He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 176

Having witnessed Blackblood’s demise, the Ratmen who remained at the Ironworks hastily retreated.

“We won again this time!”

“The Crash Hammers are the strongest!”

The Crash Hammers, having achieved victory against a force nearly ten times their size, were reveling in their triumph.

“Good work, everyone.”

With no enemies left to fight, all I could do was praise them.

“You too, Commander.”

“We wouldn’t have won today without you, Commander!”

“Long live the Commander!”

They expressed their gratitude. The engineer slaves freed by the Crash Hammers also shared in the joy.

“His Majesty the King is leading the legion here. It seems all the lower sectors connected to the Ironworks have been subdued. The Ratmen will be quiet for a while now.”

Soon after, the Dwarf King suppressed the remaining resistance and marched towards the Ironworks.

Perhaps because Blackblood was dead, the Ratmen’s resistance was weak. I was concerned about what Cerebres had said, but could this perhaps prevent the decline of the Dwarves?

“I’m afraid that will be difficult, my friend.”

However, when I spoke with the Dwarf King shortly after, he gave a negative answer.

“Killing Blackblood is certainly encouraging, but the forces of the Underworld, including the Ratmen, are still powerful. Blackblood was just a leader, no matter how strong he was.”

Even if their momentum had been broken by this victory, he meant they would quickly recover, find a new leader, and swarm again.

“I wouldn’t mind if the Ironworks we reclaimed were intact… but unfortunately, it’s practically beyond repair. It will be completely ruined after a few more uses. Ah, don’t worry. I’ll make what you need a priority.”

Crucially, even if they reclaimed the Ironworks, the magic circuits were so damaged that it couldn’t restore the nation’s power to its former glory.

Still, it seemed the Dwarves could at least build airships capable of migrating to distant lands.

“But there’s one thing I want to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about Cerebres.”

I told the Dwarf King what Cerebres had told me.

The reason he was killed by Blackblood—or rather, allowed himself to be killed—his disappointment with the Dwarves, and his abandonment of the chaos in the Underworld, and so on.

“I see… Cerebres was disappointed in us. Well, I can understand why. I don’t want to blame the previous kings, but over the years, our race has chosen unconditional isolation and stability. Looking back, it was a stale thing to do.”

“Why did you do that? Why choose isolation with such a powerful civilization?”

That was exactly what I was wondering. With such a mighty civilization, expansion to the outside world would have been the usual outcome, wouldn’t it?

“Not necessarily. The biggest reason is that we Dwarves were too content here. We didn’t feel the need to give to others, nor did we feel the need to take from others. To be precise, we had already monopolized almost everything in the mountains and the Underworld.”

Hearing that, the first thing that came to mind was the United States on Earth.

Modern America intervenes in various parts of the world to lead the international order, but originally, America had the same thoughts as these Dwarves.

They had enough resources from the American continent alone to get everything they wanted, so they advocated for ‘Great Isolation.’ The famous Monroe Doctrine [a U.S. foreign policy opposing European colonialism in the Americas] originally meant that.

If the Dwarves enjoyed similar abundance, it wasn’t hard to understand. When I think about it, not only the United States but also so-called ‘Great Empires’ like Rome or the Ming Dynasty had similar attitudes.

“And one more reason… In fact, a long time ago, we also tried to expand and intervene externally.”

“You did? Then why did it turn out like this?”

“Because the results were disappointing. Do you know what happened when we carelessly handed over advanced goods to ‘uncivilized’ beings outside? Blood flowed. The gifts we gave for peace and prosperity were seen only as glittering greed and weapons.”

War, plunder, fanaticism, and endless violence.

Like the will of protection possessed by the Underworld Dragon, they were aware of the duty of prosperity given by the Creator, but everything they gave created such results.

“For that reason, we chose to settle down. Well, even so, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s an excuse. Even if Cerebres was disappointed, it can’t be helped. Our downfall was just a consequence of our own choices.”

“…That’s unfortunate.”

I didn’t know how to comfort him.

But then the Dwarf King smiled.

“Don’t worry about us. You’ll do well, King of Humans.”

“I’m…”

“No need to deny it. There’s no way someone like you isn’t a king… You can’t just be royalty. You must be a king somewhere.”

“……”

The Dwarf King laughed heartily and headed towards the Ironworks.

“Without wasting any time, I’ll make what you need right away. It’ll be an interesting sight, so watch it yourself.”

The Ironworks, which had been modified by the Ratmen, was being restored by Dwarf rune technicians.

Although the torn magic circuits could not be restored, the remaining magic circuits could still function to some extent.

“Drive system is ready.”

“Activate the Primeval Furnace!”

Squeak-!

Rumble-

Clunk- Clunk-

Fwoosh-!

