He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 26

Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor – Episode 26 (26/300)

Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor 26

“Hendrik. A low-ranking vassal of Karstein, is that right?”

I had known for a while who was pulling the strings behind the looters while planting spies.

But knowing who it was and knowing what to do with him were different matters.

Chuck.

“How about simply issuing an assassination order?”

The Captain of the Guard said while moving a chess piece.

The Captain of the Guard’s knight captured a pawn without taking damage.

But that was it.

There was no follow-up.

“It’s a safe move, but not a brilliant one. He has no direct connection to Karstein other than being his vassal.”

Even that vassal status is just a temporary title without any knightly rank.

Karstein could easily deny knowing him, making it easy to cut ties.

Of course, for me, who is already half-hostile with the feudal lords, this kind of justification is just a secondary concern.

Tap.

So, I moved a pawn.

The pawn was placed in a position where the Captain of the Guard’s knight could take it.

“We need to get as much as we can out of using him.”

Whether it’s justification or a real weakness of Karstein.

Simply eliminating him is a low-level idea.

“Then what are you planning to do?”

The Captain of the Guard’s knight took the pawn.

But as soon as the pawn was taken, my bishop eliminated the knight.

The Captain of the Guard’s brow furrowed slightly, as he hadn’t thought about his weakness in chess.

“I’ll throw him bait.”

Just like I used the pawn as bait just now.

I will throw suitable bait to catch the knight.

“Will he take it? He’s more cunning than he looks.”

“He ended up trusting our mole, didn’t he?”

Of course, I know he’s not easy to deal with, requiring that much effort.

He’s not just someone who relied on strength to loot.

“So, we need to use very good bait.”

You can’t catch him by using cheap imitation bait.

You have to present bait so valuable that it’s no longer bait, making his cunning useless.

Tuk.

Checkmate.

The queen cornered the Captain of the Guard’s king.

The Captain of the Guard said, knocking over his own king.

“Then what are you planning to do after you catch him?”

Yes, that’s also a problem.

Going back to basics, what can we do to make a profit after catching him?

To that question, I said what I was thinking.

“He’s a pawn, Captain of the Guard.”

“A pawn? Well, he’s not even good enough to be a knight.”

No matter how much he flies and crawls, he’s just a pawn.

He may be a little cunning and strong, but in terms of lineage and talent, he’s not knight material.

If he were, Karstein would have noticed and made him a knight long ago.

But that’s why, because he’s a pawn, he has strengths that only a pawn can have.

“There’s a very unique rule about pawns in chess.”

The rule that if a pawn, which can only move forward, reaches the end of the chessboard, it can be changed into any chess piece you want.

If we interpret that rule realistically, it becomes like this.

“Because he’s a pawn, he wants to rise in status more than anyone else. He must have a very strong tendency to do so.”

His tendencies were identified through the mole over the past few days.

He is cunning and has many tricks for his position, but above all, he is ambitious.

This large-scale looting is also close to gambling on the possibility of getting ahead, even though it involves great risks.

“If we give him that opportunity, there’s a chance we can win him over.”

Karstein has only kept him as a pawn.

If I can give him the opportunity to change into something else.

He probably wouldn’t mind changing masters.

“Well, I have to check for myself if he’s worth it.”

It’s time to hunt rabbits.

* * *

“A gold transport convoy.”

Hendrik muttered as he looked at the huge convoy in the distance.

He, too, felt greed when he thought that they were all real gold, and his subordinates were no different.

“The story was too good to be true, so I wondered if it was a trap. But it’s not, is it?”

It was the guy who had counter-accused the traitor last time who brought the information.

He told me that he had found out the transport route of the gold mined from the giant gold mine found in the Demon Realm.

But Hendrik was suspicious of him at first.

“I feel bad for suspecting this. There’s really no ambush or anything?”

It was suspicious from the start that he was bringing up such a good story not long after he had counter-accused the person who had accused him of being a traitor.

So, he reconfirmed it several times, and the existence of the gold mine was real, and the trading company investing in the gold mine was real.

Even at this point, with the looting about to happen, there were no ambushes anywhere.

“Huhu, if I pull this off, I wonder if I need to be under Karstein anymore?”

Convinced that it wasn’t a trap, he gathered here with the minimum number of subordinates he could mobilize.

He was at the point where he had to consider whether to honestly report the looting to Karstein or switch ships [change allegiance].

“Honestly, Karstein isn’t an Elector and is a bit small to be a Grand Duke.”

Until now, Hendrik himself had nothing, so he was under him.

But what if he had a mountain of gold in front of him? He would have to do some work, but he could rely on a different force.

“The safest person is probably Duke Orlanth, the Elector of the South. The others are too individualistic and difficult to deal with.”

The Northern Archduke and the Barbarian Duke are both too picky or dangerous, so pass.

The Wizard Lord of the West isn’t bad either, but the West is backward and has a lot of wasteland, so it’s difficult to take advantage of the fact that he has a lot of money.

In the East, there are Bishop Stella and Duke Druid, but both have strong religious colors and didn’t suit Hendrik.

That left Duke Orlanth of the South and the Pirate Duke.

Both of them are fond of money and kind to the wealthy.

“I don’t want to make money and then become a pirate again, so Duke Orlanth is the best.”

