He Became The Most Insane Emperor Of All Time [EN]: Chapter 90

Became the Crazy S-Class Emperor – Chapter 90

-Kill the beings on land. Make them bow to the ruler of the abyss!

As I flew towards the being presumed to be the Pirate Duke, his voice echoed all around.

It was a reverberation that struck the ears as if amplified through a conch shell.

“M-My head is splitting!”

“S-Someone is whispering in my head……!”

“The sea…… is calling me……!”

The voice wasn’t just an unpleasant sound; those with weak mental defenses momentarily went insane or jumped into the sea as if possessed.

“Is there some giant alien octopus monster in the sea or something!”

It wouldn’t be strange even if there was, considering the world we’re in!

“Damn it! Eat this, you monster!”

Tsutsutsutsu!

At my shout, the radiant divine power imbued in the Holy Sword began to emit white currents.

Kwang!

Soon, lightning struck the ghost ship along my sword.

Partsutsu…….

It didn’t instantly split the ship, perhaps because it was protected by some force, but I managed to deal with the sea wraith sailors on the ship.

The divine power seemed like poison to them, and they couldn’t approach the remaining white currents.

However, there was one who wasn’t particularly affected by it.

-You…… possess power that an ordinary land monkey shouldn’t have…….

The Pirate Duke… no, the being that was hard to call that anymore, looked at me with eyes as turbid as a fish’s, and spoke.

“Calling a human a monkey? It’s quite refreshing to hear that from a squid in the sea.”

-Insolent…… But that power is certainly in my memory.

He fiddled with the tentacles sprouting from his black beard with his limp hand, and then spoke as if he remembered something.

-That’s right! That brat from 3,000 years ago…… the arrogant one blessed by the monkeys’ god……! It’s the same power that guy had!

Judging from the context, he seemed to be talking about the first Emperor. Considering he spoke as if remembering past events, the being speaking through the Pirate Duke’s body seemed to be quite old.

“I don’t know what your true identity is-”

Chuck.

“-and I don’t care!”

Chwaaaaa!

In a flash of light, the Holy Sword bisected him.

The divine power imbued in the sword remained on his body like a lingering image, disintegrating his body like dust.

But that wasn’t enough to kill him.

-Foolish. Did you think that a being subservient to me could find rest so easily?

He was already standing unharmed somewhere else.

Clearly, there was another sea wraith there, but he had been replaced by that one.

“They were pirates, but they sold their souls to a truly vile being.”

They might have sold their souls to that evil being to avoid dying by my hand, but it just looked like even their souls couldn’t be freed after death.

However, there was no reason to pity them for suffering from their own choices.

-Come! I, Ktallion, ruler of the abyss, shall claim your soul as well!

Chwaruru…….

Anchor chains made of iron stretched out from all directions.

-For Ktallion…….

-Protect the Admiral…….

Along with that, the sea wraiths threw cursed harpoons covered in seaweed.

At first, I tried to deflect them with my sword, but the ‘Sharp Weakness Detection’ ability warned of danger.

It was telling me that dealing with those things with physical force was dangerous.

“Try to catch me if you can!”

Judging that it was impossible to deflect them, I immediately soared back into the sky with wings of light.

The chain anchor lines and harpoons that tried to bind me only struck the deck where I had been, in vain.

-Do you think I can’t!

But as Ktallion’s wraith shouted, the anchor lines soared into the air, chasing after me.

Not only that, but giant octopus tentacles were being swung swiftly from the sea as if trying to catch me.

Kureureung, Kwaaaang!

Moreover, the sea’s weather was rapidly worsening as if a storm was brewing.

Lightning targeted me, and the increasingly large waves seemed intent on capsizing the ships carrying our allies.

“Ha, so the entire sea is on your side, huh?”

After the Spirit King, this was the second strong opponent I had encountered.

The Spirit King was strong, but there was something lacking in calling him divine.

But the being I was facing now was comparable to the Empire’s Guardian God.

