Overlord City.

John’s figure appeared inside the City Lord Mansion.

Alan and the others had only just returned when John dismissed them, sending them off to distribute the items he had exchanged from the points space.

After all, the vast majority of the points from this event were in their hands. Naturally, some of the rewards had to be handed out to the players below them.

Inside the City Lord Mansion, John silently pondered.

"Right now, the main task is the clue to the Five Divine Class Classes Quest I just exchanged for.

"But before that, I need to find time to handle the relationships between the various Zones.

"After all, the All-race Battlefield is about to open. If the human race is divided, it will be very easy for us to fall into a disadvantage.

"On the All-race Battlefield, no matter how strong I am, it’s impossible for me to drag the entire human race along and fight against the ten thousand races alone."

John thought this to himself.

He had not become complacent just because his personal strength far exceeded that of other players.

Because that also meant that whenever the human race encountered any major event in the future, they could only rely on him alone to solve it.

As for NPCs, there was no way to count on them. The NPCs of the Apocalypse world rarely participated in activities involving players’ interests.

At present, aside from Zone 5, the development pace of the players in the other Zones was extremely uneven.

Especially Zone 1, which John had previously tormented badly.

And then there was Zone 3, which had been completely occupied by the demon race during this event.

Looking across all the Zones, the only ones whose development could still be considered passable were Zone 4 and Zone 5, both ruled by John, as well as Zone 2.

As for Zone 1 and Zone 3, they could no longer be counted on at all.

"I need to find a way to bring the players of Zone 1 and Zone 3 back up to speed as well."

Back when John had not yet developed to his current level, he could freely mess with the players of other Zones without any scruples.

But after returning from the All-race Battlefield this time, he had finally realized that one person’s strength was limited.

Only by relying on the strength of all players would there be a chance to push the human race to a greater height.

The strength of players was very important. Even the players of other Zones had to be raised up alongside them.

And at present, there was only one method that could allow him to quickly help the players from other Zones increase their strength.

...

"It’s time to think of a way to use the War Pact of Zones I obtained earlier."

The War Pact of Zones was something John had previously exchanged for from the All-race Battlefield Points Ranking.

It could only be used after he had completely unified an entire kingdom.

But the problem was that, right now, John did not have a Kingdom Founding Token.

"Could it be that I have to complete a Kingdom Founding Token quest first?"

John pondered. Just as he was considering which main city lord he should visit to trigger the corresponding Hidden Quest, a system notification suddenly rang inside his mind.

[Eaglecrest Empire’s royal court has sent you an urgent request for aid. Player, please proceed there immediately!]

"Hm?"

John frowned.

Sending an urgent request for aid at a time like this—could it be that the players there had failed to defend Eaglecrest Empire’s main city?

"I’ll go take a look first."

With a thought, he directly used his Pass Permit and teleported to Eaglecrest City.

The moment he arrived in Eaglecrest City, he discovered that the atmosphere here was very strange.

"It hasn’t been breached by the demon race, and the city gates haven’t suffered any damage.

"But the players and NPCs here all seem gloomy and dispirited?"

John frowned. Just as he was about to casually find someone and ask about it, a beam of golden light suddenly erupted from within the royal court and landed directly in front of him.

When the golden light dispersed, an old man dressed in royal court robes appeared.

The old man’s face was filled with anxiety.

"Your Highness, you have finally arrived. Please enter the royal court at once."

John’s heart stirred.

"You’re this anxious. Could something have happened inside the royal court?"

He followed the old man into the royal court.

Just as he had guessed, a tremendous upheaval had indeed occurred within the royal court.

"Your Highness, just before the demon race invasion yesterday, we originally intended to seek His Majesty out to discuss the matter.

"But who would have thought that even after searching the entire palace, we could not find any trace of His Majesty.

"At present, search orders have already been issued across all major main cities, but there is still no result.

"Fortunately, the group of adventurers trained by Your Highness led the city guards and successfully defended the main cities. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

After setting down a restriction, the old man explained everything that had happened in the palace.

"The king is gone?"

Even John was somewhat shocked after hearing this.

As an important NPC, the king of Eaglecrest Empire should logically have always remained inside the palace. He should not have disappeared for no reason.

Yet now, such a situation had truly occurred.

"Could it be that after I returned from the All-race Battlefield last time, this king was somehow provoked by something?"

John immediately felt a headache coming on.

Because in the future, there were several important quests that could not avoid this king.

If the king remained hidden like this forever, wouldn’t all of those quests get stuck there, never to be completed?

Just as John was feeling troubled, the old man suddenly said,

"Your Highness, a kingdom cannot go a single day without a ruler. At present, His Majesty’s whereabouts cannot be found.

"Why not have Your Highness temporarily serve as Regent and preside over the affairs of state?

"At the very least, it would give our citizens someone to rely on, so that the kingdom will not be left leaderless and scattered like loose sand."

[The palace cabinet has sent you a request: You are invited to take residence in the palace and temporarily manage state affairs!]

[Prompt: If you agree, you will obtain the identity of Eaglecrest Empire Regent.]

"They’re actively inviting me to become Regent?"

John had already forgotten how many times he had been shocked today.

He had never imagined that something like this could happen.

If something like this happened according to the history of the real world, the first reaction of the royal family would be to guard against people with princely titles like him seizing power.

He never expected that in the Apocalypse world, they would instead actively invite a player like him to serve as Regent.

"Nothing like this ever happened in my previous life. I wonder what will happen after I become Regent."

After pondering for a moment, John ultimately decided to accept this burden, whether it turned out to be good or bad.

After all, judging from the current situation, the worst-case result should not involve him suffering any punishment.

"Since the royal court truly needs a Regent, then I can only take on the role."

John did not stand on ceremony at all and directly accepted.

The old man’s face immediately revealed great joy.

"Thank you, Your Highness. This subject welcomes the Regent!"

In an instant, waves of humming echoed throughout the palace.

A crown and a scepter actually appeared out of thin air above John’s figure.

The crown descended onto his head, while the scepter floated into his hand on its own.

They were merely two pieces of fashion equipment without any attributes, yet they caused John’s aura to transform abruptly from that of a player into that of a sovereign!

[You have become Eaglecrest Empire Regent!]

[Regent]

[Profession]: Temporary Identity — will become invalid once the king returns.

[Effects]:

You may issue [Exile] or [Requisition] commands to NPCs or players.

You obtain the legendary mount [Royal Gryphon]. It will be reclaimed once this identity expires, but all teleportation points unlocked along the way will be permanently retained.

During the final stage of the Chapter, you may activate [King’s Judgment], forcibly removing 50% of an enemy BOSS’s maximum HP, ignoring HP-locking effects. After use, this identity will immediately expire.

[Introduction]: As the Regent of Eaglecrest Empire, you must temporarily shoulder the heavy responsibility of ruling a kingdom!