Chapter 194: A New Landscape (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 194: A New Landscape (4)
Is this what it felt like to be suffocated by sheer pressure?
The Emperor of Kronos looked down at Count Fabius in silence.
His massive frame seemed to swallow the entire throne, and his complexion was so pale it radiated a chilling cold. Even stripping away his imperial title, he was a formidable 5-Star Aura Swordsman. Though he wasn't officially registered in the continental rankings, the sheer presence he exuded completely dominated the massive imperial palace.
Fabius walked forward slowly.
He measured his steps, not daring to rush until he reached the foot of the throne, nor did he dare to look up at the Emperor.
The moment the grand doors had first opened, the sight that greeted his eyes was overwhelming. The key figures of Kronos, lined up like imposing statues on either side of the Emperor, showed just how insurmountable a mountain the Kronos Empire truly was.
Step.
He came to a halt.
As Fabius bowed to offer his respects on behalf of the delegation, the Emperor of Kronos spoke.
"Are you Roman Dmitry?"
"No, Your Imperial Majesty. I am Count Fabius of Cairo—"
Whoosh!
"Agh!"
It happened in an instant.
The moment Count Fabius revealed his identity, the Emperor's expression contorted. The knight who had escorted Fabius suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and slammed him straight into the floor. With a brutal grip, the knight pinned Fabius's head down, making it impossible for him to look up.
From above, the Emperor's cold voice rang out.
"My proxy should have made it clear. Negotiations are out of the question. If you do not wish for an all-out war with Kronos, Roman Dmitry must come in person and offer his arm."
"T-That is..."
Press.
He couldn't squeeze the words out.
The Kronos knight ground Fabius's face down with excessive force. Whenever he tried to open his mouth, his words were muffled against the freezing stone. His heart pounded furiously. He knew the Emperor of Kronos was a bellicose man, but he hadn't expected him to treat the head of a diplomatic delegation like a common criminal.
"I understand Cairo's stance perfectly. If you truly desire an all-out war, I shall sever your arm right now to show you the will of Kronos."
Thump.
His heart sank.
His blood ran cold.
'If I can't speak right now, Cairo won't be able to avoid an all-out war. But I can't beg for my life like a coward either. If I do, Lord Roman Dmitry's plan will be completely ruined. Any ambiguous statement will lead to failure. The problem is, if I am too aggressive, the Emperor of Kronos might make an extreme choice just to preserve the Empire's prestige. I must convey Cairo's intent without appearing subservient, yet without wounding his pride.'
His mind raced.
So much rode on a single judgment, a single word. In this life-or-death crisis, Count Fabius felt his senses sharpen to a razor's edge.
"Your Imperial Majesty! Cairo does not wish for an all-out war! Please, grant me the opportunity to speak. Once I have fully conveyed Cairo's intent, you may take my head, let alone my arm!"
He was risking his life.
He raised his voice, straining against the brutal grip pinning him down.
There was no immediate response.
An eternity seemed to pass, with only the sound of his own frantic heartbeat ringing in his ears, before the Emperor of Kronos finally answered.
"Keep those words in mind. If Cairo's intent fails to convince me, you will die where you stand."
The knight stepped aside.
Fabius had, at long last, secured his chance to speak.
*
He stood up.
Catching his breath, his face flushed red, he adjusted his disheveled clothes and looked up at the Emperor of Kronos.
He was terrified.
His heart beat frantically against his ribs, but Count Fabius swallowed his fear.
"The reason we rejected the Kronos Empire's proposal is that, from the very beginning, Marquis Benedict's rebellion lacked any legitimate justification. Marquis Benedict rebelled simply because his own safety was threatened, and his decision to drag the Kronos Empire into his treason cannot be deemed appropriate. While we do not wish for an all-out war with Kronos, we also judged that we could not sacrifice our kingdom's greatest talent."
Kronos had previously established their justification. They claimed that since an internal faction of Cairo had invited the Empire, their intervention was justified.
First, Fabius refuted this most crucial point.
The argument he was about to present proceeded on the premise that the Kronos Empire had violated continental law.
"Cairo has consulted the international community regarding this matter. We needed to confirm whether there is an obligation to hold parties accountable when a war between nations breaks out for unjust reasons. And the five kingdoms—excluding the Valhalla Empire—have declared that they stand with Cairo. Your Imperial Majesty, this war was an internal rebellion in which foreign nations had no right to intervene. Yet, if you demand Cairo's sacrifice so unilaterally, we will have no choice but to fight back when driven into a corner."
It was a clever rhetorical tactic.
By first establishing that they had secured the agreement of the other kingdoms, he justified why Cairo was taking such a firm stance.
A few days ago, Roman Dmitry had contacted the five kingdoms on the continent to prepare for negotiations with Kronos. Earning their cooperation had not been difficult. The kingdom alliance in the southern part of Kronos desired a friendly relationship with Cairo due to their ongoing friction with the Empire. Meanwhile, the Hector Kingdom decided that, regardless of their past ill will, they needed to unite their voices this time. This was a blatant incident of an empire oppressing a kingdom without any justification. Though Cairo was the one under attack today, the other kingdoms knew all too well that they could be next.
Roman's plan lay in uniting the strength of the kingdoms.
Individually, each kingdom did not possess formidable military power, but an alliance of six kingdoms was a completely different story.
Count Fabius spoke.
"Cairo desires peace. If the Kronos Empire desires war, show us your will by severing my head. But if your desires align with Cairo's, we hope to conclude this matter here."
His speech was over.
All the cards were on the table; now, it was Kronos's turn to decide.
*
Cairo's intention was blatant.
