Chapter 504: Chapter 238: The Last Emperor

Bronze Pass.

The whole of Bronze Pass was shrouded in an atmosphere of sorrow. The proud spirit of the Empire at the start of the expedition was long gone. Now, at Bronze Pass, aside from the truly loyal, anyone who could flee had already fled.

At first, everyone had hesitated, wary of Beast Emperor Kemal’s authority. But then, for some unknown reason, the Beast Emperor stopped appearing at Bronze Pass.

His Majesty Kemal used to love strolling along the city walls, but now, he hadn’t done so in a very long time.

Gradually, some began to hear the sound of the Beast Emperor groaning on his sickbed.

It was hard to imagine that a giant of a man, two and a half meters tall, the man who once shouldered the entire Beastman Empire, could also be groaning in pain on his bed.

Some tribes could hold on no longer and began to withdraw their armies. Everyone expected them to be punished by the Emperor, but unexpectedly, there was no punishment at all.

That tribe withdrew safely.

At first, people thought the Emperor had grown weak. They cried that the Beastman Empire was doomed. Many tribes began to retreat one after another. Many loyalists from the Royalist Faction hoped to see the Beast Emperor, to urge him not to give up, to reawaken the ambition in the old Emperor’s heart.

Only Chris, the old Emperor’s close attendant, knew. The old Emperor’s ambition needed no reawakening.

The Warriors at Bronze Pass continued to defend the Empire’s final chokepoint. For the tribes that retreated, the Emperor even arranged for observers. If any conflict broke out between the tribes, the observers would step forward and order them to stop in Kemal’s personal name.

Most tribes would usually stop at this point.

August second. The grasslands were in turmoil.

Kemal made a rare reappearance on the city wall. The Warriors defending the wall were instantly filled with courage, roaring as they once again crushed the Human Race’s army.

However, when Kemal joined the battle, everyone could see the Emperor was in poor health. He didn’t even stay on the wall for long.

After seeing the Human army’s attack repelled once more, Kemal withdrew from the wall.

Kemal descended the city wall and returned to his camp.

Though many tribes had fled, there were still quite a few true loyalists willing to remain by Kemal’s side.

As a result, the area around Emperor Kemal’s great tent was still quite lively.

Hearing that the Emperor had reappeared, a crowd of ministers now flocked to the great tent, wanting to persuade the Emperor.

At their head was none other than the king of the Half-Dragon Race, Roland.

Seeing the crowd gathered by the great tent, Kemal was, for a moment, in a daze.

The year he broke through Barishik, it had also been a rainy day, he recalled. But it was night, and the Emperor had returned from a great victory. His subordinates had all arrived even before he did.

After the siege of Barishik ended, the Warriors in the army even danced around the bonfires.

Times had changed.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, what’s been wrong with you lately?"

"The Empire has not lost yet! You must take care of your health."

...

The crowd of ministers pleaded one after another.

Kemal knew that those who remained here at a time like this were surely speaking from the bottom of their hearts.

But he was in no mood to listen now.

"Roland, stay. The rest of you, go back and prepare," Kemal said.

"Pack up. We’re preparing to retreat."

...

King Roland followed Emperor Kemal into the great tent.

The Emperor entered the tent and immediately went to sit on the edge of his bed, his face pale as death.

"Your Majesty," King Roland said, bowing.

Kemal nodded.

"You want to ask what we should do next, don’t you?" Kemal asked.

Roland remained silent. Kemal could read his thoughts as if they were his own.

They had been friends since childhood and had become brothers who would live and die for each other as adults. Besides Monroe, Roland was the only one who could call himself a king before the Emperor.

"Show him the letter," Kemal said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Chris replied, then picked an envelope from the many documents on the table and handed it to Roland.

Roland took the letter and opened it, glancing at the contents.

It was a reply from the Tiger Race. The gist of it was that the Tiger Race Royal Court was impregnable and that the front line must not, under any circumstances, retreat.

"They failed. They couldn’t hold it," Kemal said.

"In just one day, the Tiger Race was wiped out."

"What! Your Majesty, then when are we retreating!" Upon hearing this, Chris’s face turned deathly pale.

’Once the Tiger Race Royal Court falls, the logistics for all of Bronze Pass will be affected. We’ll be attacked from both front and rear, with no hope of victory.’

"You all should retreat. I can’t."

Roland wanted to ask why, but Chris handed dozens more letters to King Roland.

They were all basically saying the same thing: Bronze Pass had to hold, blah blah blah.

Although Roland’s political talents couldn’t compare to his military prowess, it didn’t mean he lacked a political mind.

Looking at the signatures on these letters, Roland knew this wasn’t just a few dozen letters; this represented the will of most of the powerful factions in the Empire.

No one wanted Kemal to retreat.

Roland wanted to persuade him further, but Kemal spoke again.

"Don’t try to persuade me. And I don’t need you to cover my retreat."

"Roland, I have too many wounds. I’m old. Even if I go back now, what can I do? A Warrior should die on the battlefield."

"My sons are all decent. My third son has a mischievous and unruly character; he is not fit to be Emperor. Except for him, no matter who becomes Emperor, I want you to help me by assisting him well," Kemal said.

"Your Majesty!"

Shock filled King Roland’s eyes.

The Emperor didn’t explain.

He was dying. Truly dying. A powerhouse of the Legendary-rank still had a keen sense of their own life and death.

Even if he fled back to Madar Palace now, he would only end up on his deathbed, watching his sons kill each other and listening to bad news from afar, just like his father did.

Kemal was quite fond of all his sons. He didn’t want to see such a scene.

Of course, another factor was that the humans had broken through the Tiger Race Royal Court.

’That human general fighting on the eastern front... Robson, was it? Only twenty years old, I think.’ Kemal mused.

Kemal was deeply envious of Louis III. He had no idea what kind of good fortune Louis III had stumbled upon. His court was full of righteous and capable officials, and now a new generation had produced such a ferocious general.

As expected, this Robson was another mighty general who could guarantee the Frank Kingdom a thirty-year advantage.

And who did he, Kemal, have under him? The Gray Dwarven King, Monroe, was still busy rebelling.

A cold glint appeared in Kemal’s eyes at the thought of Monroe.

He had taken the lead on this expedition for two reasons: to use his own inevitable death to secure a better start for his children, and also for the Gray Dwarves.

The Gray Dwarves were a thorn in Kemal’s heart. He knew he probably couldn’t pull it out completely, but pulling it out just a little bit was still possible.

Roland seemed to have something to say, but after a long hesitation, he ultimately left.

Kemal looked around his great tent, his gaze hazy.

The great tent was specially made. A map was painted on it—a panoramic view of the Beastman Empire. The *true* Beastman Empire.

It included the Frankish Great Plains, the Beastman Grassland, a piece of the Northern Wasteland, the western Demon Beast Mountain Range, and some overseas islands—all of which were now in the hands of the Haven Kingdom.

"Chris."

"Your Majesty."

"Tell me, if my eldest brother had taken my place, would he have been better than me?"

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