Chapter 1358

Chapter 1358

The first nation to lend money to the Ardo Empire was the Lanstar Kingdom. They were able to do so because they had enough coffers.

Unlike the other kingdoms, the Lanstar Kingdom had countless mines in its territories and was almost overflowing with rare ores and minerals. This contributed to them being called the Ore-rich Country. On top of that, the Lanstar Kingdom was nearly the size of three kingdoms combined. With land and resources, it was no wonder they were rich.

The Lanstar Kingdom continued to lend more money. But they did not stop there. They began to increase the interest rate. Now, the interest rate had ballooned to 35%. At the heart of it all was King Barce, the key figure who instigated all of the kings to run to the Ardo Empire and seek out Emperor Consteinus.

King Barce and the other kings met with Emperor Consteinus.

“Ardo’s emperor, we congratulate you on overcoming your death crisis and getting a new lease of life.”

On the outside, King Barce expressed his concern for the Ardo Empire, declaring how they would be strong allies no matter what happened. Alas, that was not the truth. And he was finally showing his true colors.

“However, we have heard rumors about the Ardo Empire allying with the Beyond the Heavens Empire. There are even rumors that the two empires will forge a relationship that is much closer than that of allies.”

“That’s right.”

“Aren’t we nations that advocated for peace? You should know that the Beyond the Heavens Empire has declared wars and implicated countless victims. I hope that you will not continue with what you intend to do.”

The Ardo Empire had no money. In fact, they were buried in debt. Although Emperor Consteinus did not die, they would not be able to go against the words of these kingdoms that they owed a debt to, unless the Beyond the Heavens Empire paid off their debts.

“You don’t like it?”

“What?” King Barce looked at Emperor Consteinus in confusion.

‘I did say that he got a new lease in life, but... did his head get messed up in the process?’

Under the continental laws, these kings could enslave not only the people of the empire but also the nobles. Even if Emperor Consteinus were an emperor, he would not be able to maintain his power or authority if he did not have any money.

King Barce completely shed all pretenses and showed his true colors. He said, “Your Majesty, this is a very awkward and difficult situation. Although we have such a steadfast relationship, you should be well aware of our strong desire for peace. If you continue with this, then we have no choice. Please settle your debts.”

King Barce had abandoned his manners and asked for money outright with a smile on his face.

‘They just caught Hermes. There’s a high chance that they haven’t been able to get their money back...’

“Sure.”

“...?!”

“...?!”

Everyone present was surprised.

Emperor Consteinus looked at them arrogantly. He smiled and said, “I will pay back everything, including the interest. I have already given my orders to the prime minister. He has already prepared everything.”

This move changed the story. Now, they wouldn’t be able to force Emperor Consteinus to do their bidding.

“Did... Did Hermes return your money?”

“Yes, indeed.”

“That’s impossible...”

Hermes was the God of Thieves. This was the person who pretended not to know anything after they asked him about their royal treasures. Should they kill the god then? No. If they killed him, then they would lose their money. Not only that, the Gods of Olympus would have the justification to intervene. And if the Gods of Olympus intervened, their kingdoms and empires would collapse in an instant.

‘No. We weren’t the ones who caught Hermes.’

“How the... How in the world?“

“Did Emperor Minhyuk take it from him?”

“...” King Barce was left dumbfounded. His mouth opened and closed, yet no words came out.

“Ah. This emperor will also break the alliance between my empire and all of the nations present here.”

“Your... Your Majesty?!”

The expressions on the faces of all of the kings present grew complicated.

“Isn’t this only natural? After all, we’re going to walk different paths.”

“E... Even if you decided to join hands with the Beyond the Heavens Empire, don’t you think that it’s too much? You... cutting us off unilaterally like this...”

“Wait. Let me speak first. I’m not a fool. I have already seen through your thoughts when you started increasing the interest rate on the money you lent after you saw I was dying. Even so, I let it pass and did nothing to you. That was because I was dying. Back then, the only thing that I could do was to prevent the immediate downfall of my empire and let my people survive, even if it meant that they would have to scatter all over the continent to live their lives.”

Indeed, that was the only thing that Consteinus could do. However, the situation had changed. He could now view things rationally and with a cool head.

“You would have taken my people and enslaved them. And if a war broke out, you would send the Ardo Empire’s soldiers in the vanguard to minimize the damage that you would incur. You would have taken the Ardo Empire’s territory bit by bit and increased your own kingdom’s territories.”

None of them could refute Emperor Consteinus’ words because that was what they had intended to do.

King Barce and all of the kings present were left terrified.

