He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 170

Even though Dwarves are short, they never appear frail.

Their bodies, naturally muscular, resemble solid rock despite their height.

While they are inherently tough and strong, their king’s presence and physique set him apart from other dwarves.

“Who are you, stranger?”

His voice carried an imposing dignity. No one would dare challenge him easily.

“I am Franz, from a very distant land.”

I replied, maintaining my own dignity without being subservient.

“You do not properly reveal your origins? Those with nothing to hide are confident, while those who do are servile.”

“I am neither servile, nor do I hide anything.”

“Is that so? Well, your origin is not important. What matters is what you have done.”

The Dwarf King approached and extended his hand. It was a gesture of verification.

I did not kneel before his hand but grasped it in a handshake.

It was not the proper etiquette for royalty, but it was permissible when dealing with another royal.

“…Are you of noble blood?”

“I assure you, I am.”

“How can you prove it?”

“Would you believe it if Isborg vouched for me?”

Simply claiming to be royalty would not suffice. Of course, I had no intention of doing so.

I presented the letter written by Kalintz of Isborg, which I had already brought. It contained a guarantee of my lineage.

“The seal of Isborg is genuine. Then you must be a noble. But what is this state of affairs? A royal coming here alone?”

“I do not need cumbersome escorts.”

“Hmph… I like your spirit. Haha!”

The Dwarf King laughed heartily and soon introduced himself.

“Good, I like you. I am Galvar Oldstadt, the master of the Steel Anvil Throne. Welcome to Anvil City, stranger Franz!”

Thus, I was formally welcomed into the city.

* * *

“I apologize for questioning you at first. It turns out you protected my people from the Ratmen’s terror?”

“It was nothing significant.”

“Haha, if I do not repay such a significant deed, my reputation will suffer.”

The Dwarf King had a hearty personality but possessed the refinement to catch subtle expressions.

“What do you want? You must have a reason for coming all this way.”

“Indeed. I heard from Isborg that only you can help me.”

“Only us? That implies you need our skills. Tell me the details.”

At the Dwarf King’s request, I recounted my situation, as I had explained to Kalintz.

I omitted the fact that I came from the future and that I was the emperor of a nation called the Empire.

“Hmm… The Isborg queen’s clan also suffered from such a constitution. So we once made them a Frostfire Brazier. That was about 500 years ago.”

“I did not know it was such an old story.”

“It is not that old for us. It is only about my grandfather’s generation. We live twice as long as humans.”

The Dwarf King showed pride while saying that, but soon wore a bitter expression.

“Unfortunately, we cannot make another Frostfire Brazier. It was a kind of… failure. If you came from Isborg, you would know why.”

“Of course. Kalival broke the shackles that possessed the Queen. I witnessed it myself.”

“Oh, I did not know that. Then it will be quicker to explain. With the pride of the dwarves, we cannot make such an outdated failure.”

“Does that mean you can make a new, non-outdated one?”

Naturally, I asked with anticipation. But the Dwarf King sighed deeply and said.

“That would also be difficult. Ah, do not misunderstand. It is not that we lack the skills or knowledge to make it.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“We lost the tools to make it. Only runic magic smithing can create such special artifacts. But the Ratmen, the creatures of the underworld, stole them.”

Hearing that, I did not feel particularly troubled…

I did not expect to achieve my goal easily in the first place.

“Then I will retrieve it for you.”

“You will?”

“Yes. In return, I want you to make what I desire.”

It was a simple deal. It was an arrogant declaration, but the other party had nothing to lose. So I thought they could not refuse.

“I refuse.”

“…What?”

“This is our dwarves’ business. We do not want outside interference.”

“That is unnecessary stubbornness. Is there any loss for you if I join in?”

“Our pride is at stake.”

“Haa…”

Was this what Kalintz warned me about? The stubbornness and pride of the dwarves…

“If I am guessing correctly… If it could be solved with your stubbornness, the problem would have been solved already, wouldn’t it?”

“…Hmph, we are not finished yet. We can handle it ourselves, stranger.”

There was no end to their stubbornness. But I decided to be firm.

“I am sorry, but I do not care about your pride. I do not want to waste time. What can I do to get your help?”

“You insist on doing us a favor? Then it is simple.”

Thump-

The Dwarf King said, holding a hammer in one hand and an axe in the other.

“Prove your strength, stranger. Prove that we will not be ashamed to accept your help.”

“Simple.”

Swish- Clang!

There was no need to hesitate. There was no need for further conversation.

I drew Silver Rose and rushed forward, striking him. The Dwarf King easily blocked the sudden attack.

“Ha! I feel like I have met my match for the first time in a while!”

Crackling!

Rune glowed on his hammer and axe, and electricity sparked.

Bang! Boom!

Lightning struck the spot where I had been. I had already moved to another location using the Weakness Detection’s danger warning, but if I had been hit, my life would have been in danger.

