Queen Irena declared the Sail Kingdom an empire.
She was now the empire’s first emperor and the sole empress of the continent.
As the Sail Empire slowly assimilated the Free City Alliance, there were those who suffered.
They were the mayors and councilors who led the Free City Alliance.
“Condemnation.”
The inquisitor’s voice echoed in the underground interrogation chamber.
The air was damp and heavy.
Only the torches on the wall pushed back the darkness, but even their light could not reach the ends of the space.
The sound of water dripping down the walls and the clanging of chains occasionally broke the silence.
Mayor Atilane knelt on the cold stone floor, his head bowed.
His appearance as the once majestic ruler of the Free City Alliance was nowhere to be seen.
His clothes were in tatters, and his face and body were covered in bruises and wounds from torture.
Most of his fingers were broken, and the left side of his face was so distorted that it was unrecognizable.
Even those who knew him would hardly recognize him in his current state.
On either side of him, Vice Mayor Reinel and other councilors were in the same condition.
Reinel had lost an eye during the interrogation.
Just looking at them now, one could tell how harsh the inquisitors’ interrogations were.
“I’ll ask again.”
Basilius, an inquisitor of the White Church and head of intelligence, spoke.
He wore a clean white robe, but the ends of his sleeves bore dried bloodstains.
“Did the Free City Alliance collude with warlocks to throw the continent into chaos?”
Atilane raised his head with difficulty. His eyes were bloodshot.
“We… are innocent…”
His voice cracked. Dark red blood dripped from his mouth as he spoke.
“We have no collusion with warlocks. We have nothing to do with them.”
The same questions and the same answers every day.
Each time, more brutal torture followed, a vicious cycle.
Time seemed to have stopped in this underground interrogation chamber.
For Atilane, each day was like an eternity.
“Are you still lying?”
A sneer spread across Basilius’s face. He then slowly stood up and walked towards Atilane.
“Your souls are already corrupted.”
His voice was devoid of emotion, dry and cold like an old machine.
It was the voice of someone who had repeated this countless times.
Another inquisitor beside him stepped forward, holding a red-hot iron rod.
Basilius brought it towards Atilane’s chest, the heat around it rippling like a wave.
“Aaaghhh!”
Atilane’s scream echoed off the chamber walls.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
After some time, he collapsed to the floor, convulsing.
“Mayor!”
The councilors cried out, but the inquisitors covered their mouths.
“Silence! Heretics!”
Basilius’s eyes gleamed with madness.
His face was devoid of any emotion.
Only loyalty to the Goddess and hatred for heretics remained.
“Your false claims have already been exposed by various evidence. Traces of dark magic were found in your city, and a priest of the White Church was murdered by your hands!”
Councilor Caleb protested in despair.
“It’s a fabrication! Priest Clayton was murdered by a warlock! We… we are just scapegoats!”
Inquisitor Basilius slowly approached Caleb and grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet his eyes.
“Scapegoats? No. You are sinners who have desecrated the Goddess’s light with their filthy dark magic. And…”
He suddenly struck Caleb hard in the face, drawing blood from his mouth.
“Queen Irena of the Sail Kingdom herself witnessed your sins. Would you dare deny this fact as well?”
Basilius was favorable to Irena. After all, she had successfully resolved this incident and truly became known as the second Saintess.
Of course, there were many in the White Church who had reservations about this, but Basilius decided to focus only on the heretics before him.
“Questioning Her Highness’s judgment is blasphemy!”
He gestured to the surrounding inquisitors.
“Lead them to true confession. Until they confess the truth.”
At his command, the inquisitors began to pull out various torture instruments from the display.
Tongs, whips embedded with spikes, pincers for pulling out fingernails, branding irons for burning flesh, and wooden hammers for breaking joints.
These instruments were already stained with blood and flesh, but to the inquisitors, they were like medals.
Vice Mayor Reinel’s face turned pale at the terrifying sight.
“Please… we are innocent! This is a fabrication!”
Reinel’s voice was close to a sob. He could no longer maintain his dignity, and only the instinct to survive remained.
Basilius ignored his words and stepped back. A terrible smile appeared on his face.
The smile, with only the corners of his lips turned up, was cold and cruel.
“Those who persist in lies will realize the truth through pain. This must be the will of the great Goddess.”
One of the inquisitors stepped forward and began to tear Atilane’s clothes. His body, revealed beneath the already tattered rags, was covered in wounds and burns. Pus flowed from the areas where the flesh had been stripped away.
Another inquisitor bound Reinel with shackles on the wall. As the metal touched his wounded wrists, fresh blood began to flow.
“Goddess, save us…”
Caleb murmured a prayer in despair. But Basilius sneered and whispered in Caleb’s ear.
“The Goddess does not hear the prayers of heretics. Only your screams will echo through these walls.”
Then, the instruments in the inquisitors’ hands descended upon the victims.
The sound of heated irons searing flesh, the cracking of bones, and the tearing of flesh by the whip mingled in the interrogation chamber.
The screams of the leaders and councilors who once led the Free City Alliance filled the chamber. The tears that flowed from their eyes were no longer tears of hope. They were evidence of unending pain and resignation to their impending death.
