“The First Unit, follow Commander Jacob and ambush above the river. When the forest starts to catch fire, drive those rats down the river. Then I and the Second Unit will eliminate every single one of them without leaving any behind.”

Emperor Maxwell, wearing silver armor emblazoned with the red lion emblem of the empire, ordered as he pulled the reins of his white horse to turn its head.

“We will obey your command, Your Majesty.”

The thirty-odd elite guards he had personally selected bowed their heads and responded to their lord’s order.

From what they had observed, over a hundred soldiers from the Northwest Alliance were entering Count Lorel’s castle along the river, disguised.

To deal with the count’s soldiers and those of the alliance, who had a comparable military force, a diversion tactic to scatter the large group was necessary. They could have waited for imperial reinforcements, but the emperor did not tolerate unnecessarily prolonging time.

“Your Majesty, the signal has appeared!”

A young soldier keeping watch from a tree shouted, pointing above his head. Black smoke rose at the far end of the night sky, and soon reddish-black flames began to spread. It was a signal that they had set fire to the forest path on the opposite side where outsiders entered the territory.

As soon as the soldier’s report ended,

“Now we begin the hunt, charge!”

The emperor stroked his white horse’s mane once, then pulled the reins tightly and began galloping at full speed down into the forest. Soon after, his guards followed the emperor, crossing between the trees towards the south of the river.

The deep blue cape with golden trim fluttered in the cold night wind as they galloped. The emperor’s red eyes, devoid of warmth, were already shining with confidence, telling who would be today’s victor.

Emperor Maxwell, hailed as the Red Lion of the Empire, did not like being compared to the lion, the king of animals.

It wasn’t the male lion, called the king, who protected the territory of the Pride (group of male lions) he led and hunted for food. That was the role of his lionesses.

While it’s said that the male lion faces the roaming pride’s male lions attacking to claim territory, that was only after the lionesses and young male lions had been sacrificed. The male lion only steps up at the last moment out of necessity to survive. That’s the reality of the male lion.

It was just a beast, neither brave nor extraordinary. He thought that was no different from the incompetent emperors who hide safely in the palace and only make empty boasts.

The true ruler of the continent must always cut off the breath of those who challenge him with his own hands. Only then will no one even dare to think of coveting what is his. The throne… The empire…

The sight of the emperor galloping on his white horse, with whom he had shared life and death on the battlefield, was not that of a human but of a god who had crossed the boundary.

However, it was not the pure white light full of mercy that descended from the celestial realm to save humans… but the dark terror itself that rose from the underworld to judge humans.

As the Alliance soldiers, who were panicking due to the fire that broke out at the forest entrance to the territory, were attacked by the ambushing First Unit, they fled down the river.

The Alliance commander, who was riding down on horseback, feeling at ease due to the significantly smaller number of imperial guards… unfortunately did not know who was waiting for them below the river.

Clang, clang, aagh! Swish, swish, huff! Ugh…!

Emperor Maxwell skillfully commanded the guards at the forefront, not giving the enemy time to catch their breath. He disrupted the enemy’s tactics with dazzling swordsmanship and took the head of the highest commander in one go, turning the enemy into a disorganized rabble.

Despite their small numbers, the guards’ morale was boosted by the emperor’s tremendous charisma. The elite members who had roamed the battlefields with the emperor for years rampaged like fish in water, suppressing the enemy forces.

Each time the emperor’s longsword drew a circle above his head with a ‘whoosh’ and slashed diagonally, the surroundings were gradually painted with silence.

Under the red-burning night sky,

“Wooaah!”

“Long live the Helterd Empire!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

Victory cries shook the forest.

The emperor, having acquired the alliance’s new weapon, raised his water bottle. After pouring water over his ash-covered head, he pulled up one corner of his mouth.

“Now it’s time to eliminate the rat hole.”

Without time to wipe the blood from their swords, the guards followed the emperor towards Count Lorel’s castle.

Count Lorel, who had received the trust of the previous emperor, was now kneeling on the cold marble floor, waiting for his impending fate. His splendid castle, which had been noisy with revelry every night, was now as quiet as a mouse.

In the crystal banquet hall, one of the most beautiful in the empire, there were only two people: Count Lorel and the emperor.

At least, only two people who were still breathing.

Thud, thud.

The sound of shoes stepping on hundreds of shattered crystal chandelier pieces that had fallen from the high ceiling could be heard. As the sound drew closer, the old count’s entire body, with his head bowed to the floor, began to tremble as if in convulsions.

“Do you know why I’ve kept you alive until now, you who are nothing but poison to the empire?”

The count’s cloudy gray eyes caught sight of the toe of the black boots stained red.

“Pl… please spare me, Your Majesty. It’s a, a misunderstanding. I, I was only trying to bring the Alliance’s new, new weapon to present to Your Majesty. Ple, please, for the sake of the late Emperor Alexander, believe me.”

“Did you ask me to believe you?”

