He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 104

I Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor – Episode 104

“A southern dog has lost his mind. A duel? Good. I’ll kill you right here.”

Of course, even if I made such threats, the ultra-macho knights of the North wouldn’t be intimidated.

But that’s why I provoked them even more, a smirk on my face.

“Come at me all at once.”

“What?”

“All of you so-called independent faction leftovers, come at me together. Dealing with you one by one is too annoying. Do you even have the guts for that?”

“You bastard!”

My provocation worked perfectly, and the guy, furious, charged at me right in the meeting room.

Thud, whack!

“Ugh!”

But I grabbed the arm of the guy trying to swing his fist and landed a light counter.

Easily knocking down a guy bigger than me, the others’ eyes changed.

“Don’t make a fuss already, come outside.”

“……Fine. I’ll teach you a lesson.”

Expressing his anger, he soon left the meeting room with the independent faction knights.

“Sir Shadow…… are you sure you’ll be alright? You didn’t have to…….”

“I did it because I needed to. Ah, do you perhaps dislike even someone like that messing with your subordinates?”

“No, it’s not that. I wanted to lecture them myself, but.”

Cres expressed his concern and continued.

“Are you really planning to take them all on at once? They are not pushovers.”

“Save your worries. I need to go teach those arrogant bastards a lesson.”

Having received permission (?) to beat them to my heart’s content, I headed to the training ground where the cold wind was blowing.

“Give that arrogant southern dog a good beating!”

“Hey, he’s not going to lose, is he!”

“Show them the spirit of the North!”

However, in contrast to the cold wind, the morale of the soldiers and knights gathered there was high.

Of course, they were cheering for the independent faction knights.

They might not all be from the independent faction, but if an arrogant knight from the South was fighting a comrade, they would naturally support the latter.

“Are you ready? Southerner? It’s not too late. Crawl between my legs, and I’ll forgive you.”

“Hahaha, well, well. It feels strange to hear those words from the world’s biggest coward.”

“What? Did you call me a coward?”

Before the duel began, there was a war of nerves between us, but the independent faction knight was just getting caught up in my provocations.

“Isn’t it true? You’d even join hands with the rebel faction to gain independence, but if that’s the case, you should have joined the rebel faction in the first place? You didn’t like that, so you stayed silent…….”

I shrugged and continued.

“Now that their master is hurt and collapsed, they’re finally raising their voices. It’s like a fox acting like its master when the tiger is away [a proverb referring to someone taking advantage of a leader’s absence]. Usually, those kinds of guys are called cowards, hypocrites.”

“You bastard!”

Having been hit where it hurt, he started charging at me with a huge two-handed sword.

A two-handed greatsword with a narrower width but a length as tall as a person, compared to the greatsword used by Kalibal.

Considering the violent power of the weapon itself with the clearly imbued aura, even I would be cut in half if I failed to block it.

Tiing!

“What!”

“There’s only one way to tame an arrogant hunting dog.”

Swish!

“Kghack!”

“That’s to pick up a club!”

Whack!

The holy sword, about the size of a longsword, lightly deflected the greatsword.

Then, I lightly slashed the guy’s arm with the aura-imbued holy sword.

He was surprised that his attack was blocked so futilely and panicked at the counterattack, so I kicked him away.

“Get up. You’re not going to make a fuss over this much, are you?”

“Ugh…….”

The knight, who was humiliated without even exchanging a proper blow, gritted his teeth and stood up.

The atmosphere of the spectators, who had been enthusiastic, cooled down.

“What, Hardval can’t even use his strength?”

“Isn’t he supposed to be super strong?”

“Hey, get up, snap out of it!”

“They said he came from the Imperial Palace; it seems the Empire has changed recently.”

“Were those guys who were talking about independence all talk?”

And the public opinion also started to change a little.

Perhaps everyone had imagined the arrogant knight from the warm lands getting messed up.

But when the opposite happened, they got angry, and the public opinion of the independent faction worsened.

“Now, then, get your head on straight and come at me again. As I said, all at once.”

“Kugh…… you arrogant bastard. I’ll grant your wish then. Brothers!”

When he called out to the others, the other independent faction knights soon took up their weapons.

“Beat that arrogant bastard to a pulp!”

“Oooooh!”

“Let’s go!”

It was ridiculous how they were trying to wage a grand battle, even though a dozen people were attacking one person.

But I rushed at them without the slightest fear.

Swish! Clang!

“Aaaagh!”

“I won’t kill you.”

While slashing at the guys with my sword, I avoided inflicting fatal wounds.

That’s because what I wanted to do to them was not purging but setting an example and re-educating them.

There was no reason to purge those who were clearly vassals of others.

But I couldn’t leave these guys alone to let the rebellion in the North grow.

Shaaak!

Swish!

Whack!

“Kuaaa! You rat-like-”

“Oh, am I?”

“……!”

Thwack!

“Keuheok.”

“Looks like you guys are the rats.”

While running rampant among the guys with high-speed movement, I punched the last guy’s face.

Before I knew it, five knights were rolling on the ground.

There were still quite a few left, but they knew my martial prowess was great and couldn’t recklessly attack.

