He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 89

“Well, well. If it isn’t the infamous Pirate Duke. *Ahem* I never expected to meet you like this. *Ahem-*”

A Naga, a creature resembling a mix of snake and fish, greeted the Pirate Duke with a sneer.

It was hard to tell if he was genuinely sneering or if it was just the naturally villainous aura common to his race, but the circumstances suggested the former.

“I didn’t expect to see a Naga either.”

Blackbeard’s tone was just as sarcastic, but unlike the relaxed Naga, the Pirate Duke was in a desperate situation.

“I don’t have time to waste, so I’ll get straight to the point. Grand Elector Blackbeard of the Gross Empire formally requests asylum in the Beastmen Alliance Kingdom.”

He had originally planned to seek asylum in the Beastmen Alliance anyway.

However, his plan to enjoy the wealth of the Southern Territory and then seek luxurious asylum had been thwarted.

Still, a considerable number of pirates remained under his command, enough to form an exile navy, and he had a good amount of treasure left, so he was still in a position to expect asylum.

“Hmm, not very appealing. I don’t think you’d be of much help to our alliance.”

“Why? I have a considerable amount of money, and we’re a force that can become a large fleet at any time!”

“Yes, but you’re ultimately a pirate who failed, a rebel, and a fallen noble with no remaining base. Why would we antagonize the Empire to take in such people?”

“…….”

The Naga added that unless he had overwhelming wealth to make up for those shortcomings, he wouldn’t be interested, and he grinned slyly.

“Damn useless beasts. I shouldn’t have trusted you in the first place. Get lost!”

There was nothing wrong with what the Naga ambassador said, but the Pirate Duke, unable to contain his anger, spat out harsh words and turned away.

At this rate, he would have to leave immediately and make a living by piracy, but he had no intention of giving up, and there was no other way.

“We’re happy to disappear if that’s what you want, but why don’t you hear us out until the end?”

“I won’t listen if you’re going to insult me further.”

“Oh dear, you’re quite angry. But don’t worry, it’s not an insult. Although it’s not asylum, we have a proposal that benefits both of us.”

The Pirate Duke frowned at the Naga’s words.

He was calling it a ‘proposal,’ but there was no way that something said by someone as sly as the Naga in front of him would be normal.

“What are you proposing? A deal?”

“You could call it a deal. But in reality, we don’t receive anything directly. Rather, we’re just giving this to you.”

The Naga ambassador took out something from a small box.

It was a unique dagger with a hilt decorated with coral and a blade made of sharp, jagged fish bones.

“This is… it feels very ominous.”

Blackbeard, though a pirate, possessed some knightly qualities and could sense the dark magic emanating from the dagger, however clumsily.

Whether it was cursed or had dark magic cast on it, it was definitely not something positive.

“It is the Dagger of Ktalion, the Ruler of the Abyss. A very powerful artifact made from a part of his body.”

“You mean it’s an evil god’s item? What are you going to do with it?”

The Pirate Duke spoke furiously, but the Naga said with a sneer:

“We’re showing you the only way to survive, aren’t we?”

“With this cursed thing? That’s as good as being dead!”

“Hehe, if that’s what you think, we have nothing to lose. We have no intention of forcing you. But I think… given your personality, you don’t seem like the type to give up on life without any regrets.”

“Tch…….”

His words were clearly mocking, but the Duke couldn’t deny it.

Most nobles cling to life, but some try to maintain their final honor at the end.

However, Blackbeard was far from that.

With a stronger identity as a pirate than a noble, a honorable death was worthless to him.

The Pirate Duke eventually took the cursed dagger.

“…What is the price for using its power?”

To his last question, the Naga replied with a satisfied smile.

“Everything.”

It was a word that meant destruction, but to someone who thought he had already lost everything, it seemed like a very light price.

* * *

“We’ve already surrounded the archipelago. If they try to escape, we’ll detect it immediately.”

After receiving the tip from Duke Orlant, I immediately led the available navy and pirate fleets to the Bopulus Archipelago.

“If they were going to run, they would have done it already…….”

“That means they’re planning to fight inside the archipelago.”

Sara chimed in. But why would pirates who already realized the difference in power make such a choice?

“Blackbeard isn’t the type to surrender, so it might just be a last-ditch effort.”

“Is that so? From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t seem like the type to give up easily.”

He was notorious for being tenacious and never letting go once he bit.

Of course, I’ve never met him in person, so it’s hard to say for sure.

“Rather than that, he might have found something to rely on.”

“…Are the Nagas cooperating?”

“We don’t know. But if they’re definitely plotting something, we don’t need to take the risk.”

There are always those money-crazed people who will go to their deaths for a promise of reward.

“I’ll put the pirates in the front. Promise them higher positions and territories as rewards.”

“Even though there are many fallen families, at this rate, the entire Southern Territory will be in the hands of pirates.”

“Well, wouldn’t that be the governor’s job to handle?”

“…….”

Of course, I was half-joking, but I had a very, very ominous feeling that the pirates I pushed in would die and fall.

“If I just take that Blackbeard guy’s head, I’ll be a count!”

