He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 239

Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor – Episode 239

“The enemies have completely retreated. There are no more obstacles on the route to the Celestial Realm.”

“It’s not time to be complacent yet. We must launch another landing operation as soon as we arrive.”

“I’m worried about the soldiers’ fatigue…”

“It can’t be helped. If this were just an ordinary base, I would have given them several days to rest.”

But if we fail to enter the Celestial Realm now, they will cut off the gate connected to it.

That would only be a half-baked victory. So, we had to push forward now and at least secure a foothold in the Celestial Realm.

“Tell the soldiers to hang in there a little longer. No, I shouldn’t just say that.”

I belatedly realized there was a better way than just encouraging them with words.

[Converts Imperial Soul into Divine Power.]

[Casts ‘Justia’s Radiance’.]

I went to the deck, spread my wings, and soared into the air, then shone Justia’s Radiance in front of the entire fleet.

“M-My wounds are healing.”

“I feel strangely energetic.”

“It’s a miracle, a miracle…!”

The wounds of everyone touched by the light were healed, and their vitality was fully restored. Even the critically injured on the verge of death were easily revived, so the soldiers cried out in awe at the miracle.

“Hmm, as expected, using Justia’s power for healing consumes a lot of Divine Power…”

Originally, Lustra of Purification would be more efficient for healing than Justia of Punishment, but the situation is different when you need to cast a wide-area heal in a hurry like now.

Although it consumes a lot of magic power and Divine Power, it could heal more people faster if needed.

Of course, it’s usually better to use it for its original purpose of ‘punishment’ as an offensive tool.

“Anyway, this will allow the soldiers to endure a little longer. Proceed with the operation immediately.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! All ships, full speed ahead!”

As the soldiers’ morale and vitality were recharged, the admiral was relieved and relaunched the fleet.

In fact, since the fleet battle had already been won, there were no more engagements between fleets.

As they passed through the gate into the Celestial Realm without much resistance, the soldiers outwardly admired the heavenly scenery, just like its name suggested.

“This is the Celestial Realm? It really reminds me of heaven.”

“Don’t be fooled by appearances. I heard it was corrupted thousands of years ago.”

Of course, the soldiers were not fooled by the appearance because they had been given prior briefings and mental preparation about the Celestial Race.

“Good news! The Acherus Resistance has already occupied our landing point. It seems we don’t have to carry out a forced landing operation.”

“That’s good. We can catch our breath for a moment.”

Although I had briefly invigorated the soldiers with divine magic, that alone could not completely replace proper rest.

Thanks to Acherus’s good work, the soldiers were able to buy some time to rest.

“Welcome, Your Majesty. We have been waiting for you.”

The Acherus Resistance general bowed politely to me.

It felt strange to have the Elder Race bowing to me again after the Elves, but it was no longer an unfamiliar feeling.

“Thank you for securing the landing point. Thanks to you, we were able to take a breather.”

“It’s nothing. This is what we should have done as allies.”

“If so, let’s get down to business. We must now conquer the Celestial Realm.”

We naturally moved on to a military conference.

The ultimate strategic goal is to pacify the Celestial Realm.

The Acherus Resistance forces were even more excited about this fact than our Imperial Army.

“Finally… an opportunity to drive out the usurper queen.”

“The usurper queen, I’ve heard Kaliel talk about her a few times. Was her name Minerva?”

“Yes, she stole Princess Justia’s rightful throne. Since then, she has ruled with tyranny. Both the Celestial Race, her own people, and the races of the terrestrial realm that she takes as slaves…”

The Acherus Resistance leader said, expressing deep resentment.

I nodded as if in agreement.

“Then we must win. But to do so, we must know all the strategic elements of this Celestial Realm.”

I had infiltrated this place once before, but that alone was not enough to know all of its characteristics.

But the Resistance leader nodded as if there was nothing to worry about.

“We will tell you about that. First of all, the palace where the queen resides is on the top floor of this Celestial Realm.”

“Can we raid that place with the fleet?”

The shape of the Celestial Realm is like a skyscraper, with a structure that goes up and up.

Using airships, we could directly attack the top floor without having to walk up the middle floors.

But the Resistance leader shook his head.

“No. That’s too dangerous. The defense system is so strong that it’s impossible to attack with the fleet alone.”

“Then we have to use ground troops?”

“Yes, we must at least neutralize some of the anti-air defense system. Fortunately, a significant portion of it will be paralyzed if the power supply is cut off, so we can suppress it by deploying ground troops.”

“But the enemy won’t just stand still. Fortunately, we annihilated their fleet.”

Of course, the enemies have a fleet left in the colony dimension. If that fleet returns, we will have to fight another fleet battle, but if we fight before that, we don’t need to worry about them right now.

“Then, as soon as we finish resting, we’ll launch an offensive-”

-Are you the emperor of the Empire?

