Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 169

Prove It

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“Is something pleasant happening?”

Kistler asked, setting down his teacup in front of me.

“Does it seem so?”

“Yes.”

I touched my lips.

“It has been over ten years since I have served Your Majesty.”

Meaning he can read my emotions even if they aren’t outwardly expressed.

I chuckled and nodded.

“Has it already been that long?”

Kistler, he was the village chief of Olympus. He was the village chief back when Olympus was just a frontier village. When I took office as lord, he assisted with internal affairs alongside my Familiar, Griff, before Griff was promoted to Minister of Internal Affairs and Kistler to Chairman of the Privy Council.

“Do you remember Laegon?”

“Are you referring to the Elf? How could I forget?”

Indeed, how could he forget?

Before my appointment, Olympus belonged to Laegon, so as the village chief, he must have granted the Elf’s unreasonable demands countless times.

“It’s enjoyable to see his flustered expression.”

Kistler blinked.

He seemed to wonder what I meant, then nodded, recalling my abilities.

“I wish I could see it too, but alas.”

I was watching Laegon through the eyes of a hawk.

“Yes, alas.”

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His eyes were wide as if they would burst, and he trembled. It’s a shame to watch alone. Never in my life have I seen an Elven prince so shocked. If we were to rank the powerhouses of this world, Laegon would be at the very top.

His problematic personality often obscured his strength, but even so, he had never shown such a dumbfounded expression.

“How…”

That’s how much he feared Tiamar.

“How could you…? Did you perhaps borrow a human body?”

“Perhaps? Guess.”

Tiamar laughed at his barely uttered question. He was suspicious. He thought she had appeared by borrowing a human body like the Lord.

“No, that can’t be…”

Laegon shook his head.

“You’re not the real one. You must be a fragment.”

A fragment, referring to a piece of Tiamar’s soul.

“You’re the one who nested in the mosquito, aren’t you? Did the monkey save you from Mycenae?”

“Does it seem that way?”

“…”

It was half right, but Laegon’s expression showed uncertainty. The soul she emitted was too different from the one that had resided in Vlad.

The Tiamar who resided in Vlad and the Tiamar who became a Familiar were both fragments of her soul, but their sizes were different, and the quality of their vessels was different. It was only natural that Laegon was confused seeing her before him.

I made the Tiamar residing in the pendant my Familiar. Using the gem I received when my Familiar Creation skill reached 8 stars, I created a body and housed her soul within it. Thus, she became my Familiar.

I don’t know why she resembles Calliope, though.

“The seal…?”

Laegon asked foolishly, caught in bewilderment and surprise.

“What happened to the seal? Did the administrators…?”

“Don’t play innocent. You know the seal is meaningless.”

He couldn’t possibly be unaware that the seal was damaged and that it wasn’t a coincidence. Didn’t I speak about the seal when I first attended the Grand Assembly as Edar?

“You tried to control me. Believing you could control me weakened by the seal, you damaged the seal my father created. Isn’t it ridiculous to seek the seal now?”

A dragon may rule, but it will not be ruled.

Even the Lord couldn’t kill her and chose to seal her instead.

It was arrogance from the start to think a mortal could handle her.

“I, I…”

“Yes, you might feel a little wronged. You might even excuse yourself by saying you didn’t directly intervene. But that’s all. Did you try to correct the situation after learning the truth? No, you didn’t, did you?”

Tiamar removed her smile and said,

“Whether the sin is small or large, all are accomplices. You too.”

He inhaled sharply. The arrogance he had shown before was nowhere to be found. Despite possessing such great power, he couldn’t overcome his fear.

“Is me being here scarier than betraying Father, than releasing the Old Gods?”

“I, I’m not afraid of the likes of you.”

“Really? Then why are you trembling?”

To Laegon, Tiamar was such a being. A being who had tried to destroy the world and nearly succeeded. Moreover, it wasn’t a myth he had heard or a history he had read in a book. It was a reality he had experienced in his childhood.

“A scared little rat would be more pleasing to the eye than you.”

“Who’s scared!”

Clang! He drew his sword.

“You’re not the real one! You’re just a fragment!”

He screamed, nearly hysterical, and swung his sword at her.

Giving himself over to rage to drive away his fear.

Swish!

However, movements driven by rage are clumsy. Tiamar leaned back slightly to avoid the blade and drew her sword, slashing horizontally.

Thwack!

Blood splattered. Her sword severed the neck of the horse he was riding.

“Tsk.”

She clicked her tongue. She had aimed to cut Laegon, not the horse, but failed. The reasons were that she hadn’t yet adapted to her human body and that Laegon, despite being terrified, was still a powerful being.

Thud!

Laegon instinctively twisted his body to avoid the sword, but as the horse fell, he tumbled onto the dirt ground.

“I always told you to quell that anger and live.”

Tiamar pointed her sword at him.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

He scooted backward, landing on his rear. As the measure he had taken to overcome his fear failed, an even greater fear rushed in.

“Lord Laegon!”

The two guards belatedly reacted and stood in front of him, but they couldn’t withstand two exchanges against Calliope before their heads were severed. Their value was only in allowing him to grab the sword he had dropped in the meantime and stand up.

“You damn…!”

Laegon lost his reason and entrusted himself to instinct, blocking Tiamar’s attacks. Even though he was moving with all his might, his movements were stiff, unlike usual. He couldn’t even grasp the next move, merely repeating the act of blocking each strike by a hair’s breadth.

