Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 159

Creating Vassals to Build a Human Empire 161

Mutation (Modification)

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A forest thick with cedars.

A chilling wind blew through the forest.

The wind wasn’t just cold.

It contained magical power within.

Freezing everything it touched.

Crack, crackle…

The sound of ice forming echoed from all directions.

The sound of life fleeing as the forest was frozen.

The cold didn’t discriminate between humans, elves, or dwarves.

Many were frozen in the forest like statues of frost.

Six humans were passing through this forest.

“…….”

All six of them were vassals.

Scouts heading towards the city beyond the forest.

Yerun, leading the scouts, suddenly stopped.

“Hmm?”

“What is it?”

He discovered a familiar crest on a human corpse.

The crest was clearly engraved on the corpse’s necklace, ring, and clothes.

“It’s the symbol of Duke Billum.”

“Billum? Isn’t he a high-ranking noble of Pritrand?”

“Is this person really the Duke himself?”

The corpse, presumed to be the Duke, was adorned lavishly.

Because he had frozen to death, the corpse’s form was intact.

The luxuries he flaunted were starkly revealed.

“Judging by his appearance, it doesn’t seem like impersonation.”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a Duke die like this.”

“Indeed.”

Rauch shook his head.

The scouts’ purpose was to confirm the state of the capital of Pritrand.

However, before even reaching their destination, they witnessed a shocking sight.

A high-ranking noble fleeing and freezing to death.

“The situation seems worse than we thought.”

“That’s why His Majesty sent us. Let’s keep going for now.”

The capital, Lyden, was visible just beyond the forest.

As befitting the capital of a nation, it was a relatively large city.

But unlike its grand appearance, the inside was a graveyard.

People who couldn’t withstand the cold had frozen to death.

Starkly frozen corpses filled the city.

“Huh.”

The vassals were speechless as they walked through the city.

As a result of the cold brought on by the magic of the old gods and the activities of Nuadir’s workgroup, a significant number of southerners, including those from Pritrand, had fled to the Empire.

However, as the phrase ‘significant number’ suggests, many humans stubbornly remained in their homeland, and their end was as it is now.

Leaning against walls, curled up like larvae on the ground, adults and children alike embracing each other, frozen with expressions of despair in the cold.

“Foolish…”

Rauch clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Father…”

Matia clutched the symbol of the Public Church [a major religious institution] and recited a prayer. A brief bright light emanated, spreading warmth around, but there was no miracle of bringing the dead back to life.

The vassals hardened their expressions and passed through the field of corpses, entering the palace.

“It’s no different inside the palace.”

It was the same miserable state as outside.

Courtiers, nobles, guards, and servants alike.

The only difference was that the corpses were of slightly higher rank.

“Hmm…”

“There are hardly any signs of resistance.”

“They seem to have frozen instantly.”

Even if they couldn’t abandon their home, the instinct for survival should have taken precedence when faced with death, but there were hardly any signs of trying to escape the city.

Most of them seemed to have simply touched their bodies slightly as if the cold had struck suddenly, then died with a groan.

“The reason is probably over there.”

Yerun said, feeling the magical power emanating from the palace.

The only place in the city where magical power could be felt was the audience chamber.

“You’re late.”

A middle-aged man sitting on the throne in the audience chamber said.

“You should have come sooner.”

A tone laced with annoyance.

He frowned, his face pale, and looked down at the guests.

“Are you the Emperor’s puppets?”

“And are you the one who claims to be the King of Pritrand?”

The King of Pritrand furrowed his brow.

Before he could answer, Yerun spoke first.

“Where are the false ones?”

“False?”

He tilted his head, then made an ‘ah’ sound.

“Are you talking about the gods?”

“Those are not gods.”

“Well… maybe not.”

His breath didn’t create vapor as he sighed.

Yerun narrowed his eyes and carefully observed his movements.

“They have all left.”

After finishing his words, his chest didn’t move.

If he were breathing, it should have moved at least a little.

The only thing that doesn’t move at all like that is one thing.

“You’ve become undead.”

“…….”

“Did those guys make you like this?”

“Yes. They made me like this as a gift and left. An undead, a monster that is dead but not dead. I didn’t even want it, but they made me like this.”

He opened his chest and revealed the tattoo etched into his skin.

A strange tattoo with a subtle purple hue.

“When I refused, they said that if the Emperor is truly a god of humans, he would be able to turn me back.”

He placed his hand on the armrest and leaned his upper body forward.

It was as if something invisible was fixing his body to the throne.

He only leaned forward slightly, but his back returned to the throne.

“Let me meet the Emperor. If you help me escape this damn curse, I will give you ample compensation.”

“My father is wealthier than any being in the world. Your compensation is not-”

“This country has wealth comparable to a republic!”

He shouted at Matia’s refusal.

“Mithril, Orichalcum… I’ll give you anything! Minerals that even elves value highly because they don’t have them.”

Yerun didn’t answer and examined him again.

As far as he knew, the King of Pritrand was an ordinary ruler. Meaning, he didn’t think that enslaving, exploiting, and selling humans was a sin.

