Chapter 179

Chapter 179

Spendthrift Necromancer (179)

RoundtableWhen Liang Xiaojun first met Kim Minwoo and fell to his knees, he'd thought his life was over.

Commands he couldn't refuse.

Not only his body, but even his soul recognized Kim Minwoo as its master.

Wasn't that just slavery?

His future had seemed as hopeless as being cast into the open sea.

But perhaps this was what people meant by turning misfortune into fortune.

He'd earned Nine Dragons Guild Master Hong Tao's trust as a true patriot.

And through meeting Kim Minwoo, he'd grabbed a lifeline.―Good. Write down every competitor you have inside the Party. If there are any higher-ups you dislike, write them down too.

The so-called death-sentence list.

Liang Xiaojun wrote countless names on it.

Everyone from competitors who threatened him to his superiors.‘Most of them belonged to He Guoqiang's faction.’Ranked fifth on China's Standing Committee.

In other words, one of the five most powerful men in China. That side had been looking unfavorably upon Liang Xiaojun.

Naturally, he wanted to bury them.

He'd simply kept his head down because he lacked the means and ability to do so.

Honestly, even while writing the list, he hadn't expected anything dramatic.

Reality turned out to be different.

The change began three days after he returned home.

A burner phone suddenly appeared inside his residence.

Then a message arrived on it.

Ding![An incident will occur tomorrow morning. Do not panic. Behave as usual.][……

Who are you?][Intelligence Team.]

The next morning.―Wei Zeming. You'll need to come with us.

Wei Zeming.

A senior guild member who had always looked down on him and one of He Guoqiang's faction lackeys.

He was arrested over a corruption case.

Then, as though someone had thrown oil onto a flame, the scandal exploded, and He Guoqiang's faction began getting absolutely demolished.

Apparently there had been an anonymous tip.

If the upper levels were moving that quickly, the information had to be both extremely accurate and devastating.

There was no need to ask who had sent the tip.

From then onward, Liang Xiaojun's life changed.

One after another, competitors who had threatened him became embroiled in scandals and were naturally demoted.

Eventually, the claws even reached He Guoqiang, fifth-ranked member of China's Standing Committee.

Enormous intelligence capabilities.

The terrifying power known as the Death Lord.

And on top of that, the nerve to contemplate replacing the President of China.

At first, everything had simply terrified him.‘But…….’Now things were different.

Every night, secret messages arrived on Liang Xiaojun's burner phone.

Messages advising him on how to act.

The first instructed him to “accidentally” encounter Zhao Ziang at a golf course.

Zhao Ziang.

Third-ranked member of the Standing Committee.

He was told to make an impression through guanxi, then leak information about gold-bar smuggling in Henan Province.

The exact time, place, and even the guanxi gift were delivered in a package, making the meeting easy to arrange.

Zhao Ziang's standing rose sharply after resolving the smuggling case.

Naturally, Liang Xiaojun, who had provided the information, also gained a golden connection.

At the same time, he was instructed to give Guild Master Hong Tao—who remained politically neutral—a few benefits as well, ensuring he wouldn't lose the man's trust.

Whenever he followed the messages, everything unfolded as smoothly as magic.

He became the perfect example of a beautiful political bat.

A golden bat shining from head to toe.

“Hoo…….”

Naturally, Liang Xiaojun couldn't help having complicated thoughts.

Cooperating with Kim Minwoo had clearly benefited him.

All he had to do was look at the guild members around him.

Before He Guoqiang's faction was destroyed, hostile stares had constantly been directed at him.

Now things were different.

Who would dare mistreat someone connected to both Hong Tao and Zhao Ziang?

Other people were the ones watching his mood now, not the other way around.

He had learned the sweetness of power.

If he kept walking this smooth road, perhaps becoming China's President someday wasn't merely a dream.

Now, whenever a message arrived at night, excitement outweighed fear by far.

Which was why.[Kim Minwoo Enters World Rankings! Rank 157…….]

Watching Kim Minwoo grow endlessly made his thoughts all the more complicated.

“Good lord…….”

A world ranker!

And they were supposedly both SS-rank?

What utter bullshit.

Liang Xiaojun knew with certainty.

Kim Minwoo wasn't merely an SS-rank Achievement Awakened ‘like him.’

He stood on a far, far higher tier.

If Kim Minwoo had used the Death Lord's power to oppress him, perhaps Liang Xiaojun might have secretly dreamed of rebellion.

But Kim Minwoo was different.

He'd demanded only one thing.

Never reveal anything about him.‘That's something I should be doing anyway.’He was praised as China's hope and hero, yet in truth he was Kim Minwoo's lackey?

Why the hell would he reveal that?

Unless he'd been shot in the head, it was information that would never leave his mouth for the rest of his life.

Objectively speaking.

Kim Minwoo was an excellent master.

At least so far.

And there was no reason to suddenly feel repulsed by the idea of having a master anyway.

China already worked that way.

There was a king called the President.

There were nobles called the Communist Party.

And ordinary citizens were simply subjects.

That was dictatorship.

Liang Xiaojun himself had merely been one of President Li Zemin's slaves.

If he had to serve a master anyway.

“……

Wouldn't the right answer be to serve the emperor who'll make me king?”

Didn't people say even a rich man's slave looked better fed?

This was merely another version of that.

Ten years from now, between President Li and Kim Minwoo, who would stand higher?

The answer was already obvious.

That was when.

News came from the television.―Breaking news. Newly inducted world ranker Kim Minwoo has announced that he will hold a roundtable with SS-rank Necromancers from around the world…….

