He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 196

“Apostle of the Great Creator God, I have acted according to your command.”

Council Chairman Conrad, having finished the meeting with the members of the Death Squad, groveled in the darkness before someone.

“Well done, Conrad. The Creator God will also be pleased with your devotion.”

“Thank you, Apostle…!”

If the other members had seen Conrad, a high-ranking noble with a proud demeanor, bowing like that, they would have been shocked.

But Conrad didn’t care and groveled desperately, as if trying to prove his faith.

“I must reward you for doing so well. Now, the only reward I can give you is this.”

“Su, surely…!”

Ecstasy spread across Conrad’s face. The only thing this ‘Apostle of the Creator God’ had promised him was one thing.

“That’s right. I will give you divinity. After all, you need divinity to obtain the God’s Dice.”

Divinity.

The minimum qualification to become a god.

Even the crude divinity held by a mere goblin god was truly enviable to a mortal human.

The Apostle of the Creator God spoke of such a thing as if it were an insignificant thing that could be given away for free.

“Apostle, is that really true? You would give me divinity….”

“It’s alright. After purging the useless green gods, divinity is overflowing.”

“Such…!”

The word ‘purge’ was eerie, but Conrad couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from rising.

“You seem happy, Conrad.”

“Ye, yes, Apostle.”

“Then don’t disappoint me. Lest you become like those green gods who were turned to nothing.”

“O, of course! I will never disappoint you!”

“Good. You may leave.”

Conrad bowed respectfully with a joyful expression and withdrew. As he retreated, the being called the Apostle removed his black hood.

“Pathetic. Even the human emperor must be struggling because of such beings.”

Surprisingly, he was not human. Green skin, and several rough scars remaining on his face. He was an Orc.

“Why does the Creator God try to give opportunities to such beings? Well, it must be necessary to punish the traitorous Imperial Gods.”

The Apostle of the Creator God, Rasgar, murmured quietly.

Last time, after using the conflict between Golrak and Gorgatz to test the green gods and being disappointed, he had purged them all.

That was also the will left by the Creator God.

“Soon the game will be set. He will return.”

* * *

“God’s Dice… There are those who know of the existence of that artifact.”

“Stella, did you know about it?”

After hearing Marionette’s testimony, I discussed this matter with my wives.

When I spoke about the God’s Dice, Stella spoke as if she knew something.

“It’s the Creator God’s artifact that caused the Great Cataclysm 1,500 years ago. However, the records were erased after it was sealed. Only a very few people, including me, knew about it.”

“Even I, the emperor, didn’t know. No, I suppose it makes sense. The imperial family wasn’t in good shape until a few generations ago.”

It would have been difficult to teach such secrets. Of course, the relationship between the Vatican and the imperial family wasn’t as good as it is now either.

“What was that Great Cataclysm like that caused such measures?”

Sara answered my next question. Sara seemed to already know about it.

“Before that disaster, the empire enjoyed such tremendous civilization that it was considered legendary. Presumably, they used the knowledge and technology from Prospera’s report as is.”

“Was it a disaster that reset those things all at once?”

“Yes, but not only the empire but all other races would have stagnated. All kinds of disasters swept the world.”

Earthquakes, abnormal climates, magic power runaway, resulting famine and epidemics, and the appearance of rampaging monsters that even the demons could not control, etc….

They were tremendous disasters just to hear about. It was a wonder that the world hadn’t been destroyed.

Could the dwarves who crossed the sea have been affected by it? That was also a possibility.

Seeing that there has been no contact for 3,000 years, they may have been wiped out if they were unlucky.

“The demons will be recording it, which means the Dawnlight Society must have been linked to the demons.”

“Well, the fact that they are related to the demons could be seen just from joining hands with Marionette….”

Of course, they didn’t know about artifacts like the Creator God or the God’s Dice.

“Husband, I will strengthen the defenses in the north.”

“Do so, Ygritte. But the north is now a Grand Duchy, so I am not the one giving orders.”

“If the empire confronts the demons, the north will also confront them. My father cannot be unaware of that.”

I nodded at Ygritte’s words, which showed firm conviction.

“There is one more piece of news.”

“What is it, dear?”

“The Dawnlight Society guys invited me… that is, ‘Shadow’ to this event. They either haven’t figured out my fake identity yet….”

“…Or they may be pretending not to know even though they do.”

I nodded at Sara’s words.

If it’s the former, it’s fortunate, but if it’s the latter, I shouldn’t infiltrate.

“I don’t think I’ve been caught. I’ve hidden it thoroughly, and if they knew my identity, they wouldn’t have the leisure to attack the Demon Realm.”

They are now heading to the center of the Demon Realm, leading an expedition made up of adventurers and mercenaries, a de facto army.

If Shadow’s identity was me, the emperor, how could they do that? If they valued their heads, they would run away immediately.

“So I will infiltrate again this time.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I’ve always walked through danger.”

