He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 203

“So, you recognize me. Does that mean you’re on my side? Or the opposite?”

“Of course, we intend to side with you.”

“If your goal is to reclaim the Celestial Realm, you don’t necessarily need me, do you?”

Naturally, I didn’t immediately trust those I was meeting for the first time.

They were capable of demanding an alliance from the Creator God under the same conditions, even without me.

This was different from the Human Federation, which considered me an ally from the start, purely as a ‘human.’

“Hmph, we’re not fools. If we act like bats [be indecisive and switch sides], do you think you’d spare us?”

“Absolutely not. I commend you for understanding your place. So, you’re saying you want to form an alliance with us?”

“Of course. If you help us, we will also help you.”

OK. These guys are a neutral force that can be won over.

If they were the type that couldn’t be swayed, like Ambassador James said, I was planning to wipe them out, so this worked out well.

“Let’s go to the Imperial Palace to discuss the details further.”

* * *

“Are you planning to ally with them? It’s usually better to plunder or conquer neutral forces whenever possible.”

“We will not treat those who have helped us that way, Ambassador James. Refrain from such remarks in the future.”

“You are a man of virtue. I understand.”

It turned out that the Dark Knights had done us even more favors.

They had evacuated villagers who were about to be kidnapped by nearby Celestial beings and protected them in their castle.

Of course, we couldn’t give them too much in return for that, but I could confirm that they were trustworthy enough to form an alliance with us.

However, a problem arose elsewhere.

“Are you the one who dares to call himself an emperor of an empire?”

Other guys had come to the Imperial Palace. They were none other than the envoys from those Celestial bastards whose wings I had torn off earlier.

The arrogant attitude of them made all the officials in the Imperial Palace glare at him with murderous intent.

Especially the Commander of the Imperial Guard and the Legions would have rushed forward and dismembered them on the spot if I hadn’t stopped them with a gesture.

“What if I am?”

“Hmph, as expected of a primitive race that walks on the ground, you have no manners.”

“It’s you guys who have no manners. Ah, it’s okay. We understand. It’s normal to be bird-brained if you’re flying in the sky. Isn’t that right?”

“What!”

They’re the ones picking a fight, and they’re the ones getting angry. What a sight.

“Stop acting like morons and tell me why you’re here.”

“……Ahem, very well. Then I will state our demands.”

They were openly stating ‘demands.’ Pathetic creatures, are they really bird-brained?

“Aren’t you going to say what these demands are for?”

“Of course, it’s for peace!”

“What if I refuse, even before hearing them?”

“It’s war! We have come to deliver an ultimatum! If you refuse, it’s war within fifteen days!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at their absurd attitude, but I decided to listen for now.

“First, you are forbidden from calling yourselves an empire, and the title of emperor must be relinquished, demoting you to a kingdom. The territory of the empire will be divided and made independent into separate small countries.”

“I don’t know if it’s worth listening anymore, but keep blathering.”

From here, there was no room for negotiation. They were already acting like the victorious nation before even invading. Well, if we’re going to be enemies anyway, what couldn’t they do?

But I decided to listen to what they had to say for now.

“Your native religion is forbidden, and everyone must convert to the Celestial Church.”

“Next.”

“You must provide manpower, resources, and troops whenever we demand it.”

“Is that all?”

“I will add one more thing.”

Thud-

They pointed to the Dark Knights who were in a corner of the Imperial Palace.

“Hand over those traitors. If you do not hand them over, I swear you will be treated as the lowest of slaves.”

“I refuse.”

I refused without the slightest hesitation.

“I reject all the empty demands you have made. It wasn’t worth listening to, but I listened because you were nominally envoys of a force. You should be grateful.”

“You dare to think you’ll be safe after this?”

“I’ll return those words to you.”

Swish-

I drew Silver Rose and aimed it at his neck. Before he knew it, the Celestial envoy, who had risen from the throne, couldn’t do anything until the blade was aimed at his neck.

Soon, all the surrounding Imperial Guards and Legions aimed their swords at them.

Even the guards brought by Ambassador James aimed their loaded muskets.

“Did you think you’d be safe after this? After giving such an insult to me and the empire?”

“Y-you bastard……!”

“I want to cut your head off right now, but…… we don’t kill messengers. Go back and tell them to come whenever they want to invade.”

I gestured for them to be removed, and the Imperial Guards threatened them to leave the Imperial Palace.

“Mark my words! You’ll regret this!”

Of course, they didn’t leave quietly and spouted lines like third-rate villains.

Of course, they wouldn’t just stand still. Soon, Ambassador James spoke.

“In this case, they will continue to raid our territory.”

“There is no compromise.”

As he said, they would raid and kidnap the imperial citizens. I don’t know what they plan to use the kidnapped people for, but it seems they need people.

“Not a single person, not a single inch of land can be given up. We will not give up anything and will take everything from them.”

“Oho, indeed! I like it. You must be that great to be called an empire!”

Ambassador James clapped. It feels strange to be praised by an imperialist.

“Thank you for not betraying our trust for us, Your Majesty.”

