He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 75

“It seems the elders of the Purification Church have failed,” one minister said, his voice laced with disappointment.

“Tsk, that’s why I said we shouldn’t trust humans in the first place,” another retorted, frustration evident in his tone.

Amidst a gathering of ministers from the Elven United Kingdom, they were discussing their recent failed plot against the humans.

“How did those Purification Church guys get taken down so easily?” someone asked, bewildered.

“I don’t know the details, but I heard the human emperor himself stepped in to punish them,” came the reply.

“Hmph, I thought the Empire was toothless, but it seems they have some fight left in them,” a minister grumbled.

The plan to quickly bring the Eastern Territory under elven influence by co-opting the influential elders of the Purification Church in the Eastern Territory had failed miserably.

“Druid Duke is still there, though,” one of them pointed out.

“That cowardly bear? I heard he locked himself in his castle as soon as he heard the elders of the Purification Church were crushed,” another scoffed.

“Heh, what a useless oaf. Who recommended this operation anyway?”

“Hey, did I know it would turn out like this? The plan to use humans was good in itself!” someone defended.

“The plan was the only good thing,” came the sarcastic reply.

“What!”

As the plan failed, the elven ministers blamed each other, their voices rising in accusation.

As the conference hall grew noisy, one figure watched their bickering with detached amusement.

It was a noble-looking, long blonde-haired male elf, sitting high on the throne.

“Silence,” he commanded, his voice quiet but carrying an undeniable authority.

Instantly, all the ministers stopped arguing, their faces turning towards the throne.

“To bicker in front of me, how pathetic.”

“We are sorry, Your Majesty the Spirit King. We were inadequate and failed in our scheme,” a minister stammered, bowing his head.

“Enough. I had a backup plan prepared from the start, didn’t I?” the Spirit King said, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling light.

“Ah, but… that method…” a minister began, his voice hesitant.

At the Spirit King’s words, the ministers hesitated for a moment.

As he said, there was a ‘backup plan,’ but it was closer to a last resort, a desperate measure.

“What, is there a problem?” the Spirit King asked, his voice hardening.

“Your Majesty, that method… it seems likely to annihilate too many humans…” a minister voiced, his concern evident.

The backup plan could destroy the Empire in one fell swoop.

But the problem was that it was too powerful, and it was likely to render the humans and civilization remaining in the Empire useless.

It was an undesirable option for the ministers who wanted to conquer the Empire, bring it under their influence as an economic colony, and enslave the humans.

“I will ask you again, what is the problem with that?” the Spirit King pressed, his gaze intense.

“That, that is…” the minister stammered, wilting under the Spirit King’s stare.

The Spirit King glared at the elf minister who had voiced his opposition as if he would kill him.

Everyone there felt a chill in his gaze, as if their hearts were being constricted.

“The opponent is human. The very people of the Empire. About 3,000 years ago, they are the descendants of the first emperor who humiliated our ancestors.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty,” the minister replied, his voice barely a whisper.

“I don’t care about anything else as long as I can turn that Empire into ruins. This is my will,” the Spirit King declared, his voice ringing with unwavering resolve.

“…I understand,” the minister said, bowing his head in submission.

The Spirit King was a tyrant.

That was because he was the one who united the elves, who had been divided into several kingdoms, with powerful force.

That was why they became the ‘United Kingdom.’

“Emperor…” the Spirit King murmured, his thoughts turning to the human ruler who had crushed the elders of the Purification Church.

Perhaps, he mused, thinking that he might be his match.

* * *

-Kkwooooong!

“It’s a berserker! Hold on!” a soldier yelled, his voice filled with panic.

“Damn it, a bear…!” another cried out.

“Stay together and raise your shields!” an officer commanded, trying to maintain order.

Kwaddeuk!

“Ugh!” a soldier groaned as a druid berserker, transformed into a bear, shattered the shield wall and knocked down the soldiers in an instant.

“Die! You heretics!” the berserker roared, his voice filled with rage.