“What is lacking? Take this small territory too. Your Empire has annihilated the nobles, I hear. You can take my throne. You can take everything I have. But turn me back into a human.”

“As far as I know, great rulers often desire immortality, so what’s the problem?”

“Can a life where you can’t taste, smell, or feel any pleasure truly be called immortality!”

“Huh.”

Rauch twisted his lips into a sneer. His gaze turned to Yerun, asking what to do.

“Do you remember what Father said? Humans make mistakes-”

“-and correct themselves through reflection.”

Yerun’s master helps nobles to atone if they admit their sins and show remorse, but only when they show admission and remorse.

Does the guy in front of him have even one of those?

“I only see desire.”

“Just a dirty desire for life, I don’t see any remorse.”

The six vassals had the same opinion.

“King, you will not meet my father.”

“What? Why do you decide that?”

“Because we are Father’s representatives.”

Priest Matia saw the King’s soul.

Even for vassals, seeing a soul wasn’t easy.

After concentrating, he faintly saw the soul.

“It’s corrupted. Just as Father said.”

“I thought he felt similar to the guys who caught His Majesty.”

“The reason he can’t die even in death must be because of their magic.”

The King frowned at the vassals’ reactions.

If blood were flowing, it would have been so red that it would have exploded.

But now he was just a moving corpse.

No matter how much anger boiled, he was just pale.

“Take you to Father? That’s a joke that even a dog wouldn’t laugh at.”

“What did you say… dare!”

The King of Pritrand unleashed his magical power.

His dead face was pale, but his eyes were filled with anger.

As immense magical power burst out in an instant, a chill emanated.

Crackling…!

As a fierce wind rose from the throne, it began to freeze the vassals’ bodies that touched the wind. This must be the true nature of the power that froze the lives of the palace and the city.

“Puppets! Did you think I wouldn’t know? That you are puppets in human skin. The gods told me. But you’re not even human, yet you pretend to be human and mock me?”

Thud, thud…

The palace vibrated.

Dust fell from the ceiling and the walls cracked.

“What you need is permission! The reason you could come to this city, this palace, is because I allowed it!”

The King rose from the throne and descended the stairs.

Yerun, who had just stepped on the first step, stood in front of him, frozen and unblinking.

“If you don’t guide me, I will go myself.”

“Try it if you can.”

At that moment, Yerun moved.

With a cracking sound, he raised his hammer.

Thwack!

He was caught off guard at close range; there was no time to dodge.

He struck the King’s head with the hammer he was holding in his right hand.

“You… bastard!”

Following that, the other vassals also moved their frozen bodies.

A faint golden light surrounded their bodies, and heat rose.

“What a pathetic act.”

“Arise! Awaken! My people!”

The King retreated to the throne, shouting in anger.

Then, the corpses that had been like statues in the audience chamber moved.

The corpses moving with the sound of ice breaking were on a different level from zombies. They were much more agile and powerful monsters.

“Yerun! Deal with him yourself!”

Rauch and the four vassals turned their backs to block the corpses that had risen in the audience chamber and the corpses that were rushing in from outside.

“Puppets who aren’t even human, yet pretend to be human!”

The King blocked the hammer that Yerun swung again.

His head was broken and half-turned from the first attack, but he was undead.

Without feeling any pain, he drew on the power of the old gods and gripped the hammer.

The hammer, which was just made by hammering iron, was distorted with a cracking sound.

Whoosh!

However, flames erupted from the hammer.

The fire started from the hand holding the hammer, traveled up the arm, and spread throughout the body, so the King had no choice but to release his hand with a scream.

Because he felt pain that he hadn’t felt since becoming undead.

Because he felt like he would turn to ashes if he didn’t let go.

“Uaaaaaagh!”

He was wrong.

The fire didn’t go out even after he released the hammer.

Because the magical power that set the hammer on fire belonged to the Emperor.

The fire would not go out until the soul was completely burned to ashes.

“Tu-turn it off! I said turn off the fire!”

Yerun fixed his distorted hammer, swung it, and blew off the King’s head. With a thwack, the head fell from the neck, and no more screams were heard.

“That’s better.”

He didn’t stop there and beat his whole body.

He hammered every protruding part as if mincing meat.

Bursting flesh and breaking bones so that the dead could not rise.

Thwack! Thwack! Crunch!

The King of Pritrand, who had become undead with the magic of the old gods, stopped moving only after being brutally crushed.

Thud…

In the meantime, while Yerun was crushing the King, the scouts had dealt with the corpses that had awakened with the magic of the old gods.

Even though they were stronger than zombies, the undead were still undead, and the vassals had received their master’s protection, so they were no match. Hundreds of undead in the palace were indiscriminately crushed and minced by the six vassals.

“Hoo. It’s still annoying because there are so many.”

Vassals do not easily feel fatigue.

Rauch exhaled a sigh, pretending to be tired without shedding a single drop of sweat.

“Matia, any other reactions?”

Matia closed his eyes.

As he fiddled with the symbol of the Public Church around his neck, a faint light leaked out.

“None.”

“Is it all over?”

“No. I’m saying there’s no magical power stronger than that monster you dealt with.”

