Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

"Always second place... well, I suppose that's not entirely wrong," Lucian said, trying to manage his expression by forcing a smile. However, it was clear that he was struggling, as the corners of his mouth twitched noticeably.

Seeing Lucian's reluctant acknowledgment, Justin nodded.

"As I thought. Resonance King, I never expected to meet the legend of second place here."

"...Damn it..."

"Huh? Did you just curse at me?"

"I... bit my tongue. You must have misheard," Lucian replied quickly, desperately trying to turn the conversation around despite having his pride wounded. If it weren't for his reddened face, he might have been praised for his self-control.

"And while we're at it, just say I was ranked second. There are plenty of people who haven't even come close to second place," Lucian added, glaring.

It was a jab with a hint of pride, but Justin stifled a laugh. After all, the person who ranked above him was standing right in front of him. Of course, revealing that now would only put a target on his back, so he held his tongue, but it was hard not to laugh.

"You're right. Second place means you've beaten everyone but one," Justin said with a chuckle.

"Exactly," Lucian agreed.

"But second place is still second place. You're not at the top," Justin added with a smirk.

"..."

Uh-oh. Justin realized he was pushing too far when he saw the veins bulging on Lucian's forehead. Holding back another sarcastic comment, he quickly shifted gears. As fun as this was, it was more important to figure out Lucian's intentions.

"Anyway, you're saying you know a lot about warlocks because you've been ranked second?" Justin asked, returning to a more serious tone.

"That's correct. You can try to act tough, but it won't work on me," Lucian said confidently, his gaze intense and unwavering.

Justin clicked his tongue inwardly. For someone who claimed to know so much about warlocks, Lucian clearly didn't know about the hidden class, Apostle of Eternity. He thought he knew everything, but he didn't even know about the warlock's hidden potential.

'No wonder he's always been second,' Justin thought, amused. He leaned back in his chair, casually resting.

"So? If you think I'm in such a bad spot, what are you proposing?" Justin asked, keeping his tone casual.

"I have no ulterior motives. I'm simply here to make you an offer," Lucian replied.

"An offer?"

"Yes. Join me."

"...."

Justin was speechless for a moment. What kind of nonsense was this?

Seeing his reaction, Lucian smiled, as if he had expected it.

"Just to be clear, I'm not asking you to hand over control of this quest. I mean for your entire force to surrender."

"Have you lost your mind? You call that a good offer?" Justin retorted, incredulous.

"It's a great offer, especially for a warlock whose expiration date is approaching," Lucian insisted, his smile widening. He seemed almost certain of his victory.

"If you've gathered over a thousand settlers, you should know that pioneers can be a great asset but also a threat of rebellion. They can turn against you at any moment," Lucian continued.

"Did I ever say I'm facing a rebellion?" Justin asked coldly.

"It's obvious. A warlock who needs sacrifices to recharge their spells, a growing number of new pioneers as you gather more territories, and your power waning as you approach your expiration date... It's only a matter of time before a rebellion happens," Lucian said confidently.

"Hmm."

Surprisingly, Lucian wasn't entirely wrong. With over a thousand settlers under his control, many of whom were from newly acquired territories, the threat of rebellion would indeed grow for a normal warlock. Their need for sacrifices to recharge spells would make them a constant source of distrust and fear among their people.

For a typical warlock, this would be the time they started losing sleep over the looming rebellion.

That is, for a typical warlock.

'None of that applies to me,' Justin thought, smirking inwardly.

He had crushed any new pioneers who didn't fall in line immediately, and he could easily gather sacrifices using his Staff of Gluttony and overwhelming firepower. On top of that, the Apostle of Eternity class completely solved the issue of warlocks losing strength in the mid-to-late game.

Of course, Justin was completely free from the threat of rebellion.

'It'd be easy to just tell him to leave, but...'

It might be worth hearing out where Lucian was getting all this confidence from. This could be a good chance to assess his resources.

Feigning a neutral expression, Justin asked, "You must be pretty confident in your power to make an offer like that."

"Of course. I have enough resources to treat leaders who surrender far better than they've ever been treated before," Lucian replied smoothly.

"Talk is cheap," Justin remarked.

"Even if my territory is a Dark Elf city?" Lucian shot back.

"...."

For a moment, Justin was at a loss for words.

Wait, you too? That's my territory as well.

Mistaking Justin's silence for shock, Lucian smirked.

"You know what I mean, don't you? While elves and dwarves may surpass dark elves in terms of defense, no other race can match the dark elves in wealth."

"Hmm."

"Granted, my city isn't fully developed yet. The elemental stone mines are still sealed off. But once this quest is completed, I'll have enough rewards to finish developing everything."

Ah, I see. We already have full access to the mines.

"And we've unified 15 out of the 30 nearby territories. With over half under our control, it's only a matter of time before we conquer the rest."

Oh, impressive. We just unified 20.

"We're also in the process of training alchemists and blacksmiths. The plan was delayed because of the main quest, but it'll resume as soon as I return."

Very nice. We've already got our master craftsmen hard at work.

"And finally... I'm sure you've noticed this one," Lucian said with a smirk, pointing to the small dragon on his shoulder.

"Kyuurk!"

"Once fully grown, a dragon has the power to change the course of a battle. And this one's a golden dragon—second only to the black dragon in strength. Surely you understand what that means?"

Oh, I understand perfectly. It means that when my Fafnir grows up, it'll be stronger than yours.

Lucian finished his speech with a triumphant look in his eyes, clearly waiting for Justin to respond.

