Chapter 73. The Emperor, the Nightmare, the Knightly Order (3)

The Imperial Secret Knightly Order.

A secret organization that the current Emperor, Louis Karlos, had painstakingly created since his youth.

As the masterpiece of the Emperor, a genius commander and monarch, the secret knightly order did not recruit just anyone, not even a single member.

In that sense, Olif mistaking me for a member of the Imperial Secret Knightly Order could be seen as him holding me in very high regard.

Well, the Emperor did actually offer me a position once.

‘…But I refused.’

Honestly, I thought about it a little.

The merits of joining were considerable.

However, I concluded that there was more to lose than to gain by getting deeply involved with a figure like the Emperor.

Because the Emperor was a psychopath who saw even himself as a tool to protect the Empire and humanity.

The secret knightly order was also nothing more than the next most useful toolbox for the Emperor.

Was that why?

Surprisingly, loyalty to the Emperor was not very important for joining the secret knightly order.

The only thing that mattered was ability.

A few people, including Archduke Gabir, traveled throughout the Empire, making scouting offers to heroes with irreplaceable abilities.

As long as they had the ability, even their race didn't matter.

As long as they could communicate at a minimal level.

Well, it was a group of crazies for whom loyalty was meaningless in the first place.

For example, ‘Barum of the Black’, whom I met a few days ago.

Even that guy, who was shooting a thriller by himself, wrapped in black cloth in front of someone else's door, was considered one of the more respectable ones in the secret knightly order.

Were there many crazy people among the talented?

Or was it just that such people happened to gather under the Emperor? I didn't know.

This woman was the same.

“Why are you laughing like that? Kihi? Kihit? It’s cute! Should I try laughing like that too?”

“Look here. Did you know that the Berenburg sewers are connected to a city where evil spirits lived in ancient times? It was their tradition to leave fingerprints on the bricks.”

“Why are you wearing a mask? Isn't it uncomfortable? Ah, it’s a magic tool! Wow! I want to try it on too!”

This woman.

She talked too much.

So much that my ears hurt.

If it were just idle chatter, it might be different.

She talked while whipping her head around with her glittering purple eyes….

Her every gesture was bizarre, like a puppet with its strings cut.

It was not for nothing that her nickname within the knightly order was the mad bitch.

“Hmm? Are you not the talkative type? It’s okay! I like shy men too!”

“…….”

“What do you think of me? Aren't I a reasonably attractive woman? Oh, there it is! Come here! This is where the evil spirit shaman died!”

Well, it was fortunate that I hadn't incurred her enmity.

I should just get what I need and get out of here quickly.

By the way, this place.

It was the place where I fought the specter of the sewers.

The flesh, bones, and entrails of what was once a Necro Ogre were scattered everywhere, rotting and emitting a terrible stench.

In the center were a few skeletons in the process of becoming white bones, along with the fragments of the Life Vessel I had broken.

The Mad Fire Witch, Ella, pointed at the fragments with her torch and said.

“They say a mage from our side and an evil spirit shaman fought here.”

For reference, the elimination of the sewer specter was reported as one of my achievements.

Though I didn't reveal the exact location, using the excuse that I was in a state of confusion.

Come to think of it, did this woman come all this way to verify the truth of my achievement?

“Ah, do you by any chance know a mage named Ash?”

“Kihi… well, I know of him.”

“Is that so? He’s famous, after all. Is it good to be famous? Getting all that attention… Hehehe. Anyway, I’m jealous. His Majesty has been watching him with great interest lately.”

Ella said, twisting her body.

I personally wanted to grab the back of my neck, but I held back.

Few people who caught the Emperor’s eye met a good end.

A tool favored by a craftsman is bound to wear out from constant use.

Moreover, the Emperor was not a craftsman who particularly cherished his tools.

“That mage named Ash. I’d like to fight him if I get the chance.”

“Kihit, why is that?”

“I’m curious! What he smells like. The smell of a burning mage has to be quite fragrant… oops. I wasn't supposed to say that.”

“…….”

“Now that you’ve seen it, let’s move on! Let’s go deeper!”

Anyway, it seemed Ella’s main purpose was not here.

After briefly looking at the traces of the battle, she immediately entered one of the passages connected to the cavern.

Fortunately, it was the same way I was going.

It was a passage leading to the ancient ruins beneath Berenburg.

“If we go down this way, there’s the civilization of the specters. They say it once swallowed up two-thirds of the continent? Hehe, their magic must be just as powerful, right?”

It seemed her main purpose was indeed exploring the ancient ruins.

Among her traits was the somewhat unfitting trait of [History Researcher].

