21st Century Archmage

Craaaaash!

An armrest made of gold was crushed into pieces.

“H-He dares…”

The Emperor of the Laviter Empire, the ruler of the continent, normally did not show his emotions. However, right now, the Blade Masters rage was enveloping the palace with a suffocating bloodlust.

“…..”

The unbelievable news of defeat had flown in after the start of the morning court. Because something well and truly big had happened, the Information Guild delivered the news to the palace without charging money.

“To think not a single Skyknight was able to return! All the knights We were proud of… WERE DEFEATED?!?!?!”

The usually inscrutable Emperor gave a shout of rage. The several dozen high-ranking nobles gathered in the throne room kept their heads low, their faces pale. If sparks were to fly, even having ten necks would not be enough to keep their lives. They waited for the Emperors murderous rage to subside.

“Argh…”

Hadveria was so enraged that the sound of his gnashing could be heard inside the throne room.

Cold and frosty mana came streaming from his body.

“From this moment forth, Nerman will be treated as the greatest enemy of our empire. We hereby proclaim that any and all merchant groups or other parties who collude with Nerman will be considered an enemy of the empire!”

The empires greatest enemy, named by the Emperor himself. Until that opponent was eliminated, war would rage on.

“By Your Majestys will!”

The nobles who had been shocked stiff hurried to bow their heads.

“A state of emergency shall be declared over the entire army, and besides the minimum required troops from the Southern and Northern Corps, the Western Corps will mobilize!”

The Emperor gave a stream of commands.

“Yes, sir!”

The nobles bowed their heads again.

“He dares to bring such disgrace to Us and the empire…”

Nerman was a county, but it hadnt measured up to a county of the empire. Yet within one year, it had been declared the Laviter Empires greatest enemy.

Whoooosh.

A cold wind gusted through the throne room, where not a single breeze from the outside could reach.

All because of one man named Kyre.

* * *

“I think the sculptures decorating the yard can be harmonized in this fashion.”

“Hooh, the more I see you, the more you surprise me. How is it possible that a human can know more about architecture than a dwarf?”

The latest Laviter invasion wasnt our first or second battle, so the aftermath was cleaned up quickly. The wyverns that had lost their lives or could not be saved were skinned and stored away in the warehouses, and the ones that could be used went into re-education with concentrated healing using holy water.

‘We got another 200 this time.

Their recovery could not be guaranteed because of the severe damage they had taken to their eyes, but Derval told me that at least 200 wyverns were captured. We could have saved more wyverns with a little more time, but the situation didnt permit that.

‘Huhu, once we recruit the Skyknights, our enemies will be in for it!

If the wyverns could be perfectly assimilated into our forces, we would have at least 400 wyverns, a number that could hardly be imagined for a mere territory. With such numbers, even if I wasnt there, Nerman could stand up to any enemy. We would have the military power of a small kingdom.

“Hey, longlegs, I said thats wrong! That part has to be very artfully done to make it a proper castle gate. How can you set the frame so ignorantly?!”

“Hmph! What would short-legged people know about art? No matter how you look at it, this is better.”

“Argh, so frustrating! Is everyone who grew up eating grass in the mountains like this?! Whyre you saying something as ridiculous as an orc eating grass?!”

In the plains in front of the cave Dwarven Village, the new Dwarven Village was about 90% finished. It was a small castle-city, but the dwarves were giving it their all. Around ten elves were helping them with spirits. Friendship between the elves and dwarves had sprouted during the manual labor in Nermans construction sites, and they were working together while squabbling at each other.

“I never thought that the day we would cooperate with elves again would come. Our predecessors brought masterpieces to life with the help of the elves, you see.”

Patriarch Cassiars was gazing at the elves with a contented look.

‘Masterpieces, huh… kukuku.

My facial expression didnt change, but my eyes were shining from the happiness I felt in my heart. The dwarves were already making the continents best luxury arms, ornaments, and various products, but with the addition of the elves magic and summoning ability, works of art beyond all imagination would be created. And all of those masterpieces were directly linked to money, so much money that they could fully line my and the territorys pockets with Gold.

“Did you find new iron mines?”

“Of course. We found them with the help of the elves. Even if we continue consuming minerals at our current pace, there should be enough mines to last us for a hundred years, no problem.”

‘The preparations are perfect.