
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The popularity of the play [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort] isn’t limited to the Academy.
Outside the Academy’s bounds, everyone is also caught up in the Xiang Yu craze.
The development of the overpowered martial arts story provided an exhilarating and spicy stimulation to those accustomed to old chivalric literature.
As a result, various cultures depicted in [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort] began to trend in the Empire.
“Ha ha! Grandmaster Thomas! Have you been well?”
“Grandmaster Marcel, you too are well, I see? How fortunate!”
A representative trend was the martial arts-style greeting “Pao Quan Li” shared by elves in the play.
The act of pressing fists and palms together while reciting classical scripts became a trend.
From churches to workplaces, bars to marketplaces, everyone began cheerfully emulating the elves’ greetings—regardless of social status.
Meanwhile, those exchanging greetings in Pao Quan Li humorously began forming sworn brotherhoods.
Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, who pledged to resist the Qin dynasty, became sworn brothers.
Even if Liu Bang ended up submissively surrendering, the romanticism of the pledge itself was intense.
“Alright, Paul! From today, we are sworn brothers!”
“Of course! Then, since we’ve become sworn brothers, I’ll take the remaining chicken leg as your older brother…”
“Get lost to Puzhou, you demon-!!”
At the same time, an unprecedented wave of horseback riding swept through the Empire.
The magnificent legend of the lake dragon being reborn as a horse, and the hero Xiang Yu taming it with his horsepower.
Demand for black horses surged dramatically as this unfolded.
Consequently, there were huge commotions in the area surrounding the capital to find black horses for a while.
Whenever a quality black horse appeared, every merchant would rush in, creating chaos.
“That robust black horse! I’ll buy it!”
“No, sell it to me! Our merchant company will offer a higher price!”
“If we auction it to the noble lords, it’s guaranteed profit! Even if it’s a foal, we must get a pitch-black horse!”
The black horse craze in this realm echoed the tulip mania of the 17th century.
Triggered by Dutch plant enthusiasts, it was the world’s first bubble economy.
The bizarre phenomenon of a single flower going for ten times a craftsman’s annual salary was being replicated.
However, what garnered the most attention within [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort] was, of course, the martial arts techniques the protagonists used.
Descriptions of regulating internal energy through the meditation method of Qi Kong, raising it through energy channels for different martial arts manifestations like Triple Transformation, Lightness Skill, and more.
As the knights and mages of the capital watched, they were continuously amazed.
“I can’t believe it, but isn’t that similar to mana manipulation?”
“Holy cow! It seems the Candidate Phantom is well-versed in magic as well!”
“Quite a novel idea. It’s not merely receiving assistance from magic; the swordmaster directly utilizes magic to enhance combat power? Surely, if it’s implemented, the synergy would be spectacular.”
If one thinks of the martial arts in the play as magic, there’s really nothing special.
Even Triple Transformation is just an application of basic fire magic.
But in this world, martial arts and magic had traditionally been strictly divided areas.
It’s a field where just focusing on one is already hectic, making the notion of mixing the two unthought of.
Phantom’s [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort] successfully shattered that preconceived notion.
“Our Empire’s knights could also wield both magic and swordsmanship like Xiang Yu, couldn’t they?”
A statement made by generals who were deeply impressed by [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort] during a state council meeting.
They presented analyses of the similarities between internal energy and magic written by mages.
“Just like Admiral Lee, it’s evident that the great author Phantom is a strategist with a considerable insight into tactics. Judging from this play, he must undoubtedly possess a rich knowledge of magic.”
“Hmmm…”
The Imperial Army Minister, Sir William Wenford, frowned gently at the report from his subordinate general.
He, too, was well aware of the greatness of author Phantom.
Thanks to [Admiral Lee], the Wenford family was able to return to politics.
Because of [Julius Caesar], the royal customs shifted toward the Roman-style depicted in the play.
And [Exodus] restored the morale of the Paladins that had been declining day by day, didn’t it?
Even the philosophy in [Dialogues] he published had begun to leave one wondering where the limits of this man Phantom truly lie.
Yet, backing this proposal was still a tough decision.
“I know just how wonderful Phantom is. But this…”
“Sir, even the younger mages from the court have all acknowledged it.”
…However, the attitude of the generals presenting the proposal was unwaveringly serious.
“The depiction of inner energy in The Hegemon-King Li’s Consort can’t be done without understanding mana manipulation. It’s clear that author Phantom definitely conducted sufficient research and theoretical contemplation before creating characters. Therefore, there’s no reason we can’t cultivate an invincible swordsman like Xiang Yu.”
“Just imagine a powerful army that can utilize both magic and swordsmanship. Wouldn’t it be reassuring if such individuals protected the royal family and the people?”
Of course, Phantom doesn’t possess actual knowledge of magic.
He simply copied and pasted the definitions of inner energy from web novels he’d read in his past life.
But those unaware of this could only marvel at the great author’s intellect and creativity.
Therefore, they began to earnestly believe that if they followed Phantom’s ideas, it wouldn’t be impossible to produce a Second Xiang Yu in reality.
And that fervent belief was more than enough to sway the cautious Sir Wenford’s heart.
“……Alright! To progress, one must sometimes embrace bold changes!”
Finally, made up his mind, Sir Wenford nodded and spoke.
“Let’s organize the proposal and present it straight to His Majesty the Emperor. What should we call it?”
“Hmmm, how about ‘Magic Swordsman’?”
“Magic Swordsman! A swordsman who uses magic! That sounds great, haha!”
On this day, sparked by [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort], a new national project began in the Holy Empire.
A large-scale training program for the “Project Magic Swordsman.”
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Meanwhile, while everyone was exhilarated by the entertainment value of [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort],
Someone appeared in a dark clearing in the woods, several distances away from the city.
Amid thick trees and the hooting of owls, along with only the languid moonlight reflecting the calm surroundings.
“……”
A wanderer who had just viewed the first part of [The Hegemon-King Li's Consort], said to have been written by Phantom.
After confirming there was no one around, she drew her sword from her back and swiftly removed her hood.
Swish!
Eyes that shone coldly like a lonely wolf.
Hair as blue as the clear flowing river.
A beautifully styled hairpin shaped like a butterfly, neatly braided.
Additionally, unique physical traits peeked through her slender white neck, resembling a deer.
A symbol of being born between a human and an elf.
With ears that are short compared to elves and pointy compared to humans.
Her name is Maya.
A wandering half-elf and a formally recommended candidate for the “Sword Hero.”