Overlord: Blue Citadel Alternate

With the Princess gone and likely putting things into motion, Vertum refrained from purging the nobles right away. Most specifically the traitor and mole who had been selling and giving information to the Empire for a lump sum. He wanted the Empire to know about the dealings, and the Kingdom had to make it look legit in the first place when it came to dismissing a human of great influence in the nation.

So instead he wanted to continue doing experiments as avidly as he could, most of which aiming to improve conditions for the rising time of his Empire.

With E-Rantel and likely the outlying villages connected to it becoming his soon enough, it seemed that this was a much-needed chore. With the ability to quicken the New World population, he was sure he'd be able to refine and develop more followers as time went on. Followers who were otherwise just as powerful as the Black Scripture or stronger.

Not that it truly mattered, Whether or not, that the King appeared ruthless or lawful it was clear his power alone could keep them in control. At least until a noble decided that they disliked his influence over their Kingdom and chose to underestimate him. Judging by the Nobles of the Kingdom, it was a near-inevitable fate should the King not keep his lesser subordinates in line.

As the third week of training came along, Vertum started even more experiments. Wanting to see if the power suit would help with raising the levels of farmers as they did their jobs, he began assisting them in mass farming projects.

Harvesting, seed laying, land surveying and even various other chores that involved the livestock. All of these things were included in the experiments and he would continue to attempt and make them get stronger and stronger. Of course, since they were humans, they were heavily limited. It was likely that a farmer could only reach a certain level before they gained a greater class. However, the thing he wanted to know is, what would a farmer be if they made it to the end of their base class?

Considering there was no game hub to check this out, he still wanted to know.

Just as he had supported the Adventurers, he now supported the farmers. Men, women, and children took part in the experiment, wearing the leather collars around their necks as they did so. So far he was able to tell that the experience still increased from the chores at an accelerated rate thanks to the items.

Many of the villagers were surprised by this, most, in particular, Enri who was increasing in both farming and being a commander. She had seen farming as a mere hobby since there was nothing more to do around the remote village. Now it seemed like it was becoming almost a profession as she noticed her increase in skills and abilities under the subject.

The one thing he was glad about, however, was the power to assimilate others and their abilities. Plus the fact that he would get wholesome amounts of experience from doing so. It was almost like buying experience potions from the in-game gacha store.

As the farming experiment was going on, Vertum leaned against the outer wall of the Village. The wall itself was an impressive structure, following his specifications, it stood as the greatest wall compared to the historical archives of Earth.

He let out a soft sigh as he could remember the classes he took as an elementary and later middle school student. Many of these classes hardly covered history, and when they did, it was very hard to get passed the red tape the arcologies redacted things with.

His eyes drifted towards the small figures which were running around in the fields. It seemed the children were playing, and he could hear the birds singing. With the sun shining down on Carne, he could only chuckle softly.

The dragon hardly noticed the fact that the kids were pulling on each other's chains whilst playing tag. Though they weren't in any real danger, it definitely wasn't a safe activity.

Just as he was about to push himself free from the wall.

"Veeeerrrrttttuuuummmm-saaaaaan!" He heard a small sweet voice cry out.

"Hm?" Vertum's eyes snapped forward towards Nemu. He only had enough time to ask himself two questions, Why was she at eye level? Why was she being thrown in his general direction!?

There were two choices he could make, after noticing the fact that she was airborne. Step to the side, letting her hit the wall, or take the hit and catch her at the same time.

Vertum fashioned his eyes on her big eyes as he lowered her slightly, "Nemu..."

"I uh.." She seemed to be shaking slightly, he could smell... Fear?

His eyes flickered up towards a female form standing on the hill, a large battle scythe visibly held at her side, being used as something to lean on as she was fiddling with a colorful Rubik's cube. Pursing his lips at this, he raised a brow seeing the two-toned hair and eyes. Based on what he was seeing, this was the last member of the Black Scripture, the Extra Seat.

"Now how did you get in...?" Vertum huffed quietly before lowering the little girl to the ground, letting her shift behind him like a doe trying to hide from a larger predator.

"Oooh?" At first, her initial tone of voice seemed uninterested, at least until scales appeared over the bridge of his nose. That was when she grinned widely. "So, you know who I am?" A giggle escaped her lips as she pushed herself off the scythe's shaft and pulled it from the ground and into a readied stance.

