Chapter 109
"You bastard! You bastard! So you've been struggling behind my back to destroy the Kingdom of Cheongryu!"
"...."
The report was shocking.
The King of Cheongryu, Ryuhyeon, leaped to his feet the moment he received a report on the conversation Ryujin had held with the Empire.
Uncontrollable emotions came surging through him.
He had repeatedly warned Ryujin never to get involved with the Kingdom of Taewon, since nothing good could come from entangling themselves with it.
Yet Ryujin had gone even further than forming a relationship, helping the bastard of Taewon seek revenge?
It would not be strange for war to break out immediately.
Who would treat this as the personal actions of the Crown Prince alone?
'It is only reasonable to assume that the entire royal family... that the Kingdom of Cheongryu itself conspired with Taewon to carry this out.'
He had come far too far to defend Ryujin as a father defending his child.
This was not something he could judge rationally.
He had crossed that line.
'Should I appeal to their emotions... beg them to take pity on the Kingdom of Cheongryu... and plead for mercy...?'
He had thought he had maintained extremely close and solid relationships with the surrounding nations.
Yet all of it was about to collapse this easily because he had failed just once at raising his child.
King Ryuhyeon suppressed his hollow emotions and tried to resolve the situation immediately.
No, in truth, the answer had already been decided.
"Do you think everything will be resolved if you keep your mouth shut? How much more damage do you think we must suffer because you are keeping silent out of self-reproach? Tell me the Empire's intentions at once."
Ryujin had already finished speaking with the Empire's envoys, who had arrived aboard warships.
What answer had he brought back, and what exactly were the Empire's intentions?
To find this out, Ryuhyeon pressed Ryujin for an answer.
"...They ask us to open a path."
"A path? What path do they mean?"
Ryujin finally forced his mouth open.
"They asked us to open a path... leading to the Kingdom of Taewon. Since the Kingdom of Cheongryu is... close to Taewon and looks like a passageway...."
"...."
Did this mean the Empire wanted to use the Kingdom of Cheongryu like a passageway so its troops could reach Taewon easily?
Was that really their demand?
"You... because of you!"
Ryuhyeon, who was famed for his gentleness and called a wise king, grabbed his son's collar and hauled him up.
No fool could fail to understand what the Empire's demand meant.
Did they really mean they merely wanted permission to pass through?
And that they would simply pass through without causing any trouble?
Who could believe that?
'No, it is a problem even before we get to whether I believe them.'
If they demanded an apology, he would offer as many as they wanted.
He was even prepared to slam his head against the ground until blood flowed from his forehead.
But this was entirely beyond his imagination.
'...I had even considered offering Ryujin's head, with my guts twisting at the thought. But this... what on earth is this?'
The Empire was speaking plainly.
Give up everything and come under the Empire's rule.
The crimes you committed will be etched into history, not merely paid for in blood.
'...This is something that will shake the very foundation of the Kingdom of Cheongryu.'
The Kingdom of Cheongryu had maintained its balance through thorough diplomatic relations with every nation on the Eastern Continent.
It had even been planning a trade network that would one day control the entire Eastern Continent.
Was it now supposed to become a vassal state of the Western Continent's Empire because of a single mistake?
"Was that the only option?"
"They said... there was no other path."
The Empire's demand would not change.
Would they accept it or refuse it?
'...Do we have to go to war?'
How likely was it that their allies would come to their aid?
They might send troops, but how many would they send, how far would they help, and what would they demand in return?
'Asking our allies for help would not be a bad option. Even though they have come with warships, they cannot attack us immediately.'
Viewed broadly, this could become a battle of pride between the Eastern and Western Continents.
They could claim that the Western Continent's Empire harbored ambitions to seize the Eastern Continent.
If they made the Empire, an outside power, their absolute enemy and used it to strengthen the Eastern Continent's unity, then resisted as one?
'We do have a chance. Several allied nations that owe us considerable debts of gratitude come to mind, and if we asked them, they would send a certain number of troops.'
An abacus continued clicking away in King Ryuhyeon's mind.
Rather than becoming a passageway to Taewon in such a hollow manner, would it not be better to resist at least once?
Even from the fact that the Empire had brought warships and deployed them directly in front of the port.
The Empire was plainly acting in a hostile manner, and it was fair to say that they were provoking them.
Of course, they had done so for a reason.
But the thought that he could not simply surrender their sovereignty so easily continued to cloud his judgment.
How much effort had gone into raising this country?
And now, in a single instant.
'What are the chances that the Empire will truly... truly pass through the Kingdom of Cheongryu like a gentleman?'
Even that would have been a problem from the outset.
He could already envision every consequence that the mere act of permitting it would bring about.
What was the right choice?
While he was thinking about that,
"Your Majesty! I have good news!"
"In a situation like this?"
"Yes! That's right! The Sea King Cheongryu has just become enraged!"
"Really?"
The subordinate had truly brought good news.
