He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 136

I Became the Unrivaled Mad Emperor – Episode 136

“Since the last expedition, we’ve been periodically conducting raids into the Elven territories… what I mean is, preemptive wars.”

Shortly after heading to the Eastern Territory, I was briefed on the current situation by Stella.

“That’s what I ordered you to do.”

“Yes, you instructed us to thoroughly trample them. And of course, we did just that.”

During the expedition, we exploited the Spirit King’s blunder of ruining his own army to pillage the enemy’s territory.

Naturally, this was to spread chaos and diminish the Elven Kingdom’s capabilities, and it wasn’t a temporary measure.

We consistently organized raiding parties within the limits of what they couldn’t stop, continuously repeating and expanding the raids.

“But lately, you’re saying they’ve started stealing from us in return?”

“Yes, and they’re so elusive that it’s been difficult to catch them.”

Well, Elves are practically synonymous with agility, so that aspect wasn’t particularly surprising.

However, I paid more attention to the fact that they had ‘retaliated’.

“Unexpected. Instead of strengthening their defenses in that state, they’re attempting to raid us in return?”

“Well… wouldn’t it be natural for them to try to survive since we’ve been recklessly burning and destroying their forests and farmlands?”

Stella offered a seemingly natural interpretation, but I shook my head.

“Stella, it’s not unreasonable to interpret it that way, but raiding isn’t as easy a choice as you might think.”

Of course, raiding is a common occurrence during war, but it can never replace regular supplies due to its inherent risk.

“Even if they wanted to raid, if they didn’t have the capacity to breach or disrupt our defenses, the raids themselves would be blocked. And even if they managed to raid, there’s no guarantee they’d get enough loot.”

It’s not like the enemy will just let you raid them easily.

Naturally, you need to be able to break through the defenses of the target, and in the last expedition, I crippled their strength.

So, for them to be doing this instead of licking their internal wounds meant that something dramatic had changed.

“Certainly… thinking about it that way, it does seem a bit odd. And come to think of it, the damage from the raids hasn’t been that significant. Also…”

“Also?”

Stella’s next words could be crucial to this case.

“We also found traces of raids that we didn’t do. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, though.”

“Why didn’t you pay attention?”

“Well… I just thought the Elves were getting desperate and started turning on each other.”

“Hmm…”

But now that I think about it, it might have been the work of the Elven bandit gangs that are currently roaming around.

“So, they might be genuine bandits. Bandits that even the Elves are hostile to.”

If that were the case, the strange phenomenon of them attempting to raid despite their poor circumstances would make sense.

No matter how much the Elven administration tries to control resources and reorganize internally, the bandits wouldn’t listen.

“Then we need to meet them.”

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as they say.

It’s just that becoming friends with them might require a bit of effort.

* * *

“It’s an attack! It’s those guys again!”

“Prepare for battle! Use the wagons as cover!”

“Hurry, reload the crossbows!”

On the outskirts of the Eastern Territory, an Elven raiding party approached, targeting merchant caravans and supply wagons traveling between villages.

The caravan guards, supply soldiers, and knights responded immediately to the recent increase in Elven raids.

Shu shu shuk! Pow!

“Damn it, I can’t even peek my head out!”

“Idiot! Shoot through the gaps between the shields and wagons!”

However, the crossbowmen couldn’t easily retaliate as the mounted Elves pressured them with accurate fire.

Of course, some experienced crossbowmen and knights who had participated in the last expedition managed to hit the Elves with crossbow bolts or javelins, but there weren’t many elites in a mere supply train.

“They’re charging! Hold your ground!”

The Elven raiding party, which had been undermining the supply train’s defenses with swarm tactics, attempted a charge when the time was ripe.

It was a precarious moment for the supply train, but the knight of the supply train, who was also a Paladin belonging to the Purification Order, showed unwavering determination and encouraged his troops.

The soldiers were also members of the Purification Order, so everyone showed fanatical morale.

“For the Empire!”

“Long live the Empire!”

“May the flames of purification burn the enemies of the Empire!”

The Purification Order, which originally symbolized water, changed its symbol to fire after the last expedition.

The biggest reason was that Stella, the Archpriest of the Purification Order and the ruler of the Eastern Territory, had become an Apostle of Fire, and their nature, symbolized by fire, had become very aggressive.

Du du du du- Kuwoong!

“Hold on!”

“Throw the oil flasks!”

“Bring the torches!”

Their tactics were to purify by burning everything in their path, just like their symbol.

It was typical for the vanguard units to go around ‘purifying’ Elven villages, but their combat doctrine of using flames was applied to the supply train as well.

When the front-line infantry and hastily made barricades of wagons blocked the advance of the Elven cavalry, they set fire without hesitation.

