Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Iron Emperor — Chapter 70
Risel, who had followed after Go Jin-cheon, found him without having to go far. He saw the man's broad back as he stood gazing out over the still lake. Watching Jin-cheon's hair flutter now and then in the wind, he felt as if even a strand of worry was being carried away.
But reality and ideals are different things.
The worry that had briefly lifted returned, casting a shadow over Risel's face.
"Your Majesty."
Risel's voice, tinged with concern, flew toward Jin-cheon's back. Jin-cheon's voice, as calm as the still lake, reached Risel.
"Come beside me."
"Yes."
Risel moved and approached Jin-cheon's side. Even standing quietly next to him, Jin-cheon did not turn his head even once. They stood like that, side by side, savoring the breeze blowing across the lake.
"What will you do?"
"War."
"......."
Risel felt a tangled knot in his chest as he confirmed Jin-cheon's intent once more. Though it had not been long, he had grown attached to this place before he knew it. To be precise, Risel too had become a man of Gauri in that short time.
"War with the Holy Empire is a different matter from founding a nation. Our soldiers are strong, but in numbers and in every other respect, we are at a disadvantage."
Words mixed with worry escaped Risel's lips. But Jin-cheon answered him, still looking out at the lake.
"Then what? If we ask to talk, do you think they would nod in agreement?"
"......."
Risel had no response to Jin-cheon's counter-question. Because it was not wrong. As if speaking for Risel's heart, Jin-cheon consoled him in a gentle tone.
"I know what you want to say."
"Your Majesty."
Risel spoke earnestly.
"But! That is not the way."
Firmness was mixed into Jin-cheon's words. His eyes, which held the lake, said it best. His unwavering eyes were taking in the world, including the lake.
"War is simply the expression of human selfishness."
"Yes."
"That is why justification is important."
Risel nodded quietly. There was no war without justification. Without justification, would the other nations simply stand by and watch? It would become utter chaos in an instant.
"But when your power is great, even that justification becomes absurd. In extreme terms, if an ant blocks your path as you walk and you crush it, even that act can become justification."
"......."
It was a cruel thing for the weak. But it was an unavoidable reality. Jin-cheon knew that point best. That was why he always emphasized power and sang of power.
"Yet when gods intervene, even that flimsy justification becomes unnecessary."
"......What do you mean by that......."
"Heh heh heh."
Risel asked, looking at Jin-cheon's face as if he did not understand, but what came was not an answer but a low laugh.
"Exactly what I said. The ant that was crushed at least has the justification that it blocked the path, but those who wield the backing of a god do not even need such justification. Because it is the will of the god."
"Ah......."
A quiet exclamation of realization escaped Risel at Jin-cheon's words.
Right.
They claim that a god has spoken.
They even call the war a holy war.
They merely assert it. The will of the god.
People resist. But there is no mercy. Opposition, protest, reason—all are suppressed before them. Because what they carry out is a holy war, and what they do is the will of a god.
That is the Holy Empire.
"But is that truly the will of a god?"
"......."
At Jin-cheon's low voice, Risel gently closed his eyes.
Jin-cheon's quiet voice continued to reach his ears.
"Did a god decree that those with black hair are demons—no, the Demon Tribe—and must be killed? The Holy Empire? It is laughable."
"Heh heh heh."
A laugh of its own accord escaped Risel's lips. Listening to Jin-cheon's words, everything seemed to be seen anew.
"Among all the living creatures in the world, where is there a being without meaning? Did a god make them without knowing that? Even if beings called the Demon Tribe exist, that too would be the will of a god."
"That is so."
Before he knew it, Risel had set aside what he had wanted to say and was engraving Jin-cheon's words into his mind.
"Might it not be a test of human will? Might it not be a god warning against the arrogance of humankind? Is it not a product created by a god's will?"
"......."
"I do not know what the gods of this place say. But the god that the Holy Empire speaks of is no god. There is no god who would bestow affection upon a pack that merely wears the mask of divine backing and runs rampant."
Something began to change within Risel's mind. His eyes were closed, so his surroundings should normally be shrouded in darkness, yet one part was brightening.
"In my view, the ones who most defile the divine are precisely the Holy Empire, which carries a god on its back and runs wild. That is why I do not fear them. Gods create, but humans destroy. War is something humans do. What beast gathers in packs and fights without regard for death?"
The light that had been brightening within Risel's darkness was now illuminating everything in all directions.
"The human yardstick alone is sufficient for war. There is no need for any other reason. That is how I was taught, how I have lived, and how I shall continue to live."
There was a voice that struck Risel's heart.
The thing called existence.
The thing called a yardstick.
The thing called living.
Risel's body began to rise into the air.
The cluster of bright light that had enveloped the inside of his eyes flowed outward and covered his body. As if fireflies were lifting Risel's body, it radiated a bright light.
"......."
Jin-cheon stopped speaking and watched Risel.
The rapturous light grew larger and began to fill the darkened evening sky with bright radiance once more. The commanders, who had sensed the resonance of great ki behind Jin-cheon, watched the spectacle. They too were martial artists, so they did not disturb the scene of enlightenment and simply watched with reverent hearts.
