Chapter 49: Crimson Lion

The Silver Moon Palace had already become a sea of flames.

The Alandin Guard Army had suddenly charged into the palace, attacking the Empire’s delegation indiscriminately.

The Imperial guards were thrown into chaos; they frantically called for Isabella to take charge, but when they burst into her room, they found that their Princess had left the Silver Moon Palace at some unknown time.

When they opened the door to the opposite room, the daughter of the Trenton family was missing as well.

The entire delegation fell into utter pandemonium.

Some wailed that Isabella and Winnidith had abandoned them, crying out that the Princess and the Trenton lady had defected to Alandin and that they were merely the “tribute” offered to prove their sincerity!

“Everyone! Calm down! Earlier, the Elven King transported the Princess and Miss Winnidith to the royal palace for an audience! They must have noticed the disturbance at the Silver Moon Palace by now! If we just hold on—just a little longer—the reinforcements from the City of Emerald Shadows will arrive!”

In this critical moment, it was Hiberton who stood up to try and stabilize the situation.

He gathered the panicked crowd and gradually moved them toward the back gate of the Silver Moon Palace.

With Aaron leading the charge, he commanded the guards to protect the Mages and the Mages to protect the civilians, fighting and retreating until they reached the rear exit.

But when they opened the back gate, they were met with a sight that plunged them into deeper despair—thousands of Elven soldiers stood there with weapons in hand, their expressions uniformly indifferent.

This formation did not look like a rescue party at all.

Forget the cowardly nobles from the Imperial Capital; even Aaron’s expression began to fill with dread.

He could only feel a sense of relief in his heart that Winnidith and Isabella were not currently in the Silver Moon Palace.

Fortunately, the Elven army made no move to attack.

Hiberton plucked up his courage to test the waters and found that the Elves would not initiate combat.

They simply blocked the path whenever anyone tried to leave.

It was as if they were treating the delegation as trapped prey, content to watch a slaughter between the hunter and the hunted.

Once he realized their intent, Hiberton actually grew calm.

‘If the Elven army doesn’t intervene, the outcome of the battle between the Empire and Alandin is still undecided!’

He didn’t understand military tactics himself, so he remained in the rear to settle people’s nerves, leaving Aaron in total command of the guards and Mela in charge of the Mage Corps’ actions.

The situation actually stabilized under their management.

Even though the absence of Arns meant the Empire was down one Eighth Rank powerhouse compared to Alandin, the Empire had more Seventh Rank combatants.

More importantly, they had conducted a military exercise back at Windwhisper Fortress; everyone understood each other’s strengths and techniques.

After a brief period of adjustment, they were able to coordinate seamlessly.

They even managed to push the Alandin forces back!

‘Excellent, the Elves still haven’t moved. It seems their mission is only to prevent us from leaving; they don’t intend to join the battlefield.’

The moment the tide began to turn, Hiberton observed the Elven army’s movements.

Seeing them standing there like statues, his confidence surged.

‘I, Hiberton, am also someone who can handle the big picture!’

He looked back at the trembling Imperial officials.

Back in the Imperial Capital, these were all powerful figures he had to treat with the utmost respect!

But now, these big shots could only cower behind him, placing their lives and all their hopes on his shoulders.

In an instant, Hiberton felt his blood begin to boil.

‘I am also someone who can stand at the center of everyone’s gaze! I am also someone others can rely on!’

‘Haha! Father, brother! Are you watching? These ministers only survived because of me!’

Hiberton watched with burning eyes as the Alandin rebels, suppressed by the Imperial guards under Aaron’s lead, retreated step by step.

He felt a surge of energy, wanting to let out a triumphant shout.

Now, he felt he could handle any number of enemies!

“Awoo!!!!”

A piercing wolf howl suddenly shattered the calm of the battlefield.

The expressions of Aaron and Mela instantly became grim.

Their output of Douqi and Mana increased sharply, determined to defeat their opponents in the shortest time possible!

Hiss, hiss…

Then came the sound of scales sliding across the ground.

A chilling Douqi suddenly enveloped the entire Imperial delegation, causing even some of the Mages to tremble uncontrollably.

“Ah!!! Ah!!!!!”

Swish!

A spear rapidly pierced the heart of an official.

