He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 10

“I definitely heard a sound around here, didn’t I?”

“Damn it, there’s nothing here. I definitely heard something.”

“Be careful, they might be hiding. A lot of guys have already been caught.”

A dozen or so soldiers warily scanned the forest around them.

They had managed to follow the faint traces I left behind, but unfortunately, there was no one to be found where they were searching.

The Grand Chamberlain, the gamekeeper, and I were hidden a short distance away from that spot.

[Current stealth state is maintained. It will remain until exposed to view, detected, or until you attack.]

[Skill User: Jack Forest]

‘Perfect. I just moved as he directed. And it seems I’m not the only one who can use skills…’

I had simply hidden among the bushes as Jack Forest instructed, yet the soldiers couldn’t detect even the slightest presence. It was as if a barrier was in place, making this area completely undetectable.

‘No, he didn’t seem aware that he was using a ‘skill’ like in a game. Is it just a natural manifestation for others?’

Well, even if it’s not labeled as a ‘skill,’ it might just be another special ability, like magic or aura manifestation.

On the other hand, I can easily learn and use skills in the form of ‘skills,’ so I still have a significant advantage.

[Sub-Quest Activated: Stealth and Ambush]

[Objective: Attack 5 times without being detected]

[Reward: Acquire Stealth Skill and Ambush Skill]

[Failure results in loss of skill acquisition opportunity for one week]

Just like this.

‘Last time, I learned the aura automatically, but this time it’s in the form of a quest. But how do I attack without being detected?’

Attacking breaks stealth. But I can’t just not attack.

‘Obviously, I need to knock them out in one go and quickly re-enter stealth.’

Thinking that far, I gestured to Jack behind me. I gestured roughly to indicate he should stay there, and I caught a surprised expression on Jack’s face. He probably didn’t expect me, who wasn’t familiar with this situation, to make my own decisions.

I was quite surprised myself, but even without him telling me more, I could quickly calculate how to most efficiently subdue the soldiers and hide again.

This might also be due to the genius trait, but anyway, I slowly approached with my sword still in its scabbard.

Thwack!

“Ugh.”

‘Nice!’

The first guy I targeted was caught off guard and knocked unconscious with a blow to the back of the head. He’s not dead, is he? Stealth was immediately broken, but I quickly returned to where Jack was and re-entered stealth.

“Over there! Someone’s down over there!”

“Search the area!”

The soldiers weren’t dummies, so they quickly realized someone had been taken out.

Of course, they couldn’t find me.

‘Well done, Your Majesty.’

‘Save the praise for later. I’m going after that one next.’

After communicating very quietly amidst the commotion, I decided on the next target.

Originally, I could have told Jack to pick a suitable person, but for some reason, I felt like I could do it myself, so I confidently chose.

Thwack!

‘Got another one. Ah, not ‘got’ him, exactly.’

I knocked out the second unfortunate soldier. Again, I was able to hide without much difficulty, but the soldiers’ reactions were getting faster.

‘They have learning capabilities too. That’s what makes training worthwhile. Then I should target two at once this time.’

Although their numbers had decreased, the soldiers’ vigilance had increased. But if they moved too cautiously, they might not get caught, but they wouldn’t be able to complete the quest.

I decided to knock out the two soldiers who were close together in quick succession.

But to succeed this time, I had to concentrate intensely. I had to run out neither too fast nor too slow and knock them out in quick succession without a single mistake.

‘Now!’

I reduced my stride slightly and moved at a brisk pace. First, I struck the back of the nearest guy’s head with the scabbard.

“What-”

“Sorry about this.”

Thwack.

I had no choice but to swing the scabbard I had swung at the next guy in reverse and swing it up again. So, instead of hitting the back of his head, I hit him in the forehead.

I knocked him out with brute force, but I felt a little bad thinking about how much it must have hurt. But there’s a healer on standby for training, so treatment shouldn’t be a problem.

“T-That’s already four people!”

“What should we do? Should we retreat and bring a knight or something?”

“There’s no way anyone’s left. They only move among themselves and do whatever they want!”

The remaining soldiers were flustered and huddled together, guarding their surroundings.

With the angles completely covered, there was no gap to exploit.

But I couldn’t just ignore what I heard.

‘It seems the knights aren’t forming proper teams and are acting on their own.’

‘I apologize, Your Majesty. They probably see the soldiers as a hindrance.’

‘That’s pathetic. Do they think they’re going to wage war all by themselves? Take appropriate measures later.’

‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

‘More importantly, let’s wrap this up.’

I succeeded in attacking four times without being detected. But there was no need to do that for the fifth time.

The success condition was ‘Successfully attack 5 times without being detected,’ so it meant it didn’t matter if I was detected after the fifth attack was successful.

Therefore, there’s no need for me to do it alone this time.

“Hmm, you guys are working hard.”

“Ah, G, Grand Chamberlain!”

“We’re still in training. Are you going to salute the enemy?”

The Grand Chamberlain deliberately appeared in front of the soldiers first.

The soldiers naturally tried to salute, but the Grand Chamberlain waved them off.

“As per the purpose of the training, quickly attack me, the opposing force.”

“B, But really against the Grand Chamberlain….”

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

“What, what is it!”

