Meeting The Emperor

Freya stared at the man with bloodshot eyes. She has been tortured for the past few days and she hasn't gotten any leisure time to rest and recuperate herself.

"Your face makes me sick." Freya said with a disgusted tone.

"Ehehe~, what's with that tone? You should be thankful to me, you know." The man pulled his hand away and grabbed the food he brought to the table.

He scooped a spoonful and held it in front of her face. The man hurriedly said, "Come on. It's time to eat."

Freya puckered her lips, trying not to receive the food. She whimpered, rapidly shook her head, and intensely whipped her head away.

Even though she's already been starving for a few days, she has no plans of accepting food from these guys.

But as she is Awakened, her resilience and toughness are superior to normal people. Even if she didn't eat, she wouldn't die that easily.

'I need to escape here.'

Her mana was blocked by an unknown seal that even she couldn't break. Having tried many times, it all failed. In the end, she has no choice but to stay here all by herself and suffer from those bastards' painful torture.

"Eh? Aren't you being too bratty, Freya?" The man frowned. His eyes sharpened and his playful voice turned cold. He continued, "Are you still thinking of ways to escape here?"

Freya didn't have a change of face but the man could seemingly see through her concealed thoughts.

"I see." The man put down the plate on the table and grabbed one of the tubes they use for extreme torture.

Grab—

The mana tube. It sucks mana out of the body permanently. Its appearance looks like a water hose connected to a mechanical machine that stores mana and it functions like a vacuum.

The man went behind Freya and connected the hose to an apparatus that seals Freya's mana.

Kacha—

After connecting the lines and powering it with mana, a strong suction slowly swallowed Freya's mana.

Shrum—

"Arggghhh!!!"

Feeling her strength being forcefully stripped away, Freya screamed in pain.

Her loud voice bounced on the wall and echoed around the dark room. Even then, no one seemed to hear her voice other than the man grinning behind her.

Shrumm—

After a mere 30 seconds, the machine turned off as the mana storage was already full.

As the tube slowly disconnected to her core, Freya powerlessly fell. However, due to her hand being shackled, her body could only stand still.

'I can't—...'

Her eyes fluttered before finally shutting off. The exhaustion took away some of her stamina while this time, it ransacked all of her remaining energy which was the only thing supporting her to be awake.

'Help—'

The last thing she saw was the man staring at her with curious eyes before her consciousness finally faded.

..........

Meeting the Emperor himself is hard. Unless he did horrible crimes or accomplished a difficult task, the Emperor wouldn't even entertain it.

According to some rumors, the Harisan Empire's Emperor has a cold-blooded personality.

He'd kill without remorse.

He'd rob without hesitation.

For him, all lives should be only held by the one who rules.

That's why although the Harisan Empire is big, no one really dared to do something which could anger the Emperor. Such things could bear extremely dangerous repercussions.

As soon as they reached the huge bronze door, the royal knights turned toward Hans and warned him of some inappropriate behaviors.

Hans smiled and nodded in understanding.

Squeak—

As the knight pushed the large door forward, a squeaking sound entered his ears. Hans' vision caught countless eyes shifting in his direction.

In the dark corners of the room, hidden assassins were prepared to strike him down in case he did any suspicious actions.

'It's not like I could hurt their Emperor.'

Hans raised his head and stared at the old man sitting on a large gray throne. Based on his estimate, the Emperor should be somewhere in his 50s or 60s.

Of course, this might not be true. This old man could be much older considering how his face was still smooth as young ones.

'So this is the Emperor?' Hans thought as he began walking on the long carpet stretching from the door all the way to the throne.

The Emperor has long gray hair and pitch-black pupils. In his hand, he held a long wooden cane that was embedded in the ground.

However, Hans knew it was a sword.

Hans glanced at the knights standing motionless on the sides. Although they seemed unbothered by his arrival, their hands were a little tense. Meaning, they are ready to unsheathe their weapons anytime.

Just behind the Emperor's throne, chairs seated by the head of the Royal Houses laid.

