Chapter 181
Chapter 181
Iron Emperor — Chapter 181
King Bera Han's face contorted.
Powerless king or not, this was too much. He even felt the urge to behead the imperial envoys on the spot. As he fought to temper the uncontrollable rage, King Bera Han's gaze shifted toward the Gauri envoys.
Indifferent?
No. They looked dignified. The Gauri people stood looking straight at him without so much as a glance at the men spewing dissatisfaction and denials all around. In that moment, a desperate wish surged within King Bera Han. He wished that he himself stood in their place, not in the position of a powerless puppet.
'I want to be as dignified as they are.'
There had to be a reason.
There had to be a reason they stood so proud. Just then, the hem of the silver-haired man's cloak caught his eye. Something seemed to be inscribed on the cloak. A strangely compelling sensation......
"May I see the emblem on Sir Yeon Hwi-garam's cloak?"
"No, what in the world are you......"
It was unintended, but with that single remark from King Bera Han, the noisy men were instantly made complete fools of. Hwi-garam inclined his head slightly and signaled to Mong Ryu-hwa. Mong turned around and showed King Bera Han the cloak.
"......."
King Bera Han was beyond surprise now.
A black bird embroidered on a crimson cloak.
A black bird with three legs. These people were clearly connected to the ancients. He even thought that legend might become reality.
"Your Majesty, King of Haian, what are you doing! We, the empires, do not acknowledge them. We urge Your Majesty to make a swift decision regarding them as well!"
When Count Heinjeuman of the Holy Empire shouted as if demanding, the other imperials also nodded. The shared thought that they must seize those people immediately and dig into their background swirled among them. At their urging, anger rose on King Bera Han's face. But his own power was too weak to let it erupt, his nation's power was weak, and he had no allies.
"Your Majesty, King of Haian, I wish to address them a few words."
A powerful voice.
King Bera Han looked at Hwi-garam. It was a voice that promised something. King Bera Han nodded. Hwi-garam then inclined his waist slightly to thank him, and turned his head toward the imperial envoys.
"What are you people?"
"Wh... what!"
"Hoh!"
The deference had vanished from Hwi-garam's manner.
At the casual derogation that slipped from his mouth, expressions of disbelief rather than anger spread across the imperial nobles' faces. His quiet voice continued.
"Who exactly are you people that you dare spew such nonsense about acknowledging or not acknowledging our Gauri."
"Insolence!"
Count Heinjeuman shouted at Hwi-garam, but Hwi-garam paid him no mind. A faint, cool smile played on his lips as he continued.
"Is the insolence not yours? No matter how long we have lived only in the Reganza Mountains without exchanging with other nations, I believe that if a paltry envoy from a foreign country runs wild in insolence before the king of a nation, they have no ground to object even if their head were struck off."
"Wh... what did you say!"
Hwi-garam's words were indisputably correct. But that only applied to ordinary state relations. So the imperial nobles, rather than accepting it, only glared and raised their voices further. Then Hwi-garam's flat voice carried through again.
"Furthermore, we have come here under the solemn command of His Majesty the Yeolje, to use this opportunity to forge fellowship with the Kingdom of Haian, not to seek the acknowledgment of the likes of empires."
"This......"
"Shut your mouth! Does your notion of etiquette consist of cutting off a speaker mid-sentence?"
Contrary to the low voice, the intensity of the speech rose. A Federal Empire noble, enraged, tried to open his mouth, but the oppressive pressure radiating from Hwi-garam stopped him from continuing.
It was cathartic.
When in King Bera Han's entire life had there ever been a day as cathartic as this?
Hwi-garam turned his gaze back to King Bera Han, lowered his head, and apologized.
"I humbly apologize for any unseemly speech and conduct before Your Majesty, King of Haian."
"It is quite alright."
Even a faint smile lingered on King Bera Han's lips. After lowering his head in apology, Hwi-garam resumed speaking toward the envoys.
"Seeing the behavior of those who call themselves the envoys of nations, it appears you are a barbaric lot who possess strength but never learned magnanimity. Have we, perchance, established a nation on your land?"
No one interrupted Hwi-garam's words anymore. No—rather than not interrupting, the ki that Hwi-garam was radiating to press down on their entire bodies was preventing them from even entertaining the thought.
"Truly, what warrants acknowledgment as a state is land, people, and strength. We possess land, people, and strength. Should any seek to test this, our Gauri is prepared to accept any provocation whatsoever. This is the will of Gauri, my will as the general who protects Gauri, and the will of His Majesty the Yeolje, handed down from generations past."
