“...”

Emperor Stuttgart was left speechless by Siegfried’s response.

He hadn't imagined, even in his wildest dreams, that Siegfried von Proa would dare to speak so casually to him.

“Were you... talking to me just now?” Emperor Stuttgart asked, forcing the words out.

— Yeah. Who else would I be talking to here besides you, big brother?

“...”

— What’s with that reaction? Can’t a lil bro talk down to his big bro once in a while? Were you always this uptight?”

“...”

— Anyway, what do you want? You called me, so you must have something to say, no? Just say it comfortably. It’s fine, don’t be shy.

Siegfried teased Emperor Stuttgart for a while.

‘Good heavens...’ Michele shut his eyes tightly at the sight of Siegfried crossing a line with the ruler of the world’s strongest empire.

Of course, the term "crossing the line" was not entirely accurate.

The Proatine Empire and the Marchioni Empire had already gone past the point of no return.

At this stage, one of them had to disappear for the animosity to be resolved, so whatever Siegfried was doing would not have changed a thing.

Still, Michele couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Well, it was a normal psychological response.

For over two decades, Emperor Stuttgart had been reigning as the most powerful man in the world. He was the very figure of authority and dread, feared by even the most ruthless of tyrants.

Thus, it was only natural that Michele would feel anxious about how Siegfried was openly taunting such a man.

However, Siegfried was different.

‘To hell with this damned bastard. I’m going to see this till the end.’

Siegfried despised Emperor Stuttgart—no, the word "despised" was an understatement. He hated him with burning passion.

It was true that he managed to become the first king among Adventurers and enjoyed his meteoric rise thanks to the emperor’s support. However, Emperor Stuttgart had used him, deceived him, and even planned to discard him once he served his purpose.

If not for Ninetail, Siegfried would have believed Emperor Stuttgart to the very end until he was inevitably stabbed in the back. Once that happened, he would be forced to watch the Proatine Empire fall into ruin and every person dear to him be slaughtered.

Hence, it was only normal for Siegfried to treat Emperor Stuttgart in such a spiteful manner.

“Has it occurred to you that you are making a grave mistake right now?” Emperor Stuttgart asked.

— Come on now, big bro. You know you brought this on yourself. Do you really think you can just use people, lie to them, and then throw them away once you’re done? Look at you now, all pissed just because it came back at you.

“...”

— Don’t expect me to speak politely to you from now on. I’m actually so fucking pissed that I’m barely holding myself back from storming into your damn palace and chopping off that damned head of yours. Tsk... If only I had known sooner, I would have taken your head when I could still use the Demon King’s power in this world. Tsk, tsk... Such a shame, really...

Siegfried clicked his tongue and made it clear that he deeply regretted missing that opportunity. He had obtained the power of the Demon King around the end of the invasion of the Celestial Realm into the Middle Realm.

With that power, he could have slain Emperor Stuttgart a hundred—no, a thousand times over. While wielding the power of the Demon King, no enemy was too strong for him.

In fact, he could wipe out the entire Marchioni Empire in the blink of an eye if he could draw upon that power again.

Unfortunately, he could no longer use the Demon King’s Descent while in the Middle Realm.

Thus, it was only normal for him to deeply regret missing that opportunity.

“I will make this short. Kneel before me, confess to the crimes you have committed, and take your own life.”

— Eh?

“I am granting you grace, Siegfried von Proa.”

— What the hell is this guy saying...?

Siegfried was so flabbergasted that he couldn’t come up with a proper comeback.

On the other hand, Emperor Stuttgart was dead serious.

This was his way of issuing a warning without raising his voice or using blatant threats.

As the man who had ruled the entire world for more than twenty years, his pride as the absolute sovereign did not allow him to break from the dignified image he had been maintaining.

Thus, he decided to be gracious and give Siegfried the opportunity to atone for his sins by committing suicide before his very eyes.

“If you do that, at the very least, I might grant you—”

— Fuck off.

Siegfried cut him off flatly.

— What do you think I am? Insane? Why the fuck would I kneel and kill myself in front of you?

“Siegfried von Proa... Do you truly wish to—”

— Blah blah blah~ It seems like you want to still maintain that dignified image of yours. Please, allow me to politely decline so you can shove it up your ass.

