Five years later.

Alex III's plan continued to go as he wanted.

Most people in most countries were addicted to the UD(ultimate drug) by this point.

What Alex wanted was for most people to be addicted; He didn't care as much whether they were ordinary workers or government ministers.

Still, it was indeed preferable that nobles and people in power be also addicted, along with workers.

Fortunately, nobles and wealthy people, in general, are not immune to addiction and may be more susceptible to it.

Most became addicted as planned.

In most places, people with the most time to waste would usually be the most likely people to be addicted because ordinary people would not have the time to bother with addiction.

Nobles were the first group to be addicted to UD.

It made Alex III very pleased.

The nobles being addicted increases the success rate.

Fortunately for Alex Kingdom, the formula didn't leak.

It was very complicated, so nobody discovered it even though they had the drug in hand.

Many gangs did try to discover the formula; they hired many alchemists and scientists, but they failed.

In medieval times, chemical science was not advanced, so there was no way to discover the formula.

There was no way of using the dram switch to use Star Dream World's technology to try to discover the formula.

To begin with, people of Alex world could not understand modern science, so trying to copy the equipment of a modern culture in a medical culture was impossible.

Alex Kingdom was a closed country.

All who had a position of power were chosen for the sole reason of being loyal to Alex III.

Other countries and criminal gangs indeed tried to bribe people to get the formula but failed.

Nobody appointed by Alex III accepted any bribe; they were well-fed by Alex III and knew the terrible consequences of leaking it.

Moreover, the formula was only in the hands of the chief alchemist and Jack.

Even if there were weak links among high levels who accept bribes, those didn't have access to the formula.

As a result, the formula didn't leak.

It wouldn't have been a big problem if it did leak.

Alex III's plan wasn't perfect; nothing can be perfect.

Still, It was the best possible.

It didn't account for everything; for example, as mentioned before, other countries closed the smuggling routes in the past, which caused problems.

However, that was fine for Alex II because he found a way to fix it.

Alex III, of course, predicted in the dream fog and knew that problems, such as the closure of routes, could happen.

But his plan wasn't designed to consider all the small details;

there could always be minor problems.

If those countries hadn't blocked the smuggling routes, bandits could have been stealing the drugs, etc.

Very fine details are not essential in a plan.

They can even be harmful.

Those details could not match reality because what will happen is not something a mortal can predict.

Even immortals don't know everything, let alone a mortal.

Wasting time on planning with every tiny detail is what amateurs do.

What is important is the general direction of a plan and how the plan could account for minor problems that occur inevitably.

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As of now, his general plan has been going perfectly; as he wanted, most people have been addicted.

There have been some small bumps on the way, but he fixed them all.

...

Alex III was in a room with a book in his hand.

He was sitting on a chair with beautiful cravings.

Jack was standing and looking at Alex III.

After a while, Alex III put the book away and looked at Jack IIIV.

Jack started talking, "Your majesty, everything is ready."

Alex III stroked his beard and said, "Let's begin."

...

The ultimate drug had no adverse effect; it was even beneficial.

It helped people concentrate easily, reduced depression, removed some diseases, helped the food digestion process, was good for adjusting heartbeat rate, etc.

Many doctors were using it as a mix of their drugs.

It was also delicious; many chiefs included it in their food.

Even many people who didn't want to use it were forced to because it was in everything.

However, it was incredibly addicting.

That by itself was not a problem.

Every human is addicted to water and oxygen.

If oxygen does not reach people for over a few minutes, they will die.

Therefore, addiction itself is not a problem.

As long as the addiction itself doesn't do any harm, it's okay.

However, the source could be a big problem.

Water is everywhere and is easy to get.

The oxygen is literally in the air.

However, UD was only sourced by Alex Kingdom.

It couldn't be found anywhere else.

It is a significant risk because Alex country could use it as leverage.

If Alex was a country with money in mind, it could have increased the price and forced them to buy it at very high prices.

They would have had no choice but to buy it.

However, unfortunately for them, Alex kingdom's purpose was not money.