“You die! Dogs of the Imperial Church!” a wild warrior screamed, charging into the fray.

Elsewhere, druid wild warriors and Purification Church paladins clashed, their battle a whirlwind of steel and magic.

The battle between the paladins, blessed with the blessings of protection, and the wild warriors, fighting aggressively with the wild spirit magic, was evenly matched.

However, the Imperial army was at a great numerical disadvantage.

The druids, who had been influenced by the elves for a long time, were a headache in the Eastern Territory.

However, as the Empire’s control over the provinces weakened, even if someone like Duke Druid openly claimed to be a heretic, there was no way to punish him.

-Keureureureu.

“Ugh…” a soldier groaned, finding himself in danger of being killed by a druid transformed into a wolf.

Soon, others also began to be pushed back, and the soldier closed his eyes, sensing his impending death.

Hwareureureureuk-

-Kkyauul!

“……?” the soldier muttered, confused.

However, the wolf did not bite him.

Rather, he opened his eyes to the sound of burning and the smell of burning flesh.

“There are many things to burn,” a voice declared.

I, who had arrived at the place where the druids and the Imperial army were fighting, immediately brandished the Holy Sword burning with the flames of purification and roamed among them.

The druids, who were originally fanatics such as beggars or the poor, had decent combat power with the wild spirit magic they had learned from the elves.

However, thanks to their origins, they were not wearing good armor. All of them were wearing ragged clothes, or at best, poor-quality rawhide armor, or they simply transformed into animals.

That meant they were perfect to be burned as they were.

Hwareureureuk!

-Kkwooooong!

“O spirit of nature, bind the enemy with roots-” a druid began, chanting an incantation.

Seokeok!

Occasionally, there were those who launched spirit magic attacks, but I cut off their necks before the attacks could be launched, or simply burned their magic power.

“It’s annoying to deal with them one by one, Stella!” I exclaimed.

“Yes!” Stella replied.

[Subordinate ‘Stella, the Holy Maiden of Flames’ casts ‘Burning Weapon – Apostle of Purification’.]

[The flames of purification dwell in the weapons of you and all allied soldiers around you.]

[The power of the flames of purification granted to you is strengthened by the faith of your subordinate.]

Hwareureureureuk-

The flames of purification, which began to burn even more fiercely, swung the Holy Sword with the flames greatly.

The flame burned all the enemies in front of them in a fan shape along with the sword wind.

The enemies who had been gathered in one blow were instantly engulfed in flames.

“Kkeuaaaak!” they screamed, their cries of agony filling the air.

“The enemies at once…” a soldier muttered, awestruck.

“What are you looking at! You attack too! Help His Majesty the Emperor!” an officer yelled, spurring his men into action.

“Ch, charge! For the Empire!” a soldier cried, his voice filled with newfound courage.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!” the soldiers roared, charging into the fray with renewed vigor.

“Burn the heretics!”

“Burn, you heretics!”

The purifying flame made the soldiers fanatical, and fanaticism soon became contagious.

Soon, everyone who stood against the enemies of the Empire had a zeal close to fanaticism.

“Wow! We won!” a soldier cheered, his face flushed with victory.

“The Empire is strong!” another exclaimed.

“Long live the Empire!”

“Long live Her Holiness Stella!”

Finally, the enemy retreated, and the victorious soldiers began to cheer.

But I didn’t have time to enjoy the victory.

“Except for some remnants, we have driven them into the fortress of Duke Druid. However, attacking that place will not be easy,” the Captain of the Guard reported, his voice grim.

“Is the fortress that strong, Captain of the Guard?” I asked.

“The fortress itself is ordinary… but the elven army behind them is a concern,” he replied.

Behind the druids are the elves.

To be exact, the elders of the Purification Church were also in cahoots.

The rebellion in the Eastern Territory itself was instigated by the elves.

Of course, it was virtually a state of war with the elves.

“If they strike from behind during the siege, it could be very difficult,” the Captain of the Guard warned.

“Has the location of the elves been confirmed?” I asked.

“Their location has not yet been confirmed. Scouts will return and report soon,” he replied.

