Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: The Emperor Dies
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"Your, Your Majesty..."
"You've come..."
"Please rise at once. Dust yourself off and rise as you once did, commanding your loyal subjects."
The imperial palace of the Bazran Empire.
In the room where the ailing emperor lay bedridden.
Duke Garviti, one of the four great dukes of the empire, had rushed over at the emperor's summons.
"It's already been fifty years since I first met you... Back when you were young, I followed you around like a brother..."
"Your Majesty..."
Unlike others, Duke Garviti shared particularly deep memories with the emperor.
The previous emperor and Garviti's father had been friends, which allowed young Garviti frequent visits to the imperial palace, where he grew as close as brothers with then-Crown Prince Habitron.
But as they aged and the prince ascended the throne, their bond became that of sovereign and subject, leading to this day.
Yet now, the emperor reminisced about the past, gazing warmly at Duke Garviti.
"My mind is unusually clear today. It feels like my time to return to the gods' embrace is near."
"What nonsense is this, Your Majesty? The gods' embrace? This old servant is still hale and hearty—how can Your Majesty speak such frail words..."
"Thank you."
The emperor expressed his gratitude to the duke.
"Thanks to you and the other loyal subjects, the empire reached its greatest prosperity in my reign. Among them, your merit in trusting and following this flawed ruler stands above all."
"Your Majesty..."
Tears welled in the old duke's eyes at the emperor's heartfelt words, so unlike his usual demeanor.
"I've called you here today with a request."
Not a command, but a personal plea from the emperor.
Though bedridden and frail, he still wielded the power to upend the empire with a single word—and now he made a request of the duke.
"Command me, Your Majesty. This servant shall stake his life to fulfill it."
Duke Garviti knew.
These words might well be the emperor's last.
"I entrust the empire to you."
"..."
Stunned by the emperor's words, Garviti's eyes widened in shock.
"When I die, do not step foot outside your territory—not even once. You're of advanced age, so use old age as an excuse to seclude yourself. And preserve your strength."
The emperor spoke with startling clarity, defying the priests' predictions of his imminent demise.
Wisdom shone in his eyes, the mark of a sage.
"And... when the time comes, draw your sword once for the empire. That is my final request."
A plea laden with profound meaning.
If word of this leaked, it could be branded treason.
"And take this."
"This is..."
"A decree bearing the imperial seal."
"Why give this to me?"
"Now, you're the only one left in the imperial house whom I can trust."
"Your Majesty! How can you say such a thing? No matter who it is, if they defy your command, this servant will sever their head!"
"Thank you... But the time is not yet right. You know it too—power is like a river, ever flowing without cease."
"Urgh..."
How could the duke not understand the emperor's point?
In the Bazran Empire, who held the power and honor second only to the emperor if not the four great dukes?
"Once you leave this room, execute this decree at once. No matter who tries to stop you."
Even passing the single decree seemed to drain him; Emperor Habitron's hand trembled faintly.
Garviti held back his tears, receiving the imperial command with both hands.
"Gasp! Th-this is..."
"If they live, my request stands. But if they are dead... preserve your house."
"Your Majesty..."
Today, the emperor left him utterly speechless.
Garviti took the command and looked upon the emperor.
"Cough, cough..."
Having said his piece, the emperor coughed violently, his face flushing crimson.
"Your Majesty!"
"...It's fine. I'm finished... Go now. And execute my command immediately... Then return. You could be in danger too... Cough, cough."
Finishing his words amid coughs, crimson blood trickled from the emperor's mouth in thick globs.
The eyes that had been so sharp moments ago rapidly lost their light.
"Your Majesty, this servant... shall see you again..."
Thud!
Garviti dropped to one knee, offering the highest salute of a knight.
Hot tears streamed down the old man's aged eyes.
'I shall safeguard this empire according to Your Majesty's will! Without fail...'
Casting a final glance at the emperor, Duke Garviti opened the bedroom door.
"What are you doing! His Majesty the Emperor has collapsed! Summon the priests at once! Now!!!!!"
Duke Garviti's roar echoed through the palace, mana amplifying it to shake the very foundations.
In that instant, the deathly silent imperial palace erupted into a whirlwind of chaos.
Eyes lurking in the shadows, waiting only for the emperor to die.
They knew.
The fallen emperor would never rise again...
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
'Now, if I just insert this formula...'
Thanks to an hour of intense focus, thick beads of sweat rolled from his forehead onto the back of his hand.
But this was no moment to stop.
Wielding the mithril welder, he completed the magic circle on the iron arrow shaft.
Zing!
As the magic circle finished, it resonated lightly with the ambient mana.
