Chapter 608: 608:Are You Serious?
"Niggaa, are you serious right now?!" he suddenly shouted loudly.
The sudden outburst startled even Rathlos slightly, causing the wyvern to instinctively pause before calmly adjusting the monocle resting over his eye. He stared at Ethan with a strange expression, his brows slowly knitting together in confusion.
"What do you mean by Niggaa?" Rathlos asked with a frown while tilting his head slightly.
Ethan instantly stiffened.
His entire body froze for a brief second.
"Ahem... nothing," he replied quickly while coughing awkwardly into his fist.
"Just random mumbling of incoherent words that I shrieked out of nowhere."
Rathlos continued looking at him with an unconvinced expression for another moment, clearly not believing that explanation in the slightest, but in the end he decided not to pursue the matter any further.
Instead, he slowly folded his arms across his chest and shifted his attention back toward Ethan.
"So what is written in it?" he asked.
Ethan looked too mentally exhausted to explain everything properly.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as though even talking about it would only make him more irritated.
Without saying much, he simply extended his arm and handed the letter toward Rathlos.
Rathlos accepted it calmly before unfolding the document and beginning to read through its contents with a composed expression.
But only a few moments later...
His face gradually darkened.
The calmness disappeared.
His brows furrowed deeply.
Inside the letter was an official order personally issued by Emperor Alaster himself.
The Empire was demanding support forces from every major noble territory once again.
This time, the order specifically requested King-ranked troops alongside several Emperor-ranked powerhouses led by a Mythic-ranked warrior.
As the contents became clearer, the atmosphere inside the room instantly turned much heavier.
Even the surrounding air seemed to become oppressive.
"Mythic-ranked warrior my ass..." Rathlos muttered coldly while slowly lowering the letter from his eyes.
"Do they think Mythic experts grow on trees so they can casually pluck them out and throw them into war?"
His face twitched slightly with irritation as he tightened his grip on the paper.
Rathlos clearly wanted to curse even more viciously.
Several insults nearly reached his lips.
However, after taking a slow and deep breath, he forcibly restrained himself, maintained proper decorum, and swallowed the rest of the words back down.
Nevertheless...
He was completely pissed off too.
....
The decision made by Emperor Alaster quickly caused a huge uproar throughout the entire Arcadia Empire.
After all, this was the first time since the founding of the Empire that the Emperor had personally ordered every major faction, noble, merchant, and craftsman to directly support the war effort without a single exception.
The message delivered from the Imperial Palace was simple and impossible to misunderstand.
As long as you held significance within the Empire...
You were required to contribute.
If you were a noble...
Then provide troops.
If you were a merchant...
Then provide supplies and resources.
If you were a blacksmith...
Then forge weapons and armor.
No one could remain uninvolved anymore.
No one was allowed to stand aside and simply watch while others carried the burden.
This was no longer just another border conflict that would end after a few battles.
This had become a true national crisis that threatened the future of the entire Empire itself.
And because of that, although many nobles publicly accepted the Emperor’s order and showed obedience on the surface while issuing commands to their subordinates...
Resentment quietly began spreading beneath that calm appearance.
The dissatisfaction grew silently like an unseen fire.
Inside taverns, busy streets, marketplaces, merchant districts, and noble gatherings, more and more people started complaining about the situation without bothering to hide their frustration.
Inside one crowded tavern, the smell of strong ale mixed with sweat, smoke, and roasted meat while dozens of customers sat around rough wooden tables under dim lantern light.
The cheerful laughter that had once filled the room had become much quieter than before.
Instead, heavy sighs, worried whispers, and bitter conversations drifted from every corner.
Several men sat around one table while drinking heavily.
One of them suddenly slammed his mug onto the wooden surface with enough force to spill ale across the table and splash onto the floor.
"That Emperor Alaster is truly a heinous bastard," he cursed loudly while shaking his head in anger.
The man sitting beside him immediately nodded in agreement before setting his own mug down.
"Exactly. He kept waging wars here and there for decades, and now that everything exploded in his face, he suddenly remembers the rest of us exist."
A middle-aged merchant sitting nearby let out a cold snort before taking another slow drink from his cup.
"Did he ask us before dragging the Empire into all those previous wars?"
"Now he wants everyone to clean up the mess."
Another man raised his mug and took a long gulp of ale before wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
"There hasn’t been a single peaceful decade under his rule."
"Every few years another war starts somewhere."
"And now look where it brought us."
A blacksmith sitting near the corner slowly rubbed his tired face before speaking with a weary sigh.
"They ask us to forge weapons day and night while prices keep rising and people keep dying."
"How long can this continue?"
His rough hands were covered in burns, cuts, and old scars that clearly showed just how hard he had already been working for countless years.
Another drunk man sitting nearby let out a bitter laugh before leaning back in his chair and staring blankly toward the ceiling.
"At this rate we’ll all end up dead before the Empire even collapses."
No one sitting around the table argued with him.
Several people simply lowered their heads and silently drank from their mugs while avoiding eye contact.
The atmosphere inside the tavern became heavier with every passing minute as more voices joined the complaints one after another.
Fear.
Anger.
Exhaustion.
Hopelessness.
All of it had started overflowing throughout the Empire and could now be clearly seen on the faces of ordinary citizens who no longer believed tomorrow would be any better than today.
And amidst all this chaos...
Two cloaked figures quietly stepped away from the noisy crowd.
Without attracting attention, they slipped through the tavern entrance and walked toward a darker alley nearby where almost no one passed.
The sound of conversation gradually faded behind them until only distant voices and the faint clinking of mugs remained.
Only after making sure they were completely alone did one of them slowly turn toward the other.
His face remained hidden beneath the shadow cast by his hood as he spoke in a low and cautious voice.
"It seems the opportunity we have all been waiting for is finally here."
The other figure remained silent for several moments.
Then he slowly lifted his head beneath the cloak and gave a faint nod.
"Yes..."
"This Empire is finally beginning to crack apart."