“Where they are is the key,” I muttered.

If the elves want to support the druids from nearby, we have to think about field battles, not sieges.

Or, if the elves don’t want to help them much, they won’t come near them, so we can hit them.

Both were possible. There was no reason for the elves to cherish the druids, but they had enough motivation to help them and defeat us.

“The scouts are back,” a soldier announced.

“Okay, where is the elven army?” I asked, eager for information.

“That is…” the scout began, his voice hesitant.

After a while, the scouts returned and reported their location.

“They’re quite far away? Don’t they intend to help the druids?” I wondered aloud.

“I guess so. However, there is something strange in the scouts’ additional report,” the scout added.

“What is it?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

“They say that a huge tree is growing where the elves have set up their formation. It’s so huge that you can see it from afar…” the scout reported.

“A huge tree?” I asked, my brow furrowing in confusion.

“It must be the World Tree. It’s not the main body, but a branch,” Stella said, offering her opinion.

When Stella said her opinion, I asked her a question.

“Is there a reason to create a World Tree near here?”

“The World Tree is a medium that spreads the power of the spirit realm nearby. Elves can live more abundantly and healthily near the World Tree. It is usually used for that purpose, but…” Stella explained.

Stella spoke with a slightly nervous look when she said the next words.

“Sometimes, it is used to mobilize powerful spirit magic in war… it was written in the literature,” she said, her voice laced with concern.

“Don’t you know the specifics?” I asked.

“Yes, there was only an abstract description that it caused a huge disaster,” she replied.

I fell into 고민 [Korean: deep thought] after hearing Stella’s advice.

If what she said was true, it meant that the elves used the druids as disposable cards for something they were planning.

They were going to use them to buy time.

I don’t know if they agreed with the druids, but they probably didn’t. But I couldn’t coax the druids.

They were fanatics who couldn’t communicate. Even if they surrendered, they would be a nuisance.

“Their real aim is something using that World Tree. But to hit them, we have to defeat the druids,” I mused.

Then the only way left is to quickly defeat them and hit the elves.

Of course, the elves would thoroughly fortify the place in the meantime, but we had no choice but to do our best to defeat them.

“Advance immediately. Keep gathering follow-up troops,” I commanded.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Captain of the Guard replied.

I, who had chosen a head-on battle, led the army to the fortress of Duke Druid, the last stronghold of the druids.

But when I arrived there, a strange report came up.

“Your Majesty! The castle is as quiet as a mouse! Even the gate is left open,” a scout reported, his voice filled with disbelief.

The druids, who should have been in the fortress, had disappeared.

There was no news of an attack elsewhere, so it was close to being evaporated.

I immediately searched the castle to find out what had happened.

“There are traces of the attack everywhere,” a soldier reported.

“There are also many traces of using spirit magic. It seems to be the work of the elves,” another added.

“Judging from the many traces of being attacked defenselessly… it means they came in disguised as reinforcements and ambushed us,” the Captain of the Guard concluded.

“But they didn’t leave any bodies and even kidnapped the living, what’s the reason?” a soldier wondered.

Of course, they must have kidnapped people because they had a use for them.

And I could easily think of one thing.

“The elders of the Purification Church. They used people even in subspace [a pocket dimension]. As sacrifices for the man-eating tree,” I said, my voice grim.

“Ah……” Stella gasped, understanding dawning on her face.

“And the elves are building a World Tree. I guess they needed fertilizer for the World Tree,” I concluded.

Naturally, I came to that conclusion.

“That’s right, human emperor,” a voice said, breaking the silence.

“……!” I exclaimed, startled.

At that moment, there was a being who revealed himself with the wind of spirits.

A long blonde-haired elf man down to his waist.

An arrogant-looking elf, looking down at humans with an indifferent expression.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“I am Elrond le Draikora, the Spirit King,” he declared, his voice ringing with power.

Shuuuuuuuu-

“……! Everyone, prepare for the shock!” I commanded, sensing the immense power emanating from the Spirit King.