A Treacherous Courtier Manages the Empire Well

91 – The Passage of Millennia

Among the generals who had been subdued and brought along, the three core aides of Amir, including the sorcerers, also transformed with a wooden clatter, reverting to their slave forms in no time.

Being high-ranking officers, the generals could immediately recognize the sorcery at play.

“Shadow Puppetry Magic?”

It was a sorcery used by former sultans and tribal chiefs when they summoned a decoy before fleeing. The sight of it sparked astonishment and anger in the generals’ eyes simultaneously.

“You, you son of a b*tch!! Throwing us as bait!!!!!!”

Using Shadow Puppetry Magic to save one’s own skin and flee was considered one of the most disgraceful acts among the behaviors permissible for the upper class, according to Karamba’s records. In Karamba’s tribal culture, it was a virtue not to abandon tribal members even at the cost of one’s life.

Mostly bound by blood relations, there was no way they could approve of a strategy that used their tribal members as bait, saving only oneself to escape.

From that standpoint, Amir’s escape was considered one of the most despicable among the recorded escapes of numerous sultans and tribal chiefs in history. However, for the price of that disgrace, Amir could avoid capture, and even now, he was probably running towards the far western edge of the land.

“Hey! Whitey! Stay here and organize the Crescent Triangle! The five of us will give chase!”

“Dammit! Hurry up!!”

The dragons quickly divided their roles and began moving through teleportation once again.

We sat in the palace, swallowing dry spit, watching that scene unfold before us.

“Hurry! Don’t let this bastard release Kayaat!!”

“We’ll teleport to the edge and move right away! Let’s go now!”

The bodies of the five dragons vanished from the palace’s airspace. And shortly after, what appeared on the screen was the desolate western edge of the Karamba continent.

But the moment they arrived at that spot.

“Ah!! Damn it!!!!”

The dragons cursed out loud.

“Damn it all! This crazy son of a b*tch!!!”

The nobles could hear Emperor Adran, known for his politeness and composure, swearing.

Beyond the screen.

“It’s over. Now, let me rule the entire continent!!”

Amir’s figure, riding on the back of the recently risen dragon Kayaat, exploding with madness, was being transmitted through the dragon’s eyes.

Above his head was a black jewel transformed into a crown shape.

“Retreat!”

The Emperor shouted through the communication device, commanding the five dragons. In response, the five dragons teleported to the palace of Aylam in an instant. Breathing heavily, they transformed into human forms and walked into the palace.

“That crazy son of a b*tch!!!!”

Adran rushed urgently towards the enraged Bronze Dragon.

“Can you handle the Black Dragon Kayaat?”

The urgent question was met with a swift response.

“If all seven of us combine our strength, it might be possible.”

The dragons did not show any signs of laziness or reluctance to take action, as they understood well that if the Black Dragon Kayaat conquered the continent, they too would be among its slaughter targets.

“The strongest dragon, but we are now of the Ancient tier. We’ve aged and acquired wisdom. It might not be entirely impossible.”

“Well, that’s fortunate. And the enemy’s numbers?”

“The army we saw thousands of years ago has simply gone underground, so the numbers should remain the same. Around 100,000 undead monster legion and approximately 3,000 undead-converted dragons.”

“Considering the large-scale monster wave, surprisingly, the numbers aren’t that high, are they?”

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At that, they shook their heads.

“The moment they fall in battle and lie down as corpses, they are resurrected as new undead by Kayaat’s powerful Tenth Circle Magic. Don’t underestimate the low numbers. Once the war begins, the numbers will swell exponentially in an instant.”

“Such a damn dog!!!”

Adran slammed the table.

But no one blamed Adran.

I wanted to curse, but I had to hold back in front of the Emperor from swearing.

Adran took a deep breath.

Anger couldn’t change anything.

“We’ve just received a report that the monster wave in the Casolea Plain has ended. One dragon has moved, so please move the entire Ailam army from the plain to the West Great Plain.”

“Understood.”

“We also need to contact Prince Rashed. Lendor. Nomads of the wasteland and southern nomads. And gather all the nomads from the West Great Plain who have not participated in the rebellion. We don’t know how big the fight will get. We need to unite everyone’s strength.”

