Chapter 93 - 33: [Trust Me Once in a While]

Chapter 93: Chapter 33: [Trust Me Once in a While]

The territory of the Ederic Empire mostly consisted of fertile, high-quality plains ideal for large-scale farming and grazing. Furthermore, it boasted large foundries driven by magic and magical materials, resulting in a highly developed level of productivity.

Although the Empire’s tax burden was relatively heavy and severe local corruption existed in many areas, as long as one kept their head down and worked diligently, they would at least have a place to sleep and food to fill their bellies. At the very worst, one could work as a tenant farmer or a hired hand in a workshop, avoiding the fate of living on the streets.

Because of this, there was a saying: "All roads lead to Elysium." The Ederic Empire was already powerful and prosperous, and the Imperial Capital Elysium was the very symbol of happiness. In the eyes of most Imperial citizens, being fortunate enough to settle down in Elysium was the ultimate success in life.

However, there was another saying: "Elysium wasn’t built in a day."

Decades ago, the Empire was a completely different picture. The established military nobles of the old Ederic Empire, relying on the military ranks and titles of their ancestors, lived in luxury and debauchery. They were corrupt and incompetent, knowing nothing of governance while mercilessly extorting wealth from the people. Years of hereditary corruption gradually allowed them to control the Imperial Military and Political Hall. Successive emperors were incompetent, foolish, and devoid of both talent and virtue, reducing them to mere figureheads. Bandits and outlaws ran rampant throughout the Empire, while local governors colluded with gangs to invent excuses for arbitrary taxes. Filth flowed freely through the dirty streets.

That was until the famous, legendary, and radical heir, the "Blood Prince," Hains III Franz Ederic, returned from his trials on the front lines. On the eve of his official coronation, he launched a massive purge against the old military nobility of the Imperial Capital.

During the "Night of Silence" before the coronation, the Bloody Imperial Guard—reorganized from the Blood Prince’s Personal Guard—struck first. They launched a rapid assault on seventeen corrupt military nobles who were plotting to assassinate Hains III during the new emperor’s coronation the following day. Wielding Blood Steel Weapons, they breached the conspirators’ mansions. All they left behind were plump corpses lying on floors stained with dried blood, looking like giant rats with their spines snapped by a trap.

The coronation ceremony the next day proceeded without a single incident. Wearing a full suit of armor and dragging his Blood Steel Halberd behind him, Hains III ascended the long flight of stairs alone, flanked by the Bloody Imperial Guard. He placed the Empire’s Sword Crown and Iron Crown over his own helmet. Grasping the King’s Hammer of Nation Building, he publicly declared that from that day forth, military ranks would no longer be hereditary. Except for the four great Knight Clans personally appointed by the Emperor of the Founding Country, the protection of a military rank would only last for three generations, and inherited titles would be downgraded with each succession. Anyone seeking a noble title or local office would have to join the military and earn merit themselves.

Since his ascension to the throne, Hains III had faced an endless stream of assassination attempts. Despite being the Emperor, he lived as if he were still on the front lines—poisoned or injured every three days, and fighting off an Assassin every five. However, thanks to the desperate protection of his personal Alchemists and the Royal Guard, as well as his own formidable strength, not a single assassination succeeded. As the masterminds were rooted out one by one, the sun-dried corpses of powerful figures impaled on spikes outside the Imperial Palace’s eaves grew in number, hanging like cured meat. The frequency of assassinations dwindled, eventually approaching zero.

The three-plus decades since the iron-fisted Monarch Hains III took the throne came to be known as the Huihuo Dynasty.

The Ederic Empire was world-renowned for its smelting and forging techniques. As a result, it maintained close ties with the Dwarves in the mountain fortresses of neighboring regions, attracting a large number of Dwarf allies to settle down in the Imperial Foundry. "Huihuo"—or tempering—was a crucial secondary heating process in forging used to increase a blade’s toughness.

Under the iron-fisted rule of Hains III, the Ederic Empire—forged hammer blow by hammer blow by the Emperor of the Founding Country—had weathered years of cooling and rusting, only to finally be scorched red-hot once more.

An unnamed small town in the Western Weilun Province, on the frontier of the Ederic Empire.

The local Imperial residents were primarily farmers, mixed with hired hands from smelting and private Magic Potion Workshops, as well as traveling merchants of all kinds. People came and went, each busy with their own affairs. Roadside vendors hawked fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, while shepherds drove their flocks toward the grassy slopes outside the town.

The Ederic Empire boasted a martial culture. Coupled with the rampant banditry of the early years and constant gang fights in the cities, almost everyone had handled a weapon at some point. The local militias had never truly disbanded, and fully armed adventurers and Mercenary Corps were hardly a rare sight. Because of this, when a large group of adventurers and traveling merchants passed by, very few people stopped to stare.

"The route you two are taking is quite different from our onward journey," Randall said, pointing at the map. "If you want to cross the Empire and enter the Hai Xin Plain in the center of the continent, you’ll need to continue east by carriage. We, on the other hand, will keep heading north, cross the northern Red Iron River, and then take a boat east to the Imperial Capital Elysium. Your departure paperwork has been completed, so there’s no need to worry. I suppose this is where we part ways."

Samael nodded. Reaching out, he shook Randall’s hand firmly, pulled him in for a brief hug with a pat on the shoulder, and then calmly let go. "Take care, brother Randall."

"Take care, Samo Cultivator," Randall replied. Then, as if he had just remembered, he added, "And you too, Talan Cultivator."

Talia scoffed, ignoring him completely.

"Have a safe journey, brother Knight!" Eliot waved. "Thanks for everything these past few days."

Glad and Selena smiled and nodded, while Ruby pounced forward, wrapping her arms around Samael’s waist in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she whispered, looking up at Samael. "I wish you all the best."