According to the lore, she enjoyed excavating and restoring ancient magic.

She joined the Emperor’s secret knightly order because she thought she would have many opportunities to research freely by the Emperor’s side.

“Haaaah. I want to find a spellbook quickly and research a new spell. The fire magic formulas used by specters. Just imagining it makes my body heat up….”

‘Master. That woman, do not get close to her. Isn’t she incredibly creepy? She’s a complete madwoman.’

It seemed coming to these ruins was part of such ancient magic excavation.

Witnessing a rather rare sight of an evil god who had destroyed the world thousands of times shuddering, I continued to walk.

Before long, the sewer water that flowed like a stream had completely dried up.

The style of the walls, floor, and ceiling also began to change drastically.

The Imperial style and natural caves disappeared, and the number of ‘fingerprinted bricks’ gradually increased.

The narrow passages characteristic of sewers also became wider and wider.

I broke the silence and said a word.

“Kihihi… you should start being careful.”

There was a tip for exploring underground areas like ruins or dungeons.

A wide passage underground was usually a dangerous thing.

Because wide passages were often made or used out of necessity.

Usually, three types were considered potential users.

A large army.

A large monster.

Or a powerful civilization that used both.

To classify, the user of this passage would be closer to the last of the three.

This was the ruin of an ancient civilization, and a tomb serving an ancient emperor at that.

That’s right.

This was a tomb.

During the glorious golden age of the ancient civilization, the entire city where tens of thousands lived was turned into a huge tomb upon the emperor’s death.

It was a custom similar to the live burials in East Asia, including China, but on the scale of a city.

Being a tomb, another invisible danger lurked in this space.

Traps to stop intruders.

Vicious types of traps that were randomly placed in each playthrough in the game as well.

-Thunk.

A sound came from the side.

My gaze automatically turned.

It was under Ella’s feet.

She shone her torch on the spot beneath her.

The floor stone she was stepping on with her left foot was slightly more sunken than the others.

“Oh…?”

A pressure plate.

Commonly used in classic traps.

Griiik. Gik….

Indeed, the sound of a mechanism operating could be heard from somewhere.

Ruuuuuumble!

Soon after, the stone walls on both sides of the passage rolled up like warehouse shutters.

Kuaaaar….

Behind the opened stone walls, crimson eyes were flashing.

Roughly several hundred pairs of red glints.

They slowly walked out.

When they came into the range of the torchlight, the rest of their forms became visible.

“U-undead.”

Undead.

Corpses reanimated by necromancy.

However, these were a little different from the corpses I had seen so far.

If modern necromancers raised fresh corpses, these were ancient mummies that had been aged for four thousand years.

Huuuur….

Gruuuuh….

Through the wrapped bandages, yellow, dried skin was occasionally revealed.

They held square shields of iron and formed a square formation called a tortoise shell formation, slowly walking towards us.

“Lumer’s Legionnaires…?”

It seemed Ella knew them too.

She was a mage, so she must have studied well.

Anyway, those guys were the reason why sufficient firepower was needed to explore the Berenburg underground ruins.

It was also the reason why I had thought of summoning troops with [Warrior’s Binding] if necessary.

Clatter.

At that moment, the jawbone of one of them fell off with a thud.

“Hiiiiiiiik!!”

[[Warrior’s Insight] is activated.]

[You have acquired a skill.]

[Devouring Pit of Fire (Level 6)]

A purple flame erupted, and about a hundred legionnaires were incinerated in a single blow.

“Kyaaaaaaaaak!”

My surprise at her better-than-expected performance was brief.

I had to calm down Ella, who was clutching her face and throwing a fit.

“Hwaaak! Uwaaaaaaang!”

“Kihhihit? Are you okay? Get a hold of yourself!”

Come to think of it, this one.

She also had the [Undead Phobia] trait.

[[Lord’s Unyielding Mind] is activated.]

My favorite overpowered trait had little effect.

It seemed it was because she wasn't a troop under my command.

After nearly thirty minutes, I was barely able to calm her down.

Now I had gotten rid of the worry that she would randomly shoot fire everywhere.

“Huuu, I wanna go home…….”

But what should I do?

Her firepower was too precious to just let her go.

If I let her go here, I would have to break through hundreds of undead soldiers like the ones just now with only my summoned troops.

And several times at that.

Of course, I had come here with that intention from the start, but….

“Are you going back?”

“Yes. I want to go home.”

“Kihit. That’s a shame.”

“Hmm? Why?”

Just in case, should I try to sound her out?

“I came here because I heard a spellbook of the Lumer civilization was buried in this tomb. Khihi, personally, I thought it was a chance to learn the ancient magic of a mad pyromancer….”

