Chapter 1354

Chapter 1354

Arland and the rankers felt the heat of something bloom in their chests after suffering defeat at the hands of Minhyuk in just five seconds.

‘We wanted to protect the Ardo Empire but...’

‘We couldn’t even last five seconds?’

The Ardo Empire was good, no doubt, though they wanted to protect the empire because of Emperor Consteinus, an emperor who was by the people and for the people.

Of course, the fact remained that Emperor Consteinus almost took the tyrant’s path when he was trying to catch up with the Luvien Empire. After he found peace in his heart, Emperor Consteinus worked hard to maintain the peace in the empire and make sure that his people lived in comfort. He engaged in diplomatic discussions and exchanges day and night, trying to do everything possible to ensure that his people lived well.

Unfortunately, Emperor Consteinus was struck by illness and was now on his deathbed. Just a month ago, he called the empire’s prime minister and the dukes.

–

I don’t know if I even have around a month left or so.

They could all see the regret flashing in his eyes as he smiled bitterly. Emperor Consteinus’ regret was mainly because he was going to lie in eternal rest against his will, leaving behind his gradually falling empire. Perhaps that was the reason why Arland and the rankers went too far this time.

‘Our empire is bound to be doomed, yet there’s nothing we can do about it!’

The Ardo Empire was once hailed as the greatest empire. However, it had deteriorated to the point that it was now just one of the common empires in the world.

‘The worst part?! That bastard Minhyuk is going to try to swallow our empire, and the only thing that we can do is stay still!’

Why did Minhyuk come to the Ardo Empire? Perhaps he came here to threaten the Ardo Empire so that they could expand the Beyond the Heavens Empire. This would even be easier, especially because Emperor Consteinus was in a very compromising situation.

“Your Majesty! We will fight to the end!”

“We will never back down! We will make sure to protect you, Your Majesty, and the empire!”

“Your Majesty, don’t give up! We must never back down and give in to this man who only wants to devour us whole and wage war against us!”

Consteinus laughed at them and the dumbfounded look on Minhyuk’s face. Then, he said, “Don’t be ridiculous. What war? Do you think it’s easy to wage war?”

“Huh?”

Arland and the rankers tilted their heads in confusion while their fists continued to cover their mouths and tried to stop their sobs.

“Emperor Minhyuk has never said anything like that to this emperor. Go out for now.”

Crackle!

Arland and the rankers glared at Minhyuk, their gazes clearly saying,

‘If you dare to do something here, I will never let you go!’

Once they left the audience hall, Consteinus burst out in laughter. “HAHAHAHAHA! These days, I’ve been living vicariously through those guys.”

Minhyuk was quite impressed. Although they looked quite stupid and silly, he thought that they were still pretty cool, seeing how they struggled so hard to protect their empire.

“I want this empire to remain as vibrant and as lively as this even without me. I’m assuming you came here because you want to annex the Ardo Empire?”

That was, of course, the answer.

“Then, you have to win over not only my heart but also the hearts of my people. There are many reasons why the empire has fallen into this state. There’s one that struck us more deeply than the rest. Do you think you can solve it for us?”

Minhyuk nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Have you heard of Hermes?”

“Hermes?”

Of course, Minhyuk knew about him. Hermes was one of the Twelve Gods of Olympus and a god whose symbol was his winged boots. He was famous for his clever yet mischievous figure and was commonly known as the messenger of the gods and the God of Traveling. Of course, this was what was written in the myths in reality and not the one in Athenae.

‘I think he’s more righteous...’

“Because of Hermes, that thieving bastard...”

“...?”

‘Maybe not.’

Consteinus gritted his teeth at the thought of Hermes alone. He had grown weak, but the killing intent that poured out of his weak body was not to be scoffed at.

‘Come to think of it, Hermes is also well-known for being the God of Thieves.’

Although it was not widespread in reality, there were stories and anecdotes detailing how Hermes had stolen Apollo’s precious cows.

‘Did they focus on him being the God of Thieves instead of the more righteous path of being the God of Traveling or the messenger of the gods?’

Consteinus began to tell their story.

“This might sound like it’s just a common story, but like the others, our Ardo Empire also moved to explore the Gaia Continent. One day, our soldiers must have strayed and entered Hermes’ territory and ended up hunting monsters there. A very rare item dropped from the hunted monsters, and we brought it back. From that day forward, Hermes declared that we had stolen his things, so he retaliated. He began to steal from us night after night. It turned out that the rare item that our soldiers had picked up and taken back home was something that he had deliberately hidden in one of those monsters.”

To put it simply, Hermes was looting the Ardo Empire under the pretext that they had stolen from him.

“How much damage have you incurred?”

“The first time, he stole 5.9 million platinum from our imperial treasury.”

“...?!”

The 5.9 million platinum stolen from the Ardo Empire was enough for the empire to run smoothly for several years. The damage that they had incurred was much larger than Minhyuk had expected.

“Then, he stole our empire’s treasures. After that, he stole the ancient skill books that could only be found in the empire. And after he had swept all of those away, he recently started stealing God-rank artifacts.”

