Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 134

Creating a Vassal to Build a Human Empire 136

Human Ranch (15)

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I took my first step onto the path carved through the river.

Originally, the bottom was part of the seabed, causing feet to sink deep like in a mudflat. However, with strong winds and warm sunlight, it soon turned into dry land.

Only after the ground became firm enough to support humans, horses, and cannons without sinking, did I lead the group across the river.

My vassals, the Imperial Army, and the humans rescued from the ranch followed behind me. With a number reaching 300,000, the procession was long. Even though the river was only a few dozen meters wide, the path was filled, and the line stretched far.

“Are you alright?”

Calliope asked from beside me.

She couldn’t possibly be unaware that I was pushing myself.

“Don’t worry about it.”

It’s always like this when I overuse magic.

The familiar headache, dizziness, fever, and nausea gnawed at my mind. It was painful, but not unbearable.

“It’s nothing compared to building a dike [a wall or embankment built to prevent flooding] in the Republic.”

Tishireddon, the capital of the Cesena Republic.

That place wasn’t across a river, but across the sea.

The distance between the island and the mainland was over 1km, and the depth exceeded 10m near the island. The river I’m crossing now is less than half that length. The depth is only a few meters.

‘Rather, Mersephone is more burdensome.’

I swallowed my words and looked at Calliope’s arms.

Mersephone, held in her arms while she rode the horse, tilted her head and looked at me.

“······?”

The power this small child possessed was immense.

The Apostle trait was a power befitting the SSS rank.

————————————

[Apostle]

Strengthens oneself with the power emanating from the master’s soul.

————————————

The power emanating from my soul, magic based on faith.

With enough magic, she could reach level 100.

Against Kuirau, her level rose to 91.

Only 2 levels behind Calliope.

‘Anyone can raise their level, but Mersephone is different in that she only needs the magic of my soul to level up. My soul continues to grow, and the magic increases accordingly.’

Mersephone was valuable in that she could level up without training or combat. The fact that her level was at the level of a top-tier powerhouse made her even more valuable.

‘And there’s the effect she showed against Kuirau.’

Mersephone’s value isn’t just about leveling up.

What problems did Kuirau have against her?

Didn’t he lose power because he couldn’t use the souls of his followers?

‘A god who can’t use the power of faith is as good as useless.’

I’m not sure if Mersephone’s ability will work against enemies stronger than Kuirau. I only saw it once, at a glance, so I didn’t grasp it in detail.

However, if it could even slightly cut off the supply of faith as magic, it was a more terrifying ability than leveling up.

My enemy was a different race and the god who ruled them.

It was like being given the best weapon against a god.

‘Of course, it’s an ability that can’t be used easily.’

The price was as great as the ability was outstanding.

I couldn’t actively use Mersephone yet.

Even if my will was firm, there were limits. Using Mersephone’s traits would leave me in a vegetative state, regardless of my will. How could I use it freely?

‘Even using her in the best condition turned out like this.’

I’m splitting the river right after barely recovering.

Mersephone on top of that? Impossible.

“Stop.”

I stopped walking.

Just as I stepped onto the land across the river.

The Koahmic’s army was positioned right in front of us.

“I will deploy the army.”

I nodded to Gerhard.

“Just pretend. Koahmic won’t fight.”

I entrusted the river crossing to him and got on my horse.

Calliope tried to accompany me, but I stopped her.

“I’ll go alone this time.”

“It’s dangerous, Edar-nim.”

The thoughts of my vassals surged. They were afraid that something might happen to me.

“When the opponent hesitates, you must show a bolder appearance. Koahmic won’t think of harming me. I’ll make it so.”

I received the wooden box and spurred my horse forward.

Thump, thump.

Koahmic moved his army immediately after I split the river.

He lined up his army about 300 meters from the exit, and although the posture was as if they were about to engage in battle, I knew it was just a bluff.

‘Don’t you know me? I know you better than anyone else.’

I stood a few dozen meters from the enemy’s front line. A distance where a spear could easily hit, a distance where I could clearly see the lizards in the front line trembling with tension.

