Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 39

Woong—

As I stepped through the gate, a ringing filled my ears.

Then, my vision seemed to darken for a moment before brightening again.

What came into view was the grand hall of the Representative Assembly.

The same place I had arrived when following Raeragon.

“We have been waiting.”

The Lizardman who came to greet us bowed deeply.

Of course, it wasn’t to me but to the pointy-ears (Elves). He didn’t even glance my way, just flicked his tongue.

“This way, please.”

The Representative Assembly, which I was visiting for the second time, had a different atmosphere.

Before, the wide space felt cool and empty.

Now, it was filled with people as if a coronation was taking place.

The path to the conference hall was covered with a crimson carpet, and armed soldiers stood on both sides in formal attire, wearing solemn expressions.

Various races entered the conference hall in front of and behind me, and I could hear soft music.

‘If it’s a formal summons, this is normal.’

The previous agenda Raeragon had called for was an emergency.

They had gathered in a hurry, so there was no time for preparation.

It was surprising that the ambassadors had gathered so quickly.

Cases where the Representative Assembly formally put forward an agenda and convened were, at most, once a year, and considering its status, this level of pomp and circumstance was natural.

Creak—

The conference hall door opened, and a warm breeze blew in.

As I said before, the conference hall resembled an opera house.

The reason it resembled one was obvious; it was actually used as an opera house.

They had simply placed a head table on the stage.

‘They filled the auditorium.’

Except when used as an opera house, only ambassadors and attendants were allowed in, but today, the auditorium was full.

‘Are they trying to pressure me?’

The experience from the previous summons came to mind, and I smirked.

Since they failed to pressure me last time, they increased the numbers.

Looking at the stage, the auditorium was arranged in a semicircle, with one head table and seven seats on the stage facing the auditorium…

‘One more has been added.’

There were eight seats.

Seven of the seats were occupied, and one was empty.

As I entered the conference hall, the music stopped abruptly.

“······.”

Everyone in the hall turned their gaze to me.

From those at the head table to those in the auditorium.

I stopped walking and scanned the table.

‘The ambassadors have been replaced.’

The ambassadors of the Orcs, Goblins, Naga, and Lizardmen had changed.

Considering that the position of ambassador was close to a lifetime appointment, this was unusual.

Not just one, but all of them had been dismissed.

‘It must be because of me.’

They must have held them responsible for losing land to a monkey (derogatory term for humans).

【Lv. 87】

【Lv. 78】

【Lv. 83】

【Lv. 81】

The levels of the ambassadors had increased by about 10 or 20.

Each one of them was approaching Ugdash’s level.

It seemed they intended to strengthen the pressure by raising the ranks of the ambassadors, just as they had filled the auditorium.

‘The pointy-ears and dwarves didn’t attend?’

【Lv. 89】

【Lv. 88】

On the other hand, the Elves and Dwarves had slightly lower ranks than before.

It was because plenipotentiary ambassadors were sitting in place of Raeragon and Gotava.

In the first place, the two were not official ambassadors but had attended impromptu.

In principle, it was right for the ambassadors to be in their seats as they were now.

Even without the two, the ambassadors’ ranks were still overwhelming.

【Lv. 96】

My gaze, which had been scanning them, stopped at the old dog.

The old dog was asleep in a seat at the same height as the head table.

The guy was snoring with a stuffy nose, lying on a cushion and covered with a blanket, and Arnim and Ras went behind him and gently shook him.

He woke up from his sleep, batted his heavy eyelids, and his bright yellow, snake-like eyes met mine.

“······.”

I nodded slightly diagonally and sat in the remaining seat.

Calliope and Pasiphae were sitting in the front row of the auditorium.

“We will now commence the meeting.”

The lizard who had guided me to the hall stood between the head table and the auditorium.

He unfolded the scroll in his hand and raised his voice to read.

“The agenda for this meeting is the punishment for the humans who invaded the Nerup Plains, murdered Ugdash of the Steel Mist Tribe and his group, incited them to attack the human realm, and occupied that land.”