“Of course.”

The Emperor looked back at the dragons.

“Great beings.”

“You don’t need to ask. The empire is facing destruction. We may die too.”

“It must be weaker than thousands of years ago. Thousands of years are never a short time even from a dragon’s perspective. But we have never experienced the 10th Circle magic. We cannot know how weakened we are.”

The dragons were trembling slightly with fear, yet they did not let their determination waver.

“After being with you lot, incidents that put our lives on the line keep happening in our dragon lives. Whether to call this good…”

The dragons looked at Adran with a stern expression.

“If we fail anyway, we’ll all die together. Let’s resist to the end together.”

“I beg of you.”

The continent was facing the worst crisis in history.

Ironically, it was thanks to this worst crisis that

it felt like dragons and humans were cooperating, and the hearts of Karamba and Ailam were coming together.

In the face of the imminent threat of death, there were no longer allies and enemies among them.

The battle of the orc forge in the Casolea Plain ended in victory for the humans.

But they had no time to rest.

“Ha, the Skull Lord?”

“That son of a b*tch Amir Prince deserves to be eaten alive!!!!!”

Exhausted, the ground forces of Ailam had to ride the portal created by the Silver Dragon to head to the West Great Plain.

Prince Rashed began a large-scale nationwide broadcast from Daggamba.

“The Skull Lord has been freed by Prince Amir. Citizens of Karamba. I admit it. The empire is facing an unprecedented crisis.”

Rashed eloquently spoke in front of the broadcast camera.

“Yes. We are all going to die. If we do not cooperate and Ailam and Karamba divide and cause internal strife. Now Karamba and Ailam are no longer important distinctions. We are all humans. And I want to keep Karamba as human, not undead.”

Rashed was crying.

He was genuinely worried that the country would fall.

And his heartfelt plea was vividly conveyed to all the people of the Karamba Empire through television.

“Please help us. Everyone, take up arms and come forward. Let’s have the final showdown. For the future of humanity.”

And the broadcast ended like that.

And that broadcast successfully sparked an explosive response throughout Karamba.

“Even if Amir tries to f*** him to death, it won’t be enough, you f***ing bastard!!!!!”

All the nomads of southern Karamba began to flock to the West Great Plain.

Due to the orc crisis, the tribes who lost their families and comrades turned their eyes to revenge.

“Prince Amir, you wretched scoundrel!!!”

Even the nomads of the wasteland armed themselves with weapons and horses to join the battle.

All the people of the Crescent Triangle also armed themselves and joined the battle.

“Please write our names on the front line. We want to be remembered as those who died defending our homeland, not as soldiers who participated in the rebellion.”

Especially the troops who voluntarily joined the battle had been involved in the rebellion. Although the bizarre composition of forces lacking generals and senior commanders who were behind the rebellion was unsettling, there were well-equipped units including Karamba’s legendary elephant corps and shaman units.

“I want to die on the furthest front line. I believe that is the only way to wash away the blood spilled ignorantly under the generals’ orders.”

With no commanders left to lead the army, the White Dragon ended up leading the rebel forces, including the elephant corps and shaman units.

The tribes of the Western Great Plains also rose up in unison.

They were in dire straits.

“Sun, we are coming after seeing monsters and dragons made of skulls flying! Chiefs!!!”

“Amir intends to destroy Karamba!!!!!”

“Even if we die, we will fight with swords in hand! It means to pierce one more skull and die!!!!!”

The tribes of the Western Great Plains also joined the battle against Amir with determination.

Thus, Karamba and Aylam. The citizens of both countries came together in the Western Great Plains, ready to face Amir’s Undead Legion.

In this situation, national differences no longer held any meaning.

“Brothers of Aylam. Thank you for risking your lives for us. If we survive, we will never forget this favor.”

The people of Karamba knelt and showed respect to the soldiers of Aylam who came to fight for them. They generously offered precious drinks and food from their tribes to the people of Aylam.

“Let’s survive together. Everyone from Karamba. After all, aren’t we all human beings?”

The soldiers of Aylam also reached out to them.

Even the people of Karamba showing respect to the ogre soldiers was not uncommon.