“I have come this far, are you still going to hide, Koahmic?”

I spoke with a voice filled with the magic of my soul.

Consuming magic again while struggling to maintain the river’s path made my head throb. However, I forced myself not to show it and raised the corners of my lips.

The lizards trembled at the voice echoing in their minds.

“How insolent, human.”

Koahmic said, stepping in front of me.

Even if it was difficult to read the lizard’s expression, the two emotions he showed me were clear.

The most certain emotion was disgust.

Among the different races, only orcs and goblins feel favorably towards humans. Moreover, I had already tricked him twice. There was no way he could have good feelings.

The other emotion was surprise.

Because livestock had shown a miracle that they could not do.

He also receives faith from countless lizards, but the vessel for containing faith is different. According to Rod, the vessel of the soul was small.

‘That’s why Horbid is just a henchman of the Great Council even though he receives faith from humans, and Vlad is just a strong vampire.’

The Lizardmen’s Avatar is not much different.

An Avatar is just a mutant sensitive to magic.

“I kept my promise. Now it’s your turn to keep your promise.”

“Promise?”

Koahmic made a ‘hmph’ sound and clashed his teeth.

I chuckled at his brazen attitude.

“Did you forget? I gave you Kuirau’s head, and you were supposed to give me the humans in the ranch. Of course, I suppose you want to shout that you don’t know anything about that. Isn’t that right?”

Koahmic twitched his eyes.

“I also feel like saying that.”

I looked down at the wooden box hanging on the side of the horse and said.

“The promise never existed in the first place. You and I knew we wouldn’t keep it and only thought about using each other.”

That’s why you aimed for me the moment I crossed the bridge.

You pretended to trade with me and called Kuirau to attack me together.

At that point, the promise that had been made on the surface was broken.

“Therefore, it wouldn’t be strange if we fought now. If you want, I’ll do it. But what would you gain from it? I have achieved my purpose, and you have a lot to gain.”

“A lot to gain?”

“Don’t you know? I have no interest in this land. After saving the humans, I’ll just go back. What’s left after that is up to you.”

What would be left?

Sochitlak, Kuirau’s kingdom.

A country that has lost its master and even had its power reduced.

“······.”

I handed the wooden box to Koahmic.

The item in the wooden box was Kuirau’s head.

The head was mummified, and the expression of pain was clear.

Koahmic gasped. He’s a guy who prides himself on being a god. His pride must be high, and he must be horrified that a rival he recognized as equal to himself had his head cut off.

“Will it be you, or will it be Sumontema.”

Koahmic raised his head.

Sumontema will not fight me.

Whether the Lizardmen’s Avatars remain two or one depends on what Koahmic does with me.

“I kept my promise, again.”

Koahmic pretended to look at me, but glanced behind me.

In the meantime, most of the Imperial Army had crossed the river.

At a glance, you would only think that their numbers are large. Even though they fought a battle with Kuirau, the damage the Imperial Army suffered was numerically small.

The vassals lost only one hundred lives, and the Imperial Army lost a little over one thousand. The entire expeditionary force was nearly 60,000. Of these, 1,000 is less than 2%. If you look inside, it means I lost the most valuable force, but Koahmic wouldn’t know that.

“Koahmic.”

Boo——

A trumpet sounded as I was about to continue the pressure.

It was a signal announcing the appearance of the enemy, and it came from behind me.

“Sochitlak?”

I asked Calliope, who was riding her horse towards me.

“Yes. They are approaching from the rear.”

“That’s fast. Didn’t you say it would take a few days?”

“It’s a small cavalry unit.”

Looking back, I could see dust rising in the distance across the river.

It was far away and difficult to see clearly, but the only group that could run so fast was the cavalry. Judging from the area of the dust, there were only a few hundred.

I twisted the corners of my lips up.

“A pursuit force. It seems they rushed over anxiously after seeing us cross the river.”

There were no humans left on the other side of the river.

Only a few humans were crossing the river.

