Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 103: Conditions for Enhancement

Chapter 103 > Conditions for Enhancement

The southern part of the Western Continent was mostly a barren desert. 

However, the southeastern part was relatively better off.

There were quite a few lands with oases or other water sources, which allowed cities to be built and kingdoms to be established.

Therefore, the three kingdoms of the south, Parthia, Amon, and Kentra, did not differ much from the image of a kingdom that the continent generally had.

But the southwestern desert was a different story. 

This land was much harsher than the east, and it was not suitable for forming a proper city, let alone a nation.

But strangely enough, there were many nomadic tribes living in this desolate wasteland. 

They said that this place was their sanctuary and that no foreigner should ever enter this land.

The Kingdom of Calihara was a kingdom in name only, but it was more like a coalition of these nomadic tribes. 

Some of them were so aggressive that they were like bandits, and they were one of the biggest headaches for the empire on the southern front.

The empire tried various methods to appease them.

[If we establish diplomatic relations and stop raiding, wouldn’t that be better?]

They answered like this.

[We do not negotiate with heretics.]

It was absurd. 

They would suffer a lot if they came all the way to the border and raided. 

So they tried another proposal.

[Then how about we give you free aid and you stop raiding?]

The answer to that was even more outrageous.

[Taking from the heretics is our rightful duty.]

After that, the empire basically treated them as lunatics who could not be dealt with and tried to launch large-scale campaigns against them, but what was the point of stationing troops in that worthless desert?

The reason why they offered aid in the first place was because it was more profitable than sending troops.

And even though the tribes were scattered most of the time, they would unite like ghosts when war broke out and wage guerrilla warfare, so Kalihara remained a thorn in the side of the empire.

In an underground temple in Kalihara, a peculiar meeting was taking place.

“…”

A faint light flashed in the eyes of a bronze snake carved intricately.

“Are you all here this time?”

It was a thick male voice. 

The voice came from the bronze statue.

“Wouldn’t that be the case?”

The answer came from another bronze snake. 

This time it was a somewhat languid female voice.

“Then are there only five of us this time?”

“Ha! You’re slow on news. You still say that after seeing that?”

Pssst.

There were six bronze snakes on display, but one of them had a crack and slowly crumbled down.

“Isn’t that old Ismail?”

“Tsk! A man who became an archbishop…”

Four snakes were talking. 

When one of them grumbled with a frivolous voice, the thick voice retorted.

“He might have faced a formidable opponent.”

His opinion was cautious, but the other’s answer was sarcastic.

“Oh, really? Come to think of it, didn’t you fail once in the imperial capital?”

“Hmm… Are you picking a fight?”

The other sneered at him, and the thick voice became somewhat angry.

“If you’re just going to bicker, why don’t you just leave?”

The female voice seemed to have no interest in the content at all. 

As the atmosphere in the room became tense, finally the last voice intervened.

“How about we stop this? This is not why we gathered.”

The last voice was dignified and gentle unlike the others. 

But surprisingly, all of them agreed with that voice.

“I understand.”

“It’s just a joke since it’s been a long time.”

“…”

The gentle voice spoke again.

“Losing one of our branches, including an archbishop who was not good at combat but good at external activities, is a big loss.”

“I think so too. It’s not like he’s just a minion, but Ismail, that old bastard, shouldn’t have died so vainly.”

The thick male voice agreed, and the frivolous male voice started to grumble again.

“By the way, there’s no contact from those two guys in the east even in this situation? Did they forget about our organization while playing boss over there?”

“They have their own heavy duties over there. Let’s just discuss among ourselves here for now.”

“Where did that old man lose contact? Was it Parthia?”

“Not only that. The main force of our branch was almost annihilated. It’s practically cut off.”

At this point, the frivolous voice expressed doubt.

“But who could they target to cause such a thing?”

It was unimaginable for them that anyone on this continent could cause such a thing as wiping out an entire branch including an archbishop.

“I sent the information beforehand, didn’t you receive it?”

“I’ve been busy with my own stuff, you know.”

The thick voice whined, but the frivolous voice just smirked.

“The First Prince of the Empire.”

The female voice answered briefly. The frivolous voice finally nodded.

“Ah! The famous prince of the continent these days?”

“Have you met him?”

“I haven’t, but he’s been making quite a name for himself in this industry lately. I wanted to meet him once.”

“Why don’t you take care of that side then, if you’re interested in him?”

The gentle voice suggested.

“Hmm… The thing is”

“That’s an interesting story. Do you mind if I join in?”

“…!?”

As the frivolous voice was about to answer, a new voice cut in. 

A light came on in one of the bronze statues that had been off.

The voice was that of an old person, heavy and somewhat elegant.

“Huh? Weren’t you too busy with the eastern affairs to contact us?”

“I had something to tell you over here too. And…”

“And?”

The frivolous voice asked, and the heavy voice lowered his tone and answered seriously.

“According to my investigation, it seems to be not unrelated to the topic we are talking about now.”

…

“So I have something to ask you for the counterattack.”

After Eurius declared his counterattack yesterday, he called two people separately and had a conversation with them.

“It’s not right for you to ask us, my lord. Just give us your orders.”

“It must be something important if you call me too. What is it?”

They were Jegal Geon and Jegal Unhyeon. 

The two looked at Eurius with curiosity.

Eurius grumbled a bit here.

“Actually, I would have told you yesterday if you hadn’t quarreled with Nuada.”

“Haha… We’re going to work together from now on, so it’s better to clear up any old grudges, right, my lord!”

‘You’re good at using your position at times like this.’

He shook his head helplessly at Jegal Unhyeon and started to bring up the topic.

“It’s about strengthening our forces here!”