“...”

— The only time we will see each other face to face again will be when one of us is about to have their head chopped off.

“You...”

— Ah, it won’t be me. So better keep that neck of yours nice and clean. I’ll be coming for it real soon.

“You... Have you truly decided to go so far as to—”

Sssshhh...

Siegfried one-sidedly ended the call, causing the communication crystal to turn gray.

“...”

At a loss for words, Emperor Stuttgart sat in complete silence for a long time. This was the first time he had experienced such audacity and rudeness that he had no idea what to do with it at all.

***

Emperor Stuttgart returned to the audience chamber after the call with Siegfried. There, he sat on his throne and looked over the ministers and officials.

“Neighdelberg.”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Hasten the plan of destroying the mountain behind the dam. Do it as soon as possible.”

“As you command, my lord.”

“I want you to drown the Proatine Empire in a sea of water.”

“Yes, my lord. I will accomplish what you desire within a week.”

“And... Command all troops to prepare for deployment at once. As soon as the situation allows it, we will invade the Proatine Empire.”

It was then.

“...!”

Every minister and official in the audience chamber froze, their eyes widened in shock.

The emperor’s command could only mean one thing—war.

It had been more than five hundred years since the Marchioni Empire had last fought a full-scale war. Why? It was all because they had always crushed their enemies long before a full-scale war even began.

Their overwhelming military power could force neighboring nations to surrender simply by applying pressure, and even when military confrontations occurred, the battles tended to end so quickly that they could hardly even be called a proper war.

However, this was completely different. With the emergence of a powerful enemy, the Proatine Empire, the time for the world’s most powerful empire, the Marchioni Empire, to display its full military might had come.

“Our armies will march toward the Proatine Empire as soon as the plagues within our empire subsides. Thus, have all troops prepare for combat readiness and await mobilization orders.”

Grand Duke Neighdelberg knelt and replied, “As you command, my lord!”

“We have received Your Imperial Majesty’s command!”

“We have received Your Imperial Majesty’s command!”

“We have received Your Imperial Majesty’s command!”

The ministers and officials present in the audience chamber replied in unison.

Though the two empires were currently locked in a state of cold war, the clash between the two titans was now inevitable. Now that the emperor had given the command, it was only a matter of time before a bloody war began.

With that, the grim shadow of war was cast over the entire continent.

***

“Phew! That felt really good!” Siegfried exclaimed.

He felt extremely relieved right after the call with Emperor Stuttgart.

Despite being fully aware of the Marchioni Empire’s schemes, he forced himself to act courtesly toward the emperor and thoroughly avoided any confrontations with him.

Even though he was furious down to the very pits of his stomach, he still smiled and treated the emperor with respect.

Why?

It was all because Siegfried was not alone. He was the Emperor of the Proatine Empire, a backwater provincial kingdom that was now a sprawling empire with a huge population.

Siegfried was afraid that his emotional outbursts could incur Emperor Stuttgart’s wrath, and his people would bear the brunt of the emperor’s fury.

Thus, he had never once truly lost his temper while dealing with the emperor.

However, things were different now.

There was no reason for him to hold back anymore, as the relationship between the Proatine Empire and the Marchioni Empire had already crossed the point of no return.

Michele walked up to him and said, “Well done, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“Eh?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion.

“At any rate, there was no turning back after destroying the Magic Tower. If Your Imperial Majesty at least relieved some of your stress and anger, then that was well worth it.”

“What the...? Are you really taking my side right now?” Siegfried asked, sounding both surprised and skeptical.

“I am Your Imperial Majesty’s loyal servant. I am always on your side,” Michele replied with a smile.

“You little punk,” Siegfried said with a grin. Then, he smiled and added, “Thanks for having my back.”

“Your grace is immeasurable, sire,” Michele replied with a slight nod.

Then, Siegfried asked, “By the way, what’s the situation with the dam?”

He was asking about the Marchioni Empire’s attempt to blow up the mountain behind the dam that would drown almost a third of the Proatine Empire.

“They have picked up the pace, sire.”

“Oh? How much time do we have?”