The Sea King Cheongryu's rage.
Put simply, it was a storm.
The Sea King's rage occurred once a year at most.
When that time came, no one could launch a ship for an entire week, and everyone had to remain shut inside the port.
There was no way for humans to overcome a natural disaster.
"The Imperial warships might be destroyed! If not, they might withdraw altogether... Either way, it will at least buy us some time!"
"If we can buy time, it will be easier to contact our allies. Excellent! Excellent! The heavens are clearly helping the Kingdom of Cheongryu!"
King Ryuhyeon turned his gaze toward the enormous mirror mounted on the wall, hoping to see the Empire withdraw.
It showed a storm that had suddenly formed, with the Empire's warships in front of it.
"The heavens... have not abandoned the Kingdom of Cheongryu...!"
It was a joyous occasion.
The Sea King Cheongryu's rage was on an entirely different level from an ordinary storm.
It was more like a tangle of threads made from turbulent mana.
The Kingdom of Cheongryu had poured immense effort and time into unraveling those threads.
'It absolutely cannot be countered.'
They had been forced to taste the bitterness of defeat, with only one conclusion remaining.
Thus, joy and delight began filling the conference room of the Kingdom of Cheongryu.
Shhk!
"...?"
"...Huh?"
"Huh."
"...Ah?"
That was until the Imperial knights joined forces and eliminated the Sea King Cheongryu's rage.
And the moment he saw that spectacle.
"Open the way."
King Ryuhyeon made the best choice available in the current situation.
It would be madness to oppose that.
That was Ryuhyeon's conclusion, and this was precisely
Kieeeeeek!
"A letter... I brought a letter?"
"It's real, isn't it? It's a letter?"
That was why Firande had crossed the sea to deliver a letter to the Eastern Continent.
+++++
"The Kingdom of Cheongryu said it would open the way, and as you instructed, I persuaded Firande and sent it to the Kingdom of Taewon."
"I wonder whether the letter was received safely. Firande doesn't take to people easily, except for me."
"...."
The Imperial Chancellor felt a complex, indescribable emotion at the Crown Prince's words.
'Your Highness, Firande is not merely unaccustomed to human touch.'
I do not even know what kind of bird it is.
Do bird feathers normally whip about like flames?
'No, before that, a bird tears bears apart and kills them... Is that really a bird? How can a bird tear a bear apart and eat meat?'
Strictly speaking, it was an omnivore.
It ate everything without distinguishing between meat and plants.
Perhaps it was better to say that it ate a balanced diet.
'A bird, no less.'
In any case, that was not what mattered right now.
"They say the Kingdom of Taewon has continuously waged wars of conquest and, as the strongest nation on the Eastern Continent, is known for acting arrogantly without caring about the opinions of its neighbors."
"They want to become an empire."
"That's right."
While listening to the report from the Imperial department in charge of foreign affairs,
'Things are going well.'
the Chancellor mentally reviewed the Empire's current operation.
If they disregarded the Empire simply because it lay across the sea, they absolutely had to pay the price for that disrespect.
That was the Empire's mindset, and everyone was busily moving to make it a reality.
'Do they know they are not the main event?'
Thinking that, the Chancellor immediately turned around when the Crown Prince assumed the posture of someone about to speak.
"We sent countless talents to the Kingdom of Maselin in the past and cultivated a tremendously diverse range of talents."
"That's right."
"And in return, we received various resources. But there is no way that was enough, is there? Back then, it was simply because the circumstances allowed us to receive only that much."
The Kingdom of Cheongryu? The Kingdom of Taewon?
They were indeed nations that had to pay the price for disregarding the Empire.
But was it not absurd for the Empire to devote its utmost effort to countries like those?
They were merely examples. Examples of what would happen if one went against the Empire.
The Eastern Continent still did not know how frightening the Empire was, so someone had to be placed on the executioner's block.
That was all.
"However, I hear that the Kingdom of Maselin has a truly diverse range of talents. Of course, not only Maselin, but throughout the entire continent."
The Empire's top priority was always making the Empire stronger.
"We helped Maselin too, so shouldn't Maselin naturally help us in return?"
If educators were lacking in an Empire where countless geniuses were scheduled to be born,
then all the talents on the continent had to be gathered in one place.
"Make them an offer they cannot refuse. Let them know that they have an opportunity to become professors at the Imperial Academy."
The beastmen were gathering even at that moment.
Their labor power was beyond reason.
'From what Roomta said, Pavan should be waking up soon as well.'
The day when the giants joined them was not far away either.
And there was one final blow to put the finishing touch on this entire situation.
That was
'I will enter the Kingdom of Maselin myself.'
He would poach every dwarf naturally present in the Kingdom of Maselin.
The Crown Prince reached that conclusion inwardly and slowly raised the corners of his mouth.
'The demon realm transformation that will happen five years from now?'
Five years from now.
How strong would the Empire have become by then? It was impossible even to imagine.