The 9Th Class Swordmaster: Blade Of Truth [EN]: Chapter 188

147. Declaration of a Monarch

“What does… that mean?”

Unlike before, the Emperor asked Carryl with a sharp expression.

However, Carryl, seeing his hardened face, wore a smile.

“You don’t need to be nervous. I have no intention of harming you. Or perhaps… the Emperor of the Empire is afraid of the barbarians standing outside the Imperial City? Is that so?”

“…You son of a bitch.”

The Emperor moved his lips towards Carryl in a voice so low it could barely be heard.

“Kadin.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Show the Magic Mirror.”

Without taking his eyes off Carryl, the Emperor ordered the court magician.

Woo-woo-woong….

As Kadin Luer spread his palm and drew in the air, three magic circles instantly intersected and vanished.

Before anyone could even be amazed by the skill of the 7th-class mage who cast a triple magic circle with a silent chant, the scenery outside the Imperial City appeared in the huge magic mirror created in the air.

“Th-That’s…!”

The hall buzzed the moment they saw the scene reflected in the magic mirror.

Whoosh…!!

The Tatur Free Army, wearing black cloaks that made them look like they were covered in black fog, was stationed at the entrance of the Imperial City, confronting the Imperial Guard.

They were deployed on both the north and south sides, effectively laying siege to the city.

Their numbers were so great they couldn’t even be properly estimated.

“I have only come to greet Your Majesty. This means that there is no need to worry about the north anymore,” Carryl said to the Emperor with a low laugh, as if it were nothing.

“I have merely done the troublesome work that the Empire should have done first. Your Majesty’s Empire is certainly a great power on the continent, but you have not yet achieved true dominance [hegemony].”

The Emperor’s face hardened at his words.

“So, you mean you conquered the north in my stead? Or…,”

He said with a blazing gaze.

“Do you mean you will devour the north?”

Carryl merely smiled faintly at the Emperor’s question.

“What does it matter? It has been a year since the Order of the Extermination of Heretics was issued. The Blue Knights have suffered greatly in the north, but they have only managed to conquer less than half of it.”

“…….”

No one knew that the reason why the Order of the Extermination of Heretics had faltered for a while was all due to the affairs in the south that Carryl had orchestrated.

“It will continue for several more years. Your Majesty, please just consider with a generous heart that I have solved one of those troublesome tasks.”

Unlike the smiling Carryl, the Emperor growled.

“The meaning of asking for Tatur’s independence was to do this kind of thing? Foolish fellow….”

“……!!!”

The hall buzzed at his words.

‘Independence?!’

‘Could it be… that His Majesty has recognized Tatur as a country?’

‘How could this happen….’

They couldn’t help but be even more surprised because it was the Emperor’s unilateral decision that had taken place without consulting with the ministers.

“You have done something presumptuous. If I had satisfied your greed, you would have prostrated yourself and quietly accepted it. Are you openly humiliating me in such a place where everyone is present?”

The Emperor shouted, glaring at Carryl as if he would devour him.

“With only a small city with less than 10,000 troops and the vermin of the north, you will have your head cut off in this Sun Palace before you even fight me.”

Clang-

At that moment,

The knights of the Sun Palace all moved to block Carryl’s path.

Kwell looked at him with anxious eyes.

However, unlike the angry Emperor, Carryl still had a calm expression.

“Would Your Majesty, who possesses the generosity of the sea, really do that?”

As if mocking him, Carryl raised the corners of his mouth and took something out of his arms.

“……!!!!”

A small bottle in his hand.

Inside, a red flame flower was still intact and not withered.

“You……. That……!”

The Emperor’s body, which had been leaning on the throne, staggered as if slipping, and his face couldn’t hide his shock.

“How could it be a foolish act to speak openly in such a place where everyone is gathered?”

Carryl said in a low voice.

“Didn’t I tell you? I was just thinking about Your Majesty’s health and doing a troublesome task on your behalf. Who else in this place knows about Your Majesty’s health? Well……. There are many things to say.”

It was no longer the words of a mere boy he had met in Heim.

“Please do not forget the matter I mentioned last time.”

Carryl reminded the Emperor once again of the secret agreement in the main palace.

‘Is that so…….’

The Emperor now realized Carryl’s true purpose.

The sea.

And Piasta, the port city that serves as a bridgehead connecting the sea and the continent.

Beyond that sea…….

‘There is a Duchy.’

Knowing how arrogant it was to prepare for war with the Duchy, his next target, in the heart of the Empire, Carryl sneered at the Emperor, who was staring at him blankly.

‘Now that he knows that Cromen was poisoned and that he himself was almost killed, he can’t just turn things back as if nothing happened.’

