He became the most insane emperor of all time - Chapter 12

“It is an honor for Your Majesty to invite me personally, but may I ask why you wished to meet with me…?”

Count Ranford, who had been suddenly invited to meet me, could not hide his confusion.

In his late 30s, he appeared young for the head of a noble family, lacking the experience of an older noble, but instead, he seemed to show a certain honesty and passion.

“Shall we take a walk and talk?”

Count Ranford.

Objectively speaking, he was an ordinary count with a title that wasn’t particularly remarkable.

He was neither overly lacking nor exceptionally outstanding.

He merely owned a countship of average size.

Even though he held the title of count, the size of the countship varied depending on the history and influence of the vassal family. His family, however, was average and unremarkable.

“What do you think of yourself?”

We walked through a forest that was eerily quiet, which made it even more intimidating. I asked him, and Count Ranford answered with a trembling voice.

“I am just a man who serves my family.”

Despite his fear, he responded firmly.

It wasn’t an arrogant or overly humble answer—it was a neutral, safe response.

“Is that so? Then let me change the question.”

He was an ordinary noble without ambition.

But that’s exactly why he was suitable for me at this moment.

“If you had the chance, would you try to elevate your family and yourself?”

I asked and then turned back to him.

I raised one hand.

At that moment, soldiers holding crossbows appeared from the bushes.

Count Ranford, who hadn’t noticed their presence until now, looked shocked and fearful as they emerged.

“Y-Your Majesty, this…?”

“This is a question, but it’s also a proposal and, at the same time, a threat.”

So think carefully before you answer.

If you don’t want to lose your life right now.

It’s almost like a threat, but that’s not a problem for me.

There was no reason to be overly kind to a minor count like him.

“W-What kind of answer should I give to such a question?”

“I don’t think you’re foolish enough not to know. You’re too cautious, though.”

It’s a bit disappointing, but he’s quite an intelligent man.

And from what I’ve gathered, he has some decent skills as a baron.

He was well aware of his own and his family’s position as minor nobles and managed to maintain a balanced approach, neither leaning towards one side nor the other.

The territory he governed was being managed quite well, considering its size and the surrounding circumstances.

‘He might not be suitable as a prime minister, but he could be a good fit as the Minister of the Interior?’

I had expected that someone from a minor noble family, like him, would be a talent on the level of Um Baekho from the Three Kingdoms—at best—but seeing someone like him made me think that there might be surprisingly good talents among them.

“If you’re asking me, of course, I would want to do that. But Your Majesty…”

He still seemed conscious of the soldiers aiming crossbows at him, but he found the courage to speak to me.

“…Nobles from families as small as mine know better than to aim for trees they can’t climb.”

Survival skills.

If the strong need to learn the art of kingship, the weak must learn the art of survival.

This man knew how to survive as the weak.

That made him even more valuable to me.

If I took care of him, he would surely remain loyal to me. Even if his power grew in the future, he would find it difficult to betray me, as his habits as a weak man would still be ingrained in him.

He was exactly the kind of person I needed right now.

“If you look up at a tree you can’t climb, someone like us would just be swept away without a chance to resist.”

Even now, he was gently rejecting my “proposal.”

Without offending me, he was pleading that someone like him wasn’t worth the trouble.

Of course, I had no intention of letting him go easily.

“What if it’s not just you?”

I pointed out to him that he wouldn’t be the only one…

“There will be others who will try to climb the tree, even if it’s not you.”

…I was encouraging a sense of competition.

At that, a small but noticeable trace of ambition began to show in the eyes of the count, who had been acting like a weak man.

***

“Have you been hiding your strength all this time on purpose?”

Count Ranford muttered quietly inside the carriage as he returned to his estate.

The emperor’s proposal was somewhat absurd, but its implications were far from light.

“To unite nobles like me, who are minor, and reconfigure the power dynamics…”

Count Ranford pondered the emperor’s suggestion once more, recalling the current political situation around him.

The situation around the imperial capital, Augsburg, was divided into three major factions.

The first was the House of Duke Karstein.

They had been an independent force at the heart of the empire for a long time.

In contrast, the second faction, the House of Duke Mallenberg, was a family that had only recently been elevated to a dukedom.

Both families, without exception, were trying to rally the surrounding powers, but the third faction was the ones who had not yet taken sides in the conflict.

These were the people like Count Ranford himself.

“Is the emperor’s plan to recruit us, the buffer zone, and use us to oppose those two factions?”

The reason the two factions were able to remain neutral, even though they both sought regional dominance, was because the minor nobles like Count Ranford played the role of a buffer zone between House Karstein and House Mallenberg.

“But now the emperor has intervened. The game has changed. What should I do?”

Today, the emperor showed a strong desire to unify the empire.

As Count Ranford gradually began to be persuaded by the emperor’s words, the emperor presented his plans and ideas.

Count Ranford could only be shocked by what he heard.

“To exclude all feudal forces and establish an absolute monarchy…”

And that those like him, who cooperated, would be recognized as the new privileged class under this absolute monarchy.

It was a dangerous but tempting offer.

At the same time, it was impossible to refuse.

If he refused, the emperor would immediately have him eliminated.

“I can’t just join one of those two families.”

He had been walking a tightrope, playing the role of a neutral buffer zone until now.

But even if he were to choose sides now, neither of those families would protect him from the other.

He would only be a pawn, a shield for them.

“I’m sure the emperor predicted all of this when he made the offer.”

That was the strong feeling Count Ranford had.

But strangely enough, instead of feeling irritated, he felt a strange sense of excitement.

It was as if he had grabbed an opportunity he couldn’t afford to miss.

