Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 171

Humanity Shall Never Be Enslaved Again

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Yellow smoke billowed across the Pantonian Central Plains.

The fierce winds were beginning to calm. The winds, seemingly imbued with the magic of the old gods, receded from the Imperial army, only for poisonous gas to erupt from within their ranks.

Thump! Bang!

“Aaaaargh!”

The humans exposed to the gas screamed. Their bodies began to itch all over, and yellow blisters rose on their skin. The blisters burst without even being touched, oozing pus and causing excruciating pain.

Wearing thick clothes was useless. Within seconds of touching the smoke, their skin changed as if burned.

“Gck…!”

It was fortunate if they could even scream. Those who inhaled even a little gas into their lungs couldn’t even make a sound.

The lungs were damaged and filled with water. All they could do was gasp, making choking sounds.

“Disperse! Disperse!”

“Get away from the smoke!”

The soldiers desperately distanced themselves from the smoke at the officers’ command.

“Darn it! The smoke is following us!”

However, the calming wind picked up again. The enemy was using magic to control the wind, directing the smoke to engulf the Imperial army.

The ranks were thrown into chaos.

“Calm down!”

Amidst the confusion, the priests of the Holy Church moved.

“Sa… save me…”

The priests approached the abandoned wounded. They plunged into the space filled with yellow smoke, where ordinary humans could not last even a few minutes.

“Kugh…”

As kin [referring to those related to the Emperor], they were still human, and the gas harmed them upon contact. Pain flared as if their bodies were burning. But soon, a soft light enveloped the priests, healing their wounds. The light even pushed away the smoke around them.

“Father, may your Holy Spirit be with us—”

They reached out to the fallen soldiers. As their hands touched the soldiers, the light spread, and the expressions contorted with pain quickly subsided.

“……”

War Minister Gerhard watched the scene from the hill.

Unlike the human officers beside him, who observed the battle with telescopes, he used his naked eyes. Even with his naked eyes, he could see farther than any telescope, discerning even the color of the enemy’s eyes.

Thus, he clearly saw the soldiers dying in agony.

Grit…

He bit his teeth at the rising anger.

“You trash.”

He spat out curses and turned away.

“Pasimea! How much longer!”

Mages were gathering mana behind him. Minister of Agriculture, Commerce, and Industry, Pasimea, directed their mana to change the direction of the wind.

The wind blew towards the enemy. Just as the yellow smoke had engulfed the humans, it now engulfed the other races. Gerhard clicked his tongue as he watched.

“It’s not very effective.”

The other races were calm. The poisonous gas had no effect.

“Why?”

“It’s the influence of that so-called old god. Look at those lizard bastards. They’re cold-blooded, yet they’re not bothered by the cold.”

The enemy cast magic again, creating wind. The winds from both sides collided, creating a whirlwind. It was a thick, yellow whirlwind.

“Is there no other way?”

“No. Only the priests Rachel sent or Edar can use their power.”

He pondered for a moment before saying,

“Pull the infantry back. Reorganize the ranks.”

“Are you sure that’s wise?”

The human officer, Jonas Dorf, asked.

Gerhard wanted to say, ‘What do you mean, wise?’ but swallowed the words.

“If we fight like this, the casualties will be too great.”

The enemy began to advance. Their numbers reached 200,000. Could the disorganized humans stand against them? Gerhard judged it impossible.

“Titus! Keep firing!”

Gerhard shouted to the Imperial artillery.

Bang! Bang! Thump!

The artillery batteries were arrayed on the hill, firing shells at the enemy. The Imperial army might have been outnumbered, but they had an overwhelming number of cannons. Among the 1,000 cannons, mortars and siege cannons indiscriminately spewed fire.

Boom! Crash—!

“It doesn’t matter what you hit! Just shoot and hit quickly!”

Some of the shells were blocked by magic. Space warped, swallowing the shells, or they stopped right in front of the elves’ heads.

However, the vast majority of the shells struck the enemy. In most cases, the heads of the elves trying to block the shells exploded. Iron balls bounced on the ground, creating holes in the ranks of the other races.

“This won’t be easy.”

The enemy continued to advance despite being hit by a rain of shells. They were elite. Despite various problems, they were the strongest enemy the Empire had ever fought.

“The 1st Regiment leads the vanguard.”

“But the smoke is still there…”

Jonas pointed to the thick smoke.