The massive Ironworks was activated. Molten iron flowed from the furnace, flowing into the crucible and ceaselessly producing all sorts of precious metals, including steel.

This alone was amazing. It wasn’t far behind modern steel mills. Considering this was at less than 20% of its original capacity, its original operating rate must have been truly astonishing.

“About what I’m going to make for you… As I said before, I’m going to give you something better than the Frostfire Furnace. That was a failure. Well, Isborg is a rare place where our gift worked positively, so it’s paradoxical.”

“This is getting me excited.”

I added an appropriate interjection and watched the Dwarf King ‘command’ the Ironworks.

The Dwarf King was not just a king but more like a conductor leading a vast civilization.

Handling the operation of the Ironworks in detail was just one of the simplest tasks.

“You can look forward to it. Do you see those? The broken magic circuits.”

“That… I used some of them when I killed Blackblood.”

“Haha, don’t worry, I’m not going to present you with a bill. Rather, I’m thinking of using that as a material. The magic circuit is a metal engraved with ancient runes. It’s the best material we can mobilize right now.”

Just hearing that explanation, I realized that the Dwarf King was showing tremendous generosity.

“Are you sure you can give that to me?”

“I want to give it to you because it’s you. We don’t need it anymore, and I don’t want to see the Ratmen recycling it.”

Seeing the Dwarf King laughing as he said that, it seemed he really had no regrets about using it.

“Anyway, the artifact I’m going to make with this will basically inherit the functions of the Frostfire Furnace—to calm the magical outburst that your wife suffers from. But it won’t just end there.”

“Then what will it do?”

“I’m going to give it plenty of versatility. It will be able to amplify, spread, reproduce, and maintain magic in various ways.”

Such functions exceeded the purpose of treating Sarah.

“Of course. This is a gift for you, after all. I’m going to make it so you can use it. I’ve seen your performance so far, haven’t I?”

“……Why are you doing so much for me?”

I had helped the Dwarves, but I was a little puzzled as to why the Dwarf King was going to such lengths to help me.

He was a king, so he should know that there was no need to show excessive favor without a reason.

“Basically, it’s a gift for someone who helped our race, but I do have something I want.”

“What do you want?”

To my question, he gave a shallow smile and said.

“Show us what we couldn’t do. Bring the prosperity of civilization to the surface that we failed to do.”

“……”

“I don’t know why… but I think you can do it. I have that feeling. I don’t know if I or our race will be able to see it…”

I felt a lot from the Dwarf King who said that.

Guilt and regret for not spreading prosperity even though they had the most prosperous civilization, sorrow for disappointing the Creator and Cerebres, and responsibility for the race and people as a king.

“I promise. Someday, when you come back to this continent, you will see a prosperous civilization there.”

“Thank you for saying that. Well, we won’t be just playing around in the meantime, so you don’t have to be too nervous.”

-The runes to be applied to the artifact have been completed.

-Please determine the form of the artifact.

“Now it’s your turn. I want the form of the artifact to be something that suits you.”

“What do you mean? Are you saying I can choose the form separately?”

“That’s right. That’s the beauty of rune crafting. Apart from the function, the form can be determined later. The form is only an additional thing in the creation of magic through runes.”

Well, if you were to make an axe that creates lightning, what does it matter if it’s an axe, a hammer, or a sword to create lightning?

For that reason, it seemed he was going to let me decide the form.

“It wouldn’t be fun if you just decided anything, so it will be determined by the object that best suits your image. Put your hand on this drive system here.”

The Dwarf King pointed to something like a large crystal ball and had me put my hand on it.

Then, the metals of the magic circuit that had melted and wriggled in the air were reflecting my image and forming a shape.

“Oh, this is…”

“A throne.”

The shape it created was none other than a throne. It was quite fancy to call it a throne, so it seemed I had to call it a dais [a low platform for a throne].

It was a reflection of my image as an emperor.

“Interesting. A throne… Not bad. It’s easy to use. Then shall we name it? It has a golden glow, so how about the Golden Throne? Strictly speaking, that’s not gold, so how about the Gilded Throne?”

“No, that’s a bit… Somehow the name sounds ominous.”

It was a name that made me feel like I would be properly rebelled against by my son and forced to sit there for tens of thousands of years.

There was a better name than that.

“Then what are you thinking of?”

“The Throne of Prosperity.”

“Prosperity… That’s a good name.”

It not only prayed for the prosperity of the empire but also had the meaning of reflecting what the Dwarves longed for.

“Yes, I will pray for prosperity in your country. The throne is complete.”

At the same time, the Ironworks’ manufacturing system created the throne.

[The objective in the Vision Maze has been achieved.]

[You will return to the original time shortly.]

And the time for farewell also came.