He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 40

I Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor in History – Episode 40

I Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor in History Episode 40

“Hey, can’t you give me a little more? At this rate, I won’t even break even.”

In the heart of the Empire, deep within a secluded forest cloaked in the darkness of night.

A group of human traffickers was conducting a clandestine trade.

Even though the slave trade of imperial citizens is officially prohibited, human trafficking persists in the shadows.

It occurs for various nefarious purposes, the most heinous of which is selling the kidnapped to dark cults.

“It’s the same price as we’ve always traded at. What nonsense are you spouting?”

“There are too many busybodies sniffing around these days, making it difficult to move the merchandise.”

The head of the human trafficking ring whined, and he wasn’t exaggerating.

Recently, there have been frequent crackdowns on criminal organizations, with large-scale exterminations becoming commonplace.

Officials, village chiefs, mayors, and lords who had been bribed to turn a blind eye or actively cooperate were being arrested or severing ties with the human trafficking ring to protect themselves.

“That’s your problem, not ours. Is it?”

“Isn’t it natural for the price to go up if it requires more effort and risk? If you’re not happy, I’ll take my business elsewhere.”

“You’re talking big for someone in your position.”

Even though the trafficker had a point, the cult member didn’t appreciate his cheeky attitude and briefly considered killing them all.

However, the cult’s resources had been strained recently, making it difficult to jeopardize their source of sacrifices.

“…I’ll give you five more silver coins. If you push your greed beyond that, I won’t stand for it.”

The cult member, barely suppressing his anger, offered a slight increase in price.

The head of the human trafficking ring grinned, a sly smile spreading across his face.

“Oh my, thank you. Then next time, I’ll be sure to offer you something special…”

Whoosh!

Thud!

In that instant, a shadow stretching out from the darkness severed the boss’s head from his shoulders.

“Wh-what!”

“You bastards, what are you doing!”

“N-no, we didn’t do it!”

The transaction was taking place at night to maintain secrecy.

They had lit torches, but with the surroundings still shrouded in dim light, the human trafficking ring’s thieves mistook the sudden appearance of a shadow cutting off a head as the work of the cult.

The surprised cult members immediately denied it, but a series of events only fueled the misunderstanding.

Swish! Swish swish!

“Ugh!”

“Y-you bastards! Attack!”

The blades in the shadows flew in from multiple directions once again, swiftly killing the thieves.

Seeing only the thieves being accurately targeted and dying in agony, the agitation and suspicion of those still alive solidified into certainty.

Soon, the thieves and the cult members were locked in a desperate battle against each other.

“I’m telling you, we didn’t do it!”

“Shut up!”

“Tch, there’s no choice. Kill them all!”

The cult members realized they had fallen into a trap due to the sudden attack, but they had to deal with the thieves rushing at them in a frenzy.

And unfortunately for the thieves, the cult members, wielding dark magic, were naturally more dominant in terms of power.

“Burn in the flames of hell!”

“Kuaaak!”

At first, the thieves had the momentum, but soon, one by one, they began to fall, subdued by the black magic of the cult’s black magician or the counterattacks of the dark warriors.

Soon, the human trafficking ring’s thieves had all fallen, but the cult members were also exhausted from the fierce battle.

“Huk, damn it. What the hell is going on…”

Stab!

“Thanks for making my work easier.”

I, who had been patiently waiting for this opportunity, emerged from the shadows and stabbed one of the cult members in the back, killing him instantly.

The newly fitted black armor and the helmet that completely concealed my face were splattered with the cultist’s blood.

“It was you!”

“Kill that guy!”

Whether they thought they had a chance since only I had appeared, or whether they believed they had no other choice, they charged at me.

Thud!

Immediately, I used instantaneous high-speed movement to decapitate one of the attackers.

Before he could even react, his head flew into the air, and at the same time, I scattered blades of shadow at the remaining cultists.

“Ugh!”

“Damn it, he hid again!”

“Where did he go!”

I vanished from their sight, melting back into the darkness while the shadow blades wreaked havoc.

It was similar to the tactics employed by the super freak individual I faced last time.

[Killed a cult member, recovering a small amount of health, strength, and magic.]

[Combat power and ferocity temporarily increase.]

Strictly speaking, it was also true that it was similar to that guy back then.

Because I made the potion that the cult members were making with my own power.

When the effect of the potion imbued in my body was activated, there was a side effect: my eyes turned red, and crimson lights emanated from the black helmet.

“Ah, ah…!”

“We have to run away!”

Rather, in this case, there was an added effect of instilling terror in the enemy.

“Quickly, tell the demons–”

“Tell who?”

“……!”

Clang!

The cult members who were trying to escape were all cut down by the ambush attack of Hendrick and the agents who had been surrounding them in advance.

Hendrick, who had smashed the head of one of the cult members with a battle hammer, walked towards me through the scattered corpses.

“Are you finally thinking of covering your face, at least?”

Hendrick said nonchalantly, looking at me, who was completely covered in black armor.

Of course, long silver hair flowed out from between the helmet, but it would be difficult to associate this figure with the Emperor.

“What can I do? The person who should be in the Imperial Palace shouldn’t be seen elsewhere, right?”