The amount of damage that he had inflicted on them was unimaginable.

‘Was this the main reason why the Ardo Empire has been suffering from financial difficulties in the past few months?’

It was just one thief, yet the entire empire had started to crumble and fall apart. That was how large the damage that Hermes had inflicted upon them.

“Just once. If I can just hit that thieving bastard’s face once before I die, I can die happy.”

[The Emperor’s Murderous Intent has been activated.]

“...”

Minhyuk was flustered when he felt the overwhelming murderous intent coming from Emperor Consteinus. However, he fully understood what he was feeling.

‘This is at a level that cannot be considered a joke. It’s almost as if...’

It was like he was planning to destroy an entire empire just by stealing from them alone. If the Ardo Empire were left as it was, then it would definitely be destroyed in just a year.

“If you can catch that thieving bastard and bring him before me, then don’t you think that you will be able to win not only my heart but the heart of my people who suffered from that f*cking bastard?”

Ring!

[

Empire Quest

: Capture Hermes.]

Rank

: SSS

Requirements

: The one who received Emperor Consteinus’ request.

Rewards

: An increase in favor with Consteinus and his people.

Penalty for Failure

: You will not be able to take over the Ardo Empire.

Description

: The God of Thieves Hermes has plagued the Ardo Empire. If you capture Hermes and bring him in front of the emperor of the Ardo Empire, then you will be able to gain a massive boost in favor from the empire. And if you can retrieve the items that he stole from them, then you can win their hearts.

“Have you tried to capture Hermes?”

“Of course, we have. Alas, we cannot capture him at all. It’s not hard to find him, especially when he’s stealing. The problem is he’s swift.”

Minhyuk could not shake off the feeling that accepting this quest was like a double-edged sword. If he failed, then the Ardo Empire would forever be out of reach, but if he succeeded, then they would grow closer than ever.

There was no reason for Minhyuk to refuse, especially in a situation where he had a complete guarantee of success. He had already thought of an easy way to capture Hermes.

“I understand. I will make sure to capture the thieving bastard for you.”

The already weak Emperor Consteinus smiled at Minhyuk, a glimmer of hope blooming in his chest.

***

Late at night.

Hermes could be seen scaling the walls of the Ardo Empire’s imperial palace and stealing the jewels encrusted on its surface.

‘Fufu. I wonder how much all of these are?’

He was wearing a helmet and a pair of shoes adorned with wings and carrying a staff wrapped with the figure of a snake. This was how Hermes’ figure was usually described. The only difference was that this god, who looked like a young eighteen-year-old boy, had a greedy smile on his face as he mischievously dug the jewels embedded on the surface of the walls of the palace.

Hermes was very bold and audacious. Did he think that he would be able to take away all of these jewels even if he was doing it under the cover of the night? He would be discovered by the soldiers patrolling the empire.

Nonetheless, he was confident in his abilities. After all, he could run away whenever he pleased. He was not called the God of Thieves for no reason. There was once a time when the strongest vassals of the Ardo Empire had gathered together and shot at him from all directions. However, not a single one of them was able to touch a single strand of his hair.

‘There’s no one in this world who can catch me~’

Hermes had never been caught when he was stealing something.

“So, you’re Hermes?”

“...?!”

Then, at that moment, a voice rang from above him. The surprised Hermes looked up only to see a man wearing a white cape falling from the sky. Before he could react, a mysterious scythe attached to chains was shooting straight toward him.

Hermes recognized who the man was at once.

‘Isn’t he... that guy named Minhyuk?’

He had heard a lot of great stories about him in the Gaia Continent. On the other hand, he was also someone whom the Gods of Olympus considered a thorn in their sides. He was someone whom they should be wary of. Still, it was none of Hermes’ business.

“Absolute Monarch.”

Power swirled around the falling Minhyuk. And this powerful force slowly weighed down on Hermes, who was hanging on the walls of the palace. No. The force could not weigh him down. It immediately scattered into nothingness.

[Uncontrollable God of Thieves.]

[God of Thieves Hermes cannot be bound, restricted, or suppressed.]

“...?!”

Minhyuk was shocked. The power of the Absolute Monarch was strong enough to force Helenia to her knees. However, it was completely nullified in front of Hermes.

‘So, you’re telling me that it’s impossible to catch Hermes while he’s in the middle of stealing, huh?’

If that was the case, then there was only one other way. Instead of capturing him, he had to attack him and force him to fall. At the same time, power surged from Minhyuk’s blade. But then...

[Stealing Steps.]

Hermes moved a distance of one kilometer in an instant. There was no sound or any telltale signs at all. He just appeared a kilometer away.

Hermes laughed at Minhyuk, “Moron! Try and catch me! Hahahahahahaha!”

Minhyuk ran desperately to try to capture Hermes. Alas, no matter how hard he tried to run after him, he just could not catch up.

“KEUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Hermes cackled wildly as he disappeared into the distance.

‘So this is the reason why they could not catch him.’