They stared at Hans with an unpleasant gaze as if they couldn't believe that the culprit of the Baru Empire's downfall was only a young man in his 20s.

At that moment.

Kneel—

The two royal knights escorting Hans fell on one knee and their heads lowered. Meanwhile, Hans stood still with no signs of bowing whatsoever.

"You! How dare you disrespect the Emperor!?" One of the royal house heads shouted. He is bald.

He stood up from his seat, looked at the knights, and pointed at Hans, "This is treason! Capture him and feed him to those men eating dogs!"

The knight was about to move but was met with the cold gaze of the Emperor. Without even realizing it, his head shrunk in fear.

"Your majesty, this is beyond doubt disrespectful to you." The bald man approached the Emperor and bowed his head lightly, "Please let me, the head of the Hearthe Family, execute this skull head and feed his body to monsters without remorse."

The bald man glared at Hans with hostility. If eyes could kill, he already killed Hans thousands of times. After hearing that someone destroyed the Baru Empire alone, at first he was overjoyed.

That land was rich in oil and he thought they could monopolize it and control the trading market with it. The oil is not just an ordinary oil but an oil rich with mana.

It has many uses like ingredients for alchemy or even for rune making. There are even instances where it was used for medication.

But the most important thing is that it could also function as an alternative food.

However, it all goes down a drain when it's reported that all land was burned to a crisp. No matter where one looked, all he would see were the embers of the previous prestigious Baru Empire.

This is the reason why he has a grudge against Hans. They could have gained an advantage in the upcoming war but this young man sabotaged it.

Emperor Alexander maintained a neutral expression. In his eyes, Hans' action was indeed disrespectful. Although Hans might not be an aboriginal of this Empire, since he's here, he should respect the tradition of this place.

But…

'I sense a familiarity with him.'

It wasn't the familiarity like the one in which he accidentally saw him somewhere. Rather, it's a familiarity with blood. It's as if they shared the same blood.

At that moment, a perplexed expression formed on his face.

'Did I have a child somewhere?' Emperor Alexander thought.

It might be possible as he has more than one wife and also countless one night stands in his younger self.

However, looking at the young man's half-covered face, their face doesn't really match.

'If that's the case…'

There's only one reason why the moment he saw him, Emperor Alexander felt a sensation that transcends even blood.

'Did he perhaps… meet our ancestors?'

Meanwhile, the bald man peeked at the Emperor's dazed expression and couldn't help but frowned. In his opinion, the Emperor is deliberately humiliating him but making him stand there like a fool.

The other head of the royal houses even scoffed at him. If not for this room being a sacred and strict place, they might have exploded in laughter right now.

'Damn it, it's because of that guy!'

The bald man glared at Hans who was currently also looking at him with a gaze full of curiosity. He tried to intimidate him earlier by making threats like execution but none of it seemed to work.

If Hans ever survived here, he would finish the job himself. In his head, maybe Hans took the Baru Empire's treasures somewhere and he's hoping to get them through dirty means.

'I'll make you beg in front of me, remember that.'

......…..

Emperor Alexander clicked his tongue and took a deep sigh. After sorting his thoughts, he glanced at Hans before shifting his gaze towards the bald man near him.

"You're still the same as always, Ely. However, this young man had done nothing wrong so there's no reason for such unkind punishment." Alexander said in a calm voice.

"But your majesty, this young man not only ignored your position but al—" The bald man, Ely, reasoned but was quickly interrupted.

"I don't care if he didn't pay a proper greeting or not. Unless his actions affect the overall condition of the Empire, there's nothing to talk about." Alexander looked at Hans and continued, "What's more, he's just standing there. No hint of killing intent or any inappropriate behavior. For me, that's enough."

"Y-yes, your majesty. Your subordinates understand." Ely bowed his head and slowly retreated to his seat but not before giving Hans a murderous glare.

'Enjoy your life, boy.'

In the meantime, Hans maintained his calm demeanor and did not succumb to any provocation the bald man did.

