Chapter 119
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The Masters of the Empire, who were practically the idols of the masses.
Those who were called the Empire's Spears took heavy steps that made the ground tremble, then knelt and bowed their heads.
"We have no face to show you."
The Ghost Spear, Shamkar.
A man with a deep scar running from his cheek to his ear, leaving a striking impression.
Even a man who seemed like he would never kneel before anyone, in this place—before the Empire itself, his knees were light.
"I didn't expect you to fail."
A light tone, as if finding it absurd.
However, contrary to the voice shown on the outside, the aura emanating from him was by no means to be taken lightly.
'Has he grown again?'
The Ghost Spear harbored fear and awe. The identity of the man kneeling before him was the one who led the exceedingly common nation of Lactus into a massive empire.
Mordred.
Mordred of Glory Latusia.
"That's right. I didn't expect to fail even after launching such an offensive."
Beside the Emperor stood the Saint of Lactus, holding a spear.
"Even if they walk the path of a ruined nation, Carpe was hiding their true strength after all."
Before them was the Empire's Prince.
Baldr of Latusia.
The iron-willed prince realized Carpe's hidden strength once more and was astonished, and beside him was a princess glaring at them with a ferocious expression.
Lavian of Latusia.
They were the geniuses who would inherit the Empire's future.
"If I had gone, I would have taken the powerless queen's neck as easily as picking a cherry."
The Ghost Spear and the others had nothing to say.
Given the current situation, even if they had ten mouths, it would be the same.
Even knowing that the princess's arrogance was misplaced, they couldn't open their mouths.
"Restrain yourself for a while. Sham."
"......I will obey the command."
The Ghost Spear withdrew, and the princess boldly asked the Emperor.
"Are you not going to punish them?"
"They didn't fail out of foolishness. They simply lacked strength."
"Yes, in the first place, the holy relic failed to operate fully. Because of that, the other Masters on standby couldn't transit. This was clearly a mistake, but the Empire deemed it sufficient."
It was just that Carpe was stronger than expected.
That was the first thing they failed to grasp.
The second was forcing the operation despite the holy relic failing to activate properly.
Those two factors led to the Empire's failure.
"It's the price of complacency."
"Yes, the current situation is the result of the Empire's complacency."
But how could they punish the Ghost Spear?
The prince looked down at her as if asking if she finally understood, and the princess's nose bridge twitched. The Saint, who watched the two affectionately, looked up at the Emperor and added.
"The Empire's failure has been revealed to the world. The Monster Spear and the Flowing Spear were taken down. It will take a lot of time to fill their numbers and the power of the spears they possessed. And the same goes for the small nations and minorities clamoring below."
As it was, small nations were forming alliances and rebelling against the Empire.
They tried to make an example of Carpe, but now that it ended in failure.
It only resulted in them being looked down upon even more.
"It's not that I fear the allied nations, but fighting them now will clearly only bring losses to the Empire."
"Continue, Saint."
The Saint's pink hair, tied up tightly, swayed in the gentle breeze.
"There's nothing more to say. The Empire lost Masters, and Carpe gained them. If we are stabbed in the side while fighting the allied nations, it will surely be fatal. If someone were to betray us, that wound would have an even greater effect."
"Betrayal, against the Empire?"
"Those who cast aside the nation's safety and seek only personal advancement exist everywhere. Those who uncover their hidden ambitions and rise up can be found anywhere in the continent's history."
Because of such fools.
Nations rise and fall, after all.
"Furthermore, Your Majesty intends to conquer the corrupted lands. That is the only way to grow the power of Lactus and establish him as the one true god."
"Indeed. Even those who are like a blunt mace in the principality for now will one day be made to kneel before the spear. When Lord Lactus becomes the one true god, there will be no more strife in this world either."
The unjust and corrupt as well.
Will cast away their corruption before Lactus's spear.
Then peace and tranquility will come to the world.
"Another path will open."
The Conqueror King Mordred.
He desired a wider world.
"Then we must endure."
Because he held a grand ambition, he had to discard impatience. He must endure and wait for the right time to rise.