It seemed like there was truly no conventional way to catch Hermes. Minhyuk was sure that Hermes had a cacophony of skills aside from the Uncontrollable God of Thieves and the Stealing Steps that he had shown earlier, that would stop them from ever catching him.

Surprisingly enough, there was still a smile playing on Minhyuk’s lips.

‘Cute.’

Then, the next day, Hermes came back. He was stealing again.

“Hello?”

Hermes immediately ran away the moment Minhyuk appeared. This time, Minhyuk prepared a lot in advance. Ropes were flying in from all over the place. Unfortunately, the results remained the same.

“Ha- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! They said you were amazing, but you can’t even touch my heels! Catch me if you can!”

The next day.

“Ooooooh~ You seem to have become a bit faster? Still, you won’t be able to catch me with just that much.”

The day after that.

“Ha... You’re here again?”

Day after day, Minhyuk failed to catch Hermes. And the more Minhyuk failed, the more delighted Hermes became. After finishing a very fruitful and rewarding day, Hermes could only laugh wildly.

“Ah. I’ve been having a lot of fun these days, huh?”

Minhyuk was the man who had mocked Zeus, Hera, and Ares. Yet here he was, playing him like a fiddle. That was why he was thrilled.

“It seems like he’s struggling to try and catch me? Huh? It’s really fun seeing him jump around like that and try to catch me!” Hermes laughed wildly, confident that he would never be caught.

The next day.

“Hey. Wait! Shit! This is really frustrating!”

“KEUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What? You’re already tired? Come and chase after me more!”

Minhyuk, who seemed to be running madly after him, grabbed his head in frustration as his face turned red in anger. “UGH! I’ll definitely catch you! Huh?!”

Hermes enjoyed teasing Minhyuk. So, he said, “Catch me~ If you can catch me, then I will give back all of the things that I stole from the Ardo Empire.”

“For real?”

Hermes found it interesting when Minhyuk reacted to his words right away. He thought,

‘Things are getting more interesting by the second, huh?’

“That’s right. If you can catch me in four days, I will return all the things I have stolen so far. But if you lose, then I will steal everything from the Beyond the Heavens Empire, and you’re not allowed to say anything~”

Minhyuk seemed to think the proposal was reasonable.

“There’s no way that you will be able to catch me~”

Hermes was very confident in himself. He would never be caught! And he would be able to steal everything from the Beyond the Heavens Empire!

“Alright. Let’s bet on it!”

[Hermes has accepted the bet.]

Hermes was laughing so hard that tears started to form at the corners of his eyes.

‘No way. I've heard that he’s an intelligent person. Why does he look so stupid?’

Hermes could not easily steal in the empire belonging to Minhyuk, or in other words, the Beyond the Heavens Empire. He was only able to play around with the Ardo Empire because he had a justification. If he dared to touch one of the major empires in the Western Continents like the Beyond the Heavens Empire, then he would cause a rift in both continents. Regardless, if Minhyuk lost this bet, then the story would change.

‘I will have a justification! I will have a reason!’

Now, Hermes would be able to steal everything from the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

‘Ha- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I’M RICH!’

Hermes disappeared, a wild smile on his face. Unbeknownst to him, there was a vicious smile hanging on Minhyuk’s lips.

***

On the first day, Minhyuk failed to chase after Hermes for the first time.

Minhyuk had gone back to the empire and was now having a conversation with Haze in his office.

“So, what Your Majesty is saying is that... you have a way to catch Hermes right away? And you’re just trying to throw bait and wait for him to bite?”

“That’s right. We have Hermes’ Eleven Divine Parchments in our hands, remember?”

Hermes’ Eleven Divine Parchments were parchments that could allow Minhyuk to demand something once from each of the Gods of Olympus.

“I’m going to use this and demand Hermes to get caught.”

“Wow...”

“But it wouldn’t be fun if things ended just like that, right? After seeing Hermes, I was certain about one thing. If I continue to chase after that guy every day and show that I’m mad and frustrated, then he will offer a bet or a suggestion to me.”

“Don’t tell me...” Haze murmured, easily noticing what Minhyuk intended to do.

“I’m going to subtly guide him to keep on increasing the terms of that bet. Anyway, he doesn’t know that I have Hermes’ Eleven Divine Parchments. He believes that I will not be able to catch him. And the more we continue on this, the more certain he is that I will never be able to catch him. And since he’s confident that he will never be caught, he will increase the rewards and continue to increase the stakes of our bet. As for me? I will continue to accept his offers like a fool.”

In other words, Minhyuk was going to pretend as if he had the short end of the stick to reap the sweetest rewards.

“As the stakes of the bet continue to rise, Hermes will be tempted. He will continue to increase the rewards. Then, I will swoop in and catch him in one go. Once I catch him, not only will I retrieve all of the things that he has stolen, but I can also obtain other things from him.”

“As expected of you, Your Majesty. You’re really...”

Anyone who heard Minhyuk’s plans would be able to tell that his plan was a swindler’s idea.

“You truly deserve all the respect in the world! Ho- HOHOHOHOHOHO!!!” Haze laughed.

“W... WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Hohohohohohoho!”

A swindler outshone a running thief!