How many seconds could a human last inside?

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Huh?”

Gerhard scoffed.

“We are the Emperor’s children. This mere smoke is nothing.”

As he raised his hand, the cavalry moved.

“Kodkivitz! Go and buy as much time as possible!”

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“Yes!”

The commander of the 1st Regiment, Kodkivitz, cheered at Gerhard’s order.

“Gerhard is finally saying something I like.”

“Of course! The first is naturally our 1st Regiment!”

He looked at the 5th and 12th Regiments on the left and right flanks.

– That damn Gerhard.

– Isn’t that too much? We should have a chance too.

They pretended to be calm in front of the humans, but their thoughts were turbulent. The 5th and 12th Regiments were jealous of the opportunity the 1st Regiment had seized, showering them with curses.

“His Majesty just said it. It’s the result of the past.”

– Don’t embarrass yourselves!

Kodkivitz laughed and looked at his regiment.

“Brothers!”

The 859 kin looked at him.

“We fight with His Majesty, and we are the vanguard of His Majesty. Is there any fool among you who would give up this joy?”

“No!”

“We are not fools!”

“Then everyone, dismount!”

The regiment members dismounted. Horses were worthless on a battlefield filled with poisonous gas. They abandoned their beloved lances and each grabbed their weapons.

“We are the Emperor’s punishment! Brothers and sisters, charge!”

“Long live the Emperor!”

Kodkivitz’s 1st Regiment charged through the poisonous gas towards the enemy. Not to be outdone, the other regiments followed. 10,000 kin, widely arrayed, crashed into 200,000 other races.

The kin had fought and won against enemies 100 times their number. Since they had no fear to begin with, their will would not be broken by a mere 20-fold difference.

Moreover, the enemy had several problems.

The elves, dwarves, naga [snake-like humanoids], and lizardmen had all fought the Mikena Empire of Vlad for years. As a result, they had suffered significant losses, and some had even been subjected to internal strife or invasion by the Emperor’s schemes.

Only the dwarves had suffered no damage other than expending their strength in the Mikena Empire.

“How long will you live under protection! You weaklings!”

Bang! Tat-tat-tat!

The Imperial army, having completed its reorganization, also joined the fray. They were briefly taken aback by the power of the poisonous gas, an unfamiliar weapon, but they were not so unskilled as to have their organization collapse.

The priests of the Holy Church moved busily, dispelling the poison, while the officers calmed the chaos and led the soldiers.

“Warriors of the Empire! Die gloriously before His Majesty!”

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As the battle between humans and other races began, the high elves moved.

– The slaves are too weak.

– We must step in.

The variants created by Aleon dragged their emaciated bodies into the battle. Despite their tall, gaunt, and seemingly weak appearance, they were not easily pushed back even when fighting the kin.

– Avoid direct confrontation.

– Exploit the gaps when the dolls’ attention is focused on the slaves.

The high elves were cunning.

“Are you going to fall behind the 1st Regiment!”

The commander of the 5th Regiment, Nibel, swung his massive double-edged axe.

Slash—

He cleaved a dwarf wielding a similar double-edged axe in two, along with the axe, and tore apart three lizardmen beside him.

“Show them that our abilities are not lacking!”

Nibel roared and charged forward.

– That’s it.

From the high elves’ perspective, he looked exactly like someone who had fallen for the bait. The variants hid among the other races surrounding him, and when a gap appeared, they reached out.

Thud!

Nibel’s movement stopped. Magic bound him.

Stab!

Then, a long poisonous needle deeply pierced his eye.

“……!”

Nibel immediately twisted his body to shake off the magic that bound him, but it was after the poisonous needle had pierced his eye. The potent poison applied to the needle flowed through his body.

“Cough!”

The flow of mana circulating within his body became tangled, and he coughed up blood. The group surrounding him took a step back. They were waiting for the beast to weaken after seeing the poison take effect.

– Even if a monkey is strong, it’s still just a monkey.

– Etemos said he needed test subjects. Should we capture him?

The high elves who ambushed Nibel chuckled in their thoughts.

“You cowardly bastards…”

– Cowardly? It’s your fault for getting caught, monkey.

But there was something they hadn’t considered. Nibel was kin. An existence under the Emperor’s protection. As he called out the name of his father, light erupted and quelled the poison.

“……!”

It was too late when the surprised variants tried to retreat.

