Chapter 1289
Chapter 1289
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Siegfried slapped Stuttgart’s face with the rotten squid, showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.
“Mmph! Mmpf! Mmmmph!”
Stuttgart struggled with all his might, but he was so tightly bound that there was nothing he could do.
“Rotten squid is the best revenge! Kekeke!”Siegfried cackled after seeing Stuttgart’s reaction.
Siegfried knew that this was the right choice, as Stuttgart was not someone who could be broken by physical torture or death.
He was a very stubborn man, so convincing him was out of the question. Not only that, but expecting him to repent for his sins was basically impossible. To begin with, he was not someone who could be reasoned with, and that was not going to change just because he was being tortured.
Thus, Siegfried chose to hit Stuttgart where it would really hurt. Rather than torturing him, he believed that humiliating him and inflicting mental trauma on him was far more effective.
And it proved to be super effective!
Unable to handle the humiliation, Stuttgart convulsed, his eyes rolling back to reveal their whites.
‘You probably wanted to die with dignity, right?’ Siegfried thought with a grin.
He could see right through Stuttgart. It was obvious that dying with dignity was his plan all along, judging by how he refused to run away even after receiving reports of the Marchioni Imperial Army’s defeat.
What did that mean?
The Marchioni Empire was already ruined, so Stuttgart would rather die an honorable death than live on the run as the emperor of a fallen nation.
Thus, he waited for Siegfried at the spire with only his most loyal retainer, Duke Randoll, by his side. He even cleverly planned the timing of when he would ingest the poison, to make sure that he would die after his conversation with Siegfried.
Unfortunately, Siegfried had no plans on letting him have a peaceful death.
‘Do you think I’ll let you off just like that? You caused so much shit, and you think you can just die peacefully?’
While Stuttgart wanted to die in a manner befitting an emperor, Siegfried had other plans for him.
‘You’re gonna pay for everything you did,’ Siegfried growled inwardly.
Stuttgart’s sins were far too many to count. Using the might of the empire, he had bullied and trampled neighboring nations, but that was only the surface of his sins. He conducted unspeakably cruel human experiments over and over again, just for his own ambitions, creating countless victims in the process.
Of course, that was not all...
While Siegfried was fighting with his life on the line to protect the world, Stuttgart had invaded the Coral Planet, driven the dragons to extinction, and finally started a world war that claimed tens of millions of lives.
In that chaos, Taycan, the descendant of the Thunder God Vajra, and Cesc, the descendant of Supreme King Braum, had both fallen in battle. Both of these brave warriors were close comrades of Siegfried.
To Siegfried, someone like Stuttgart did not deserve a glorious death. In fact, rather than dying, Stuttgart deserved to live. He deserved to live the most wretched and humiliating life one could ever live.
For the rest of his days, until his last dying breath, he had to suffer the weight of everyone’s hatred and scorn.
“Duke Decimato,” Siegfried called out.
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty?” Duke Decimato replied with a slight bow.
“Are you familiar with any magic spell that can keep someone from going insane?”
“Yes, there is, sire.”
“Good. I want you to use it on him every single day. Keep his mind as stable as possible.”
“...Pardon me, sire?”
“He won’t even know he’s suffering if he goes insane, no?”
“Ah...!”
“Make sure he never loses his sanity. That way, he will feel the weight of his sins until the day he dies a natural death.”
“...!”
“Have the men guard him around the clock. Do not let him kill himself at all costs, and keep him healthy. I have plans for him.”
“As you command, sire.”
Those words sealed Stuttgart’s fate. He was forbidden from going insane or dying.
All he could do was suffer until the day he breathed his last.
That was Siegfried's punishment for Stuttgart...
‘T-That is a bit...’
‘To think His Imperial Majesty would go that far...’
‘He’s indeed terrifying when mad. I should make sure never to incur His Imperial Majesty’s wrath.’
The nobles and officials of the Proatine Empire trembled at Siegfried’s ruthless decision.
At first glance, the rotten squid seemed like nothing more than making a mockery of Stuttgart.
Soon, they realized that it was a calculated, deliberate form of punishment. It was something done to break Stuttgart’s spirit before the real punishment even began.
However, not one person pitied Stuttgart. No one protested that such cruelty was a violation of his human rights or that it was not befitting of a former emperor.
After all, Stuttgart von Posteriore was no longer the ruler of a great empire.
He was no longer worshiped or revered. Now, he was nothing more than a criminal who had killed countless people. He was an object of contempt, hatred, and disgust.
***
The war was over, but the chaos was just getting started. Though Siegfried had managed to suppress the worst by dispelling the calamities, that was just one aspect of the chaos engulfing the continent.
The real problem was neither pestilence nor disasters but the civil wars.
All across the territories of the Marchioni Empire, local nobles were declaring themselves kings and launching uprisings in a scramble to seize as much land and power as they could.
Nearly half of the territories were dragged into a war of their own, and it seemed that the flames of war were sweeping across the entire continent once again.
“Ughh...” Siegfried groaned and rubbed his temples.
He thought the fall of Stuttgart would be the end of it, but it felt more like the beginning of things instead.
“I do not think we can absorb the entire thing, sire. No matter how strong our empire has become, absorbing all of the Marchioni Empire’s territory is simply impossible,” Michele said carefully.
“I was actually thinking the same thing,” Siegfried replied with a grimace. Then, he added, “If we try to take everything for ourselves, then trying to manage everything will be the death of our empire.”
“I agree, sire.”
“So what’s the solution?”
“First, we should annex only the key strategic areas and major cities near the previous imperial capital of the Marchioni Empire. Those must be directly ruled and governed by our empire.”