There were countless fingernail marks on the walls of the underground interrogation chamber, the last resistance of countless souls who had perished here. Atilane and the councilors would soon leave their marks on those walls as well.
* * *
The confusion in the Fire Bird Guild was resolved within a day. The guild took charge of the funeral for the deceased Seo Gyuhye, and no one questioned his death.
‘They really do a clean job.’
Perhaps Yerin Jeong was behind it. In the current situation, highlighting the death of a guild member would only worsen the mood. It would have been much better to emphasize the collection of darkstone and present a vision of how the Fire Bird Guild would grow and soar in the future.
And Yerin Jeong suggested exactly those things, refreshing the guild’s atmosphere.
‘But there’s one thing I don’t understand…’
Why are they offering me a raise? Yerin Jeong specifically came to me and promised to increase my salary.
‘I can’t figure it out.’
The problem is I don’t know the reason. There are no favors in this world without reason. This applies to the relationship between Yerin Jeong and me.
‘Simply because I collected darkstone?’
If so, wouldn’t a bonus be more appropriate than a salary increase? Perhaps they value me more highly. I’m already paid well for the work I do, and now they’re offering a higher salary. What can I do but accept it?
‘I should accept it quickly.’
The more salary, the better. There was so much to do ahead. I had to move, and I had to build the infrastructure for Terrilif Mana Potion production. In the process, I planned to expand Azmo’s store.
‘And above all, cash.’
Finally, having completed the special mission, the causality was lifted, removing the restrictions on cash spending.
– Special Mission ‘Transform the Kingdom into a Great Empire!’ has been successfully completed!
– Reward: The Sail Kingdom is elevated to the Sail Empire. Consequently, the range of monster activities in dungeons expands to the entire Sail Empire. While jewel prices rise, causality is lifted, removing the limit on cash purchases.
‘Finally, the limit on cash purchases is gone!’
How frustrated I had been until now. Now I could spend money as much as I wanted. This meant not only copying monsters and equipment but also formulating numerous plans.
“Let’s check how much jewels cost first.”
This special mission had two rewards. The first was the Sail Kingdom’s elevation to the Sail Empire, which expanded the range of dungeon monsters’ activities. Now, monsters could move not only within the Sail Kingdom but also into territories previously held by the Free City Alliance without separate dispatchments. The second reward was the lifting of causality, which removed the limit on cash purchases, in exchange for higher jewel prices.
‘Well, since I have plenty of money, it doesn’t matter if jewel prices go up.’
I immediately picked up my smartphone and tapped on the shop.
– 100 Jewels: 300,000 won
– 500 Jewels: 1,400,000 won
– 1,000 Jewels: 2,600,000 won
– 2,000 Jewels: 5,000,000 won
– 5,000 Jewels: 10,000,000 won
“……?”
Ten million won? The price for 5,000 jewels, which was 110,000 won, had suddenly jumped to ten million won.
‘Well, I guess it’s fortunate that I have a lot of money.’
It seems I have a reason to work even harder to save money.
* * *
Currently, Celia was the busiest. The Sail Kingdom had transformed into an empire by absorbing the Free City Alliance. The problem that arose from this was that their operational radius had significantly expanded.
This was definitely a good thing. A wider operational range meant they could conquer the El Dorado Continent faster and offer it to Master. However, Celia valued efficiency.
“Hmm, what should I do about this?”
It was certainly a reason to be happy that the Sail Kingdom had grown in size by being elevated to an empire. However, whether the Sail Empire was a powerful nation was another question. The Sail Empire now bordered two other empires.
“The Orbis Empire and the Kalrn Empire.”
The Orbis Empire could be considered a federal state formed by the alliance of six kingdoms. As such, civil wars to seize imperial power were frequent, but if one exploited that point well, it might be easily conquered. Recently, Necros had colluded with the border lords of the Orbis Empire, opening a bridgehead, hadn’t he?
However, the Kalrn Empire was different.
“Is it the nation that can be called the true empire of the continent?”
“Yes, Celia-nim!”
Moru, a merchant belonging to the Underworld Merchant Guild and in charge of the dungeon ‘Evil God’s Nest’ managed by Celia. Celia had called Moru after a long time. The Underworld Merchant Guild was vast, and there were systems that Celia hadn’t grasped, so it was too early to make an enemy of them. Moreover, she had built a good relationship with Moru.
Moru had also benefited greatly from Celia’s generous transactions. It could be said that there was no one in the guild who could ignore Moru now. That wasn’t all. Overcoming the discrimination of being a half-succubus, she had been promoted remarkably and gained significant influence within the guild. Therefore, there was no reason for them to reject each other.
Celia smiled and asked Moru, “Are there any other stories about the Kalrn Empire?”
In response to Celia’s question, Moru pondered for a moment, then opened his mouth wide as if he had just remembered something.
“Ah! Speaking of which, there was also a rumor among some humans!”
Some humans. It meant it wasn’t a widely spread rumor. It was probably a secret known only to a few humans.
“There’s a story that the founder of the Kalrn Empire was a dragon, but I’m not sure, hehe.”
Celia’s eyes sparkled at Moru’s words.
