Kill the Emperor

Translator: AkazaTL

Pr/Ed: Sol IX

***

Chapter 120: Night Severs the Neck!

“Hmph!”

Clip-clop.

“Hmph hmph!”

Whoosh.

Snort,

“Hmph hmph hmph!”

With Sherazade in the back seat, blunt snorting sounds reached Hein's ears in succession as he spurred the horse.

“Hmph hmph hmph!”

At this point, it was clear she was doing that on purpose so he could hear.

“……Why that expression?”

Eventually arriving at the destination, I, Hein, had no choice but to ask the reason why Sherazade was making a sullen face.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems Master thinks of me only as a nanny raising babies or a convenient means of transportation.”

Only then did I seem to understand why Sherazade's mood had been so sour.

-I have a place to go, so be ready to fly and come out on time. Don't forget to prepare to wake up the Spirits too.

She didn't like the memo I sent, which was truly concise and businesslike, writing down only the main point.

“Not at all. I think of you as my precious partner.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Aren't we a relationship bound by a Geas?”

“Master! Shouldn't you at least look a person in the eye when saying things like this?”

“There is not a single point of shame in my words, so what's so important about gaze or whatever?”

“Hmph! Anyway, you are good at lying. So where are we going?”

However, as always, it didn't take that long for Sherazade's mood to improve this time either.

“If you fly northwest from here, you will see an island. You just need to go there.”

“How long will it take?”

“If we went by ship, it would take quite some time, but if you fly carrying me, we can arrive within an hour.”

Having revealed the destination, I crossed my arms and waited for Sherazade to polymorph.

“…….”

But for some reason, Sherazade was not transforming.

I carefully looked around, wondering if there was someone watching.

No human gaze could be seen anywhere. It's no different from before, so why is Sherazade not trying to transform?

“……Are you perhaps sick somewhere?”

“Master. Close your eyes. Or turn around.”

“……What?”

“I told you to close your eyes! Are you perhaps trying to see a lady's naked body right now?”

“…….”

Come to think of it, whenever Sherazade changed form, it seemed a silhouette could be glimpsed through the light that poured out.

But…….

“Can that…… be called a naked body?”

“Anyway, turn around quickly! Or else I won't do it!”

Turning around is not a difficult thing.

I turned my body back without a word of complaint.

-Done. You can turn around now.

A moment later, upon receiving the telepathy informing me that the transformation was complete, I turned my body.

“It seems a little different from before?”

-Hehe. This is all because of our Spirit babies. As I played with the babies, I grew up rapidly, you see.

Soon, her appearance, distinctly different from before, entered my view.

Of course, I had thought that Sherazade in dragon form was very beautiful from before.

But her body, met after a long time, was emitting an even more dazzling light and drawing elegant curves.

What should I say? Sherazade when she just regained her body from Kelbes was beautiful, but she gave off a somewhat perilous feeling.

However, she, shining under the moonlight today, was far from perilous or whatever, giving off a mysterious beauty truly befitting a princess of a kingdom in legends.

“As expected, she wasn't just a princess who only eats a lot of rice, is that it…….”

-Master, what did you just say? I couldn't hear well.

“No. Nothing.”

I shook my head slightly and climbed onto Sherazade's back.

She tilted her wing with familiar movements and lifted me onto her back.

Whoosh—

Carrying her body on the blowing wind, Sherazade soared into the air.

Soon, the two became a single beam of golden light and melted into the night sky.

***

One hour later.

“Arrived! Wow, it's really pretty here! Look at those flowers over there!”

The place where the two set foot was a wild garden on a cliff where all kinds of flowers bloomed in profusion.

Unlike Sherazade, who seemed endlessly excited, intoxicated by the inspiration presented by the sea of colorful flowers unseen on the continent…….

“Master! What's wrong? Are you sick somewhere?”

“……You seem to be fine.”

I had to endure by placing my hand on my forehead to withstand the dizziness washing over my whole body.

Through past memories and Gabriel's research results, I had derived three hypotheses regarding the environment of Eldrigal.

First, the damage caused by Eldrigal's unique environment applies commonly regardless of the power a person of the continent possesses.

Second, Sherazade, a mixed blood of Sub-Dragon and human, will not experience great difficulty even if she comes to Eldrigal.

“……Phew.”

Placing my hand on the Magic Armor hanging around my neck, I focused my mind to call forth the power of the Spirits.

However, perhaps because the affinity was not high yet, the Spirits did not easily respond to my call.

“Master, shall I help?”

The moment Sherazade's hand touched my back, I felt her unique warmth and the power of the Spirits spreading throughout my body.

“Phew…….”

Before I knew it, the terrible dizziness that tormented me had disappeared as if washed away.

The last, the third of the hypotheses I established was precisely,

‘If one uses the power of the Spirits, one can receive protection from the flow of mana that overturns the balance.’

Confirming that the hypothesis was correct through my own body, I was lost in thought for a moment.

‘As of now, the only combatants who can comfortably act on this island are me and the Grand Chief's family. But effectively, I cannot expect help from them.’

Judging by Tecumseh's character, he would not be able to point a sword at his own kin.

Even if they point swords at them due to the coercion of the traitors.

Then what can be expected eventually is Gabriel's research result, but…….

‘Even if Gabriel achieves results, it won't be able to let people of the continent stay here forever. Even if successful, Haken enduring less than a week in a physical condition far worse than usual would be the limit.’

In other words, looking at the current situation, it was impossible to directly subjugate the traitors on the island through Haken.