Perhaps even this was only a fraction of his power, not yet fully revealed.

“Then I’ll just cleave even that sea!”

[Imperial Soul Phase 1 Power Release]

[Authority of Judgment – Execution of Punisher’s Wrath Initiated]

[60,000 Divine Power is immediately consumed.]

[Severe rebound may occur immediately after execution.]

While dodging all sorts of sea curses chasing after me, I gathered the divine power imbued with the Imperial Soul into the Holy Sword.

When the divine power of punishment, which existed solely for the destruction of evil, was imbued in the Empire’s Holy Sword to the point where it could no longer be suppressed-

“Be cleaved!”

Partsutsutsutsu!

I swung the sword and cleaved the great evil before me.

The sea, imbued with impure power, was temporarily split, revealing the seabed below.

The sea wraiths fell into the split sea.

But it didn’t seem like they were freed by that.

Clearly, the seabed was visible, but a vortex of black abyss was already visible there.

They had merely returned to the being to whom their souls were bound.

-Hehehe…… It’s been a long time since I’ve felt such amusement…… I look forward to meeting you again soon…… young Emperor…….

The abyssal being, who called himself Ktallion, also disappeared into the vortex with an unpleasant voice.

As the split sea rejoined, the stormy sea became calm as if it were a lie.

“Brother!”

“You’re safe, Sarah. Hmm…….”

“Are you okay?”

After watching that, I returned to the flagship where Sarah was, and as soon as I landed on the deck, I felt a strong dizziness.

[Rebound has occurred due to the rapid use of Imperial Soul beyond the capacity of the soul.]

[The efficiency of the Imperial Soul is greatly reduced for a while.]

[Excessive strain has occurred on divine power, magic power, and physical abilities. Intermittent pain will occur until recovery.]

“……I’m fine. It’s not enough to kill me.”

“That sounds like it’s painful enough not to die, though?”

Even amidst the pain, I chuckled at Sarah’s worried words.

“You’re not wrong. But I’m glad it’s not just painful.”

[Fought against Ktallion, the ruler of the Black Abyss.]

[Achieved a feat against a strong deity, instilling faith in all who witnessed it.]

[The divinity of ‘Emperor Franz’ has greatly increased.]

[Due to the grown divinity, you can now foster the ‘Emperor’s Legion’.]

As a reward for standing against a divine being, my divinity grew stronger.

Following the Spirit King, this was the Emperor’s second great achievement.

“……Brother, you were a much more amazing person than I thought. No, are you even a person……?”

“If I’m not a person, what do I look like?”

“Well…….”

Sarah said, looking at the sailors around her who were looking at me as if worshiping me.

“Like the first Emperor in mythology. A living god to humans…….”

At Sarah’s words, which didn’t feel like a lie, I once again realized what their worship was overlapping me with.

The existence of a fundamental belief remaining among the people of the Empire, even as the Empire was faltering.

Thanks to that existence, I could easily be revered by them.

“Sarah. That’s not enough.”

“Yes?”

“I will become more than that.”

I will not be the reincarnation of the first Emperor, but Emperor Franz, who rebuilt the Empire.

* * *

“Was the matter of the Pirate Duke resolved well?”

“For now, yes. Strictly speaking, Blackbeard isn’t dead, though.”

Sarah, who had returned from the Bopulus Islands, answered Duke Orlant appropriately to his question.

The remaining treasures of the Pirate Duke hidden on the land of the islands were also recovered, and the damage there was concentrated on those of pirate origin, so it wasn’t a bad conclusion.

“But you look like you’re spacing out. What on earth happened there?”

“……Well.”

Sarah told the Duke the facts as she had seen them, but she was half-doubtful whether he would believe them.

“Indeed…… Has the Emperor’s ability reached that level? The rumors spreading from the Eastern Territory were not false.”

“You believe it more easily than I thought?”

“There’s no reason not to believe your words, and I’ve seen the Emperor’s potential for a long time.”

