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479 Obliterated Without a Chance to Resist

On the top of a lush green hill on the outskirts of the Holy Knight Empire\'s capital city, Vaan, his ladies, the border lords, a few matriarchs, and a few imperial lords were situated.

There, they camped, overlooking the grand city with the enormous Sun God statue at its center.

They were waiting for the city gates to open.

However, after waiting more than half an hour, it became clear that the city gates weren\'t opening for anyone. That was even after they announced the empire\'s defeat in war and demanded the city to surrender peacefully.

"Imperial soldiers are arming themselves and lining up on the walls, my Lord. It seems that the city intends to fight with whatever troops they have left, even after losing their army and emperor," Aeliana commented with a frown.

"The Holy Knight Empire\'s capital city is home to more than 10 million people. If they intend to fight to the bitter end, they could definitely hold out for a while. However, it\'s unlikely that everyone in the city would want to go down with it," Vaan said before giving the dragons to scout the city.

\'Find out who is commanding the city to resist.\'

"Yes, Supreme Leader."

Shortly after Zodreg and the other nine Rank 5 dragons answered, they immediately flew over the skies of the holy city.

At the same time, Vaan and the others patiently waited for their news.

When Vaan said the city could hold out for a while if they intended to resist to the bitter end, he was only speaking for his army. It was a different story if he was included in the picture.

Nevertheless, after waiting for fifteen minutes, Zodreg and the others returned with their reports.

\'Supreme Leader, it appears the Queen Dowager, the emperor\'s mother, is leading the resistance. She is forcefully conscripting soldiers from the general populace to make up the numbers.\'

\'There are also some conflicts among the people getting conscripted, Supreme Leader.\'

\'It appears there are a number of people who do not want to be conscripted to fight. A few people have been executed on the spot for refusing.\'

"Supreme Leader, I have discovered an entire legion of powerful aura users. It seems they are all at least Peak-stage Aura Lords, which should be stronger than most nobles and lords. They seem to be called the Great Imperial Legion."

"The empire had such a strong card left but didn\'t use it in the war?"

Shortly after hearing the report, Vaan immediately pulled a high-ranking imperial soldier over to learn more about the Great Imperial Legion. Once he listened to the details, he quickly understood why the Great Imperial Legion wasn\'t brought along for the war.

The Great Imperial Legion was loyal to the empire, but they also placed great importance on the imperial lineage.

In other words, they answered to the true heir.

"That\'s fine. I\'ve heard enough," Vaan stated.

"My Lord, if you can, please spare the members of the Great Imperial Legion," the imperial soldier pleaded before adding, "It\'ll be a great loss for our empire."

"That will depend on their attitude," Vaan calmly replied before directing everyone, "Ready the troops and prepare to enter the city. I will have them open the gates for us."

"Yes, my Lord!" the imperial commanders and matriarch witches answered.

There will be no further war. Their war with the Holy Knight Empire had already ended with the emperor\'s death and the imperial army\'s submission.

Now was the time to clean up, and they had to do it fast.

After all, even if they had enough justifications for invading the Holy Knight Empire, the other countries may not readily accept the Kingdom of Black Rose taking over another country.

And even if they did, there was always a chance that the Holy Knight Empire\'s neighboring countries would take the opportunity to divide the land for themselves while the Holy Knight Empire was weakened without consideration for the consequences.

There were always idiots blinded by greed like that; they would fuck around and find out the hard way.

As such, Vaan had to stabilize the Holy Knight Empire quickly before the hungry hyenas started getting ideas.

\'Show them the recordings.\'

"Yes, Supreme Leader."

Following Vaan\'s instruction, Zodreg and the other Rank 5 dragons brought out the magic tools and displayed the large records in the sky for all to see. From beginning to end, the Holy Knight Empire was shown to be at fault.

All their schemes were exposed, but the real nail in the coffin was the reveal of not one but two Devil\'s Contractors. More importantly, they were other than their emperor and peace-loving, holier-than-thou Marquis Salazar.

The hearts of the empire were immediately shattered, common people and imperial soldiers alike. Even the Great Imperial Legion appeared to have lost its soul.

With such darkness exposed to the world, their pride in being part of the Holy Knight Empire was utterly destroyed.

"Don\'t believe it! There\'s no way our emperor could have been a Devil\'s Contractor! That\'s just witchcraft! Illusions, conjured to confuse and demoralize us! Do not fall for the witches’ schemes and tricks!"