Thwack!

“Aaaaaaagh!”

The defense-only response came at the cost of his right wrist. Laegon screamed in pain, then stumbled and fell as his feet tangled. He planted his face in the dirt, pathetically shedding tears and snot.

“Even after so much time, you’re still a child.”

“Shut up!”

She pointed her sword at the neck of the glaring Laegon.

“Stop!”

At that moment, magic surged. The culprit was the High Elves. They simultaneously unleashed magic, binding the bodies of the two Familiars. It was only for a fleeting moment, but Laegon didn’t miss the opportunity and turned to flee.

Tiamar didn’t chase after him. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, but other enemies were coming. The three leaders of the Dwarves, Naga, and Lizardmen were leading a group toward them.

“Tiamar!”

Gothaba, the master of the Red Mountain, shouted.

“So you’ve returned wearing a human mask this time!”

He seemed to be mistaken about her, just like Laegon.

She chuckled and scanned the other two leaders.

The Naga Queen, Gwendolyn.

The two Avatars of the Lizardmen, Sumontema and Koamik.

Gwendolyn dragged her snake tail and raised her staff high. As the green gem at the end of the staff absorbed light, a light of the same color as the gem burst forth.

“Go! Bring their souls!”

The light was the light emitted by the dead. Countless spirits trapped in the gem were released. They envied the living and rushed to make the two Familiars their companions.

However, another light erupted, covering the two Familiars. A jade light, different from the golden light, enveloped the two Familiars in a semicircle, and the spirits collided with the golden wall.

Screeeeeech—

The spirits that touched the golden light vanished. Screaming, the spirits desperately distanced themselves, circling around the two Familiars. It looked as if a whirlwind was rising.

“A mere human… doing such paltry things!”

Gothaba raised the axe in his right hand high.

Rumble!

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and purple electric sparks formed on the axe blade. The Dwarf swung the axe imbued with magic and threw it.

The axe flew with a whooshing sound and touched the golden barrier, causing a blinding light to erupt. As the light slowly faded, crackling sparks burst one after another. It was the collision of different magic, my magic and the magic of the Old God invoked by Gothaba, vying for power.

The power struggle ended as the axe returned to its owner. The axe, repelled from the barrier with a thud, was caught in Gothaba’s hand. Then, his skin burned and steam rose.

“Kuh-ugh!”

It was because the axe contained not heat but my magic. Because my magic, which had driven out the Old God’s magic residing in the blade, was partially contained within it, it was rejecting Gothaba.

Gothaba endured the pain, unable to put down the axe due to his pride. Even after my magic disappeared from the axe, his hand didn’t heal easily. Pus dripped, dripped.

“We must kill them.”

“Wait, you idiot!”

The two Avatars of the Lizardmen didn’t rush in immediately. Sumontema and Koamik became one. Because they had two heads in one body, their opinions differed, and they ran for a long time before suddenly stopping.

“There are only two of them! We must kill them right now!”

“I told you to wait!”

The leaders of the three races and their guards surrounded the two Familiars under my protection. Unlike Laegon, who had come with only two guards, they numbered over a hundred, and the High Elves were sending magic from afar to break through the barrier. It could be said that they were completely surrounded.

“You didn’t go back?”

However, neither Tiamar nor Calliope showed even a hint of tension. Rather, Tiamar asked the Queen and the Avatar with a smile,

“Aren’t you worried that your bases are being destroyed?”

The heads of the two arguing Avatars looked at her.

“Did you think we wouldn’t know it’s a trap?”

“We’ll return after killing you.”

“Do you have the ability to do so?”

Gothaba’s beard trembled at her mockery.

“Ability? Tiamar, just because you’re wearing a human mask, do you think all humans are like you? A human is a human. Now that—”

– Now that you’re struggling, nothing will change.

Gothaba swallowed his words. There was a massive reverberation in the minds of all the beings in this place. Tiamar closed her eyes for a moment, knowing the owner of the thought.

From the sky, which had turned gloomy as if it would rain due to the magic of the Old Gods, a dragon appeared, pushing away the clouds.

Pwheeeee—

The horses, which hadn’t been startled by all sorts of explosions and magic, were terrified and rampaged at the sight of it. The dragon was the Lord. It was the body of the Dragon Lord Ailetrione, and also the Old God who had taken the Lord’s body.

And on the dragon’s back was an old elf, Aleon.

“If the seal is broken, you should step forward yourself.”

At Aleon’s words, Tiamar opened her eyes and looked up at him. The expression that had been filled with mockery just a moment ago was gone, replaced by deep anger. He was the enemy who had committed personal sins against her and the root of all this evil.

Even receiving her gaze, he wore a relaxed smile.

It was a form of aging that didn’t easily come to elves. His skin had become wrinkled, his eyes had darkened, and his lips had become long as if they were torn.

If someone who didn’t know him saw him, they would think he was a tall goblin.

“Where did you leave your true form and come forth in the body of a monkey?”

“…”

“Surely you’re not planning to stop us by borrowing a body that can use some strength, like Vlad? Stop it. Don’t do anything foolish and step forward yourself. Your father is waiting here, isn’t he?”

The gaze of the human Tiamar met the gaze of the Lord in the air.

“If you two are truly his successors, come and prove it. Prove that his choice was right.”