HUMMMMM.
A vibration began to hum softly from Risel's body.
Several questions began to pass back and forth in Risel's heart.
A question directed at himself.
'Have I been too rigidly bound by the frame?'
Another self's answer.
'Yes.'
A question.
'Was I wrong to regard the words of priests, which they attribute to a god, as absolute?'
An answer.
'Yes.'
A follow-up question.
'Have I considered the path of mana I walk as the only absolute?'
A repeated answer.
'Yes.'
A question confirming his own error.
'Then was that mistaken?'
An answer confirming it.
'Yes.'
Accord.......
'So that is it.......'
'That is it.......'
'Yes....... So that is what it was.'
The two selves became one.
Whoosh!
The light proclaiming enlightenment spread out in every direction.
And that light continued on until the next morning.
Chirp chirp chirp.
"......."
The small sound of birds.
Risel's eyes, which had been closed all night, opened. The morning sunlight was tapping against his eyes.
"Ah."
"Congratulations."
"Ah, ah!"
No words came from Risel's mouth. He could only make a trembling voice like a young child. Slowly he looked around. Go Jin-cheon stood like a statue in the very spot where he had been the evening before. He had guarded him through the night. And nearby, Eulji Buru and Uru were smiling at him.
"Ah, ah, ah......."
His vision blurred and tears streamed down his cheeks. They were tears of joy.
This was undoubtedly the Awakening that even Archmages found difficult to achieve. The days of the past passed before him like a life review.
Not even thinking to wipe away the flowing tears, Risel collapsed, and Buru and Uru came over to support him. And without a word, Jin-cheon walked toward the Yeolje Palace.
Risel had seen the reason why these people could not help but be strong, and through that, he had achieved Awakening. Risel gently loosened the hands of Buru and Uru that were supporting him, slowly bent his waist, and paid his respects to his lord.
'My lord, your will shall transform this disordered world. Until that day, I, Siaron Risel, shall follow and bear witness.'
It was the day that Archmage Siaron Risel, who disregarded circles and moved beyond circles, began his new life. And the Holy Empire was creating its most powerful enemy without even realizing it.
Shunk!
"Kyaaaah!"
"Drive them!"
"Uwaaaaah!"
A battle cry that shook the Reganza Mountains.
Seen from the sky, it would look like swarms of ants surging upward.
"Mm. They do look like a swarm of ants."
"......."
To Go Jin-cheon's eyes, looking down from the sky, they appeared as a swarm of ants as well. But since when had Jin-cheon been able to fly?
It was from the moment Risel achieved Awakening and crossed the wall of the 2nd Circle. At that time, something truly strange had occurred: while undergoing Awakening, he had checked his Heart Circle. And had not the two rings circling his heart become connected as one?
And it was not simply one; it was forming a twisted Infinite Circle. Risel could not understand this phenomenon. What was clear was that he had become able to manifest magic that he had only known in theory. And up to the 6th Circle, at that.
Of course, he did not know magic beyond that. From what Risel could ascertain, he could use up to the 6th Circle. But even that was not all of them.
Risel had tried casting magic that he had only dreamed of, and as a result, he tested even the 3rd-circle Fly magic.
The problem was.
It started from the moment Jin-cheon watched that practice session, and because Risel had grown younger with Awakening (though only to the point of a middle-aged man whose white hair had returned to brown), he had to carry Jin-cheon and fly up frequently.
"Let's go over that way."
"......Yes."
At Jin-cheon's gesture, Risel's lot of flying here and there until his mana ran dry was utterly pitiful. It was fortunate that it was only Jin-cheon; if the Eulji brothers outranked Risel, he would clearly have to fly around without time to sleep. Even now, whenever he arrived, the two big men's sparkling eyes gazing at him were considerably burdensome.
"Hmm. Let's go down."
"Yes."
When Jin-cheon suddenly said to descend, Risel descended toward the ground at a rapid pace, as if afraid his mind might change.
"Have you been observing again today?"
"Mm."
It was Go Jin-cheon, nodding at Hwi-garam's question. What Jin-cheon had been observing was the sight of the soldiers assaulting the kobold village. Perhaps because the new recruits were gradually gaining confidence with the help of the veterans, the number of wounded was steadily decreasing and their momentum was growing stronger.
To open a path to the east, commanders of Seonin rank or higher were assigned to hunt the large monsters, while the soldiers cleaned up the rest.
"Are the wagons being manufactured without issue?"
"They are."
At Jin-cheon's question, Hwi-garam bowed his head slightly and answered. Even at Hwi-garam's reliable answer, Jin-cheon continued as if imparting a charge, as though something was still lacking.
"Do not delay the completion of the road either. Time is the critical factor."
"Understood."
Throughout Gauri, all personnel except those engaged in farming were being mobilized for wagon production.
Gauri and wagons were so deeply intertwined that they could not be separated, and their production capability was exceptionally high. So much so that there were those who separately enshrined a god of wagon wheels. To make wagons and to build roads meant, in the end, to prepare for war.