Chapter 984 – #99. Three Thousand Concubines and Emperor Gaiden (42)
What if the emperor isn’t really a demon contractor? Anxiety soared.
In fact, the priests didn’t care whether the emperor was a demon contractor or not.
I just did it because the temple ordered me to ‘enmity’ him.
What if the emperor isn’t a demon contractor?
‘Actually, that doesn’t change anything.’
You don’t know how surprised I was to hear that the priest belonging to the temple was killed.
The Imperial Emperor has crossed the line, and he must pay for it.
If that was the temple’s decision, it would be right for priests to follow orders from the top.
Even if the order was not right, the priest had no hesitation in following the decision.
A great sacrifice for the world?
Couldn’t there be something like that?
He did it because it would benefit him to follow the orders from the temple.
That was the reason why he didn’t do it even when the emperor asked him to check if he was really a demon contractor.
If you check that, it’s not the emperor who will be in trouble, but the temple.
Only when the emperor is a demon contractor, does he become a cause for antagonism against him.
Losing that cause was to create trouble for the temple.
So I deliberately chose to close my eyes and ears, saying that the devil was tempting me.
However, the emperor was more persistent than expected.
“Did you come to pray today?”
“…”
The emperor did not sit still watching them pray for an hour of rest a day.
He suddenly appeared in the prayer room where the statue of God was and started praying with them, saying that he was also a faithful believer.
Praying is not just chanting.
It is the most important time of the day for the priests, who need to keep their bodies clean and their minds clear and focused.
It is a great rudeness to disturb the prayer time, and it was such an important space that a high-ranking priest had a separate prayer room.
In such a place, the emperor was sitting there, interrupting the prayers of the priests.
‘Damn it…!’
It’s not like the emperor of the empire visits this place all the time just because he’s free.
It was a mockery towards them.
I thought you guys were demon contractors, right?
But take a look at this.
Am I still a demon contractor?
Huh? Still see me as a demon contractor?
‘Fuck. I know. I’ve already admitted that it wasn’t from before!!’
The claim of the temple was denied head-on.
A priest who knew that it didn’t matter if he was a demon contractor, but he couldn’t help but be agitated.
However, the priests had already put their words together.
Never let it show that the emperor acknowledged that he was not a demon contractor.
“I wonder if this would be enough.”
“…What is enough?”
“I mean the emperor. That’s not it. You’re trying so hard to let me know that it’s not you either…”
“Is it trying? It’s threatening us.”
“Anyway, isn’t it true that you’re not a demon contractor? What’s the big deal to admit that? Let’s admit it coolly and feel comfortable. You know what? If we acknowledge it, the emperor will be happy and change his place.”
A sigh came out at the pathetic priest’s words.
“Let’s say they admit it. Then what will the temple think of us?”
“A pitiful prisoner suffering from being captured by the enemy?”
“There’s no way!! They’ll call you a priest who has been possessed and corrupted by the devil!”
“Eh? Seriously, no way. Doesn’t that mean you’re going to abandon us!”
“Of course he would. The temple has already become irreversible with the Imperial Emperor. And if he wants to kill the Imperial Emperor, it’s easier if he’s a demon contractor.”
Since when did the temple seek justice?
Those who benefit them are heroes, and those who go against their will become witches or devil contractors.
“The moment we acknowledge the emperor, we become an obstacle to the temple.”
“…!!!”
Gulp-
The priests clenched their fists with pale complexions, as if they had finally come to their senses.
If everyone had been so relaxed, could they not have considered even this much of a matter of course?
“You mustn’t be fooled by the tricks of the emperor. If you want to find a way to live, act carefully. Shouldn’t you lose your fundamentals while making irrational measures to make yourself feel more comfortable?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll come to my senses.”
The priest, who had been reading aloud by threatening the agitated priests, sighed inwardly once more.
I didn’t know how long it would work to appease them with threats.
Will they be able to get out of captivity before then?
‘It’s frustrating because I don’t know how the war is going.’
It was the best way for the Geos Empire and the temple to win, but it wasn’t bad for the Geos Empire to quickly lose and enter into negotiations as the second best.
At least, if they enter into negotiations, their personal extradition will be unconditionally included in the terms of the negotiations.
‘God…Please give my poor servant the courage and wisdom to overcome hardships.’
The priest who tightly closed his eyes prayed for the suffering to end before the other priests had an accident.
Even if they could talk now, there was a high probability that if one of them got into an accident and was handed over to the emperor, everyone would be caught and abandoned.