But that meant the Empire's steps would halt.
Even if his head understood, there was no helping the fire blazing in his chest. As the supreme ruler of the Empire's mood wavered, the Saint spoke clearly.
"Three years."
The Saint spread her fingers.
Three years from now.
"I will replenish two Masters and spears in three years. I will offer the Emperor stronger spears and knights than before."
During that time, the Empire will temporarily build its strength.
"Is it possible?"
"It is possible."
"If it's you, it will be."
The Prince's eyes narrowed.
The one trusted more than himself and the Princess.
The Saint of the Empire, Ailey.
When their eyes met, the Prince once again lowered his gaze.
Because of the Princess's status, he couldn't be on equal footing with her. At least, that was what he thought.
'Just for now.'
In a few years, it would be different.
"The Empire will store up for three years."
"After three years?"
"I will offer everything to the Emperor."
Meaning all the nations of the continent.
A curved smile formed on the Emperor's lips.
"That is quite excellent."
The Emperor's laughter quietly shook the great hall.
* * *
【Empire's Invasion】
- A surprise invasion by the Empire.
Having consumed sacred artifacts and holy relics, and deploying a large force, the Empire bet everything on this invasion.
The nations hostile to the Empire are not just Carpe. Having consumed troops that were needed to keep various small nations and minorities in check, the Empire will have no choice but to revise many of its plans after this invasion.
[You have prevented the Empire's invasion.]
- Reward.
【Master of the Mad Dragon】
- You have become the new master of the Mad Dragon.
- You have incurred the wrath of all dragons.
【Killing the Empire's Master】
- You have killed the Empire's Monster Spear.
You have slightly weakened the power of Lactus. The god Lactus is enraged. You acquire
【Knight of the Queen】
- You protected the incompetent queen of Carpe. She will no longer be incompetent.
【Hero of the Nation】
- You have become a hero who saved the nation. You are no longer a rogue.
Acquires Trait - 「Hero of the Nation」.
The trait of [Rogue of the Count's House] is removed.
"!!"
Clench!
Kallias gripped his fist tightly.
"Ah."
A shiver ran through him.
The hair all over his body stood on end.
That was how much the rogue trait was like an old nemesis to Kallias.
Setting aside all other rewards, Kallias trembled with joy.
How much had he suffered because of this damn trait?
If you lacked strength, you should at least draw out people's goodwill, but because of this trait, during his pilgrim days, he mostly only fought.
Thanks to that, there were more than one or two times he almost lost his life.
And now this trait was finally!
Removed thanks to 「Hero of the Nation」.
'A hero of the nation can't be a rogue.'
Indeed, of course.
Showing a satisfied smile, Kallias welcomed the warm sunlight like a prisoner finally freed from shackles.
"......"
'Why is he acting like that? Did he hurt his head? There was nothing wrong with his head.'
Even forgetting that this was Beatrice's underground cellar.
'Hero of the Nation, huh.'
Trait - 「Hero of the Nation」
- People look up to you.
- Through a conversation with a hero, a person's fate can change.
- Draws out people's respect.
- Trust dwells in your words.
- You cannot ignore the nation's losses.
'It doesn't seem particularly useful.'
Still, it's better than nothing.
Above all, he felt good because the rogue trait disappeared thanks to this guy.
If it were now, he wouldn't mind waltzing with Emily.
"Ah, right."
The joy is only for a moment.
Let's check the other rewards first.
First, the newly acquired cloak.
His Cloak of Twilight was almost in tatters, which had been painful, so a magnificent treasure came into his hands at just the right time.
「Cloak of Reversal」
Grade - Unique
- This cloak worn by the Knight of Reversal reduces cold and heat when worn and possesses a repulsive force that deflects ordinary opponents' attacks.
That was the end of the description, but Kallias examined the grade on one side of the cloak.
A cloak of Unique grade, no less.
The Cloak of Twilight possessed that much performance even though it was Rare grade.
The Cloak of Reversal would be as good, if not better.
"What, where did you get that cloak? I searched your body thoroughly. No, I rummaged through it?"
"Rummaging through someone else's body. Do you want to die?"
