open war.
open war.
“…This time, the current situation and countermeasures for the damage caused by the worshipers of evil spirits in the eastern grain belt…” The grand
meeting started in a solemn atmosphere that took your breath away, but in the endless discussion and decision-making process, Labram was fighting fiercely with the eyelids that kept trying to come down.
Could it be because of the sight that she, who is only a maid of honor, will not be able to open her mouth until the conference is over anyway? If that’s not the case, maybe it’s because I got a little nervous about attending the conference today, so I slept less than usual.
Where did that bloody atmosphere that seemed like something was about to happen go? Or was it simply my own delusion?
The process of discussing countermeasures for the east proceeded smoothly even while Labram fell into contemplation to drive away sleepiness.
When the emperor throws out a word, the nobles who have the right to say their thoughts speak, and the nobles of the territories that are closely related to this issue testify about the actual situation, gather their opinions and hand them back to the emperor, and the emperor responds again. do.
Since it was a grand meeting that only set the general policy direction in the future anyway, the story about detailed figures was discussed in a very concise manner.
The time when Labram’s defeat deepened in the struggle against the falling eyelids. The old emperor’s mouth slowly opened as the nobles of the empire gathered their opinions.
“How long are you going to hesitate?”
A word thrown out of context. At that word, silence descended on the huge conference hall. Labram’s drowsiness instantly ran away as he felt someone’s terrible intent to kill.
In the midst of the silence, a skinny man got up from his seat and answered the emperor’s question. The Chancellor of the Northern Empire, Beer Wershaw, spoke clearly in a moderate voice while maintaining an extremely polite attitude.
“sorry. your majesty. Apparently, the eastern side has more evil spirit worshipers than other regions, so it seems to take a little time to gather our opinions.”
Old Emperor Hamar burrowed deeper into the padded chair.
“Isn’t the current meeting useless anyway? That fact is already well known to you and well known to Jim as well. I don’t understand why Jim drags on so much.”
The emperor’s remarks stirred up the audience.
The nobles, such as Labram, who had nothing to do with the anti-emperor faction, were agitated because the emperor’s remarks were out of the blue, and the nobles, who had tingling feet because they were deeply related to the anti-emperor faction, were terrified of the deed that was supposed to be held during lunchtime. I was agitated, wondering if someone had tipped off the information to the emperor.
As the chatter between the two classes of nobles grew, Beer Wershaw looked at his lord with unwavering eyes.
For Beer, his master, whom he had served for a long time, was an unknown figure.
However, they had already escaped the black sheath anyway, and even if the emperor already knew all the plans and asked them, the only option for them was to resist as much as possible.
As the agitation subsided as the emperor slowly scanned the surroundings, Beer’s mouth opened.
“What do you want, Your Majesty?”
“I’m…”
The emperor paused, touched his chin, and smiled for the first time since the meeting began. Following that smile, his wrinkled face softened.
“Jim wants to have a real, open conversation with you guys. emperor and servants. It’s not like that kind of vassal relationship, but human to human. I wonder if that would truly be the ‘contest’ of this country.”
Buer put his palm over his pocket in a natural motion and felt the touch of the ancient artifact in his pocket. If you send a signal right away, the anti-imperial faction’s assault force, waiting for an order to come, will arrogantly tear the emperor who has appeared alone in this conference hall.
But that didn’t work.
If I simply leave it to my feelings and kill the emperor, all the nobles gathered here will clearly recognize that the imperial chancellor, Beer Wersho, is the traitor who led the assassination of the emperor.
In order to lead the political situation after the death of the emperor, it was always right to have no connection with the traitors who caused the assassination of himself and the emperor externally.
Beer answered the emperor, ready to activate the ancient artifact at any time.
“Your Majesty, what do you want to talk about with us?”
“Hmm.”
The emperor stroked his bleached beard a few more times and smiled again.
“Jim, no, not as an emperor, but as an individual ‘I’ have been thinking about a topic lately. I’m talking about worrying about the subject of ‘what is truly the path to the long glory of this country, the Northern Empire?’”