Of course, he was thinking too far ahead before he even ate the gold, but it was impossible for the small escort of merchants to stand up to the looting party gathered now.

The escort scale must have been too poor to maintain maximum confidentiality.

“Then I’ll gratefully accept it. Let’s go, kids!”

“Ooooooh!”

They emerged from the forests and hills where they had been hiding and rode furiously towards the transport convoy.

They were all mounted bandits.

Of course, cavalry was overwhelmingly advantageous against ordinary infantry.

“…that’s what I want them to think.”

“Indeed, they’re running well without even knowing we’re here.”

I, disguised as a transport convoy, was looking at the looters swarming in like bees.

And my plan worked without fail.

Hendrik seemed to have put a lot of thought into whether this was a trap or not.

I disguised all the Imperial Knights, including myself and the Captain of the Guard, as transport convoy escorts, so there was no way he could recognize us.

Of course, because of that, I couldn’t wear strong armor like full-body armor because it would stand out.

“You’re an Imperial Guard, so you wouldn’t be defeated by mere bandits just because you don’t have armor, would you?”

“Of course not. I’ve already told everyone to fight with all their might if they don’t want to be embarrassed.”

If this were Earth, it would be unreasonable for even a knight to fight unfavorably without good armor.

But in a fantasy world where you can learn martial arts, it would be a disgrace if the guys with the title of Imperial Guard were defeated by a bunch of bandits.

“Then let’s go hunting. Let’s catch the rabbits that are rushing in without fear.”

I took out the silver holy sword that I had deliberately put in an old scabbard.

And I went towards the bandits who were rushing in with great momentum.

[Shadow Blade Barrage Activated]

Shushushuk Shooooook!

The shadow blades instantly multiplied into hundreds and thousands and scattered in all directions.

What I’m aiming for isn’t the riders on the horses.

It’s the horses.

I don’t need accuracy, and I don’t need to kill them, just aim for as many horses as possible.

Hiiiiiiiiing!

“What, what is it!”

“The horses are falling!”

“Suddenly, a strange sorcery!”

In an instant, many bandits fell from their horses.

They lost the advantage of being cavalry that they had against the Imperial Knights.

“Now’s the time! Wipe them all out!”

Of course, the Imperial Knights didn’t miss the opportunity.

They ran around so fast with the Captain of the Guard that they really swept them away, killing those who had fallen.

“Then I can ignore the small fries appropriately.”

I don’t need to catch all these bandits in this place.

Strictly speaking, all I need is that guy Hendrik.

“But no matter how I look, I can’t see the guy who looks like the leader?”

Even though the area has already entered a free-for-all, even if I focus and look around, there wasn’t a guy with that kind of atmosphere.

Could he have already been killed so easily that he wasn’t even worth it? If that’s really the case, there’s no need to bother capturing him.

But my intuition told me that he wouldn’t be taken down so easily.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if… but you never know.”

I moved slightly away from the battle and immediately extended the Spider Web of the Watcher [a sensory skill].

The area is an open plain.

If I extend the web in all directions, I should be able to detect him even if he has already fled far away.

So, I extended the web and sensed all directions.

“Ha, this guy has a great sense of awareness.”

I don’t know when he noticed, but he was even riding away on his horse.

“You can’t escape easily, you bastard.”

[Divine Spell ‘Wings of Holy Light’ Activated]

[You can fly for a certain period of time in exchange for divine power. Can be linked with specific divine spells or magic.]

[1,500 divine power consumed, 1 divine power additionally consumed every 3 seconds]

Flash!

The wings of light spread from my back.

With those wings, I flew into the sky for a moment and flew like an arrow to where I sensed him.

On the ground, they were dumbfounded when they saw me suddenly flying away so brilliantly, but well, the Captain of the Guard will take care of that.

“Is that him.”

The guy who was desperately driving his horse and fleeing was seen below.

Even at this distance, I could easily kill him using shadow blades.

The reason I put so much effort into catching him was to evaluate his worth.

If he’s trash, I’ll kill him right here.

If he’s a little useful, I’ll use him a little to bring down Karstein and then get rid of him appropriately.

“If he’s very useful, I’m thinking of completely fixing him up and using him.”

In my estimation, he’s probably only about average at best.

If not, Karstein would have noticed him first.

“Well, I’ll know if I deal with him appropriately.”

Shoooooook!

Chwaak!

Having decided that, I swooped down and cut down his horse in one fell swoop.

The horse died, and he fell with it.

“Kuk, damn it, what is it?”

But he landed with a fairly agile movement.

It was a movement that was difficult to see easily because he was carrying a large battle hammer the size of a person on his back.

“He’s not a small fry who can’t even survive a fall, is he?”

“Who are you?”

As I approached the guy who got up, he raised the giant battle hammer he was carrying on his back.

“You don’t need to know who I am right now.”

Chuck.

“First, struggle with all your might.”

I said, pointing my sword at him.

Then he, too, raised his hammer and answered.

“I don’t know who you are, but don’t underestimate me!”

Kwaaaang!

And he slammed the hammer into the ground with all his might.

Then a small earthquake occurred.

It was similar to what the troll had caused before.

But the power is even greater!

He seemed to be more than I expected.