I Killed the Hero and Took His Achievements-Chapter 29: Knocking on Heaven’s Door (With a Railgun)
[Location: High Orbit - The HMS Profit Margin]
[Target: The Planetary Barrier]
The planet looked small from here.
I stood on the bridge of my Star-Dreadnought. The viewscreen showed the blue ish grid of the Planetary Shield. It was designed by the Interstellar Species to keep us inside and to keep us farming XP until we were ripe for harvest.
"Boss," Sparky’s voice was agitated over the comms. "The shield is reinforced with Foreign Mana. Our lasers won’t scratch it."
"I know," I said. "That’s why we aren’t using a normal laser."
I looked at the Main Cannon. It wasn’t loaded with energy. It was loaded with Kenji inside. Well, not Kenji physically but his Plot Armor. I had extracted the "Essence of Destiny" from the fallen Hero and infused it into a single massive bullet shell.
[Item: The Fate-Breaker Bullet]
[Properties: Ignores Logic. Pierces Indestructible Objects.]
"Load the Hero," I ordered.
"You’re a monster," Sylvia whispered, watching the loading mechanism.
"I’m a visionary. Fire when ready."
THRUMMM. The ship vibrated slightly. The cannon charged completely.
BOOM.
The shell fired. It streaked through the vacuum like a golden comet. It hit the Shield. CRACK. A spiderweb fracture appeared in the sky. Then... SHATTER. The blue grid broke. A hole the size of a continent opened in the barrier.
Real space was revealed, and waiting on the other side? There were Ships. Thousands of them. Bio-organic ships, crystalline cruisers and all sorts of ships.
[The Interstellar Fleet]
[Factions: The Hegemony, The swarm, The Technocracy.]
They had been waiting for this. Watching from afar.
"ALERT. CONTAINMENT BREACHED."
"PLANET 404 IS ONLINE."
"INITIATING INVASION."
The alien fleet began to move. They swarmed quickly toward the hole like piranhas sensing blood.
"There’s... too many," Seraphina muttered while clutching her staff. "Millions. We can’t fight them at all."
"We don’t have to fight them all," I said. "We just have to fight the Leader."
I pointed to the massive flagship in the center of the formation. It was a pyramid made of gold.
[Ship: The Golden Ziggurat]
[Owner: The Monarch of Greed.]
He was here personally. "He wants his properties back," I grinned evilly. "Sparky. Broadcast on all frequencies."
"Broadcast what exactly, Boss?"
"My Terms of Service."
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[The Broadcast]
My hologram appeared on the monitor of every foreign ship. "GREETINGS, SPACE INVADERS." I sat on my exquisite throne, holding a fine wine glass. "I AM EMPEROR CAIN. YOU ARE TRESPASSING IN A PRIVATE PROPERTY."
The foreign commanders looked puzzled. A primitive? Threatening them?
A voice reverberated back. It was the Monarch of Greed. "YOU ARROGANT BUG. YOU BROKE THE CAGE. NOW WE WILL LIQUIFY YOUR SPECIES FOR FUEL. SURRENDER THE THIEF CAIN, AND WE WILL ONLY ENSLAVE 90% OF YOU."
I took a sip of wine. "Counter-offer," I said. "You turn around and leave. Or I will detonate the Planet."
Silence filled the entire planet.
"EXCUSE ME?"
I held up a remote detonator. "I have rigged the Planet’s Core with Aether Bombs. Specifically, the ’Mana Wells’ beneath every major Academy. If my heart stops? Boom. If you land troops? Boom. If you bore me? Boom. If the Planet explodes, the ’XP Farm’ is destroyed. You’ll lose your main investment and you’ll lose the ’Throne of the World’ which is hidden here forever."
I leaned into the camera. "So. Do you want to lose everything? Or do you want to negotiate with me?"
The Monarch of Greed paused. He was a businessman too. He understood leverage. Destroying the asset was bad for his business.
"NEGOTIATE. WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"I want a Seat," I said. "A Seat at the Galactic Council. And... Trade Rights. This planet remains independent. I sell you Mana. You sell me Technology."
"INSOLENCE! A PRIMITIVE CANNOT JOIN THE COUNCIL!"
"Then I press the button."
My thumb lingered over the red button.
The Monarch stared at me through the hologram. His golden eyes burned wickedly.
"FINE. YOU HAVE 1 THIS PLANET’S YEAR TO PROVE YOUR WORTH. IF YOU FAIL TO MEET THE ’CIVILIZATION QUOTA’ (GDP, Military Power, Tech Level and all)... WE WILL FORECLOSE ON YOUR WHOLE PLANET AND I WILL PERSONALLY PEEL YOUR SOUL."
"Deal," I said.
[System Notification]
[Treaty Established: The Sol Armistice.]
[Time Remaining: 365 Days.]
[Objective: Upgrade this Planet from Type 0 to Type 1 Civilization.]
The foreign fleet stopped. They held position at the Planet’s orbit. They weren’t invading. They were Blockading.
"We bought time," Sylvia sighed in complete relief. "A year. We can produce."
"A year is nothing at all," I said while standing up egoistically. "We have to industrialize an entire planet. We have to unite every factions and to upgrade our tech by 500 years."
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[Location: Storm-Wall Castle - War Room]
Back on the ground, the mood was stiff.
King Varic (My Manager).
The New Pope (Seraphina).
Gallywix (Goblin Kingpin).
Sparky (Head Scientist).
They looked at the holographic map showing the foreign ships blockade.
"We’re trapped here," Varic whined. "We can’t fight them at all."
"Stop whining," I slapped the table savagely. "We have a great plan." I pulled up a schematic diagram. [Design: The Tower of Babel.] "We are going to build a Space Conveyor. We are going to connect the planet to the blockade."
"Why?" Gallywix asked. "To let them down?"
"Both ways. I’m going to turn the Planet into a Casino Planet. Interstellar Species love gambling, exotic goods and ’Primitive Culture’. We are going to consume their wallets before they consume our souls."
I pointed at Gallywix. "You handle the construction. Use your slave labor."
I pointed at Sparky. "You handle the technology. Reverse engineer the debris from the Leviathan fight."
I pointed at Seraphina. "You handle the Public Relations. Tell the people that the Interstellar Species ’Pilgrims’ here to donate us some money."
"And you, Boss?" Sylvia asked.
I walked to the window. "I have to deal with the Internal Threats. The Treaty only stops the Interstellar Species from invading. But it doesn’t stop them from hiring nasty Assassins."
My eyes glowed destructive red. [Infinite Growth: Active.] "I’m going to hunt every single of them down."
