The Villain Who Made the Empire Prosper

Living Up to the Name of Schemer

“We’ve broken through!!!!!!”

When a soldier of the Iron Blood Legion burst into the tent shouting, everyone inside working jumped to their feet.

“B-broken through? Really?”

“Yes! We’ve broken through!! Look at this!!!!”

The soldier handed everyone a handful of green grass native to the Western Continent. Everyone stared blankly at the grass before breaking into spontaneous cheers. Karia hugged me and shouted, and I hugged her back, laughing for a while.

“What should we do now, Lord Randor?”

“Call Karl Hansen!! Tell him we’ve broken through with the trade route!!”

“Yes, sir!!!”

Karl appeared before me the very next day, faster than a bullet. He had used every teleport station he could find, each costing over 100 gold per use. For a merchant like him, news of a land trade route connecting the Eastern and Western continents must have been irresistibly attractive.

“Is… is it really true? Did you really break through?”

The look that had once regarded me as a madman was gone. His face showed only eagerness to see it for himself. I smiled at his words and personally took him by carriage along the trade route we had spent three months of hard work creating. Even while passing through valleys filled with the howling of the cold northern winds and monster screams, Karl Hansen never lost his crazed, greedy smile.

And finally, upon seeing the green plains of the Western Continent, Karl jumped out of the carriage and began dancing with screams of joy. The dance of a balding, greasy man in his fifties couldn’t be called pleasant to watch even as a polite lie, but no one blamed Karl Hansen.

“This is insane!! Incredible!!!! To actually accomplish this!! How is this even possible?! How did you do it?”

I didn’t tell him it was possible because I knew exactly where to break through. I just patted Karl Hansen on the shoulder.

“Is that what’s important?”

“Of course not!! What matters is that it’s done!! Wahaha!! Good heavens!! A land trade route!!!”

I brought the celebrating man back to Baron Elrond’s domain.

“We need interpreters. And merchants who know the Western Continent well. We need to meet Sultan Saladin who rules the Western Continent to get trading permits.”

“I know many merchants who frequently visit the Western Continent through maritime trade. I’ll call them right away.”

“And we need to connect roads from Elrond’s territory to various parts of the continent. It would be best if we could connect to trading cities with good logistics………”

“Connecting to Porto Commercial City would be ideal. Our merchant guild has a firm grip there. Geographically, most of the Empire’s logistics go through that place. If Elrond’s territory were connected to it by road………”

Karl Hansen started grinning with an ecstatic expression as if the mere thought might make him wet himself. I gave him his assignment.

“I’ll handle connecting the road between Porto Commercial City and Elrond’s territory, making trade agreements with the Western Continent, and getting exclusive rights to trade through this route from the Emperor. You increase the size of Porto’s commercial district by at least tenfold. The floating population going through there will increase about that much.”

“Hahaha!! As you command!!!! I’ll buy up all the land around Porto’s commercial district and have buildings constructed!!”

Looking at him laughing heartily, I asked a few questions.

“Porto Commercial City is in the middle of plains, right?”

“That’s right. That’s why it’s convenient for transportation.”

“And the weather?”

“Mild all year round. In winter it’s just chilly without snow, and in summer it’s not as hot as other regions of the Empire. People call it unremarkable weather.”

“Is that so?”

At those words, my mind started working rapidly.

And soon I came up with an idea.

“Would you gather circus troupes, theater companies, and singers from across the country?”

“What? Why those people?”

“Just do it. Gather only the very best and collect them in Porto’s commercial district.”

“Circus troupes, theater companies, and singers… aren’t they commoners?”

In a medieval society with a clear class system, they were definitely commoners. But I didn’t see them as mere commoners.

After all, I was a modern person who knew very well the power of the cultural industry.

“Just gather them without questions. I’ll help you make a fortune.”

“Then I’ll gather them. Yes, sir.”

Perhaps because he had already seen the impossible become possible, Karl Hansen followed my orders without question.

And just like Karl Hansen, the very next day.

Ten merchants specializing in Western Continent trade visited Elrond’s territory, their faces burning with excitement and euphoria.

“Currently, the Karamba Empire alone dominates the entire Western Continent. The Eternal Ruler, Sultan Saladin, unified most of the previously divided hundreds of countries into a single empire. Therefore, we must absolutely get his permission to trade.”

The merchants sighed heavily after saying this.

“But Lord Randor, I should tell you in advance that getting trading rights from the Sultan will be extremely difficult. He is a man full of greed and ambition.”

“He might even… try to forcibly take the trade route once he realizes its value.”

“I know.”

I calmly told the merchants. I knew better than anyone. The novel had contained several detailed descriptions of Sultan Saladin’s conquest-driven nature and ambitions.

To give you an idea, he was the type who would spend an enormous amount of money, three years of time, and sacrifice 200,000 lives to break through the Rako Mountains to conquer the Eastern Continent. But I wasn’t particularly worried.

After all, I knew exactly how to handle him.

“We can help with interpretation or explain unfamiliar Western Continent customs, but that’s all we can do. We can’t offer anything beyond that.”

“Do you have a way to persuade the Sultan?”

“Persuade?”

I smiled at those words.

“Do you think the Sultan is someone who can be persuaded? That Eternal Ruler, the Conqueror Saladin?”

