I Became The Villain The Hero Is Obsessed With

Chapter 373

373 – Strategic Advice

Quite some time has passed since the inflation situation occurred.

During that time, the Cathedral had been growing at a terrifying rate.

[Breaking news! The French Association is currently occupied by the Cathedral, causing a state of emergency across Europe! The overall villain of the Cathedral’s UK branch is demanding surrender, saying ‘We want peaceful conquest’.]

[Experts are analyzing that the French Association’s conquest is due to the cooperation between the French Villain Union and the British Villain Union. They cooperated through the Cathedral, which led to a much stronger force than the Association expected…]

[The Cathedral’s expansion in Asia is also frightening. The number of villains joining the Cathedral in Southeast Asia is rapidly increasing, causing confusion in the government, according to local authorities. The International Hero Association Headquarters has yet to put forth a clear countermeasure, causing even more controversy…]

The International Villain Association, perfectly countering the International Hero Association.

Unlike the Hero Association, whose purpose is to maintain security, the Villain Association, whose purpose is essentially conquest, was growing at an even more terrifying rate than before.

“We could see this as the emergence of a new power…”

On my laptop, there’s an intranet showing progress shared among Cathedral members.

Looking at the real-time workings of the Cathedral through that, I murmured to myself.

In fact, just like in the original work, the Cathedral had been fine until now.

As I keep saying, unlike miscellaneous villains, villain unions each had a clear goal.

It was to conquer something of their own. Whether it was their own country or the sea, their goal was more conquest than destruction. Like China and Japan where villains had successfully conquered.

…Of course, the problem was that China and Japan’s governments were already in disarray, so it could be seen as a coup… but in other countries, the government was fine, yet they tried to overthrow and take over the country. That’s why it was a problem and they were villains.

‘But now the situation has changed.’

…The governments and associations of all countries are practically in disarray.

As ability users get stronger, there are more villains than heroes.

It was always a world with more villains than heroes, but now the polarization has become even more severe.

Rather, it may be better for the strongest villain to manage other villains… the world is beginning to tilt towards the logic of power.

In other words, the security of a country conquered by the Cathedral might actually be better. After all, China and Japan, which were taken over by Li Shaofeng and Katana, had pretty good security. This happened because the Villain Union has more villains than the Association has heroes.

Of course, if they lose control, there’s no answer…

Rather, this was an opportunity.

It was a chance that I could influence the world through the Cathedral.

“…Sigh.”

I’m doing all this to prevent the end of the world, so it would be a problem if the world were to perish before the advent of the Sun God.

I’ll have to deal with this first before convincing… seducing Celeste.

“There’s a Cathedral executive meeting coming up soon…”

…Perfect timing.

Slowly, I need to start playing with the world.

With that in mind, I took out a notebook where I had jotted down all the knowledge from the original book on the bookshelf.

So, time passed.

Finally, the day arrived when the Cathedral gathered again.

***

The Cathedral.

From noble mtl dot com

What was once a simple information-sharing meeting had now become a coalition of villains aiming for world domination.

Therefore, many villains have all submitted to it now. The villains who have come as representatives so far have essentially become executives.

With the situation changed, the meeting place prepared by Celeste for the Cathedral has also changed.

“Everyone, please come this way.”

A huge cathedral, vastly different from the small church we had been in so far, with a ceiling so high it’s barely visible.

The walls and floor are covered with luxurious white marble-like material; the ceiling looks like the night sky, almost like the universe; beyond the large stained glass windows, you can see the actual sky.

…In this place, where a huge rectangular marble table, no longer a round table, has been prepared.

This was the new meeting place for the Cathedral for world domination.

“Everyone is here.”

So, now.

After Celeste, with her white silver hair fluttering, arrived, the meeting began.

“Since our Cathedral gathered by the will of God, many of you have grown…”

As usual, I was sitting right next to Celeste, listening to her talk with half-closed eyes.

It was mainly about the dazzling achievements of the Cathedral. Breaking the existing order established by the Association and taking a step further towards world domination.

There was no need to listen anymore.

