He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 18

Became the Crazy Emperor – Episode 18

A World of Magic and Swords

The existence of such power also meant, paradoxically, that the world needed such power.

Koo-oong!

“It’s a troll! Everyone, take cover!”

“T-Three of them…”

In a world where humans are easily killed by monsters, humans could hardly survive without such power.

Screech!

“Aaaagh! Save me!”

Three trolls were laying waste to the magic forest’s search party.

At first, the soldiers burned with fighting spirit, firing crossbows.

Shu-shu-shuk!

Groooaaar!

“It’s no use! Their regeneration heals everything!”

Regeneration at a level incomprehensible to humans rendered their efforts futile.

Conversely, the trolls were effortlessly killing soldiers with nothing but large wooden clubs.

The knights bravely fought back without retreating, but they were also unable to inflict any significant damage.

“Everyone, fall back and regroup.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

That’s when I arrived.

I ordered a regroup and then dashed towards the trolls before anyone could stop me.

Approaching at high speed, my silver hair fluttering.

-Kuh-uh!

Koo-oong!

I dodged the troll’s descending club by a hair’s breadth and then leaped, using the descending club as a springboard.

“First, one down.”

Thwack!

The silver holy sword pierced the troll’s heart.

One of the weaknesses that even monsters with regeneration couldn’t avoid.

Striking the heart was a fatal wound even for them.

-Kaaaaaagh!

Of course, simply stabbing it wasn’t enough to kill it.

The troll, stabbed in the heart, rampaged even more due to the pain, which was further amplified by its regeneration.

Thwack!

“Kuh!”

Thanks to its berserk rampage, I was also hit by the club and sent flying.

“Your Majesty!”

“I’m fine.”

The knights rushed towards me in horror, but I hadn’t taken too much damage, so I quickly got back on my feet.

“More importantly, I’ve taken care of one of them.”

“Yes? Ah, no, that is…”

Thump, thump…

The knights were astonished by what I had pulled out before they knew it.

I hadn’t just run at the troll to stab it.

I had been trying to extract its heart, and I had succeeded admirably.

-Kuh-uk, kuh-ah… ugh…

No matter how much of a troll it was, it would die if it lost its heart.

The troll, which had been staggering for a while, soon collapsed as if its life had run out.

-Kuh-uk! Kuh-uk! Kuwoooo!

But there were still two more trolls left.

The trolls, seeing their kin being killed, began to go berserk.

The number had decreased, but this situation could become even more difficult as it was.

“Now’s the time, Commander of the Guard! Stella!”

But there was a plan prepared in advance for this.

As soon as I called out to them, the Commander of the Guard and Stella moved.

“People with oil bottles, come forward!”

“Fire arrows, stand by! We’ll pour oil on them and then shoot!”

Oil and fire arrows were prepared in advance to deal with the trolls.

Under the command of the Commander of the Guard, the soldiers moved quickly and accurately to deal with one of the trolls.

Whoosh!

Kwoooo! Wooooo!

The troll, set on fire, was in agony because of the fire, which was the polar opposite of its regeneration.

Even in the midst of that, it rampaged even more, and soldiers or knights could have been hurt, but this too had been prepared for.

“Protect those who fight against evil.”

Thump!

“The Holy Maiden has cast a shield! Don’t be afraid and fight!”

Stella’s prayer of protection blocked some of the soldiers’ damage, and the soldiers were able to regain their courage.

Thanks to that, it seemed that one of the two trolls could be left to them.

[Trial of Valor – Defeat the three troll brothers who are wandering around the camp.]

“Now there’s only one left.”

-Ggrrr…

The last remaining troll.

Among the three brothers, he was the largest and seemed special in some way.

“You’re not going to attack first?”

-Guuh-uk.

He was the same one who had gone berserk when the first one was killed.

But now, there was no trace of frenzy left.

Rather, he seemed to be calmly checking my movements.

It was proof that he wasn’t just relying on his violent instincts.

“Interesting. I’m glad I decided to attack the magic forest after all.”

I’m sure the experience and rewards would be great if I caught him.

It was absurd to just leave this experience goldmine alone.

“If you’re not going to come first, I’ll come to you!”

Tap!

Momentary acceleration.

Like I did with the first one I killed, I aimed for the tall troll’s blind spot: his lower body.

Kuworrrr!

Unlike the other one, he swung his club as if to sweep it rather than slam it down.

The movement becomes larger, but for me, it’s an attack that’s more difficult to avoid.

“But still slow.”

However, it’s not impossible to avoid if I try.

I avoided the sweeping attack by performing an acrobatic feat, spinning around in the air.

-Kuh-huh-huh.

“Laughing?”

Instead of getting angry that the attack missed, the troll was grinning, as if wrinkling his hideous face.

-Kwack! Kwack!

Immediately, he raised his club.

That alone didn’t mean much; even if he swung it, it was a bit too far to hit me.

Jiiiiii-

“Aura…!”

But when I saw a blue aura gathering on his club, I could sense that something was wrong.

Koo-oong!

The troll then slammed it into the ground.

Then, as if an earthquake had occurred, the surroundings shook.

I, who had jumped up for acrobatics and had just landed on the ground, was defenseless against the erratic earthquake attack.

“Kuh!”

I lost my balance and had to sit down for a moment.

