He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 197

“Fire!”

KWA-BOOOOM!

-Kuuuuuuuuu….

The expedition’s progress was, frankly, slow.

Giant Guardian monsters appeared endlessly.

At first, Duke Conrad tried to break through by actively deploying mercenaries and knights, but he soon changed his mind due to the increasing losses.

At this rate, even if they broke through, they would arrive at their destination exhausted.

So, he eventually chose to advance slowly using cannons.

It was a method that would consume a lot of time and resources, but it was a way to preserve the expedition’s strength as much as possible.

“Even a turtle would be faster than this. Well, it’s because I’m not helping.”

If I sincerely lent a hand, I could increase the speed of the advance, but there was no reason to do so.

The more the Dawnlight Society spent on funds and resources, the more money returned to the Empire, so there was no reason to help them when it wasn’t detrimental to me.

But even at a snail’s pace, they would eventually reach their destination.

“We’ve finally arrived! This is the Silent Battlefield!”

After defeating countless monsters in the lush, overgrown Demon Realm, they arrived at a massive battlefield.

“Originally, the Demon Realm wasn’t this wide or filled with this much demonic energy. But the War of the End that took place on this battlefield created this massive spatial rift! Behold the overwhelming spectacle!”

Duke Conrad delivered his impassioned speech.

It wasn’t just his words, but everyone was overwhelmed by the sight of the battlefield.

“Good heavens, what is all that?”

“Legendary war machines and ancient imperial soldiers.”

“I see demons too. All… trapped in time and space.”

The Silent Battlefield.

As its name suggested, it was a place where silence reigned.

Holding the time when the saddest and most magnificent war occurred, the spirits of the dead and the silent war machines were asleep in the spatial rift.

“It’s ominous. It’s impossible to pass through here!”

“Oh… Imperial guardian deities, protect us.”

The sight was so overwhelming that some people’s morale broke for a moment. Some deeply religious people recited prayers as if they had seen something unholy.

“Everyone, don’t be shaken! Beyond that lies a treasure more valuable than anything else in the world! If you obtain it, I, Duke Conrad Devillish von Avalache, promise to give you wealth that you won’t run out of even if you use it for the rest of your lives, and endless honor!”

Duke Conrad’s words boosted their morale.

Wealth and honor.

Everyone gathered here was looking for that.

Of course, it would be impossible to walk into that ominous place with just a little money.

So everyone hesitated. But Conrad already knew that.

Clatter-

“Additional pay! Those who go as the vanguard now will take this! Double if you come back alive!”

He took out three or four more boxes filled with gold coins and showed them off.

Then, greed flickered in the eyes of those who hesitated. And their greed temporarily pushed back their fear.

“A, alright! What’s the difference between dying once or twice!”

“If we come back alive, that alone is a jackpot. It’s not difficult.”

“I’ll go! Cowards can stay behind!”

In the end, those who mustered courage took the lead. In my opinion, it was more recklessness than courage.

‘It probably won’t go smoothly… I should watch for now.’

These people are imperial citizens, but they are not people I can simply see as good.

They are people who were blinded by wealth and fame and followed a suspicious person on their own.

Of course, even if that’s not a sin, they have to bear the choices they made.

So even if a significant number of them die, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“I, I’m going.”

Soon, the vanguard departed. The goal was to see what effect the battlefield had.

They trembled as they moved into the place where time and space seemed distorted.

“I, it’s not as bad as I thought?”

But contrary to expectations that something would go wrong, they were doing better than expected.

The debris floating around, the soldiers frozen as if dead, all seemed to be watching them aloofly.

“Each and every one of them is at the level of a precious relic. If I take just one….”

“No! Don’t touch it!”

“Huh?”

Swoosh!

But the moment someone couldn’t overcome their greed and touched the stopped space-time, their neck was cut off by an invisible blade.

“H, Hik!”

“W, what did he die from? What is it?”

Seeing the man’s neck floating in the air after being cut off, the rest were in extreme fear.

Woo-woo-woong-

A clear noise like a crystal ringing echoed.

It was a beautiful sound, but it didn’t take long to realize that it was a melody of slaughter.

Swish! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Invisible, transparent blades flew in from somewhere.

The mercenaries who went out as the vanguard were literally massacred.

Those who made quick decisions could survive a little longer by lying down. While others who didn’t have that much sense died, they crawled out of there.

“S, save me!”

Thwack!

But they couldn’t return to the main camp safely either. When the last dead man’s head rolled to the front of the main camp, no one could easily make even a groan for a while.

“C, crazy!”

“This is suicide!”

“I didn’t come here to do this! I wouldn’t go there no matter how much money they give me!”

Soon after, mercenaries protested like a dam bursting.

