Chapter 1466
A man suddenly leaped from the ground and stood upon the airship high above the clouds.
Beneath the sun, his skin was tanned at will, and long hair flowed down his back, while in contrast, his body was draped with clothes engraved with radiant, metaphysical patterns.
[Until when,]
His lips slowly parted, each syllable falling like thunder.
[Do you intend to look down upon me.]
With majestic and archaic intonation, the continental tongue resounded.
[I am the sky, how dare the lowly who must crawl upon the earth, climb onto toys and gaze down at me, folly is excused but once, thus, lower yourselves properly and pay due respect.]
Wooong!
As soon as his words ended, mana flashed above the airship he stood on, and in the air a human figure was projected.
—Hale.
It was Everth Krimos, projected like a mana screen, his lips curled with scorn.
—To come this far alone, without the protection of the legion you so boast of, you’ve lost your mind.
The man looked at Everth and stroked his chin.
[Yes, that face, a descendant of Krimos, still so arrogant, show proper courtesy before the Emperor.]
—Madman.
Everth clicked his tongue and laughed bitterly.
—So it’s true, you amuse yourself playing Emperor and go about killing people, the fate of those who reach for forbidden black magic is always the same, this is why I don’t trust you necromancers, no, why I despise you!
He stretched out his ten fingers, covered in rings, and pointed at the man.
—When you go senile and fall to corruption, it’s always others who must clean up your shit, and that, costs money!
[I am neither necromancer, nor legion,]
The man said calmly.
[I am the pinnacle of all things.]
—You insane bastard!
Now, even the trace of laughter was gone from Everth’ face, as he spat curses.
—Because of your delusion of being Emperor, my son is dead! My son, my only son…!
[I too, take no delight in you merchants.]
The Emperor strode across the airship as if he were enjoying a banquet.
[You feign bowing thoroughly before profit, but in the end, unable even to control your own emotions, you ruin everything, no aesthetics can be found, and contradictions abound.]
—Is your last will finished?
Fuuuuuung!
At Everth’ words, as if on cue, ten airships around suddenly ascended, all aiming their cannons at the Emperor.
—Die.
The cannons of the airships all fired at once, a tremendous explosion swallowing the Emperor’s body.
The overwhelming tremor shook the entire fleet.
—Tsk, all talk after all.
Everth clicked his tongue, letting out a satisfied laugh.
It had been a perfect direct hit, with no sign of barriers or protective shields, surely the man had been reduced to dust.
‘Though that can’t have been the real Hale.’
It was most likely a clone or a decoy, but even so, Everth felt somewhat relieved.
As he watched the smoke of the great explosion soar grandly in the sky, he turned his head.
—Turn the bow, reduce the 1st Legion’s territory to ashes…
At that moment Everth’ eyes widened.
Whiooooooo!
The strong winds aloft cleared the smoke, revealing the Emperor standing exactly as before, unscathed, the airship beneath his feet also intact.
[Did I not say,]
His lips opened.
[Do not look down upon me.]
The moment those words ended, there came the sound of something being sliced apart.
—?!
Everth’ eyes grew round, the ten airships surrounding the Emperor had been sliced cleanly, as if bread cut smoothly with a knife.
For a fleeting instant, the dazed faces of the people inside the split hulls were visible.
Kwooooooooom!
The ten airships all exploded simultaneously, a fierce gale buffeting the remaining fleet.
—You bastard!
Everth grimaced.
—Where did you hide the sword!
[Hide? Such unrefined acts are beneath me.]
The Emperor leisurely brushed back his long hair.
[To dare aim at the dignity of the Emperor, being cleaved and torn apart is only the rightful order.]
—Narcissistic bastard!
Chwaaaaaa!
This time, even the more distant airships all rose simultaneously, training their cannons upon him.
[Merchant, I find our conversation most delightful.]
As the Emperor lightly moved his hand, red lines were drawn long across the sky.
They looked like precise strokes of a blueprint, or orderly wires laid across a panel, the lines instantly pierced sharply into the airship fleet.
Then, as the Emperor lowered his finger.
Chijik!
Chik!
Chijijijijik!
All the airships turned pitch black as though removed from the world, halting all movement.
—Fleet 170! Respond!
—All contact lost with subordinate airships!
Soon the blackened fleet tilted and slowly began to nose down, falling.
Only the airship beneath the Emperor’s feet remained in place, once again leaving him standing at the highest point.
[Speaking with you merchants ever convinces me more that my judgment was correct.]
—Haaaaaaaale!
Though enraged at this situation, the merchant Everth Krimos’ mind was racing to analyze, the analysis report of 1st Legion Commander Hale had mentioned none of these powers, he was wielding entirely unknown forces.
Everth’ head throbbed, could it be, that the Emperor had truly returned?
[This cannot be the end, if you still have tricks left, display them before me.]
The Emperor said with delight.
[I, in person, permit such folly.]
Kkrrrk!
Everth ground his teeth once, then shouted.
—Gladly, I shall!
He twisted his fist sharply to the side.
The airship on which the Emperor stood suddenly tilted, then flipped over, yet even in this state, the Emperor remained serenely standing, feet firm, unaffected by gravity.
However.
Kugugugugugugugu!
From below the clouds, another airship shot up, ramming its prow into the Emperor along with the airship.
Kwaaaaaaaad!
The prow pierced deeply into the airship’s hull.
[Amusing!]
The Emperor, gripping the colliding prow with one hand, stood unscathed, before he knew it, he was inside the airship, though the hull’s center was heavily damaged by the collision, the engine room remained intact, and thus the airship did not explode.
