Hero of Darkness

Chapter 1298: The Reason to Comply

The supposed meeting for coexistence had now become a playground for mutual destruction. And the one who called for it was the main instigator.

Why was Kahn so brazenly calling for war and talking about how he was going to kill them out of nowhere?

Was Kahn truly so fickle-minded or just obtusely ignorant of his own strength and flaws?

While some of them argued amongst themselves… One voice resonated loudly.

“Hey bastard! You think you can call upon us just to threaten us like an alley thug?

Fuck your empire and your armies. I would rather go on an all-out war with you than swallow any of those insults at us.”

A grim and resentful voice echoed, and the source of it was a woman in a green outfit of a queen, adorned with a mixture of peng and peacock birds embroidery over her outfit.

This being, while having humanoid features like a head and face, also had two large feathery emerald wings.

The one who cursed Kahn was the Empress of the Videl Empire, also known as the Empire of Wind.

Videl Empire was governed by Uccello, a species with a mixture of humanoid bodies and bird-like features. Even their arms and skin had protrusions akin to delicate birds, and they were usually known to control other monster species as their mounts and battle companions.

“Ah, the bird didn’t like pecking at a bitter fruit, I see.

Did you expect me to grovel at your feet like the rulers of the kingdoms you have been attacking in the past 10 years?

I mean, I get that your gated community of elites of the empire wants to expand your forces and gather more resources… but you even attacked those who had been allies with your kind for centuries.

How can I leave my back to an eagle who’s vying to aim for my neck the moment I look away?” stated Kahn as he asked with a scornful tone.

To his rebuttals, the Empress of the Videl Empire simply replied in a monotonous voice…

“You talk casually about war… I wage them with the same attitude. We are more alike than you think.

How about you and your inferior band of subjects, hailing from lesser and featherless species, come under my rule?

I promise I shall offer you more freedom than I have done to most of the kingdoms I recently conquered.” spoke the empress sarcastically.

“See, when you can mindlessly wage war, and none of these people speak against it… while I get an earful just for talking about it… shows the council’s double standards.

What reassurance that we have that in case of my armies entering your empire to assist against an ongoing war… they wouldn’t be used as mere fodder or even betrayed by your people?

I, who command the largest army among you lot, would be an incompetent ruler if my people walked into such a possible ambush.

Hence, you cannot fault me for not even wanting to stake a single strand of faith in this so-called alliance that already has its favorites picked up.” said Kahn as his gaze shifted to the emperor of the Valgus Empire.

“Some of those kingdoms also had a diplomatic relationship with yours. However, you neither came to their aid nor did you show any kind of displeasment of your neighbor’s actions.

You must have a high level of tolerance for hypocrisy if you dare to judge my attitude and not hers.” said Kahn as he called the Lightbringer a hypocrite.

“The strong take from the weak. It has always been the rule of the real world.

As long as her forces do not enter our vicinity, and their actions do not directly impact my empire’s economy… what can they do as they please.

You, on the other hand… haven’t proved yourself as one of the ‘strong’.” replied the emperor.

“So birds of a feather do flock together.” said Kahn as he pointed out the similarity.

“Enough, you human mongrel!” shouted the lady in green.

The Empress of the Videl Empire had enough of Kahn’s bird jokes.

“What? You can openly talk about deciding my worth and whatnot while I can’t even call out your hypocrisy?

We’re not really going to be good friends, are we?” said Kahn sarcastically.

“Enough, Salvatore. What do you truly seek?

From what I have inferred so far… you neither seek coexistence nor do you wish to work within the bounds of the council.

Your open threats to most of us have evidently made it clear. So what is your true goal?” asked Sakamoto Hideyoshi.

“It is very simple… I need you to open your borders for my forces, like you would for any of the other members of the council.

However, I will not be subjected to any kind of mandates or regulations like some loyal follower.” said Kahn as he stated his piece.

“I don’t take orders from those who might wish me harm and neither do I cooperate with people who want to command me like I am their underling.

What I simply want is access to the routes leading to the Khorne Empire. We intend to fight on the same battlefronts as your troops.

But they shant be shackled under some frivolous body of authority and will act as a separate identity that only cooperates when necessary.” said Kahn as he made his true intentions clear.

But it was right then…

“What absolute nonsense! Who here will believe that you and your forces wouldn’t attack our empires instead after we open our borders?

You have consistently made threats about waging war on us ever since this meeting started.

So with what credibility do you present this propostrousl proposition?” said one particular emperor in silver and black robes, both majestic and pristine at the same time.

This emperor was a pure human just like Kahn but his countenance showed unexplained hatred for the latter.

“That’s the thing. I don’t even have to prove my words with actions. And yet, all of it will accept my terms.” said Kahn as he revealed a sly smirk.

“And why would we do that after all this disrespectful transgression that you’ve spewed?” said Nievan, the Elven Emperor.

“It is as clear as day and night…

Because you need me.” declared Kahn.

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

As the terms of negotiation were finally on the table… Kahn outright proclaimed that all the other empires needed him.

“Hah! Such hubris. Did those heretics all sap away your ability to think?

The 12 Empires of Gods need just one because he also commands another force? What kind of delusional reality do you live in, Hero of Darkness?” asked the Lightbringer Emperor.

“Is that so? Then why haven’t the 12 Empires still defeated the Khorne Empire?

Why is that two of the Sovereigns are always needed to hold off their forces and allow your legions to carry out wars?

The Great War isn’t even officially begun yet your soldiers have been fighting the Demon Empire for many years even before most of the chosen heroes were summoned in this generation.” said Kahn as he revealed an unspoken truth.

Yes, it has been almost a decade since the Demon Empire was publicly fighting at least 4 Empires on its borders.

What majority of the people of Vantrea didn’t know that the four empires were always switching places among the forces of the 12 Empires that served the gods and goddesses.

And they had always pulled back after 2 to 3 years while letting the other empire take their place.

“The loss of troops and even veteran warriors has been taking a toll on all of you.

Both the Demon Emperor and the Demon God are existences that has even kept the Sovereigns at bay all this time.

And once they get pushed back even by few hundred kilometers, they send one of the Rakshasas to even the odds.

The last I heard… two of your empires lost a couple of 7th-stage saints to just one of them.” said Kahn as he revealed the extent of his information network.

“From my understanding… the True Demons have been awaking the slumbering mythical rank monsters in all of your empires and causing catastrophes that have already cost tens of millions of lives in all the individual members of the council.

You need me to take over just to recover from the consistent disasters.” stated Kahn firmly.

“And we don’t even know when the Demon Emperor will decide to intervene himself.” he spoke and soon, the atmosphere of the meeting turned dead silent.

This time, there was no banter or rebuttals because Kahn had struck their nerve.

No matter how much they prided on their own strength, the act of hibernating mythical rank monsters suddenly waking up and going on a rampage had cost a lot of lives in all these empires.

One such occurrence was when Kahn and Maximus Gladius faced not only a mythical beast during his time as Atreus Bellator in the Beast Empire, but also encountering a Superior Dragon within their borders.

Back then, it was empress Kaali Adisesha, who came at the right time and saved their lives and eventually killed the Superior Dragon named Varuna.

Similar attacks had been happening across all of the empires that were members of the council, and years had been spent just to recoup from the losses.

Even all the Emperors present here hadn’t always been able to stop those disasters in time, and tens of millions of lives were lost along the way.

So Kahn proposing to bear that burden while taking their place on the borders of the Khorne Empire…

All of them were considering it.