“R-really? Is that true? Let’s go right now!”

…Well, I didn't lie.

By the way, she really wasn't normal.

* * *

The effect of placating the mad pyromancer was certain.

With Ella in the lead, I explored the underground ruins and gained quite a lot.

[Devouring Pit of Fire (Level 6)]

[Madness-Filled Fire (Level 5)]

[Purple Hellfire (Level 7)]

[Siollus' Mad Fire (Level 5)]

[Naksatala's Mad Fire (Level 5)]

[Rockfall (Level 3)]

[Barrier (Level 4)]

Five fire-based spells, including a level 7 high-level spell.

Two other spells.

I finally got [Barrier], the superior version of Shield.

It was a bit concerning that there were three skills with names like madness or mad fire, though.

By the way, to have a handful of level 6 spells already.

Was it because of the Inferno difficulty?

The growth of the heroes all seemed faster than usual.

Of course, at the end of the short underground exploration, I had to overcome another near-death experience.

‘Uwaaaaaaang. I worked so hard. I came through the filthy corpses. And there’s nothing…?’

‘Kihi, calm down….’

‘Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down! I’m going to die! I’m going to sink with this whole tomb!!’

You'd know if you experienced it.

How scary it is to see someone whining like a baby but with their eyes glaring wildly.

On top of that, with ominous purple flames licking at her staff, even I would feel my life was in danger.

Fortunately, after I found a hidden ancient spellbook under the guise of coincidence, her attitude changed quickly.

‘Hehehe! As expected of the man I chose! A man of luck! How did you find exactly what I was looking for!’

I was surprised once more by the fact that it was what she was looking for.

It was an artifact I had decided to discard because acquiring it would unconditionally add the [Quiet Madness] trait.

What would happen if she became even crazier?

‘Hihihihi! I’m leaving! Oh, are you going to look around a bit more before you go?’

‘Kihihi, I’ll just look around a little. You go ahead.’

‘Okay! See you next time!’

Anyway, the reward obtained after a little acting and patience was substantial.

Besides the School of Fire spells, I had obtained both of the two things I wanted.

One was a staff with a skull.

The other was a product of the Lumer civilization.

I revealed the second one to the company commanders.

“C-Commander? What is all this? It’s glowing?”

Brol shouted with wide eyes.

“Glowing rocks?”

It was a bit crude, but a correct expression.

They were phosphorescent stones.

Stones that absorb and store external light, then emit light on their own when it gets dark.

The important thing was that this was artificially made.

The Lumer civilization, which Ella described as the ‘civilization of ancient evil spirits’, was a civilization that had achieved quite a high level of technology.

Although they had declined and regressed over thousands of years, some still dreamed of world conquest on the outskirts of the great southern desert.

Anyway, the phosphorescent stones were items that would provide a significant bonus to the fief's security in the future if properly researched.

I took every single one I saw.

“It's amazing. Anyway, come out slowly. It looks like we'll be departing soon.”

Brol scratched his head and left.

I glanced out the window of the temporary quarters.

The streets of Berenburg were bustling.

Preparations for the return.

After a full fortnight of post-war cleanup, the Imperial army was finally returning to the Imperial Capital.

‘By the way, Master.’

“Hmm?”

‘I feel this every time, but you plan things out quite meticulously.’

In fact, there was a reason I had packed the heavy stones to the brim in the subspace.

The day before I left for the underground ruins, the Archduke had called me privately.

‘You will receive a barony. A hereditary title.’

He had said, stroking his beard out of habit.

‘It’s still confidential, so don’t speak of it. However, you’ll have to move busily without rest once you arrive in the Imperial Capital, so I thought the person involved should know in advance.’

‘Thank you.’

‘Wolfskrig will be your fief.’

The Archduke said with a smile.

Honestly, I was a little surprised.

I didn't expect to receive a noble title so quickly, nor did I expect to get such a large fief.

‘They’re in the middle of purifying the corrupted mana, and it’s the forefront of the Vampire Archduchy, so it’s half sending me to guard the border, but….’

For me, it was a perfect fit.

My plan was to expand outward rather than bicker with the nobles within the Empire.

As a frontier territory, it would be much easier to act independently.

It wouldn't be difficult.

It wasn't my first time managing a fief.

In the first place, one of the core contents of Warlord Conquest was domestic affairs, that is, fief management.

As I packed my gear and stood up, the sound of a horn echoed from afar.

The call to assemble.

Ppuuuuuu-

A few hours later, the Imperial army, which had suppressed the rebels, set out in a procession to return to the Imperial Capital.