Free Web NovelChapter 303: The Fall of the Crimson Robes
A ripple of crimson energy left their fingertips, hurtling toward Krug’s chest.
Before the spell could even cross half the distance of the room, it simply fractured. The crimson light fizzled into a few pathetic sparks and vanished into the cold air. There was no ambient mana left to fuel it. Glitch had already swallowed the God of Valleys’ entire domain, leaving the kings entirely disconnected from their source of power.
The kings staggered backward, gasping for breath. The ruler in the center stared at his trembling hands in absolute horror. "The connection... it’s gone. The Valley is completely hollow."
Krug stopped at the base of the dais and rested the heavy head of his greataxe against the marble floor. "Your god has been devoured. Your domain is glass. Your army is dead."
He looked up at the three trembling rulers, his slit pupils entirely devoid of pity or anger. "But my sovereign is not entirely without mercy. Kneel right now. Pledge your blood and your dynasty to the Red Spiral, and you will be allowed to live as administrators of this territory."
Kronos stepped up beside Krug and lowered his star-iron broadsword. "Do it," Kronos urged, his deep voice echoing across the massive hall. "Voranthar is dead. The alliance is broken. Swallowing your pride is the only way you survive this day."
The king on the right sneered, spitting a glob of saliva onto the pristine marble stairs. He drew a curved, ceremonial dagger from his crimson robes. "You are a coward, Kronos. You traded your empire to become a leashed dog for foreign invaders."
The center king straightened his posture, lifting his chin high as he pulled his robes tightly around his shoulders. "We are the sovereigns of the eastern valleys. We bow to no false god, and we certainly do not kneel to a mutated beast forged in a laboratory."
"We die as kings," the third added, unsheathing his own blade with shaking hands.
Krug stared at them in silence for a long moment. He didn’t feel insulted by their words. He only felt a mild, clinical disappointment at their utter lack of logic. They had zero chance of winning a physical confrontation, yet they chose annihilation over adaptation.
"Pride," Krug muttered softly, shaking his head. He hoisted his greataxe back onto his shoulder and placed his iron boot heavily on the first step of the dais. "A useless emotion."
Kronos stepped in front of the Apostle, extending a hand toward the dais. "This is madness," Kronos pleaded, his deep voice resonating through the cavernous hall. "Accept the terms! Submitting to the Spiral is beneficial for your realm. They offers order, logistics, and survival. Do not throw your lives away over a lost war."
The center king sneered, his pale face twisting with disgust. "You may have so easily abandoned the Heavenly Divine Emperor, the god who forged your ancestors’ empire and blessed you with that very armor, Kronos. But we will not betray the God of Valleys."
The king on the right pointed his trembling ceremonial dagger down at the Gildreath Emperor. "And do not compare our kingdom to yours. Gildreath is bloated with weak, sniveling citizens who beg for protection. The Morval Dynasty has no citizens. We only possess warriors, and they are already dead on the valley floor!"
The delusion was absolute. The kings were so consumed by their pride and their domain’s violent culture that they didn’t even recognize the thousands of terrified servants, merchants, and commoners currently cowering in the lower city.
Krug did not give them another second to speak. He surged up the marble steps with terrifying speed.
He swung his greataxe in a sweeping arc. The heavy iron blade cleaved cleanly through the neck of the king on the right, sending his severed head tumbling down the dais to bounce against the cold stone.
Without breaking his momentum, Krug dropped the haft of his axe and stepped directly inside the guard of the center king. He grabbed the ruler by the throat, his massive armored gauntlet entirely eclipsing the man’s neck.
Krug squeezed, crushing the king’s windpipe with a sickening, wet crunch. The ruler’s eyes bulged, his hands clawing uselessly at the iron plating before he crumpled to the floor.
The third king shrieked and lunged forward with his blade. Before the steel could even scratch Krug’s armor, Kronos stepped up onto the dais and drove his star-iron broadsword straight through the third king’s chest, pinning him against the back of the silver throne.
Silence rushed back into the throne room, broken only by the steady dripping of blood onto the polished black marble.
Krug looked down at the dead rulers.
He drew a heavy combat knife from his belt and efficiently severed the heads of the two remaining kings. Gathering all three by their luxurious, ash-covered hair, he dragged them across the throne room floor, leaving thick streaks of crimson trailing behind his heavy iron boots.
He marched out through the shattered oak doors and stepped onto the grand palace balcony overlooking the ruined courtyard. Down below, thousands of terrified, surviving commoners—the very people their kings had refused to acknowledge as citizens—huddled in the ash, surrounded by an impenetrable ring of Vanguard infantry.
Krug raised his arm and hurled the three severed heads over the stone railing.
The heads plummeted from the balcony, bouncing off the lower steps and rolling into the center of the courtyard.
They came to a rest in the dirt right at the feet of the trembling crowd. The citizens stared in absolute horror at the glassy eyes of their former rulers, understanding instantly that the old world was gone. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
With the brutal execution of the crimson-robed kings, the Morval Dynasty officially collapsed. The war was over, finally cementing the Fourth Continent entirely under the absolute banner of the Red Spiral.
Krug looked up at the sky and asked, "My Lord, have I entertained you enough?"
Rubedo chuckled, staring at the screen.
"You have done a great job, Krug. Now take care of the rest. I will let Iron-Scale know of your achievements today. That should get him a bit pumped up."