Beuer made eye contact with the nobles around him and then responded to the emperor.
“Is the answer to the question that Your Majesty came up with after much thought, the war with the Southern Empire?”
“No.”
Emperor Hamar shook his head.
“How can war be an end? War is only a means. Yes, war can never be the goal.”
“You are absolutely right. War can never be the goal.”
Beer defended the emperor’s words. However, his eyes widened wildly in a different direction than before.
“You know very well that war cannot be the goal, but why do you want to start a war with the Southern Empire, Your Majesty? As His Majesty God, I think it’s right to focus more on the internal affairs of the empire rather than war at this time when the worshipers of the evil gods are on the move.”
“No. no.”
Hamar shook his head with a slightly disappointed expression.
“Even if worshipers of evil spirits gather and do something, in the end, the organization is just a collection of individuals due to their intensely individualistic nature. It’s essentially different from this country’s empire. An organization like a properly united nation does not collapse so easily. In other words, the commotion they’ve just caused is just a trivial matter within the scope of their control.”
“your majesty. Because of that reckless crowd, His Majesty’s people, the Imperials, are screaming in pain. The moans of the people are by no means trivial…”
“You are right about that.”
Hamar was the first to interrupt the chancellor.
“The moaning of the people is an issue that should never be ignored. But for now, listen to what I have to say to the end.”
The chancellor fell silent at the emperor’s name. Hamar chuckled. It was his third smile.
“I don’t think I have to go to war either. In fact, war is the most benign method I can think of.”
Is there a war? It was difficult for Beer to understand the meaning of the emperor’s words. No, I didn’t want to understand that intention.
Hamar looked over at the nobles sitting in the conference hall with very soft eyes.
“I have a simple idea these days. You guys should think about it too. If a country with 100 nobles and a country with 10 nobles. If you think really simply, if there are only those two countries in the world, which country has more talented people?”
“If you think simply, assuming other conditions are the same, there is a high probability that there will be more outstanding talent in a country with 100 nobles.”
“That’s it!”
A ray of light shone in the old emperor’s hollow eyes. I didn’t know easily what the nature of that light was.
“I want this country empire to be a country with those 100 nobles! Then, more talented people will be produced than in other countries, and they will lead this country in a more right direction. Wouldn’t that be the path to the eternal glory of this country’s empire?”
Buer intuitively realized that the subject was very dangerous.
100 nobles instead of 10?
The number of children a person gives birth to is not something that can be increased in an instant. Because living things are like that.
After all, how do you create that many nobles?
In the end, there was only one answer.
Beeru finally realized what the emperor of this country was thinking.
“no way…?”
Seeing his contorted expression, Hamar’s smile grew wider than ever.
“You are right. I’m not Jim…”
The emperor smiled brightly as he buried himself deep in the chair.
“They want to provide seats for the commoners at this great conference.”
As soon as a word like a bomb was thrown, an incomparable buzz erupted in the conference hall.
Beer, who finally understood everything, gnashed his teeth.
“Then, war is a means…”
“Of course, you have to wage a fierce war, so you can naturally kill a lot by forcing you to do the nobles’ duty, right? It would be easier if there were plenty of empty seats in order for commoners to be seated in the seats where you sit tight together.”
“your majesty!!!”
In the end, Beer’s anger burst out.
“I understand very well what Your Majesty was thinking. But Your Majesty should know! Commoners are those who were born as bondi sheep. And we were born as shepherds leading sheep named commoners! Your Majesty is trying to subvert the order of things that was set by the mandate of Heaven since birth!!! Think!!!”
By taking a moment’s pause, Beer drew the attention of the audience to himself. He made use of the eyes that supported him and made his point.
“What Your Majesty is trying to do now is no different from forcing animals born to walk on four legs to walk on two legs!!! Why are you trying to go against that natural order!!!”
Hamar laughed like a child at Beer’s logic.
“If you look at it from your point of view, it must be so. But in Jim’s eyes, you and the common people seem to be nothing more than the same seed. And what is so different? After all, aren’t you also separating the sheep from the shepherd? Did you give the weak aristocrats sitting up there in this hall today a chance to speak? No, you didn’t even care who was sitting up there.”
