He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 77

The Greatest Mad Emperor in History – Episode 77

The Greatest Mad Emperor in History 77

After dismissing everyone around me, I focused my mind in a quiet, solitary space.

As I concentrated, meditating and recalling the sensation of the soul realm I had once felt, my surroundings soon transformed into a world washed in white.

“Leonis, I need a new trial.”

I needed a trial.

A trial to temper my divinity and nurture it to greater strength.

I didn’t need to search far for that trial. I could simply request it from my god.

-Such an arrogant fellow. Your attitude toward a god isn’t very polite.

And so, I faced Leonis again after a long time.

It was the first time I had directly confronted him since seeing him alongside other gods during the Pope’s ritual.

I slightly raised the corner of my lips and responded to his words.

“Do you wish me to be polite?”

-No, it’s not that. An emperor can be a bit arrogant.

Leonis, with his straightforward personality, shrugged and spoke as if it were nothing.

Of course, even if he had said no, I wouldn’t have particularly considered being polite.

-Anyway, are you truly prepared? The trial you desire this time… won’t be easy. You might die.

Leonis warned once more. I felt the weight of his warning, but instead, I felt a surge of competitive spirit and replied.

“A formidable enemy has appeared. I must defeat him.”

-The Spirit King seems to have stimulated you.

Seeing my resolve, Leonis looked at me with a satisfied and expectant gaze.

-I could offer advice, but… seeing is better than a hundred hearings. Go and clash with him.

Whoosh-

[The Guardian God of Courage, Leonis, summons the soul of his hero.]

[The ‘Soul of the First Emperor (Growing Stage)’ has appeared in response to the call of courage.]

Soon, the soul of the First Emperor, whom I had seen before, appeared at Leonis’s summons.

However, it was quite different from before.

Unlike before, when he appeared as a young knight in armor, he now looked more mature in many ways.

-There’s no need to say more, right? Cross swords. And find the answer, Emperor.

Clang!

At the same moment as Leonis’s words, I drew my sword.

And I charged towards the First Emperor.

If it were the previous First Emperor, he too would have drawn his sword and charged towards me.

But with the changed atmosphere, he stood there nobly, even with his sword drawn.

Clang!

Soon, I crossed swords with him.

However, the First Emperor was much more composed than I was, even though I had accelerated my sword with the force of my charge.

I knew that this wasn’t merely due to a difference in strength or skill.

This was the realm of souls.

A place not solely determined by physical strength or abilities.

A place governed by a more fundamental power.

The First Emperor overwhelmed me in every aspect: the size of his soul, his soul’s capacity, everything.

-Surprising, isn’t it? This is still the First Emperor in his growing stage. Not even his prime. Yet, he has that much soul.

I heard Leonis’s words.

Indeed, as he said, it was an unbelievable soul size that overwhelmed me, even though he wasn’t in his prime.

But that’s why there was a hint.

This kind of soul size could never be built up on one’s own.

To grow the soul to this extent, there was only one way.

Divinity.

There was no other way but to properly equip oneself with the power of a god.

-That’s right, Emperor. In the end, the difference in divinity is the difference in power. Unless you’re just playing around with battles below that.

Even so, it was hard to believe.

The First Emperor’s divinity was so immense that it was difficult to fathom.

How did this man build up so much power at such a young age, still in his growing stage?

But I had to figure out how to win against an opponent with such a difference in divinity.

Or, find a way to make my divinity stronger in a short amount of time.

Clang!

“Kugh.”

Unfortunately, that method wasn’t something that could be easily found.

As I continued to exchange blows with the First Emperor, I soon lost my grip on my sword due to his strike.

It was a natural result, given the immense size of his soul.

-As you think, there are only those two ways. And the method lies with the First Emperor.

“How did the First Emperor at this time build up so much divinity?”

I couldn’t even guess what kind of mythical achievements he had accomplished to build up such divinity at such a young age.

Seeing me like that, Leonis smiled.

-He didn’t build it up.

“What?”

-He didn’t build up divinity, Emperor. Of course, it’s impossible. Building up this much divinity at a young age is impossible.

“Then how?”

If that’s the case, how is it possible?

The answer Leonis gave next was very simple.

-He merely brought it. From the wishes of humanity that had already been created over countless years.

Upon hearing Leonis’s words, I felt as if I had gained enlightenment.

I realized the essence of the divinity the First Emperor had shown.

“The wishes of humanity… I see. The First Emperor was such a person.”

The wishes of humanity.

Even from a time long before the empire existed, all the wishes of humanity accumulated would surely have been a powerful faith in themselves.

Humans, who were individually weak, yearned for and craved strength, and every time they fell like blades of grass, they would have built up that intense desire.

That would have become faith and divinity, creating a god.

And that’s how guardian gods like Leonis would have been created.

But even the guardian gods didn’t create an empire.

The one who created the empire was the First Emperor.

The imperial guardian gods were merely promoted to state religion by the First Emperor.

-The First Emperor was the one who could draw up the wishes of those humans themselves.

“No joke, he was practically the empire itself.”

If so, I have no choice but to walk the same path.

* * *

In a world where the struggle for life is commonplace, the desires that humans might have would be various.

The desire for the power to protect themselves and their families from threats.

