He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 226

I Became the Crazy Emperor – Episode 226

The Temple of the Purification Order.

The temple, which I had seen a long time ago, was now very different.

At first, it honored the water that symbolized Lustra of Purification.

But soon, the flames of purification were added, and flame shapes were engraved throughout the temple.

After that, recently, doctrines regarding the ‘connivance’ of the Undead were added. As far as I know, they describe them as ‘beings who follow the light even in death’.

I don’t know if Vostok would be shocked to hear this, or if he would nod in agreement.

But I wasn’t exactly uninvolved in this matter either.

One more thing, one of the doctrines being added not only to the Purification Order but to the entire Imperial Church was none other than the worship of me, the Emperor.

“Stella.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Did I interrupt your prayer?”

“No, I was praying for you anyway.”

Stella smiled and pointed to my statue. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well, what did it answer in prayer?”

“What do you want it to answer?”

“No, even if you ask me that, I don’t know. I guess I’m not a god who listens to prayers.”

We exchanged lighthearted jokes. I looked at the statue, which was made too dignified and didn’t resemble me much, and said,

“I heard that a disease is spreading in the Eastern Territory.”

“Yes, we are suppressing it, but it is spreading subtly, little by little. If left unchecked, it will soon spread throughout the Empire.”

Stella dipped her hand into the holy water on one side of the temple. Then, images of several villages appeared in the holy water.

All were covered in a magical disease, and the villagers were suffering from it.

But the most striking thing was the sight of burning corpses and… corpses that couldn’t be burned rising like the living.

“Hmm… not good.”

It looked like a zombie virus straight out of a zombie apocalypse. Well, I don’t honestly know if it’s a virus or not.

Even if it can be healed with divine power here… it will be troublesome if the rate of spread becomes faster.

“The cause is… needless to say, the Undead Legion, right?”

“Yes, they are spreading it. Through this.”

The scenery reflected in the holy water changes. A huge spring was reflected there.

It was a spring of life that didn’t originally exist in the Empire, created after the Great Cataclysm [a major, world-altering event].

It had a tremendous healing effect in itself, so it was considered a blessing from Lustra [Goddess of Purification]….

“It’s contaminated.”

“Yes, they are still fighting over it. In the meantime, one day they contaminated the spring and left.”

“What did you do with the spring now? Are we in control?”

“It’s a hotbed of disease, so all the soldiers were bitten. But if we leave it as it is, it will continue to spread the disease.”

They are somehow disinfecting it, but there is a limit to suppressing it.

“What’s the solution?”

“Destruction.”

“…I thought you were going to say purification?”

“I’ve already tried it. But no matter how much divine power I pour into it, it’s useless.”

Stella sighed deeply.

“If Lustra-nim [formal title for Lustra] would give us a revelation…….”

“No word?”

“Yes, strangely enough.”

“Well, there’s no need to rely on that.”

Even without the permission or revelation of the gods, we will eliminate everything that stands in our way.

“If we have to destroy it, we will destroy even the holy land of the gods.”

So there’s no need to hesitate.

We should take one more step in the time we hesitate.

For the Empire.

* * *

The spring of life that sprang up during the Great Cataclysm was not fully identified.

Most people just assumed it was Lustra’s sanctuary.

In fact, there had been miracles of incurable diseases being cured by the spring of life, so it was understandable that they interpreted it that way.

“But now it’s completely contaminated.”

The clear, blue spring was now filled with sticky green mucus.

I had tried to purify it several times with my divine power, but it was useless.

Clearly, even if I physically removed the mucus, it kept appearing from somewhere.

Clearly, it’s not that divine power doesn’t work, but that even if I purify it with divine power, contamination is constantly occurring.

That’s why Stella couldn’t purify it.

So it was natural to destroy it without a trace.

I took out Silver Rose and infused it with the flames of purification.

It wasn’t to purify it, but to burn this place to ashes.

-It won’t work.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, I heard someone whispering.

I looked in the direction of the voice, holding the sword that was burning brightly.

It was clearly heard from the contaminated spring.

-Sword, to the spring, closer.

Someone’s voice. I was drawn to it and brought the sword closer to the spring.

Then, for a moment, the mucus covering the spring disappeared due to the flames of purification.

As the mucus disappeared and blue water was revealed, the protagonist of the voice was revealed in it.

“Lustra.”

-Emperor.

“Why are you in such a place?”

A calm-looking woman with blue hair.

She resembled Stella, but she had an appearance befitting the name of the Goddess of Purification.

However, the place reflected on the surface of the water was not a place that suited her.

A place full of evil contamination on all sides, an unidentified place.

I asked why she was in such a place, but Lustra gave a different answer.

-You must not destroy the spring. It’s a trap.

“A trap?”

-The moment you destroy it, the disease of destruction dwelling in the spring will spread everywhere.