It was world domination.

So, it cut off the entire supply of the whole world at once.

It shocked the entire world!

After a few days, most people began getting sick with terrible pain all over their bodies.

The terrifying thing was that the drug addicted everyone, from old to young.

Even infant children were infected by their mothers' milk.

The addiction would never be treated entirely, just as how water and air addiction would never go away.

Not using the drug would not mean death, but it would mean pain.

Walking, blinking, eating, even sleeping—all with terrible pain.

Nobles have a stockpile of drugs, so they were not affected right away.

Ordinary people, however, didn't have anything.

However, they knew who had it: nobles!

So, ordinary people started attacking nobles in hopes of being able to steal some UD.

Alex Kingdom notified all countries that they would start shipping UD to them again if they agreed to some small conditions.

Under immense pressure, nobles persuaded their kings to agree to the condition.

Alex Kingdom used the addicted ordinary people to pressure nobles, who pressured their kings.

It was the core of Alex III's plan.

He didn't care about the details.

His overall plan was first to make everyone addicted.

Then, cut off the drug.

If nobles become addicted, it would be better because by spreading the news that nobels have the drug, he could pressure nobles, who in turn pressure the king.

Even if Nobles didn't have stockpiles, he had other ways to adjust the plan.

In fact, no matter what variable, he had ways to fix it.

He had a solution for everything that might happen.

The incredible thing about the plan was the ultimate drug.

Without it, it couldn't have been this easy.

It showcases how useful dream fog could be.

Everyone has potential, but many would never realize their potential in their entire lives.

Alex III could use dream fog to look at everyone's lives 100 times.

The drug was from a housewife in this world, but she had the potential to be a great chemist.

She never did in this life, but Alex III managed to use the result of her talent.

The conditions Alex kingdom set were not that hard for nobles to accept.

It wasn't for them to pay tribute to Alex Kingdom.

Alex III even didn't want them to obey him.

It was for all to join a new alliance named the Mountains and Rivers Alliance.

The Mountains and Rivers Alliance had three branches.

One branch was the executive branch, constituted of all heads of state of all countries.

Alex Kingdom would act as the president of the executive council. It was not an equal alliance, but Alex Kingdom couldn't do whatever it wanted.

The executive council had the authority to decide mostly on matters of trade and not had very limited ability to interfere in the internal affairs of member states.

The second council was the legislative council, where all countries would send representatives according to their population.

It wasn't a democratic process; there wouldn't be any elections, and how one sent the representative was entirely up to the country.

The legislative council could pass laws that bind all member countries.

However, every vote must be unanimous, so nobody protested.

If they don't like a law, they could vote against it and dink the whole plan.

It could even be useful.

Because of unanimity requirements, smaller countries could use it as leverage to win concessions on other matters.

The third council was the judicial branch; Alex III would exclusively choose the judges.

The court had little power; it was there to solve legal problems related to the economy and trade between countries.

However, in Alex III's plan, the court would play a significant role because internal trade was open to interpretation.

The court didn't have any military or any power over the countries' internal affairs.

But what are courts good at?

They are best at expanding their own power.

Alex III appointed the judicial council, and he would only choose people who would expand the powers of the Mountains and Rivers alliance and those who expand his power.

He would eventually expand his power using the court.

He justified his role in appointing the judges by saying the executive council president is the best person to do it.

Some countries argued that the legislative council should have some role, but he stood firm.

With all being addicted and under pressure, they conceded.

What could a court do anyway? They weren't worried about it.

It was a peaceful approach, no war.

However, some countries didn't join or accept the peaceful resolution.

Therefore, he ordered his army, already on the border, to attack the countries that didn't join.

Those countries were, of course, not in a position to defend against Alex Kingdom's well-regulated army because the population, including most of their armies, were addicted.

That's why they failed immediately and fell.

They couldn't even defend because even the generals were in pain and couldn't move.

Alex Kingdom didn't kill or harm anyone.

He just gave everyone the drug they needed and let them live as they were; the only change was that now Alex became their king.