Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 238 The War of the King
"You're lowering my satisfaction rating again? What exactly are you trying to do, Lex?!"

Rean was getting fed up with Lex; what kind of heroic spirit was this?
He's clearly a good-for-nothing who's ruined everything during a midlife crisis, and while he misses his family, he doesn't even dare to go back to see them.

You are now a hero, a symbol of a kingdom. You have a rare opportunity to return, and you should be commended for your contributions to the kingdom and do something beneficial for the country and its people. But what truly stirred the spirits of heroes involved only a few people: two girls and a queen.

Moreover, judging from the feedback, people don't really care about the Queen; what matters is the two princesses!
"Can't you do anything productive for once?!"

Finally, Rean blurted out the curse.

"Uh, wasn't I doing something important?"

Dania looked aggrieved, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry, I was cursing Rex. The Heroic Spirit Inheritance event will begin in a couple of days; you can ask him about it then."

Now it was Dania's turn to struggle. She was quite looking forward to seeing the hero Lex, whom she had always admired. Although she didn't know enough about him, she still had expectations and longings for her father that went beyond reality.

“Father, he…”

Rean was too lazy to get any more involved in this family's affairs. After some thought, he had to admit that it was a brilliant move, and might even directly reverse the decline of the royal kingdom.
"It seems you've already come to your senses." But the price seems a bit too high. Is Dania really willing to sacrifice herself?

But now the kingdom really doesn't have many bargaining chips left. To attract enough talent and combat power to participate in the selection of heroes and strive to conquer the underground ruins, it does need to have sufficiently attractive bargaining chips.

The kingdom doesn't have much to offer.

Rean's emotions were complicated, but in the end he said nothing; after all, it was a personal choice.

[Satisfaction level decreased by 1%.]

Rex's extreme favoritism once again left Rean feeling helpless: "Doing this will lower my satisfaction level, and not doing it will also lower it. What do you want from me, you stupid old man?"

"What? For the rise of the kingdom, for the salvation of the city, of course I will do my best." After learning about Rean's identity, Dania became much more relaxed and direct with him, at least there was no need to put on any princess airs anymore.

But looking at the smug girl, Rean paused for a moment, then laughed. He had already seen through her, but she hadn't seen that far ahead.

Even if they have seen through it all, they probably wouldn't refuse. The kingdom can't afford to miss any opportunity right now. Rean even feels that this idea is mostly a matter of destiny.

Dania came quickly and left quickly; she ran back and hurried to implement her new plan.

Rean, on the other hand, had a rare moment of peace. He was dragged out for some "training" by the disgruntled Sallyman and met with some bigwigs in the aristocratic circle whom he had to see. After that, he obediently returned to continue his cultivation.

He discovered that spiritual practice is addictive.

Previously, Sull's training was a kind of asceticism and a habit, Kuku pursued knowledge and power with clear goals, while Lex's training was a pleasant thing in itself.

It's easy to immerse yourself in it, gaining insights and understanding in every moment, without even needing to consider the reward. The process itself brings satisfaction and joy to both body and mind.

“What a monster,” Rean sighed. The world has never been fair. Some people are just different from normal people from the very beginning, and there’s no need to force them.

[Gain a Tier 1 Warrior (Permanent).]

He trained so easily that in just a few days, Rean obtained everything a recruited soldier should have.

This is probably the easiest extraordinary profession Rean can obtain. Although the warrior is known as the most common and least selective extraordinary profession, it still requires a year or even several years of hard training and uncompromising arduous practice.

Rean easily mastered various fighting stances, techniques, and extraordinary martial arts skills, and even accidentally mastered the advanced versions.

"Slash with the momentum."

The standard area-of-effect slashing technique is easy to use.

"A powerful slash!"

A powerful and reckless strike, with terrifying bursts of speed.

The Warrior class is a straightforward system, and its core abilities can be roughly divided into three parts.

Various highly effective combat techniques, physical enhancement training, and mastery of various weapons and armor.

It was born for war, trained for protracted warfare, and died for victory.

For Rean, the improvement from merely becoming a first-tier warrior was almost negligible. He had already mastered the basic slashing techniques, but he had learned them more thoroughly and skillfully, laying a solid foundation for higher-level techniques.

Rean vaguely sensed that there were many low-level warrior techniques incorporated into Sul's swordsmanship, since warriors were specialized in this area.

In terms of physical training alone, warriors are inferior to barbarians; in terms of pure combat skill and reflexes alone, they are inferior to monks. However, when it comes to overall combat effectiveness with weapons and armor, and considering combat techniques for dealing with various battle situations, the warrior class will always be the king of combat.

