He became the most insane emperor of all time - Chapter 18

A world where magic and swords exist.

The fact that such powers exist paradoxically means that a world without them would be difficult to survive in.

Boom!

“It’s trolls! Everyone, get back!”

“Three of them…!”

In a world where monsters exist that can easily kill humans, having some form of power is necessary for survival.

Thud!

“AAAAH! Help me!”

Just three trolls wreaked havoc on the magic forest’s search party.

At first, the soldiers fired their crossbows and fought back valiantly, but…

Whoosh!

Roar!

“It’s useless! They regenerate!”

The trolls’ regenerative ability, incomprehensible to humans, nullified all their efforts.

Meanwhile, the trolls wielded large wooden clubs, effortlessly killing the soldiers.

The knights did not retreat, facing the trolls with courage, but they were unable to land any effective blows.

“Everyone, fall back and regroup!”

“Your Majesty!”

At that moment, I arrived.

I issued the retreat command and, without anyone having time to stop me, I charged straight at the trolls.

With my silver hair trailing behind, I closed the distance quickly.

Grrr!

Boom!

I narrowly avoided the troll’s club and, using the force of the downward strike, I leapt.

“One down.”

Thrust!

My silver holy sword pierced the troll’s heart.

Even monsters with regenerative abilities have their weaknesses.

Striking the heart was a fatal blow for them as well.

GRAAAAH!

Of course, simply stabbing wouldn’t be enough to kill it.

The troll, pierced in the heart, went into a frenzy due to the excruciating pain compounded by its regeneration.

Crunch!

“Ugh!”

Because of the frenzied thrashing, I was hit by the troll’s club and sent flying.

“Your Majesty!”

“I’m fine.”

The knights rushed to me in alarm, but I hadn’t been struck too badly, so I quickly got back up.

“Anyway, I’ve taken care of one of them.”

“Pardon? Ah, no, that is…”

Thud, thud…

The knights were stunned when they saw what I had pulled out.

I hadn’t just charged at the troll to stab it.

I had intended to extract its heart, and I had successfully done so.

Grrrr, Graah… Ugh…

Even a troll dies if it loses its heart.

The troll staggered for a while but eventually collapsed, its life completely gone.

Grrk! Grrk! Roooaar!

But there were still two more trolls left.

Seeing one of their kin killed, the remaining trolls began to go wild.

The numbers were fewer, but the situation could still get more dangerous.

“This is it, Captain of the Guard! Stella!”

But I had already prepared a countermeasure for this.

As soon as I called for them, the Captain of the Guard and Stella moved into action.

“Those with oil flasks, move to the front!”

“Prepare the fire arrows! First, douse them with oil, then shoot!”

Oil and fire arrows had been prepared in advance to deal with the trolls.

Under the Captain’s command, the soldiers moved quickly and precisely to face one of the trolls.

Whoosh!

Roar! Ugh!

The troll, now engulfed in flames, was in agony due to its regeneration being overwhelmed by the fire.

Despite its pain, the troll rampaged even more, and it was a danger to the soldiers and knights. But this had also been anticipated.

“Protect those fighting against evil!”

Boom!

“The Saint has cast a protective barrier! Fight without fear!”

Stella’s protective prayer shielded the soldiers from some of the damage, giving them the courage to fight once more.

Thanks to this, it seemed we could leave one of the trolls to them.

[Trial of Bravery – Defeating the three trolls that were roaming near the camp.]

“Now there’s only one left.”

Grrr…

The last remaining troll.

It was the largest and seemed somewhat special among the three brothers.

“Aren’t you going to charge first?”

Grrr…

When I killed the first one, this one had gone berserk as well.

But now, there was no sign of madness in its eyes.

Instead, it appeared to be calmly observing my movements, almost as if it were trying to counter me.

It was proof that it wasn’t relying solely on its berserk instincts.

“Interesting. I’m glad I decided to tackle the cursed forest.”

If I manage to catch it, the experience points and rewards will be great.

It would be absurd to just leave such a rich source of experience untouched.

“If you’re not going to come at me, then I’ll come to you!”

Thud!

I instantly accelerated.

Just like with the first troll, I went for the lower side of the tall troll’s body, targeting its blind spot.

Roar!

Unlike the others, this troll didn’t just swing its club down. It swiped it around as if to hit me with a wide arc.

The movements were larger, making it more difficult for me to dodge.

“But still, it’s slow.”

However, there was no way I couldn’t dodge.

I performed a graceful spin in mid-air, dodging the sweeping strike with ease.

Heh-heh…

“You’re laughing?”

Even though it missed, the troll wasn’t angry. Instead, it seemed to grimace in a mocking smile.

Crack! Craack!

Immediately after, it raised its club.

That alone didn’t mean much. Even if it swung it, it was still too far from me to land a hit.

Zzzzz—

But as the blue aura started to gather around its club, I could feel something was off.

Boom!

The troll then slammed its club into the ground.

The ground shook, as if an earthquake had occurred.

Since I had just jumped up for my acrobatic move and had my feet off the ground, I was defenseless against the sudden earthquake-like attack.

Ugh!

I lost my balance and had to pause for a moment.

Even when I tried to get up right away, my body wouldn’t cooperate due to the heavy shock.