And then.
Wooooooong!
Barriers unfolded throughout, perfectly isolating the interior from the outside. At the same time, magic circles spread across the shattered cabin, and numerous necromancers appeared in combat stance.
In an instant, the Emperor was trapped indoors and surrounded.
[For a mere merchant, you do know how to liven things up!]
The Emperor said so, baring his teeth.
Kiiiiiiiiiiing!
His power began to manifest, behind him in the air, bloodshot eyes identical to the Emperor’s own slowly opened.
Bwoong!
But before the crimson eyes could fully open, a jet-black sword shot toward the Emperor’s neck.
The Emperor did not dodge, instead he stepped in, seized his attacker’s wrist, twisted it in an instant, snatched the sword, and struck the attacker’s neck with it.
The necromancer collapsed, blood gushing from his throat.
Cheouk!
The Emperor lightly flicked the blood from the stolen blade, and spoke.
[I shall fight you here on your own deck.]
Taat!
Paht!
The combat necromancers hired by the Krimos Association rushed in all at once, exuding darkness. From every direction darkness surged toward the Emperor, curses and black magic rained from all sides, yet the Emperor swung his sword as though he had come out for a stroll.
Seureung!
Seureung!
Even to those ignorant of swordsmanship, the smooth blade lines slicing the air would send chills, blood fountains rose one after another.
Above all, the Emperor never twisted his body to evade nor halted his steps, he simply swung leisurely as he walked, and heads rolled one after another.
Chijik!
Chijijijijik!
At the same time, red lines branched from his body, necromancers who had been casting black magic at a distance turned pitch black, freezing in place, unable to move.
In this confined cabin, against over a hundred active necromancers, his dominance was absolute.
—What in the world are you doing!
Everth Krimos, who was watching through a mana screen projection within the ship, shouted in disbelief.
—You fools! Are you colluding with that bastard! You’re not even landing a hit, what the hell are you doing!
“Th-that’s not it…!”
One necromancer, trembling, had already completed a curse aimed at the Emperor.
“I-I don’t know why this is happening either!”
He shed tears, unable to release his curse at all.
And he was not alone. All around, necromancers who had finished casting black magic trembled, unable to discharge their spells.
Everyone fared the same, whether wielding swords or fists, their attacks veered off course just before striking, slicing only empty air, only to be cut down in turn by the Emperor’s sword.
[Even lowly beasts cannot defy their master but grovel, how then can you who crawl upon the earth dare to violate the Emperor’s authority.]
Chwaak!
The Emperor cut down yet another necromancer and laughed.
[This is the natural order of the world.]
“Ghhhk!”
As the Emperor approached, one necromancer squeezed his eyes shut and hastily converted his prepared black magic into a ‘region saturation format’ and unleashed it.
Yet even that wide-scale barrage missed, scattering in the wrong directions, exploding harmlessly.
[Black magic, in the end, is the realm of will.]
Chwaaaaaak!
The Emperor’s blade struck, the necromancer collapsed in a spray of blood.
[Without true desire, it shall not be realized, I am greatness itself.]
The elite squad of nearly a hundred necromancers was on the verge of annihilation, unable to inflict even a speck of damage upon the Emperor.
Everth, biting his lips until they bled as he watched, suddenly widened his eyes as if he had resolved something.
Jeolkeong!
As though foreseeing everything, the Emperor tossed aside the sword he had picked up, smiling.
[I knew you would use that move.]
Fwoooosh!
At that moment, the airship carrying the Emperor was bombarded from the outside and erupted in a massive explosion.
Everth had ordered the hundreds of other airships to open fire all at once upon the vessel where the Emperor was fighting.
Whioooooo!
And from the explosion’s smoke, the Emperor soared leisurely into the sky, gesturing.
[My amusement wanes, I shall end this place.]
He stretched his palm toward the Rebenpol Peninsula, from there, two colossal swords, one blue, one orange, flew skyward.
As they flew, they sliced through several airships with ease, before halting crossed at the Emperor’s sides.
[Cut them.]
At the Emperor’s command, the two greatswords gleamed with aura at their tips and rampaged across the battlefield. With every swing, dozens of airships were butchered wholesale and exploded.
[ⴇⲜⴆ·!!]
[ⴇⲜⴆ·!!]
Then, the Emperor tore open subspace, releasing countless of the 1st Legion’s specialized undead—Ironclads—raining them down.
The Ironclads instantly infiltrated the airships, seizing control.
Sseuuk—
Each time the Emperor waved his arm in the sky, the Ironclads moved like blades, slicing airships apart, showcasing mastery over undead.
The grand fleet of 500 vessels was halved in moments.
Overwhelming—
No, a strength beyond any language of the continent to describe.
Kukukung!
Kukung!
“The main ship has been breached by the 1st Legion’s undead!”
“We are defeated! Master of the Association, you must escape at once!”
Two subordinates followed, shouting, yet Everth Krimos ignored them, striding somewhere with purpose.
“We cannot end like this.”
Cheolkeong!
He inserted a key into one wall, opening several doors in sequence, and inside was a mineral imbued with a crimson glow.
“M-Master of the Association…!”
“Are you serious?”
A firepower said to be able to obliterate an entire city with ease.
A strategic weapon of the Dark Alliance, believed erased from history.
Everth gazed upon it with a smile.
“Prepare a small airship, I will carry it myself.”
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters
Very good story and translation but half the chapter aren't for free and it is wayyyy too expensive will it stat like tjis foreve or will it get free after some time