## Chapter 2084 – 2084. The Fallen Empire
Thump.
The lump of meat that was once a witch pulsed.
Nearby blood, flesh, and entrails gathered and clumped together towards the meat lump.
‘Even after dying, the magic hasn’t disappeared. But this unfamiliar yet unpleasant feeling… It’s similar to that bastard, Brahmasen.’
Wasn’t it said that this world had once fought and won against Brahmasen? Perhaps that influence remains in the form of the forbidden.
‘Even if it’s not that, it seems like that bastard is still meddling.’
Not just in the tattoo world, but also on Earth where I live. Of course, he’s probably reaching out to other dimensions as well.
Thump. Thump.
The meat lump’s pulse grew stronger. With each beat, an invisible wave spread in all directions, absorbing blood and flesh.
In a short time, its size had more than doubled.
‘Meteor Sword.’
Dozens of swords fell from the sky. Thwack, thwack, thwack! The swords pierced the ground, impaling and tearing apart the meat lump. The meat lump was being shredded by the dozens of swords.
However, the meat lump didn’t give up. It continued to regenerate with its crimson magic.
‘Simply piercing and tearing it apart has its limits. Then….’
Attribute infusion on the Meteor Swords.
Crackle.
Lightning crackled around the falling swords. The lightning flowed from the swords embedded in the meat lump, electrocuting and burning it. The burning flesh emitted a foul odor. The effect was remarkable. The meat lump’s regenerative power weakened, and it died completely along with its unpleasant magic.
I turned my head. Derick, covered in blood, was running away. The way he was staggering suggested he didn’t have much strength left. Naturally, he wasn’t fast either.
A Meteor Sword appeared above my head. A single Meteor Sword, tilted diagonally, hovered without falling.
The moment I pointed my finger at him, the Meteor Sword shot out as if it had been waiting.
The Meteor Sword pierced Derick’s right thigh.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Derick screamed. Perhaps because it consumed two or three times more mana than a normal Meteor Sword, the one embedded in his thigh didn’t disappear immediately.
I walked towards Derick. Derick, who had fallen to the ground, turned to look at me, becoming agitated. He desperately pulled the Meteor Sword out of his thigh and limped away on one leg. His desperate struggle was somewhat entertaining to watch.
I flicked my hand. A Meteor Sword appeared in the air and shot out. It pierced his left thigh. Instead of pulling out the Meteor Sword, Derick pulled a dagger from his pocket.
‘Suicide? Not a chance.’
This time, four Meteor Swords. They pierced Derick’s shoulders and wrists. He could no longer do anything. At best, he could bite his tongue. He was stronger than an average person, though not comparable to a knight. Biting his tongue wouldn’t kill him. I leisurely walked towards him.
“J-just kill me! Please!”
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“Ask me! I’ll tell you everything!”
“I heard the witch was your client. Is that right? No matter how I think about it, why would a witch like that steal war supplies? She seems like the type who would rather massacre a village and research that forbidden thing.”
“Galena did hire us! And behind Galena is Baron Gildenbergh! In fact, Baron Gildenbergh is the one who planned this whole thing!”
“From bandits to nobles. Quite a spectacle.”
Baron Gildenbergh. I’ve heard the name before. It’s inevitable since Baron Gildenbergh’s territory is right next to Count Morck’s. And Baron Gildenbergh is one of the nobles who lent money to Count Morck.
“W-we were supposed to safely cross into Baron Gildenbergh’s territory, and the job would have been over. But the knights chased us, so we asked the witch for help….”
“But we won in the end.”
“Yes! We have all the stolen supplies too! J-just kill me! Please! Sir! I’ll give you all the gold coins I have!”
“Do you dare try to buy a knight’s honor with money?!”
“Hic! S-sorry! I misspoke!”
“Count Morck will decide your fate. Well, you’ll probably be tortured and then executed.”
“Kuh….”
He robbed a noble’s property, threatened a village to try and kill a knight, and offered the territory’s people to a witch. It’s insane to expect to die peacefully after doing all that. If I were a noble, I would use taxes to torture him.
“Sir Daycart! The rest are taken care of! None of our men were injured! Thanks to Sir Daycart’s overwhelming power in dealing with the witch!”
“When you dealt with the witch, you were like the legendary hero Philius! Are you perhaps a successor to Sir Philius’s secret technique?!”
Sir Philius, the hero of the Empire. It’s common knowledge in the Empire, so I know about him too. Philius is praised as the Lord of Swords, and his secret technique is said to be creating and wielding over a thousand swords.
“I’m sorry. I can’t talk about the secret technique.”
“Hmm. I understand. This guy is the mercenary leader. It’s good he’s alive. We can find out the whole story.”
I frowned and pointed at him.
“If we leave him like this, he’ll die from blood loss. Does anyone have a potion?”
“I have a potion. It’s something I obtained with difficulty, but… Count Morck is not a stingy man, so he’ll give me a potion later.”
Rakgus stepped forward and used a potion to stop Derick’s bleeding. With this, the matter was settled for now.
“You all rest. I’ll go to the village and order my squires to bring the soldiers.”
The rest of the situation was left to the squires and soldiers. The knights, including myself, happily returned to Count Morck’s castle with the mercenaries.
The mercenaries would be tortured and executed, and the village women would live in other villages or cities.
