He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 272

I Became the Unrivaled Crazy Emperor – Episode 272

I Became the Unrivaled Crazy Emperor 272

“In the name of the Empire, the shield of humanity, the apostle of burning purification, the guardian of justice, and in the name of the Emperor, I pray.”

Purification priests chanted hymns around the Spring of Life.

Among them, Stella walked toward the spring, entered the water, and offered her prayer.

The divine power created by the prayer and hymns harmonized, and the water in the spring where Stella stood began to glow with a blue light.

With that light, the essence of the spring began to gather. It was like a swirling vortex, but calm like gentle waves, not intense.

Within that wave, Stella, the symbol of purification, prayed.

“I beseech thee. Help us to purify the darkest land in the world.”

To go to the darkest land

To face the darkest despair

To defeat the darkest enemy

“Be with us.”

With each verse of the prayer completed, the five-colored lights symbolizing the guardian deities of the Empire appeared.

Among them, the blue light of Lustra shone upon Stella.

Then, the essence of the spring gathering around Stella transformed into a single form.

It was the shape of a small, blue sapphire. The radiant blue sapphire contained all the life and purifying power of the Spring of Purification.

“I am ready to transport the Spring of Life, Your Majesty.”

“Well done, Stella.”

I said, placing a robe over the soaked Stella. Stella handed me the sapphire filled with the essence of the spring.

Taking it, I gazed at the radiant blue light and murmured softly.

“So beautiful. And I can feel a powerful force. This is an object that could stimulate a person’s desires.”

“Your Majesty, that is a power that should not be coveted carelessly. If not used in the right place, disaster will strike.”

I fully agreed with her words and nodded.

Beyond the alluring beauty, there was clearly a deadly poisonous thorn.

Being able to see through it, I could suppress my desires.

“But my descendants may not be able to. Therefore, this must leave the land of the Empire.”

“That is a wise decision. But foolish ones may criticize this in the future.”

Perhaps they would.

At first glance, the Spring of Life was a power that bestowed endless grace in itself.

What would they say about the emperor who used it to purify the Darklands?

Of course, considering my achievements, they wouldn’t dare to criticize me recklessly. But this part might be regarded as a flaw.

“Therefore, if Your Majesty wishes, you may discard it. There is no reason to risk damaging Your Majesty’s dignity.”

“If I do that, countless imperial citizens will die, Stella. You know that too.”

This is to purify the Darklands and reduce the undead front line.

If I don’t do this, a significant number of the Empire’s forces will have to remain tied to the Darklands or the Eastern Territory, constantly bearing the risk.

Naturally, that is not the right decision if I think of the imperial citizens.

“But…”

“Oh, Stella. Please don’t say the next words. If you’re going to say that my dignity is more important than the imperial citizens.”

“…….”

“Certainly, my dignity may be damaged. But a monarch should originally be responsible for everything in the country.”

That’s why they endure the weight of the crown.

But at the same time, it is something that monarchs easily forget. Because they regard the country merely as their possession.

A monarch who only has rights and does not take responsibility is disastrous in their very existence. Of course, perhaps 80% of the monarchs in history were such individuals.

“If necessary, a monarch must be willing to take the blame themselves, not their subjects. If they can gain practical benefits from it. Stella, the era when dignity can protect a monarch is not far off.”

After my era passes, only practical benefits will protect the monarch.

If they have foolish monarchs who run away from the enemy, blame their mistakes on their subjects or the people, and only look after their own interests, will the subjects and the people follow them?

Immediately, such individuals, even if they are my descendants, will be compared to me, and that in itself will diminish their dignity.

If they want to survive that, the only way to maintain their dignity is to become a wise ruler.

If they don’t have the qualities to become a wise ruler? Well, what can they do but relinquish the rights that are thickly attached to the crown?

“Then, I’ll be off.”

“…Please return safely, Your Majesty.”

And I was moving forward to fulfill the duties of the emperor even at this moment.

* * *

“What is the progress of the march?”

“It is going smoothly. There is no resistance from the enemy at all.”

That was inevitable. After killing so many near the spring, even those guys must have felt burdened.

“Then, has it been determined what they are doing now?”

“According to the testimonies of the undead who have regained their will… that is, the ‘Returned Ones,’ they are staying in the areas of the Darklands that are still deeply contaminated.”

“Then… there is no need to worry about being disturbed when restoring the spring.”

The captain of the guard nodded, agreeing with my thoughts. If this continued, at least the undead had no way to militarily interfere with me.

