Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Securing the Talents
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My joyful appearance was being watched by countless people with dazed expressions.
"Ah, damn."
I immediately realized my mistake, but there was nothing to be done about it. A hero-grade skill book. And one for a magic-use active skill at that—its value was simply too immense.
The mage class was one that took an excruciatingly long time to raise.
But with a hero-grade active skill book for magic use, a player could instantly transform into a turret capable of unleashing 5th-class spells. In a defensive siege battle where the castle was everything, this added an enormous amount of firepower.
'Even after taking down tens of thousands including the Flame Demon King, it didn't drop... and now it pops out of nowhere like this... The castle's only hero-grade, so defense will be tough. Gotta pass it on to the Flag Brigade.'
With my thoughts sorted, I looked around at the people. Harmony, who had approached me at some point, spoke up.
"The emperor of the Human Empire, Han Jaeyeon. It was you who slew the Flame Demon King and his minions single-handedly and saved our temple by offering them as sacrifices."
Her quiet voice caused the crowd to stir.
"The Flame Demon King is really dead? That divine message floating in the sky... it's true?"
"But if it is true..."
"The Human Empire—that's the new nation up north, right? The one where humans pushed out all the monsters and are thriving."
Of course, not everyone believed it.
"No way! That monster, practically the incarnation of flame—killed by a human?"
"Get a grip! Demonkin aren't opponents humans can beat! Didn't you see the White Knight Order and the soldiers get massacred?"
"And even if demonkin die, they resurrect after a certain amount of time! The Flame Demon King will be the same!"
The plain grew noisy.
Voices rose here and there, and soon people were even quarreling.
Of course, that chaos didn't last long.
Whoosh!
"Kyaa! Security team! Security team!"
"Everyone, scatter!"
Flames erupted, and monsters came charging in from the outskirts of the plain. Hellhounds, giant imps, fire golems, and more demonkin than all the rest combined.
As they spewed fire and surged forward, the people scattered in all directions.
"It's been a while... Shall I give it a toss?"
I pulled a bone longsword from my inventory.
Taking a throwing stance, a demonkin at the front of the monster horde raised a massive shield and sneered at me.
"You fool! Who falls for an attack thrown so openly!? I don't know what trick you used to kill Lord Virgnar, but we—"
And then I hurled it.
Boom!
The air exploded. The bone longsword shot like a beam of light, smashing the demonkin along with its shield and sweeping through dozens of monsters behind it.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"Your line's too long."
I couldn't stand the sight of these small fry, without a single hero-grade among them, acting all high and mighty.
"Now's our chance! Charge!"
"Take them down!"
But at that moment, the humans launched their own attack—not at the monsters swarming toward me, but at the ones mixed in among the humans!
The gap in capability between civilians and monsters was clear, but with everyone's attention on me, they had no defense against attacks aimed at hearts or heads.
They were even spotting and executing demonkin disguised as humans.
"Revenge! Show these wicked devils what divine judgment means!"
"Waaaaah!"
In mere minutes, the plain that had been a performance venue turned into a battlefield.
People struck at the monsters with weapons that had been hidden who-knows-where.
Of course, the monsters weren't just taking it lying down.
"Useless trash not even fit as sacrifices!"
"I'll burn you all!"
"Grrr... Arf arf!"
They took heavy losses from the surprise attack, but the monsters—still stronger than humans—counterattacked.
"Ahh! W-we're on the Flame Demon King's side! Don't attack us!"
"Shove aside those stupid traitors!"
"Cardinal! This heretic!"
Blood sprayed across the sand, screams echoing everywhere. Amid the suddenly dire situation, a sigh escaped me naturally.
"What a mess."
If they'd just stayed put, I could've handled everything. Even as emperor or whatever, they apparently couldn't expect one person to do it all.
"Sis! This place is dangerous! Let's get out of here!"
"Edward, this is the safest spot."
"No, what are you talking about!? Can't you see those things coming!?"
Edward pointed at the monsters charging straight for me. Hundreds—no, easily over that—of high- to rare-grade monsters.
I surveyed the surroundings. Even now, blood was spilling. I could join in and sweep the monsters away, but...
The casualties in the process would pile up far too high.
"First, I need to stop the fighting."
"Uh, Emperor dude? In this situation?"
Ignoring Edward's bewilderment, I stomped the ground.
"Come up."
As if by illusion, the ground beneath the monsters charging at me split open.
Rumble rumble boom!
"Kieek!?"
"Uwaaaah—!?"
Hundreds of monsters bounced away like Go stones, and from below, something resembling a massive pillar shot up toward the sky.
A crawling building—not quite mountain-sized, but big enough to lean against one. A monster of that scale.
The Landworm reared its enormous head toward the sky and snapped open its four-pronged maw.
[----!]
A wave of sonic vibrations—roar or whatever—shook the surroundings.
"......"
"N-No..."
"No way..."
The plain, filled with shouts and screams, fell silent in an instant. The Landworm's overwhelming presence was more than enough to make even the rage-blind or insane abandon any thought of resistance.
Even Don Quixote, charging knights on windmills, wouldn't dare rush a Landworm.
"Ah, really... Even seeing it again, the size is unbelievable."
"S-S-Sis. What is that monster?"
"Oh my. Is our Edward scared?"
"W-Who said I was scared...!"
Edward shrank back.
And that was when it happened.
Roar!
Flames burst from here and there. Looking back, I saw monsters mixed among the people, yelling at the top of their lungs.
"Any tricks, and we'll burn every last one of these humans!"