Count Morck, having learned of the whole situation, was naturally furious. He immediately sent a messenger to Baron Gildenbergh. The messenger returned a week later. In his hand, instead of a letter, was a magic tool. Count Morck used the magic tool.
The air rippled, and Baron Gildenbergh’s image appeared. The magic tool seemed to be a semi-transparent hologram communication device.
The Empire was not ignorant of magic. With its deep history, it had accumulated considerable magical knowledge. In the first place, the starting point of the Magic Tower was also the Empire. But now, in its fallen state, there were very few mages in the Empire. Even the remaining mages were gradually leaving the Empire.
“It’s been a while, Count Morck.”
“Baron Gildenbergh! How could you do this to me?! Weren’t we allies? And yet you sent a witch and a mercenary group to commit robbery! Don’t even think about denying it! The mercenary scum has already confessed the truth!”
“Heh heh. Deny? I have no intention of denying it. Count Morck, there are no eternal alliances in this era. The reason I sent you this communication device is to declare war.”
“…Are you saying you want to start a territorial war?”
“That’s right. As you know, when nobles of the same Empire wage territorial wars, there’s no need for a mediator. Well, it’s called a territorial war, but in reality, it’s closer to an all-out war. Of course, I won’t kill your people. They’ll soon be my people.”
Count Morck’s face twisted with anger.
“Do you think the surrounding nobles will stand by after this betrayal? We will condemn you for disrupting the peace, and we will impose a fitting punishment!”
“Peace? There is no true peace in this era. Even if there is peace, it’s not in the Empire!”
“You…! Aren’t you ashamed as a noble of the Empire!!”
“The Empire of the past is gone. After the era of the tyrant, all that’s left for the Empire is power that has lost control, fallen authority, and the shell of the Empire. Twenty years ago, the Empire compromised. It expanded its territory by embracing the barbarians of the north, but the barbarians did not adopt the culture and dignity of the Empire. Yet, their greed for power is immense. An era where barbarians who were stuck in the snowy mountains call themselves nobles… By Selbrenita. Now, the greed of those barbarians knows no bounds, and they are even aiming for the throne.”
Baron Gildenbergh lamented sincerely. There was a strange power in his words, which were like a speech, and Count Morck swallowed hard, focusing on the baron’s words.
“The women of the west are acting out of line, not knowing their place. An empress? They’re trying to make that vulgar word a reality. The throne is not a place allowed for women. Especially a witch empress! It’s something that should never happen! It’s appalling just to imagine it. Someone. Someone needs to put those women in their place!”
The baron, having unleashed his anger, continued as if he wasn’t finished.
“What about the southern desert that asked to be subjugated? They are just like the barbarians, their territory is just part of the Empire. The damn sand barrier and sandstorms block the Empire and the desert. They have no intention of overcoming it!! Yet, they want the Empire’s mercy. Water and food? The Empire is prosperous, so it should send supplies to the desert? Because it’s the same Empire? Well, I can understand that much. The harshness of the desert is already a well-known story. But, do you know this? Heresy is spreading in the heart of the desert. Little by little. Like an epidemic. The witch Galena. That forbidden witch is from the desert. It is said that she obtained forbidden magic in the desert.”
He let out a chuckle.
“In the center of the Empire, the central government has no interest in governing the Empire. The emperor is a puppet, and the puppet’s master is indulging in money and pleasure…. It would have been better for the Empire to be completely destroyed. Instead, it’s rotting from the inside out, falling halfway.”
“……Are you saying you will become the emperor of this Empire yourself? For the sake of the Empire?”
“That’s right. The Empire needs a new Empire. I will become the emperor and fix everything.”
“I can’t listen to this anymore! You are not qualified!”
“Qualified? I am an Imperial born in the Empire. I am a knight who swore an oath for the Empire. I am a noble with a territory! I am already qualified enough!! I will become the emperor and drive out the barbarians, and I will teach the women their place! The sands of the desert will be soaked with the blood of heretics!!”
A shout filled with anger! Count Morck also roared in response.
“You foolish man!! It’s war! Gildenbergh!! In the name of His Majesty the Emperor, I will destroy the traitor!!”
“Huh…. Count Morck. Are you laughing right now? Ah, ah. I see. You’re not being honest. I’m not qualified? Does that mean you are? You seem confident in a two-front war. Go ahead and try. Of course, if you lose, everything you have will become mine.”
Click.
Baron Gildenbergh’s hologram was cut off. The magic tool crumbled into ashes.
Count Morck walked towards the door. He pushed open the thick iron doors with both hands and shouted outside.
“It’s war! Prepare for war! We will become even greater by winning this war!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The shouts of the prepared knights and soldiers echoed through the castle.
Then, Count Morck turned to me.
“Sir Daycart. I have a request for you. Please become my messenger along with Sir Cotton. We need allies. Gildenbergh probably won’t stay still. He’ll try to interfere somehow. There will already be those who have sided with him. It’s a dangerous task, so it must be a knight with honor and great power like you. Please help me.”
Is it really a dangerous task? Or is he pushing me away because he sees me as a spy who hasn’t pledged loyalty?
Either way, it doesn’t matter. It’s better than the boring war preparations.
I knelt on one knee.
“I will gladly carry out your request.”
