Chapter 1286: Man of Authority

Kahn beckoned to the people of the empire, asking whether they would stand beside him to fight in the Great War.

And after he had offered the grand reassurance, the response was as expected...

"Yes! We will fight those bastards!

All hail the glory of the Rakos Empire!" shouted a fervent young man with enthusiasm.

Similar sentiment was shared across the empire as people shouted their own battle cry.

This was a collective moment where the people unified and shared the common will to decimate their enemies after learning the truth that their emperor told them.

"Rest assured, my people... along with the forces we already have, the Rakos Empire now commands both the military forces and also the 135 Saints from the Abyss Empire.

That alone makes a total of 276 Saints fighting under our banner!" revealed Kahn as he raised his clenched fist, his face filled with excitement.

"There are a total of five 7th-stage saints in their army. If we count the 3 on our side and including me, we have a total of nine 7th-stage saints in our ranks.

Even one of the strongest empires in the world, the Beast Empire, only has 4 of them. And while their Empress is an 8th-stage saint, much like many other empires in the world... even they can’t be present everywhere.

On top of it, our collective forces and firepower are enough to withstand the battle with at least 3 empires," he iterated sternly.

"And if I end up using the divine abilities granted to me by the God of Darkness... I can even match an Emperor or Empress of any of those empires.

We are neither lacking nor outnumbered in any field as an Empire now.

So rest assured that once we enter the Great War as an empire, we will neither be a pushover nor become a lackey to the others." he stated with visible authority in his demeanor.

"Those who wish for our cooperation will have to accept our terms and treat us respectfully.

And as your emperor... I promise you one thing." spoke Kahn as his face calmed down and tone turned serious.

"The moment I sense that someone is using us to be cannon fodder, I will instantly pull back our forces.

No one is to take advantage of us, and neither will I accept any disrespect." he declared with a majestic voice.

"We will enter the alliance as a respected and valued member, while others treat us with courtesy.

If not, we fight the battle our own way."

This grand declaration represented the pride of their nation at its peak.

"The Rakos Empire has always been a self-dependent nation and fended off those who wished to destroy us, no matter who held the reins.

And now that I am both the emperor and the Hero of Darkness... we shall stand prouder than we have ever been." said Kahn as he made sure to tell everyone that they feared no one.

Kahn still hadn’t mentioned that an existence like Vildred Mortelix, the former Lightning Dragon Emperor, was behind them as well.

Vildred and Kahn alone were on par with a legit 8th-stage saint. Adding Argos Belmont as their backer already made them one of the strongest forces in the upcoming Great War.

But why did Kahn hide his master’s existence from the Rakos Empire?

Because of the spies of the other nations.

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There was a reason why Kahn intentionally revealed his identity as the Hero of Darkness when he wanted both the Rakos Empire and the Abyss Empire to fight together.

Because by now, Kahn was aware that the news of him being the new Emperor of the Rakos Empire would have reached most of the empires serving the Gods.

Other than his hidden allies and those with whom he had some influence and connections, everyone else would have been preparing countermeasures to attack him either physically or through politics.

The fact that a chosen hero becoming the emperor of an empire was already a rare phenomenon. Even in the past 3 thousand years, very few achieved that feat.

But given his role as the Cult Leader of the Darkborne, they all knew that he would already have a massive force to protect him.

The warning given by Argos Belmont was already enough to ward off most of those who wished to harm Kahn. But the group called The Inquisitors was made specifically for that task.

Even if an empire didn’t directly attack him; they shared little responsibility if the Inquisitors did something to Kahn.

Many could simply shift the blame to them, so there was still a hope to kill Kahn before the Great War began.

But now that he was the Emperor of none other than the Rakos Empire... the dynamic shifted completely.

Neither was he a lone hero nor was he a leader of a small faction.

No... an entire empire backing Kahn meant that if they actively and publicly tried to kill him, then they’d have to face the wrath of an empire’s military forces.

War was always a great loss, even if you survived. It cost money, manpower, lives of your troops, and most importantly... it affected the future of the empire.

Whether it was the economy or the population... not only was there a risk of setting them ablaze, but also losing what you already had.

People in power didn’t usually care for the lives of their subjects. They cared about the wealth and resources brought by those whom they ruled over.

If fighting Kahn could incur the wrath of the Rakos Empire and make them lose all of those things... even they would have to let go of those ambitions.

Hence, Kahn wanted to make sure that neither could they defame him, nor could they use his secret identity as the Hero of Darkness against him to cause an upheaval later on.

’Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armour yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.’

Kahn remembered this quote from a very famous TV series from Earth. And that was the driving force behind his decision to reveal his truth in front of the Rakos Empire.

And once it was known and accepted by the masses... no amount of truths or rumors would be enough to bring down the lie he built among people at this moment.

’Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him...’

A quote by Dostoevsky was the biggest inspiration for Kahn’s lie that he presented to the people.

[For the minds of the people would not accept the real truth when they believed in a lie forged by none other than themselves.] thought Kahn to himself.

And now... all that remained was the lie to cement itself among the people till it became their reality.

******************

The following day...

"Your majesty, we have received an invitation," spoke a chamberlain in Kahn’s throne hall.

"To join the Council of the Great War."