Becoming King (Part One)

After sharing the information he had about Zeref and Mavis with August, Sordil and his party embarked on their journey to Philiers. (Sigh! Renaming is too much trouble, so please bear with this loophole of not changing names for four hundred years!)

"Oh, right! You scoundrel, you said before that you were ready to send an army to conquer Ishgar? (Irene)"

"Yes! Is there a problem? (Sordil)"

Looking at Sordil's matter-of-fact expression, Sage Dragon retorted, "You've been lying in an egg for the past four hundred years. When did you prepare your army, sir?"

Looking at the skeptical faces, Old Suo cleared his throat and said, "I only said that I prepared an army, not that I prepared it over the past four hundred years!"

"If it wasn't prepared in the last four hundred years, could it have been prepared four hundred years ago? (Sage Dragon)"

"Yes! Why not? (Sordil)"

Seeing Sordil's matter-of-fact expression, Tingmei couldn't stand it any longer and questioned, "Master, four hundred years ago, you didn't know what would happen now, so how could you have made preparations in advance?"

"Exactly! They can't even make up a plausible story! (Sage Dragon)"

Sordil glanced at Sage Dragon and the others from the United Front, smiled and shook his head, then said, "Yes! Four hundred years ago, I didn't know what would happen now, but out of caution, can't I make some contingency preparations?"

Upon hearing Sordil's words, a flash of inspiration struck Irene.

"You scoundrel, you mean Heradi and the others you sent to another world?"

"Haha! Her Majesty the Queen wise beyond compare, guessing it right away! However... it will still take some time before we can bring them back! (Sordil)"

"Master, do you mean... (Red)?"

"Heh! We need to find a place to settle down first, otherwise, where will we put so many people?" (Sordil)

Hearing Sordil's words, Irene and the others nodded.

"Master, rest assured, once we reach Philiers, the entire Bosco Kingdom will submit to you and become your strongest fortress!" (Red)

Sordil patted Red, who was bowing with his hand on his chest, and said, "Yes! I believe you will let me see this!"

Just as these two rough men were being all lovey-dovey, Tingmei, whose skin was covered in goosebumps, jumped out and said, "Master, let's hurry on our way, or I'm afraid I'll freeze to death here!"

"Well, you little brat, how dare you flirt with us! I'll teach you a lesson!" (Sordil)

"Ah! Master hit someone! (Tingmei)"

"Don't run away!" (Sordil)

Watching Sordil and the other two chase after them, Irene and the others shook their heads with smiles and then followed.

Bosco Kingdom, capital Philiers

Four hundred years later, when he faced this revitalized ancient city again, all the flavors of life flooded into Old Suo's heart, mind, and even his bones.

"Four hundred years! A full four hundred years! I've finally returned! (Sordil)"

"Does the master recall the scene when he first came here four hundred years ago? (Red)"

Looking at Red standing beside him, Sordil nodded, then teased, "Yes! Back then, you were the high and mighty Prime Minister, while I was just an arrogant young man who had just entered the political arena thanks to the Duke's connections!"

"Master, it is true that I was the prime minister back then, but were you really an arrogant young man?"

Upon hearing Red's words, Sordil and Reid exchanged a glance, and then the two of them laughed in perfect unison.

"Ha ha"

"Ha ha"

Just as the two were laughing their hearts out, Tingmei covered her face and said embarrassedly, "Master, Uncle Reide, could you please stop laughing?"

"Um?"

After being reminded by Tingmei, Sordil and his companion realized that they had become the center of attention, surrounded by layers of onlookers at the city gate.

"Buzz!"

In an instant, Sordil and his companion's faces turned as red as hot irons, burning hot and emitting white smoke.

"Oh dear! Let's go!"

Seeing the two men's miserable state, Sage Dragon shouted, then dragged them out of the encirclement and disappeared into the huge crowd.

"Pshaw! You're crazy!"

"What a waste of time, let's go! Let's go!"

As the crowd broke through and left, the surrounding pedestrians spat and cursed a few times before going about their business. A moment later, order was restored at the city gate.

Silver Moon Bar

"Wow! You two really know how to keep this bar open for over four hundred years!" (Sordil)

Hearing Sordil's praise, Tingmei puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Master, I've always been the one running this bar. Uncle Reide has never interfered!"

"I'd like to get involved, but you have to agree first!" (Red)

After complaining about Tingmei, Red started tattling to Sordil.

