Chapter 68
The Most Brilliant Empire (10)
Kang Hyeon’s group drew attention wherever they went. From the goblins’ perspective, it seemed fascinating that humans had come to visit their city.
“Keruk! Step aside.”
Fortunately, thanks to Kergo, no conflicts arose. Even if some gave unfriendly looks to Kang Hyeon and his group, no one dared to challenge Kergo. The group spent about a day touring the city, completing their sightseeing of humanity’s legacy – the pyramids and the sphinx.
“Good, let’s depart right away.”
The next morning. On the path to Emperor One-Eye Kiron of the Kereton Empire.
“It’s such a shame. I wanted to play a little more…”
Yoon Na-rae said with disappointment evident on her face.
“One day of fun is enough, what more do you want? We did everything you wanted to do.”
Kang Hyeon had specifically accommodated Yoon Na-rae’s requests. It was because the others weren’t particularly interested in sightseeing. Deep down, he wanted to give Yoon Na-rae some small memories during this opportunity.
‘She has been through a lot lately.’
Certainly, their relationship didn’t start with a good impression. But somehow they ended up moving together, and as their shared hardships accumulated, now Yoon Na-rae felt like a true companion.
‘Even though she can be annoying sometimes… She’s quite admirable in her own way.’
Actually spending a day moving according to Yoon Na-rae’s mood turned out to be a rather unique and pleasant experience.
“Instead, if things go well with the Emperor without fighting, let’s play for one more day. Just one more day!”
“Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want.”
“You promised!”
“I said okay already.”
While pushing away the constantly pestering Yoon Na-rae, Kang Hyeon finally arrived at their destination, the imperial palace.
“It’s even more impressive up close…”
The building’s exterior walls seemed to be gilded, completely golden in color.
‘Was it Belly? It looks just like his magic.’
The Golden Bella. It reminded him of the magic that turned the world golden.
“Keruk! Kang Hyeon. I explained.”
At that moment, Kergo spoke to Kang Hyeon.
“Explained what?”
“Kang Hyeon is strong. Saved. World!”
“Oh, you told them in advance?”
Kergo nodded.
It seemed he had given the Emperor a heads-up about who Kang Hyeon was.
“Kid. That’s thoughtful of you.”
At Kang Hyeon’s praise, Kergo struck a proud pose and smiled.
“Then let’s go in right away.”
Perhaps because advance notice had been given. As Kang Hyeon and his group approached, the massive doors opened. Eventually, an interior even more magnificent than the exterior began to reveal itself.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Welcome to the Empire.”
A heavy voice rang out clearly.
‘Unlike Kergo, his speech isn’t awkward.’
Then it must be one of two things. Either Kergo was stupid. Or the Emperor was intelligent. Kang Hyeon thought the former was more likely.
“So you are Kang Hyeon.”
Emperor One-Eye Kiron looked at Kang Hyeon.
Like Kergo, he had an unusually large build for a goblin, and true to his name ‘One-Eye,’ he wore an eye patch over one eye.
‘He definitely seems capable.’
Kang Hyeon quietly admired as he faced the Emperor. The magical power writhing within the Emperor was mighty, and even while seated, his presence was sharp as a blade.
“Are you indeed Kang Hyeon?”
“Ah, yes.”
He had forgotten to answer while examining the Emperor’s aura. Kang Hyeon responded with a formal speech. He judged that there would be nothing good about speaking casually to someone who was an Emperor.
“I have heard about you. You are the benefactor of General Kergo? And you saved the world from the immortals?”
“Well, that’s not wrong. Haha!”
“I like your spirited personality. Hihihiti!”
Despite Kang Hyeon’s cheeky response, that could have been taken poorly. Kiron laughed even louder than Kang Hyeon had.
“Honestly, I don’t like humans. They are cunning and cowardly.”
“I completely agree.”
Regarding how despicable humans could be, Kang Hyeon could consider himself something of an expert. He had seen all sorts of things while going through thick and thin. As he frowned briefly while thinking about the past, Kiron continued speaking.
“However, I like heroes. And according to General Kergo, you are a great hero.”
Kang Hyeon nodded in affirmation.
“But you see. I still cannot trust you. I haven’t seen with my own eyes that you saved the world, have I?”
“That’s true.”
“Also, since you are General Kergo’s benefactor, he might have presented things more favorably.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Kang Hyeon asked directly.
“Hahaha! Right. No need to beat around the bush. I heard you came seeking to join forces with us.”
“Yes. Not just us humans, but elves, vampires, and even the immortals. If possible, I plan to gather the strength of everyone on this Earth.”
“Hooh, it won’t be an easy journey. The opponents are naturally those monsters? Those strange beings that appear by tearing through dimensions.”
“We call them beings of chaos.”
Kang Hyeon nodded and continued.
“If you want to know about the current situation Earth is in, I can explain in detail…”
“No, that’s fine.”
Kiron cut off Kang Hyeon’s words.
“I am well aware of their danger already. However…”
“However?”
“As I said earlier, I still cannot trust you. I would like you to earn my trust.”
“What do you want?”
“I like how quick you are to understand.”
Emperor One-Eye Kiron grinned.
“Bring that.”
At Kiron’s command, goblins began struggling to carry something massive. Looking closely, it appeared to be a strategic map.
