The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 296

―The Holy Empire of Arcadia. From this moment on, our empire shall be known as the land blessed by the gods!

With those words, Empress Laila of the Arcadian Empire broke her three-year-long diplomatic silence and sent shockwaves across the entire continent.

It was inevitable. Through the mythological era and the age of the dragons, the existence of gods had long since faded into mere fantasy, a concept left unproven and dismissed as legend. In fact, it was the empire itself that had rewritten history to erase all traces of the gods. So, for those who understood the truth behind this, the empress’s proclamation was nothing short of absurd.

As soon as the declaration spread, the majority of people scoffed. They wondered if Arcadia had finally gone mad. Some, however, saw this as an opportunity—an opening to fulfill their own ambitions. Their eyes gleamed with dangerous intent.

Even the devout, those who had maintained their faith for over a thousand years despite receiving no response to their prayers, were so shaken that they sent letters of protest, prepared to sacrifice everything for their cause.

In the past, such defiance would have been met with swift and merciless retaliation. The White Dragon knights would have been dispatched immediately, wiping out every last member of the opposing faction and erasing all records of their existence.

But this time, things were different.

―You are all boundlessly ignorant. But I do not blame you. After all, it was the empire itself that blinded your eyes and covered your ears, keeping you in ignorance. However, the time has come for you to learn the truth.

Laila declared, unfazed by the outcry from beyond her borders. Without hesitation, she revealed every secret the empire had carefully concealed.

The mythological era, which had ended with the God-Slaying War.

The age of the dragons, where the dragons, created as the world’s guardians, took advantage of the gods’ absence and exploited humanity.

And finally, the modern era, where the Founding Emperor and the Three Noble Houses rose up, exterminated the dragons, and spent the next thousand years safeguarding the world and its people.

“What... What utter nonsense!”

“That’s right! You expect us to believe your lies?!”

“Arcadia, distorting history with baseless lies?! We’ve finally lost all respect for you!”

Naturally, accepting the weight of such a revelation was not easy. Even if they did believe it, acknowledging the truth would mean accepting an undeniable reality—one where every nation on the continent owed an immeasurable debt to the Arcadian Empire.

Laila, however, had no interest in convincing them.

―Starting tomorrow, the Arcadian Empire will hold a three-month-long festival celebrating the victory of humanity’s forces. This is not the empire’s victory alone, but humanity’s triumph as a whole. Thus, we will open our gates to foreign envoys and travelers without restriction. If you wish to know the truth, come and see for yourselves.

It didn’t matter what they said or how they reacted. She paid no mind to the rumors, the insults, and the desperate attempts to discredit her claims.

They were free to visit as guests, or not come at all. The empire had no more external enemies left to fight. There was no longer any need to concentrate its power inward. Though the final battle had claimed many lives, even a mere tenth of the remaining forces was more than enough to conquer the world.

If they thought she was bluffing, they could see for themselves. If they believed it was an empty boast, they could hear it firsthand. They would learn soon enough. They had been safe inside their comfortable cages for far too long, but now, the world outside was waiting for them.

“Even if it’s the empire... th-this is beyond unacceptable!”

“The empire... is acting strangely. Usually, they would simply issue an order without any explanation. But this time, they are laying everything out for us, letting us make our own judgment. This isn’t like them at all.”

The rulers of each nation gathered, deliberating endlessly. Yet no matter how they strategized and how many countermeasures they proposed, there was no clear solution.

Before an overwhelmingly superior force, the weak had only two options: passive defiance or absolute submission. Even if the empress were to appear after a thousand years, having lost all reason and proclaiming herself a god, the empire’s power would still be more than enough to stand against the entire continent without breaking a sweat.

It didn’t matter whether they recognized Arcadia as a Holy Empire or not.

Refusing the emperor’s invitation was not an option.

“Fine! Let’s go! We’ll listen to their ridiculous claims and laugh at them over drinks on the way home!”

One voice led to another, and soon, the rulers were on their feet.

“Exactly! Let them show off their might all they want. There’s no way brute strength alone can crush our intelligence!”

“In fact, why not send as many people as possible? Let the whole world see how foolish Arcadia has become. It’ll drain their finances and provide perfect cover for our spies.”