At my words, the merchants who knew the Western Continent’s situation well all fell silent. They knew I was right.

A man who was the embodiment of conquest and ambition. That was the Eternal Ruler Saladin.

“Then how…?……..”

When the merchant asks cautiously, I nod.

“That’s right.”

When the merchants show questioning expressions as the affirmative response comes suddenly.

“If we tell him about the Rako Mountains trade route being established, that fellow won’t think about trade, he’ll think about war first. He’ll probably try to occupy the trade route.”

I calmly affirmed the merchant’s words. The merchants’ eyes widened.

“Then what should we do?”

Seeing the terrified merchants, I burst into laughter.

“If I were to rephrase your question, it would be this: whether the Iron Blood Legion has enough deterrence against Sultan Saladin.”

“That’s exactly it. Although the Iron Blood Legion is strong, are they strong enough to stop Sultan Saladin’s ambitions?”

“No. Of course not. Rather, he’ll think it’s worth going to war.”

Just as the merchants were about to sink back into fear.

“That’s why we need to add some seasoning.”

“Seasoning?”

“I’ll bring the Dragon Knight Order and Karia’s Guardian Dragon to Baron Elrond’s territory. That way, even Sultan Saladin won’t easily consider waging war.”

The merchants’ eyes widened at my words.

“Is, is that possible?!”

The Dragon Knight Order that protects the capital. In the original story, they were special forces that protected only the emperor and the capital, maintaining neutrality until the end of the ugly war, until finally, unable to bear Randor and the Iron Blood Legion’s atrocities, they recognized Golden Adran as emperor and lent their strength to them in the final moment.

The Dragon Knight Order carried the team with their legendary impact, able to roast thousands with a single breath, and finally, Karia, having lost all her forces, summoned her guardian dragon from beneath the capital to fight one last battle to protect Randor.

Here, the entire Dragon Knight Order and Karia riding the guardian dragon perished together, and in the chaotic capital, Golden Adran succeeded in capturing Randor, in the plaza…

“Anyway!! If they belong to the Iron Blood Legion, even Sultan Saladin wouldn’t dare to think about war. Who would dare when there’s a legion that can burn thousands from the sky and potentially fly to their city to set it ablaze?”

“Would His Majesty the Emperor… allow that?”

The Dragon Knight Order and the Guardian Dragon existed to protect the capital and the imperial family. They were essentially the emperor’s strongest asymmetric force. Handing over these forces was tantamount to giving me control over the capital’s fate.

A normal emperor would never have handed over the Dragon Knight Order.

“He will give them to us.”

But I was certain.

As mentioned, the current emperor was a fool who was completely taken in by me, a corrupt official, and was ruining the empire.

And as expected.

“Oh!!! My lord!! You’ve opened a trade route!! Then! Then! It would be troublesome if Sultan Saladin invades. I’ll give you the Dragon Knight Order. And the Guardian Dragon too.”

The emperor immediately said YES to my single request.

“Your Majesty!!! Please reconsider!!!”

Duke Pellings shouted so loudly that the audience hall rang, turning pale white. I had rushed to the capital in just one day using teleport stations and carriages like Karl Hansen, and when I requested the Dragon Knight Order, the emperor agreed without any consideration.

“Your Majesty!! Please reconsider!!”

While Duke Pellings might have said this thinking that the Dragon Knight Order could potentially fly to his territory and burn his lands, Golden Adran, the protagonist of the original novel armed with justice and wisdom, must have said this out of concern for the empire.

“The Dragon Knight Order is the capital’s last line of defense!! I must report that giving them to a specific faction is highly inappropriate!!!”

“Is Baron Randor a specific faction? He is a loyal subject, Adran.”

“He might use the Dragon Knight Order improperly with ill intentions! Your Majesty!!!”

“Adran! Randor is not that kind of person!! He would never do such a thing!!”

The emperor shouted stubbornly. There was no trace of intelligence anywhere on his shouting face. It was a moment that showed just how completely the emperor had fallen for Randor’s silver tongue.

“Hasn’t he pioneered a trade route connecting the west and east!! If it’s needed to maintain that, how is that improper use!! It’s a decision for the benefit of the entire empire.”

“Father!!!”

Prince Adran finally resorts to using the word ‘father.’

“If we give Randor the dragons, we will have no means to stop him. The empire will become a sea of fire!!!!!”

The loyal subject’s desperate counsel continued, but the foolish ruler who had fallen for the corrupt official wouldn’t listen.

“Enough!!! I will not tolerate any more disrespect!! The Dragon Knight Order will be given to the Iron Blood Legion as Baron Randor requested!! The same goes for the Guardian Dragon! Only Karia, the avatar, could handle the Guardian Dragon. It will become Baron Randor’s reliable strength. This is already decided!!! Don’t argue anymore!!”

At those words, Golden Adran kneels solemnly as if all is lost.

And begins to laugh while crying.

“This is the end. The end of the empire. To think the Dragon Knight Order would fall into that corrupt official’s hands!! Do you know what he will do with the dragons now!! Father!!!!!”

Prince Adran’s cry was desperate.

Because it was such a desperate cry, I had to quietly swallow the words I was about to say.

That I was thinking of using the dragons for deliveries.