He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 278

Becoming the Greatest Crazy Emperor – Episode 278

Any place that becomes a battlefield is destined to be cruel and atrocious. This held true even on the sea, not just land.

The once-blue sea turned crimson with the blood of countless chimeras that had died and fallen, their floating corpses rapidly decomposing due to the intense toxicity.

Because of this, the stench was so overwhelming that the fleet had to retreat despite their victory.

“Our losses aren’t insignificant either. Quite a few ships have sunk.”

Sailors, naval officers, and even captains were lost, unable to escape as their ships sank and disappeared beneath the waves.

It was a regrettable loss. But they were all individuals who fought valiantly against the Empire’s enemies.

I closed my eyes quietly and offered a silent prayer, gazing out at the sea where their spirits now rested.

“Your Majesty, the fleet has completed regrouping. Please issue your orders.”

In the meantime, the admiral approached me and spoke cautiously. I nodded and said.

“Our forces have suffered considerable damage, so we should return to port for repairs. However, I’m concerned that those weren’t all of their forces.”

I certainly killed the Beast King. But that doesn’t mean the Southern Continent is pacified.

Not only are there substantial remaining enemy forces, but if I were the Creator God, I wouldn’t leave the Southern Continent as an easy target just because the Beast King died.

“Perhaps they’ve already taken precautions, as they did with Darkland.”

Darkland was eventually purified, but the Creator God had secretly removed the undead from there in advance.

It was presumed that he was raising an undead legion in the Underworld dimension. There was no guarantee that the Creator God wouldn’t attempt a similar strategy.

“Then, will you proceed with the Southern Continent expedition, Your Majesty?”

“We must. Before it’s too late.”

This ‘Game of Gods’ is already nearing its end. Soon, the Creator God will regain all his power, and he will not hesitate to strike from the north.

I can’t afford to fight with a threat at my rear. It would be too risky to have the vital navy tied down.

“So, we have no choice but to eradicate that threat.”

To achieve that, we have no choice but to cross the sea and venture into the unknown continent.

* * *

Phew- Kuwoong!

About a week later, we were attacking a port on the Southern Continent.

“We have neutralized the enemy’s coastal defense facilities.”

“There won’t be any more annoying laser beams. Now, send in the landing craft.”

The beastmen’s resistance was minimal. From the start, the Beast King hadn’t heavily relied on the beastmen army, instead favoring an army of chimeras.

Now that the chimera army had been largely decimated, the port’s defense force was insignificant. There were laser attacks using crystal balls, but they were easily silenced by naval gunfire.

As soon as the coastal defense facilities were neutralized, Marine Corps troops landed and began to occupy the port.

With such a weak defense force, there was no way to stop the assault troops, especially with Legions mixed in.

“The landing will be no problem.”

“That’s right. Good news is coming from other locations as well.”

The Empire’s technology is advancing. Now, they were receiving reports on the landing situation from other coastlines using wireless telegraphs [early forms of radio communication].

It was the same here, where I was directly observing. Everyone was successfully landing without significant casualties.

“However, it’s strange that there are so few actual troops. There are too few chimera troops in sight.”

Clearly, countless chimeras were killed in the naval battle, but most of those were maritime chimeras.

So, there was no reason for the ground forces to be so depleted, yet they were allowing the landing to proceed too easily.

“It may be a needless worry, Your Majesty. Perhaps their unity has weakened simply because the Beast King was eliminated. There may have been internal divisions.”

“Maybe. But we must not be careless.”

Without the Beast King, internal divisions would usually arise. But the problem is that the Beast King probably knew that too.

He also considered the possibility that I would accompany the fleet in the naval battle, so he fought me. But unlike me, he has the Creator God behind him.

He may have used him to prepare for his defeat.

“If so, a swift advance is necessary. We must quickly strike the enemy’s center.”

I nodded at the Captain of the Guard’s words. But no matter how much we hurry the advance, the only way to quickly cross the Southern Continent without railroads is by airship.

“Tell the main force to advance slowly with the supply line, and we should prioritize forming a strike force with airships.”

However, to do that, we need to know in advance which places to tactically strike first. Fortunately, there were more than enough local informants to guide us.

“The Beast King’s army is retreating to the center of the continent. Because of that, we are quickly recovering the coastal areas.”

Of course, those local collaborators were beastmen resistance fighters. They, who had resisted the Beast King and whom I had promised independence, volunteered to be guides and were leading the Imperial Army.

“Do not cause conflicts with the citizens of the liberated areas. I have come here not to conquer but to liberate. Likewise, I have not come to guarantee your power.”