Clatter… clatter…

The sound of something familiar walking clumsily.

“So there are guys who are worse than that.”

“Well, quite a few.”

The vassals clicked their tongues.

Even if it was a small country, it was a capital city.

How many corpses could there be?

“Indeed. There are really many.”

Frosty corpses were rushing towards the palace.

There were so many of them, wouldn’t there be tens of thousands?

“Don’t scatter, break through calmly.”

The six vassals had different reactions to the horde of corpses, but no one was afraid. They raised their fighting spirit, readjusted their weapons, and prepared for the next battle.

Screech——

At that moment, a bird glided and cried in the sky.

A bird alone frolicking in the gloomy sky with strong winds.

The six vassals raised their heads as if they had agreed in advance.

“Father!”

Matia raised his hand high.

Then the bird reacted and cried again.

Flash—

A large hole formed in the clouds, and light poured down.

As if a giant in the sky was striking down a huge spear of light.

The light drove away all the cold in the city and its surroundings.

Even the evil magic that moved the corpses fled.

Boo——

Following that, a group of vassals appeared from the forest with the sound of trumpets.

Their number exceeded dozens, hundreds, and even thousands.

The capital of Pritrand was soon occupied.

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I slowly opened my eyes.

The sight I had been seeing through the eyes of the bird disappeared.

Instead, the sight seen by my own two eyes appeared.

“…….”

The corpses filling the snow-covered land.

Unlike Pritrand, the corpses were not only human.

They were the skeletons of orcs, goblins, and various other races.

Because this was the Oroko Great Plains in the northern part of the Empire.

“Pursue!”

“No prisoners needed! Kill them all!”

“Kill them so they can’t covet the Empire again!”

Unlike Pritrand, where the battle had just begun, the Great Plains had just ended. Because the forces consisting of orcs, goblins, and undead had attempted to advance south, I had personally set out on a campaign.

“Calliope and the Imperial Guard will take charge of the pursuit.”

“The Imperial Army should retreat and assess the damage.”

Defensive war in the north, conquest war in the south.

The Empire was fighting battles against several enemies simultaneously.

Enemies coming down from the west and north of the Oroko Great Plains, enemies coming up from southern Wallachia, and if I were to add more, even enemies hunting on the coast.

“There are quite a few casualties.”

Vassal Titus evaluated the battle next to me.

“Sending three vassal regiments to Pritrand inevitably caused damage, but the enemy’s breakthrough power was greater than expected. The barrage was broken through too easily.”

“Is it because of the mutants?”

“If you’re referring to those strange furry things, then yes. They are similar to orcs and goblins, but their combat power is so high that I wonder if they are a superior species.”

“That’s natural. The gods must have intervened.”

Titus frowned.

He was the army commander who replaced Gerhard and Zekt.

He would have to command the army in the field from now on, but an anomaly had occurred.

He couldn’t help but be concerned.

“Edar, I’ve brought them.”

A guard came up the hill carrying two corpses.

“I tried to find intact ones, but there was nothing better than this.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I checked the corpses, which were full of battle scars.

The two corpses were orcs and goblins, respectively, but at first glance, they didn’t look like orcs or goblins.

An orc, but his skin was closer to black than green, or his height was two heads taller than other orcs, and his whole body was covered in fur, or his fangs were as long and thick as saber-toothed tigers.

“Looking closely, they do seem like mutants…”

“This is just the beginning. They will change even more in the future.”

“In the future? Are you saying they will change even more monstrously than this?”

I nodded and placed magical power on the corpses with my fingertips. Then the corpses stiffened, emitted the magic of the old gods dwelling inside, and returned to their original forms.

Green skin, small fangs, small stature, large compared to humans, but small compared to the mutated form.

“These guys are no different from being intoxicated with drugs. The magic they possess only temporarily changes their bodies. When the magic disappears, they become weak as if the drug’s effects have worn off.”

“Then as long as His Majesty is here, they won’t be an opponent.”

“If it’s acquired, then yes. Not all mutations are like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Our enemies born in the future will have their species changed itself.”

Titus closed his mouth.

Because he knew the weight of the meaning of changing the species.

It was a silent question of how could they go that far.

“There’s a saying that you don’t know your clothes are getting wet in a drizzle [a slow, insidious process]. The old gods are too big to be called a drizzle, but as long as you borrow their power, you can’t help but be tainted.”

“Won’t someone object?”

“They will. Someone will.”

But the result does not change.

Even if there is opposition, it is meaningless if you cannot defeat the old gods.

Unless you win against the gods and stop them, the corruption of the other races is inevitable.

“Edar.”

Guard Raimondo looked down the hill.

An old orc was being brought up in captivity.

“What’s going on?”

Raimondo asked.

“It’s an envoy sent by Ginoric.”

Ginoric, the chieftain of the Steel Mist Tribe.

The king of all orcs and goblins, or no different from other orcs.

And also the formal owner of the group that just fought the battle.

“Him? Why?”

“He says he wants to talk about the old gods. He conveyed his intention, saying that he no longer wants to be caught by the old gods and asking if we have any intention of joining hands.”