Labram, who was sitting upstairs, met the eyes of the emperor as he looked upstairs. He had goosebumps running down his spine from that brief encounter.
“Simply looking at this scene now, those who were born as nobles who were born as shepherds can grow up to be sheep, but why can’t common people who were born as sheep not grow up as shepherds?”
“It is sophistry!!! Your Majesty’s words are like saying that a puppy grows into a cat! No matter what it looks like, in essence, a dog is just a dog and a cat is just a cat!”
“Hmm…”
A gap that cannot be narrowed. The emperor tilted his head at Beer’s unmoving appearance.
“But what about this? No matter how much Jim thinks and thinks, it seems that you are wrong. Aren’t commoners and nobles born the same people they were born to be? Oh, are you, unlike commoners, born with an extra head?”
“Your Majesty, your logic has a fatal flaw.”
“What is it?”
“If we assume that all of His Majesty’s words are correct…”
Beer could find no reason to go along with that sophistry. He glared at his lord with his fists clenched as if they were going to explode, and spat out words he shouldn’t have dared to say.
“From now on, the lineage of the imperial family will have to prove themselves as the shepherds who lead the shepherds.”
clap clap clap
The emperor rose from his seat and clapped his hands. With respect to the Prime Minister of this country.
He seemed to be very pleased with the fact even though the Prime Minister of this country uttered a terrible insult to the heavenly authority.
“That’s it! The one who proved it sits in the right seat! That’s the only way I thought this country and empire could enjoy infinite glory! And soon this moment will be my proof!”
“your majesty.”
Beuer activated the ancient artifact in his pocket as Najik called his lord.
Quaang!!!
With an explosion of drinking, holes were drilled throughout the floor of the conference hall, and armed crowds burst out. With even the last hesitation gone, Beer glared at the old man who was his master.
“It seems that His Majesty has been sitting on the throne for too long. To the extent that madness burrows into the gaps created by senility.”
The emperor stood up from his seat and exclaimed admiration at the anti-emperor faction members who kept popping out.
“I was a little curious about which route you guys would come in, but the answer was to have dug a hole in the basement of this conference hall in advance.”
Beer continued to speak quietly.
“Your Majesty passed away today at the hands of reckless traitors. And I intend to punish those unscrupulous traitors justly. What do you think?”
The target of the Prime Minister’s question was not the emperor, but numerous aristocrats sitting in the conference hall.
All conditions changed the moment the emperor revealed his crazy ideas. Beer no longer had to hide his rebellion.
Even if the emperor was slaughtered right here, the nobles would gladly remain silent.
A certain aristocrat would sacrifice himself for the emperor who declared that he would kill them and even take away the rights granted him from birth…
“What are you doing!!! Jaesang!!!”
thud!
A large man jumped from the third floor and landed with a heavy sound.
When he brought out his hidden nature, in an instant, thick hair grew up and covered it with the skin of Labram Brahms, and the size became three times larger than when he was in human form.
The bear man who stood in front of the Prime Minister growled, exposing his sharp teeth.
“Did you forget? His Majesty revealed his true intentions and said let’s have a ‘conversation’! As a servant who serves His Majesty, even though His Majesty has wrong thoughts, you do not even try to lead His Majesty to the right place from the position of a servant, and you reveal your reverse mind right away!!! Is this really the right way? At least I don’t think so!!!”
“Hoo.”
The old emperor gave a short exclamation.
I didn’t expect that there would be a nobleman who would try to protect him even though he said such harsh words.
“What is your name?”
Labram replied vigorously, using his claws to keep the traitors in check, who seemed to be rushing towards the emperor at any moment.
“This is Labram Brahms! your majesty!”
“Labram Brahms…”
The Emperor murmured briefly and nodded.
“I will never forget your name until my death. And I apologize in advance. I’m so sorry.”
At an incomprehensible word, Labram involuntarily turned around and looked at the emperor.
“yes? What is that…”
Kwaaaang!!!
