He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 67

Became the Greatest Crazy Emperor – Episode 67

What distinguishes a tribal society from a civilization?

Many factors contribute, but essentially, it boils down to the presence or absence of a king.

More precisely, the difference lies in whether there’s established legitimacy for a king to exist.

“Everyone’s here. Let’s begin the Alliance Council.”

In that regard, no matter how much Golrak is the Great Chieftain of the Greenskin Alliance, he isn’t truly a king.

He was merely the chieftain of a tribe that happened to be larger and more influential than the others.

“As you all know, the time has come. The time to cut off the windpipe of that groaning human empire, I say.”

But now, the authority of the Great Chieftain, who was previously seen as a mere figurehead, was higher than ever.

Of course, this wasn’t solely because he was strong and could speak with a semblance of eloquence for a Greenskin.

“And everything in that land will be our spoils.”

Gulp-

The Greenskins gathered there—Goblins, Orcs, Ogres, and Trolls—all swallowed their saliva in anticipation.

Their territory, the land west of here that was once the Empire’s, had long lost any semblance of its former glory.

Conversely, the Empire’s remaining lands were overflowing with spoils for the Greenskins.

The prospect of occupying that land and acquiring riches beyond anything they had ever tasted was significantly boosting the Great Chieftain’s authority.

“To achieve this, we must advance. To do so, we must eliminate those pesky rangers. So, everyone, gather your forces now.”

“Krrk- That’s a bit difficult.”

But even with the Great Chieftain’s increased authority, the inherent limitations of tribal society persisted.

“There are still many places to plunder independently.”

“I believe enough food has already been collected, hasn’t it?”

“It’s still not enough. And why should we gather when other tribes will inevitably steal from us?”

“……”

…This was the core problem.

Under the rule of a king, like humans, even within a feudal system, there would be some degree of obedience to the king’s authority.

And they could have moved as a unified ‘kingdom’.

But the tribal system only considered the interests of the individual tribe.

Even with the chieftains appointing the Great Chieftain, the fundamental issue remained: the concept of royal authority simply didn’t exist yet.

Golrak himself, who nominally unified the Greenskins, was aware of this, making it a truly frustrating situation.

“That’s right. I can’t stand other tribes taking more than us.”

“I can’t let only our warriors die while other tribes benefit.”

“And I don’t like working with those human nobles!”

No matter how much Golrak emphasized their shared identity as Greenskins, they only cared about their tribe’s interests.

However, purging them would mean killing off warriors, which would be counterproductive for Golrak and the Greenskins as a whole.

“We Goblins follow the Great Chieftain’s opinion.”

“The shamans will agree with the Great Chieftain’s opinion.”

“Krrrk, our tribe also agrees. Now is the time to hurry the advance.”

Fortunately, the Goblins, who were numerous but weak, the shamans, who were a minority, and some far-sighted chieftains agreed.

Of course, this wasn’t out of belief in or loyalty to the Great Chieftain.

They were either marginalized or had ambitions for something greater.

They were no different from those who openly resisted, making it difficult to trust them blindly.

In the end, Golrak had no choice but to compromise, as he had done before.

“Then let’s do this. Gather at the Rangers’ fortress, but only send a portion of the forces from each tribe. The rest can continue plundering as you wish.”

“Good, I’ll do that.”

“I agree.”

When he made this counter-proposal, the chieftains agreed, finding it acceptable.

They only had to send the low-ranking warriors who wouldn’t receive many spoils anyway.

Of course, Golrak, aware of their thoughts, couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“……Okay, then I’ll take that as agreed.”

But he couldn’t end the meeting there.

Forcing them to follow unconditionally would shatter this unstable alliance and break the Greenskin Alliance.

“Hoo, I don’t know what to do.”

Clearly, uniting the Greenskins with force and strategy was a good thing.

Leading the warriors who had lost their place to vent their anger on the humans wasn’t a bad thing either.

Fortunately, the Empire was weakening, and they had support from human collaborators and demons.

But even if he succeeded in conquering, the fundamental limitations of this tribal system would remain.

Their desire to divide the humans as spoils would only intensify.

“Is there no way to carry out purges while maintaining the alliance?”

What Golrak really needed wasn’t conquering human land, but that solution, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find an answer.

“Great Chieftain! The Alliance tribes are helpless against the humans’ counterattack!”

That was until he heard the news of successive defeats shortly after.

* * *

“Now is the time to attack.”

“Against that great army? Shadow, with all due respect, did you eat something strange this morning?”

Ranger Headquarters’ strategy meeting room.

When I made that claim in front of Van Horn and the executive-level Rangers, Van Horn responded as a representative.

The reaction was similar from the others.

“We have to strike the guys who are besieging us right now. And we have to break through the siege and get the detachment out.”