On the other hand, the emperor was in a very advantageous position, as he only needed to secure one of us.
The situation that was going unilaterally in favor of the emperor was too harsh to be called suffering from God.
⁘ ⁘ ⁘
Unfortunately, the war that the priest was so curious about was not going in their favor.
“Is the crown prince dead or alive, why doesn’t the emperor come to the battlefield! Are you just not getting this information properly?”
Emperor Geos felt impatient as things kept getting tangled up as he thought he had almost won the game.
It was also strange that the crown prince could not be confirmed whether he was dead or alive, and that the emperor did not appear at some point.
“Isn’t the rumor really true? I think it’s tantamount to proving that it’s strange to put so much effort into security.”
“It seems like we’re thinking about what’s best for us. What is the reason why the emperor suddenly collapsed and wandered between death and death?”
Emperor Geos, who had been quietly listening to the nobles, opened his mouth at a thought that suddenly came to mind.
“…Strength.”
“Yes?”
“Yes?”
“Power. Power. Isn’t it strange that there is no cost to using such great power?”
Upon hearing Emperor Geos’s words, the nobles widened their eyes as if it had never occurred to them.
“If the reason why the emperor collapsed was a side effect of exertion… That makes sense. Isn’t it strange that the prince didn’t react whether he was dead or injured?”
At least it is right that the enraged emperor should have retaliated somehow.
But now the empire was sending only nobles to the battlefield.
It was only the nobles who fought while struggling.
“It doesn’t make sense to shy away from something you should be angry about.”
“Maybe he’s too busy treating the prince.”
“Do you treat me?”
“There was a time when the emperor showed a miracle of reviving dying soldiers at once. If he had used that power for the crown prince, and if it had caused him to collapse because of the strain on his body.”
Thud!
Emperor Geos, whose heart beat loudly at what the nobleman said, clenched his fists.
If this is true, the Geos Empire is missing a huge opportunity.
You have to save your time like gold.
The Emperor should not be given time to recover.
“Even if it’s not true, I think it’s worth checking out.”
“Well, it seems to me that it would be too costly to be worth checking out.”
Emperor Geos was about to give an order to try it right away.
However, before the emperor could even open his mouth, another nobleman invariably presented a dissenting opinion.
“Is it a big loss? What the hell are you losing?”
“Now we’re barely pushing the enemy. But what if we forcefully plan an operation and our allies are seriously injured?”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that.”
At that time, the temple, which had been silent all along, stepped forward.
“The temple has made a decision to send three times the number of Paladins as reinforcements.”
“!!!”
“Ohhh!!!”
“Three, three times?!”
“If reinforcements arrive, we should have launched an all-out assault to wipe out the Empire anyway. Time is a little tight, but it’s not bad. It’s as if God has laid the ground for us to help.”
It is true that the temple is not good, but the armed forces they had were certainly strong.
“Of course, since it was difficult for them to attend, I believe that the Geos Empire will donate without regret.”
…Of course it’s that expensive, though.
“If we can drive out the Empire, there’s no reason not to give it up.”
It was a grinding of teeth, but I couldn’t answer the priest’s words.
The war cost a lot of money.
Even when the war started in the first place, money was running out due to unreasonable national projects.
Currently, the money going out during the war is blocked by the taxes of the people.
I already feel dizzy when I think of the fact that the war will be over and we will begin to calculate deferred payment in earnest.
‘Anyway, money comes in as time passes.’
As long as they had fertile land, money was not an important part of the Geos Empire.
Protecting this land was the most important thing.
The Geos Empire put their heads together and devised a new strategy.
“I think the time when the enemy’s army is most alert is when it comes out for war. In the meantime, we will lead the newly gathered reinforcements and ambush the place where the emperor and crown prince are. It’s a secret passage unknown to the enemy, so if you move this way, you should be able to go unnoticed.”
“Looks like it’s going back pretty far, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, that part can’t be helped. This surprise operation works best when it’s undetected by the enemy. It’s better to go back through this route even for security reasons.”
“If successful…”
“You can kill the emperor and find out the condition of the prince whose life and death are unknown.”
Most of the soldiers will be moved near the wall, so there will be few knights guarding the enemy base.
“Send all but five Paladins that way. We will fight to the extent that we can endure as much as possible without losing. We must…! We must bring the emperor’s head. Do you understand?”
And I decided to leave everything to those who ambush the enemy camp.
Of course, it was not considered at all that this operation was high risk and high return.