Conflict and strife.

Differences in ideology and race.

All of these things were disappearing in front of the Undead Legion that could potentially annihilate all sentient beings on the continent.

Ultimately, everyone would either die or live.

There were only two possibilities.

Thus, the joint forces of Karamba and Aylam gathered in the Western Great Plains, getting ready to face the Undead Legion when the scouts reported they would arrive by tomorrow.

Prince Adran, myself, and Prince Rashid arrived in the Western Great Plains.

“Let’s live. Everyone. A ruler without people is not worthy of being a ruler. I do not wish to see you die while I live. Please survive.”

Prince Rashid’s emotional speech, bursting into tears, moved all the people of Karamba to tears.

“We have machine guns. We have dragon and wyvern units. The Empire is strong. We will not fall. The Empire will remember your sacrifices. Glory to the brave warriors. Glory to Aylam.”

On the other hand, Adran boosted morale with a calm and composed tone.

That evening was a very peculiar one.

There were those who wept in fear and those who comforted them.

Facing death, everyone let go of their pent-up emotions and grudges.

People shared a final kiss with their lovers.

They conveyed words of love to their parents.

They caressed their child’s head, and more.

Even in sorrow and despair, everyone clung to a glimmer of hope and struggled on that night.

Karia and I also spent that evening together.

We did not share passionate love.

We simply held hands tightly, gazing at each other.

“We will survive.”

Karia says with effort.

“I will never let you die. I will never witness my husband becoming unhappy.”

Karia says while tightly holding my hand.

She was crying.

I embraced her.

I tried so hard to avoid a tragic development.

I tried so hard for Karia to be happy.

Is this the inevitable outcome?

“I wish we could win. Honey. But if not… I will never let you die alone.”

Karia kisses me in my indifferent voice.

I accepted that kiss.

The woman I love.

A character in a very unhappy novel.

I gently caressed her.

We did not speak much.

We just held each other, shedding tears.

The next day arrived.

Far away.

The undead army started to appear.

The Aylam Karamba Alliance gathered in the Western Great Plains, numbering well over a million.

The numbers included elephant units, wizards, sorcerers, as well as dragons and drakes.

The Alliance was determined, while the opposition seemed weak.

“hahahahaha! You’ve all gathered! Do you really think you can survive this!!!”

Prince Amir bursts into laughter. Behind him, three sorcerers who were part of the execution unit were also laughing.

“Even my father who didn’t make me an emperor. The Karamba who rejected me. Rashid, Aylam too!!!! It’s over now! Kill them all!!!!!”

Amir commands through the crown. At his words, the dragon Kayaat roars.

3000 dragons and a monster army began to charge towards the Alliance.

Seeing this, seven dragons simultaneously soared into the sky.

“Unleash your best attacks!! The opponent is Kayaat! Don’t let your guard down!!”

A tremendous amount of mana began to gather around the dragons’ bodies.

Seeing this, Kayaat also began preparing powerful magic.

The upper atmosphere of the Western Great Plains began to crackle with magic.

“Attack!!!!!!”

“Kill them all!!!!”

Attacks started pouring towards each other.

One side launched attacks with determination, prepared for death, while the other side unleashed attacks with a victorious expression.

And after both sides exchanged attacks once.

“….What?”

“What?”

Seven dragons and Prince Amir simultaneously uttered the same sound.

“What? What? What? What? What?”

The difference was that the dragons were filled with joyous astonishment, while Prince Amir was filled with despairing astonishment.

As Kayaat’s defensive magic was immediately shattered by the magic of the seven dragons, his body began to crumble upon receiving the magical blows.

Bones started to crack and shatter, mirroring the fate of Kayaat’s monster legion.

“What’s with these guys? Why are they so easy?”

A voice of astonishment rang out from all directions upon witnessing a huge troll undead being obliterated with a single burst of gunfire.

The Red Dragon, upon seeing all of this, began to burst into laughter instantly.

“These boneheads!!!!”

And so it was.

Thousands of years had passed.

“The expiration date has come!! hahahahaha!!!!!!!”

Even for the dragons known to live eternally, it was an exceedingly long time.