“A brilliant strategy! Let’s do it!”

So they conspired among themselves, clinging to their arrogance, desperately trying to silence the unease creeping into their hearts.

But just as a mere hand could not cover the vastness of the sky, no amount of denial could change reality. Those who refused to see the truth would never find the light.

* * *

Sometime after Laila’s declaration, the delegation from sixteen nations across the central and southern continents arrived, and their numbers were massive.

Among them were dozens of high-ranking nobles, men of great power and influence. To prove Arcadia’s claims false, they had even brought their most powerful warriors—Masters in their own right, though few in number.

Altogether, their party numbered in the thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands. And so, they arrived at the capital of Arcadia, Eterna.

Eterna was the grandest and most advanced city in the world. What they saw there left them utterly speechless. As the rumors often said, the gap in standards between the Empire and the outside world wasn’t just a matter of decades. It felt certain that the difference spanned a century, perhaps even more.

“The empire... What an insurmountable wall!”

“This is a gap we can’t possibly close, no matter how hard we try...! Unless they collapse from within, there’s no way an external force could bring the Empire down.”

“Even if internal strife broke them apart into three separate kingdoms, each kingdom would still be stronger than all of us combined. The empire’s shadow will loom over us forever."

Though these men were ministers of nations far weaker than Arcadia, they weren’t fools. They were talented, proven individuals who had climbed to the top through skill and competence. Simply observing the bustling scenery of Eterna was enough for them to grasp the city’s level of economic and technological advancement. It was clear that an overwhelming, unbridgeable gap separated their homelands from Arcadia. No effort from their nations would ever close it.

Arcadia wasn’t merely a vast empire. In order to sustain multiple frontiers against the otherworldly species that surpassed humans, Arcadia had perfected the efficient deployment of all its resources. Its industrial base and economic structure were optimized to their limits, and even setting aside the magic formations and technologies developed solely for warfare, the sheer progress they had achieved in statecraft alone was astonishing.

“Wh-what in the world is that...?!”

Despite everything, what shocked the delegation the most wasn’t the economy or the infrastructure. It was something else entirely—the procession that paraded through Eterna’s streets once a day, celebrating Arcadia’s victories.

The moment the delegation laid eyes on them, they understood. Even the weakest-looking member of Arcadia’s forces could easily crush them. The difference was clear: Arcadia’s conscripted forces and its non-conscripted citizens were leagues apart. After three years of grueling, hellish training followed by a final decisive war, those soldiers had grown monstrously strong.

And worse still...

“Did I hear that right? They have actual Demigod Tier beings among them? Not just one or two, but five or six? And three Grand Magi at Class 9?!”

It was absurd enough that Transcendence Tier beings and Class 7 Archmages stood among regular infantry. But witnessing commanders who had ascended to the Demigod Tier shattered whatever pride the delegations had left. Their coalition of sixteen nations barely managed to gather ten Master rank fighters in total, yet Arcadia had thousands. And ten of them were Demigod Tier beings. Hoping for victory against them was nothing short of wishful thinking bordering on sheer audacity.

There was no war to speak of between Arcadia and their countries. It wasn’t even a contest.

“...If even one of their knightly orders marched south, we’d be wiped out in a day. Like bandits being swept away,” quietly muttered one of the Swordmasters, his gaze hollow as if he’d seen a ghost.

No one argued. They all let out long, heavy sighs. Before they had come to Arcadia, their pride was sharp enough to pierce the heavens. But now, after just one day, both pride and self-confidence lay in ruins. Those with weaker ties to loyalty or patriotism began harboring other thoughts.

Wait. What if those idiot kings or nobles actually declare war? Would that mean I have to fight those monsters?

They say it’s better to be the head of a drake than the tail of a dragon... but wouldn’t I get better treatment defecting to the empire than rotting as a lowly noble in my kingdom?

I’ve been wasting away with no worthy opponents, no one left to learn from... Maybe this is my chance.

There’s no point pledging loyalty to a sinking ship.

The ruling elites of their countries had no idea they had inadvertently encouraged their own talents to defect. Even sharp-minded nobles secretly inquired about ways to join Arcadia. Expanding the delegation had, ironically, turned into a fatal mistake.