“I hope that you will be in good health and that I will see you again, Your Majesty.”

Carryl turned his head to look at Ruon once and then spoke to the Emperor again.

“So this time, please keep your promise.”

It was a threat.

At least that’s how it sounded to the Emperor.

It meant that if he did not carry out the verdict of the trial he had just mentioned, he didn’t know what would happen to the antidote.

The Emperor’s mind was complicated.

‘Was the antidote that Carryl gave me not perfect? Or is he lying?’

‘Perhaps… if I am not completely cured, will I end up like Cromen?’

Gulp-

He swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.

Carryl raised the corners of his mouth at his appearance and turned his body.

“Don’t worry too much. At least there will be no problems for a year.”

A grace period.

But those words also meant that he didn’t know what would happen to his body in a year.

“It would be best not to start any unnecessary things during that time.”

Only the ministers, who did not know what the bottle in his hand meant, were simply staring at the two of them in bewilderment.

“Let’s go back.”

Carryl’s low voice was heard.

“St-Stop……!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

At that moment,

The Emperor’s urgent cry echoed through the Sun Palace.

However, the Emperor, seeing Carryl’s eyes, could no longer stop him, making the cry meaningless.

“…….”

He felt the gaze of another of the Stehan family’s bloodline looking at him from among the crowd.

‘We’ll meet again soon. I’m preparing the sword for you even more carefully.’

Carryl looked at Olivon.

“Th-That… that…!!”

The Emperor could not continue speaking.

The anxiety that Carryl might break the bottle at any moment. No matter how great the Emperor of the Empire was, he was just a human being in the face of his life.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

Only the sound of Carryl’s footsteps could be heard.

‘Yes. Life is all the same. So don’t forget how you feel now, Tyran Stehan. All those outside are the lives you killed in your past life.’

Carryl, who had turned around, smiled coldly as he heard the Emperor’s voice, unable to speak.

* * *

“He’s coming.”

Kinu Mukari said in a low voice.

“Can you see that?”

Aidan clicked his tongue at his words.

“Anyway, everyone here is a monster.”

Then he squinted at the Empire, which was visible in the distance, but he still couldn’t see anything.

Chuck-!!

As Kinu Mukari raised his hand, the barbarians of the south all knelt down and waited for Carryl.

“…….”

The soldiers on the opposite side, looking at them with tense faces, flinched at the barbarians’ movements without realizing it.

“Dirty bastards……. How dare you set foot on the sacred land of the Empire.”

One of the Imperial Guards, who appeared to be a deputy commander, growled.

“Ha…….”

Suan Hazar snorted at those words.

Kwaaaang!!!

It was then.

A speed that couldn’t even be reacted to.

Before a scream could even be heard, Suan slammed down on the head of the knight who had been in front of him with all his might.

“Keok!!”

The knight’s helmet was shattered like crumpled paper, and his neck went in like a turtle.

“How does it feel to be hit by a nobody? Hey, you should be careful who you make fun of with your mouth.”

Pow……!!

A sonic boom erupted, and Suan thrust his fist horizontally once again.

The knight was unable to control his body due to the impact and was thrown dozens of meters away.

Burrr…….

The knight, who had been slammed into the ground, twitched a few times and then passed out as if he had lost consciousness.

“…….”

It was only two blows.

The soldiers were at a loss for words at the sight that made their legs tremble.

Despite being numerically superior, the Imperial Guards could not dare to rush in at this sight that had unfolded in an instant.

“Why? Don’t look at me like that. Isn’t that why the Master gave me the gauntlets? We’re going to fight them someday anyway.”

Suan Hazar said to the people looking at him with a strangely relieved expression.

“You’ve been holding back quite a bit.”

Dushalla, who had heard from Aidan that Suan had not participated in the expected capture of the City of the Dead and had only been sailing the ship to death, looked at Suan and chuckled.

“That’s not why he gave it to you. Hey, big guy.”

“……Yes?”

“Live up to your size.”

Miliana said with her arms crossed and her voice lowered. Suan scratched his head as if embarrassed at her words.

“But those guys started it first…….”

Suan tried to say something but eventually closed his mouth. No matter how much it was him, he did not have the courage to look straight into the eyes of the woman who had risen to the rank of Sword Master.

“We give back as much as we receive. Tatur has its own way. If they started a fight, they have to pay the price,” Dushalla said confidently, not intimidated by her momentum.

‘The Master shared a room with that woman?’

Perhaps it was because he had heard about Carryl and Miliana’s affairs in the south from Hashir, just as he had heard the story of the City of the Dead from Aidan.

“Give back as much as you receive? You’re too nice.”

