“You might be the only one who complains about becoming an emperor.”
“UGH, I just wish for a quiet, easy life.”
“Isn’t that what you just got?”
Jinpok teased Joonbum who was still ranting. It was after he returned from hunting the Horuns that he heard about his coronation as emperor. It was all done without him being present.
‘Mother and Father… and all my wives and advisors agreed to it…’
Other than a few old Khalodian advisors, most agreed to Joonbum becoming an emperor. Those who objected had already been sent to countryside for retirement by Jackson. It was also announced that King Brant Khalodian would retain his position as king and rule over his part of the land. It was a decision made due to the other countries and their kings.
The world didn’t want to follow all the changes that the Khalodians proposed. The change brought about by Khalodian made them strong, but in turn, the other countries feared a take-over by the powerful Empire. By announcing that Brant would remain as king, it relieved the other neighboring countries who feared losing their throne.
Khalodian was still growing, and as the common people were now enjoying their freedom from oppression and hunger, the word spread quickly; eventually, more people from all parts of the land migrated over. Khalodian accepted all people who came. Before, they had nowhere to go even if they hated their homeland. The forests were filled with monsters that repelled the presence of humans.
‘If I wasn’t prepared… and I hadn’t met them…’
Joonbum remembered his days in the forest when he was traveling back and forth from Earth. He turned to Mayze, the love of his life. Meeting with the Ainos had been a true blessing for Joonbum.
‘If I hadn’t met them…’
Joonbum probably would have stayed on Earth.
-WE ARE HAVING A CELEBRATION! For an entire week, all restaurants and saloons will provide free food to everyone! We are celebrating the birth of the Empire!
It was the start of the Khalodian Empire.
*
A lavishly-clothed old man who came through a long corridor stopped at the front of the gate and shouted, “Open the door!”
The guards bowed and shouted toward the other side of the gate, “Duke Tanionne has arrived!”
The gate was opened, and the new king of Dentrion, King Hesenia, rose up with a smile.
“Your Highness, it has been a while.”
“Oh! Grandfather! Welcome. I recieved good tea leaves from the Talemban region as a present a while ago. HEY! Bring that in!”
The twelve-year-old boy-king was delighted to see his grandfather.
‘I guess he has gotten used to being a king now… To think that he hated it so much.’
The duke smiled while remembering the past.
‘It’s not a position you can just refuse. And now it is not even the best time to become one… are we going to be able to fend off the Khalodians?’
The duke looked at his grandson sadly; the world was changing.
‘It’s all because of him.’
It was all because of Joonbum Christos Khalodian, the emperor of the Khalodian Empire. He was the savior of the people, the one who saved them from disasters and hunger. He also led and won a war that was impossible to win.
‘He is the embodiment of the God of War.’
All armies who had opposed him were destroyed. He had never lost a battle. What was more surprising was that all the wars he won had the least casualties. Only the nobles and knights died in those wars.
Wars were mostly caused by nobles or knights who wanted to profit from the situation. However, when it resulted in them losing their lives, they began to avoid war as much as possible.
‘He is changing the world.. and to think he even destroyed the Horuns.’
Horun was a religious group that was untouchable. They put up stiff resistance, but it was futile. Even now, the remnants of the Horuns were still opposing the Khalodian Empire at every chance they could get.