‘Punishment, huh.’

That meant they wouldn’t even discuss whether it was a crime or not.

It was decided that my actions were a crime, and they would determine the level of punishment.

‘Interesting.’

I scoffed inwardly at the agenda that was so transparent.

It was obvious who had proposed the agenda.

There was someone glaring at me fiercely.

‘Vlad, the lord of the Vampire Empire, Mycenae. That mosquito bastard.’

And it was him who opened his mouth first.

“Any excuses?”

I took out a cigarette from my pocket and replied.

“None.”

“None?”

Vlad narrowed his eyes.

“None. I don’t know why I should make excuses.”

“What?”

“Isn’t an excuse a reason for wrongdoing?”

I tilted my head and asked.

“What did I do wrong?”

“······.”

Silence descended.

Several pairs of wide eyes blinked at me.

They looked as if they were asking if they had misheard.

But soon, they realized it wasn’t a misunderstanding and changed rapidly.

Bang!

“If you’re going to spout nonsense again, stop it!”

“Nonsense? I’m telling the truth.”

“That it’s not the truth that you’ve done anything wrong?”

I put a cigarette in my mouth and gestured to the attendant.

The attendant showed displeasure on his face but silently lit it.

I took several puffs of the cigarette and exhaled deeply once.

“What you listed as my crimes are just things I had to do to protect myself. Would you stand still while an arsonist runs towards your house with a torch?”

Hmph, Vlad scoffed and bared his fangs.

“Don’t rationalize your crimes with noble metaphors. Did Ugdash cross the mountains and invade your land, or did he notify you that he would kill you? Where is the action to support your suspicion?”

“Well, if they set up a base in someone else’s land, gather troops, and incite humans to attack… that would be a truly peaceful action.”

As I smiled with a cigarette in my mouth, Vlad clicked his tongue.

“The base was there before you handed over the land. The withdrawal was just delayed. Also, what’s the problem with gathering troops? It’s common for Orcs to fight among themselves. Why did you only think they were targeting you?”

Bang, bang, he hit the table and pointed his finger at the Orc sitting in front.

“Furthermore, the claim that an Orc incited humans is laughable. Do you think they have that much brains?”

The Orc ambassador, with an unpleasant expression, looked at Vlad.

“Just because you got some land with your silver tongue, do you think you can look down on us? Not a single piece of land can be increased without the permission of the Representative Assembly…”

“That’s enough.”

I waved the hand holding the cigarette.

“I’ll hand over the Nerup Plains. To Zinnoruk of the Black Sun Tribe.”

The Orc ambassador’s expression hardened.

“You didn’t come here to hold me accountable for Ugdash’s death. Rather, you’re probably glad he’s dead. Am I wrong?”

“······.”

The Orc ambassador, no, Chieftain Zinnoruk, swallowed his words.

I looked at his level.

【Lv. 87】

A higher level than Ugdash.

Originally, he would have been surpassed in the future, but Ugdash died, so that won’t happen.

‘At this point, he’s practically the king of the Orcs.’

He was also the target of usurpation that Ugdash aimed for.

Zinnoruk would be pleased with the death of Ugdash, who had been hostile to him.

‘In my past life, they even hired me to kill each other.’

If they were willing to commission a monkey-like human to assassinate each other, it was obvious how terrible their relationship was.

“You came to this place because of your interest in the human who killed Ugdash and your concern that I would use his territory as a base and become a threat to you, right?”

“······.”

Zinnoruk didn’t answer.

But his trembling eyes showed affirmation.

“Take it.”

Zinnoruk shuddered.

“I’m not interested in the land beyond the Gray Mountains where your group lives. If you don’t interfere with me, I won’t do anything like this again. Is that okay?”

All eyes in the hall were on Zinnoruk.

Zinnoruk tapped his chin with his fist and pondered.

Vlad was watching from the front, but it had no effect.