“…!”

It was then, as the military conference was coming to an end.

A Celestial woman, who I didn’t know when she had arrived, was standing there.

The chief of the guard swung his sword and beheaded her as soon as her presence was detected, but it was an elaborate illusion, and he only cut through the air.

-A crude welcome. Is this the way of your Empire?

“You’re an uninvited guest and sent an illusion, yet you expected to be welcomed? More importantly, who are you?”

“Your Majesty, that woman is the usurper queen, Minerva.”

The Resistance leader glared at her, expressing hatred.

-Hmph, the cowards stuck in Acherus are now emboldened.

“Shut up, usurper! You will not live to see your end!”

Soon, they began to snarl at each other. I didn’t have any particular reason to be friendly, but I decided to listen to what she had to say, even if she was the leader of the enemy country who had come to talk.

“More importantly, why did you come here? If you’re going to surrender, you’re welcome, for now.”

-I propose a conditional surrender. If you withdraw from the Celestial Realm at this point, I will give up the Game of the Gods. I’ll even give you the floating island as a gift.”

Hearing her words, I raised the corner of my mouth. Not because I liked the offer, but because I was dumbfounded.

“You think I’ll accept a surrender with just that? Sadly, it’s sorely lacking.”

-Why? If I step aside, you can only gain without shedding any more blood, right?

“That’s why I’m even more dumbfounded. Do you think I’m the kind of guy who would abandon his allies and only take the immediate benefits?”

Withdrawing here meant betraying the Acherus Resistance and being satisfied with only obtaining the floating island.

Of course, there was no way I would accept that.

-They’re not even your imperial citizens, so why are you trying to fight for them?

“You still don’t know, but it’s not exactly like that anymore. At least they are like brothers who follow Justia.”

-…Justia.

It seems she knows Justia. Well, she did steal the throne that should have returned to her.

-She keeps getting in my way until the end. That detestable woman.

“Well, I’m not interested in what’s going on between you and her. However, the only choice left for you now is unconditional surrender. That’s the only thing I can accept.”

-Hmph… how arrogant. But things won’t go your way.”

What confidence does she have now? I had that thought, but soon I could see the basis for her confidence.

“Urgent report! The enemy colonial fleet is opening the gate and trying to return!”

“Return gates are being created from all directions! We’ll be surrounded if we’re not careful!”

Soon, reports from naval officers followed one after another. Each of those reports made me think that it was like a trap set by the Celestial Race.

-Your surprise attack was certainly fierce. To the point where I wanted to negotiate nicely if possible. But did you think we would be helpless?

“You urgently called the fleet back in advance. Are you trying to trap us and annihilate us?”

-Do you think I can’t?

Interesting. Well, I didn’t think we would win this easily.

“Good, go ahead and try. But keep this in mind. The next time we meet, one of you and I will die.”

-I’m looking forward to it, Emperor.”

With those words, the illusion disappeared.

“…I bluffed a lot. I hope they say there’s a way.”

“The situation isn’t great, but there is a way. We need to close those gates quickly.”

“Is there a way to close them?”

“Don’t you know? We came here by fighting a fleet battle before the gate closed. That means…”

“The gate control is on this side, not that side.”

Well, strictly speaking, what they have to protect is the Celestial Realm, not the colony.

Then it makes sense to lock and open the door from inside the house, not the other way around.

And we were already inside that house.

If someone tries to enter this house, all we have to do is lock the door.

“But can we manipulate that door?”

“Of course, it’s possible. However, we must push back the front lines and secure control of each gate.”

“Of course, we have to do it before the fleet returns.”

In other words, it’s a time attack. If we miss the time, the fleet will cross over and our navy will have to take risks.

“I don’t know if we can close them all…”

“The Imperial Navy is always ready to fight.”

“It’s not that I don’t know your determination. But fighting isn’t just about determination. But… we have to do our best.”

There was only one choice we could make without having to make a decision.

Since we can’t let the fleet sit idle, we have no choice but to recapture control while steadily receiving artillery support from the ground forces’ advance.

In this case, the vertical structure of the Celestial Realm was actually helpful to us. We can reach the artillery fire just by increasing the altitude.

“Soldiers. There is no retreat, no surrender. We will help the Empire’s allies here and win. Even if you die, die standing up.”

“Long live the Emperor!”

“Long live the Empire!”

“Everyone to your battle stations!”

Everyone scattered after shouting cheers as if to strengthen their resolve.

I stared at them for a moment, then looked back at the Celestial Realm.

I suddenly remembered what Justia had said when I infiltrated Acherus in the past. She asked what kind of empire I wanted to create.

“I don’t even know what it will look like now.”

But one thing was certain.

It was time to return the light that Justia had given to the Empire to her homeland.

-Thank you.

It was as if I could hear her whisper.