Because their role in this operation had to be limited to wrapping up a situation already concluded, not being a shock troop performing missions at the forefront.

The damage to ordinary residents must not be too great in the process of targeting the gaps of the traitor group.

If such an unfortunate event occurred, the heartbroken Tecumseh might give up on trade and everything else.

‘Ultimately, it means I have to run around here and there alone to prepare the board.’

Thinking that I would have to come here on a business trip almost every night and run wild for the time being, a wry smile naturally formed on my lips.

Where else in this world would there be such a diligent Grand Duke?

“You go back now. Wait on standby and pick me up here again around dawn…….”

“Wait! Master, you don't really have to say that.”

Sherazade grasped my hand tightly and closed her eyes.

Then, the warmth felt a moment ago was felt once more.

“Now it's visible in Master's eyes too, right?”

“……Yeah.”

Before I knew it, colorful little kids riding on both my shoulders and giggling entered my view.

“You don't have to say right now when I should come back here. Later, when needed, if you tell the babies, they will convey Master's words to me. Then I will come back here on time.”

“……These kids, no, these friends can do such things too?”

“Yeah. Because me, our babies, and Master are connected as one.”

“……Me too?”

Since when was I with these kids?

Suppressing what I wanted to ask, I listened attentively to Sherazade's words.

“Yeah. And actually, if you just give permission, I can directly read Master's thoughts without needing to tell the babies every time…….”

“I decline that.”

I shook my head and spoke before Sherazade's words were finished.

“It's privacy, you know.”

“Che, miser. Then I'm going, so take care of yourself, Master. And close your eyes quickly!”

Sherazade, making a sulky expression, turned her back around.

“Hmph hmph, our Master is a miser and a stingy person~”

Then, after humming a song of unknown identity once, she left the island in the form of a Sub-Dragon.

Watching Sherazade's retreating figure creating a gust of wind for a moment, I began moving to achieve the purpose of coming here tonight.

Rustle—

***

Moving towards the center of the island with stealthy steps, I stopped for a moment when the residence of a small-scale village came into view.

Although the scale was not large, for a village where a decent tribe settled and lived, the security was ridiculously lax.

‘There are no watchtowers or surveillance systems at all. There seem to be a few personnel standing guard, but the state of the guards is extremely lax.’

Thanks to the environment of the island, which is no different from a natural fortress, the tribesmen of Eldrigal did not assume external attacks from the beginning.

This was the only fortunate point in the tricky operation I had to carry out from now on.

‘Up to here, it matches the content the Grand Chief told me.’

I recalled once again the current power distribution map of Eldrigal that I heard from Tecumseh a while ago.

“Since the position of Grand Chief has become vacant, the mainland must be completely seized by the High Priest's grasp now. According to the law, the forces the High Priest can command are only the Priest Knights. However, the current High Priest has virtually obtained the combat power of the Pimera Family by taking the heir of the Pimera Family, which has the strongest combat power on the mainland, as his son-in-law.”

“Even if the combat power of the Pimera Family is mighty, it wouldn't be stronger than the direct combatants led by the Grand Chief, right?”

“Of course. If the High Priest had attacked me leading only the Priest Knights and the Pimera Family's forces, I could have sufficiently punished them. However, the cunning High Priest was not satisfied with that. The High Priest, that guy, won over as many as 4 of the 6 combat tribes that should have followed my command originally to his side.”

“Why did they betray the Grand Chief and participate in the High Priest's conspiracy? They must have known that if the High Priest drives out the Grand Chief and seizes the island's discipline, the power of the priests would become greater than theirs?”

“He must have said he would give the position of Grand Chief. Although I cannot be certain as I did not see it with my own two eyes, he must have said that once he drives me out, he would choose one of the traitors and appoint him as Grand Chief. Those guys were blinded by the position of Grand Chief and betrayed me, with whom they lived like brothers.”

Even while ruminating on very painful memories, the Grand Chief's breathing maintained a stable sign throughout.

However, even he could not hide his agitated tone when mentioning ‘traitors’.

Through such an appearance of the Grand Chief, I could grasp the dynamics of the island at least roughly.

‘One appetizing chunk of meat. Four dogs coveting the food. The new owner holding the leash after driving out the original owner makes the dogs compete in loyalty using the food as an excuse, is that it?’

And to create the ‘first’ crack in this disgusting situation where only desire was teeming all over,

It did not require that much time.

‘One night is enough.’

Holding the sword handle in my hand, I headed towards the center of the village with stealthy steps that the residents of Eldrigal could not even imagine.

The target was a 3-story stone building located in the center of the village.

By now, the boss ruling this village would be sleeping soundly in there.

‘Is it this guy?’

Before long, I succeeded in entering the bedroom of the building all too easily.

The name of this person lying on the bed sleeping was Wakamba.

He was a guy serving as the 3rd Defense Captain under ‘Galgabaro’, one of the 4 tribal chiefs who betrayed Tecumseh.

Shing—

I immediately drew my sword and…….

“Gugh…….”

Struck the neck of the sleeping traitor.

And dipping the tip of the sword in the blood flowing from the guy's corpse, I scribbled letters on the wall.

-Farewell. Corpse No. 1.

Leaving behind a cold sneer, I hid my body again into the darkness covering the island.

All the severed head, which couldn't even let out a scream properly, could guard the bed alone until dawn like this.

Drip, drip.

Only the sound of blood drops flowing down the severed section comforted the traitor's vain death.