Of course, Duke Orlant had sided with the Emperor only after being half-threatened, but he wanted to boast a little to his granddaughter, so he slightly exaggerated his achievements.

“However, it’s also true that he has far surpassed the potential I saw back then.”

So, even though I volunteered to be the second-in-command back then, I thought I was on equal footing with the Emperor, but now that’s out of the question.

The gap has widened to the point where betrayal or half-hearted collusion against the Emperor is absolutely impossible.

“Sarah, it’s clear what we have to do now. The Empire will be reborn, and our Orlant family must remain as the first meritorious subjects of that Empire.”

“I suppose so. But our family’s power has also greatly declined.”

Sarah knew the importance of what Duke Orlant was saying.

But the betrayal by the Pirate Duke was too devastating.

The Orlant family’s strength lay in its abundant wealth based in the Southern Territory and its political power that controlled the nobles of the Southern Territory.

But first of all, the wealth was greatly consumed in this incident or a considerable portion was ‘presented’ to the Emperor.

Even if political power remained to some extent as long as the Duke was alive, too many family members were killed by the Pirate Duke.

A significant number of strategic marriages with the nobles of the Southern Territory, which had exerted direct and indirect influence, had been cut off.

“No, you don’t need to worry too much about that. You still need to see the forest, not just the trees.”

“What do you mean, Grandfather? It’s a fact that the family has weakened, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, but look at the landscape the Emperor has created.”

Sarah thought about the landscape of the South again as the Duke said, even though she wondered what more she could see now.

If you exclude their Orlant family, there were first of all the surviving noble forces of the South.

And the pirate-born nobles who had risen as a new force, gaining titles through something called ‘Merit Certificates’ [official documents recognizing their contributions].

If you were to pick one more force, it would be the Southern merchant forces. Originally, they were virtually subordinates of the Southern nobles or the Orlant family…….

“Ah…… Could it be?”

“Yes, the Emperor wants balance, Sarah. This landscape is a structure where they bite and check each other.”

The surviving old noble forces of the South will have to unite unconditionally among themselves.

And of course, they will inevitably be hostile to those of pirate origin.

Because they have to get back what they had been deprived of or had to give up.

“And the pirate-born new nobles will also seek alliances to survive. Perhaps it will be the merchants.”

“And the merchants won’t like either of them very much, will they? Maybe they’ll try to buy rights equivalent to nobles, too.”

Merchants had been exploited or suppressed while being mindful of the nobles from before, so they obviously wouldn’t have good feelings towards the old nobles.

Similarly, they had been harassed by pirates, so they wouldn’t have good feelings either.

In the end, they will want to become an independent force rather than completely siding with one side.

“The Emperor won’t want one of these three forces to devour all the others.”

“Because that’s better for the royal authority.”

Whether it’s the old nobles, the pirate-born nobles, or even the merchants, they are subordinates and local powers to the Emperor.

It is an ideal situation for the ruler to have the local powers dispersed and biting each other rather than uniting and raising their voices.

“What we have to do is…… adjust the balance as he wishes.”

“Yes, that’s what the Emperor wants most. As long as we exist for that purpose, the Emperor will have no choice but to favor us.”

That role, of course, is impossible without the Orlant family.

The influence and popularity remaining among the old nobles and merchants, and the military power including the navy that can stand against the pirate forces.

Among the forces in the South now, only the Orlant family could claim to be such a mediator.

“Indeed, there was still hope left to rebuild the family.”

“That’s right. But…… Sarah, what are you going to do now? I’m going to be the Governor-General of the Southern Territory whether I like it or not.”

“I’ll have to reorganize the navy again. That role will be more important than before now.”

“Is that so? Hmm…….”

“……What’s wrong?”

Sarah asked, wondering why Duke Orlant’s expression was slightly clouded at her answer.

But he shook his head and replied.

“No, it’s nothing. Go now.”

“Yes, please get some rest too, Grandfather.”

Sarah bowed politely to him and stepped back.

Duke Orlant, left alone in the room, murmured wistfully.