Whoosh- Whoosh!

From the brief exchange, I knew he was an infighter [a fighter who specializes in close-range combat], so I kept my distance and extended Shadow Blades in an outboxer style [a fighting style that relies on keeping distance and using quick, long-range attacks].

“Oh! To resort to such petty ranged attacks is disappointing.”

Clank-

“If you are going to do it, it should be this much!”

Kaboom!

The Dwarf King’s armor transformed, and a shotgun magic firing gun appeared, unleashing a barrage of buckshot.

It was a sufficiently threatening attack, even at a considerable distance.

“Tch, I thought you wouldn’t use ranged attacks because you think they’re cowardly?”

“I do not know what kind of Greenskin [a derogatory term for Orcs or similar creatures] you are talking about. Do not think of us dwarves as the same as those fools.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Weeeeng- Kaboom!

As advised that small ranged attacks would not work, I sent an explosive sword aura this time.

“Hey, please refrain from destroying the palace too much?”

But even that attack did not seem to damage the Dwarf King’s sturdiness, as he emerged from the smoke created by the explosion and rushed toward me.

Bang! Thump!

“Hey, you are not just planning to dodge, are you?”

I dodged his consecutive hammer and axe strikes. He seemed annoyed. But I smiled and replied.

“Of course not.”

[Shadow Blade Trap Activated]

Whoosh! Whoosh!

“What?!”

Shadow Blades rose from under his feet, binding the Dwarf King.

Even though he was sturdy, he could not move for a moment as he was held by dozens of Shadow Blades.

But that was enough.

[Imperial Soul Stage 3 Deployed]

[Silvatein Activated, Humanoid Type]

[Silver Rose, Silver Valor Deployed]

Immediately after deploying the Silvatein form, I increased the output to Silver Rose.

Silver Rose, imbued with Leonis’s divine power, emitted a radiant silver light mixed with red and slashed the Dwarf King’s chest.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

The thick royal armor, which ordinary people or even dwarves could not easily penetrate, tore like paper.

The Dwarf King coughed up blood after being severely cut in the chest.

His vassals and guards were surprised and tried to approach, but he stretched out his hand to stop them.

“Kuh… This is a rare sight after a long time.”

“Do you admit defeat?”

“Of course, stranger Franz. Your skills are enough not to shame us.”

“You make it difficult.”

[Miracle of Healing Deployed]

Whoooo-

“Hoo, divine power. It seems to be the divine power of the Justia Order? Were you a paladin of that order?”

“I am, in a way, but strictly speaking, I do not belong to only one place.”

“You believe in multiple orders? That is unusual. Well, humans sometimes do that.”

The Dwarf King, whose wound had completely healed, slumped back on the throne and said.

“Well, if you help us, it seems like it would be reassuring for us. But it will never be an easy expedition.”

“That is something we will not know until we face it.”

“It is not something to think about so simply… The reason why the Ratmen have become so powerful is because of the demons. It is obvious that the Black Creator is involved.”

“Black Creator? What is that?”

“Do you not know? Well, to put it simply, it is a demon god that demons believe in. But he is not only involved with demons.”

The Dwarf King frowned as if he was saying something unpleasant and continued.

“That guy is the one who is scheming against the Greenskins and the Elves as well.”

“The Greenskins and the Elves…?”

“Are they not extremely ferocious? You must have wondered why they cannot devour humans. It is all because of the Black Creator’s machinations [secret and complicated plans to achieve something].”

“…That is good information.”

I did not know that at all. It is a record that is not particularly left in history books. In fact, a significant portion of the Empire’s 3,000-year history has been lost.

“Anyway, that Black Creator guy has spread chaos again in the underworld. Originally, we had pacified them and driven them into that deep pit in the underground, but they stubbornly crawled out.”

“The most troublesome of them are the Ratmen?”

“That is right. They are the most powerful, and they are scheming to catch up with our technology.”

Having said that, the Dwarf King added with an uncharacteristic gloomy expression.

“In fact, at the point of being pushed back this far, this city, our kingdom, has reached the end of its lifespan. Even if we retrieve the ironworks from the Ratmen, each sector will not last long. Many of the city’s maintenance systems have already been destroyed. Ah, of course, if we retrieve the ironworks, we will be able to make enough of what you need. Do not worry.”

The Dwarf King said in a tone that he would definitely keep his promise, so do not worry.

But at this point, I became more curious.

“Then what are you planning to do next?”

“I am thinking of leaving. To another continent.”

“Are you thinking of going to the sea? That will not be easy?”

I naturally asked that, but the Dwarf King smiled again this time.

“That is why humans are like this. Common sense still cannot keep up with us. We are not thinking of going to the sea.”

“Then?”

“The sky.”

The Dwarf King added with a mischievous expression.

“We are going to fly away. Maybe we will be the first?”

Flying dwarves in the world, they were really showing things beyond my imagination.