Heh-heh…

Thinking his plan had worked, the troll grinned wickedly and started to approach, ready to finish me off.

“Ah, too bad.”

Grrk?

But I didn’t feel a sense of crisis.

[‘Blessing of Purification – Freedom’ has been used.]
[Status effects like slow, stun, and confusion have been instantly cleared.]
[300 Holy Power points have been consumed.]

“I wasted my Holy Power just now.”

It was just a bit regrettable to spend my carefully gathered Holy Power.

But soon, my body, which had been half-groggy, was instantly restored.

Once I could move quickly again, I swiftly slashed the troll’s ankle with my holy sword, which had approached carelessly.

Graaagh!

The troll’s ankle was instantly severed.

Of course, if I had cut the entire ankle off, the troll would have regenerated quickly.

But once the ankle was severed, it couldn’t help but stagger for a moment due to the physical injury.

“It’s over.”

As it was forced to kneel, its head came down within reach of my blade.

That was enough for the final strike.

A powerful upward slash.

With the full power of the aura, the troll’s neck was severed.

Pwahhh!

Troll’s blood spurted out like a fountain from its decapitated head.

“Collect the troll’s blood. That’s all money.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The soldiers, who had survived and succeeded in the hunt, grinned even as they drenched themselves in the hot, sticky troll blood, now getting extra rewards as well.

[Completed the Trial of Courage.]
[500 Holy Power points gained.]
[Your combat ability has increased due to proving your courage.]
[Current combat power estimate: 3,428.]

I also checked my status window to confirm the rewards I had gained.

The combat power measurement, which I had started tracking at some point, had now surpassed 3,000.

“Although I spent 300 Holy Power, I still gained 200, so that’s a net gain.”

It was a bit disappointing. If I hadn’t used it, I could have gained 500 Holy Power.

With that, I could have saved the Holy Power for stronger buffs or accumulated extra to use for internal affairs.

“Still, other than courage, the cost of other blessings is too high, so it’s a bit of a burden.”

The “Blessing of Freedom” I used earlier was from the Purification series of blessings.

That’s why it was a one-time buff, but it consumed 300 Holy Power.

Even though there are many useful blessings, there’s no discount for anything other than the Courage series, which belongs to Leonis’ branch.

Leonis holds a strong favor toward me and offers his blessings, but the other gods don’t do the same.

Those stingy ones, do they still not trust me enough in their respective domains?

“Your Majesty, are you injured anywhere?”

“No. More importantly, it seems like Stella is getting more accustomed to the Magic Realm.”

“Yes, even during my time as a novice priest, I had never ventured this deep before.”

Now that I think about it, as Stella said, we’ve expanded the camp quite deep into the Magic Realm.

According to the prime minister, this is the first time in nearly 100 years that a faction has been established this deep within the Magic Realm.

It’s clear that it hasn’t been easy.

We had just encountered three trolls.

The soldiers and knights had to endure a lot, but for me, it was a good thing as the trials of courage were pouring in.

In fact, the soldiers were also eager to participate because they received extra rewards through these hunts, as long as no one died.

Moreover, the products from the Magic Realm were helping to boost the capital’s economy.

[Selectable Trials of Courage List]
[Trial of Courage – Silver Mane Wolf Hunt]
[Trial of Courage – Goblin Slayer]

“Now, what should I choose next… huh?”

After a brief conversation with Stella, I was left alone again, contemplating what to choose for the next trial.

It was a time when even resting seemed too precious in my quest to grow stronger.

***

“This is troublesome. At this rate, I can’t target them at all.”

Somewhere within the Empire’s controlled territory in the Magic Realm.

Suspicious figures disguised as soldiers had gathered.

Naturally, they were not soldiers. They were unwelcome guests—assassins.

“I knew something like this would happen. I didn’t expect this target to come to a place like the Magic Realm…”

“I didn’t expect the emperor to be this strong either.”

It was proving to be a more difficult task than the assassins had initially thought.

At first, they had welcomed the fact that the target was heading toward the Magic Realm.

After all, in a dangerous place like the Magic Realm, the target’s defenses would likely be more lax.

“But the Imperial soldiers are better than expected. Once we return to the camp, there will be no opening to target.”

“What about poisoning the supplies…?”

“The target will likely notice if we do. Plus, we have the Purification Cultists around.”

Thus, poisoning would be difficult to pull off.

If they used poison, there was a high chance the target would detect it.

“For now, we need to wait for another opportunity.”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to target them during the fight with the trolls today?”

One of the assassins lamented, and the other clicked his tongue.

“How foolish. The mission is to leave no witnesses. You want us to strike then?”

“Ugh, sorry. My thinking was short-sighted.”

The assassin gave a sharp look, and the colleague who had made the suggestion immediately raised both hands in apology.

“Well, your suggestion isn’t entirely wrong. It did seem like that moment was the best chance for something to work.”

Indeed, during combat, the success rate of an assassination would be higher.

The problem, however, was that this particular mission required no witnesses, making it more difficult.

Still, they felt that with a bit more patience, an appropriate opportunity might arise.

“We’ll wait for that moment.”

In the end, the assassins decided to be more patient. However, when that opportunity would come was uncertain, so the waiting would likely take quite some time.

Meanwhile, the emperor was growing stronger.