“Let’s live it up for once!”

But the pirates were full of enthusiasm at the prospect of changing their lineage to blue [referring to noble blood].

As a benevolent emperor who couldn’t turn away from their desires, I gladly put them at the forefront.

“I’m such a good emperor, generously giving out opportunities for social advancement.”

“…….”

“…What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Sara’s expression briefly looked like ‘This is… an emperor?’, but she didn’t care much since she didn’t cherish the lives of the pirates either.

“Then the navy will approach one step behind.”

Rather, she was strategically directing the regular navy to move safely, as if she had no regrets at all.

All that was left was to watch what happened to the pirates.

“…It’s strange? I don’t see any enemy ships.”

“Are they hiding between the islands?”

“Even so, they should be appearing by now to attack from somewhere…….”

But even though it was already time for them to appear, their figures didn’t appear on the horizon at all.

Sara, as well as myself, began to think it was strange, when—

Kuuuung!

“…! Look there!”

Unbelievably, the pirate ship at the front suddenly split in two.

…It collided with a ship that suddenly rose from under the sea.

“Crazy! What is that!”

“What happened?”

It wasn’t just me who witnessed the scene, but the other navy sailors as well.

Kuuung! Crack! Kuung!

It wasn’t just once, but the ships of the leading pirates were being destroyed one after another.

Each one was being destroyed by ghost ships that suddenly appeared from under the sea, covered in seaweed.

“Sara! Move the ship immediately! They’ll target us too!”

Everyone was surprised by the unbelievable sight, but I immediately shouted at Sara.

Because the Weakness Detection ability was warning of danger, the surrounding sea, which should have been empty, looked bright red.

“Unfurl all the sails! Evacuate immediately in any direction!”

“If we’re not careful, we’ll collide with our own ships-”

Crack!

Before she could finish speaking, a navy ship nearby met the same fate as the pirate ships a moment ago.

“Think about that later and get the ship out of here immediately!”

With the crisis right in front of them, the sailors immediately began to move.

Everyone hurriedly unfurled all the sails and steered the ship, moving it.

Chwaaaa-

“Ah, that was close!”

An enemy ship rose from under the sea, but our ship had already passed.

Thanks to Sara’s command, the sailors breathed a sigh of relief after barely surviving.

Kurreureung!

쿵!

“Huh, uh, what?”

But just as the sailors were relieved, a giant octopus tentacle stretched out from the ghost ship that had risen from the water and grabbed the ship.

Thanks to that, the ship couldn’t escape, and the enemies were boarding with those tough tentacles.

“Grrr… Grrr…….”

“S, Sea Wraiths!”

“They’ve turned into Sea Wraiths!”

The enemies rushing in through the octopus tentacles extending in all directions were none other than the Pirate Duke’s subordinates.

But their faces were discolored to a dark blue like bloated corpses, and parts of them looked like they had turned into seafood.

“Get a grip and fight back with melee combat!”

“Be careful, Admiral!”

“……!”

Sara was encouraging the sailors who were starting to waver when, in a moment of carelessness, she was ambushed.

Her arm was about to be torn off by an enemy whose arm had turned into a crab claw.

Seokeok!

But the Holy Sword beheaded the undead pirate first.

“T, Thank you.”

“Don’t let your guard down and take care of the sailors.”

While saying that to Sara, I watched the Sea Wraith I had beheaded again.

Surprisingly, it didn’t die even after being beheaded.

A bundle of tentacles that seemed to belong to seafood sprouted from the severed head and crawled towards the body.

“Normal physical attacks are inefficient.”

The Sea Wraiths were also showing great resistance to the bullets fired by other navy sailors.

“If they’re undead, it would be best to burn them…….”

Using fire on the ship wasn’t a good choice.

Because of that, it was difficult to use the flames of purification.

Instead, I decided to make another choice.

[Imperial Soul Stage 1 Release]

[Punishment Blessing – Granting Exorcism Weapon]

[All weapons used by the user are granted divine power that is fatal to the undead, demons, and devils.]

[Yustia’s favor is sufficient, slightly increasing efficiency.]

[Consumes 1,500 divine power, additionally consumes 10 divine power every 5 seconds.]

The Holy Sword began to shine even more brilliantly with silver light.

I additionally spread out wings of light, creating a strong wind and began to fly.

Seokeok, Chwaak! Paaak!

Repeating steep dives and low-altitude flights, I swept through and reduced the number of Sea Wraiths on board.

Syukaaaaak!

Before long, after roughly clearing out all but a few remaining ones, I targeted the enemy ships instead.

I flew high into the sky once, and using the acceleration from a steep dive, I slashed one of the enemy ghost ships greatly.

The octopus tentacles that were holding the ship in place, as well as the ship’s deck, were greatly cracked, and it slowly began to sink.

But rather than sinking, it felt like it was retreating into the sea.

It wasn’t that they were dead even if they were killed, but rather that they were just returning to the sea.

“I don’t know what you’ve done… but I can ask the person himself.”

In my eyes, flying back into the sky, I saw one of Blackbeard’s pirate admirals, who was also far from human.

I immediately flew towards him like an arrow.