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64. The Fallen Imperial Family (2)

The awakening of all humans had an incredibly powerful impact on the state of things. People with all sorts of strengths began converging in the empire.

But the people who were most disconcerted were the people in the southern and western regions. In order to survive, they had placed their trust in the ancient gods and the external gods.

But now they were excluded from the benefit given to everyone, limiting their potential.

Instead, people who had stayed to fight with their own power when the end approached were now enjoying the sweet fruits of their labor.

But if it were only this, humans would never have been able to withstand the apocalypse.

“Your Majesty…”

The chamberlain looked at the emperor’s corpse, his expression filled with sorrow. Not long after all the dragonfolk had been killed, the pillar of light began thinning, and the emperor’s body was slowly lowered to the ground. It was as if the emperor’s shining body, feeling that the humans’ awakening was finished and his task was done, had turned back into an ordinary human body.

“Lay down His Majesty.”

As Leopold commanded, the royal guards carefully placed the emperor’s body in a coffin, while everyone else looked on with a somber expression.

The emperor who had protected the God’s Orb till the end. Thanks to this, all the disdain he had received in the past was turned into respect for the hope he had given to humans.

“Everyone pay your respects. He is the empire’s hero.”

All the commissioned officers, including the southern commander, simultaneously saluted the emperor, at Leopold’s order. At the same time, the central officers bowed in silence, while all the other humans around paid their respects. Until the coffin containing the emperor’s body reached the central square, no one raised their head.

It was the highest respect that could be paid to those who had died in order to protect the empire.

Although he had been endlessly disappointing when he was a crown prince, as an emperor, the bravery he had shown to protect the empire’s honor and the hope he had given to the people was no different from that of a hero. That was why all the people remaining in the capital moved as one to the square to pay tribute to the noble sacrifice he had made.

Seeing this, the nobles too could not avoid paying their respects as well.

“Cough!”

“Ahem hmm…”

Of course, there would always be one or two people who could not read the room. But because of the pointed glares that came at them from all directions, they lowered their heads and paid respect.

Even those who had opposed the emperor while he was alive, or had found him unsatisfactory, were not exempted from paying tribute. In the past, they’d had no respect for the emperor, but right now, they had to act as if they did.

As they were mourning the passing of the emperor, the number of monsters who had closed in on them, in several waves of attacks, began dwindling. When news of the apocalypse had first come, those monsters had almost completely pushed back the human armies. But with the sudden awakening of the humans, their power was limited and the tables turned on them.

Their powers being restricted was the same as them becoming weakened: in such a situation, of course the humans became stronger and the ones who had the upper hand in the war became the humans as well.

“His Majesty passed away just like that?”

While listening to his subordinate’s report, Crimson held a bitter expression. He had to concede that the once incompetent crown prince not only did not plunge the empire into destruction, but had even become a hero who exerted all his effort to carry out his responsibility.

Because of his sacrifice, all the wrongs he had done as a crown prince had not been overwritten, and he would forever be judged as someone who had protected the continent.

That was how big the emperor’s sacrifice was.

‘He’s given hope to all of humankind.’

There would definitely be scholars who would make this judgment of the emperor.

When he had seen the frost giants return to the region beyond the mountain ranges, the northeast commander had found it odd. But then, through the system’s announcement, he came to know what had happened in the capital and realized that humans were able to escape the crisis they were in because of the emperor’s death.

Because of that, immediately the fight ended, both the northeast and northern armies raised a black flag and saluted in the direction of the capital until noon, in order to pay respect to the emperor.

If even they, who had no love lost with the Center and the Imperial Family, did this, then there was no need to speak of the other regions. All regions of the empire were mourning the emperor’s demise.

“Let’s go. Should we go see His Majesty for the last time?”

“Yes, we should.”

Hearing Crimson, Jayden Wicks nodded his head heavily.

As the two commanders headed to the warp gate to go to the capital, the western commander was also walking towards the warp gate.

Because of the emperor’s sacrifice, all regions of the empire, including the west, had been revitalized. In a situation where they couldn’t even see the way forward, they were suddenly able to win.

The awakening of all humans had been great, but the soldiers being able to become stronger by killing the birdmen was an added bonus.

Initially, when one awakened there would be an initial weak phase. With this, they would have been wiped out by the birdmen. But because of the emperor’s sacrifice, it was declared that the power of external gods was weakened, which dragged out the battle. This gave humans time to get familiar with their awakened powers.

“I am heading to the capital now. Send me a report immediately if something comes up.”

“Yes, sir!”

While the western commander got on the warp gate to head to the capital, the capital was already swarming with people. All the people that had been evacuated to the central command at the emperor’s orders, the nobles and merchants who had run away, and the support troops who had arrived too late were gathered at the capital.

“You are here?”

Crimson greeted the western commander when he arrived.

“Did you just arrive, Commander?”

“…Yes. The battle just ended, so……”

As Crimson spoke, the western commander nodded his head slightly as if he meant to say the same.

The entire empire had been entangled in war. As if it had been predesigned, all the commanders had been forced to depart the capital in four directions. Although Crimson was not close to being a grandmaster like the heads of the Lion Sword or Godly Sword families, he had experience that he had gathered over the long years he had lived, and could tell that the battle had gotten out of hand, and had been beyond their capacity. But in the end, the emperor’s death had propelled them to victory, as if fated.

The emperor’s death too was not something they could have controlled.