Pure dedication has fostered strong adaptability and versatility, which may be the most suitable profession for Lex.

"Continue?" "Continue."

Rean relayed Hela's words, but the Heroic Spirit Rex was still trying to stall for time. Rean was a little worried that he would eventually have to play the "one-day inheritance" trick.

However, this training and real-world experience significantly improved Rean's skills.

The synchronization rate had unknowingly reached nearly 80%. This high level of physical and spiritual synchronization allowed Rean to easily grasp and understand Rex's combat techniques in the dream.

Even if he still doesn't know how Lex created it, he can at least learn how to master it.

Rean himself was very happy. The improvement was too obvious. Even the combination of magic and divine spells in combat could be guided by Rex to come up with many combat strategies.

Compared to Sull and Kuku, who weren't very good at teaching, Lex was perhaps the first qualified, even perfect, teacher when it came to combat.

"Danya's plan? That's great. Will she select a good candidate? If the succession ceremony starts in a few days, we can drag those hero candidates in too."

When Rean brought up Dania's plan, Lex's simple and direct response made Rean realize that he was a fool.

Despite being in a high position, he has almost no political acumen.

"Let's continue. How exactly do you play the 'Shattered City' technique?" Rean knew that he probably couldn't expect Lex to handle anything too complicated.

At least in terms of combat training, he was indeed quite qualified. In addition to helping analyze Sull's sword techniques, Lex also helped Rean create a sword system tailored to his needs and taught him how to train on his own.

Rex has seen the biggest improvement in combat power, but Rean even feels that his "personality" has regressed. However, considering Rex's fate as a reverse target, it might actually be an improvement.

"Rean! Suliman! Help me think of something! Think of something!"

What Rean had anticipated finally happened on the third day. Dania rushed over to ask for her advisor's opinion.

Her "Hero Selection" plan received full support from all sectors as soon as it was launched! It was a huge success!
Whether it's the aristocratic circle, the adventurer circle, or the ordinary citizens' circle, they all regard it as a hot topic.

"Hero Selection", "King of Dungeons", "King Selection War" and "Princess Choosing a Son-in-Law" immediately became hot headlines, and everyone was discussing them.

"I never said I was looking for a son-in-law!! How did the rumors get so out of control?!" However, as the rumors spread, they seemed to have taken a different turn.

It was supposed to be a selection of heroes, but it turned into a selection of a king and a son-in-law.

Rean glanced at Suliman, who then looked back at the two with subtle expressions. In fact, they had known all along that this scene would unfold.

The previous hero was the princess's husband. In fact, there have been quite a few marriages between heroes and royalty, and a so-called consensus has formed among the people that princesses should marry heroes.

In addition, under the current circumstances, your age and the time of year are considered the marriageable age by most people.

Your all-out push for the selection of heroes gives the impression that you're choosing a son-in-law for yourself or a king for the kingdom, so naturally people will think that way.
"I can't officially deny it now, it would severely dampen enthusiasm." His Highness had thought it through and realized that it might be better to just apply the brakes.

In fact, some seasoned veterans in the aristocratic circles probably knew that His Highness did not mean that.

But how could they let go of this opportunity to "revitalize"?

What the kingdom lacks most right now is "people's hearts." Rumors have long viewed the kingdom and the royal family as the culprits, but the return of the hero and his salvation of Radiant City marks the first turning point.

If we seize this opportunity to publicly select new heroes and awaken the nation's past memories, that illusion of returning to the golden age will be the most inspiring.

To elevate the selection ceremony for heroes, it's better to move beyond the original pool of candidates and instead select the best talent from across the entire continent.

However, the kingdom's resources may not be enough to attract talent; the legacy of heroes and the set of heroes are not sufficient.

Many people know that the reason why the heroes of the mainland are so outrageous is not because the heroes' inheritance is strong, but simply because Lex is too strong.

"Now all the kingdom can offer is the kingdom itself. The current royal family has only one princess, who is of marriageable age, and that may be the best bargaining chip."

This was the best plan proposed by Dania, and she found it difficult to refuse this "rumor" that everyone was looking forward to.

"Think of a way," Dania said, looking at her with pitiful eyes.

Rean sighed; he had known this all along.

"There are two ways. The first is to lie and say that you didn't mean it and that it was all a rumor after it's over. If that doesn't work, you can have your mother take in a goddaughter and fool her."

"The reputation of the royal family." Although the royal family has lost its reputation, Dania still wants to hold on.

"The second method is to make someone you trust a hero. Either a woman, or someone willing to 'cooperate' with you. Wait, Dania, Suliman, what are you looking at me for?!"

(End of this chapter)