Even if the Ardo Empire was weakened, they were still

the

Ardo Empire. And it was precisely because of the Ardo Empire’s reputation and military power that no other empire dared to touch the five or six lesser kingdoms that allied with them. If their alliance were dissolved, then the different empires and kingdoms would target them.

Should they go to the Luvien Empire? If they did, the Luvien would decline them due to the past alliance with the Ardo Empire. The Beyond the Heavens Empire would also turn them away. After all, they were allied to the Ardo Empire now.

“Well, then. Goodbye. I won’t see you off,” Constenius said as he turned them away without any hesitation.

The kings left the audience hall. However, it was not as if they had no hope.

“There are still the nobles supporting the Ardo Empire.”

“I’m sure a lot of people will oppose the alliance between the Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Ardo Empire.”

“Perhaps the rebels are already preparing all over the empire as we speak. If we can convince them, then we can set things straight.”

The kings hurriedly made their move. They went to a conference room and met with the nobles. Among them was Duke Arland.

“Please persuade the emperor. His Majesty seems to be having a difficult time discerning what’s right from wrong. Why should the emperor of the Ardo Empire associate with the lowly emperor of the Beyond the Heavens Empire...”

“Lowly? Loooooowly???”

The dukes and counts present in the conference room all spoke at the same time.

“Lowly?”

‘Why are they acting like this?’

King Barce stuttered, “N-no... Didn’t you say something like that the last time that we met? Didn’t you say that the damn bastards of the Beyond the Heavens Empire were coveting the territories of the Ardo Empire?”

Duke Arland responded coldly, “That was then. But that’s no longer the case now. Emperor Minhyuk is the benefactor of our Ardo Empire. Not only did he save our emperor, but he also set our hearts at ease. If I hear one more curse directed at Emperor Minhyuk, what you say will no longer matter. I will not stand still.”

“...”

The kings failed to get anything from them. They left this group of nobles and met with the other nobles, the ones who had been preparing for a rebellion for a very long time.

“Don’t you dare curse our dear Emperor Minhyuk!”

“...?”

“Is Emperor Minhyuk a tyrant? Is he a war maniac? No. Not at all. He’s someone who fought a fierce and bloody battle against Zeus just to save our beloved Emperor Consteinus!”

“Get lost!”

“I will definitely not let you go if you dare to curse at our dear Emperor Minhyuk!”

In the end, they were driven out of the empire. They stood in front of the long line of carriages containing the payment for the money that they had lent, including the interest. The total number of carriages exceeded a thousand. It was such a huge amount because they had received almost 50% more of the money that they had originally lent.

“This is the only consolation...” King Barce sighed.

Although the situation had turned this way, it was not as if they had no hope left.

“Why don’t we offer a significant amount of this money to the Luvien Empire and ask them for an alliance?”

“That’s fine with me!”

“Ho. That’s a good idea!”

The kings all shouted in awe.

Meanwhile, a man had sneaked behind them.

“That’s a lot.”

This man was none other than Minhyuk. He had decided not to return to the Beyond the Heavens Empire right away and stay for another day.

“Your Majesty Minhyuk!”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Quick! Return our kingdom’s royal treasures!”

They had realized that Minhyuk had obtained the items that Hermes had stolen. Meaning, he had their royal treasures in hand. Those treasures were the symbol of their kingdoms and were priceless. In fact, most of those treasures held enormous value.

Minhyuk looked puzzled when he heard their words. He asked, “Why should I?”

“...!”

“...!”

“Was I the one who stole it? The one who stole it from you was Hermes. The only thing I did was to catch Hermes. Those items dropped when I caught Hermes. So, tell me. Why should I give you something that’s mine?”

Although the logic sounded ridiculous, they could not deny that it was true. Hermes was the one who stole them, not Minhyuk. So, why would he return something that he did not steal? In a way, it could be a reasonable compensation for the hard work that he did.

Nonetheless, the kings just could not give up. Their priceless royal treasures were already within their reach. They were at a loss.

“I’ll do whatever you want. So, please return our royal treasure to us!”

“That’s a treasure that has been passed down through eight generations.”

Minhyuk pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. He said, “I’m a merciful emperor.”

The kings’ faces crumpled at his words. Still, Minhyuk paid them no heed. He continued, “I also feel terrible after knowing that I have these royal treasures in my hand. Then, how about we do it like this?”

The kings’ ears perked up.

“I’ll sell it to you for ten million platinum.”

“Ten... Ten million?!”

“Keok!”

It was a considerable sum. However, considering the value of those treasures, it was still a cheap amount to pay. Besides, they were able to obtain tens of millions of platinum from the interest that they had charged on the Ardo Empire alone.

“I... I understand!”

“I’ll give it to you right away!”