"Master, you don't know this, but ever since you entrusted this place to Tingmei, she's been running it all by herself and hasn't let me know anything about it. If it weren't for the Madam bringing news of you later, she wouldn't have planned to let me know that you left us such a large estate!"

"Uncle Reide, how can you lie through your teeth? Didn't I already tell you? You just didn't listen carefully, okay!" (Tingmei)

Seeing the two bickering, Sordil smiled and said, "Alright! You two stop arguing and hurry up and gather the men to get ready to start the operation! There's a lot of work waiting for us!"

After their master spoke, the two immediately stopped arguing and began to gather their subordinates to prepare for action.

Watching the two leave, Irene teased, "Hehe! You rascal, with such a pair of clowns under your command, your days are going to be quite lively!"

Hearing his wife's teasing, Sordil clicked his tongue and said speechlessly, "Red used to be quite serious, I don't know how he turned out like this!"

"Haha! Red and that lecherous Tingmei have been together for hundreds of years, how could he not have caught it? (Irene)"

"Yes, indeed!" (Sordil)

Although Tingmei and Red may seem unreliable, they are surprisingly efficient.

Within a quarter of an hour, the two had gathered all their key members at the Silver Moon Bar, to be at Sordil's command.

After everyone was seated according to their status, Red and Tingmei stood up at the same time and introduced Sordil was in the main seat, to everyone.

"Everyone, this is our master whom we mentioned before— Sordil Ornn. Please pay your respects! (Red, Tingmei)"

After the two finished speaking, the usually obedient subordinates did not follow their instructions, but instead looked at each other with suspicion.

Seeing this, Red said coldly, "What? Now you think you're all grown up and won't even listen to us anymore?"

"Ancestor, we..."

"What's wrong with you? Tell me!" (Red)

Sordil pulled the furious Red behind him, then laughed at the crowd, "Heh! Everyone, do you think Red and I can't live without you?"

"Um!"

As Sordil uttered the word "um," an immense pressure swept over them, pressing everyone sitting on either side of the table, along with their chairs, into the ground.

"Forehead!"

"Ah!"

Sordil acted as if he hadn't heard the groans of pain from the crowd, and continued to apply pressure with a smile.

As time went on, the fat man on the left finally couldn't bear the pressure any longer. He crawled on all fours to Red's feet and pleaded, "Ancestor, I know I was wrong, please forgive me! I will never dare to disobey your orders again!"

"Snort!"

Red snorted and then kicked the fat man aside.

"You were tactless just now, but now you don't even have the tact to ask for help!"

Upon hearing Red's words, the fat man's eyes darted around, and then he crawled toward Sordil's location.

"Whoosh!"

"Thump!"

Before the fat man could get close to Sordil, a bluish-white blade suddenly appeared in front of him, beheading him in one stroke.

Looking at the head rolling on the ground, Sordil said coldly, "Hmph! A piece of trash who doesn't even have this much backbone doesn't deserve to stay here!"

"Gulp"

As soon as Sordil finished speaking, the group of people squatting haphazardly on the ground swallowed hard, relieved that they had been a fraction of a second too slow. At the same time, they also accurately identified their new master—a smiling tiger!

"Oh dear! Why are you all sitting on the ground? Come on! Get up!" (Sordil)

As the word "hurry up" fell, the oppressive feeling on everyone instantly disappeared. Then, a gentle force lifted everyone up and placed them on the spare chairs.

After Sordil finished doing all that, Tingmei spoke up at the opportune moment, "What are you all still sitting there like idiots for? Hurry up and pay your respects!"

After Tingjie's reminder, everyone realized what they should do. So they all stood up and bowed respectfully to Sordil.

"Your subordinate greets your master!"

"Hehe! You're too kind, everyone. Please rise!"

Having received Sordil's pardon, the crowd dared to stand up straight. (Hmph! You little punks, if I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know how powerful this bloodthirsty Old Suo is!)

After using the big stick, the next step is to make empty promises... Pshaw! Wrong! The next step is to draw up a blueprint that everyone can work together for, so that everyone can be of use to your advantage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am here not to embarrass, upset, or put anyone in a difficult position, but to help everyone achieve greater benefits. So I hope you will not embarrass, upset, or put me in a difficult position either, otherwise... hmph!"

After Sordil finished speaking, everyone hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"Alright! Since everyone is so sincere, then I'll tell you about the future I've prepared for you all!"