He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 249

The machine gun’s effectiveness was greater than expected, but it wasn’t a cure-all.

First, the enemies weren’t fools; they didn’t recklessly charge without a plan. Simply retreating significantly reduced casualties from the machine gun fire.

Of course, some defended the front lines. They were mowed down by the hail of bullets, but this rapidly consumed ammunition.

If I had focused solely on pushing the front lines like this, we would have quickly reached the limit of our offensive.

“But if we occupy a stronghold they must recapture, we won’t have to worry about that.”

Defense is more advantageous than offense, especially if we can force the enemy to attack.

“As you say. That place seems to be a relic of the Creator God.”

“I’ve always wondered, why ‘Creator God’? Is he truly the creator of everything?”

“We can’t know for sure. But even if he is, that’s no reason to submit to him.”

“Of course not.”

Just because a god created the world doesn’t necessarily make him benevolent.

In my past life, popular religions with universal doctrines were common, but even on Earth, some religions worshiped evil gods.

Even Greek and Roman mythology is full of flawed gods, isn’t it? While their creator gods weren’t necessarily evil, they weren’t exactly friendly to humans either.

The term ‘god’ itself doesn’t inherently imply good or evil, and the Creator God is no different. Considering his actions, isn’t he a typical evil god?

“Well, no matter what he is, what matters is our next move. So, what should we do now…”

Should we wait for them to attack and then annihilate them?

Or should we raid the ruins first?

Strategically, waiting is wiser. There’s no point in exploring the ruins with a threat at our backs.

“The problem is their lukewarm response.”

“Could they have figured out our numbers?”

“Maybe. Rasgar isn’t stupid.”

Even if we occupy the ruins, they know we can’t explore them leisurely with a potential attack looming. This explains their slower-than-expected movements.

“Quite unexpected… are the ruins not that valuable?”

“Unlikely. Magic detection indicates a significant defense system inside. The ruins are undoubtedly important.”

“Then they’re stalling for time.”

Why?

To wait for Rasgar? Or…

“They might already be doing something inside the ruins.”

“Surely not? How could they know when we’d arrive…?”

“We don’t. Someone might have stayed behind. Or they activated a device.”

It’s possible, and a reasonable assumption. If so, we must change our plans.

“We must explore the ruins first, while the army prepares a defensive perimeter. The enemy might rush in.”

“Are you going yourself, Your Majesty?”

“It’s best. The army has machine guns to handle most threats. However, the Captain of the Guard will stay here. I’ll go to the ruins alone.”

“Your Majesty, what dangers might be inside…?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m going alone. Besides, the place where I’m *not* is more dangerous.”

When the enemy attacks, Rasgar might lead them.

Without me, the army could be easily defeated. But with the Captain of the Guard and the Legions, they can hold their own. That’s why I’m leaving him in charge.

“Then I’ll leave the rear to you, Captain of the Guard.”

“I won’t retreat a single step until Your Majesty returns.”

“There’s no need for that… well, be reasonable.” [Referring to not being reckless]

With that, I walked alone toward the ruins.

* * *

The Creator God’s ruins looked like old, ruined ruins from the outside.

But that was a disguise.

Beyond the sealing gate, the interior was filled with technology that shouldn’t exist in this world.

It felt similar to Prospera’s report.

-Intruder detected. Initiating extermination process.

Ziiiiiiing!

It recognized me as an intruder and fired murderous rays.

“That’s a warm welcome!”

Shu shu shuk! Kwaak!

I dodged the rays and used shadow blades to destroy the firing device.

It was durable, but my shadow blades are exceptional.

Perhaps it was a delicate device; the ray stopped when it was half-destroyed.

-Initiating stage 2 defense system. Deploying combat golems.

Of course, it couldn’t end there.

Golems, robotic minions guarding the ruins, appeared.

Tududududut-!

The golems fired in rapid succession. We developed the ‘machine gun’ first, but they were using it.

“Is this a remnant of an ancient civilization?”

Prospera’s report mentioned machine guns, albeit in limited quantities.

It took us until today to reverse engineer it, but these guys had it too?

Why couldn’t they reverse engineer it… or didn’t they need to?

Seokeok-!

Chijijijik!

“We’ll figure it out later.”