The desire to achieve a prosperous civilization.

The desire to know more about the mysteries of magic, and many other things.

-See and feel those desires, Emperor. Just like the First Emperor did.

With Leonis’s words, the soul realm changes.

It was a place burning, and the screams of people echoed like a reverberation.

-Save me!

-E, Elves!

-Aaaaaaah!

A village was being attacked.

Elves were hunting people like prey from all directions.

-I, I don’t want to die. Please…!

-Aaaaah… even if it’s just my child….

The elves not only killed but also used captured people as living sacrifices, casting spirit magic on them to feed the spirits.

People who died with tree roots and vines piercing their bodies alive writhed in pain.

Others who were kidnapped were enslaved for their spirit magic.

That was the beginning of the Druid Order.

“Damn pointy-eared bastards…!”

Watching it, I felt anger somewhere.

And that anger wasn’t just mine.

The anger of the First Emperor, who had seen this scene in the same way, was also felt together.

Clang, Swoosh!

There was no need to just watch any longer, so I immediately drew my sword and ran towards them.

At the same time, shadow blades stretched out in all directions.

Shadow blades cutting and piercing the necks of the elves.

At the same time, I, wielding the Holy Sword, also weaved through them and slashed.

Each time, the image of the First Emperor facing countless enemies alone also came to mind.

At the same time, his anger and desires were felt more and more clearly, being converted into my own.

Shushushuk! Pow! Whack!

The elves’ arrows, piercing even steel, flew and struck me.

Their evil spirit magic surged with spirits.

Each one was enough to threaten life even in this soul realm.

But without backing down, deflecting the arrows, cutting and burning the spirits, I fought against them.

Whack! Thwack!

“Kugh….”

However, they kept coming endlessly.

I was hit by arrows I couldn’t block, knelt down, and was burning in the flames of the spirits.

The First Emperor also seemed to have gone through the same trials, collapsing and dying in the endless battle.

-Countless humans died powerlessly like this.

At that time, I was finally able to feel it.

Even if the desires of the dead humans were just a handful of souls, all of them were sticky and desperate.

That their helpless desperation had created a god.

-Gods exist because people want gods. The desire for a savior to appear is also the desire for the advent of a superhuman.

Each one was weak, but there were so many that they formed a mountain and were as wide and deep as the sea, the desires of those who had fallen.

A world where those things gathered was like a giant concept, like the spirit realm of spirits, and it was a gathering place and power of souls.

-The thing that defined all of that as one.

The Empire.

The Empire was thus created.

Thus, the true power that supports the Empire.

The soul of the imperial people that the true emperor must possess!

The Imperial Soul!

[Acquired trait ‘Imperial Soul’]

[You can temporarily procure divinity and divine power from the Imperial Soul.]

[The limit of divinity that can be procured is up to the extent that the vessel of the soul allows.]

Whoosh!

I could feel them together somewhere.

As they were together, the size of my soul grew.

Strengthened divinity, and the power that was strengthened by it, surged.

“This is the power of the true emperor.”

It had been gradually forgotten since the First Emperor, but it was the fundamental power that made up the Empire.

I finally realized that the integration of the Empire that I wanted was not just limited to my desires.

It was the destiny of the Empire and all its people.

A destiny that must be achieved, a destiny in which nothing would remain if it was not achieved.

“Then there’s no need to hesitate any longer.”

If what I want is the destiny of the Empire, then even my cause is justified.

The thing that had started simply for myself had now clearly turned into destiny.

Whoaaaa!

I swung the burning sword.

A giant tidal wave of flames surged from the sword towards the elves who were constantly rushing in.

No matter how strong the enemy was, they were instantly turned into a handful of ashes.

“I am the Empire. The Empire is me.”

I finally became the true emperor of humans.

* * *

After completing my awakening, I summoned my close aides for a meeting.

“Your Majesty… you’ve changed.”

“Hmm.”

Stella, who had become my vassal and a saintess, was the first to recognize my change.

Of course, the commander of the guard also seemed to have sensed that I had become stronger, but he wouldn’t have had the ability to know how my spiritual part had changed.

“Commander of the Guard, report. Where is the Spirit King?”

“He is at that young World Tree you mentioned before. However, that place is already so heavily fortified… that it seems difficult to attack.”

The Spirit King was plotting to destroy the Empire with spirit magic using that World Tree.

Not only did the Druid Duke say so as he was dying, but now I could feel it.

“Commander of the Guard, if we lead our forces and strike the elves’ land, would he come out to intercept us?”

“…It is difficult to dare to predict. He may suspect a feint and not move to protect the World Tree, but if that happens, even if he only intercepts us, it will be our defeat.”

The Commander of the Guard was right.

Apart from the military strength issue, if that catastrophic spirit magic were to occur with that World Tree, it would be our tactical defeat unless we could stop it.

“Then, Commander of the Guard, let me change the question. How much of the elves’ land could you burn with all our forces except for me?”

“…Excuse me? That’s… assuming that the enemy’s reserves are nonexistent or insignificant… but to say such a thing, could it be that….”

I nodded at the Commander of the Guard’s suspicious question.

“Yes.”

That guy came alone so presumptuously.

“I’m thinking of paying him back double this time.”

I’m not one to let things go after being wronged.