Chapter 78: The Last Supper
"So this is your city? Then I don’t think there’s any reason for us to continue this feast unless we receive a proper explanation!"
More than a hundred Elves immediately stood up. Their expressions turned cold as they prepared to leave.
Yes, my dear friends... that’s right. Stand up one after another... because this will be the last time you ever stand.
Rios laughed inwardly at the fate awaiting those Elves, though his face remained perfectly calm.
"Anyone else?"
Rios glanced around indifferently.
One Elf after another rose to their feet until their number exceeded three hundred.
Rios looked at them and waited for a while.
In the end, no one else stood.
"Very well then."
"Since this is your choice... you may leave..."
He raised his hand with a smile.
"Leave this life, of course."
Snap!
The instant Rios snapped his fingers, the Royal Guards raised their bows without hesitation...
And released their arrows.
"AAAAAAAH!"
"AAAAAAAH!"
"AAAAAAAH!"
"AAAAAAAH!"
"AAAAAAAH!"
"AAAAAAAH!"
.
.
.
Screams erupted one after another as the Elves fell like flies.
The rest of the crowd jolted to their feet in terror as blood splattered across them.
Yet not a single one dared move.
"T-This... how did this happen...?"
Several Elves muttered in horror as they stared at the scene before them.
Only moments ago...
They had been preparing to enjoy a luxurious feast.
Now...
A massacre had unfolded before their eyes.
Just a moment earlier, more than three hundred people had been preparing to leave.
A moment later...
They were floating in pools of their own blood.
Instead of being a feast for them...
It had become their last supper.
Silence fell over the plaza.
Not even a whisper could be heard.
"The smell of their blood is filthy..."
"Just like their intentions."
Rios waved a hand before his nose in disgust before looking toward the servants.
"Servants."
Dozens of servants immediately spread throughout the plaza and calmly began cleaning the area...
As though they had prepared for this all along.
"What have you done?!"
"You killed them simply because they opposed one of your decisions!"
"What about their freedom of expression?!"
Many second-level Elves stood up, led by a black-haired Dark Elf, shouting furiously toward Rios.
The Dark Elf waved his arm angrily.
"This isn’t the way of the sacred Tree of Cradle!"
"Nor of our Queens and ancestors!"
"A path built upon peace and freedom!"
"Tsk."
Rios clicked his tongue and spat to the side.
He felt as though he had just heard the stupidest words ever spoken...
...from the biggest idiot history had ever produced.
He raised his hand toward the sky once more.
Snap!
The instant the snap echoed...
Another volley of arrows shot toward those who had shouted at him.
Unlike the previous group...
These Elves were not ordinary civilians.
Those who had been killed earlier were mostly untrained, or at most first-level Elves.
The Royal Guards had slaughtered them effortlessly.
But this group...
Most of them were second-level Elves.
The moment they saw the arrows flying toward them, they immediately unleashed defensive techniques.
Barriers of water, fire, wind, and wood rose around them, blocking the incoming arrows.
The Dark Elf vanished into the shadows, causing every arrow aimed at him to miss.
The Light Elves and Lightning Elves relied on their overwhelming speed, escaping the deadly barrage.
But their joy at surviving...
Lasted only for a brief moment.
Crack!
Countless plants burst out of the ground.
They instantly wrapped themselves around every Elf who had blocked, dodged, or attempted to flee from the arrows...
And began crushing them alive.
"N-No... Please wait! We didn’t mean to—"
"Your Majestyyyy! Please, have mercy!"
"Mercy... AAAAAAAAH!"
Screams echoed throughout the plaza as the plants mercilessly crushed the Elves.
These plants had been brought to life through Rios’s Heaven-rank ability...
Blessing of Life.
A power that allowed him to infuse life energy into surrounding objects and living beings, control them, heal them, or accelerate their growth and evolution.
The screams grew louder.
Everyone could hear bones shattering...
Blood bursting through cracked flesh...
The cries continued.
Rios never even blinked.
His expression remained completely emotionless.
Beside him...
Elena narrowed her eyes, unable to bear the gruesome sight.
Nearby...
Sweat poured down Thandria’s and Etham’s backs and foreheads as they watched in horror.
As for the crowd...
Some had already fainted.
Some vomited from the sheer brutality of the scene.
Some trembled uncontrollably.
And others...
Remained completely expressionless, unmoved by what they were witnessing.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Rios tapped his glass once again, drawing everyone’s attention back to him.
The giant light screens immediately resumed functioning after shutting down when the massacre had begun.
"I know there are still more traitors hiding within this city."
"I’d be a fool if I believed a single feast like this would be enough to wipe every one of you out."
Rios spoke calmly, his expression composed.
A confident smile slowly spread across his face.
"But as long as you’re in this city..."
"I personally promise you this."
"I’ll kill a few of you every single day..."
"...until not a single one of you remains."
He slowly swept his gaze across the crowd.
"I held this feast to make several things perfectly clear."
His voice and image spread through the giant light screens as everyone listened in fear.
"First..."
"As for the path of peace and freedom preached by the sacred Tree of Cradle, and by the Queens and ancestors of the Elves..."
"I’d like to tell you something with great pleasure."
The smile on Rios’s face instantly twisted into one of utter disgust as he looked at the surrounding Elves.
"You can shove that damned path, and whoever started it... straight up your asses!"
"What... What did His Majesty just say?!"
Whispers instantly spread throughout the crowd in utter disbelief.
Had he really just insulted the sacred Tree of Cradle...
The very origin of the Elven race...
Along with their ancestors and the principles they had followed for thousands of years?
Rios didn’t wait for anyone to question him.
He immediately continued...
His words striking them like a merciless whip.
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