It had been a year since I became Emperor. I'd stopped all conquest for a while, but I knew it was time to restart. Though I believe no one would be foolish enough to challenge my empire, there are always arrogant people who need to be put in their place before they do anything stupid.
My next destination is China. I'd considered simply killing the king and taking over, but to my surprise, the Emperor of China isn't a bad ruler. I see no point in killing someone who could be useful. Additionally, they're in the middle of a war with a tribe called the Huns. According to my reports, the Huns are great warriors. Though they couldn't hope to match my forces, they could become a valuable asset. I've decided to assess China's situation myself before making a decision, but I won't be going alone.
"Father, you called for me?" Igneel asked as he entered the room.
"That's right. You will come with me on my next conquest," I replied.
"I refuse," he retorted.
"I wasn't asking," I retorted, a smirk playing on my lips.
"What's stopping me from telling Mother?" he replied, a flash of defiance in his eyes.
"And what's stopping me from beating your ass and then just taking you with me without telling your Mother?" I replied, my voice flat.
He paused and looked around. He then dashed for the door and tried to run. But he forgot that I had teleportation. I teleported right in front of him, then flicked him on the forehead. He was sent flying back, but as he flew, he changed his trajectory and was sent flying out the window.
I stood there contemplating. Maybe I should just leave him here. But I need him to experience more than just the palace. Ever since the Neverland incident, his mother has never let him leave even a mile from the castle. As I looked out the window, I saw him running away. I teleported right in front of him again. He panicked and shouted.
"Mom, help!" he shouted.
I just smirked. "Did you forget that your mother is currently on a different island?" I stated.
"You—you planned everything," he shouted, his eyes wide.
"That's right. Everything was a part of my plan, even your birth," I said with a grin.
"You can stop lying. You didn't even know I existed until Mother told you," he said blankly.
"Cough. I guess you're right. But you're coming either way," I said.
The garden was quiet as no one moved.
"Sigh. I guess I have no choice. So how long will this conquest take? According to my calculations of what I've learned of China, it would take over a month because of how much land it has," he stated.
"Are you crazy? Your mother will return in a week. She would kill me if she finds out that I took you with me on one of my conquests. And besides, we won't be attacking yet. We'll just be seeing what's happening over there," I explained.
"Then why do you need me there?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Igneel, you are my eldest son. You are the heir to the throne. All your outside experiences came from books, and that is not nearly enough. I want you to learn more about the common people."
"Why don't I just meet the common people of our empire?" he asked.
I sighed as I explained. "Igneel, the people under my rule are different from others. Before I took them under me, there was a lot of chaos. I brought with me absolute power, and they fear that. There are no crimes as my summons are everywhere. Because of this, you won't understand the troubles of common people that no longer exist in this empire."
"Won't they revolt if they fear you?" he asked.
"What I bring is not just absolute power. Though they do fear my power, what they fear even more is losing the peace and security if I were to ever leave. Remember, Igneel. When you are a leader, you must protect your people as they protect you. A person cannot become a leader unless they have people to lead," I said.
He stayed quiet but slowly nodded.
"Now let's go. Our next destination is China. I've already traveled there once a few days ago. We can just teleport," I said.
He nodded.
Before I could teleport, Moon rushed in and grabbed my leg. Crystal soon followed and hung on to my other leg.
"Daddy, I want to go!" Moon said excitedly.
"Esteemed father, I wish to go," Crystal said.
"You two, let go. I can't bring you with me. This is an important mission," I said.
"I want to go! I want to go!" Moon repeated.
Crystal nodded in agreement with her sister's enthusiasm.
"Girls—"
"Father, I think you should let them come as well. They haven't been outside for months, and having children during this mission would look less suspicious," Igneel said.
"Yeah, yeah!" the girls chanted.
What he said made sense. "Well, okay. But you two must behave," I commanded.
They nodded eagerly. I gathered both girls into my arms and teleported all of us. The next moment we were standing on a small road that led to a village.
"We're here. That village over there is where we'll be staying for this week," I said, pointing toward it.
The girls nodded excitedly while Igneel just sighed.
Ten minutes later we arrived in the village. People stared, and I understood why. My children and I all had different colored hair. Not only that, I stood over 7 feet tall while Igneel was close to 6'5". We were exotic in their eyes. My first priority was to find a clothing store.
As we entered, Moon and Crystal jumped down and started exploring the shop. Igneel browsed leisurely while I searched for clothes in my size. After ten minutes, I frowned.
There were no clothes that would fit someone of my stature. I walked back to the counter and saw Moon and Crystal approaching, wearing new outfits and carrying dozens more.
I smiled and approached the counter, taking out a handful of gold from my inventory and giving it to the store owner. His eyes widened in shock at the amount.
"You can keep the rest," I said.