Even if I tried to get up right away, my body wouldn’t listen properly due to the heavy impact.

-Khu-huh-huh…

The guy, thinking his trick had worked, came closer to finish me off with an evil smile.

“Ah, too bad.”

-Grrr?

But I didn’t feel any particular sense of crisis.

[You have used ‘Blessing of Purification – Freedom’.]

[Status abnormalities such as deceleration, stun, and confusion are immediately resolved.]

[300 divine power points are consumed.]

“I wasted precious divine power.”

It was just a waste to use the divine power I had gathered with such effort.

Soon, my body, which was half in a daze, was immediately restored.

Now that I could move quickly again, I slashed the ankle of the guy who had approached carelessly with my holy sword.

-Kaaaaagh!

Ankles severed in one fell swoop.

Of course, even if the entire ankle was cut off, the troll would regenerate quickly.

However, now that his ankle had been cut off, it was inevitable that he would sit down for a moment, physically.

“It’s over.”

Forcibly sitting down, his head came down to where the sword could reach.

That was enough to land the final blow.

A slash that cuts upwards.

The troll’s head was beheaded by the slash filled with aura.

Fwooooaaaaa!

The troll’s blood spurted like a fountain from his severed head.

“Collect the troll’s blood. That’s all money.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The soldiers, who had saved their lives, succeeded in the hunt, and were about to receive additional pay, wore beaming smiles even as they were covered in hot, sticky troll blood.

[Trial of Valor has been completed.]

[Acquired 500 divine power points]

[Combat power has increased by proving courage.]

[Current estimated combat power measurement: 3,428]

I also checked the status window and confirmed the rewards I had obtained.

The combat power measurement, which I had started checking at some point, was already over 3,000.

“I used up 300 divine power, but I still made a profit of 200.”

It was a bit of a shame. If I hadn’t used it, I would have gained 500 divine power.

With that, I could save divine power and use it to use stronger buffs, or I could save up the spare amount and use it for my internal affairs.

“It’s still burdensome because the consumption value is too high for other lines besides courage.”

The Blessing of Freedom I used earlier was divine power from the purification line.

Because of that, it cost 300 divine power even though it was a one-time buff.

There are many other useful blessings besides this, but there are no discounts at all except for the courage line blessings, which are Leonis’ line.

Leonis has a strong liking for me and is giving it to me, but the other gods aren’t.

Cheapskate bastards, are they still not convinced of me in their fields?

“Your Majesty, are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. More than that, it seems that Stella is gradually getting used to the magic forest.”

“Yes, even during my time as a trainee priestess, I had never been this deep.”

Come to think of it, as Stella said, we had already expanded the camp quite deep.

According to the Prime Minister, this was the first time in nearly 100 years that a power base had been formed this far into the magic forest.

There were quite a few hardships as much as that.

Just now, three trolls had appeared.

The soldiers and knights had to suffer, but it was a good thing for me because trials of valor were pouring in.

In fact, the soldiers were all willing to come forward as long as they didn’t die, because they were receiving additional pay through this hunt.

Moreover, the capital’s economy was also being revitalized by the products from the magic forest.

[List of available Trials of Valor]

[Trial of Valor – Silver Mane Wolf Hunt]

[Trial of Valor – Goblin Slayer]

“So what should I do next… Huh?”

After talking with Stella for a while, I was alone again and was wondering what to choose for the next trial.

These were days when I couldn’t even afford to rest in order to become stronger.

* * *

“This has become difficult. At this rate, I won’t be able to aim at all.”

Inside the magic forest, somewhere in the imperial army’s secured territory.

Suspicious people disguised as soldiers were gathered.

Of course, they weren’t soldiers. They were unwelcome guests called assassins.

“Who would have known this would happen? I didn’t even know that such a target would come to such a magic forest…”

“I didn’t know the emperor would be so strong either.”

It was a difficult situation for the assassins, who thought it would be an easier task than they had expected.

At first, they welcomed the fact that the target was heading to the magic forest.

Because in a dangerous place like the magic forest, defenses against assassination would be lax.

“But the level of the imperial army is higher than I thought. If we go back to the garrison camp, there’s virtually no gap to aim for.”

“How about putting poison in the supplies…?”

“There’s no way the target we’re aiming for wouldn’t detect it. Besides, there are purification cultists too.”

Therefore, poisoning is difficult to succeed.

If they used poison, there was even a high probability that they would notice.

“We’ll have to look for more opportunities first.”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to aim for when he was fighting the trolls today?”

When a fellow assassin expressed his regret, he clicked his tongue.

“You’re stupid, this is a mission where we can’t leave any witnesses. And you’re telling me to aim for that time?”

“Ugh, I’m sorry. I was short-sighted.”

When the assassin sent a murderous look, the colleague who had offered the opinion immediately raised both hands and apologized.

“Well, your opinion isn’t entirely wrong. It’s true that such a moment seemed like the only time we could try.”

At least the probability of a successful assassination itself would be higher during combat.

The only problem was that this assassination mission was more difficult because they couldn’t leave any witnesses.

Still, it seemed like a good opportunity would arise if they waited a little longer.

“Aim for that time.”

In the end, the assassins decided to be a little more patient.

However, it was uncertain when such an opportunity would come, so the assassins’ wait seemed like it would be long.

Even in the meantime, the emperor was getting stronger.