"So, what do you say?" Lucian asked, his confidence radiating.

"Hmm..."

To summarize Lucian's offer: "Now is the time when you're most valuable, so you should join us without hesitation. Your value will only decline from here on, so it's best to sell high while you still can. I can guarantee you'll be treated well, and I have the resources to back that up. It's a far better option than dealing with the threat of rebellion. So, will you join me?"

As Lucian smiled in what he thought was victory, Justin smiled back and gestured with his thumb.

"The exit is that way, guest."

"...."

Bang.

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The door slammed shut with a force that made it seem like it would break. Lucian stormed out of the room. Zachary, who had been standing behind Justin the entire time, blinked in disbelief.

"Wow, I never knew even a good-looking face could be so distorted."

"I was surprised too. He looked like a ghost," Justin replied, shaking his head. If someone shined a light under Lucian's chin with that expression, it would scare anyone out of their wits. It was the kind of face that could haunt your dreams.

'Well, it makes sense. His pride, which he had always held onto, had just been shattered,' Justin thought. Lucian had probably been convinced that Justin was in a dire situation. He had likely expected Justin to at least show some hesitation, even if he refused the offer, considering Lucian's large territory and resources.

But instead, his pride had been crushed right here.

"He may have been a competitor, but we should be a little more careful after three days," Justin said.

"After three days? Wouldn't it be better to be cautious now, since this isn't a safe zone?" Zachary asked.

"No, he won't make a move right away, no matter how upset he is. He wasn't just trying to recruit us; he's probably looking to form other alliances as well."

The current quest clearly favored leaders who could build strong alliances and take control. Lucian would likely aim to gather as many allies as possible before the quest ended, hoping to overwhelm his competitors with numbers. He wouldn't want to tarnish his reputation before finishing those alliances.

"We should be more worried about others than him," Justin added.

"Others?"

"I told you earlier, since I'm a warlock, plenty of people will look down on me. We'll probably get more offers like the one from Lucian."

"...Ah," Zachary nodded in understanding. He had thought Justin was exaggerating before, but now that things were playing out just as predicted, he couldn't deny it.

Justin chuckled and stood up from his chair.

"Well, even so, they won't all come at once. Let's relax for now and see what happens. Hopefully, no one else will show up... but just in case..."

Suddenly, the door creaked open again.

"Oppa," Rachel called out as she entered.

Seeing the familiar sight, Justin's eyes twitched.

"Not again?"

"Yes, another leader has come to talk."

"...."

Justin pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

No matter how he looked at it, they were underestimating him far too much.

It seemed the next three days were going to be busier than he'd anticipated.

"Dammit, they really showed up," Derek muttered as he frowned down from the top of the fortress wall.

Below, pioneers from nine different territories were preparing for a siege. Despite the high walls, the enemy forces seemed confident. Derek let out a dry laugh.

"Why are they acting so cocky? Did they eat something wrong? They can't seriously believe in those siege ladders the goblins left behind, can they?"

"I think they genuinely believe they can conquer us," Ethan replied.

Derek burst into laughter at his companion's serious tone.

"Come on, that's a joke, right?"

But Ethan didn't drop his serious expression as he continued,

"It may seem like they're trying to smash an egg against a rock to us, but that's only because we know how strong we are. From their perspective, they might think they have a real shot."

"...You're serious?"

"Yes. And with their numbers, their confidence has probably increased," Ethan explained.

"...That's the part I didn't expect," Derek groaned, glancing down at the gathered pioneers.

There were about a hundred of them. Though it was less than the 150 pioneers who had been wiped out by Justin earlier, it was still a considerable number. It was obvious that they had scraped together every available fighter, leaving no one behind to guard their own territories.

"Looks like we can't go out and intercept them. Even though we could handle it, we'd risk casualties if we faced that many at once."

"We don't have much choice. We'll have to focus on defending from inside, even if it means things drag on. It's going to be a long fight for us too," Ethan replied.

If they could take the fight outside, they might be able to make quicker work of the enemy. But since they were stuck defending, they'd have no choice but to pick off the attackers as they came, one by one. And once the initial assaults failed, the enemy would likely start waiting for a moment of weakness to strike.

Even with the tense atmosphere, the actual battle would probably be more of a long, drawn-out standoff.

"What about the wyvern? Can't we use that?" Derek asked.

"No, only Nathan can control it, and even then, it's difficult. We should give up on that idea," Ethan replied.

"What about Fafnir? I heard the egg has started to crack."

"It looks like it's going to hatch soon, but we still don't know exactly when."

"Ugh, what a useless thing," Derek grumbled, throwing a glance at Ethan.

When the egg first started cracking, they had expected it to hatch any day. But it seemed like the dragon was in no hurry to break free.

"All dragons are like that. Maybe it's for the best. When the time comes, I'll take care of everything and put that lazy lizard in its place..."

Kuwaang!

"What was that!?" Derek shouted, startled by the sudden loud noise.

"It came from the keep!" Ethan shouted back.

An attack from the outside wouldn't be surprising, but an explosion inside the fortress? Had someone lost their mind and started a rebellion?

As they turned to look, their jaws dropped in shock.

"...."

The area near the lord's office was in shambles, blown apart as if something inside had erupted with tremendous force. And emerging from the wreckage, something large began moving swiftly.

Both men stared in stunned silence as a massive shadow soared into the sky.

"That's... a dragon!" Ethan muttered in disbelief.

Before he could finish, the newly hatched black dragon let out an ear-piercing roar that shook the entire city.

"Kyyaaaaaaaa!"