246 The Beginning of a New Era (1/2)

While the Northlands were still in the midst of frigid weather, the central plains of Eich were experiencing the warmth of spring.

Right now, in the Royal Palace of the Bardi Empire, the elderly emperor was in the garden, waiting for a scheduled visitor.

Emperor Orloss Mossivory Saint Milan was a silver-haired, elderly man with a kindly appearance. He was on the short side, and he never spoke loudly. He appeared to have a scholarly aura about him, which made him seem like an academic that would be easy to get along with, but within the Bardi Empire, he had the ”glorious nickname” of ”Sly Fox Scorpion Emperor.” This referred to how he was vicious both domestically and internationally.

What? You're saying you don't understand what that meant? ”As long as the result is good, the ends justify the means” was what he lived by, and he indeed always followed through with this.

Domestically, within the Bardi Empire, he used assassinations, set factions against each other, and framed and scammed others to centralize and solidify his authority. Internationally, he betrayed endless amounts of alliances and agreements for the Bardi Empire's benefit. This gave him another so-called ”glorious nickname” of ”Emperor of Zero Trustworthiness,” making the current Bardi Empire lose every single one of its allies to the point that it had now zero remaining allies.

However, there were gains to be had in exchange for those losses. While he ruined the honor and trustworthiness that the Bardi Empire had accumulated over countless centuries, the Bardi Empire's national strength had indeed reached its greatest peak in history. Within the first fifty years of Orloss' reign, the Bardi Empire had conquered and assimilated seventeen different small and medium-sized countries, greatly expanding their borders and population.

”Ever since I ascended the throne, war has never stopped.”

At first, this phrase said by Orloss was an exclamation at how helpless he was when he first came to power. However, as the years passed, it became his pride. He had won many wars without a single loss.

From another aspect, the continuous chain of victorious campaigns against other countries increased the royal authority. The major nobles within the Bardi Empire were extremely respectful of royal authority, and actually, all the major nobles would send extravagant presents to the elderly emperor every year for his birthday. Each domain lord's heir would even come to the capital to learn from the royalty (to be hostages).

Yep, the ones that refused to give hostages or show respect on the surface had all died; the domestic situation was thoroughly peaceful. This was most likely the greatest peak of royal authority in the Bardi Empire's history for at least the past three thousand years.

However, those were merely the achievements in his early and middle years. In his later years, he was even more incredible. He used only thirty years' time to accomplish what would typically take one hundred years.

He created a national military department that unified and centralized the system of command for all military affairs within the Bardi Empire. Every domain lord had to now be conscripted into the military to serve for a set period of time. Those who tried to escape the conscription would be executed. Any nobles who owed or paid taxes late would be executed.

The government took full control of salt, food, iron, and all important daily life and production products, and was the only organization allowed to sell them. Anyone caught smuggling or selling those products would be executed.

The government took control of civilian adventurers and job classes. Every job class must register themselves, and every adventurer's guild and adventurer had to swear fealty to the royalty. Every adventurer was considered the Bardi Empire's resource—they had to unconditionally accept the country's commands in emergency situations. Unlicensed adventurers were forbidden, including mages, and would be publicly executed.

It had to be admitted that Orloss ruled with an iron fist. He had ascended the throne during a period of extreme turmoil within the Bardi Empire, but he gave it his all and helped the Bardi Empire to rise to its greatest apex in history, even if his personal reputation was in tatters and he was now infamous for being completely insincere and untrustworthy.

Countless numbers of people both within and outside the Bardi Empire wished for his death. Every year, the number of assassins aiming for his life were numerous enough to make a fixed schedule out of without a single break… But even those who hated him to death had to admit that he was indeed a strong ruler, who had helped the Bardi Empire become similarly strong.

The government's monopolization of important resources and control over the market had indeed caused a lot of hatred, but the current Bardi Empire's wealth was unimaginable. Every year, their allotted military expenditures were three times all the neighboring countries' military expenditures combined, but the national treasury wasn't even slightly burdened by this. It wasn't limited to that—the Bardi Empire hadn't experienced a large-scale famine due to food shortages in several decades, and its population and the flourishment of its cities had also reached the apex.

As for turning the originally neutral adventurers and mercenaries into national property? This had received a huge backlash at first, but because the royal authority and the military were backing this up, after the original generation died, all the waves had quieted down. The new generation of adventurers already believed that working for the country was only natural. Even the rarer job classes like mages would go and register of their own volition to become part of the government.

This was doubtlessly a declaration of war against the old systems, and it naturally angered many neutral organizations such as the adventurers' guilds, mercenary guilds, mage conferences, various churches, and so on. However, for Orloss Mossivory, resistance against his policies and attempted assassinations were a daily occurrence to him; it was as normal as eating a meal. His powerful personal guards, which nobody knew the identities of, had never disappointed him. Even SemiGod level assassins had fallen to his guards, and Orloss was never one to fear any enemy's challenge.