Even though he wasn't certain about it, destroying the Baru Empire might be the reason why he's mad.

[Didn't we read a book saying the Baru Empire has the largest mana oil reserves in the Central Land?]

'Yeah, I suppose that's the reason.'

If not, maybe it's the treasures of the Empire instead.

However, in the heat of the battle, Hans has already forgotten to find treasures and there's also a thought that they might have been scorched by the flames.

"Young man, are you the one who destroyed the Baru Empire?" The Emperor's deep and hoarse voice echoed throughout the throne hall.

Everyone's eyes immediately darted at Hans, waiting for his confirmation.

Hans smiled, slightly bowed his head, and answered, "Yes, your majesty. I am the one who accepted the mission."

"Your words are really convincing. However, I am still in doubt."

"What do you mean, your majesty?" Hans asked.

"Don't play dumb with me, young man. If you have proof, show it to everyone here and I'll immediately grant you the reward you deserve." Emperor Alexander responded.

Hans nodded and quickly pulled the crown of the Baru Empire's Emperor. Due to its uniqueness and also familiarity in Emperor Alexander's eyes, he already determined that it was the real deal.

'Although I already anticipated it, I'm still surprised.'

In his 20s, Alexander was only as strong as a 2nd Class Knight despite being at the top of his class.

But this young man, in his 20s, could already destroy a 2nd Class Empire. This should be as strong as Harisan Empire's Elite Knights Commander.

'Sigh—'

Comparing Hans with Alexander is like comparing heaven and earth.

In the end, no matter how tall the mountain is, there's always a taller mountain out there that hasn't been discovered yet.

'I have never been amazed in my life. Truly an interesting young man, indeed.'

"Is this enough proof, your majesty?" Hans asked.

"Indeed, that's enough. And for that, I'll grant you your rewards."

At that moment, the Emperor waved his hand and two knights brought three items in front of Hans.

It was a sword, a skill book, and a ring.

"For your first reward, you can pick one of these three."

Hans inspected the three items using his [Primeval Eyes] that could now somewhat calculate which is more useful than these three.

'The ring?'

According to his eyes, the ring would be useful to him. Although he didn't know why but since that's the case, then the ring it is.

However, the moment Hans grabbed the ring, Plundy's voice echoed in his head.

[Wouldn't the sword be more useful? You use a dual sword technique after all.]

Hans stopped.

'That's right.'

Swords of such quality are hard to find. Buying it was no good either since, for sure, the seller won't even sell such a priceless thing. Even if they sell it, it could probably fetch up to 100 Emeralds or more which he only has one right now.

Hans quickly moved his hand from the ring to the sword. This action caused quite a commotion in the room.

"He really picked that cursed sword? What an unlucky young lad."

"Why did he change his mind?"

"Well, the skill book is good too. Tsk. Tsk."

Hans ignored them.

Why would he listen to their bullshits?

He needed another sword and this one was the perfect timing to get one. He strapped it on his hips and smiled.

'Hopefully, it has a nice grip.'

After Hans picked his reward, the Emperor nodded in satisfaction. He has a plan to rope Hans into the Empire so no one should mess with it.

"For your second reward, I now grant you the title of Duk—"

At that moment.

"Please excuse my intrusion, your majesty but I cannot accept this." Ely, the bald man, stood up from his seat and said.

Emperor Alexander frowned but quickly understood that there must be a reason as to why Ely interrupted.

"Go on, Ely."

"We cannot prove if this young man is truly the truth. What if he just picked that crown somewhere in there?"

"You have a point but we also cannot prove that he just picked it." Alexander reasoned.

"No, your majesty. We can." Ely secretly smiled as he spoke.

"Go on."

Ely descended the stairs and stopped a few feet away from Hans. His eyes narrowed sharply before he pulled his sword and pointed it at Hans.

"Only strength could convince us if you're telling the truth or not."

"So?" Hans tilted his head.

"I, Ely Von Hearthe, challenge you to a duel."