Chapter 1168

With giants now serving in the Marines, the world's regard for Elbaf climbs sharply and appetite for their wares grows. Harald promises his people that joining the government will let them build ships, roam distant nations, and learn foreign cultures, which wins him wide acclaim. At the Walrus School he praises Saul for letting the children stay free and innocent, admitting that military might is, in his eyes, no longer all that defines the nation, a shift he credits to Ida. Come winter, Ida marvels at how much both Harald and the nation have shifted, urging him not to scrub away the warriors' pride entirely, before her illness finally claims her, leaving Harald, Hajrudin, and the jailed Loki to mourn.

Fourteen years earlier, Harald arrives at Mary Geoise to learn that Shanks walked away from the Knights of God on the verge of induction, so the honor passes to him as backup, which he accepts gladly if it joins Elbaf to the government. Led to the Empty Throne room and hailed as the man who will reshape Elbaf forever, Harald reveals his plan to abdicate for a younger, purer heir, only for Imu to appear seated on the throne and declare that they will decide his fate. Imu raises his Shallow Covenant to a Depths Covenant, crowning him a true Knight with vast power and immortality, then orders him to carve an Abyss into Elbaf and, that same day, to remake the whole nation into warriors.

Harald objects, willing to let his people enlist by choice but refusing to force them, yet his body moves on its own as Imu reveals the Depths Covenant forbids any disobedience. Grasping that Imu only ever wanted Elbaf's fighting strength rather than equals, Harald calls his guards, orders himself bound by chains to a pillar, and demands they summon Jarul and his sons, with Loki freed and Jarul riding for Aurust Castle, setting the stage for Harald's death. The chapter is part of the Elbaf Arc; its cover grants a request of a sheep family that knits six gloves for Hatchan, and trivia notes that, as with Chapters 1098 and 1157, several closing pages look unfinished.