Side story episode 26
* * *
It was the most bizarre and ridiculous game of tag in the world.
The one who claimed to be the Emperor of the Empire was fleeing from his capital, seeking only to escape from one man.
“Ka, Count Kylo has surrendered to him and cleared the way, Your Majesty!”
“What?! How dare he… … ”
“That’s not all! The lords of the imperial territories bordering the revolutionary army are surrendering one after another… … ”
“How dare you, these traitors!”
The endless stream of sad news of defeat, especially the news that the emperor was abandoning the imperial capital and fleeing, did not offer much hope. From the beginning, it was only a matter of time before the revolution could overthrow the emperor.
However, it was not the revolutionary army that actually threatened Emperor Wilhelm of the Ninth Reich and brought about its collapse.
Rather, they too, like the empire, blocked the path of men and paid a painful price.
Nothing meant anything in front of a man.
The God of Nothingness was moving forward, turning everything that stood in his way into nothingness.
To those who stand in your way, the pain is so great that even death feels like a mercy, and the forgiveness is so great that you have to kneel down and offer a few handfuls of dirt.
The ruined fortress that even the revolutionary army could not conquer, and the imperial capital fell to the hands of a single man. Furthermore, the story of the abominable giant he built by devouring the fortress and the mountain of corpses also spread throughout the continent.
The Great Magic Empire, which should have disappeared from history, has been revived, and its Magic Emperor and Black Gold Monarch is moving to rule the world once again.
Without any subordinates, just alone.
At first, it was nothing more than the empty talk of the magnates. Then, as castles and fortresses fell one after another at the hands of men, and countless armies formed mountains of corpses, there was no one in the empire who could laugh off those words as empty talk.
So, in order to escape from just one man, Emperor Wilhelm of Brandenburg began to move desperately south.
Each time, the man also crossed the center of the Ninth Empire, devouring the territories that stood between him and the Emperor.
By kneeling and offering handfuls of earth, the lords swore their allegiance, and in this way, one by one, the nobles of the Ninth Empire swore their obedience before the Black Gold Lord.
And every time, a blue butterfly would fly up and start scattering blue spiderwebs all over the territory that Dale had conquered.
“These incompetent bastards!”
After a while, a disgusting giant symbolizing the Black Gold Lord appeared over the horizon.
“If even this dukedom falls into his hands, what will become of my empire?”
“I am sorry, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Wilhelm, who was hiding in the Duchy of Muir, shamelessly shouted, and the Duke of Muir laughed bitterly at his words.
How on earth could this idiot claim to be the Emperor of the Ninth Empire and lead this country? There was only one reason.
Because the continent’s strongest sword, the crimson and pure white knight, was guarding him.
Sir Michael.
And when he decided to remain alone and face the Black Gold Lord, it goes without saying how it would have ended.
The mushroom cloud of doom that filled the sky, its heat engulfing the zodiac, and it was believed that even the Black Gold Monarch could not escape its destruction.
Donggwi-ejin (同歸於盡). The last resort of Sir Michael, known as the greatest knight of the empire.
But even the storm of the apocalypse could not help the man. Then, the world’s most ridiculous game of tag began.
The one who was called the Emperor of the Empire ran away, and a man pursued him. The nobles and knights of the Empire blocked his path, and the walls of castles and fortresses were built between the two, but they meant nothing to the man.
Eventually, we reached the Duchy of Muir, at the southernmost tip of the empire.
There is no escape below. The Emperor’s flight ends here, and the Black Gold Lord will soon come to devour his territory.
Nothing mattered in front of that man. Not even the latest armor that the Revolutionary Army boasted of, not even the best knights of the Empire, not even the storm of the apocalypse that was coming at the end of the world.
“What are you doing, Duke Muir? Why don’t you gather your forces and take countermeasures against him immediately!”
Emperor Wilhelm shouted, and Duke Muir burst out laughing in disbelief.
“What’s so funny!”
“You said it was a countermeasure?”
After laughing, the Duke of Muir asked back.
“You still don’t understand the situation?”
“what……?”
“Duke Muir, what kind of a habit is that in front of Your Majesty!”
In an instant, the royal guards guarding the emperor readied their sword hilts at those words. However, they had no time to draw their swords. The knights of the Duke of Muir were faster than them.
The sword was swung and blood was sprayed.
“Your Majesty Wilhelm, perhaps in the entire history of this empire there has never been a more incompetent emperor than you.”
“Yes, you dare to betray… …!”
Swords clashed with swords, and arrows sank as if they had been waiting. Boom! Arrows sank toward the knights in golden armor who were supposed to protect the emperor. Arrows struck the joints of armor, the gaps in helmets, and everywhere, and blood was sprayed.
“Arrest the emperor like this.”
“I will obey your orders!”
“Duke Muir… …! How dare you betray the Empire and your Emperor!”
“Then what should I do?”
Wilhelm shouted, and Duke Muir asked back.
“Are you telling me to gather the people of my domain, form an infantry force, muster knights, and fire cannons to fight that being?”