“Yes, yes! Please believe me. I beg you not to doubt my loyalty that saved the late Emperor’s precious life 35 years ago in the Battle of Nather River.”

As the count pleaded, raising his hands respectfully, a sneer flashed across the emperor’s lips.

“Do you think I’ve left you alone all this time, aiming an arrow at my back because of the late emperor?”

At the emperor’s words, Count Lorel raised his head and met his gaze.

The count felt as if his entire body would be burned by the emperor’s blood-red eyes. He quickly lowered his gaze, overcome by a fear he had never experienced before.

The young emperor had known all along. The fact that for a very long time, he had been carefully planning treason, avoiding his eyes.

Every time he entered the imperial palace to have an audience with the emperor, the emperor welcomed the count warmly.

Calling him a loyal subject who saved his grandfather’s life, even arranging a separate seat for him at official events. He was confident that the emperor trusted him, if no one else…

“Urgh…”

The count’s lips twisted in pain.

The heel of the boot began to press down on the back of his hand, grinding slowly.

“You…”

A dry baritone voice fell chillingly onto the crown of his head.

“Your attempt to assassinate me with poison on the battlefield, leaking my position to the enemy, helping my uncle to place his son as the proxy crown prince while I was away, not sending even half of the taxes collected over the years to the capital, and ignoring central administration to change and enforce laws as you pleased…”

The emperor slowly lifted the count’s head, which was pressed flat to the floor with the toe of his boot.

“The reason I turned a blind eye to all this was because I was waiting for the most appropriate time to use it. Like today.”

He knew that the Northwest Alliance was watching for an opportunity.

And also the fact that they had joined hands with Count Lorel, who held the most prized territory in the south. Count Lorel was planning to form an alliance with the Northwest Alliance and declare the southern territory of the empire as an independent kingdom.

It would take a full week for the army from the capital to reach the territory, and the mountains covered with dense forests in the territory were optimized for the alliance’s soldiers to secretly enter via the river after crossing the sea.

“The Northwest Alliance was a thorn in my side, but I had no justification to strike. Thanks to the incompetent Emperor Gustav signing a peace treaty. I’ve been waiting since I learned that you were blinded by vain ambition.”

The emperor’s red eyes rippled as if truly delighted. It was the same look he had when he gazed at Emperor Gustav, who said he wouldn’t yield the throne.

The count’s triple chin, coated with greed, began to tremble, and cold sweat rose up his spine.

“Thanks to you, I finally have justification today to eliminate you and your forces who have been sucking the blood of the empire in return for saving the previous emperor, as well as the climbing Northwest Alliance. Thanks to you, I can now burn all the rats inside and out.”

The emperor nodded to Deputy Commander Peter, who had entered the banquet hall, and removed his foot from the back of the count’s hand.

“You’ve worked hard all this time, Count Lorel.”

Just as he had said, “You’ve worked hard,” to Emperor Gustav, his uncle, on the day he returned to the imperial palace, he left one last remark before leaving the banquet hall.

“Shall we mobilize the count’s soldiers and territory residents to suppress the fire?”

When Commander Jacob, who had moved the new weapon underground, asked, the emperor shook his head.

“It looks like it’s going to rain soon anyway, so just leave it. If more than half of the mountain burns down, it will prevent foreign troops and smugglers from sneaking in, so it might not be bad to create a bald mountain this time.”

As the emperor said, dark clouds were gathering over the reddish-black sky engulfed in flames.

“Did you relay the message to bring the lady to the castle?”

“Yes, as soon as we took over the castle, Kyle went to escort her. She should arrive soon.”

Soon after, the sound of horse hooves from the six or seven soldiers guarding Arabel’s tent drew closer.

As the emperor passed through the hall and stepped towards the door, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. He glanced sideways at his reflection in the foyer mirror. If she saw him like this, those large eyes might once again avoid his gaze in fear.

The emperor picked up a long runner (decorative cloth) placed on the table and rubbed off the red color stained on his face and neck. He was bothered that he couldn’t take off his stained armor, but it might be fine if the lights weren’t too bright.

Kyle, the aide, quickly dismounted and ran up the steps in front of the emperor standing at the main entrance. The emperor’s jaw clenched strongly as he sensed something was terribly wrong from Kyle’s pale face.

“Lady Arabel…”

Kyle continued, gasping for breath.

“She has disappeared. They say she rode a soldier’s horse into the fire, saying she had to save the animals from the forest fire.”

The soldiers responsible for Arabel’s safety knelt on the ground and reported to the emperor.

“We chased after the lady but lost her in the flames. She disappeared so quickly, as if she knew the mountain terrain… Please punish us for failing to obey Your Majesty’s orders.”

“Where did you lose her?”

A calm voice flowed from a face whose expression was unreadable.

“On the east side of the river where the flames are spreading.”

With a whistle, the emperor’s white horse, which had been resting in the stable, appeared. The emperor threw off his armor and cape, leapt onto the horse, and disappeared in an instant, crossing the castle garden at a terrifying speed.