I focused on slaughtering the golems.

They had well-made armor, but it couldn’t completely stop Silver Rose’s attacks.

Even if I couldn’t cut them in half, damaging the internal circuits was easy. After a few stabs and slashes, they stopped functioning.

They retaliated fiercely, but I was fast enough to avoid their attacks.

-Stage 3 defense system……

“Is there more?”

-Operation… error……

“Huh?”

The system went silent. Did something break?

Regardless, the defense system was offline.

“Kisil, can you access the ruins’ system?”

[Now that the defense system is silent, access is possible. Attempting to seize the system.]

As Kisil seized control, the ruins glowed brighter.

[System seizure complete. Restoring the records remaining in the ruins.]

Holograms activated throughout the ruins.

“Are these records… accurate?”

-Regarding the authenticity of the records, manipulation cannot be ruled out. However, no traces of manipulation are currently detectable.

“This doesn’t make sense……”

The hologram contents appeared to me as a status window.

[The Creator God has awakened again and is spreading disaster. On the verge of destruction, we leave these records for posterity.]

“If these records are true, these ruins are at least 30,000 years old.”

That’s an ultra-ancient civilization, destroyed without a trace, leaving only these ruins.

The reason was also recorded.

[We were once naked beings. But one day, the Creator God appeared and gave us civilization. We worshiped him as a benevolent and great god.]

[But he was not. To him, we were merely experimental subjects and toys. He considered us a failure and brought destruction.]

[We barely sealed the Creator God. But it was too late, and the seal was not permanent. The Creator God laughed as if the seal was a game.]

[If someone in later generations sees this record, remember: be wary of the power of creation.]

“These aren’t exactly uplifting records.”

I felt like I was getting a clue about the Creator God.

As I suspected, the Creator God didn’t seem to have a concept of good and evil.

However, his actions were ultimately evil: creating and destroying arbitrarily.

“I guess what he did to the Empire 1,500 years ago was one of these things?”

[That’s right. At the time, the Empire fought a war of the end against the Creator God, who was trying to destroy the world again. As a result, the Empire’s civilization regressed by hundreds of years.]

Maybe that wasn’t the only time.

What did he want that made him do that?

Perhaps it’s just something he does for fun, without a specific reason.

“Whatever he wants, we’ll stop him. But this ‘power of creation’ thing bothers me.”

The recorder warned about the power of creation.

It sounds like ‘don’t be fooled by him even if the Creator God appears again’… is that all it means?

“Come to think of it, why did those guys cherish these ruins so much?”

If it was just a place with records about the Creator God, they could have destroyed it.

Why didn’t they, and even left defense forces behind?

[There is an isolated sealed area inside the ruins.]

“Can you release the seal?”

[It is impossible for me. However……]

“However?”

Kisil rarely hesitated. I soon understood why.

[The seal is designed to be released by a special code. And the user currently possesses a similar code.]

“I do? What is it?”

[It’s Silver Rose. The Imperial Soul magic circuit pattern of Silver Rose is similar to the code pattern required by the seal.]

“That’s strange. Silver Rose was invented in the Empire, right? Why is it valid in these ancient ruins?”

[I don’t know the reason, but confirming what is sealed may reveal the answer.]

“I see. Then let’s go there immediately.”

The reason they couldn’t release the seal is because they didn’t have Silver Rose.

Silver Rose is the sword Leonis gave me directly. It wasn’t sealed in the material world, but given directly from the spirit world, so it couldn’t be stolen.

So they couldn’t release the seal. But I could.

[Releasing the seal.]

Kisil released the seal using Silver Rose. When the hologram received Kisil’s particle code, the sealed area opened.

“This is……!”

Beyond that wasn’t an artifact.

It was ‘energy’ itself. And that energy was familiar.

A record hologram appeared.

[We desperately researched the power to confront the Creator God’s power of creation. This power will be engraved in the souls of those who are qualified and will be activated. If a race in the future has a soul’s desire strong enough to confront the Creator God, this power will manifest.]

“That power was… the Imperial Soul.”

[Acquired the original code of the Imperial Soul.]

[Stage 4 of the Imperial Soul has been unlocked.]

It was the moment a long-standing mystery was solved.