“Hoo

Upon hearing Crimson’s words, the northern and western commanders nodded and began walking towards the palace with heavy hearts.

The emperor’s coffin had been moved again to the palace after the body had been embalmed with preservation magic. The same place where he had fought till his last breath.

It had been agreed that his funeral would be held there, which was why the three commanders were heading there.

“It hasn’t even been that long since it was renovated…. Tsk.”

Crimson looked at the destroyed palace and clicked his tongue. The bloodstains that had been splashed all over the palace thanks to the dragon had still not been erased. The three commanders could tell just how intense the fight had been from all the bloodstains and debris.

“They really did fight till their death.”

The bodies of the guards and knights who had fought the dragon were still in front of the palace where the God’s Orb had been.

“……it seems so.”

Jayden Wicks replied in a small voice to Crimson’s comment.

They paid a silent tribute to the guards that had fought to protect the God’s Orb before entering where the emperor’s body was placed.

The palace, with one side collapsed, was where the God’s Orb had been, and now the emperor’s body was laid in state. Around his coffin stood all the empire’s ministers and the commanders.

“You’ve come?”

The central commander, Leopold, greeted the three commanders who had just entered, with Crimson at the front.

After Crimson said a short word of greeting to the ministers, he moved towards the emperor’s coffin. The coffin was opened halfway, and he could see the emperor lying with a serene expression within. Crimson sighed deeply as he looked at the emperor.

He had seen the emperor right before he was crowned; he’d cut a good looking figure. Crimson had found his sudden change strange, but he had only thought that the emperor had become more mature.

‘But that change was because he knew his death was already set in stone…’

The emperor was the perfect example of the saying that when people changed, they were about to die.

As the commanders stood looking at the emperor’s coffin in silence, they felt the flow of a familiar mana, and turned their heads unconsciously.

“Oh, you’ve come?”

“Long time no see, Commanders.”

The eastern commander’s face held a bitter smile as he greeted them. Immediately after, he walked to the coffin to pay his respects.

“……I was too late.”

“He knew that you had no other choice. We also couldn’t come……”

Crimson comforted the eastern commander, stopping him from reproaching himself. But the faces of the southern and central commanders also became darker.

If only they had arrived a little sooner, the emperor may not have had to die.

“Hoo……

One of the ministers spoke to the minister of internal affairs, who then turned to the chamberlain before shaking his head.

“There’s one person who hasn’t arrived yet.”

Once the internal affairs minister spoke, everyone else looked towards the chamberlain. Just as the chamberlain began speaking, a voice interrupted.

“Hmm? You……”

Crimson stared at the person who had just entered the room, a look of surprise on his face.

“It’s been a while, Commander.”

“Huh…… you, are you okay now?”

Crimson replied to the man’s greeting, his face filled with worry.

With the arrival of Iron who had been severely injured while fighting in the southeast, everyone’s eyes widened.

“Not yet… I haven’t recovered completely yet.”

Iron replied, then turned to greet the other commanders before walking up to the coffin.

Looking at the tranquil-looking emperor within, Iron sighed. Despite foreseeing his own death, he had not thought to escape. Thinking of this made Iron feel complicated. The person who had caused him no small suffering in his past life had now given humans a huge benefit, before upping and leaving. Iron was having a hard time wrapping his head around it fully.

“Now that everyone is here, I will begin.”

The internal affairs minister brought everyone’s attention back. They were now going to read the last will and testament that the emperor had left before he died.

Usually, this was something that was read to the deceased’s family members. But this case was different.

Had the emperor known that all the imperial family members would hightail it away from the capital? Right before the dragonfolk army arrived, the emperor had asked the chamberlain to make sure his family was excluded when his will was read. To make sure of it, he had even left a video as evidence.

Thinking of this meticulous way of doing things that he did not have when he was a crown prince, everyone in the room was impressed, but they remained calm as they looked at the internal affairs minister. The minister carefully removed the paper the will was written on from its case.

“Uhm……”

Hearing the minister’s muttering, the rest tilted their heads in confusion. The emperor had no children yet, so there was a very high possibility that he gave the throne to one of his royal brothers. They also knew that the internal affairs minister did not belong to any of the factions in court, so he would not react no matter who the successor was.

That was why they were puzzled at his pause.

“What… what is written in it for you to be like this?”

One of the other ministers queried the internal affairs minister, who then opened his mouth to continue.

“……I will now recite His Majesty’s last will and testament.”

He cleared his throat again and began reading.

“I had the ability of foresight.”

The will started with disclosure of the emperor’s power, and continued with things that Iron already knew: the day of destruction and the empire’s fall that he had seen in his dream, as well as things about the crisis humans were facing.

“What I saw become of humans in that vision was ghastly. To prevent that, I had to make a choice. One of which was my own death…… Another was the heavy responsibility that the Lord God had given the Imperial Family ending with me.”

Everyone fell into deep silence as the minister of internal affairs read on. It was because they understood what the emperor’s last words meant.

“Inform the people of the empire that I have finished that task. This time of destruction must not lead to a return to the norms of the past, but must become the start of a new world. You must set fire to the injustices of the past now that the task of the Imperial family has been completed, and start a new era.”

The chamberlain, already aware of what the emperor’s last command was, did not utter a single word. The internal affairs minister, on the other hand, looked at the ministers and commanders as if saying that his business was finished.

But none of them spoke.

‘The end of the empire.’

They were all disconcerted at the fact that the emperor’s last words had brought into being something they could have never imagined.