"Oh, acting humanlike for human forms, huh."
I wasn't fazed. It was a problem I'd anticipated from the start.
Rip!
Tearing a return scroll, I arrived at the Flame Palace. I'd cleared the dungeon's hell difficulty on the way to Ignition, making this possible.
"He's here!"
"That monster...!"
"Revenge for the Flame Demon King...!"
Upon arriving at the castle, I saw monsters gathered around the lord's castle. No Flame Demon King—he'd been slain right after clearing the dungeon, just like with the Ice Queen, to avoid trap damage.
"Revenge? Anyone'd think I'm some evil player bullying innocent monsters."
They were pretty spirited, but these were just scraps left after I'd already swept once.
I pushed them back in one go and sat on the throne.
[Han Jaeyeon is attempting to imprint on the throne!]
[Congratulations! The One Guild has occupied the Flame Palace!]
[New lord: Han Jaeyeon.]
Finishing up, I tore a teleport scroll. The coordinates were, naturally, the temporary city of Ignition.
The time from starting the siege to returning to Ignition? Barely 10 minutes.
"Th-the demonkin are all gone!"
"Siege success—what does that even mean?"
"What's... what's going on here...?"
Back in Ignition, I saw people plunged into confusion.
Not everyone, though.
"Heretic! Betrayer of humanity! My brother died because of you!"
"Grab the collaborators! You lived high on the hog till now, huh!?"
I saw people who'd clung to monsters to oppress other humans getting beaten.
I paid it no mind. In the end, I'd liberated them with my power, but these folks were different from the other refugees up to now.
'For now, food's plentiful.'
The hellhound meat the Flame Demon King had produced in factories and distributed was piled like mountains in the city.
It'd run out eventually, but it wasn't a situation where my aid would earn eternal gratitude.
'And this place... is too far from the Human Empire.'
Ignition, where the refugees from the Holy Empire had gathered, was in the inland between A-1 and B-1. The very corner of the lower left quadrant. Near the bottom edge of the Go board—so, the opposite side of the continent from the Human Empire's perspective.
No joke: thousands of kilometers away. Impossible to deliver supplies or bring them to the Empire.
'Return scrolls could do it... but that's for thousands, not a million.'
Of course, that didn't mean all my actions here were pointless.
I'd known the entire situation before even coming.
"Listen up!"
Whoosh—!
At my words, the Landworm shifted its body. Just that sent gusts whipping around.
"Uwaaak!"
"I-It moved! It's moving!"
"Gods...!"
People freaked out. Amused despite myself, I asked,
"Hey, why scare people all of a sudden?"
[I've been realizing lately...]
The Landworm replied.
[I... kinda like their reactions... Weird, right? Back then, I barely noticed those things...]
"......"
The Landworm was awakening to dangerous emotions.
"Ahem. Ahem. Anyway, hold off for now. I have something to say."
[If it's too boring, I'll do it again.]
"You're not a kid..."
My head ached at its five-year-old antics, but I calmed down and began speaking.
"I slew the Flame Demon King and conquered their stronghold! All demonkin are gone now—but because of that, the monsters once subjugated by demonkin will revive!"
What I told them next was this:
1. There's a pillar of light to the southwest. It'll soon turn into a castle, complete with an ever-flowing fountain and houses inside.
2. Enter the dungeon in the castle's center to find a giant iguana (normal) that drops food.
3. The Human Empire will take over the Flame Demon King's residence. If you come seeking asylum, you'll be accepted after proper screening.
Protests erupted immediately.
"But! The Black Pearl is the Holy Empire's leyline vein!"
Black Pearl—the original name of the Flame Palace region, now dubbed Flame Castle.
I looked at the protesting man.
"Is that so? How strange. I took it from the Flame Demon King. Never saw any Holy Empire army there."
"B-But by principle..."
I cut him off lightly. No point dragging it out.
"What shameless principles."
"......"
The man flushed with anger at my words but couldn't argue further.
This was Medievaland.
In an era of might-makes-right where even intact cities devoured or were devoured, claiming rights after being saved had its limits.
'Well, it's not like I can't play hardball.'
Yeah. It's all about the one playing hardball, right? I could if I wanted.
If I didn't have a building-sized Landworm at my back.
"The war isn't over. The Flame Demon King is dead, but monsters he drove off—or even stronger ones—will keep coming."
"The war... we have to prepare?"
"Or you won't survive."
I didn't incorporate this million-strong population into the Human Empire right away. Too many logistical issues.
'Instead, I can pick some to defend Flame Castle.'
That was my conclusion. Rather than dragging them to the Empire, I'd make them defend the area themselves for their own goals.
"Harmony."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I've gathered them all."
At my call, Harmony stepped forward. Behind her, hundreds had assembled.
"Miss Harmony! What are you doing!?"
Men with weapons shouted angrily. Fierce as their momentum was, Harmony didn't even glance back.
"From the moment His Majesty saved me from the emperor, I vowed to follow him."
"You're not acting alone!"
"Aren't they just rice-wasters useless in chaos? Your own words."
"Ugh...!"
The shouter's face turned beet red, but he didn't dare cause a scene before me.
Too bad—I'd have put him on the Landworm's head if he had.
Anyway, Harmony, who'd brought the people, spoke.
"41 actors from the Great Hall. 81 musicians. 11 writers and their families and friends. If you'll accept us, we'll offer Your Majesty our finest works. Our grandest stage."
"Yes."
I pulled hundreds of return scrolls from my inventory and said,
"That is all I desire."
In that moment, talents more precious than a million troops fell into my hands.