It was a natural reaction since they wouldn’t have expected this.

Even if they knew, the feeling is different from seeing what’s in front of them. Now that they realized that life is more precious than money, they said they would return the employment fee they received and go back.

“Oh, shouldn’t a mercenary fulfill the contract if they made one?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! We came here to make money, not to die! In the first place, money isn’t paid if you die, so what are you talking about!”

“I’ll pay the penalty, so let me go back!”

The mercenaries’ attitude was extremely reasonable.

Mercenaries are those who are willing to go to the battlefield for money, but they are not those who are willing to die in vain.

Rather, they are the ones who know how to measure the value between life and money better than anyone else. If they receive unreasonable demands from their employer, they would pay a penalty and quit immediately.

“I’m sorry, but that won’t work.”

Clank, clank, clank-

When Duke Conrad gave a signal, his direct troops, who were his followers, pointed their guns.

Everyone had a magic-triggered gun. Standing in line like line infantry.

In addition to them, a significant number of freelance knights were on the Duke’s side, ready to slaughter the mercenaries at any time.

“W, what are you doing?”

“What is it? I’m helping you fulfill your contract.”

“This is tyranny! Are you even a honorable nobleman!”

“Ha!”

Taang!

“Cough!”

The Duke fired a magic-triggered pistol without hesitation at the mercenary who was resisting.

The mercenary, shot in the neck, died pouring out blood.

“I’ll say it again. Go back and fulfill the contract. Then you won’t die by my hand. Also, if you come back alive, I will give you a small reward.”

“Keugh….”

The mercenaries didn’t seem to want to, but they seemed to have no choice in front of the lined-up guns.

Even if they drew their swords and resisted, they had no way to deal with the waiting knights.

There were knights who did not intervene in this situation, but they also looked confused.

“Wait.”

“Hmm? What’s going on, Shadow Duke?”

“I want to go with them.”

“…What? What do you mean?”

Duke Conrad looked at me with a look that he couldn’t understand why I suddenly stepped in.

I smiled wryly and said to him.

“After all, if you just send these people, they’ll only die. I’ll go with them and remove the traps in front of us.”

“Traps? Was this a trap?”

“Yes. I saw what it was just now.”

The deaths of the vanguard may have been meaningless for them, but not for me.

Thanks to them, I clearly saw what the problem was ahead.

“Is that true?”

“Yes, but I’ll leave my Legions behind.”

I didn’t want to take the Legions because it was a threatening trap for them too.

Even if the Legions could withstand such ‘blades of space-time,’ that would be a problem in its own way.

Conrad would see that and be suspicious.

At least I have to go with Conrad until he gets the Dice of the Gods in his hands.

The Dice of the Gods was a dangerous thing, so I needed someone to touch it for me first.

“Shadow Duke, isn’t it too dangerous? How about ordering the lower-ranked soldiers and staying in a safe place?”

“That’s not my style. Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

Rejecting Duke Conrad’s dissuasion, I walked among the mercenaries.

“Y, Your Excellency. Are you really going with us? But….”

“I know it’s dangerous. But if you do as I say, you can come back alive. Got it?”

“Y, yes, I understand!”

I said words that would give them as much hope as possible.

The mercenaries seemed to have gained courage again, perhaps because they gained hope from those words.

“Now, do you see that shining in the distance? Those crystal-like things seem to be crystal cores spread out around here. They are temporarily revealed. Perhaps they were revealed in a state of alert thanks to the vanguard just now.”

“T, then those things just now…?”

“Yes, those things threw those invisible blades.”

And those blades are also threatening to me. No matter how strong I am, I would be cut off if I just got hit.

Besides, it’s hard to cut them off because they’re invisible. It’s also difficult to fly and deal with them openly. They’ll fly like an anti-aircraft barrage and dice me in an instant.

“If you buy me some time, I’ll take care of those things.”

“T, to buy time means….”

“Scatter as much as possible and scatter the blades those things throw. Of course, there’s no need to get hit on purpose, so keep your posture as low as possible and lie down if necessary.”

“…T, that’s a dangerous method.”

“But this is the only way.”

Perhaps those things are 1,500-year-old traps to prevent those who approach this place.

A powerful defense device created before the Empire’s civilization retreated once.

So it wasn’t easy for me either. Moreover, I have a penalty to restrain my strength a bit, so it’s even more so.

“But you can live. Repeat scattering as much as possible, quickly crouching, and running away. Got it? You have to confuse those things as much as possible so that everyone can live.”

“…I understand. I’ll do my best.”

“Okay, let’s get started.”

Not long after I finished speaking, I and the mercenaries headed to the slaughterhouse that had devoured the vanguard.