“Um… When you say strengthening our forces…”

Jegal Geon quickly realized what it meant, as he had worked with him for quite a long time.

“You mean the Scharnos Knights.”

“That’s right. They might not seem like much to you, but they are the face of the knighthood in the Western Continent.”

The role of the knights was quite important in Eurius’s plan for a counterattack. 

And to be honest, he was worried that his personal forces were too unbalanced compared to other places.

‘Jegal Seo is a given, and Nuada has almost unified the north, so he must have plenty of excellent warriors under him. But the knights still have a lot to improve, except for a few squad leaders.’

Of course, he didn’t overlook that point. 

But if he could grow outstanding knights overnight, he wouldn’t have to worry about it, would he?

“So I wanted to consult with you. Don’t you have some kind of attribute technique in the Eastern martial arts?”

Jegal Geon opened his mouth with a troubled expression.

“The achievement of a martial artist depends largely on one’s own temperament and talent in the Eastern Continent. And objectively speaking, your knights are already quite decent.”

“What I want is a bit higher than that.”

When they heard Eurius’s condition, Jegal Geon looked even more troubled.

“Do you mean you want to fill most of the knights with experts above the peak level? Frankly, I think that’s impossible.”

In the Eastern Continent, the peak level meant the same as the master level of knights in the Western Continent.

But wanting to fill more than half of the hundred or so knights with master level experts was unthinkable. 

Even in the Eastern Continent, there were only a few factions that had such a level of single group, such as the Imperial Palace and the Demon Sect.

Eurius shook his head.

“I’m not saying that you have to raise them to that level right now. But isn’t there any way to increase their power in a short time?”

Then an unexpected suggestion came in.

“Well, if that’s what you want, I’ll have to see their faces first. As Geon said, individual talent is an important factor, so…”

Jegal Unhyeon, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, joined in with a smirk. 

In fact, the martial artists of the Eastern Continent looked down on those of the Western Continent.

That was because their training methods were more systematic and better for producing high-level experts. 

But in the end, to become a true strong one, one’s innate talent played a big role.

“Didn’t you say that you personally picked those knights?”

‘No, I didn’t pick them because they had outstanding talent, but because they were willing to work hard… Maybe talent difference is something that can’t be ignored.’

He wanted to warn him not to be disappointed in advance, but he soon changed his mind. 

Anyway, his advice would be helpful no matter how it turned out.

“Well, since you’re the best expert here, I’d appreciate it if you could take a look.”

The next day.

“All Scharnos Knights have assembled.”

“Good job.”

Eurius answered lightly to Heinz’s report and opened his mouth.

“It may sound out of the blue, but I’m going to conduct a little test for all of you today.”

“……!?”

The knights were puzzled by Eurius’s explanation. 

They looked at Jegal Unhyeon who was standing behind Eurius with suspicious eyes.

“Do you want us to fight that Easterner? I’ve heard that there are many great martial artists in the Eastern Continent.”

“Then let’s start with the ordinary knights. There are too many of them to have one-on-one duels.”

Eurius thought for a moment and made a somewhat sorry suggestion.

“The ordinary knights will form groups of five and duel at once. And the squad leaders will pair up and do it. And those who I call separately will be allowed to have one-on-one duels.”

“……!?”

Even if it was Eurius’s command, this proposal was quite humiliating for them as knights. 

But they couldn’t complain to him who was an emperor.

Their resentment was directed at Jegal Unhyeon who was smiling smugly.

‘Let’s see how good you are that His highness has to say such things!’

“Are you ready? You can come anytime!”

“…….”

It didn’t take long for the knights who rushed in eagerly to fall apart.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

“Huk!”

The first group of knights felt their bodies floating in the air as soon as they charged.

Clang!

They landed on the ground miserably and heard Jegal Unhyeon’s voice.

“Your coordination is poor? But aren’t you supposed to be trained together as knights?”

“…….”

The veins on their foreheads bulged. It was a perfect provocation. 

But no matter how angry they were, it didn’t change the outcome.

In the end, the first group was beaten up until they couldn’t move and heard Eurius’s voice.

“Stop! Let’s switch to the next group.”

Jegal Unhyeon was honestly disappointed at first when he faced the first few groups.

‘They’re supposed to be the ones His highness picked, but their talent is too mediocre?’

But as the test progressed, his expression changed a little. 

He thought it would be over soon, but they were surprisingly persistent.

“You all have great perseverance. But unfortunately, that’s not enough!”

He taunted them, but the knights didn’t get angry anymore. 

They just silently fell down and got up again to form a line.

‘I’ll land at least one hit on him!’

‘He’s not a bottomless pit of stamina either!’

That was their goal after seeing their previous comrades fall down helplessly.

It took a whole day for all the knights to finish the test.

…

“How was the result?”

“It was great. I realized that your eye for people is extraordinary. To become an expert above the peak level, one needs talent, but also persistence and effort, and they all have that.”

Jegal Unhyeon started with a good word in response to Eurius’s question. 

But his next words made Eurius unable to hide his disappointment.

“But to be honest, there’s hardly anyone among them who can reach the peak level in a short time.”

‘That’s natural, since I chose them for their hard work rather than their talent… Talent difference is something that can’t be ignored.’

Jegal Unhyeon noticed his disappointed look and smiled slightly.

“But if you want to increase their power quickly, there’s something I can help you with in this world.”

“Is there such a way?”

Eurius’s eyes sparkled as he asked him. 

As the player said, it would be fine if he could get to the same destination by another route.

Jegal Unhyeon spoke with a slightly serious tone this time.

“Actually, this is also a difficult way in a short time. But seeing their perseverance, I think there’s a possibility.”