"Huk!"
"This—!"
In an instant, everyone felt goosebumps erupt over their entire bodies. This was a declaration that they would not flee even if the empires waged war. The shock was all the greater because he had spat it out right in front of the parties involved. What nation could make such a statement? Even putting aside the scale of its power, it was staggering. Even King Bera Han, who had been smiling, saw his face stiffen. A moment of silence fell.
Just then, the entrance to the great hall grew noisy.
"Wh... What is it!"
A Haian Kingdom noble hurriedly asked. Then the Inner Court Chamberlain who had been at the entrance rushed over, his face pale, and spoke.
"At this moment, a clash has occurred between the guards of the Gauri envoys and the escort knights of the Three Great Empires' envoys......"
As the chamberlain continued his report, the imperial envoys glanced at one another, furrowed their brows, then looked ahead feigning innocence with faint smirks. King Bera Han did not miss that sight and clenched his fist tightly.
'Even if they are empires.......'
The situation was apparent without seeing it.
It was clear that the empires were deliberately instigating a conflict to create a pretext and seize the Reganza Mountains. And from their expressions, it was obvious that all three empires had the same thought. Yet a question swirled in King Bera Han's mind.
'They couldn't possibly have pounced like dogs fighting over prey, so why.......'
Even if all three empires shared the same intent, if one of them had created a disturbance, the other two would lack justification to intervene. Yet the report clearly included the words all three empires and Gauri.
* * *
Gye Ung-sam waited before the royal palace, greeting the people who regarded him distastefully with a smile.
"The hell are you losers glaring your eyeballs at?"
Contrary to his smile, his tone was packed with utterly aggressive content.
"Puffed-up walking hat racks grinning like they don't know what I'm saying."
As Ung-sam flashed an amiable-looking smile and muttered in the Gauri tongue, the Haian Kingdom soldiers who had been glancing his way smiled back at him briefly. After a few more remarks like that, a reaction slipped out from them.
"The way those fellows keep smirk-smiling at us, I guess country bumpkins will be country bumpkins."
"Well, maybe we look cool to them. Never mind that, stay focused on the guard duty."
The soldiers and knights tasked with guarding the royal palace chatted like that, smiled back at Ung-sam, and then returned to their duties. Of course, a few of the swordsmen and the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry company commanders who had followed Ung-sam were wearing translation items just in case, so they were holding back laughter. But after a moment, a commotion arose from one side.
"What's that?"
Ung-sam turned his eyes and stared blankly at the source of the disturbance. When the figures finally appeared, they were people Ung-sam knew very well.
'Those son-of-a-bitch bastards.......'
How could he not recognize the armor of the Holy Empire knights who, about seven years ago, had branded him and his men as demons and attacked them?
Ung-sam felt a creeping heat rising inside him. The expressions of a few of his former subordinates who had fought alongside him back then also instinctively hardened into vicious glares.
"Are you lot the underlings of that bandit rabble called Gauri?"
An arrogant tone.
Though they were picking a fight out of the blue, Ung-sam and the troops who had come as the escort for the envoys only maintained a motionless stance.
"Heh, they must be so uncivilized they don't even know the continental language."
Even without understanding the words, the sneering attitude told them enough. Just then, another group of troops crowded in from a different direction. The Holy Empire knights frowned at the sight of them.
"Mongrels."
They were knights of the Federal Empire. But the Holy Empire knight's murmur was not very loud. There was no need to stir friction with the Federal Empire. Yet no sooner had the Federal Empire knights arrived than more men appeared.
"Huh, even the sea-rats......"
As the lightly armored knights of the Maritime Empire approached, the escort forces of all three great empires had gathered in one place. With this strange tension simmering, the Haian Kingdom soldiers defending the royal palace could only watch with uneasy eyes.
Around four hundred men now stood in a standoff.
The Captain of the Haian Royal Palace Guard rushed over after receiving the guards' report.
"What in the world were they thinking, gathering here?"
Captain Baron Cale murmured, his face clouded with bewilderment. Until now, every time imperial envoys came to the Haian Kingdom, the envoys' escort troops had never crossed paths. That was their custom and unspoken agreement. But now, with the Gauri escort troops at the center, the escorts of the Three Great Empires had formed a tableau as though they were vying over prey.
"What business does the Federal Empire have here?"
As if asserting they had claimed it first, Viscount Mabel, the Holy Empire's envoy escort captain, addressed the Federal Empire's envoys. Then Viscount Poling, the Federal Empire's envoy escort captain, retorted.