“Ah. It’s fine if you don’t give it to me right now. Just sign an IOU for me first. You see, it doesn’t sit well to share it here, no? I’ll return your treasures first and pick up the payment a bit later.”

Minhyuk handed the treasures to the kings after he received their IOUs. After he left, the kings set out to return to their respective kingdoms.

“He gave our treasures so easily.”

“Well then. Shall we head straight to the Luvien Empire before going back to our kingdoms...?”

At that moment, a boy appeared in the sky above them with an evil smile on his face, “Hehe. There is so much gold, silver, and treasures here, huh?!”

This was the same boy whom they had beaten black and blue earlier. It was none other than Hermes.

“Y... you... why...?”

“How did you get released?”

The evil smile on Hermes’ face grew wider the longer he stared at them. He said, “Of course, I ran away. After all, I’m the great Hermes~ More importantly, how dare you! How dare you hit a god of Olympus like me!”

“...”

To the kings, it felt like a wild and untameable horse had been released. And the scariest thing that would happen when someone who could not be controlled was released was...

“I will take all of this in return for what you have done to me.”

Hermes’ hat slowly fluttered to the ground. Then, the hat grew in size until it covered the long line of carriages that were following the kings.

[Large Scale Larceny.]

[You have stolen everything within an area with a ten-kilometer radius.]

The hat devoured the carriages carrying the gold, the silver, the treasures, and the artifacts, yet left the soldiers and the horses alone. After swallowing everything, the hat returned to its original size.

“Thanks! Ah. Did you think that I’m already done with you? I’m going to rob your kingdoms clean. Steal from you soon~”

“N... no...!”

“You m*therf*cker!”

“Th-the treasures that we bought are also among those things!”

“Keuhaaaaack?!”

They were all left in shock. They only blinked once, and Hermes, who came in like a storm, had already stolen their thousands of carriages. Only after they saw Hermes disappear did they realize that something had gone wrong in their kingdoms.

King Barce hurriedly returned to his kingdom. The moment he arrived, someone rushed in and gave a report.

“He... Hermes came and robbed our royal treasury. He said it was because he could not forgive you for hitting him. It’s been robbed clean! Everything’s gone!”

“...?!”

King Barce was left devastated. The money that they had lent to the Ardo Empire was around 40% of their kingdom’s money. That money had been lost, and now even the money in their treasury had been robbed clean.

Alas, that was not the end. That evening...

“Hermes has taken away all of the rare items left in our kingdom!”

The next day.

“Hermes stole all of the God-rank artifacts, god-grade ingredients, and even the legendary-rank items from us!”

The day after that.

“All of our soldiers’ weapons and armor are gone!”

And the day after.

“We’re in dire straits! All of the tools that our miners have been using are gone. We can’t go back and operate our mines anymore!”

The next day.

“...Hermes also stole the funds that we were barely able to gather. At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before our kingdom falls. The other kingdoms and empires are already preparing for war after they had heard the news about our situation.”

King Barce hurriedly convened a meeting with the other kings to try to find a way to resolve the problem that they were facing. The other kings were in a similar situation to the Lanstar Kingdom.

“That bastard! Is there really nothing we can do about Hermes?!”

“We can’t catch him even if we want to catch him! I’m going to go crazy!’

“There... there’s no other way!”

Then, at that moment, an uninvited guest entered the conference room where they had gathered. This guest was none other than Minhyuk.

“I’m here to get the payment for the treasure that I sold to you a while ago.”

“I’m... I’m sorry, but right now, we don’t have the money...”

“Huh? What are you saying? According to the IOUs that you signed previously, you are required to pay me back today. What the hell? This is plain highway robbery!”

The kings could not say anything. And there was nothing that they could do either. They did not have a single penny at all.

At this moment, someone noticed something. They thought,

‘Wait. No way? Did he send Hermes...?’

Unfortunately, it was just a hunch. They could not convict him of anything without any evidence.

While they were in a dilemma, Minhyuk said, “Then, let’s do it like this.”

He looked at the kings, while they gulped dryly as they waited for his proposal.

“I’ll buy your kingdoms for ten million platinum.”

“Wh... what are you saying?!”

In the end, the kings were left in a situation where they had debts and no money to tide them through. Unfortunately, they had signed IOUs, and those IOUs were in the hands of the emperor of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. They had no choice but to agree.

The truth was... Minhyuk did not spend a single penny. He sold the treasures he had received from Hermes to them. Then, Hermes stole those treasures again and offered them to Minhyuk while saying,

‘Hehe. Hyung. Here’s a gift for you.’

That was how Minhyuk devoured six kingdoms without spending a single penny.