“About a week at the earliest, around two at most.”

“That means we have to get moving immediately.”

“I agree, sire.”

“Okay. Start planning for the operation. I’ll get ready to head out right away.”

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Your Imperial Majesty, Chief Chamberlain Metatron is requesting an audience.”

“Let him in.”

He was Metatron, the Chief Chamberlain of the Proatine Kingdom and the third most powerful figure in the Demon Realm.

“Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty. I have come to discuss a matter with you.”

“All of a sudden? Come take a seat.”

Siegfried wondered why Metatron, of all people, would want to discuss something with him, but he decided to hear him out anyway. After all, he had shown up unannounced, which meant he had something important to discuss.

“So, what is this about?” Siegfried asked.

Metatron grinned and replied, “I came up with an absolutely brilliant idea that will blow Your Imperial Majesty’s mind.”

“Huh? What’s your absolutely brilliant idea?”

“Listen. What if we bind our demons and the Proatine Imperial troops together by contract? We can turn them into partners.”

“Huh? Turn them into partners...?”

“Allow me to explain,” Metatron said.

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“The biggest weakness of the Proatine Empire is our small population, correct?”

“Yup.”

“If we are to wage an all-out war against the Marchioni Empire, we will desperately need more soldiers. Unfortunately, it will be difficult for us to draft more soldiers from our small population. Not to mention, training them will take a long time, too—time we do not have.”

“Right. Soldiers don’t appear out of thin air after all.”

“But what if we could contract our soldiers with our demons? What if we give them favorable terms and form partner units? For our demons, it'll be a rare chance to come to the Middle Realm and absorb the souls of those they defeat on the battlefield.”

“Oh?!”

“And the Proatine Imperial troops will be empowered by the demons. Plus, they will have a dependable partner on the battlefield.”

“But is something like that even possible?”

“While it was impossible before, it is possible now. Your Imperial Majesty is the Demon King, so there is no conflict between the Demon Realm and the Proatine Empire.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“As the ruler of the Demon Realm, it is Your Imperial Majesty’s right to bring in as many demons as you wish, provided that there are enough Proatine Imperial troops they can be contracted with.”

“Ooooh!”

“With that, we would be multiplying our forces by at least two-fold!”

“I love that idea!”

Siegfried was quite impressed by Metatron’s ingenious proposal.

Making the Proatine Imperial troops sign a contract with the demons and tying them together as partners to foster camaraderie was not something that he thought would be possible.

Now that he thought about it, it was actually feasible.

If Siegfried could control the terms of the contract and encourage the two sides to foster good relations, then good results would naturally follow.

‘Hold on... Does that mean it can also work with the Celestial Realm?’ Siegfried wondered.

Now that he thought about it, he could also contract the angels and the Proatine Imperial troops, too. When was he going to use this invaluable connection if not for the decisive battle that would decide the fate of his empire?

Given all the efforts Siegfried had made in the past, it was only natural that the demons and angels would agree to join forces with the Proatine Forces.

After all, they owed him big time.

“It’s a great idea. Let’s do it,” Siegfried said with a smile.

“Your grace is immeasurable, sire!” Metatron exclaimed in response.

He was overjoyed that Siegfried listened to and accepted his suggestion. As a vassal, it was only natural that he would be thrilled that his liege respected his opinion.

“You go and handle the Demon Realm. I’ll start setting things up over here,” Siegfried said.

“As you command, sire!”

With that, Siegfried began the plan to form an alliance between the Middle Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Celestial Realm.

***

Before he could push for the tri-dimensional alliance, there was something he had to do first.

Siegfried had to stop the Marchioni Empire from blowing up the mountain and unleashing the dam water, so he infiltrated the Marchioni Empire’s territory.

“Kyuuu! Do you think we can pull this off again?” Hamchi asked.

“We have to. Or else our house will get turned into a sea of water,” Siegfried grimaced and replied.

“Kyuuu! That’s right! The Proatine Empire will become a sea of water!”

“Let’s wait here for now.”

Siegfried decided to lie in wait with Hamchi and the Proatine Forces members.

He planned to scout the situation around the dam before commencing the operation to infiltrate the enemy.