An enraged voice bellowed as the Queen Dowager made her appearance on the northern walls, accompanied by a man who appeared to be a Rank 5 Aura King.

However, he was only an Early-stage Aura King, far from the emperor\'s height.

Even so, the man possessed a commanding presence and authority that could sway others into obeying him, albeit still inferior to the emperor.

He was Duke Elfed, the Queen Dowager\'s nephew from her side of the family, which had gained power after the Queen Dowager\'s husband ascended the throne and made her the empress.

That said, Duke Elfed and the Queen Dowager appeared intimate without any feelings attached, as if they had made a deal after learning Emperor Renardier died.

"Stay strong, proud warriors, sons, and daughters of the empire! We shall not and will not fall for the enemy\'s tricks! Do not believe the lies that they show you!" Duke Elfed thundered, attempting to raise everyone\'s morale.

However, his efforts, while somewhat effective, were still ultimately in vain in the end. Vaan only needed a crack in their hearts, let alone a gaping abyss.

The Queen Dowager and Duke Elfed\'s superficial patching wouldn\'t be able to recover the empire\'s fighting spirits after what was to come.

"I\'ll be back," Vaan informed Eniwse, Aeliana, and Hester.

Shortly after, Vaan launched himself into the air, leaving behind a trail of blue flames as he had his way over the capital. He eventually stopped at a good spot in the sky and looked down at the masses below.

"The war has already ended, and you have lost. Therefore, cease this meaningless resistance and surrender. There is no need for the empire to continue bleeding. Anyone who still resists will be regarded as an accomplice of the Devil\'s Contractor and a traitor to humanity," Vaan stated.

His voice traveled far and wide, easily reaching the ears of every person gathered near the northern city walls.

The women, children, and some imperial soldiers were all ready to give up.

However, on the other hand, the lords and nobles who feared losing their positions strongly rejected the idea, even if they knew it wasn\'t a good choice.

That was because they couldn\'t accept the potentially miserable life that would follow after the Holy Knight Empire acknowledged its defeat.

As such, they would rather dig a deeper grave for themselves than surrender.

"We haven\'t lost yet! Our walls still stand firm and tall! Our defenses are strong, and we have the protection of our Sun God! So your paltry tricks won\'t work on us!" Duke Elfed barked before ordering the troops, "Shoot him down! How dare a witch\'s plaything soar over our heads!"

Multiple ballistae aimed their giant arrows up and fired. But at Vaan\'s height, they failed to reach him. Even if some did, they lost most of their power to affect him.

Vaan casually swatted the giant arrows away like they were flies, then glanced down at Duke Elfed with a cool, indifferent expression.

Since the person expressed his desire to resist, he could only blame himself for what followed.

Vaan pointed his index finger at the person, and a beam of white flames descended from the heavens with unimaginable speed and destructive power.

The capital city\'s magic barrier, which the people had pride and confidence in, was easily torn apart instantly.

Duke Elfed\'s defiant look stiffened as the bright white light greeted him like the coming of heavenly judgment.

Boom!

The highly destructive white flames struck Duke Elfed\'s location, vaporizing everything in its path as it melted away that part of the city wall and continued into the ground for several dozen feet.

After the white flames\' brilliance subsided, Duke Elfed\'s figure was nowhere to be seen, gone from the world, completely obliterated without a chance to resist or evade.

Before the person could repel the empire\'s calamity and sit on the promised throne, he had departed from the world.

Many gazes were directed at Duke Elfed\'s absent spot, full of shock and disbelief, including the Queen Dowager\'s as she craned her neck to the hole in the ground beside her.

The pain of her missing arm, which had disappeared along with Duke Elfed, wasn\'t registered in her absent-minded state; she appeared out of touch with the world in her shock.

Nevertheless, people eventually recovered from their frozen state before they glanced up at Vaan in the sky with newfound fear and dread.

"Your Sun God is not here, but I am. And I assure you, my divine wrath is very real," Vaan calmly stated.

---

Sorry, everyone. I\'ve been hoping to work harder for a mass release, but it\'s been a struggle to even update daily due to my poor health. And unfortunately, it has declined again. As such, I don\'t recommend buying privilege next month. I\'m not confident I\'ll be able to keep up with the daily updates.

The only good news I have to share is that my declining health has finally prompted me to get a blood test and figure out what\'s wrong with me after years of neglect...