“So we take only the good parts?”
“Precisely, sire.”
“And after that?”
“Share portions of the remaining land with our allies. We must let them have their share.”
“And then? That can’t be all, right? Even if we divide everything between us and our allies, there’s still plenty of land left.”
“Indeed, that is the case.”
“So what do we do with it?”
“Give the rebel lords one month.”
“One month? For what?”
“Let them fight as much as they want and settle their own borders during that time.”
“Hm?”
“No matter how fiercely they fight, the borders won’t change much in a month. Then—”
“A bunch of small nations will form.”
“Precisely, sire.”
“And that will make it easier for us to manage them?”
“As expected, you understood it instantly.”
Michele couldn’t help but marvel at how much Siegfried had grown.
‘He’s changed so much. He’s not the same man I first met.’
Siegfried was growing sharper with each passing day. Now, Michele only needed to hint at a strategy for him to grasp the entire picture.
“So you’re saying that it’s far better for us to have numerous small nations rather than having big ones. Because if they start forming alliances and factions, they might start talking about nonsense such as restoring the Marchioni Empire. Once that happens, they will become a thorn in our side. Is that it?”
“Precisely, sire.”
“So that’s why you want them going at it for a month. To make them antagonize each other.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Hmm...” Siegfried paused briefly, collecting his thoughts. Then, he gave his next order, “Deploy our agents from the Intelligence Bureau.”
“...Pardon me?”
“Plant spies among them. Make sure those bastards will never unite.”
“...!”
“Keep them going at each other’s throats, manipulate them from the shadows if we have to do so. That way, they will never band together, and they will be far easier for us to control.”
“Y-Your Imperial Majesty...!” Michele gasped, looking genuinely surprised. He couldn’t help but be shocked at how Siegfried was now looking further ahead. It looked as if Siegfried had been preparing himself to govern the world for a while now.
In Michele’s eyes, Siegfried had already far surpassed Stuttgart and was on track to become the one true ruler of the entire continent. However, Siegfried himself was not even thinking about that. All he wanted was to keep the peace—that was it.
“Let’s give them a month as you've suggested. But start planting our spies from now on and track their every move.”
“As you command, sire.”
And just like that, without even realizing it himself, Siegfried took his first steps into becoming the one true ruler of the continent.
***
While Siegfried was buried with postwar matters, good news, which seemed scarce ever since their victory, finally arrived.
“Tae-Sung!”
“Young Master!”
The two elders who had once been brainwashed by the Marchioni Empire and later rescued by Siegfried came to see him.
“Elders!”
Siegfried buried under a mountain of documents leapt up in delight the moment he saw the two.
“How are you feeling now? Have you recovered? I missed you!”
He was genuinely overjoyed. Both Daode Tianzun and Betelgeuse had endured far too much hardship in their twilight years. At an age when most would have long since retired, they had been running themselves to the ground instead, suffering every manner of misfortune.
Siegfried knew all too well just how much they had suffered, so he couldn’t help but feel overjoyed to see them.
“Haha! Yes, we’re fine!”
“It’s good to see you again, young master!”
Though both of them looked frail and tired, their lives were no longer in danger.
“I will take care of you from here on out. So no more hardships, just rest and live the rest of your lives in peace,” Siegfried said.
He meant every word, as he did not want them to suffer any longer. He wanted them to spend their remaining years teaching disciples, pursuing hobbies, and enjoying a warm cup of tea.
Anyone who knew what they had gone through would agree that they both earned it.
“Hoho! You’re right, Tae-Sung! We can’t keep doing this forever!”
“I think I will finally retire as well, young master.”
Both of them readily accepted Siegfried’s offer.
They had pushed themselves for far too long, and it was now time to set things down.
“It seems like we can finally enjoy a peaceful retirement thanks to you.”
“I think I will finally take disciples.”
While Siegfried was enjoying the warm reunion with the two elders...
“Hello, Siegfried.”
Michael suddenly appeared.
“Huh? What are you doing here?” Siegfried tilted his head in confusion, surprised by the sudden visit.
There was no way that someone like Michael, the Chief Archangel and leader of the Celestial Realm, would come all the way here just to offer his congratulations.
If anything, he would more likely mourn that a war had happened at all.
“May we speak in private? There is something I must tell you,” Michael said.
“Right now?”
“Yes, Siegfried.”
“Okay, just a moment.”
Siegfried excused himself to the elders and stepped out with Michael.
“What is it?” Siegfried asked.
He noticed the grim look on the Chief Archangel’s face, and he immediately realized that something bad was going on or was about to happen.
“I have noticed pillars of light recently started appearing in this world.”
“Oh, that thing? I was actually wondering about it myself.”
The first of those pillars had erupted in the Jukai Forest, within the ancient ruin of the Illuminati, which was also the last known location of Lee Geon.
With those coincidences lining up, Siegfried was bound to be bothered by it.
Siegfried asked, “Do you know what it means?”
“I am afraid I do not. But I believe I know how we can find out,” Michael replied.
“How?”
“I need the missing half of the prophecy.”
“What do you mean by that? What is this book you’re talking about?”
“One half of it is with us, the angels. And...”
“And?”
“The other half is with the demons.”
“Huh?”
“The first recorded prophecy from the dawn of creation was split in two. One half was entrusted to the angels, while the other was entrusted to the demons. It was done to ensure that neither side could ever fully understand its message.”
“Can you tell me in detail? I have no idea what you’re talking about right now. It’s not like I was born a demon, so I really have no clue what this is all about.”
“Oh, right...”
Realizing his oversight, Michael began to recount a tale from the past. It was a tale about the prophecy divided between the angels and demons.