“I did what was natural. Commander Kaliel. The empire does not abandon allies who keep their word.”

“However, our people have suffered because of us. We will not stand idly by in our history.”

It’s a kind thing to say, but unlike them, what can you do if you can’t fly?

Of course, I would be grateful if you could at least try to protect people like today.

“In that regard, I have something to say. As you know, their greatest strength lies in flight. To counter them, we will need the same flight corps [flying military unit].”

“That’s true, but it’s not easy, which is the problem.”

Flying in this world is not an ‘unknown area.’ Mages can use magic or tame flying beasts to fly, albeit in a limited way.

However, there are too few mages now, and almost all the flying beasts that can be tamed are extinct.

“We have a way. If you provide us with food resources, we can summon Dark Gryphons from the Dark Dimension.”

“I don’t think we’ll have time to tame them?”

“They are already tamed. The Dark Dimension is our base. We are bringing gryphons that are already prepared from there.”

Oh, it was like a game system.

“But food resources…….”

“We need that too. And wouldn’t we need a lot of food for the workers who will be mining ore in the mineral zone?”

The problem is that there is a limit to the amount of food the empire can provide.

It will take time to produce food again after the refugees have ruined their farms, and food is also consumed to relieve those refugees.

We can’t just give it away as much as we need.

“That’s difficult. Gryphons must eat a lot- huh? Wait a minute.”

But the food that we have to provide to the Dark Knights is going to be eaten by the Gryphons anyway, right?

“Kaliel, I want to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Those Gryphons, they’re not herbivores, are they?”

If they only eat meat anyway, we don’t necessarily have to give them bread, right?

* * *

-Moo-oo-oo! Charge! Kill the humans!

Thump, thump, thump!

“The, the cow-men are attacking! Run away!”

The turmoil caused by the Great Change continued to occur.

In particular, the neutral forces that appeared in the Central Territory quickly sided with the Celestial beings of the Sky Islands and were actively attacking the imperial citizens.

The Minotaur race, with the upper body of a cow, was one of them.

“F, for the empire!”

Clang!

“Kugh!”

“Moo-oo-oo! Humans, weak. Weak humans eat our kind. Now it’s time to take revenge.”

“Damn cow…….”

With an average physique better than humans, they immediately raided human villages and kidnapped or killed people.

Even now, it was a Minotaur warrior trying to kill an imperial soldier who had taken courage for the last time.

Screech- Thud!

“……!”

At that time, something snatched the Minotaur from the sky and took it away.

The imperial soldier could only blink his eyes at the sudden event.

“Moo-oo?! G, Gryphon!”

-Byak!

Gryphons were flying in the sky, snatching Minotaurs.

They took the walking beef as food and filled their hungry stomachs.

“Knights, charge! Let’s make food for the Gryphons!”

“Ooooo!”

Soon, knights riding horses or combat wolves like Silver charged and swept away the Minotaurs.

Even if they tried to run away, there were Gryphons flying in the sky, so not a single one escaped and became their food.

“There are many neutral forces, so there was no need to worry about food in the first place.”

Not enough Gryphon food? Then give them enemies as food, right?

There was such a simple solution.

Of course, it’s somewhat cruel to throw intelligent beings as food, even if they’re not human…….

‘Anyway, those guys are the same, killing humans or making them food, right?’

So, what if I kill some to protect my people? No, it’s rather outrageous. We were living well, but they suddenly appeared and harassed my people.

It’s inevitable to protect my oppressed people. Yes, that’s right.

Bang! Tatang!

“It’s still the musket stage, but that’s not bad either.”

“Although it’s closer to the Tercio tactics [a military formation used in the 16th and 17th centuries] than line infantry, gunpowder ignition is much cheaper than magic ignition.”

I nodded at Ambassador James’ words after watching the battle.

Magic ignition is not necessarily worse than gunpowder ignition, but it has an overwhelming disadvantage in one area.

That’s the price. And it’s picky about the user.

The magic ignition gun, which requires engraving a magic circuit, is incredibly expensive to manufacture. Magic stones, mages, and even magic sensitivity are required for ignition.

It’s ridiculously expensive, and even the users are picky, so it’s difficult to exert the quantitative advantage of the gun, which is the advantage of the gun.

Of course, there were some advantages. It’s easier to reload, relatively easier to fire in bursts, and less prone to failure than gunpowder ignition, and above all, the biggest advantage is that you only need bullets without gunpowder.

But as you can see now, it’s difficult to create hundreds of soldiers carrying muskets. The fact that all of them are new recruits without magical talent is also a great strength of gunpowder ignition guns.

“Your Majesty seems strong even alone, but the true power of the empire comes from the army. Only by possessing a more powerful and greater number of troops will the empire’s well-being be promised.”

“Of course, that’s right, Ambassador James. But I’m not satisfied with just this.”

It’s too early to be satisfied with just that.

“I want more amazing things.”

“But that requires research technology to progress…….”

“The technology research has already been done.”

“It’s been done?”

James asked with a puzzled look. I nodded.

“I’ll show you Prospera’s report.”

The arrangement left by the empire 1,500 years ago was about to shine.