After asking that question, the Duke of Muir burst into laughter, as if he found it ridiculous, but at the same time, leaving behind the fear that was stirring deep in his chest.
“What on earth could possibly stop that being? Fortifications and cannons? Thousands of cavalry? Muskets and black powder? Do these things really have any meaning in the face of that being?”
“Mu, the Duke of Muir… …!”
“The Black Gold Lord? The Demon Emperor? An ancient monster? How can we describe that being? Do you really think we can understand that being with those words? No way.”
The Duke of Muir asked back.
“Do you still not understand that fact?”
“Wh, what are you talking about!”
“That is… … a demon god.”
The Duke of Muir answered.
“In the eyes of that being, we are nothing more than insects crawling on the ground. No matter how much Your Majesty struggles in front of that being, in the end, it is no more than the struggle of a baby ant.”
“You dare… … !”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Look, Your Majesty. How can you, who can’t even do anything to an ant, escape from the clutches of that god?”
As he said this, the Duke of Muir sneered coldly.
* * *
A man dressed in a night raven robe was walking towards the Duchy of Muir. And as soon as he took his first step towards the estate, a group of people greeted him.
Knights armed with armor, a few magicians, and other nobles belonging to the dukedom were waiting for the man.
Further ahead of them, a man in a richly embroidered velvet coat knelt down. Without a moment’s hesitation.
“Duke of Muir, I humbly present His Majesty the Emperor.”
The action made his subordinates hold their breath, but it did not lead to bewilderment. Even if they had the most powerful force in the empire, nothing could mean anything in front of that being.
“And this is my token of loyalty to Your Majesty.”
Kneeling, Duke Muir gestured. Several knights bound Wilhelm, who was known as the Emperor of the Ninth Reich, and threw him in front of the man.
“Hey, let go of this! You f*cking traitors… … !”
“… … .”
“How dare you treat me, Wilhelm of the House of Brandenburg, a descendant of the great Holy Swordsman, like this… …”
Emperor Wilhelm struggled desperately, and the man in the raven robe looked down at him silently. Wilhelm’s voice stopped.
The darkness beneath the hood silently watched him. An unknown chill and goosebumps settled over the area.
A suffocating cold air was blowing through me. It was as if I had been thrown naked into the winter night sea.
Emperor Wilhelm, and even the Duke of Muir who were watching the scene, were no exception. The temperature in the air did not drop or a real cold air was dissipating.
“You are a descendant of the great swordsman. I truly miss you.”
At the end of the silence, the man in the robe of the night crow, Dale, sneered coldly. Now even that name felt like a pleasant memory of the past.
Even the feeling of the blade protruding from his chest, the hatred, and even the emotion of revenge are faint.
“Wouldn’t it be possible that the House of Brandenburg will be crowned emperor in the wheel of history? Our ancestors will be very pleased.”
“… … .”
“He has golden bloodlines and calls himself the Lord of Shadows… … In a sense, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the Lord of Black Gold.”
There was no way that Emperor Wilhelm could understand those words. Dale also did not continue speaking and just turned his head away.
“Duke Muir, your loyalty will be rewarded.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty the Emperor!”
At the same time, blue butterflies flew up from behind the man and flapped their wings towards the Duke of Muir.
Blue spider webs wrapped around his body.
The foundation of the system that could maintain Dale’s empire by monitoring all information, everything he saw, heard, and felt. That was the blue spider web.
“But your servants too must bow down before me and offer their offerings on their knees.”
“I will obey your orders… … !”
With that, the Duke of Muir gestured again.
Clank!
All the knights, nobles, and even individual soldiers lined up in the field knelt down without exception.
Starting from the northernmost point, and reaching the southernmost point, Dale’s journey across the Ninth Empire also ended there. He turned his head toward the Emperor of the Empire who was still in captivity.
“It would be absurd for the emperor of the old empire to be alive in the new empire.”
“Hee, heek!”
At those words, the former Emperor Wilhelm, who had lost the prestige he had just held, held his breath.
“But, remembering old feelings, I will show mercy.”
“Old feelings… … ?”
Dale continued blandly, recalling the countless old lords of the Brandenburg family who had confronted him, defeated him, and even defeated him by his own hands.
“I will grant you success and territory.”
“Is that, is that true… … ?!”
Emperor Wilhelm held his breath at the unexpected words. He would never understand Dale’s actions.
“I will gladly grant you mercy so that you may live out the rest of your life there without any want.”
“… … !”
“Therefore, this is the last chance I am giving you. Kneel before me.”
As soon as he heard that, Wilhelm didn’t hesitate either.
“My lord, I humbly greet you, Your Majesty the new empire!”
He knelt down in front of the man and began to bow his head to his mercy. After all, even he, no matter how foolish, was not so stupid as to not understand the current situation.
I recalled the old heads of the House of Brandenburg, who had suffered miserable defeats and pains during the time of the ‘Black Prince’. And the retribution for the bitter pains they must have suffered has appeared here, repeating the wheel of history.
It was truly thanks to my ancestors.