With a loud explosion, the huge bear man was crushed into a mash. When the giant beast man turned into a porridge, the blood and flesh that burst out poured onto the nobles attending the conference hall.
“What?!”
“Aaaaaaaaa!!!”
The sudden bloodshed sent several nobles into a panic. Beuer calmly moved away from the emperor’s hall while being escorted by the anti-emperor faction.
The pouring debris of the building bounced off the transparent screen that stretched over the emperor’s head and did not touch the emperor.
And with the wreckage a series of groups fell.
“I thought I was dying from a little sting!”
“I didn’t even realize how much time was passing by watching those aristocrats’ faces rot?”
“That is true! Hahahaha!”
The colorful and splendid robes landed on the floor as if to surround the emperor, revealing their faces as if they had waited.
Beer frowned upon confirming their identities.
“Imperial Mage Association?”
The emperor looked down with regret at the remains of Labram, which had turned to porridge.
“I couldn’t help it because I was determined not to make a single exception here today. I will never forget and take responsibility for my family. Labram.”
After a moment of mourning, the emperor looked at the chancellor with dry eyes.
“Tell me in advance. You will all die here today. Even if you surrender, I have no intention of saving you, so do your best.”
Beer was beyond dumbfounded and even laughed out loud.
“Emperor! You’ve finally gone completely insane! Even if you kill us all, do you think all problems will be solved at once? The nobles who did not attend the Great Council will hold the emperor accountable for this!!!”
“No, that won’t happen. Because you guys are not officially dead to me.”
“What is that…?”
The emperor looked up at the sky through the hole in the ceiling.
“It’s time to start slowly.”
At the same time as he said that, the sunlight that had been pouring through the open ceiling disappeared in an instant. And soon, a bright red light full of ominousness covered the blue sky of the imperial capital. The sticky and dirty red light filled the conference hall instead of the bright sunlight.
“Your deaths will be ‘officially’ counted as the deaths of all of them by the reckless libertio fanatics who stormed the conference hall. In order to fill the vacancy in your power that has suddenly become empty, we will inevitably fill it with non-successor nobles from commoners.”
When the long-awaited time arrived, the emperor smiled one last time as he looked at his subjects.
“So, all of you die for the eternal glory of the empire that will unfold in the future.”
***
When the blood-stained membrane enveloped the capital, we didn’t care and followed the breakthrough route we practiced with Pearly, crossing the capital and heading to Liberatorio’s hideout.
But when we arrived at the first encounter that Pearly expected, we were greeted by puddles of blood and dismembered bodies.
Knights in bloodstained armor welcomed us when they spotted us.
“Are you priest Marnak?”
“For now…”
A knight who wiped the blood from his sword came up to me and pointed in the direction of the Liberatorio’s lair.
“If you go over there, you will find their lair. The zealots who used to stand guard on the outskirts will be able to enter more comfortably as we have ambush them and take care of them all.”
What kind of situation is this? If I remember correctly, that outfit is the Emperor’s Guard outfit I’ve seen before.
Whether I was taken aback or not, the knights continued on with what they had to say.
“Since the sky is dyed red, we must now go to the conference hall.”
“No, what the hell is this situation?”
The engineer responded with a gentle smile as if he understood my embarrassment.
“This is a message from His Majesty the Emperor, asking you to stop the zealots’ foolishness with all your might.”
Emperor? Wasn’t the emperor supporting the libertio? They were here as reinforcements secretly dispatched to the Liberatorio.
As the knights left after their words, Pearly, who was standing next to me, burst into laughter as if she had been waiting.
“Kyahahaha! also! also! The emperor was a complete madman!”
“What does it mean?”
Pearly smiled brightly and cleared the situation up in one breath.
“What is it! That mad emperor has beaten both the nobles and the libertio! Hi-Hi! The only reason he supported the ceremony so far was because he needed a hukou to cover all the large-scale purges he was about to do! But it’s a problem because I know one and don’t know the other!”
She smiled grimly, her purple eyes shining.
“The Emperor is looking at Liberatorio too lightly.
