Chapter 275 - An Unexpected Helper (4)

Chapter 275 - An Unexpected Helper (4)

“Aah... As expected...!”

Standing before the collapsed palace, Herarion sighed deeply. This was the one and only palace within the capital city of Khan, and it was essentially the symbol of the Shahatra kingdom. Or rather, it used to be, for now it lay in ruins.

Herarion grabbed some of the rubble.

“...”

His meeting with Hedajaon, his grandfather, at the Khan’s Eye, seemed to have healed him in many ways. Thus, even though the sight of the ruined palace didn’t shock him as much as it had before, he still felt a pang in his heart.

“Your Majesty, is there something you’re looking for?” asked Henry.

“Yes, and it’s not just goods that I’m looking for. I need to find and recover the countless bodies buried under the ruins of the palace, but... Even as the emperor of this kingdom, I won’t be able to give them a proper burial, so I can't bring myself to look at them.”

Herarion lost most of what he had when the palace was destroyed. Realizing that he couldn’t even give these poor people a simple burial, he felt utterly sorry and ashamed.

With his head lowered, Herarion stood up and walked closer to the ruined palace, but just then...

“...Your Majesty?” called out an unfamiliar voice.

Henry turned his head and looked in the direction of the voice, and there was an old man with hollowed cheeks, looking at Herarion.

The old man looked bewildered, his eyes rather hazy.

“You’re...”

“Y-Your Majesty? You’re alive?!”

As Henry and Herarion recognized him, the old man burst into tears and fell to his knees in front of Herarion.

“Your Majesty! I’m so glad you’re alive! Truly...!”

The old mad bawled his eyes out. His name was Romwell, and he was the one responsible for supplying the palace with desert salt. Romwell was extremely lucky because he had been out procuring salt when Grumpy had unleashed death upon the palace.

On his way back, Romwell heard an explosion coming from the palace and rushed toward it, but by the time he arrived, the palace lay in ruins.

Herarion helped Romwell get back on his feet.

Romwell was covered in dirt, and his hands were full of wounds, wrapped in tattered bandages meant to stop the bleeding. His hands were injured because he had spent days and nights desperately scouring for Herarion, hoping to at least find his body in case he had died.

Hearing this, Herarion couldn’t resist bursting into tears at Romwell’s admirable heart.

“Thank you! Sniff. Thank you so much...!”

Clasping Romwell’s bloodied hands, Herarion wept like a child, forgetting that he was the emperor. This caused Romwell to burst into tears again.

Henry watched the two from a distance.

‘This reminds me of when Golden died.’

When Golden Jackson Edward I, the first emperor of the Eurasian Empire, died, the whole continent wept. But when Edward II died, no one shed a single tear because he had a completely different reputation than his father.

In that sense, Herarion was a successful emperor, given that even a mere saltman wept for him.

After crying for a while, Romwell finally composed himself and said, “Your Majesty, I have something to show you.”

Romwell took the two of them to a bunch of makeshift graves. Since the palace had fallen, Romwell had given each person he found a small burial.

“This is...”

“Your Majesty, this is where the queen and your mother are buried.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I know I have no right to ask you this, but could you help me one more time?”

“Of course. And don’t forget we’re on the same boat, so don’t say that you have no right to ask me for help.”

Henry was aware that he was the only person Herarion could rely on at the moment, which was why he instantly agreed to help him.

“Then... We first need Viram.”

There were many objectives on Henry’s to-do-list, but before getting to that, he decided to save Shahatra because it still had some hope left. Only then would Herarion be able to fully focus on his revenge.

*

Crunch- Crunch-

The sound of meat and bones being chewed filled the air.

The powers of the demonic beasts that had descended from the Shahatra Mountains evolved as they expanded their territory.

This was a normal physiological phenomenon for demonic beasts. Beings with mana were more nutritious than any other prey, so feeding on them accelerated the evolution process of demonic beasts.

Consequently, the weakest demonic beasts in the mountains were now the most powerful predators, consuming all life in the surrounding areas.

However, this all came to an end in Charlotte Heights. The demonic beasts had expanded their territory until they reached Charlotte Heights, where they had been slaughtered and devoured by the one predator that ruled that place.

- KHRAAA!

The predator of Charlotte Heights roared ferociously. No one knew what kind of monster ruled this area, or rather, no one even knew that there was a monster here in the first place. No one had survived the encounter with this beast, so they could tell the others about it.

This monster had been reborn from the dead Chimeras. It had evolved thanks to the survival instincts, hunger, and overall genes it had inherited from those Chimeras.

The monster was constantly feeding. It killed everything on sight and ate everything it could take up in its mouth and chew. Its hunger was so strong and limitless that it would keep eating until it threw up.

The monster would unleash unimaginable powers in order to hunt as much prey as possible and satisfy its tremendous hunter.

With those powers, the monster had eviscerated the demonic beasts of the mountains.

Crunch crunch.

- Krrrr.

The monster was eating the carcasses of the Armor Worms it had just defeated. It also consumed the unique hard shells of these creatures in order to undergo transformation once again.

- Krr!

The monster stood up after finishing its meal. It had also finished evolving, and now it was hungry again because evolving and eating at the same time had consumed an enormous amount of energy.

Sniff sniff.

The monstrosity looked up and started sniffing around like a dog. Its sense of smell was already far superior to that of an animal.

It picked up the scent of a nearby creature.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Having evolved a bunch of times, the monster was now almost four meters tall. But regardless of its size, it charged in the direction of the creature, stomping the ground with heavy thuds, hoping it could satisfy its hunger once again.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

This creature was a new kind of Chimera, born from its dead relatives. It also exuded a faint divine energy.

This could be the worst monster to ever walk on this continent, and it was quietly feeding and evolving unbeknownst to Henry and Arthus.