Chapter One: Is This the Kingdom?

“I’m the king? This is my kingdom?”

The hilltop watchtower was the only one in the entire country, and also the tallest structure in the kingdom. At this moment, Mo Fangyuan stood atop it, gazing down at the land that belonged to him.

Mo Fangyuan was a transmigrant. There was no need to explain this—after all, in the world at the End of the Multiverse, if you weren’t a transmigrant, becoming king would be nothing short of suffering; at least as a queen, you could bear children, but for a man, it was truly miserable.

Though Mo Fangyuan’s kingdom was pitifully small—with only about a hundred people: fifty-four villagers, sixty-seven freemen, and actual control over just seven hundred plots of land, which were already difficult enough to maintain—from his perspective, this was nothing more than a shabby little village.

As he looked down at the squat “houses” below, a complicated emotion welled up within him, one he struggled to name. But soon, he let it go.

Gripping the square stone railing of the watchtower, Mo Fangyuan’s pride as a transmigrant shone through.

“I refuse to believe it! With my skills, I can’t manage a tiny, rundown village?”

Had he transmigrated to the Warring States or the Three Kingdoms—such chaotic times—Mo Fangyuan would have dug himself a hole and buried himself alive. After all, he was just an underage student and a poor one at that, barely listening in class and spending most of his holidays playing block games.

Systems like the Three Departments and Six Ministries, steam engines, The Art of War—he had only heard their names, nothing more.

But in the world he’d come to—a world of blocks—things were different.

“At least I’ve played Minecraft for eight years. I’m not a master, but developing a village should be a piece of cake!”

Before crossing over, Mo Fangyuan was a semi-hardcore Minecraft player, specializing in building and redstone mechanics. Even though his final creations were nothing to brag about, he’d still amassed some experience and skill.

Even if he were given a “special” village with only a well and one house, as long as he had enough resources and time, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to turn it into a real kingdom.

From the memories in his mind, he knew the kingdom sat on a plain, with a great river to the northeast and the southern edge of the plain bordered by a dark forest...

In a normal world, this would be ideal for the growth of civilization, but this was no ordinary world: it was built of blocks, with its distinct system.

Plains, forests—these were terrains where monsters spawned easily. The monsters would move toward areas inhabited by humans, attacking the people and destroying their buildings.

It was these endless monsters that kept the kingdom from advancing.

They ruined the kingdom’s farmlands, bringing famine to the people.

They killed the citizens, severely hindering the kingdom’s growth...

They constantly wore down the nerves of the kingdom’s already fragile inhabitants...

And the worst part was, these monsters could never be wiped out! Every night, they spawned in groups and continued their assaults.

“This can’t go on! If things stay as they are, one day the kingdom will fall.”

Mo Fangyuan had learned from the villagers that two guards had died protecting the village this month.

Now, only seven professional guards remained in the kingdom.

If the kingdom was to develop, he must break the monster’s chokehold at its throat.

“I am the king! Protecting my people is my duty!”

A fierce sense of responsibility surged within Mo Fangyuan.

“What’s so scary about monsters? I’ve been dubbed ‘Monster Hunter’ countless times in the block world!”

With that conviction, Mo Fangyuan decided to venture out at night and try his luck.

After all, he had no profession, couldn’t craft items, and unlike Steve, he couldn’t punch wood bare-handed.

For now, he needed to get a clear understanding of the kingdom’s situation to plan its future.

Descending from the watchtower, Mo Fangyuan strolled along the royal avenue, observing his surroundings.

The so-called “royal avenue” was merely a four-block-wide path of raw stone and dirt. When it rained, it turned into a muddy mess, every step sinking into a new puddle.

Fortunately, Darwin’s rules did not apply in the block world—creatures didn’t excrete waste.

Everyone was a goddess or a god who never needed a bathroom.

Otherwise, Mo Fangyuan feared he’d die before even getting started.

“Good day, Your Majesty!”

A man stepped out of a low house built of dirt and planks by the road. At least he recognized Mo Fangyuan as king and greeted him politely.

Mo Fangyuan watched the man walk off into the distance, frowning—not at any disrespect, but because he saw a numbness in the man’s dull eyes, a numbness he had never seen in his peaceful former life.

He understood: it was numbness born of harsh reality, confusion about the future.

To these people, the king was supposed to be a hero, a protector. But from the memories in his mind, Mo Fangyuan knew the previous kings had been far from worthy—useless and incompetent, as the ancestors would say.

The original host was infamous as a good-for-nothing, a notorious slacker who’d only ascended to the throne because his father had been king.

Dire living conditions, an inept king, constant threats... even Mo Fangyuan would have struggled.

Complex emotions filled his heart, and his resolve to develop the kingdom grew ever stronger.

Indeed, Mo Fangyuan was easily influenced by others’ feelings—simply put, he didn’t know enough about the harshness of the world and had never been truly beaten down by life.

As he walked, he gained a direct, personal understanding of the kingdom, much of which hadn’t appeared in the original host’s memories.

But that wasn’t surprising—how could a prince who did nothing but fool around all day care about such exhausting matters?

“It’s not hell, but it’s certainly hard mode.”

A sparse population, food shortages, people adrift and uncertain about their future… This beginning was even worse than the prince next door who kept a witch.

Thanks to the "diligence" of previous kings, monsters had succeeded in occupying the mines and about a third of the farmland.

This meant the kingdom had lost its ability to produce ore. Without ore, there could be no new weapons or tools—a perilous situation.

“We have enough tools for now, so the mine can wait. The fields, though, must not be delayed.”

Even a fool knew the fields mattered more. No fields meant no food, and no food meant famine and death!

With so few people to begin with, losing more would not only reduce productivity but also shatter what little sense of security remained. Mo Fangyuan would never allow such a thing to happen!

“In the end, the monsters are to blame. If only I could slaughter them all, everything would be fine.”

He said this aloud, but he knew deep down that exterminating the monsters was impossible.

Anyone who had played Minecraft knew that monsters spawned wherever it was dark, especially at night—and according to the original host’s memories, the monster spawn rate here was even higher.

As the square sun slowly sank in the western sky, the horizon was bathed in a golden haze.

Villagers returned from the fields in dribs and drabs, some casting pained, lingering looks over their shoulders.

They knew that more than half of today’s harvest would be destroyed by monsters.

“This is our lifeline!” one villager couldn’t help but cry out.

“There’s nothing we can do. We have too few guards; we can’t spare any to protect the fields…”

The old village chief patted the young man’s shoulder, trying to mask his own feelings.

He knew he had to be the pillar of the village when the king could not protect it. The big picture was what mattered.

Food was important, but his people’s lives were more so. He could not risk the guards at the fields, leaving the village unprotected.

Crops could be replanted, but if the kingdom fell, nothing would remain.

He sighed heavily, the lines on his face deepening.

From afar, Mo Fangyuan watched this scene, both shocked and saddened.

What he had only ever read about in history books was now unfolding before his very eyes.