Zinnoruk was also the strongest of his race.

He was not someone Vlad could easily handle.

“…I accept.”

A sigh of disbelief spread through the conference hall.

No matter how terrible the land was, it was still land.

The area alone was larger than the land I had obtained from the Representative Assembly.

I had said that I would readily give up such land.

And Zinnoruk had obtained it for free without any compensation.

‘Even if you take it, you can’t manage it, and it will only provoke your vigilance. Why would I hold onto it? Such trash land, I don’t need it even if you give it to me for free.’

It can only be maintained with plunder, slaves, and overwhelming reproductive power.

It was land that even Ugdash, who had all three, had difficulty maintaining.

To me, that land was not just trash but a punishment.

It was better to hand it over and let Zinnoruk wash his hands of it.

The one who proposed the agenda was Vlad, not an Orc, but a Vampire.

If Zinnoruk, who was of the same race as Ugdash, withdrew, the statement would weaken.

Gnash…

Vlad glared fiercely at Zinnoruk.

Vlad couldn’t have been unaware of my intentions, so he sent a look of protest.

Zinnoruk snorted and avoided his gaze by resting his chin on his fist.

‘The Orcs need to reorganize their power structure because Ugdash died. They don’t have the leeway to care about a monkey.’

I scoffed inwardly.

“What about Wallachia?”

“That’s a different story.”

“What?”

“The Nerup Plains originally belonged to the Orcs. That’s why I’m just returning it to its rightful owner. But what about Wallachia? Doesn’t it belong to humans?”

“······.”

“My relationship with Wallachia is human to human. Are you going to interfere even in fighting among the same race? Furthermore, they invaded my territory, so the cause is clear.”

I pointed to the map spread out on the table.

The river that borders Wallachia and the Oroko Great Plains.

The place where the Steel Mist Tribe and the Northern Lord’s army were annihilated.

I pressed down on that spot with my cigarette.

“In the first place, you got the order wrong.”

“Order? What are you talking about.”

“Before putting me in this seat, you should have considered whether I could even sit in this seat.”

Vlad made a strange expression.

An expression that he couldn’t understand what I was talking about at all.

“Didn’t you not consider humans as a race of the Representative Assembly? I am human. Why should I, who doesn’t belong to the Representative Assembly, comply with the covenant [agreement]?”

The conference hall buzzed.

“A pathetic human…”

Vlad clenched his fist tightly.

The table was crushed in his hand.

He emitted the suppressed magic power and pressured me.

“You’re spouting arrogant nonsense without knowing your place. You don’t even know that we’re showing you mercy. The covenant of the Representative Assembly is the law of the world. Even if you don’t belong to the Representative Assembly, you must abide by it.”

His red, bloodshot eyes glared at me.

It is said that the eyes containing the vampire’s magic power fascinate the opponent, to make the prey lower their guard and offer their own necks.

There was a sound of inhaling all around.

It was because they were affected by the magic power even without eye contact.

“Originally, there’s no need to call a guy like you to this place. Who would say anything if we trampled on a monkey like you who doesn’t belong to the Representative Assembly with force?”

“Is that so?”

I took a deep breath of the cigarette and calmly met his eyes.

The moment our eyes met, his focus wavered.

“Then try to take it.”

“What?”

“You said you could take it by force, but you’re showing mercy and talking. I don’t need that mercy. If you can take it by force, try to take it.”

The buzzing atmosphere rapidly subsided.

They closed their whispering mouths and looked back and forth between me and Vlad.

“Why? Are you afraid? That’s why you called me to this place. You’re afraid to fight me, so you’re trying to threaten me with words and take what’s mine. Otherwise, why would you have prepared another seat when you’ve already had your land taken away by me with words?”

“Bullshit!”

“Then let’s find out.”

I got up from my seat and took out a stained glove from my pocket and threw it on the table.

“I challenge you to a duel. Vlad von Holstein. With everything we have at stake.”