However, on the other hand of things, besides the Bardi Empire's flourishment, there were indeed numerous complaints piling up within the country. Countless wished him dead, and plenty wished for the Bardi Empire to return to its past ways. The way that schemers looked at things was that this seemingly powerful country still didn't have a solid foundation and was shaking in the rainstorm, its collapse only a matter of time.

The biggest and most foundational problem was that Orloss the Thirteenth didn't have a single descendant.

Perhaps it was because he was injured in his early years, or perhaps it was karma for his wicked ways. But no matter which description you believed, even though he had countless concubines, he had never begotten a single child. In fact, two of his concubines had gotten pregnant before, but he fed both of them to his dogs on the very next day. After that, rumors that the Bardi Emperor was infertile and that Orloss would never have a descendant began spreading everywhere.

Of course, he had tried to resolve this problem; he had taken in a large number of adopted sons and daughters. But as the years passed, his roughly forty adopted children only now had around twenty surviving. Due to Orloss's extremely paranoid personality, all the ones who were too strong or too smart would be executed, but it was unrealistic for any of the remaining survivors to be chosen as the successor as it would be too difficult to have all the factions accept that person.

The oldest adopted prince, Carlston, was already in his fifties, but he appeared even older than Emperor Orloss. The only reason he was able to survive until now was because he was basically useless; he did not possess the ambition of his fellow adopted princes, nor did he desire to become emperor while he was still alive.

In the mortal plane, there was an unspoken rule. Rulers would definitely be short-lived, as the Gods wouldn't permit an immortal ruler. If there was a ruler who lived to a hundred years and still grasped on tightly to his reins of power, then the punishment of the Gods would surely descend upon him.

”Orloss is over seventy years old, and he probably doesn't have much time left. Let's just wait for his death, and then…”

Plenty of those with ambition secretly gritted their teeth as they waited for this old emperor to die of old age. These people included not only the people outside his family, but also his own similarly elderly siblings, who had wanted him to die for so long. If the emperor died, then Bardi's territories would immediately be carved up and re-divided by all the factions.

”It won't be long now; it should be soon. He's never practiced any martial arts or magic before, so he's only hanging on with the help of medicine. Perhaps he'll even die tomorrow.”

Yet today, this aging emperor, who seemed to others to be about to meet his end soon, had welcomed his guest that he had been waiting so long for. This person was wearing a black cape and was led into the old emperor's garden by the royal guards.

”Emperor Aso, your personal arrival is the honor of our entire Bardi Empire. Unfortunately, it's still not a suitable time to publicize the relationship between us, and I'm unable to welcome you with an abundant feast.”

The elderly emperor stashed away his pride as a ruler and hurriedly rose to his feet to personally welcome this nighttime visitor. This was because the black-cloaked individual before him was an even more ancient, respected, and undying king.

However, Emperor Aso didn't intend to mince words despite Orloss' hearty welcome. Every minute in the mortal plane was painful for him, and he unhesitatingly began with the main topic.

”No need. We never cared about useless trifles like those to begin with. The only thing that could possibly motivate me to come here is concrete benefits. Now then, young ruler, have you made your decision? Will you decide to truly embrace death, and become one of us, thus obtaining true immortality?”

A sudden chilly breeze blew past and exposed the true face beneath that long cape and large hood. Or, perhaps it should be said that there was no face at all. The burning, green flames within that skull explained everything.

For an undead to be called an emperor could only mean one of those legendary Undead Emperors. In front of these ancient emperors from the Undead Plane, even the recent generation of Gods were nothing but their juniors.

Emperor Aso had placed countless chains and seals upon his own body, but even so, the bare hints of the power of death emanating from him were sufficient to cause black winds to roil up within the royal garden. Large amounts of plants instantly withered to death, and the earth began to be drained of life. Underneath the ground, faint signs of white bones started to animate themselves.

In front of something so fearsome that any hero would cower, Orloss, who was still a mere mortal, laughed.

”Of course! Everybody knows that I, Orloss, am the most trustworthy person around. Ever since you saved me thirty years ago, from the time that the ancient contract was established, our agreement would be forever in effect.”

Orloss the Thirteenth also opened up his extravagant clothing to reveal his upper body. Where his stomach should have been was a partially empty space; his heart was nothing more than pitch-black bones and rotten flesh, and even the most expensive silver rose perfume was unable to cover the stench of rotting flesh.

Despite the fact that his body was disgusting, Orloss's smile remained, as if he didn't feel any pain at all. Only the wrinkles around his eyes made him seem slightly grim.

”I've already been a living dead man for more than thirty years, so have I ever had any other choice since that day?”

...

Unlike the south, which had long hours of daylight, the Northlands' winter skies would always darken rather quickly, especially now that it was the end of winter. At the current moment, it was only six in the evening, but the entirety of Diffindor was in utter darkness.

The newest product of magical engineering, the magical lights, had already been given to every family as a new daily product for free. However, most families maintained their previous habits of eating dinner and going to their warm beds quite early in order to prepare to get up early the next morning.