Well, I'm not even sure about how I feel about this novel, but I definitely would recommend it. Its main attractions are the eloquent and often cryptic writing style, its crude and dark tone, and the seemingly vast world we're presented with.

Some readers might just find it too confusing for a webnovel, something I agree to a certain extent, nevertheless, the plot gradually unfolds itself, in such a way that it's not really a problem by the end of the chapter. 

Narratively speaking, it gives the impression of being a mix between the crude western-style fantasy novels (e.g., Song of Ice and Fire), and the usual Japanese isekai webnovels. Certainly, the plot is not focused on a single, large objective, like it is to melt the ring of Sauron or to conquer the seven kingdoms. It's closer to Asian storytelling, in which the emphasis is on exploring the characters and the world.

I really like the world the author is trying to build here, though the short nature of the chapters doesn't help a lot in that regard. It's nonetheless an interesting subversion of, again, the Japanese isekai fantasy formula.

There are a lot of explicit descriptions of murder, torture, and many gag-inducing scenes for shock value. The MC, and most of the accompanying cast, is a deranged psychopath, yet somehow his pragmatical and cold way of thinking that's often characteristic of them make him the best ruler the nation has ever had. He still shows moments of weakness and doubt, and it even seems he cares in his own way about the very small circle of the recurrent cast, which makes him relatable and not that much of a madman, I guess. In that sense, he's not an evil genius like the protagonists of most cultivation novels.

The parts that make me doubtful of whether I really like this novel or not are also related to these few characters for the most part. It almost, almost feels like the author is planning to make the MC into a JP isekai protagonist. Just find it a bit odd how every female character blushes and wants to have s*x with the MC not because he's the king, but because he is the protagonist, in a novel with an extremely gruesome and unsettling tone. In addition, some of the “funny” or “not-whatcha-thought-huh” moments that end a specific scene or a specific chapter, don't really resonate with me, like, they disarm the tension in a weird way, especially when you expect some horrifying event to happen. It's a minor complaint, though. Not a deal-breaker.

Anyhow, it's still too early to definitely judge this fiction. All in all, I like what the author is promising with this one, and I will keep reading what they put out there.

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