Driven to the edge of a cliff, they declared their resolve to fight to the bitter end in alliance with the other five kingdoms if pushed any further.
But there was a hidden motive behind those words.
The reason they had deliberately excluded the Valhalla Empire from this plan was that Valhalla was Kronos's sore spot—their reverse scale. They were the other titan of the continent, standing on par with Kronos. Had Fabius made a threatening remark while invoking Valhalla's name, the Emperor of Kronos might have made an extreme choice simply to preserve his empire's pride.
Thus, they had thoroughly excluded the Valhalla Empire from the conversation.
Yet, while they stated Valhalla had nothing to do with this matter, Valhalla's existence was not entirely irrelevant.
'If an all-out war breaks out between Kronos and the kingdom alliance, the Kronos Empire will undoubtedly win. But the problem lies in the aftermath. Having exhausted much of its strength to defeat six kingdoms, the Kronos Empire would have no choice but to worry about a war with Valhalla. We didn't mention Valhalla, but they are forced to keep Valhalla in mind. This is the best hand we can play.'
It was a sophisticated form of blackmail.
While preserving the Empire's pride, they offered the perfect compromise. By dragging other nations into the fray, they muddied the waters of Kronos's arguments.
Roman Dmitry.
He was truly an extraordinary man.
Fabius had thought Roman's strength lay solely in martial prowess, but the plan conceived in his mind was so perfect it demanded absolute admiration. In a situation like this, there was no better strategy. The Kronos Empire was not yet prepared for continental conquest, and they would not want to accelerate their grand plans over a matter like this.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard.
Though he trusted Roman Dmitry's plan, the sheer, suffocating presence of the Emperor of Kronos kept making his throat run dry.
It was then.
"You've used your head quite well."
He was neither flustered nor angry.
As if he had expected this all along, the Emperor of Kronos looked at Count Fabius with an expressionless face. From the very beginning, the Emperor's expression had barely shifted. Since it was impossible to read his emotions, even the "Raccoon of Cairo" found this situation incredibly difficult to navigate.
"In exchange for releasing the prisoners of Kronos, I shall let this matter slide. However, the treatment of Roman Dmitry is a separate issue."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Roman Dmitry killed my people. Count Fabio, Knight Commander Gustavo—they were all talents who dedicated themselves to the Empire. As the Emperor of Kronos, I shall extract a price in blood. From now on, every single night, my people will seek out Roman Dmitry. The sin of killing the Empire's talents... bearing that burden is the responsibility of Roman Dmitry, and by extension, Cairo."
The Emperor of Kronos.
He was a terrifying man.
Cairo had dragged other nations into this matter. But if the Empire's revenge was directed solely at Roman Dmitry, there was no way to enlist the alliance's help.
Assassination attempts.
How could foreign kingdoms possibly help defend against those?
No matter how loudly they protested the injustice, an assassination carried out in the shadows would likely end with Roman Dmitry's death. A sudden chill ran down Fabius's spine. The Emperor of Kronos had never desired an all-out war with Cairo in the first place. Perhaps he had backed Cairo into a corner simply to rescue the prisoners, setting the stage to restore the Empire's prestige by assassinating Roman Dmitry in the dark.
Above the heavens.
He was a being that existed beyond the heavens.
The Empire was called an empire for a reason.
"And from now on, tricks like today's will not work."
At the Emperor's words, Count Fabius could not hide his grim expression.
*
A few days later, Fabius returned to Cairo.
After reporting the series of events to the King, he bowed his head in his private meeting with Roman Dmitry.
"...I am sorry. An unexpected variable has arisen."
He had prevented the war.
But as someone serving Roman Dmitry, he could barely bring himself to utter the words that endless assassination attempts would now follow. His face flushed red with shame. He had departed with the confidence to prove his worth as a turncoat, yet in front of the giant that was the Emperor of Kronos, Fabius had failed to find a perfect solution.
Yet—
"You did well."
Roman Dmitry looked completely unbothered.
He had already anticipated the outcome that Count Fabius had failed to foresee.
"The Kronos Empire has never once bent its will. Their target was me from the very beginning. It was highly likely that even if they accepted Cairo's negotiations, they would not withdraw their threat against me. You did the absolute best I could have hoped for."
Kronos's response was entirely within his expectations.
'The Emperor of Kronos. As expected, he is a bellicose man.'
If Roman Dmitry had gone as the envoy, the Emperor would have declared the assassinations but would not have killed him on the spot. It was a matter of pride rather than practical benefit. If they let Roman Dmitry leave alive only to hunt him down outside the Empire's borders, the continent would be even more terrified of the Empire's reach.
That was why Roman had originally volunteered to go as the envoy himself. Knowing that the Emperor of Kronos was of the same breed as himself, he knew it wouldn't have been truly dangerous.
And even if the worst-case scenario had occurred, Roman Dmitry had the means to overcome the situation.
"...Will you really be alright? Historically, the Kronos Empire has only ever forewarned an assassination once. And the target, a swordsman of Valhalla, died a gruesome death that caused a massive uproar."
Count Fabius expressed his concern.
It was a natural reaction. Though he trusted Roman Dmitry, the sheer weight of the name Kronos was immense.
But Fabius did not know the truth of who Roman Dmitry—or rather, the Heavenly Demon Baek Joong-hyuk—truly was, nor did he know what kind of life he had lived.
To him, assassination attempts were a daily occurrence. The Emperor of Kronos's intention to strike fear into his heart was fundamentally flawed from the very beginning.
"Do not worry. That is my concern from now on."
His blood boiled.
Finally, he felt as though he had stepped back into his own world—a world where he walked on the edge of a blade.