“That’s why I’m trying to destroy it, to prevent the disease from spreading? Because I can’t purify it…….”

-It’s impossible. That spring was never meant to be a spring of life.

“……!”

What is this supposed to mean?

* * *

“I see, that spring of life was a disguise. In fact, it must have been a spring full of diseases for destruction and death.”

Vostok, who had heard the whole story, grasped the situation and said.

“But it clearly healed diseases…….”

“The Undead Lords are not weak to deception. Moreover, there is one guy who is likely to use this kind of trick.”

“Who is it?”

“Pestras, the Lord of Disease. He is the most vile and insidious of the Undead Lords. But at the same time… he is a very strong guy.”

Vostok said this while glancing at the surface of the spring where Lustra was reflected.

“From what I can see, the place where Lustra is, is where he is. I can see his magic power around him.”

-That’s right, Eastern Duke. And it’s a place you’re familiar with.

Vostok nodded.

“That far east, the land where only death and darkness remain. It’s Darkland [a desolate, corrupted region]. Are you in Pestras’s territory there? You’re not captured, are you?”

Fortunately, Lustra shook her head at Vostok’s question.

-That’s not the case, but it’s not a safe situation either.

“Lustra, going to such a place recklessly was not a good choice.”

I scolded Lustra a little, but she shook her head.

-I had no choice to stop him. If I had left him alone, the entire western continent where we are would have become Darkland.”

“Hmm…….”

Even if I don’t know, considering the scheme using this spring, Lustra’s words were not wrong.

If we hadn’t destroyed it, a fatal contamination would have continued to spread.

Conversely, if we had destroyed it, the terrible destruction they intended would have spread everywhere.

Vostok was late in realizing this, so it would have been touch-and-go if it hadn’t been for Lustra.

“Then what should we do now? If we can’t destroy the spring…….”

-You have to purify it. It’s impossible with ordinary methods, but it’s possible if you take Pestras’s relic.”

The relics of death, the symbols and weaknesses of the power that all the Undead Lords possess.

If we take that, there might be a way. But then where is Pestras?

“That cunning guy hid after using this trick. Spreading disease and waging a war of attrition is his favorite method.”

“But the location itself was found through Lustra. Even if it’s far away, we can go using the warp gate. But the problem is the army.”

If Pestras has an army, we must also bring an army.

However, it is difficult to bring an army composed of humans to this battle easily. Naturally, they are likely to get sick and die.

“I will bring my vampire legion. They are immune to disease.”

“Your Majesty, the Legions can also withstand disease. Please allow us to punish the enemies of the Empire!”

“Priests and crusaders with deep faith can also fight. We will join this crusade!”

Fortunately, there were resources of troops.

The best people to utilize are Vostok’s vampire legions.

They are strong, but above all, they are immune to disease. And they can also use powerful blood magic.

The Legion-Paladins, the Legions of the Eastern Territory that I trained, could also be mobilized.

As powerful knights and at the same time able to freely use divine spells, they are a powerful force against evil enemies.

And even if they are not Legions, crusaders made up of paladins, priests, and soldiers with deep faith could resist disease to some extent.

“Good, let’s all go together.”

“Wait, Father. I will go with you too.”

“Daphnen, you’re going too? No, it’s too dangerous.”

Daphnen rarely showed his youthful spirit and asked to participate.

But I wanted to dissuade him if possible. Stella was also staying in the Eastern Territory, so I thought it would be better for him to be with her if possible.

“Both Mother and Father are dedicated to the Empire. As a son, I don’t want to be only in a safe place. I can fight too.”

“You don’t necessarily have to.”

“No! It’s absurd to say that just because I’m the Emperor’s son, I don’t have to go through hardships! I want to share the trials as one of the Empire’s citizens, not as the Emperor’s son.”

“…….”

Seeing Daphnen, who was giving a passionate speech, I was embarrassed and proud at the same time.

Honestly, he could have just lived a life of luxury as the Emperor’s son, but he was a child with deeper faith and a sense of duty than anyone else.

Of course, a father’s heart doesn’t want to take his son to a dangerous battlefield, but he couldn’t help but be pleased to see his son grow up well.

“Okay, I allow you to join the army. But I will not allow you to invite danger. I appreciate your passion, but know the weight of your bloodline.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

With Daphnen joining, we quickly hurried to dispatch troops.

As expected of the Eastern Territory, where faith is extraordinary, paladins, crusaders, and chaplains were competing to join the army.

There was a possibility of exceeding the appropriate number, so I had to screen the applicants appropriately.

“Lustra, I’m going there now. I would like to hear more details when I arrive there.”

-Okay. But be careful, the moment you set foot in Darkland, all the Undead Lords will notice. Not just Pestras.”

It meant going into the middle of enemy territory. But I wasn’t afraid.