They would have to drive their horses hard to barely catch the tail.

“Gerhard has requested to go into battle.”

“Tell him to stay put.”

I narrowed my eyes.

The vanguard of the pursuing force, rapidly approaching, grew larger in my vision.

“It must be one of the guys who was late to retreat and couldn’t join Kuirau. He must also be the commander of the remaining Sochitlak, and that’s why he couldn’t stand by and watch me, who killed his god.”

【Lv. 81】

Even without a blessing, this level.

The guy at the front is quite strong.

But that’s it, he’s no match for Gerhard.

If I send him, I can catch him easily.

“It’s a futile act.”

I waved my hand.

Then, the wall of water that had been dividing the river collapsed.

As the river water returned to its place, it covered the pursuing force that was running on the seabed, which had been a road until just before. When the river water, which had been pushed back dozens of meters, rushed in as if collapsing, it made quite a loud noise.

Kwaaaaa——

The pursuing force was swept away by the water and barely managed to get their heads out of the water. Because the water was not deep, because their levels were high, there were few drowning among them.

It would have helped that the river was calm.

The current was weak, so they could swim to the land.

“Impatience is poison.”

But their leader was different.

Thanks to running hard at the front, he was hit by the river water just as he was about to reach the other side. No matter how calm the current was, it was strong when it poured out to fill the land. No matter how high his level was, he had no choice but to be swept away by the current unless he had a place to stand.

He was swept away not to the land he came from, but to the opposite side, where the Imperial Army was.

Swish!

And Gerhard cut off his head.

“A little better.”

The magic I had been pouring out to maintain the road.

The headache lessened a little when I cut off the magic supply.

I stroked my neck and sent a look to Koahmic.

He was standing still, looking at the calmly flowing river.

“Koahmic. Decide.”

Koahmic gritted his teeth and swallowed his answer.

His petty pride was preventing him from answering.

“Will you suffer the same fate as Kuirau? Or will you swallow Sochitlak, who lost his master because Kuirau died? Decide here and now.”

When I demanded an answer firmly, he distorted his face. Even people who don’t know the expression of a lizard would know that he was expressing extreme anger.

It would be an unforgettable humiliation for a guy who had lived being revered as a god. Not just once, but twice, he was threatened by a human, even livestock.

He was about to let out a sound, so I spoke before him.

“I wouldn’t do anything stupid.”

“······.”

“Sumontema has already moved.”

“What?”

He widened his eyes.

“Sumontema is heading to Sochitlak. You know the reason. It’s to occupy Sochitlak, which has become a no man’s land because Kuirau died.”

“Is that, is that true?”

Yes, it’s true.

Because I made it that way.

I didn’t reveal my inner thoughts and smiled silently.

“There’s no time. Koahmic. Every moment you hesitate, your share is decreasing. How long are you going to be in this neither-nor dilemma?”

Koahmic kicked the ground and shouted.

“Do you think I would fall for such a trick!”

Well.

Can you not fall for it?

If Koahmic weighs the profit he gets from fighting and winning against me and the profit he gets from not fighting against me, the latter is overwhelming.

Are you going to give up the opportunity to swallow a rival country that has become a no man’s land?

Even though another competitor is aiming for it?

‘There’s a saying like this: It’s too big to refuse.’

This was such a situation.

The reward is too great to refuse.

So, there is only one choice he can make.

That is to safely make way for me.

‘And fight, you two.’

The death of Kuirau shattered the balance of the Lizardmen forces.

The balance that the three kingdoms of Teocal, Uakan, and Sochitlak had been delicately maintaining became a two-way battle as Kuirau, the master of Sochitlak, died.

The two Avatars, Sumontema and Koahmic, had to compete over how much of the legacy Kuirau left behind, and it was natural that conflicts would arise in the process.

Above all, unless the two Avatars give up on becoming the sole god of the Lizardmen, they have no choice but to fight until one remains.

‘I need to hurry.’

I smiled inwardly and hardened my heart.

Because Ollimus sent interesting news.

‘The enemy used siege weapons.’