The soldiers, who hesitated even when told to attack, didn’t even notice when I approached from behind.

Thanks to that, I was able to comfortably attack the last one.

Since the condition was only ‘attack,’ I only tapped him lightly without knocking him out this time.

[Quest Complete!]

[Stealth Skill Acquired!]

[Ambush Skill Acquired!]

[You can now skillfully hide in darkness or shadows.]

[Attacks from an undetected state are more lethal.]

“If this were a real battle, several of you would already be dead, even with four of your comrades already taken out.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Ahem, I said we’re in training, didn’t I? Are you going to kneel before the enemy?”

They were about to kneel before me, just like they were about to salute the Grand Chamberlain, but they reluctantly stood up again after hearing my words.

“There are still quite a few awkward aspects, but when they didn’t know it was me or the Grand Chamberlain, they moved tactically in their own way. Not too bad.”

“T, Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“But don’t get too excited, because I have nothing to give you except praise. But the training is still valid. That means you still have a chance.”

I said to them, holding my sword. The Grand Chamberlain also didn’t draw his sword from its scabbard, but he held it up as if ready for battle.

“If you succeed in attacking even once, it will be considered as defeating me or the Grand Chamberlain. You can also receive the promised reward. Remember? Now, attack!”

“B, But….”

“Or I’ll go first!”

“Aaaah!”

The soldiers were startled and responded as I charged first. Since I wasn’t using a real sword either, I was somewhat rough with my attacks.

The soldier in the front was hit in the shoulder and sat down, then was hit again and retired. Then the next soldier was hit in the abdomen before he could do anything and collapsed, gasping for air.

Only then did the soldiers come to their senses, and they held up their shields and wooden swords, huddling together to create a wall of shields.

“Good, now you’re showing some enthusiasm. I hope you still don’t think you can’t attack because I’m the Emperor and the other guy is the Grand Chamberlain.”

The soldiers’ eyes, visible between the shields, already had a bit of venom in them, so I didn’t think there would be any idiots like that. I smiled contentedly and charged at them.

“Conversely! If you don’t want to throw away the chance to grab a lot of money like this, fight more aggressively!”

Crack! Thwack!

“Ugh! Now’s the chance!”

“Take this!”

As I heavily pounded the shields, the soldiers shook slightly, but they endured and created an opening for a fellow soldier to thrust a wooden sword.

A group combat technique using a wall of shields.

Even though their discipline had loosened, they were still veteran soldiers, and they coped better than I expected. But it was clear that their training had deteriorated, as their movements lacked sharpness.

Whack!

I swung my sword slightly downward, striking the hand holding the wooden sword instead. Inevitably, they dropped the wooden sword, and I took advantage of the momentarily defenseless gap to slip through the shields.

“Ugh!”

The struck soldier lost his balance and fell. I slipped through the gap like the wind and seized the soldiers’ flanks and rear.

The soldiers quickly tried to counterattack, but my sword strikes were faster.

Thwack, thwack!

“Kuaaak!”

“I, I surrender.”

“Aigo, my stomach, aigo….”

I mercilessly struck their exposed heads, stomachs, waists, shoulders, and sides, and all the soldiers who had been clinging to me collapsed and groaned.

[Successfully performing continuous attacks and suppressions has greatly increased your sense of real combat.]

[Due to ‘Leonis’ Favor Stage 1’ and the ‘Genius’ trait, the proficiency of related skills is rapidly increasing.]

[Imperial Swordsmanship skill has reached level 3.]

“Is it already over? You’re a little lacking in tenacity. Try to work harder next time.”

I said it with a bit of swagger, but to be honest, I was also nervous.

Since the rule was that even a single successful attack would be considered a death, I couldn’t allow even the slightest graze.

So, I had to be careful not to get hit by an attack. Thanks to that, I had to move boldly while maintaining caution, which helped me develop a sense of real combat more than I expected.

“This side is finished too, Your Majesty.”

Meanwhile, the Grand Chamberlain had also subdued all the soldiers he had divided and fought.

He didn’t use any aura so that the soldiers could stand a chance against him, and he wielded his sword with almost one hand, but the soldiers were beaten all over, just like the ones I had defeated.

“Too bad. Everyone, try to make your attacks successful next time. If you succeed, I will definitely give you the promised reward.”

The soldiers, who were still in pain from where they had been hit, couldn’t answer properly. But I continued.

“Don’t be discouraged by the big difference in skill. I’ll train you until your next turn. This is also something I promised, so you have no complaints, right?”

“Yeees…….”

One of the rules set before starting was a rule for cases of failure.

Soldiers or knights who failed to defeat the opposing force and were suppressed in reverse would receive ‘special training.’

In addition to the Grand Chamberlain, the gamekeeper Jack will also participate in this special training.

The Grand Chamberlain will train them hard, and Jack will teach the soldiers ranger tactics.

“Your voice is too small. Grand Chamberlain, I’m sure your voice will get louder if you get some training.”

It might be good to add a little seasoning to the special training. If I make them do some PT [physical training] exercises, they’ll naturally have venom in their eyes.

While I was trying to refine the army in that way, the Grand Empress Dowager came to find me again.

She proposed a scheme for the first time.