However, Miliana snorted at Dushalla’s words.

“I would have cut off their breath. That’s why he gave it to you. That gauntlet. You’re not living up to your size.”

“…….”

Miliana dismissed everyone’s questions with that one word.

“Hey, you guys.”

She nodded her head and said to the Imperial Army standing in front of her.

“Get out of the way.”

As soon as those words fell, the Imperial Army split to both sides as if the sea was parting, due to the overwhelming momentum.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

Carryl walked through the divided soldiers.

Even though thousands of blades were pointed at him, he was as carefree as if he didn’t care.

Because the tips of the swords were already pointing towards the ground, crushed by his momentum.

“Any pursuit?”

“You don’t have to worry.”

Miliana nodded with an ‘I knew it’ expression at Carryl’s words.

As if to show off, she glanced at Dushalla.

“……Hmph.”

Dushalla frowned slightly at her gaze and bit her lip.

“I wonder what the Emperor’s expression is like.”

“It was quite a sight.”

Miliana chuckled at Carryl’s answer.

It was the Imperial City, with the Sword Master, called the greatest swordsman on the continent, as well as hundreds of knights and thousands, tens of thousands of soldiers.

How many people could come out of the center of such an empire so nonchalantly?

Even a dragon would not find it easy.

“Beykan.”

Carryl looked at Beykan.

As if he had been waiting for the order, he nodded his head towards Carryl.

He was carrying a large pole-like object on his shoulder instead of the axe he always had.

“Raise the flag.”

The moment the words fell, Beykan untied the end of the flagpole that had been wrapped in cloth.

“Gasp……!!”

The muscles in the arm holding the flagpole swelled as if they would burst.

The huge flagpole, reaching dozens of meters in height, was erected vertically towards the sky.

Flutter……!!

Flapping……!!

At that moment,

The blue flag fluttering in the wind proudly revealed itself in front of the Empire.

As if it were a signal, the same flags began to appear like waves in various places.

“…….”

The guards were simply staring at the sight with trembling faces.

“Let’s go back.”

At Carryl’s one word, thousands of soldiers moved all at once. The Imperial Guards were at a loss for what to do and simply stared at their backs.

Imperial Year 226, Winter.

An unprecedented event in history occurred.

For the first time in both his past and present lives.

At this moment, the barbarians of the north, the mercenaries of the free city, and the barbarians of the south were united under one flag.

* * *

“I still don’t consider you my lord. I’m just moving at the request of Hashir, the leader of the Wolf Fox tribe.”

While heading towards Ponaine,

Lilianna, who had been silent until now, spoke to Carryl.

“I know. Thanks to you, things worked out well. If you want, you can go back to the north. We still have a hard time accepting all of you.”

“You’re honest.”

“That’s my strength.”

Lilianna said as if she was dumbfounded at Carryl’s appearance, who was speaking so confidently.

“I didn’t think you’d come from the Zannabi tribe. Were you planning to assassinate the Emperor in case something happened? The look in your eyes when you looked at Tyran wasn’t a joke.”

“…….”

Lilianna closed her mouth at Carryl’s words.

“Well, you had a face that was dying to kill him, but you held back well. If you had ruined things there, I wouldn’t have let you go.”

Carryl said nonchalantly.

“You’re my prey.”

“…….”

At his words, Lilianna bit her dry lips slightly and said.

“Don’t be arrogant. This is the only time we’ve helped you. There are still many barbarians in the north. We’re going back too. If you really want to get the north…….”

“I know.”

At that moment, Carryl took out Agnel from his arms.

“……!!!”

“It’s the Great Chieftain’s sword. You must have heard it from Hashir. Now, go back to the north and wait at the place I told you. I will soon hold a day of harmony [a gathering to foster unity].”

Lilianna looked at the dagger and stared at Carryl with an unbelievable face.

“And you don’t have to worry about the Empire. There is a period of mourning, but even apart from that, they won’t be able to touch the north for a while. You saw the reason, didn’t you?”

She no longer seemed to care about the Empire and still couldn’t take her eyes off Agnel.

“How did you…….”

“Wait. I’ll tell you everything then.”

As if training her, Carryl dismissed her words with one word.

“…….”

“When you go back to the north, say hello to the old men [chieftains]. And thank them for this.”

Lilianna’s suspicion grew even more as Carryl spoke as if he knew the northern chieftains well.

“By the way, the title of Great Warrior is still vacant after Kaliak of the Black Eyes tribe died, right?”

“……Yes.”

Hashir smiled faintly as if he understood her attitude, which had changed after seeing Agnel.

At her answer, Carryl nodded his head as if his plan had been decided.

“Then that’s it.”