"Hoo..."
A sigh escaped his lips.
"Done!"
A massive two-meter arrow.
A new weapon for the large ballistae meant to counter wyverns and ground forces.
'Am I too smart for my own good?'
Even he had to admire his own ingenuity.
Amid shortages of wyverns, skynights, and war supplies, he had racked his brains these past few days to maximize efficiency.
And he had created this new wonder weapon.
"Heh heh. Whoever they are, they're in for a real scorching."
Stroking the solid iron arrow in his hand lifted his spirits.
Once he coated the arrowhead in mithril, wyverns would be no threat even from the ground.
'Anyone who can handle mana can take on wyverns with this weapon. Kyaa, perfect!'
In a reality demanding thorough defense against enemies.
He had been consumed with crafting weapons suited to defense.
And the one in his hand was his most painstaking masterpiece.
'Blessed Spears cost a hundred times more to make, but this delivers similar effects. Heh heh heh.'
Blessed Spears required full mithril coating for mana conductivity.
But this arrow bore only a speed-enhancing magic circle.
The result: a monster arrow with an effective range exceeding three kilometers.
'Now, time for a little rest.'
The tactics used against the Habis noble forces were likely analyzed by the enemy by now.
Thus, he needed trump cards.
Methods to crush them in one blow to the back of the head.
Whirrr.
Opening the window let in a cool breeze and a striking view.
Dawn was breaking, the morning sun rising.
Even a day or two without sleep left no fatigue in his body.
His eyes caught the reddish glow of the early dawn.
Crack, pop.
Stretching sent ripples of relaxation through his muscles.
'The walls and fortress are complete. All that's left is waiting.'
Winter precluded large-scale castle-building or fortifications.
The only options now: training new skynights and drilling knights and soldiers.
No sooner had the New Year's council ended than the knights drove themselves and their men relentlessly.
Having declared they might face the entire continent, the knights had no choice but to tense up.
'But it's been quiet these past few days. Unsettling...'
He was never one to catch a lucky break and rest easy.
Yet no monster sightings reported, the entire territory blanketed in peace.
'Unsettling.'
Peace was ideal, but knowing it wasn't his fate, he tried to pinpoint the creeping unease crawling up his spine.
'Damn, even peace is a problem.'
Scratching his head, he shook off the anxiety.
Everything proceeded exactly as planned—no issues at all.
Except for that utterly useless sense of unease.
'Tch... Trouble always strikes on days like this.'
Turning toward bed for a brief shut-eye.
A foreboding premonition that something ominous would happen today twisted his face.
But what could he do?
Better to take the beating quick if it was coming—just like letting a bubble burst if it must.
His life couldn't get any worse anyway.
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
"Y-Your Majesty!!!!!!!"
"His Majesty has passed!"
"Y-Your Majesty!!!!!!!"
The imperial palace of the Bazran Empire, silent as a graveyard since the emperor's collapse yesterday.
Suddenly, a wail of "Your Majesty" echoed, followed by cries of "He has passed!" reverberating through the halls.
Boom.
"His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Hic, sob."
News of Emperor Habitron's death, who had been regarded as a wise ruler.
The palace guard knights and soldiers knelt, calling to the emperor, while maids collapsed in heaps, wailing openly.
"Summon Crown Prince—no, His Majesty the Emperor, at once!"
The moment the emperor died, the crown prince automatically became emperor.
A priest burst from the emperor's bedroom, calling for the crown prince.
"F-Father!!!!"
No need to call.
As if waiting, Crown Prince Poltbiran rushed into the bedroom.
Tears streaming down his face, he threw himself at the emperor, whose eyes were peacefully closed.
"This will not do, Your Majesty!"
Priests hurried to restrain the crown prince.
"Father! How can you leave your son behind like this? How can you entrust Bazran's fate to one so inadequate!"
Crown Prince Poltbiran collapsed to the floor in loud sobs.
To onlookers, he appeared the epitome of a devoted son mourning his father.
'Heh heh. Finally passing—how inconsiderate. A little later, and I'd have been the unfilial son who killed his father.'
Unlike his flowing tears, boundless joy filled the crown prince's heart.
"Your Majesty! Ohhh! My sun, Your Majesty! Where have you gone? How can you return to the gods' embrace, leaving your unworthy consort behind!!!"
Moments after the crown prince entered the emperor's room.
Imperial Consort Ermiang came rushing in like a madwoman.
Like the crown prince, she lunged toward the emperor's corpse.
"Escort Her Highness the Imperial Consort away at once!"
Duke Omer, who had entered with the consort, commanded her maids.