The man's eyes grew even wider as he smiled.
"Thank you," he repeated while bowing deeply.
The girls stored their clothes in their respective storage rings as I lifted each into one of my arms. I walked out of the store feeling like I'd forgotten something, but decided to deal with it another day.
Igneel's POV
I walked to the counter and saw the store owner smiling. I approached him with a question.
"Did you see the people who entered the store with me?" I asked.
"They just left," he replied.
I froze—they actually forgot about me. Wait, since Father isn't here to order me around, I can do my own thing now. I smiled, paid the owner, and left.
I walked around carefully, making sure to avoid my father. He usually keeps his enhanced senses turned off because they're too powerful and constantly annoy him.
As I walked around, I noticed people talking about someone named Mulan. Who is that? I approached them and listened to their conversation.
"The Fa family's daughter is attending the matchmaking event. Do you think she'll fail?" one person asked.
"I don't know, but her family honor is on the line," the other replied.
They continued talking as they walked away. Seeing others heading in the same direction, I followed. Soon I reached an elegant house where a crowd had gathered. I stood on the sidelines waiting to see what would happen next. Shortly after, several young women approached the house.
I watched as they walked in a straight line. I suppressed my laughter at their heavily painted faces—they looked like dumplings.
They separated into another formation, performed a peculiar dance, then concealed themselves behind umbrellas.
A heavyset woman opened the door from inside the house. She held a pencil and clipboard.
"Fa Mulan," she called out.
"Here," Mulan answered.
"Talking without permission," she scolded as she entered the house, with Mulan following behind.
The crowd waited silently. Soon, sounds could be heard from inside—screams and shouts growing louder until the door burst open. The woman rushed out with part of her clothes on fire. Mulan followed and splashed tea to extinguish the flames.
She handed the teapot to the matchmaker and walked back to the crowd, clearly embarrassed. The matchmaker stormed toward her.
"You will never bring honor to your family!" she shouted before walking away.
As everyone dispersed, two women tried to comfort Mulan. I continued watching from a distance. She intrigued me. I used my skill to check her stats and my eyes widened—her talent was purple! My father only had a handful of purple-grade talents. I needed to recruit her for my personal army.
I followed the three women as they departed, a gloomy atmosphere surrounding them. Eventually, we reached what appeared to be Mulan's family home. When she entered and closed the door, I jumped onto the wall and peered over.
She seemed to be from a noble family. How could I convince someone like that to join my army? She didn't look like she'd ever wielded a sword. Soon I saw her in what appeared to be a shrine, lamenting about honor again. What's with these people and honor? I then sensed unusual energy coming from the shrine—from the statues and ancestral tablets. After observing briefly, I decided to ignore it for now and focus on Mulan.
Later, she sat under a beautiful tree with purple leaves. A man, presumably her father, approached and comforted her.
She had just begun to smile when drums sounded in the distance. The man stood up and headed toward the estate entrance.
Three riders on horseback arrived in the village. Mulan's father stepped outside the estate. When Mulan tried to follow, her mother held her back.
"Citizens, I bring a proclamation from the Imperial Palace. China has been attacked by the Huns. By order of the Emperor, one man from each family must serve in the imperial army," announced the lead rider.
He unrolled his scroll and began reading names.
"The Xiao family," he called.
A man from the crowd stepped forward and took a scroll.
"The Ye family," he continued.
An elderly man and a young man approached.
"I will serve in the imperial army in place of my father," the young man stated.
The old man nodded with pride.
"The Fa family," he called out.
Mulan's father handed his cane to his wife and limped forward to receive the scroll. Seeing this, Mulan rushed forward to intervene.
"Please, sir, my father is injured and cannot fight," she pleaded.
"Silence!" the man shouted. "You would do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man's presence."
"Mulan, you dishonor me," her father said, turning away from her.
As the official prepared to leave, his eyes suddenly turned to me.
"You," he pointed.
I looked around before pointing at myself.
"Me?" I asked.
"Yes, you. Which family are you from? You don't appear to be local," he added.
I shook my head.
"I'm not from here—I'm just visiting," I answered.
He narrowed his eyes.
"You look like a fighter. Have you combat experience?" he asked.
Everyone stared at me. I nodded.
"I dabble in fighting, but I don't have much experience. I've only ever fought my father," I explained.
"What is your surname?" he inquired.
"Haddock," I answered.
"Quite an unusual surname," he remarked. "Which person from your family will join the imperial army?" he asked.
"Me," I lied.
He smiled and nodded. He then signaled to the soldiers behind him. I knew what he wanted and walked toward the soldier, who handed me a scroll which I took with a smile.
He nodded, then rode off.
As I watched his silhouette disappear, I remembered that I was trying to recruit someone. I turned around and, not seeing Mulan there, walked away.