“These, these crazy bastards!”

“Are they trying to burn themselves too!”

The Elves were horrified by it.

“Burn them all!”

“Purify them with fire!”

As they said, they could end up burning themselves.

However, the Purification Order did not fear fire.

Surprisingly, their fanaticism gave them divine power, allowing them to perform miracles that made them resistant to fire.

Of course, they were fanatics who believed that their lives could be burned if it meant burning the enemies of the Empire.

“Look over there! Reinforcements!”

And now, my army was advancing towards them.

“Finally caught their tails!”

As Stella said, the Elven raiding party was elusive.

But after several baits and feints, we were able to catch up with them.

-Awoooooooo!

And the pursuers were by no means a weak force.

Starting with Silver, who was carrying me and let out a long wolf howl, the Legion Guards followed behind.

“Slaughter the Elves! For His Majesty the Emperor!”

“For His Majesty the Emperor!”

The Legions, riding warhorses that had become heavier with the spirit of the Empire, charged.

The enemies were agile horse archers, but their explosive speed was not something that could be easily shaken off.

“Throw!”

Shu shu shuk! Shuk!

“Kuaaaak!”

Soon, a barrage of javelins was thrown.

The javelins, larger and thicker than ordinary ones, and imbued with aura that an ordinary person could not even throw, flew through the air.

The Elves were pierced by them, not just one, but two or three at a time.

“Retreat! Retreat to the forest! Regroup!”

The Elven raiding party, trapped in a dilemma, immediately began to retreat.

Despite suffering considerable damage, they did not retreat in a disorganized manner.

“They’re quite disciplined for bandits… and their attire is a bit different too.”

They weren’t wearing the typical mysterious or luxurious armor of High Elves or Wood Elves.

Instead, they were wearing somewhat shabby clothes and commonly wore cloths covering their faces.

It was as if they were from a different culture.

“Pursue them immediately. We must capture them.”

I felt a bit of unease, but I immediately ordered the pursuit, intending to capture and interrogate them.

All of the strangely dressed black-clad Elves had fled into the nearby dense forest.

There were many Spirit Forests in the Eastern Territory where the Wood Elves used to live.

Well, we burned down many of the villages inside, though.

Anyway, these Spirit Forests had one characteristic.

That was that the forest itself emitted intense magic.

“They’ve used wicked tricks. I can feel the foul magic of the spirits.”

The commander of the guard criticized, unable to hide his disgust as he looked at the fog that had suddenly appeared in the Spirit Forest.

“Hmm, spirit magic?”

Whirr.

I activated the Flames of Purification without hesitation.

And scattered it towards the fog.

Shuuuuuu-

“It’s going out quickly. They’ve prepared for it.”

The Flames of Purification burned even magic, making it an extreme counter against mages or spiritists.

But even if it was a counter, there was no guarantee that there would be no countermeasures, and as the evidence showed, the Flames of Purification quickly went out.

Of course, if I added Frost Flames to increase the firepower, I could burn even this.

“But we must capture them. It seems we’ll have to go inside ourselves. Guard Commander, follow me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Legion, volunteer ten men! Escort His Majesty!”

At the Guard Commander’s words, the Guards volunteered one after another, and ten men immediately stepped forward.

“Dismount. Horses won’t be of much use in this forest.”

I immediately ordered them to dismount because it was terrain where they couldn’t gain speed. I got off Silver and walked alongside Silver.

“Visibility is blocked. Thoroughly guard the surroundings.”

The fog became thicker inside the forest. It was only possible to barely see nearby comrades.

Shuuuuuk! Pak!

“It’s an ambush!”

And as expected, an ambush was attempted.

Arrows imbued with the aura of Steel Piercing flew in, targeting the Legions.

“Useless!”

Kwagwang!

But the Legions, reborn as sturdy beings, did not die even when pierced in their vitals.

Rather, they wielded swords imbued with explosive aura, suppressing the surroundings with exploding sword energy.

-You can’t catch us, give up.

But soon, the Elves who had been ambushing in the fog disappeared like mirages.

Whether it was an illusion from the beginning, or whether they had some special movement technique, there was no way to confirm it with the naked eye.

-Grrr, sniff…

Silver growled as he watched the scene.

Meanwhile, I was trying to gauge their location by looking around with my ‘Sharp Weakness Detection’ ability.

‘Useless. The range of weaknesses detected is too wide.’

-Are you using tracking abilities? Useless, human. If you give up and go back, we won’t retaliate anymore.

They were able to discern that I was using my abilities.

Were they Elves with deep knowledge of tracking?

But I scoffed at his words.

“Is that so?”

[Blade Whip Transformation]

[Multiple Shadow Blade Deployment]

Whiririk!