"Your Majesty, your servant Omer has arrived. Please rise from your place... Urgh."
Duke Omer knelt before the emperor's body.
Even amid sobs, his eyes darted busily.
'No last words from the emperor. No one entered this room after Garviti left yesterday.
Even if Garviti received a final testament, it held no power.
For an imperial last will to be valid, it required two or more dukes, or five or more earls, plus three priests from another temple as witnesses.
None of that happened.
"No, how can the master of the empire kneel? Please rise."
Omer startled at Poltbiran kneeling beside him.
Their eyes met, and Poltbiran's sparkled with delight.
"What are you doing! Properly escort His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Bazran Empire with due ceremony!"
Duke Omer bellowed at the guard knights waiting outside and the nobles gathering.
"Your Majesty, please rise."
Thud thud thud.
The imperial chamberlain rushed in to support Poltbiran.
"Let go! My father yet lives—how can I ascend above the emperor?"
Poltbiran staged his obvious theatrics.
Yet the priests watched with pitying eyes.
By custom, ascension required high priests' blessings—Poltbiran was flouting tradition.
"Y-Your Majesty...!"
Then, a woman cried "Your Majesty!" and approached the bed.
Empress Nermis of the Bazran Empire.
She who had prayed daily at the temple for the emperor's recovery.
Like a soul lost, she slowly neared the emperor with closed eyes.
"..."
No one dared stop the empress.
Unlike the others, her grief for the emperor's death was genuine; all held their breath at her sincere display.
Rustle.
The empress gently caressed the emperor's face.
"You've worked hard... Now rest easy..."
Nermis whispered into her dead husband's ear.
Then, she pressed her face to his cooling cheek.
Drip, drip.
Clear droplets traced down the empress's face.
They fell onto the emperor's eyes.
A solemn, noble sight of the empress.
Watching, Poltbiran's lips twitched.
"What are you lot doing! Escort the empress to her chambers!"
"Understood!"
No longer just above the empress but emperor over all in the empire, Poltbiran's command rang out.
Thud thud.
Before maids could move, guard knights sprang into action.
"Sir Omer, proclaim national mourning at once, summon all nobles in the capital, and from this moment, declare that no troop movements are permitted without my approval."
"By your imperial command!"
The two men played their parts to perfection.
At Poltbiran's order, Duke Omer bowed deeply, accepting the command.
Thus, one emperor vanished into history, and a new one was born upon the continent.
The rise of Emperor Poltbiran von Bazran, brimming with the makings of a tyrant for the ages.
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"What did you say! Yesterday afternoon, bearing an imperial decree, Princess Isis and Prince Razsion left the palace!"
"Y-Yes. The imperial decree demanded utmost secrecy, so we only just discovered it."
Bang!
"You insolent old fool! So that's why he fled to his territory yesterday!"
Duke Omer slammed the table, spewing curses.
Amid the chaos of the emperor's passing, he had first sought the future threats: Princess Isis and Prince Razsion.
But astonishingly, the siblings had departed the palace yesterday under imperial decree.
Impossible without Duke Garviti's involvement.
Though Omer controlled most of the military and nobility, an imperial decree plus a duke's order could delay reports by a day.
"Where did they go? How many escorts?"
Omer pressed the reporting noble urgently.
"We don't know their exact path, but Countess Ailin and about a dozen imperial guard skynights under her command accompanied them."
"A-Ailin? That stubborn wench of all people..."
Scouts from the capital could track them in a day.
But at full flight speed, two days would make pursuit from the palace impossible.
'Where the hell did they go... Crossing the Ritor Mountains is too dangerous, and fleeing to another kingdom brings massive political backlash...'
Neighboring kingdoms all lived under Bazran's watchful eye.
None would shelter such troublesome exiles.
"Gasp! N-No way!"
Then, a man's face flashed in Duke Omer's mind.
"Kayer! To that bastard!!"
Just thinking of Kayer made Omer's head throb.
"Send orders to all territories en route to Neruman at once! By command of the new Emperor His Majesty, halt the princess's party and the imperial guard skynights on black wyverns heading to Neruman. And inform them that resistance constitutes defying imperial decree—execute them on the spot!"
"Understood!"
Orders issued with lightning speed.
The situation was that dire.
If the princess and prince holed up in Neruman, Poltbiran's position could erode unseen.
'I must catch them, without fail!'
Omer clenched his fist, burning with resolve.
Kayer's mocking face floated in his mind.
'And you too, soon... I'll bury you.'
The moment his nephew Poltbiran became emperor, Omer became Bazran's shadow ruler—and made his vow.
Another storm brewed toward Neruman.