“Isn’t that right? You didn’t have the courage to become rebels in the first place, yet you’re just bugs causing internal strife. Frankly, even calling you rats is a waste!”

“Kugh…… w, we are just wanting the just rights of the Northerners……!”

“Is that so? Leaving the Empire? Seeking independence in a world full of human enemies? That kind of delusion sounds like licking the demons’ asses to me [betraying humanity for personal gain].”

Kwaang!

A powerful shock that split the ground of the training ground.

The aura infused into the holy sword flowed into the ground, causing an explosive earthquake.

“Whether you try to leave the Empire or not, the Northerners were also Imperial citizens, and the Emperor of the Empire will protect you until the end. One.”

Thuck-

“Those who incite them and instill adventurous delusions will be swiftly cut out.”

The words that followed, as I pointed my sword at them, were filled with murderous intent.

Those who were touched by that murderous intent could no longer maintain their arrogant appearance, unlike before.

“So choose. Whether to abandon your delusions and pledge allegiance to your lord again, or to die here.”

“W, we…….”

The eyes of the independent faction knights wavered.

Their will was seen to be breaking.

“That’s enough, Sir Shadow. I think this is enough.”

At that time, Cres stopped me.

Behind him were loyal faction knights, including Ygritte.

“Cres, they haven’t completely surrendered yet. It’s good to get their loyalty back.”

“That’s right. But pushing them further here will break their pride.”

Cres said that and turned his gaze to Ygritte, and Ygritte nodded at the gaze and headed to the independent faction.

“What you guys are saying isn’t entirely wrong. The rights of the Northerners must be respected.”

“Lady Ygritte…….”

“But that doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be a severance from the Empire, nor is it something to be discussed now. Now!”

Ygritte drew her rune sword.

And she pointed the sword at them and said.

“It’s time to stand against those who have caused the rebellion and those behind the rebels. Is it right to cause strife at this time when we must unite more than ever?”

“But…… what if the Empire disregards us again?”

The independent faction Northern knights also had their own grievances.

It was before I possessed the body, but there must have been more than one or two times they were ignored because they were from the North.

“If you cannot trust the Empire, trust me. I have had an audience with the Emperor.”

“I, is that true?”

“Yes. I have been promised that the treatment and status of the North will be improved when this rebellion is over.”

“Such……!”

“If that promise is not kept, then I will be with you.”

Swoosh, thud.

Ygritte stuck the rune sword into the ground.

“Once again, will you fight together?”

The independent faction knights, hearing her words, soon got up with their injured bodies and knelt before the sword.

“We will gladly do so. Oh, bloodline of Oskipper.”

One conflict was sealed in that way.

* * *

“I never made such a promise. You’re more skilled at lying than I thought.”

“I just said what was necessary. Something that could unite them.”

As the knights retreated, I said to Ygritte with a smile.

Ygritte replied with an endlessly serious attitude.

“And you’re not planning to do so?”

“No, of course, I intend to guarantee the rights of the North. If necessary or desired, I’m even thinking of making it an autonomous territory like the Western Territory.”

“Then there’s no problem.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

Although she arbitrarily claimed my orders as the Emperor, well, isn’t it all for the best?

With this, the independent faction public opinion within the loyal faction disappeared.

“But that’s just the first step. What we need to do from now on is more important.”

“That’s right, Sir Shadow. In that regard…….”

Cres turned his gaze to Ygritte and continued his words.

“I would like to entrust the future decisions to my sister, Ygritte.”

“Cres? What on earth are you doing? Now that the Grand Duke is absent, the acting head is you, the heir.”

“No, no, sister.”

Cres, who was closer to a scholar, spoke with a force that did not yield to Ygritte, at least for now.

“I am not fit to lead the Oskipper family. I can help the family, but I am too weak to lead them, as they say.”

“You can become stronger. You can do it.”

“Maybe so. But why should we choose an incomplete option like me when you are already here, sister?”

“That’s…….”

“Even though she is a concubine’s daughter, my sister is also my father’s daughter.”

The following remarks made by Cres were by no means light.

“I will yield the position of heir to my sister.”

“Cres! That is something the Grand Duke will decide!”

“Then let’s save the Grand Duke, our father, together! And I will tell my father directly.”

“……Is that what you want so much?”

“It is something that should have been done a long time ago.”

Ygritte soon nodded silently, no longer objecting.

It was a silent, tacit agreement.

Even if it is not a complete agreement yet, as the Grand Duke is lying down.

“Well, let’s put aside the family discord and decide what to do in the future. Ygritte, what should we do first?”

As I spoke as if to change the subject, Ygritte soon replied.

“It will be a while before reinforcements arrive, and the number of loyalists under our command now cannot stand against the rebel faction.”

“That’s right. The situation is not good.”

“So we need to increase the forces of the loyal faction.”

“How? Are you thinking of conscripting?”

She shook her head at my question.

“The warrior tribes that are still neutral. We must persuade them.”

“Persuasion……. Do you think they’ll listen if we just talk?”

Naturally, Ygritte shook her head.

“With strength. Subjugate them through honorable duels. So you help too, Shadow.”

At her words, I smiled and replied.

“Of course.”

It seemed that the duels in the North would continue to others.