Nibel continued to slaughter the other races with the needle still stuck in his left eye. The high elves who had revealed themselves could not hide again, and they could not avoid the axe chasing them, meeting their end.

– Power is not enough.

– Like the human god, we also need protection!

– Let’s borrow the power of the gods.

The elf variants became the same monsters as the being who created them. The only difference was that Aleon didn’t know he would become a monster, but they knew and had no qualms.

Crack, creak…

The flow of mana caused by the transforming variant elves spread around them. As a result, the appearances of the other races also changed. Among the other races on this battlefield, only humans had not received even a little of the old god’s magic.

Now was the time to pay the price.

“As His Majesty said.”

“Yes, it has begun.”

Gerhard narrowed his eyes.

Rain fell from the sky. Thunder also struck countless times, and Pasimea raised both hands high, creating a transparent barrier above the Imperial army.

Rumble—

“Skadi! Mersephone!”

Gerhard called out to the two kin who were waiting on the hill.

Skadi relinquished the duties she held as Imperial Chancellor and led the Imperial Guard. Mersephone abandoned the appearance of a child held in the arms of a nun and led the monks.

The two kin and their groups descended the hill, driving a wedge into the battle against the other races who had fallen into the old god’s slavery.

Rumble—

Thunder roared incessantly.

“Do not be afraid! The Emperor is with us!”

“Behold! That is the end of those who have not been forgiven for their sins!”

The humans were shocked by the strangely transformed appearance of the enemy before their eyes, but they revived their fighting spirit at the sight of the Emperor’s warriors fighting the monstrosities.

“In the beginning, we were slaves, but destiny descended upon us!”

The hymns sung by the priests at the top of their lungs echoed across the battlefield.

“Despite all the oppression, we will become even stronger—”

“You will not rule over humans!”

Mersephone, bearing the radiance of the Emperor, descended light from the sky. Rain poured fiercely from the thickly laid dark clouds, but the ground was incomparably warm and bright.

“Humans may rule, but they will not be ruled!”

“Humanity shall never be enslaved again!”

The only race maintaining its original form on the battlefield was human. Among the hundreds of thousands of beings, only humans possessed everything.

Every race other than humans had lost its original form, lost its reason, and lost its freedom. And they did not even know what they had lost.

The foolish ones who had drawn upon evil power like being soaked in a drizzle paid the price, and only humans stood in the middle of the battlefield, fighting against evil.

The Emperor and his knight faced three monsters and a dragon.

“……”

Glug—

The avatar of the lizardman, with one head severed, collapsed. The Emperor stood on the remaining head. Radiance emanated from his body, and that light was more intense than that emitted by Mersephone.

Swish—

The increasingly heavy raindrops turned to steam as they touched the radiance.

“What will you do next?”

As the Emperor spoke, the three monsters growled. Among them, Gwendolyn, who had been howling fiercely like a beast, launched her body like a snake.

“Die!”

Gwendolyn’s two arms split and became six, and her hairs clumped together to form 20 snakes. The saliva dripping from her mouth was acidic, creating holes with a sizzling sound when it touched the rain-soaked stone floor.

“Foolish one.”

The Emperor, still standing on the head of Sumontema, extended his left hand forward while holding the sword in his right hand diagonally downward. Then, mana instantly gathered at his fingertips and engulfed Gwendolyn.

“No, yo, u, ca, n’t…!”

Gwendolyn felt the Emperor’s mana enveloping her, but she did not feel any further change. It must have failed to bind her. She judged so and sneered.

“Fall apart.”

She soon realized she was wrong. It was true that mana had caught her, but it was not trying to catch her body.

Slice!

The Emperor’s sword cut through the naga’s body. Gwendolyn’s body, severed from below, collapsed powerlessly. Gwendolyn screamed as she watched the death of her body.

Screeeeeech—

However, there were only four beings who could hear her scream. Because she was a soul. Because her body and soul had been separated by the Emperor’s touch.

Gwendolyn, having lost her body, could only scream a scream that the living could not hear as she watched the death of her body.

The Emperor did not wait for her scream to stop. He clenched his extended left hand and pulled it back. Then, her soul was sucked into the Emperor’s radiance.

The scream stopped, and the monsters who had been Aleon and Gotava fell silent.

The Emperor looked at the two monsters and then spoke to the dragon behind them.

“What’s next? How long are you going to keep watching?”