I retorted as always to Stella’s dissuasion. But Stella shook her head.

“This time it’s real. The God’s Dice is more dangerous than anything else. If this artifact is revealed to the world….”

“That’s why I have to go even more. Sealing alone is not enough.”

The reason why the demons are bothering to borrow the power of the Dawnlight Society is simple.

The location of the Demon Realm is in the middle of the empire, so they can’t send their troops.

But the fact that they sent them as proxies means they are interested in the artifact.

They will try to get it even if they have to invade the empire in the future. Like Prospera’s report, they could infiltrate troops through the ratmen’s tunnels.

So, relying only on the 1,500-year-old seal is a naive idea.

“Either break the seal and destroy it, or get it.”

If it can’t be mine, destroy it.

At least don’t hand it over to the enemy.

It was the most basic of strategies.

* * *

-Cough! Cough!

“It’s attacking! Evade!”

Kugung!

“Damn it, fire the guns! Shoot the cannons as they come!”

Tatatadang! Kwang! Kwang!

“Crossbowmen, fire! Heavy infantry, hold your ground! Maintain the formation!”

The center of the Demon Realm.

The expeditionary adventurers were facing a giant quadrupedal monster that was easily over 5 meters tall.

Unlike the small-scale explorers who discovered the place, this expedition heading to the battlefield that existed 1,500 years ago was constantly attacked by dangerous guardian-level monsters.

Normally, it would have been an expedition that no one would have dared to undertake.

But with rumors of a mountain of treasure buried there, a huge amount of investment piled up, and thanks to that, the expedition’s armament became solid.

Entrepreneurs, adventurers, mercenaries, and even knights who were short on money or fame because of the lack of strife all flocked to it.

“Get out of the way! The knights are coming forward!”

“Oh! Kill it, knights!”

“Goaaaaaaa!”

The veteran knights who survived the empire’s internal wars over the past few years rushed at the guardian-level monster, and even the mighty large species could not withstand it.

-Kiaaaaaaaa!

Kuoong!

“Wow! They knocked it down!”

“The spoils have increased!”

“Treat the injured! Don’t skimp on supplies, there’s plenty!”

I was caught in ambivalent feelings as I watched them.

These people were led here by greed to find a place to die.

But they were not guilty. They were just hired without knowing the identity of the Dawnlight Society.

“Your Majesty, but in an emergency, we must fight them too.”

“Of course, Commander. It’s not that I’m hesitant.”

The guard commander, disguised as Shadow’s aide, said in a low voice, and I nodded.

I brought the Legions as personal bodyguards. There were also mercenary groups under my direct command. Because they were hired with my funds.

But it was impossible to know how things would turn out in an emergency.

Of course, the goal was clear.

To steal or destroy the God’s Dice.

All I have to do is achieve that goal and escape. The problem is the process.

“Shadow, your knights seem to be just watching.”

At that time, a person of interest approached.

“I just don’t want to see my people get hurt, Chairman Conrad.”

“Hmm, don’t call me Chairman when there are many eyes watching.”

“Of course, Lord Conrad.”

“Well, I’m not going to blame you for being passive. Thanks to you, I was able to bring in a lot of magic weapons. These days, all the wizards are controlled by the Imperial Military Government, so it was difficult to procure magic weapons, but thanks to you, the problem was solved.”

Chairman Conrad praised me with a seemingly honest attitude. But that seemingly honest attitude felt like a trick.

I, who had already changed my face with Doppelganger transformation, smiled shallowly and said.

“I was lucky. Although they are collateral bloodlines, there were loyal retainers of the Karstein family who followed me. The foolish emperor employed them.”

That’s true. The direct descendants of Karstein were killed for purification, but those who swore allegiance were spared even if they were his loyal retainers.

To be honest, if I just killed them all indiscriminately, there would not be enough manpower to run the empire, so it was a measure. Of course, it was with the intention of exploiting them until they died.

Among them, there were those who were actually plotting a rebellion, but they were detected in advance by Hendrick’s intelligence department and received ‘disciplinary action’.

I didn’t kill them here either. I just sent them to a place called ‘Gulag’ [a system of forced labor camps in the Soviet Union].

The Gulag was literally a Gulag-like mine or a clerical Gulag with mountains of documents.

Whichever way you go, you won’t see the light of day again before you die.

Anyway, thanks to such measures, the reality of my fake identity became even better.

“Huhu, yes. You have better skills than I thought. If you continue to cooperate like that, you will be able to get your revenge neatly. Not only revenge, but I will not forget your place in the new empire.”

“Thank you. But a new empire sounds interesting. What position will Conrad’s contribution have in that empire?”

“Me? Huhu… I’ll tell you my true feelings especially to you.”

Conrad told me his inner thoughts only when the other members were not listening.

“I will be a god in that empire. Not an agent of the empire’s guardian deity like the emperor, but a true god.”

“I see….”

He was truly a madman.