The intense pain shattered his sanity instantly.

He howled in agony, twisting uncontrollably, and crawled on his knees toward a priest, weeping bitter tears.

“Please! Please save me! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

He could clearly feel his life force draining away, but the priest could only gaze at him with pity.

His heart had been pierced.

Unless a true God descended, no one could save him.

“Please… save… I… don’t…”

He died nonetheless, his body falling limply to the ground, his open pupils devoid of any spark of life.

“May your soul enjoy peace in the Lord’s divine kingdom.”

Father Aidan reached out to close the man’s eyes, then clasped his hands before his chest to mourn his passing.

As he chanted, a warm light gradually spread from his chest to the entire delegation.

Among the eight elements, the characteristic of Light is purification.

As the Imperial officials were enveloped by the light, their fear, anxiety, and worry vanished, leaving only a deep sense of confusion.

What were they supposed to do next?

“A pity. I didn’t find the little girl from the Trenton family, nor did I find the Empire’s Princess.”

Gareth was already standing on a roof, looking down at the Imperial delegation.

Beside him were three other Orcs.

One had grey ears similar to his; one had bronze-brown wings on his back; and one had a deep-green snake tail for a lower body.

Though their numbers were few, no one dared to underestimate them—especially Gareth, their leader.

Everyone had seen it clearly before: this man was an ultimate powerhouse capable of fighting a Ninth Tier!

“Lord Gareth, there is still no news from Azman,” Forge, who belonged to the same Red Wolf Tribe as Gareth, reported.

However, Gareth’s reaction was exceptionally flat.

“He has his own mission. We only need to be responsible for our side.”

‘Our side?’

Forge looked down at the bewildered Imperial citizens.

Their mission was to kill the Trenton daughter and the Princess, but since they weren’t here, what else were they responsible for?

“Hehe, Forge, you’re still too young after all.”

The sound of the deep-green snake tail rubbing against the roof tiles was unsettling.

The cruel female Orc licked her lips and said cheerfully:

“What we need to do, of course, is offer their blood to the great War God! Hahahaha!!!”

“Combat and blood are the only pursuits for us Orcs.”

Silas, the sole member of the Falcon Tribe present—and the one who had just pierced through the Mages’ defenses with a spear to kill the official—spoke somberly.

‘But this is pointless…’

Before Forge could finish his thought, Gareth’s palm slammed heavily onto his shoulder.

“Forge, your talent is great, but your piety toward the War God is lacking. That is why your strength has stagnated.”

Gareth’s voice unexpectedly carried a hint of tenderness.

“But it doesn’t matter. You are the God-child chosen by the War God. I will help you obtain the War God’s blessing.”

“We shall start with his blood.”

Being the target of that gaze, Aaron instantly felt like he was being watched by a bloodthirsty beast.

Primal fear crawled up his body from the depths of his heart.

He slowly lowered his head and chuckled softly.

“Heh, that’s some intense killing intent. It almost makes me scared.”

Gareth ignored the muttering.

His body transformed into a distorted grey line as he lunged toward Aaron.

“Support Mr. Aaron, quickly!”

Mela shouted, her face pale.

But Gareth was simply too fast.

Before the Mages could even mobilize their Mana, he was already in front of Aaron.

Then, he reached out a hand—one that had already claimed the lives of countless Orcs and humans.

Aaron was to be just another number.

Clang!!!

Gareth’s vision wavered.

An attack the Mages couldn’t even see had been blocked by this man?

‘Interesting.’

He looked down at the man with newfound interest, only to meet a provocative gaze.

“But my life isn’t that easy to take.”

“If you think you can do it, then try it, you animals!!!”

Blood-red Douqi erupted violently.

The fierce storm forced Gareth to fly back to the roof.

“If this is all the strength you have…”

Hiberton and the others looked in shock at the man standing before them.

His armor had been dyed red with blood.

But this wasn’t blood splattered from the outside; it was blood seeping from the inside, from Aaron’s very muscles.

With such massive blood loss, a normal person should have been dead long ago.

Yet he remained standing—standing tall and firm, like a mountain that would never fall.

“Heh.”

Aaron let out a laugh, his blood-red eyes looking at all his enemies with contempt.

“You’d better watch out, or your Grandpa Aaron might just butcher you all!”