Ding![If you saw it, get over here.]

Instead of fear, the summons in the message stirred a powerful sense of attraction inside him.* * *The number of SS-rank Achievement Awakened continued increasing over time.

Naturally, the number of Necromancers increased with them.

Over the past six months, the Class had suddenly risen into the mainstream thanks to Kim Minwoo.

At present, thirteen SS-rank Necromancers had been identified.

Excluding Kim Minwoo, that made twelve.

Every one of them received an invitation to the roundtable.

Kim Minwoo had become a world ranker as a Necromancer after only six months.

If they could extract even one useful piece of know-how from him, the trip couldn't possibly be a loss.

That was why nobody refused.

Liang Xiaojun was no exception.

He received a translator outside the building and entered Spendthrift Guild's headquarters, where the roundtable would be held.

Familiar faces greeted him.

Starting with the Necromancer produced by that ever-arrogant America.

Then Japan, Canada, India, and more.

Twelve Necromancers besides Kim Minwoo.

Eleven of them were already gathered.

Only one was different.

Russia's Necromancer, Mikhail Korvsky.

He arrived more than thirty minutes late and spoke with an irritated expression.

“What? It still hasn't started? I'm busy as hell.”

“……

Maybe Mr. Kim Minwoo hasn't come because you're late.”

“You think I was late on purpose? I was busy hunting.”

Everyone's gaze shifted toward Mikhail's grumbling.

He dropped arrogantly into a chair and kept complaining.

“I didn't even want to come to this stupid meeting in the first place. Some bastard gets lucky, Awakens early, makes it into the rankings, and suddenly he thinks he's important enough to summon every busy person on the planet?”

“……?”

The other Awakened tilted their heads.

They were wondering whether the man possessed a functioning brain.

“……

He became a world ranker in six months, and you're calling that luck?”

Sakura, Japan's Necromancer and the only woman present, asked.

Mikhail snorted.

“Don't know what Skills you people got, but mine's fucking incredible. World ranker? Six months would be more than enough for me.”

Mikhail shrugged.

A shaved head.

Muscular build.

He already had a harsh-looking face, and arrogance clung naturally to his entire body.

Even so, the other Necromancers didn't protest much.

No.

They couldn't.

If Kim Minwoo stood at the very top, Mikhail was currently the second most successful Necromancer.

You could tell just by looking at their Level 1 Gate clear times.

The Level 1 Gate challenge had spread like a craze.

Liang Xiaojun had taken forty-eight hours.

The other Necromancers posted similar records.

Usually somewhere between forty-six and forty-nine hours.

Mikhail alone had been different.He finished in forty-three hours, only three hours behind Kim Minwoo.

Because he'd produced such an outstanding record, Russia had continued pouring support into Mikhail.

That was probably why he was so arrogant.

That was when.

Liang Xiaojun chuckled as though looking at something cute.

Mikhail's face turned vicious instantly.

“What the hell, you? You laughing at me?”

“No. I just think I understand how you feel.”

“……

What?”

Liang Xiaojun shrugged.

Once, he'd been exactly the same.

When he'd first Awakened, it felt like the whole world belonged to him.

After all, he'd obtained an SS-rank Skill.

World rankers?

At best, hadn't those people started with S-rank Skills?

He'd thought the world lay beneath his feet.

At least until he learned there was always a sky above the sky.

Mikhail Korvsky seemed no different.

He simply hadn't encountered the true heavens yet.

And because his SS-rank Skill was bringing him so much success, he could afford to be this arrogant.

He was probably in the middle of being worshiped.

As Russia's hero.

As its next-generation Awakened.

Still, Liang Xiaojun was curious about one thing.

“Then why did you come? You look like you're furious about wasting time.”

“You think I wanted to? The government forced this event into my schedule. Damn it. They canceled every Gate reservation I had because of this fucking children's playdate.”

Mikhail spoke while crunching peanuts from the table.

Andrew, America's Necromancer, frowned at him.

“Enough. Whatever else is true, Kim Minwoo is our senior. And he's clearly powerful. If your arrogant attitude causes trouble at this roundtable, it's going to make things difficult for everyone afterward.”

The Necromancers all nodded.

It wasn't as though every one of them had attended this roundtable in high spirits.

Some had complaints too.

But one thing was certain.

Since they were here anyway, they wanted to take something useful home.

If Mikhail kept acting like this, that could become difficult.

They all shared that thought, so their gazes grew sharper.

“Ha. I'm shaking. You people look like you're about to tear someone apart. What are you, a bunch of lackeys?”

“By the way.”

“What?”

Mikhail turned toward Liang Xiaojun.

“Your Skill. Could it be……?”

“……

What?”

“What Skill did you get?”

“Are you insane? You think I'll tell you because you asked?”

“Then I'll guess. Is it Follower of the Death Lord?”

“……!”

That was when.

Mikhail's pupils shook violently.

Even among SS-rank Skills, the details were always different.

Naturally, every Awakened guarded their own Skill information carefully.

Yet Liang Xiaojun had just guessed his Skill.

Perfectly.

Without getting so much as a single word wrong.

There was no way Mikhail wouldn't panic.

“You fucking bastard…… figures a Chinese bastard would pull something like this! When the hell did you steal my information?!”

Mikhail roared.

Liang Xiaojun grinned.

That was when.

The door flew open.

Kim Minwoo appeared.

“Pleasure to meet you. I'm Kim Minwoo.”

Liang Xiaojun broke into a broad smile too.‘You arrogant bastard.’You're fucked today.

The terrifying senior who was about to educate this bald idiot had arrived.