The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1140: Epilogue 21 - The United Republic Of Viritoginy (5)
That was true. Painfully true, in fact. That person possessed the terrifying capability to move the pieces on the board without ever needing to touch them. It was as if the board itself responded to his will. His mind didn’t just think ahead—it leapt forward, skipping steps that ordinary people needed just to understand what was happening. His brain felt alien, as though it operated on an entirely different frequency, detached from normal logic yet frighteningly effective.
"Well, now that he’s gone and done this—managing to bring all the kingdoms of the Great Forest together—the Emperor is going to have a hard time trying to gain more footing in this world," Leonora said, her voice calm but heavy with implication. "Considering that he has to pass through the forest in order to reach the countries beyond it, I think he’ll be forced to act against the forest first. And now that the forest is being treated as a bastion—a unified stronghold with military power far greater than the Empire’s at this moment—I don’t think we can proceed with the plan the way we originally intended."
She wasn’t wrong. Not even slightly.
The establishment of the United Republic of Viritoginy had completely derailed everything I had prepared. All the careful planning, the contingencies, the scenarios I had mentally rehearsed over and over—they were now twisted beyond recognition. It wasn’t just an inconvenience. It was a fundamental shift in the balance of power, one that I hadn’t been able to prevent or even slow down. Whatever foundations I had laid before were now cracked, if not entirely useless.
Still, despite the frustration clawing at the back of my mind, I refused to believe it was over. There had to be a way to salvage this situation. There always was. But it wouldn’t be easy, and it definitely wouldn’t be clean. We’d need planning far more intricate than before—layered, flexible, and fast enough to adapt to a world that was changing almost overnight.
That was the biggest problem.
He was fast. Incredibly fast. Fast enough to tear down nations before others even realized what was happening. And that meant I had to be faster. Not just in action, but in thought. I couldn’t afford hesitation. I couldn’t afford doubt. If I slowed down for even a moment, he’d already be several steps ahead, and there would be nothing I could do to stop it.
The way the world bent around him was unsettling. Every major shift seemed to trace back to his actions, as if the world itself acknowledged him as its center. Like a protagonist in some twisted story, everything revolved around his decisions. And if that was the case, then the only choice left was to disrupt that flow—to interfere before those changes could settle and become irreversible.
"Well then, we have a lot of work to do..." I muttered, more to myself than to anyone else.
"Right," Leonora replied simply.
***
Kaori’s POV
Princess Myrcella’s sword was fast.
No—that didn’t even begin to describe it.
Her blade moved with such speed and precision that it left afterimages in the air, each strike flowing seamlessly into the next. I couldn’t find an opening. Not even a hint of one. Every time I thought I saw a gap, it vanished the moment I tried to act. Her footwork was just as frightening—light, elegant, almost effortless. Each step was placed perfectly, as though she’d already decided where she needed to be before the thought even crossed my mind.
Compared to her, I felt slow. Heavy. Awkward.
It had been weeks since I last held a sword, and even now, it didn’t feel natural in my hands. The grip felt wrong. The weight felt wrong. My body refused to move the way I wanted it to, lagging behind my thoughts like it didn’t fully belong to me anymore.
"You’re using your sword arm incorrectly," she said, her tone firm but not cruel. "You need to put your whole body into it. Right now, you’re only swinging with your arm."
"I don’t think... this is going to be enough for me to defeat you, Princess," I said, breathless as I continued to swing. Each motion felt forced, my muscles screaming in protest.
My swordsmanship was a mess. There was no grace, no rhythm, no proper form. I wasn’t fighting—I was flailing. I swung the sword wherever my instincts told me to, without any real technique behind it. It looked bad. It felt worse. But that was only natural. Before all of this, I had been nothing more than an ordinary person. No training. No experience. No reason to ever pick up a blade.
"It’s not about defeating me," she replied calmly. "If you can’t fight properly using the basics, then you won’t survive in this world."
"I know that," I growled, frustration spilling out before I could stop it.
"If you truly understand that," she said, raising her sword once more, "then come at me with everything you have."
Her words hit harder than any strike. She didn’t sugarcoat anything. She didn’t try to comfort me. Instead, she forced reality into my face, over and over again, until I couldn’t ignore it. Right now, I was weak. Right now, I was useless.
Time blurred as we continued. Sweat soaked through my clothes, my arms trembling with every swing. Eventually, though, it ended. Three hours had passed, and my body had reached its limit.
I collapsed onto my back against the stone pavement, staring up at the sky as heat radiated through the ground and into my spine. The sun felt merciless, pressing down on me like it wanted to crush me where I lay. The fact that I hadn’t collapsed from heatstroke felt like a miracle—but then again, they said our bodies had changed the moment we arrived in this world.
"You need to work on your stamina," the Princess said as she looked down at me. "With your current endurance, you wouldn’t last long against me."
"Well, you said it yourself, Princess. It’ll take time before I can defeat you," I replied weakly. "And honestly, thinking about it now, I don’t think I could do anything against you."
I forced myself to sit up. Staying flat on the heated stone would only make things worse, even if sitting up didn’t really help much either.
"That’s only natural," she said, sitting down beside me. "Unlike you, I’ve been training since birth. So it’s expected that you’d lose. It will take time before you can finally surpass me. But you will."
She paused, then continued, her voice softer.
"Just from watching your form earlier and feeling the strength behind your strikes, I can tell you’re improving. You’re getting stronger. I believe your status as a hero is influencing that."