"Sh-she said she was a refugee from the Slaine Theocracy," Wined Nemu as she remained behind him, gripping at his pant leg.

"With a giant Scythe and armor like that...? Customs needs upgrading in staff..." He uttered under his breath as he looked over the ribbons and armor pieces which decorated her black and white attire. "Nemu, go to your sister."

"O-okay!" Nemu hesitantly let go of his pantleg and went running off in the general direction of the designated farming zones in which she last saw her sister.

Vertum did not look away from the woman who stood there, her weapon at the ready as she began to approach him.

"Question before we begin, were you dispatched by the Theocracy?"

"Hah! No," She grinned widely towards him, getting ready to charge.

"I see... Perhaps I'll let you survive," Phasing from his human form, Vertum took on his draconic appearance. His scales glimmering in the light that shined through the shield.

"LET's JUST SEE IF YOU CAN SURVIVE FIRST!" Kicking off the solid ground beneath her feet, she made the first move, bringing her weapon above her head in order to feint a direct attack.

However, he made a move that she did not expect at all. The instant she was about to swipe the weapon from the side, a millisecond before impact, he vanished. With quick instincts, she turned around, aiming to hit Vertum with the blunt side of the Scythe... Only to be blocked.

"Wh-what!?" Though she was expecting someone strong, she never expected this. Vertum's taloned hand held the weapon in place, having intercepted it during one of her strongest blows!

She pulled back, attempted, again and again, using both the blunt and the bladed side of the polearm weapon. He kept on blocking it, parrying it around with his draconic strength that well outmaneuvered her abilities.

"This is the best you can do?" Vertum wasn't breaking a sweat as she started to increase the speed and power behind the attacks. Even then, however, her attacks were limited and he wasn't allowing her to make any direct blows. "If you keep this up, you're going to die here."

"Don't get so c.o.c.ky!" She laughed as she maneuvered and kicked off the wall, using martial arts abilities to enhance her fortitude and speed.

"You should know that a Dragon's base abilities are far greater than that of a mere elf..." He retorted with a scholarly tone, though it seemed he was just trying to tease her, "But this is impressive. Now, can you keep up with me?"

Raising a brow at the question, she was suddenly caught off guard as his tail smashed into her from the side, sending her barreling along the plains within the walls.

"Nope," Vertum watched as she forced herself back onto her feet, spitting out blood from the attack. She didn't seem like she was going to be remain standing if she took another two hits.

Heaving and examining the damage, the half-elf looked over the Dragon for a moment with wide eyes. A wide grin across her lips as he Rubiks cube fell to the dirt at her feet in pieces, having taken a direct blow from his tail.

"It seems you've broken a few ribs. Accept defeat, and I won't Zero you out with resurrections." Vertum huffed as he c.o.c.ked his head to the side. The idea of losing levels by being resurrected over and over again was definitely something that would strike fear into someone who was all about strength herself.

While she didn't initially know what he meant by Zero'ing her out, she knew that resurrections lowered one's abilities and had to be rehabilitated. So this allowed her to only assume he would kill her over and over again in order to make her exceptionally weak.

Was this defeat? Her eyes traveled down to her weapon as she thought. Was this what it felt like? She wasn't even on her back. Just then her leg gave out and she fell to one knee.

Having taken her gaze away from him for a mere second, she found that his jaws were clamped down on her left arm. She was feeling light-headed, her eyes were getting heavy.

This was a defeat, for the first time she was defeated. Her hands loosened their grasp on the battle scythe and her hand moved to touch his head. A smile took over her lips, her two-toned eyes resting on him, not as wide as her smirks and grins from before.

"True Queen of the Elves," He spoke muffledly, "Do you wish to kill your father and claim your throne...?"

At that instance, he had caught her off guard with the offer. The Theocracy had gone to war with the Elf Kingdom on her behest, now he was offering her something even greater. The chance to kill her father who was much weaker than herself.

The small half-elf remained standing even after losing her consciousness, her arms wrapped around him as if she had just found her perfect match.

A sweatdrop formed above his brow as he went to move his head, unintentionally dragging her. Seeing as his head didn't slip out of her grasp, he began shaking his head, but she didn't budge! "Son of a... I can't get her off!"

He felt like a dog with a plastic cone around his head!