“We deliberately holed up in the fortress to endure a long siege, but you’re saying we should try to break through with a detachment? Are you out of your mind?”

“Of course, I’m in my right mind.”

Chuck.

While saying that, I pointed to the marked area on the map.

“Their army numbers 100,000. But there are less than 10,000 detected in the siege. They’re just going to besiege us without fighting and let us die of starvation.”

“We know that too. Siege is a classic siege tactic. But you’re saying we should charge in because we don’t like that?”

I shook my head at Van Horn’s question.

Of course, I had already prepared for the siege. That’s not what I was worried about.

“That’s not the point. It’s to force them to attack us. To make them ram into the walls knowing they’re going to die.”

When is the most frustrating situation in a siege?

When you’re besieged? When the besieged enemies don’t surrender?

No. It’s when you have to attack a firmly defended wall.

Unless it’s an era where cannons weaken the walls, the most difficult thing in a siege is the walls themselves.

Of course, the enemies aren’t stupid either, so if they’re not in a hurry, they usually besiege and starve them out.

Fighting fiercely over the walls, as consistently depicted in Crusader movies or Romance of the Three Kingdoms [a classic Chinese novel], is not an easy option.

“So we have to make them have no choice but to charge in.”

“……How?”

“It’s simple. Annoy them to death. So they can’t ignore us and leave.”

“…….”

Van Horn and the Rangers who heard my answer looked dumbfounded, but they couldn’t dismiss my claim.

Because, in fact, this was close to the right answer.

From the beginning, the fortress’s purpose was that.

Even with few soldiers inside, if they ignore it and pass by carelessly, they’ll open the gates and harass the rear.

So the role of the fortress is to force the attacker to attack.

“I know what you mean. But the problem is the method. Can we even break through the siege right now?”

“We brought a lot of horses to use as warhorses, right? Assign those who can do mounted combat under me. Then we’ll break through the siege and wage guerrilla warfare.”

Break through the siege with a night raid and hunt down those focused on plundering.

At the same time, harass those trying to re-establish the siege.

They get angry and try to attack the fortress? Then I’ll stab them in the back properly.

I’m going to force them to choose between sitting and dying or ramming their heads into the walls.

“……Okay, it sounds like a crazy idea, but I’ll leave it to you, Shadow.”

It wasn’t an operation that anyone could easily approve, but Van Horn, knowing there was no chance of winning with a frontal attack, soon approved it.

Of course, maybe he also thought it was ‘worth a try’.

* * *

“The human bastards, they’re all holed up without leaving a single one.”

“That’s right. There’s nothing to plunder here.”

“Tuh! It’s no fun! I’m hungry!”

The Greenskins besieging the Ranger Headquarters fortress were gathered around the bonfire at night, complaining.

The humans hadn’t left anything to loot and ran away into the fortress.

The humans’ village was naturally empty without a single grain.

Since there was nothing to plunder, there was no motivation or morale.

Of course, knowing that, they sent the low-ranking warriors from each tribe.

“The cowardly human bastards, they don’t even have the courage to come out and fight.”

“We don’t have to waste our energy either. Let’s just sit and wait.”

“Let’s kill the guys who are starving and weak.”

Still, the consolation was that if they raided the humans inside the fortress, they could still get a share.

Although it was a solid and large fortress, there was nothing dangerous to do since they were just waiting while besieging it.

“Krr? What’s that sound?”

“Sounds like horses’ hooves?”

“Are there guys riding horses besides wolves?”

“I don’t know-”

Shuuk, Paak!

“Kuhuk!”

No sooner had he said that than the Rangers’ arrows accurately struck the Greenskins’ foreheads and necks.

“Don’t stop, keep running!”

The Ranger cavalrymen were riding their horses and firing volleys of crossbows and arrows indiscriminately.

I was running at the head of those Rangers, scattering sword energy indiscriminately at the Orcs.

“Break through with all our might!”

“Follow Shadow!”

The Rangers followed the lead set by the Rangers who opened the way.

The Greenskins, who didn’t expect an attack, hadn’t even set up a palisade properly, so there was nothing to stop them.

Of course, they weren’t just breaking through.

“Set fire to anything you see!”

Torches and flints with oil applied in advance.

It’s not easy to light a fire while riding a horse, but the Rangers with good dexterity did it without difficulty.

If that didn’t work, they took the bonfires or torches that the Orcs had lit and threw them.

“The bastards set fire to the granary. They’ve almost broken through the siege!”

“Then retreat quickly!”

After setting fire appropriately, they ran away without looking back.

Of course, even if a fire broke out, not all their food would be completely burned at once.

But with so many of them, even a small amount lost would be a considerable burden.

Besides, it wasn’t a one-time raid.

“From now on, let’s make them regret stepping on this land!”

“Ooooo!”

Welcome to hell, you green monsters!