"Hmm. Having heard that these so-called Gauri people were armed, I came thinking we might need to at least relieve them of their weapons. Since they are not yet an acknowledged party, I deemed that lethal weapons of that sort are unfitting for them."
"We stopped by to investigate based on intelligence suggesting they might be colluding with the pirates of the Central Sea."
Before Viscount Poling of the Federal Empire had even finished speaking, Viscount Ishie of the Maritime Empire stated his reason. Naturally, the Maritime Empire's reason was nothing more than a pretext. Although it might also be true, no one believed it. Pirates emerge on the sea—hadn't these people come from the Reganza Mountains?
"What connection could there possibly be between where pirates operate and the Reganza Mountains?"
When Viscount Poling of the Federal Empire furrowed his brow, Viscount Ishie retorted.
"You disarm them. We only need their bodies."
Seeing them squabble among themselves over which would take custody of the Gauri troops, Viscount Mabel of the Holy Empire bellowed in a booming voice.
"Can you not see them yourselves! There is a risk they are of the Demon Tribe, I say. And thus our Holy Empire shall take responsibility for their persons!"
At Viscount Mabel's roar, Viscount Poling and Viscount Ishie both raised their voices to shout in unison.
"That is unacceptable!"
"That cannot be allowed!"
"The hell you say, you dumbasses."
"Why, what—!"
With the sudden vulgarity ringing out as a third voice, Viscount Mabel of the Holy Empire's face twisted viciously. But the viscounts of the other two empires were merely puzzled. It did not take them long to find the source of the profanity. And the stream of abuse continued unabated.
"My god, what a cozy little circle-jerk. I mean, the damn party in question is standing right here, and you're flapping your mouths at each other, spewing piss-poor excuses and making a shit-show of yourselves. A real shit-show....... How about you three draw your swords, duke it out, and whoever wins, we'll take on ourselves. What, you chicken? Pissed 'cause someone cussed you out? I asked if you're pissed! We're way more pissed, got it? You worthless scum you couldn't even scrape off an orc's toenail!"
The faces of the three empires' escort troops, who had stared dumbfounded as Gye Ung-sam delivered this smiling stream of insults, began to twist with fury. Bloodlust overflowed from the eyes glaring at Ung-sam. But Ung-sam was not the type to just let it slide.
"Quit eyeballing me. Put your damn eyes down, bastards. Before I suck the color right out of your eyeballs."
"Kekeke."
"Kuhkuh."
At Ung-sam's gleefully unhinged profanity, laughter started to burst out from the Gauri escort troops as well.
"You barbaric wretches!"
Led by Viscount Mabel of the Holy Empire, Viscount Poling and Viscount Ishie's rage erupted right after. And in short order, their swords radiated with light as they were drawn.
"This is the Royal Palace of Haian! Everyone sheathe your weapons!"
Captain Baron Cale rushed out and shouted, trying to prevent the situation from escalating into violence. But Viscount Mabel glared at him with a look ready to devour him and roared.
"Shut your mouth, you lowly gatekeeper filth! Know your place!"
"No matter that you are an imperial noble, such insults are a gross breach of etiquette!"
Baron Cale clenched his teeth and fired back at Viscount Mabel's abusive outburst. No matter what, his duty was the defense of the royal palace. But to Viscount Mabel, it was nothing but laughable.
"Do you want to die first, you worm!"
A spine-chilling killing intent radiated from him. Even so, as Baron Cale refused to back down, Viscount Mabel began to level his sword at him. But there was someone who could not stand idly by and watch—
"You clowning around? If you're gonna jump in, then jump in already. What's the point of messing with some innocent guy? Doesn't mean I'll go easy on you."
"Yaaah! All forces, subdue those wicked fiends!"
Ung-sam's mockery helped Viscount Mabel make his decision more swiftly. Orders were shouted down almost simultaneously, and the troops of the Federal Empire and the Maritime Empire began charging at the common enemy called Gauri.
"They're coming! Wreck 'em all!"
Shing.
With Ung-sam's command, his sword-blade was drawn. The swordsmen and the elite troops of the Black Armored Ghost Cavalry roared in unison.
"As commanded!"
Along with the fierce battle cry, the twenty-odd Gauri swordsmen and the thirty-odd Black Armored Ghost Cavalry flung themselves at the three hundred troops charging in from three sides. At the very front, Ung-sam hurled a delighted grin as he dashed forward.