…They all already know what I’m going to say anyway. I remember being surprised when Celeste called me last time and asked me to listen to her speech.

Well, I guess we’ve become that much closer.

After some explanation.

Celeste glanced at me, then opened her mouth to the various villains sitting in the conference room.

“…That’s all I wanted to say. From now on, you can freely discuss whatever you want to talk about among yourselves. If you have any questions for me, or anything you want to let everyone know, please come to me. Then, please begin.”

With those words from Celeste.

…The villains in the conference room began to open their mouths, as if they had been waiting for this.

“Hey, you! Kawasupki. I asked to borrow a few of your subordinates, can’t you lend me some? I think I’m almost there…”

“I’ve heard rumors that heroes are setting up camps in Brazil recently, have you heard…?”

“hahahaha! I’ve already dealt with 10 villains who don’t follow the Cathedral in the A-class and below…”

So.

The villains began to progress something on their own.

Among them, who seemed to be very busy with the Cathedral this time.

Celeste, who was sitting next to me, also cleared her throat and began to speak to me.

“And, Egoistic. You…”

“Ah, Celeste. Just a moment. I have something to discuss over there.”

“…..”

Avoiding Celeste’s displeased eyes, I began to walk towards one of the villains nearby.

“Hello, Cardrew.”

“Huh? Who… Ah! You’re Egoistic…?”

The man who answered me, surprised, at my greeting with a smile.

The man with a very impressive mustache seemed tense as I naturally sat next to him. …According to Katana, I sat too much like Celeste’s second-in-command, so the other villains thought I was the real power…? Regardless, it wasn’t my intention, but it wasn’t a bad reaction. A certain level of intimidation adds credibility to my words.

“Yes, I was tasked with the overall operational command inside the Cathedral under Celeste’s orders… Mr. Cardrew, you’re in charge of Spain, right? I came to offer some help.”

“…Help? What kind of help are you talking about?”

The mustached man responds, not hiding his doubt.

Seeing is believing. I pull out my laptop and start speaking.

“Here. I’ve outlined the situation in Spain, the association relationships, and a description of the Spanish heroes. If you utilize this, you might be able to sway the heroes. Please refer to this.”

“Eh…”

My words pique his deep interest. He looks at the laptop screen.

After scrolling down, he turns to me in surprise.

“…I will use this well. No, it’s embarrassing… You, an outsider, know more than I do…”

He looks at what I’ve organized, his eyes full of admiration.

Naturally. It’s a combination of information from the original work and what Seo Eun uncovered through hacking.

“No need to mention it. Oh, and if I may give some advice, isn’t the goal to conquer the country? In that process, you should deal only with heroes and minimize civilian casualties as much as possible. Especially since heroes can be persuaded later on…”

With that, I get up and head towards the next target, leaving the man who seemed deeply impressed by my words.

What I’m doing now is scattering breadcrumbs.

I’m only giving information to villains who are moderate like Katana, or those from countries where the government is so rotten that being under Cathedral’s rule is better.

…Essentially, I’m recruiting more allies.

In the end, to prevent annihilation, their help is absolutely necessary.

So I go around consulting various villains, building rapport with them.

After a few rounds, I can feel the gaze on me even just walking around.

“You finally came. You seemed busy?”

“hahahaha. Yes. I have some advice for you.”

Heading back to my homeland, the place where the East Asian villain alliance members gather, I take a seat, greeted by Katana’s words.

…In fact, Cathedra’s control was secured once I became friendly with Celeste. But I wanted to make it more certain. I wanted to steer it in a more moderate direction…

At the critical moment, I needed to have allies.

With that thought, I look around at the many villains seated around me.

Although they’re all powerful enough to conquer a country…

I can tell.

Even though they’re this strong.

Everyone… is weaker than Stardust at this moment.

‘…Of course, they don’t know yet.’

That in a small country called South Korea, the strongest hero has emerged.

But soon, everyone will know. Power is not something you can hide if you want to.

I smile, feeling proud.

…Until I see Celeste sending me a disgruntled look.

“…..”