“But one problem has arisen. Whether they anticipated our actions or not, the place where the old Spring of Life used to be is contaminated with the magic of death.”

Then, Vostok stepped forward and reported a new fact. The captain of the guard looked at me cautiously and asked him.

“Duke Vostok, then… isn’t it dangerous for His Majesty to go to the spring directly?”

What the captain of the guard was worried about was that I would go directly to the spring to revive it.

“…Of course, it is. But the magic of death scattered in that spring is at a level that even the undead do not dare to approach. The only person who can withstand it is…….”

“Only me in the entire empire.”

I finished Vostok’s words. Vostok lowered his head as if he was sorry.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. If only I could go…….”

“There’s no need to be sorry, Vostok. Even if someone else could do it, you are not someone who should recklessly take risks. Not anymore.”

Of course, that’s right. You are the one who will be responsible for this land of the Darklands now. Why would you take risks?

“Your Majesty…….”

But it seemed quite touching for Vostok himself. Of course, Vostok was a bit clumsy in expressing his emotions.

“Neither of you need to worry too much. If I were to collapse from something like this, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far in the first place.”

But I showed confidence. Rather, the fact that those guys were using such tricks meant that they couldn’t face us with straightforward methods.

“And such sloppy tricks can’t kill me. Well, unless they have a different aim.”

There were too many forces protecting me to kill me using undead contamination alone. The Imperial Soul, the Spirit Realm, Dark Blood, and even the Underworld.

I can say with certainty that there is no poison that can penetrate all four forces and kill me.

“But what I’m worried about is whether this is really the end for them.”

“Do you think they are aiming for something else? They are already cornered.”

“Whether that’s really the case… I’ll have to purify the Darklands first to find out.”

I took the Sapphire of Life that Stella had made and flew into the sky.

After that, I flew towards the old spring site visible on one side of the darkness of the Darklands.

The old spring site was shrouded in even darker darkness, even in the already dark Darklands.

I felt an instinctive threat, but I pushed back my fear, spread my wings of light, and approached it.

-Hehehehehe

-A living one…….

-Let’s take his life…….

Then, immediately, shadowy hands reached out from the darkness.

The darkness was so thick that it did not easily disappear even in the face of light. Rather, it was trying to break my wings of light and steal my life force.

“But it’s useless.”

[Deploying the Protection of Darkness in the form of the Dark Dragon.]

[The magic of death emanating from the Spring of Life is blocked by the Protection of Darkness.]

“As expected, it can’t harm me.”

The Imperial Soul alone could have resisted, but there was the blood of the Dark Dragon, Dark Blood, which had better compatibility.

The magic of death used by the undead had something in common with the magic of darkness due to its characteristics.

Thanks to that, when I took a shield with it, it couldn’t harm me at all.

“Then, all that’s left is to revive the spring.”

It’s so smooth that I’m almost feeling indifferent to the worries…….

In the darkness, I rummaged through the spring, looking for a suitable place to purify the spring using the jewel.

Then, I was able to find a place where the purifying energy remaining in the spring was strong.

It seemed to be the deepest part when the spring was intact.

I was going to purify the spring there.

-Long time no see, Emperor.

“……! This voice?”

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard from the darkness.

Then, a man appeared from the darkness. As someone with the ability to see through the darkness, I could see him clearly, but he was someone I had never seen before.

But I clearly remembered only the voice.

“Pestras, it’s you. I almost couldn’t recognize you in that form.”

It was Pestras. However, his appearance was so different from the undead lord I remembered that the appearance itself was almost like seeing him for the first time.

Perhaps it was his former appearance… or a more glorified version.

“Even if it’s a fake clone, isn’t the glorification too much?”

-Hmph, you’re talking nonsense. It seems like leaving an arrangement here was a pointless act.

“Arrangement? What arrangement?”

What did Pestras arrange? But Pestras smiled and said.

-Well, I thought you might make such a choice. That’s why I left my clone here.

“The choice I made… are you perhaps talking about the choice to give up the Spring of Life?”

-That’s right… You are giving up the Spring of Life that I left for you and trying to revive this spring.

I don’t know how the process works, but if I made the choice to give up the Spring of Life, it seemed that the arrangement he had left would appear.

“Is that so? So, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to interfere with me?”

-Oh, not at all. I want to applaud you instead. You’ve made a rare and noble choice among humans, haven’t you?

“Stop with the useless words and get to the point.”