A Famous Traitor and Treacherous Genius

271 – The Golden Disaster, the Great Depression (1)

If you look at the history of Nostrum, there were quite a few times when disasters approached humanity.

The demonic beasts of the contaminated area were infested.

Locusts swarmed in the golden fields of Nostrum and there was a famine that year.

A flood or drought occurred and many people died.

A plague broke out that was difficult for humans to deal with, and many people fell ill.

Over the past 500 years, there have been about 9 catastrophes so large that people say, ‘If this continues, the kingdom will fall.’

Although the scale was similar – there were also disasters of a larger scale.

There was a large-scale rebellion within the kingdom that almost resulted in the capital being surrounded, and hundreds of years ago, the imperial army almost made a surprise attack on the rear via the sea.

However, these cases are not classified as Nostrum disasters.

This is because all 9 cases only occurred under certain circumstances, ‘when there is no adult royal family on the Nostrum throne.’

Therefore, some called it the Golden Dragon’s protection for the Nostrum royal bloodline and the Golden Dragon’s curse for those who try to destroy it.

So people have endured the tyranny of an incompetent king.

As our ancestors had already verified, we had no idea what kind of curse would sweep the continent after killing the incompetent king.

However, those who were harmed by the incompetent king were all thinking the same thing in their hearts as they waited for time to pass.

I hope the incompetent king dies.

Whether it’s Naria or anyone else, I hope someone else will inherit the throne.

At that moment, the people’s hearts sank as they heard the incompetent king’s command echo throughout the royal capital.

-Crimson Gibraltar tried to kill Saint Geo Nostrum!!

The Marquis of Gibraltar’s attempted assassination of the King.

The King completely disappeared from the royal capital, and the Marquis of Gibraltar quickly returned to Gibraltar with his son.

Is the assassination attempt true?

Was it really an attempt to kill him, or was it an order given by Saint Geo Nostrum in a delusional disorder that he was going to die, as was said unofficially in the royal family?

At least Co-King Naria Gio Nostrum did not declare Gibraltar a ‘traitor’, so St. Gio Nostrum’s orders must be correct.

But whatever the truth was, people didn’t focus on it.

The Golden Dragon’s curse for almost disappearing the adult royal family due to death threats to the royal bloodline.

And a magical technique passed down to the Nostrum royal family that no one knew about until now, perhaps only to the king.

Golden Knight.

The gold that flows like water becomes blood, seeps into the body of the dead and forces the body to rise, or the empty body becomes something amorphous that shines golden and becomes a guardian of the royal family.

Some call it a golden slave.

Some say it’s gold and all, but it’s black magic.

Whether the assassination attempt is true or not, what matters is the phenomenon.

According to the royal command of the then King, Saint Geo Nostrum, the dead are summoning golden undead to Gibraltar, the traitor, and sending them to Gibraltar.

They are trying to subdue the traitors by summoning the spirits of Nostrum’s past heroes and killing those with Gibraltar’s blood.

Who is right and who is wrong?

-I don’t know about that, but there is only one thing that is right.

The political interpretation of it has become less important to people.

Even those who mixed truth and lies to give political meaning began to talk according to their own tastes and ‘pocket conditions’.

-Gold is always right.

Golden.

When you defeat the golden knights who are trying to kill Gibraltar, gold comes out of their bodies.

Where did the gold come from?

I don’t know.

According to the Empire’s Magic Engineering Research Institute, the conclusion was that the gold used for black magic in Nostrum is ‘not real gold.’

However, if the standard for distinguishing between real and fake is simply the difference in ‘mana conductivity’.

It was gold from the beginning.

It wasn’t gold, but it became gold due to the miracle of mana.

Real gold has the properties of metal.

False gold is like oil or blood.

-If the remains of dragons that died in ancient times turned into gold, wouldn’t that also be called gold?

If it can be distinguished among experts only at the level of the Empire’s Magic Engineering Research Institute, wouldn’t the gold as the Golden Dragon’s legacy be gold?

-It shouldn’t be! It shouldn’t be!!

For some, it didn’t have to be gold.

-The gold I’ve collected so far has become worse than decorative silver pottery!!

Gold is known to be an absolute and perfect metal, but at the same time, it is rare, so its value has continued to this day.

The empire’s business community had already expressed concern about the numerous gold mines developed by Nostrum’s Barcelona governorate.

Still, it was at a level that humans could control.

No matter how far underground the gold mine extended, it was at a stage where production could be controlled and scarcity could be maintained through monopoly by certain powerful people.

But what about now?

Gold is pouring in.

Gold is scattering like blood.

Following the king’s order to kill those with Gibraltar’s blood, whenever the Golden Knight, who rose infinitely to kill the traitor Gibraltar, died, gold spilled on the floor like blood.

And that false gold did not just disappear to the ground.

Someone picks up the blood-like gold and hardens it into the shape of an ingot.

Some people even make million gold coins based on the shape of gold coins.

Someone else started wandering around the territory of Gibraltar to hunt down the golden spirits rising from the ground in order to keep all that gold for themselves.

And the gold they acquired crossed the canyon and slowly began to flow towards the empire.

Just as gold was mixed in the wind flowing from the Gibraltar Gorge to the Empire, false gold that ordinary people could not distinguish began to wet the skirts of the Empire’s people like wind and rain.

So.

September 2, 99, Imperial Calendar.

The headlines of the Imperial Newspaper that came through the canyon outlet, which was closed for safety reasons, were filled with much more provocative phrases than usual.

[The continent’s economy is screwed.]

* * *

[Imperial Calendar, September 2, 99, Marquis of Gibraltar – Barcelona border].

“The headline is extremely provocative.”