In the Imperial Palace, an imposter who couldn’t be better was acting as the Emperor instead.

Of course, it was to deceive the eyes of our political enemies.

That doppelganger seemed reluctant at first, but now he was quite obedient, perhaps because he enjoyed the dissolute life.

“That’s why they tell us the location of the cult members. At first, they talked about the pride of the demons…”

“It’s not something you can’t understand, Hendrick. Even if I told you I’d make you Emperor, would you be able to act high and mighty?”

“That’s not it, though.”

Hendrick, who was more faithful to his desires than anyone else, replied with a sly smile.

I chuckled at that, finding it absurd, but asked again about the operation.

“So, is the disguise operation going well?”

“Yes, we have already infiltrated several cult branches. The demons are completely fooled.”

Based on the information obtained from Mirer, they were now attacking and exterminating the cult members, as we just did, and then disguising themselves as them.

Disguising oneself as the enemy was not an easy task, but the skills of the agents were gradually improving as they accumulated experience, so it was becoming feasible.

Of course, the operation would have failed if the demon in contact knew the lower organization, the cult, inside and out, but fortunately, the demons and the cults were in a relationship close to outsourcing.

Just as corporate executives or middle managers would not know all the employees of subcontractors, there was no risk of being caught even when disguised as a face they had never seen before.

“Even so, the information you can get will be limited.”

Of course, the demons would not pass on highly sensitive information to the cult members, who were merely subordinates.

Still, as long as they didn’t suspect our deception, they might one day be careless and leak even fragmentary information.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it was worthwhile because we could uncover the location of the cult members within the Empire in a chain reaction.

“Well, it’s better not to be impatient on that front. Then how about Karstein’s side?”

What was more important now was Karstein, not the demons.

I had him fed false information that he had succeeded in assassinating and replacing me.

Using a fake spy.

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t suspect a thing. Rather…”

Hendrick, who was originally Karstein’s vassal, laughed at his former lord, against whom he held only grudges.

“He’s foolishly cherishing only the spies we’ve planted. I think I made the right choice a hundred times over by switching my allegiance to Your Majesty.”

I chuckled at that.

“Then we should start preparing for the final stage.”

Karstein was practically a fool.

Since the possibility of him seeing through our plan had been eliminated, all that was left was to lure him into a death trap.

“It’s war.”

The final step to achieve that was war.

* * *

“Indeed, your information is proving to be accurate in every detail.”

“Of course. I told you there was no need to doubt me.”

Karstein’s mansion.

In that place where all the vassals of the Karstein family were gathered, Duke Karstein was openly praising one person.

It was the man sent by the ‘fake Emperor’ as a spy.

“I didn’t doubt it from the beginning. It was those foolish sycophants who did. Tsk tsk, I really don’t have any luck with people.”

In that place where all the vassals were gathered, Duke Karstein openly rebuked them.

It was partly due to his eccentric personality, but it was also to establish discipline on purpose.

The vassals who heard the insults had red faces, but they had nothing to say when all the information the spy had provided turned out to be correct.

Karstein, who had been able to plunder considerable wealth based on the leaked information, had no reason to doubt the spy’s veracity.

“At this rate, delaying any longer is a clear loss.”

Of course, it wasn’t just the location of the hidden wealth that he had discovered.

Since he had obtained detailed information on the current state of the army and the operation plans, there was no reason to wait any longer.

“Now is the perfect time. We will raise an army immediately.”

“Yo, Your Highness. Once you raise an army, it will be difficult to turn back. So, you should think more carefully…”

“Foolish thing!”

One vassal expressed a cautious opinion, but Karstein scolded him.

“What are you going to do if other electors [powerful nobles with the right to elect the Emperor] take the lead while we drag our feet under the pretext of caution?”

Now that the chaos in the Empire has reached its peak.

All the lords are rivals, but especially the electors were the ones to be wary of.

Although the tendencies of each of them are somewhat different, none of them are without personal goals or ambitions.

Many of them, like Karstein, were aiming for hegemony within the Empire or after the fall of the Empire.

“If you defeat the Emperor and take over the Imperial Family, you can gain an advantage in that struggle for power.”

Of course, it would be difficult for Karstein to wear the imperial crown himself.

Because he was not an elector, his claim to the throne lacked legitimacy.

But there was no need to be obsessed with the imperial crown.

“Don’t you realize that now is the only chance to set up a fake Emperor as a puppet?”

That legitimacy could be manufactured as much as necessary with a fake Emperor.

Rather, he was more valuable than the real Emperor, who would surely be uncooperative even if he was subjugated.

However, he must not allow others to seize the initiative.

So, he was trying to make his move before others noticed.

“So don’t oppose me any further. I will behead anyone who opposes me. Lord Gordon, immediately summon all the troops.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He ordered his beloved vassal and general, Gordon, to take command and raise an army immediately.

Other vassals harbored anxiety or dissatisfaction, but they had no choice but to agree because they did not think the Duke’s opinion was entirely wrong.

“You can still get information during the war, right?”

“Of course. There’s no need to worry.”

As a result, no one suspected the spy.

Because of that, no one could see the sinister smile of the intelligence agent disguised as a spy.