The advance was important, but stabilizing the recovered strongholds of the Southern Continent was also crucial. The liberated beastmen were generally obedient to the Imperial Army, but conflict was inevitable.

But what was more worrying than the conflict with the Imperial Army was that this resistance force was very unreliable.

“Haa, but Your Majesty… there’s a problem. Treacherous restorationists are trying to rebuild the kingdom as they please.”

“Many are in agreement with them. If we don’t control them properly……”

Complaints were already surfacing. Of course, it’s understandable that they are anxious now that the restorationists are suddenly becoming active.

Because it was them, not these guys, who didn’t betray me and had a hard time finding me and promising support.

But it’s also amusing that they’re bringing this to me.

“So, are you, the republicans, asking me, the Emperor, to suppress those who are restorationists?”

“Th, that’s……”

“Moreover, you guys have a promise with me, right? That you will not persecute opponents by branding them as reactionaries under the pretext of your beliefs.”

“……”

They had no choice but to remain silent at my question. Certainly, that was the condition I had set for them when I promised support.

This wasn’t just a condition I set because I was kind. It was to deliberately divide their forces.

As of now, defeating the Creator God is the priority, but I can’t help but think about what will happen after defeating him.

What should I do in the Southern Continent to maintain the Empire’s hegemony? In fact, it was not much different from what I did to the elves.

Divide and rule. Just as I divided the elves into independent and autonomous factions to make them oppose each other, I am doing the same thing here.

However, I let the elves actually have a civil war, but here it is the opposite.

I was going to prevent the republican independence forces I was supporting from recklessly harming the royalists who were looking for an opportunity to return.

Just doing that alone would divide them, so I would save a lot of effort.

And that’s not a bad thing for the beastmen either.

Judging by their appearance, these republican guys have very limited support. The beastmen have quite a remarkable civilization, but the proportion of intellectuals is extremely low outside the city.

And in the eyes of rural farmers, the republican system is usually an extremely unstable and radical change. So they usually oppose it. Surprisingly, even if you give them sovereignty.

It actually happened during the French Revolution. And at the time, the Jacobins [radical revolutionaries during the French Revolution] massacred those who opposed the revolution.

That’s exactly what I’m trying to stop. I have no intention of condoning them massacring their own people under the pretext of stopping the restorationists.

Because if I pretend not to know, the Empire’s prestige will also fall. From the start, there is no reason for me, the ‘Emperor,’ to protect those with republican ideas so much.

“Keuk… I understand. But please do not listen to the lies they tell, Your Majesty.”

The republican resistance fighters seemed dissatisfied, but they could no longer argue with me and stepped back.

Then, the restorationist turncoats, who were standing on one side like puppies needing to pee while watching them, approached me.

“A humble one sees the great Emperor of the Empire! Please listen to our plea!”

And he began to prostrate himself, hitting his forehead on the ground as if it would break, with a thud.

I looked down at him and said.

“Get up. There is no reason for a foreign envoy to show me such excessive courtesy.”

“I, I am sorry, Your Majesty. However, without Your Majesty’s help, the people of this land will suffer.”

I smiled at his claim. Whether these guys have good insight or are just opposing the republicans and blurting it out, they said something that matched my expectations.

As they say, if I ignore them, the republicans will have nothing to fear. It is true that they will die, and it is also true that the people they use as an excuse will die.

But still. I can’t help them for free, can I?

“That’s a pitiful situation. But I am one who values ​​trust. Didn’t you first abandon the cause of the resistance and betray them? I sided with them and defeated the Beast King. But now you brazenly ask me for help.”

At my answer, the restorationist turncoat’s face turned pale. But these guys were quite seasoned politicians, so they understood my implicit signal to ‘pay the price.’

“I, I am truly sorry! H, however, that was a deception to give Your Majesty better information!”

“Oh, you did it on purpose?”

“Yes, the Beast King was a tyrant among tyrants. Would we have truly served such a person? We only bowed our heads for a moment to uncover the conspiracy he had planned.”

He was desperately bowing his head and speaking. The sight of him wagging his tail pitifully was even pathetic.

Of course, I wasn’t sincerely sympathizing. Even a three-year-old knows that that is 100% crocodile tears [insincere display of sorrow].

But as an emperor, I had to play along with such foolishness.

“Okay, I’ll trust you. Then what is the conspiracy the Beast King committed? He is dead, but his forces are still resisting. There must be something he has arranged?”

“Yes, he clearly received aid from the Creator God and plotted something suspicious. We know its location!”

Hearing their answer, I curled up the corners of my lips.

Things seemed to be going well thanks to them. Now, all that was left was to raid key points by airship.