As I was patrolling between the Marquis of Gibraltar Castle and the Governor-General’s Office in Barcelona, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter as soon as I saw the contents of the day’s issue of the Imperial Newspaper brought by my dragon Nidhogg tied to his ankle.

“Well, is it okay to use such vulgar expressions in a newspaper?”

As soon as Sir Robert saw the headline in the Empire Newspaper, he got into a fight.

“It is said that newspapers should attract the attention of readers with provocative phrases, but there is no need to be this provocative, right?”

“That means the continent’s economy is in crisis right now. It’s because of that.”

I pointed to something writhing on the border of Barcelona.

“Look. Someone with Gibraltar’s blood appears as soon as they come near the territory.”

“I think he would have shown up even if you weren’t here…”

“But didn’t it appear right away because it was right in front of you? Even though it doesn’t spring up from here.”

I tapped the floor.

“The territory of Gibraltar did not change whether it was 500 years ago or 2 years ago.”

“Until you make the Marquis of Barcelona into the Governor-General of Barcelona.”

“And the golden curse does not apply to the County of Gibraltar. Only outside of Gibraltar does those golden slaves spring from the ground.”

“Yes. Only the pure land of Gibraltar is safe. At least not in the sense that golden slaves do not spring up.”

After golden slaves emerged from the royal capital of Toledo.

They literally rose out of the ground ‘randomly’, but did not cause any casualties.

It was seen waking up in Lemburi, jumping out of the water in the Sirene Strait, and even breaking a tombstone and jumping out of the Royal Cemetery near the royal capital of Toledo –

Only in the territory of Gibraltar did it not protrude from beneath the ground.

“Is it because Gibraltar has become a traitor?”

“Well, I don’t know what kind of promise was made 500 years ago, but maybe it was at least due to some magical action?”

“It’s magic… Now, I really don’t know what it is. Every so often, variables like miracles and magic are created.”

“That’s one of the things the Emperor hates about Nostrum. It’s a world where problems that cannot be explained or solved by law and order or social science are mushrooming.”

“Isn’t that world threatening us now?”

“It’s a threat…”

About 1km from where we are standing.

“A threat is a threat. Now, not only those above the rank but also those who were ordinary soldiers are rising like that.”

A humanoid golden slime-like thing rising from the ground is creeping towards you.

The moment it rose from the ground, its body was almost irregular, but as it got closer to Gibraltar, its steps became clearer and it began to take on a human shape.

And even his appearance changes from being a naked human being to a being that looks like a soldier wearing armor.

“That is the armor given to the Marquis of Barcelona 300 years ago.”

“It’s such a troublesome world. It’s hard to just know the present, but we have to remember everything, including the past.”

“Isn’t it because you’re not interested in this at all?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Who cares about slime shells?”

Although they are undead made of gold.

“I think I’ve said this once before, and historians and such may be interested, but I’m not. For me, the biggest problem right now is how to repair the ruined continental economy.”

“Well… Isn’t this the best opportunity for them?”

With an awkward expression, Robert pointed to the golden ghost trying to cross Barcelona.

“The moment that ghost takes on its full form and becomes ‘hardened’…”

The moment when the golden slave takes on all forms and becomes solid.

■■■■■■!!

As soon as the golden slave starts to run like a roar.

“Hey, catch it!!”

Several knights nearby rushed towards the golden slave.

“Hold it well without blood splattering!!”

“It’s gold, you idiot!”

“Whether it’s blood or gold, save it as much as possible!!”

Not only the knights, but even the hired mercenaries threw ropes and captured the golden slave in an instant.

The golden slave tried to keep walking straight towards me even though he was restrained, but he could not resist the dozens of hands directed towards him.

“If there was such a thing as slave hunting, wouldn’t it have looked exactly like this?”

“It’s the same as far as catching it, but you’re not going to do that, right?”

“That’s right.”

Suddenly.

A knight with a large ax cuts off the golden slave’s head from behind.

Puhwaaak.

Blood splatters from the body as if a real person was dying.

But the blood shone golden, and was actually gold.

“Ah, damn it! Don’t you have to use just the right amount of force!”

“I’m sorry. I’m too weak, so stop.”

“Oh, I’m going crazy. When are we going to pick up all this? Digging up the ground with a shovel and separating the dirt mixed with gold is work, damn it!!”

“Well, isn’t it the other way around… ?”

“There is more dirt than gold, so we have to split the dirt!!”

An era in which we must separate the dirt and gravel from the gold’s blood, rather than separating the gold dust mixed in the sand.

“Oh, what should I do with this? Just take care of yourself?”

Gold is no longer the king of rare metals.

Because anyone can now obtain gold outside the territory of Gibraltar or throughout the Kingdom of Nostrum.

“Uh, wait a minute. Hey…”

“Kek. You’re a traitor.”

It is absurd that you are attached to a traitor, but the knights did not show any hostility towards me.

“Master.”

“Ah, yes.”

I waved my hand at the golden slave hunters, and they smiled and saluted me as if they were loyal.

“Thank you for being alive today, Lord Gray Gibraltar!!”

Now, at this moment.

The total amount of gold released to the entire continental market increased by approximately 5 kg.

“Well, it’s ironic. The empire’s economy is now complaining that it is ruined.”

No one knows whether it is gold mined from a gold mine or false gold rising from the underground of Nostrum.

“Imperial people are also coming across the canyon pretending to be knights of the kingdom and picking up false gold.”

“The economy is the government’s business, but the pocketbook is a personal matter.”

Sir Robert patted his trouser pocket with his hand.

“I have more gold in my pocket right now, so should I be worried about prices in six months?”

“That’s right.”

September 99, Imperial Calendar.

The continent has entered an unprecedented golden age.