Chapter 40 The reborn empress

Within the kingdom of Tanhield, it was going through its usually cold weather, preventing them from venturing outside that reached temperatures that could freeze a regular person within seconds of stepping out of their regulated caves.

Yes, they lived in caves to resist the cold winds, but even that had some dire consequences.

Especially when there are monsters that inhabit this mountain that became a kingdom.

Thanks to the constant troubles caused by poisonous caves, monsters that would raid the kingdom weekly, and the bitter cold that could claim the lives of those unprepared, they focused on creating weapons, armor to improve their lives.

But even then, that wasn't enough, but all of that changed when one desperate and crazed scholar asked.

"since weapons and armor are useless, why don't we create our own monsters to do our bidding? to fend off the beast that plagues our kingdom? to leave this cursed place finally?"

The idea was good, but the project itself was taboo.

Messing with the course of nature can bring about more destruction than peace, then as if rejecting the very nature of this project that could change their very lives, all of their tests and creations failed.

The people of these harsh lands just wanted a better life!

Is that too much to ask for?

The people of Tanshield had their own history and secrets, one full of bitterness and suffering, which lead them to live their lives in these caves that had some areas covered in these poisonous green rocks that could kill anyone of any tier if they were dumb enough to stay within the affected area!

But all of that changed when a strange young yet beautiful blonde-haired woman that held knowledge beyond their years had arrived.

Not only did she provide them with better ways to protect themselves, but this woman also created the first weaponized abomination that would never get tired or hungry!

Using flesh and blood of its enemies can recover from any damage it had received.

She then figured out a way to create summoned monsters that anyone could use as long as they had enough Aura to fuel the summon as these creatures will take the appearance of whatever they can imagine as long as they can support it. Anything was possible!

Then the weak, feeble, and crippled 'soldiers' that fought to protect their land were offered a second chance to become true soldiers of this kingdom.

Since they had nothing else to lose, these people readily agreed to become the first people to be reborn as hybrids by taking in the flesh of monsters and grafting it into their bodies!

Sure there were some changes within our outside of their bodies, but to gain the strength to defend themselves and others, this was a small price to pay!

Thanks to the different and mind-blowing gifts and changes, the people of this land begged this foreign woman to be their Empress!

They cared not of her origins nor her intentions.

All that they wanted was a place to live in peace, even if they had to surrender everything to someone that appeared out of nowhere.

But despite their fears, not only did the kingdom improve by leaps and bounds, their new Empress improved the people's livelihood without oppressing any of them.

But there was one more thing about this Empress, if Mikhail met her and read her mind, he wouldn't know what to do due to one important reason, her name is Catherine II, of the Romanov royal family!

While her body had returned to its prime, the cheat that she had gained was knowledge of alchemy, and no, it wasn't like in the FMA series, but the kind that allowed her to create things that were rejected by this world.

While Catherine was alive, there were many things not mentioned in history, wanting true love like any regular girl sought, but circumstances prevented that.

Due to the constant threats and belittling her enemies made her endure, Catherine wanted to conquer their lands to slap them in the face.

But again, circumstances prevented that.

She held too many regrets, too many disappointments towards her country, and most importantly, to herself.

Sure her beloved country had reached an enlightenment stage, but there was so much more that Catherine wanted to be done!

But now, she's in a different world with the ability to create a new and more powerful Motherland, it may not bear the same name, but to her, it will always be her beloved Russia.

She used her ability to create super soldiers and other creatures to help her future endeavors while they were abominations in the eyes of others.

To her, they were the precious army that will help her conquer this new world!

The most recent breakthrough that the empress had made was how to harness the poisonous rocks and weaponize them!

The very weapons that she had made will change war itself, as Catherine had made what any modern man would recognize...

Guns!

With that in mind, imagine equipping her army of abominations with such weapons and sent them to war with poisonous bullets?

If Mikhail knew this, the face he'd be making would be quite a sight to see since the resource he desperately needs was being used as fucking bullets!

But that will be a tale for later, for now, with Catherine's army armed and ready numbering 7000 and growing, with her ambition reignited, she looked to the kingdoms nearby.

One of them happened to be the beast kingdom.

Thanks to the reports of her spies, she learned that it was currently too powerful for her to claim, so in the end, the place she chose was a place that had a race called Antlions.

They were a race of insectoids that had incredible resilience and strength.

But one of the reasons why she has chosen this group to be conquered was due to the leader of the Antlions being a fellow empress!

There can only be one empress, and that will be her alone!

Her loyal troops were armed and ready, becoming a sight to behold.

She smiled proudly at these troops as they were comparable to 5th tier aura users, with the leaders being as strong as a 7th tier.

She lacked resources since most of what she had was invested in these powerful soldiers ready to die for her cause.

But it was worth the investment when she can finally conquer other lands.

However, thanks to her misconception about this world, little did this empress know that her current army was more than powerful enough to handle some of the lesser kingdoms.

It was just that the beast kingdom and a few others only grew so strong was due to outside influences.

Such as the protagonists that were exploring their gifts and doing as they pleased with the people of this world, as well as our dear friend Mikhail that was enjoying a bath and a massage from his two close aides.

Once her first army had left to complete their task, the empress relaxed in her bathtub was bigger than those at bathhouses by more than three times, as one of her spies reported something that intrigued her.

It was about a certain faction that was lead by a person called Yuri.

While upon first hearing it, she was skeptical as in her mother tongue this meant 'the light of god,' yet there was a cult that was worshipping someone with such a name.

With curiosity getting the best of her and possibly meeting someone from her country, she decided on something that would affect her growing kingdom greatly soon.

"Investigate this group, find out everything you can about them, and remember do not treat them with hostility unless they attack first!"

She knew what religion can do and at the same time how much it can help her if she manages to get on their good side...for now.

After her spy left, Catherine smiled evilly, looking forward to what entertainment she'll have soon enough and hoping that whoever this 'Yuri' was, maybe they can have a bargain of some sort or possibly a good time.

Catherine wasn't someone that can stay with one man, especially if they were boring and weak.

While rubbing her hand along her body, a hopeful thought came to mind.

True love...

Will she be able to find such a person in this world?

She then snorted at the brief thought before closing her eyes and let herself float on the water.

Trying to think of ways to improve her kingdom and make it into an empire, originally, the people under Catherine wanted to make her into their leader.

She accepted under the condition that they call her empress!

It was her way of trying to give herself a goal, and the people who called her that would remind her of her main objective to complete so that Catherine may finally live up to such a title.

No one will stop her from completing that goal!

Not even the so-called gods!