Chapter 406 - 154: Beast Emperor Kemel
Chapter 406: Chapter 154: Beast Emperor Kemel
A thousand miles from the Royal Capital, on the central front, stood Feodo City.
As yet another wave of Beastman Warriors was driven from the city walls, the day ended with no progress.
Within the Beastman Camp, a grizzled, stalwart Purple-blooded Beastman stood, a Skeleton Crown upon his head and a Bone Sword at his waist.
This stalwart figure was none other than Beast Emperor Kemal—the most legendary Beast Emperor, and also the most humiliated.
His legendary status came from once having nearly annihilated the Frank Kingdom, a historic first. His humiliation, also a historic first, came from the fact that after so long at war, they hadn’t even breached the enemy’s gates.
Kemal frowned, gazing at the towering city of Feodo ahead.
Ever since taking Barol City...
’To think of me, Kemal, so heroic and impressive back then,’ he reminisced. ’I took Barol in a single day, and Feodo presented no obstacle at all.’
Yet now, he was stopped before this very city, unable to advance.
"Grantham..."
Kemal’s expression was grim. Marshal Grantham was, without a doubt, the arch-enemy of his life; even Louis III came second.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty the Dwarf King has sent a messenger to inquire. Human reinforcements may arrive any day now. When shall we withdraw?"
A Minister of the Court had stepped forward to speak, just as a gloomy expression settled over Kemal.
Upon hearing this, Kemal’s already heavy heart felt like it had been set ablaze, and he erupted.
"Ridiculous! The Empire has expended so much manpower and resources, yet we haven’t gained the slightest advantage.
Now is the time we should be pressing the attack, yet he, Dan Luo, dares to speak of retreat!
"Tell them that anyone else who dares speak of retreat, I will have them slaughtered!" Kemal roared.
Thirty years ago, the Beastman Empire had pushed its invasion too aggressively, earning the collective wrath of the Human World. The Purple-blooded Beastmen had suffered a devastating blow as a result.
The various races within the Empire had always been in constant conflict, which was already difficult to suppress; after that defeat, it became even worse.
In the past, the leader of the Dwarf Race was simply called Chieftain. Although he had the title of King, he never dared to acknowledge it. Now, his own people dare to call him ’His Majesty the Dwarf King’ to my very face.
The minister trembled, but fortunately for him, Kemal was in no mood to concern himself with such matters.
"Your Majesty, the Human Alliance Army has only just arrived.
The morale of the human soldiers was nearly exhausted, but it has rallied in recent days.
Your Majesty must make plans soon," said an elderly, purple-robed Beastman standing nearby.
"Chris, do even you think I should retreat?" Kemal asked, his voice heavy with worry.
"Don’t you think I know that? We’ve made no headway on any of the three fronts. We’ve even been pushed back on the eastern front, and the imperial treasury is emptying by the day.
But... but I cannot accept it! I will not accept this!" Kemal spat viciously.
Chris opened his mouth to respond, but the words died on his lips before he could speak.
He knew, of course, what his emperor could not accept.
At the time of Kemal’s birth, the Empire had been in great turmoil, on the very brink of collapse. It was only with help from the Elves to the north that it was temporarily held together.
But foreign aid wasn’t always available. Recently, something had happened in the northern Elf World, and their attitude towards the Beastmen had done a complete one-eighty.
After years of upheaval, the Empire was now plagued by troubles both within and without.
To put it in concrete terms, the Extraordinary forces of the Purple-blooded Beastmen comprised only twenty percent of the Empire’s total.
The discontent among the other races in the Empire was already an open secret. Fortunately, thirty years ago, Kemal had managed to re-establish his authority with a great victory in his southern conquest.
However, for a variety of reasons, that authority didn’t even last twenty years. The root cause was simple: the Purple-blooded Beastmen were in decline.
Out of necessity, Kemal had once again tried to use a war with the Frank Kingdom to distract from domestic conflicts, but this time, he hadn’t been so fortunate.
"Chris, you know what we’ve sacrificed for this war.
If we return like this, they’ll be openly defying me while I still live. And my sons... which of them has even half my ability?
When that time comes, won’t the Empire be thrown into utter chaos? The nation itself will shatter," Kemal sighed.
Chris sighed as well. This was the root of his dilemma—why he both wanted to persuade the Beast Emperor and yet held back.
The Purple-blooded Beastmen had already sacrificed too much for this war. Kemal had even brought out the undead, though he hadn’t dared to truly use them in a significant way.
The continent’s current political landscape had been established by the last war against the undead. Opposition to the undead was a consensus among all nations. The moment he revealed them, other races would use it as a pretext to rebel against the Empire as soon as Kemal was gone.
In fact, it wasn’t a likelihood, but an inevitability.
The internal conflicts had already reached a breaking point. They could no longer be diverted; they could only detonate.
And in this southern campaign, it was the Purple-blooded Beastmen who had suffered the greatest losses.
"Your Majesty, why not try the Fourth Prince’s recent proposal?" Chris suggested.
After speaking, Chris’s expression changed, and he quickly added,
"The Fourth Prince’s method might be our best option to address both the symptoms and the root of our problems."
"Absolutely not!"
Unexpectedly, hearing this only made Kemal’s fury burn hotter.
"Those monsters have bewitched Kase! They deserve to be executed!
Kase is young; I can forgive him for his foolishness. But how can you spout such irresponsible nonsense as well?!"
Prince Kase’s proposal had recently caused a great uproar within the Empire.
Its content, in essence, was to drop all pretense and fully utilize Undead Mages in the war, creating an army from thin air.
And though it contained many restrictive measures, the general thrust of the proposal was still to lift the prohibitions against the undead.
Kemal’s past research into the undead was born of pure desperation. As a shrewd statesman, how could he not know the harm it would bring?
At that point, forget the wrath of the continent’s other nations—once unleashed, they wouldn’t even be able to suppress the factions within their own Beastman Empire.
"Do not mention this again. Was this Danganiel’s suggestion?
Recall all of them. From now on, no one in the Empire is permitted to discuss this matter," Kemal declared resolutely.
"Your Majesty, as long as we don’t act too hastily, it’s not without a chance of success.
Didn’t the Norma Federation rise to power by this very method?" Chris continued to argue.
The Norma Federation was an elven city-state federation, the predecessor to the modern Norma Kingdom.
But at these words, Kemal unexpectedly frowned, turned, and fixed his gaze on Chancellor Chris.
"Ever since the undead ravaged the continent, Norma has led the opposition against them. Chris, you have been by my side for a long time. How could you say such a thing?"
Chris said nothing more under the Beast Emperor’s stare.
"Your Majesty, I... was too hasty."
Kemal withdrew his gaze.
"Even if the Empire were to shatter right now, we Purple-blooded Beastmen would remain the strongest faction.
But if the undead were to rise, the plains would be devastated. Chris, I hope you understand the stakes involved.
You are dismissed. I do not wish to hear this kind of talk ever again," Kemal said.
Chris acknowledged the command and slowly withdrew.
Once he was some distance away, Chris looked back toward the Beast Emperor, his brow furrowed in long and deep thought.