‘Quite accurate.’
It would not have been seen by satellites, but the goblins had made quite accurate and detailed maps.
“You know that we’re currently at war with the undead.”
As Kang Hyeon nodded, Kiron continued.
Having approached Kang Hyeon’s side, he pointed to a spot with his baton.
“This is the enemy’s stronghold. And this is where the most intense battles are taking place.”
The place marked as the stronghold was Iran, and the location of the most fierce battles was Iraq.
“We are winning most of the battles, but the situation is not actually that favorable.”
“They are an army of the dead while we are living beings. With extended supply lines and unfavorable environments, there are numerous factors we must consider.”
“Moreover, the monsters coming through that dimension are gradually increasing. If we’re not careful, we might have to retreat to our front line.”
“So what is it that I need to do?”
“Here is what I would like to ask you. I’ve heard that you have been fighting them for a long time.”
“That’s right.”
“Then, as the hero who saved the world, what can you do and to what extent in this situation?”
At Emperor Kiron’s question, Kang Hyeon quietly looked at the map. The map reflected the current battlefield situation in real-time, with numerous chess pieces placed on it. Naturally, the location with the most chess pieces was Iran, the undead’s stronghold. The entire map was densely filled with black chess pieces.
Kang Hyeon pushed all of them away with his hand.
Rumble…
The chess pieces pushed by Kang Hyeon’s hand bounced around and rolled away.
“About this much?”
Kang Hyeon said with a grin.
Then the one-eyed Kiron began to laugh like a madman.
“Hahahahahaha!”
Kiron laughed so heartily that tears unwittingly streamed from his eye.
“Good. I like that very much.”
Kiron wiped his eye and returned to his seat. Then he gazed intently at Kang Hyeon.
“That alliance. No, let the Kereton Empire join that coalition.”
“Do you not require anything in return?”
At Kang Hyeon’s question, Kiron shook his head.
“What compensation would be needed to work with a hero? Rather, we should be the ones expressing gratitude! Hahaha!”
It seemed there would be no need for further troublesome actions. The alliance was formed more easily and quickly than expected. Kang Hyeon felt that this emperor goblin might be a better character than he had initially thought.
‘He definitely has charisma.’
An inexplicable aura emanated from him that overwhelmed his surroundings. It wasn’t just from his position as emperor, but a power that radiated from himself.
‘They say he’s the only one who could control the unruly goblins. I can see why now.’
Goblins who typically don’t form large groups and always live scattered. He could somewhat understand why they followed the emperor despite it being against their instincts. Afterward, Kang Hyeon explained what needed to be done going forward.
From the detailed composition of the alliance to the rules, and the installation of portals, which was the most crucial part. After all the explanations, Kiron showed a somewhat tired expression.
“Let’s stop here for today and rest.”
“Agreed.”
“Rest well. If you want alcohol and food, we can provide as much as you desire.”
Just as smiles bloomed on the faces of Kang Hyeon and Yoon Na-rae at the emperor’s words.
“Urgent report!”
A soldier rushed in and shouted.
“What is the matter?”
“The, the undead have begun to advance!”
The emperor made a puzzled expression at the soldier’s words.
“Isn’t that a common occurrence?”
“Well… This time the scale is different.”
The soldier continued with a trembling voice.
“The entire desert is overflowing with corpses.”
“It seems like all of them are moving.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Grrrr…”
“Kieeee!”
All kinds of undead were gathering and moving together. The number was unprecedented, of a scale never seen before. This large-scale movement was possible because the undead legion had no concept of supplies. Behind them, moving like a massive tumor, came the sound of heavy iron armor.
Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!
These were the elite soldiers of Avin Asas, uniformly armored in black. Created through repeated enhancements of specially powerful individuals, they possessed strength of a different dimension compared to ordinary undead. Each one was comparable to a Death Knight, a top-tier entity. The number of these elite soldiers alone exceeded 100,000.
‘This is a battle that cannot be lost.’
The undead army numbering in the tens of millions, enough to make one sick just by looking at them. The elite soldiers he had personally trained. Additionally, commanders of Kulsaand Asas caliber were stationed throughout. Essentially, all the radical faction forces had come out.
‘I should have done this from the beginning.’
The reason Avin Asas had not personally appeared until now, sending other commanders instead, was due to pride. Although the other commanders were also of the ‘Asas’ rank, he wanted to show that he was different. The fact that he had observed the Absolute Agon staying out of the battlefield for hundreds of years probably influenced this thinking.
‘Someday I will reach the same level as Lord Agon, but there’s no need to ascend the same way.’
He is different from Agon or the other Adraz. Golden Bella, who had been the number one among the Asas, had struggled desperately to join their group… But he would create his own force in this new world. The conquest of the goblins could be considered the first step.
“Everyone, watch closely! See how I, Avin, accomplish what you couldn’t! Hahahahaha!”
The other commanders turned their heads without responding to Avin’s exclamation. It was due to displeasure.
‘If we had such military power from the beginning, we wouldn’t have been defeated.’
Of course Avin Asas would win, having brought all his forces. And yet he was acting as if he was something special. Others thought it was irritating, but no one dared to say it aloud.
“Increase the speed! Advance at maximum velocity!”
Thus, Avin Asas’s advance was beginning to creak from the start.
