Mythology: Ragnarok

Chapter 131 The Emperor's Duties

“But they dedicated their lives to the development of the orc race. Won’t your actions provoke resistance from the orcs?” Agreed asked, puzzled.

The orc emperor seemed to have heard a ridiculous question, bursting into laughter as he replied, "Hahaha, the elimination of the weak is the law of nature. We have always been just a group of animals. Only the strong deserve true immortality, and those destined to be eliminated by time—the more resources you waste on them, the more they will drag this country down to its death! This is the wisdom that the orcs have finally understood after countless years on this barren land. As for resistance… how could a bunch of old, weak, and disabled people possibly have that kind of strength?"

“The laws of nature?” Agred murmured, then looked at the orc emperor and said, “I am satisfied with your answer. You may leave; I will not kill you.”

But the orc emperor shook his head and refused, saying, "Don't underestimate the integrity of an emperor! I will live and die with my country! Lend me your sword, I want to use it to send myself on my final journey." As he spoke, the orc emperor pointed to the Supreme Sword in Agred's hand.

This unreasonable request thoroughly enraged Agreed's subordinate, Brecel, who looked up and scolded, "Don't push your luck!"

But Agreed, contrary to his usual behavior, laughed loudly and said, "Good! For your imperial demeanor, you are qualified to use this sword in my hand. Use it and leave in peace. I will build a statue for you so that the orcs will remember that there was once a true emperor here!" As he spoke, Agreed gripped the blade of the Supreme Sword in his other hand and handed the hilt to the orc emperor.

The orc emperor accepted the Supreme Sword and said softly, "Thank you. At least I can tell from your words that you do not wish to destroy the orcs. May you lead them to true prosperity." With that, the orc emperor picked up the sword and committed suicide.

The process of dying after committing suicide was extremely long and painful, but the orc emperor did not utter a sound. Seeing this, Agred used an instant-death spell to send him on his final journey so that he could leave more comfortably.

Looking at the orc emperor's remains, Agreed said with emotion, "Send someone to give him a proper burial. He was a worthy opponent. The three of you come with me into the royal city and take a look. We really do have a good talk."

Agreed then entered the Orc Empire's palace and sat on the throne, which symbolized the imperial authority. Brecel, Lester, and Kasa knelt respectfully on the ground to offer their congratulations. At this moment, Agreed waved his hand and said, "There's no need to kneel. Stand up. It's time for us to have a talk. Kasa, you go sit to the side first. I need to give them a lecture."

The three immediately stood up. Casa walked to the side and sat down, while Brecel and Leicester responded tremblingly, "Please enlighten us, sir."

Agreed asked, "Do you know where you went wrong?"

Brecel immediately said cautiously, "The mistake was... interrupting you when you were dealing with the orc emperor. That was extremely rude of us. We are sorry, Master."

Agred shook his head and looked at Lester, saying, "He's wrong. Tell me why."

Lester thought for a moment, then replied, "We failed to breach the orcish capital before you arrived, which has disappointed you. This is our greatest sin, and we beg your punishment."

Agreed shook his head again and said helplessly, "I don't care about these trivial matters. I never care about these things. What I really care about is the outcome of this battle!"

"The result?" Lester asked rhetorically, not understanding the adult's intention. Wasn't winning a good result?

Argreed sighed and said, "Why did you completely surround the orc capital during the battle, causing the orcs to fight to the death and resulting in unnecessary losses for the undead army? You need to remember the principle of 'a cornered beast will fight to the death.' You could have deliberately left a gap at the entrance to the inner city, making the orcs think there was hope of escape and causing them to rush towards that gap. This would have created chaos and trampling incidents, while also concentrating the enemy and providing an excellent opportunity to unleash area-of-effect spells. Think about how much less damage you could have saved us!"

Lester suddenly realized that compared to this matter, the guilt and mistakes they had thought of were far too insignificant. Lester immediately kowtowed and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Your subordinate is guilty, please punish me."

Agreed didn't intend to punish him, but continued to reprimand him: "As a commander, you must first learn how to utilize the innate fears and weaknesses of living beings, rationally allocate resources, and preserve your strength as much as possible while achieving victory. You and Brecel are currently my strongest generals, and you must not make these kinds of low-level mistakes again. This time you were commanding the undead, so it's one thing, but what about next time? What if you only have regular soldiers who are difficult to replenish?"

Brecel immediately went to Leicester's side and apologized, saying, "It was our stupidity and negligence. Please punish us, sir."

Agreed stepped down from his throne and stood before the two men, saying, "Well then, you haven't finished the task of recruiting new residents for the swamp. You two handle this matter cleanly and efficiently, and I won't hold you responsible. Remember, I want residents who are willing to settle there, not slaves who are deceived or seduced! Do you understand?"

"Understood, sir." The two men quickly kowtowed in gratitude, then stood up and left the main hall to complete the task assigned to them by Agreed.

Over the next few days, Agreed and Kasa began to take over the entire land of the Orc Empire. Agreed knew that the Orc Empire's land was so barren because Gul'dan had used witchcraft to borrow the life force of the land to elevate himself to the level of a demigod.

As a result, the soil of the land, which had been developed for millions of years, returned to the barren state it was when the planet was first formed. Although the Orc Empire had maintained it for hundreds of years, the Orc Empire was located in the central part of the continent and did not have enough vegetation to stabilize the soil and water, resulting in a gradual decrease in rainfall.

If it weren't for the orcs' years of cultivation, this plain would probably be barren and wouldn't even have grass growing. However, these things are not problems for Agred.

Argrede drove all the orcs who were still breathing in the country to a vast wasteland. All the orcs looked at Argrede, who stood on high, with trembling fear. They did not know what this terrible undead Scourge was going to do, but they dared not resist and could only stand there cowardly, ridiculously praying for God's help.