By the time the multinational delegation had watched the victory parades several times without even daring to request an audience with the empress, something unexpected occurred.

A group suddenly blocked the progression’s path.

“O’ non-believers! Come, sever our heads if you dare!”

“The usurpers who claim to be a god will face divine judgment!”

“You think your prosperity will last forever? The true gods above are looking down and scoffing at your arrogance!”

They were remnants of a once-powerful cult, worshippers of forgotten gods from an older age. Unlike those who worshipped gods from the outer dimensions, they clung to ancient deities and were on Arcadia’s extermination list for potentially becoming tools of the Void Deities.

What they said wasn’t a figure of speech. They were truly offering their lives as a form of protest. Coincidentally, the one leading the procession that day was Demian, one of Arcadia’s Demigod Tier commanders. He recognized them immediately and let out a mocking chuckle.

“To deny a new god and seek salvation in the fallen gods. There are no fools greater than you.”

“Blasphemy! Gods cannot die; they are immortal by their very nature! Your words are lies, through and through!”

“Well, I figured you’d say that. If you were capable of reason, we wouldn’t need to kill you on sight. Fanatics, no matter who they worship, are always idiots,” Demian said with open contempt, raising his gaze skyward.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, as if speaking to someone far above.

“So? These fools question your existence. How do you intend to respond?”

—Blasphemers.

The midday sun suddenly shifted from gold to shimmering iridescence, casting rainbow light across the city. No, it wasn’t the sun. At the center of the blinding radiance, a pupil appeared, adjusting its gaze downward.

“O’ Holy God...”

This wasn’t magic or an aura technique. The very sun itself had become an eye, peering down upon the earth. It was nothing short of a divine authority.

The fanatics collapsed to the ground, weeping blood from their eyes, smashing their foreheads into the cobblestones until their brows split, chanting desperate prayers of repentance.

“Have mercy! Look upon us! Please punish the folly of lowly beings without hesitation!”

“Strike us down with thunderbolts! Burn us with the flames of purgatory! Punish us for forgetting our devotion!”

“Oh, dear God! Dear God! O’ Holy God!”

Even those unfamiliar with the situation felt a chill watching the sheer fanaticism of their pleas.

It was then Leonard’s voice rang out in response—cold, detached, devoid of even the faintest trace of compassion.

—Prove your worth. Only those who validate their faith with their entire lives may seek my forgiveness.

The fanatics trembled with joy at that crumb of mercy, smashing their heads against the ground harder. If Leonard had told them to die, they would have ripped out their hearts and laid them on an altar without hesitation.

Quickly, the soldiers escorted the fanatics away from the square, just as swiftly as they had appeared. Leonard watched them leave, his sharp gaze cooling once more as he observed the capital.

Faith from mortals means nothing to me. They’re disposable, but letting them scatter like rats would be more trouble. It’s better to gather them in plain sight, where they can be monitored and controlled.

These were people incapable of sustaining themselves without clinging to something. As long as Leonard allowed them to depend on him, they would accept any hardship and command with blind devotion. If left unchecked, they would only become nuisances. But in this way, they could be put to use.

Ironically, this public display of authority cemented the identity of Arcadia as the Holy Empire in the minds of the world. The sun in broad daylight had transformed into a divine eye, witnessed by too many to be dismissed.

“Arcadia is now a Holy Empire! The great Leonard is a god! Our Empress is invincible!”

“Shouldn’t we hurry up and build a grand temple? He refused? Then at least statues—let’s erect some statues!?”

“I hear Hades, who rules the Underworld, is also present alongside him!”

Even before the three-month-long victory parades concluded, the global perception of Arcadia shifted irrevocably.

The Holy Empire, the one true paradise, blessed by a living god.

Who wouldn’t want to live there? Immigrants flooded in, a never-ending stream stretching from one horizon to the next.

The nations losing their people could do nothing but stomp their feet. They didn’t dare suppress or detain anyone. After all, who knew what divine punishment might await them if they dared interfere?

Receiving reports of all this, Laila let out a hollow laugh. “To think we would unite the world without even lifting a sword.”

And thus, the most peaceful world conquest in history had begun.