The ambition to rise up, both for himself and his family, surged within him.

He had no idea he had such ambition within him until now.

“Will the emperor’s attention on me truly be an opportunity…?”

Of course, it was a gamble.

He could place his bet and win, but he could also lose everything.

But the rewards of success were so great that the risk of failure seemed worth it.

“To give me the rights to develop the wasteland right now…”

The emperor had even offered him a large carrot.

In exchange, he was ordered to rally other minor nobles to gather forces for the emperor.

It was a clear transaction, each giving what the other needed.

Of course, Count Ranford was in no position to easily reject or accept the offer.

The more he thought about it, the more he leaned toward acceptance.

“Moreover, this emperor seems extraordinarily strong. Unlike the previous, weak one…”

Count Ranford had witnessed the emperor personally training his army.

Unlike the previous emperor, who was so weak that people called him powerless, this one was different.

He gave off an impression of someone who could be a tyrant.

No, I had a strong instinct that being called a tyrant might not even be enough to describe him.

“This is a gamble worth taking.”

Bold gambles require bold individuals.

The emperor seemed bold enough, and Count Ranford, surprisingly, had enough courage to stake his own bet on this gamble.

In the end, Count Ranford decided to board the same ship as the emperor.

***

[Quest Completed] [Successfully persuaded Count Ranford.] [Reward: ‘Prospera’s Favor Stage 1’ acquired.]

“It’s done. One more slave added.”

The unpredictable emperor was simply delighted by the fact that he had gained another slave to command.

***

“Push them this way!”

“Don’t leave any openings! Hold the shield up properly!”

Even in the days before firearms, people still hunted beasts.

However, back then, without firearms powerful enough to kill an elephant with one shot, the relationship between the hunter and the prey was often more dynamic.

“Head that way!”

“Fire the crossbows! Draw your bows!”

“They’re coming!”

As expected, hunting in a world without powerful firearms was a dangerous, life-risking endeavor.

And in this medieval-style other world, the same was true.

-Grrr! Woof woof!

A massive wolf, standing on all fours and nearly the size of an adult man, bared its teeth and growled at the soldiers.

Boom!

“Ahhh!”

“Hold firm! Stab it with the spear!”

“On three, lower the shield! Then shoot!”

“One! Two!”

“Fire!”

Even facing such a massive beast, the soldiers, though terrified, did not flee or freeze.

Thanks to their rigorous training and practice with hunting during breaks.

Of course, this was the first time they had faced a wolf beast of this size, as they had only fought wolves half its size before.

-Kekeng! Keng!

The giant wolf was not invincible, though it was a formidable opponent.

Its sharp, strong claws struck the shields, threatening to break them after just a few hits. But in that moment, spears, arrows, and bolts rained down on the beast.

While its tough hide wasn’t easy to pierce, with a bit of luck, they could break through and draw blood.

This beast had clearly come from the wastelands, which meant it was a creature that could be fought.

It had emerged from the wastelands, unable to survive in that harsh environment, and now it had entered human territory.

It was a creature still immature enough to breach human territory.

-Grrr… Kwoooong!

Crack!

“Ah! The shield is broken!”

However, it wasn’t something to be underestimated. Soon, the shield shattered, and some soldiers were exposed to danger.

Sensing the threat of death, the soldier closed his eyes tightly, unable to do anything more.

“This beast!”

But the monster did not harm the soldiers.

This was because I had seized the opportunity while the beast was distracted, preparing for its attack.

Whoosh.

[Ambush attack successful!] [Additional damage dealt!]

-Khehh!

“Tough bastard.”

In that moment, I aimed for the creature’s heart through the side it exposed, but the sword felt dull as it entered.

Even with the enhancement from my ambush skill, it was still a sign that, despite its size, the creature’s physical ability was far from perfect.

It would have been nice if I could channel my aura into the sword.

Although the sword was of decent quality, being the one the emperor used, it wasn’t sharp enough to pierce the monster’s tough hide easily.

Perhaps I needed a better sword, or I would need to imbue it with aura to increase its sharpness. As it stood, I wasn’t yet capable of channeling aura into the sword.

-Khehh!

The wolf beast, in pain from the sword, thrashed around wildly.

I quickly twisted the blade before it could slip out and pulled it back, stepping back to avoid further danger.

Its sharp claws skimmed my armor.

The high-quality plate armor made of precious steel showed obvious claw marks.

If it had hit directly, I wouldn’t have died, but I wouldn’t have been completely unharmed either.

“Your Majesty, we must assist!”

“Aim at the wolf and shoot!”

In the meantime, the soldiers supported me with arrows and bolts.

Though they could have accidentally hit me since I was close to the target, they didn’t hesitate. After practicing hunting together for dozens of times, they were in perfect sync.

-Kehhh! Khehh!

“Now!”

While I evaded the wolf’s next attack, arrows and bolts flew, making the beast’s movements sluggish.

In that moment, I brought the sword down with all my strength.

-Grrroar!

“Die!”

Slash!

The sword was as sharp as ever.

Though the blow was rough, the added power made it a heavy strike, ripping into the wolf’s neck.

The wolf struggled for a moment but soon stopped moving as it bled out.

“We got it!”

“Excellent, Your Majesty!”

“You’ve all done well! The hide should still be in good condition.”

The soldiers who succeeded in the hunt were smiling.

Their reward, in the form of a share of the proceeds from the hunt, was also growing.

It had already been a month since they started training, going back and forth between the wastelands. It had only been two weeks since we began actual hunting, but our coordination was already excellent.

“It might be time to start the wasteland development.”

It was time to set the next plan in motion.