"......"
Contrary to his words, Kallias didn't move.
He just sat on the edge of the bed, endlessly gazing at the cloak.
"......??"
Beatrice saw the corner of Kallias's mouth twitch.
'Pathetic.'
He didn't seem to be in his right mind yet.
Beatrice decided to leave him alone for a while. Since he had been through such a fierce battle, it would be better to leave him be for now.
'Alright.'
A splendid cloak.
The color was white, so it was a cloak that suited a pilgrim well.
It was incredibly tough, and as an artifact with the strange property of deflecting enemies' attacks, it was a precious treasure that could block attacks that would inflict deep wounds.
'Faith going up isn't a bad thing.'
Faith increased by 10 as a reward for dealing the final blow to the Monster Spear.
The overflowing divine power tickled Kallias's lips.
It seemed like it was about time to raise the quality of his divine power to the 2nd tier.
'It's also time for Manhwa Bongyuk to reach the 4th Bong.'
But since it wasn't something that could be raised normally, he needed to make thorough preparations.
First, next is the Dragon Bone.
'Dragon Blood would have been better than Dragon Bone.'
But Dragon Bone wasn't bad either.
The power of dragon force felt from the Dragon Bone would be of great help to Kallias later.
Since it was a material that could even become a holy relic if made into an artifact, he could sell it if he was desperate for money, and most of all.
'If the Bone Fusion constitution fully absorbs the dragon force, the story changes.'
If the Bone Fusion constitution fully understood the dragon force, Kallias wouldn't have to feel the recoil of the dragon force, and the efficiency would be even higher than now.
The power called dragon force.
Could become even greater than now.
[You have understood 3% of the dragon force.]
[When the next dragon force recoil activates, pain is reduced by 3%.]
Although that was still a distant story.
'Just how much of that pain do I have to go through to fully understand it?'
Remembering the excruciating pain right before he collapsed made his legs go numb.
It was a pain he had never felt in his life, enough to make even Kallias, who had taken quite a few stabbings, feel fear.
But it was a power he couldn't give up.
'The power of the Mad Dragon Sword Barmut is immense just by holding it in my heart.'
Kallias's physical ability level had already risen exponentially.
Just by holding it in his heart.
But if he used the dragon force here, he would awaken and glimpse an even higher realm.
Temporarily standing shoulder to shoulder with a Master.
Enough to block the strike of the Ghost Spear, who was the Empire's second spear.
But the drawback was clear.
'First of all, it hurts too much.'
The recoil that came with excruciating pain beyond imagination.
And the second was the duration of the dragon force.
'Was it roughly three minutes?'
He couldn't maintain it for a long time. It wasn't something divided by the presence or absence of divine power.
"It's probably because I'm not a dragon."
A more fundamental reason.
It was because the species were different.
After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and stood up from his seat.
"I bought time anyway."
He prevented the Empire's invasion.
He protected the Queen.
The repercussions the Empire would have to deal with because of that would not be light.
It would be quiet for the next 3 or 4 years.
That much time was enough.
'They'll focus on hunting down and eliminating rebels, and Carpe and the Order will focus on internal affairs.'
After that, they would prepare for war.
Carpe does not forget favors.
And during that time.
'I need to leave for a while.'
He had done everything he needed to do anyway.
The reason Kallias was here in the first place was because of the main quest.
Carpe's civil war.
The Empire's invasion.
He had prevented all of that, so there was no need to stay here any longer.
He could go north, or he could wander leisurely elsewhere.
He was originally a man who hadn't stayed in one place for long since he was reborn.
The reason was to become stronger.
The advantage he had.
The only way to become stronger that he alone possessed.
Shi-eun.
Kallias hadn't been able to use Shi-eun once since arriving in Caladi.
Because it was directly connected to the quest.
Shi-eun is not something anyone can possess.
A strong grudge.
It is a special phenomenon that occurs only when it is imprinted on the soul.
To find that, he had to leave.
To a more barren place.
To a more intense place.
And originally.
'I am a pilgrim.'
He was still.
A pilgrim who hadn't found his sword.