Chapter 562: No Mercy for the Crown [1]
The battlefield was a scene of utter devastation.
Bodies lay scattered across the plains and smoke rose from craters left by meteors and lightning strikes.
The ground was churned into mud and blood, with the occasional flicker of dying flames still licking at the grass.
Standing amidst the ruined battlefield, Brandon slowly raised the silver blade.
With a sharp flick of his wrist, he slashed the air, sending a spray of red blood flying off the edge.
Behind him, Scylla, Camille, and Lisette stood in silence.
Brandon opened a small dimensional rift beside him and slid the silver blade into it.
"Now, no one will know that I can use ether."
Camille stepped forward, holding the severed head of the Nubines Commander by the hair.
She knelt respectfully and placed it on the ground in front of Brandon.
"Master, here it is,"
Scylla stretched her arms high above her head, rolling her shoulders with a satisfied groan.
"Now let’s go back and take a bath. Master, it’s been a while since we bathed together."
HUH?
Camille and Lisette’s bodies stiffened at the same time. They turned their heads sharply toward Scylla as their eyes widened in disbelief.
"W-What?" Lisette stammered "You bathe with Master? Naked?"
Scylla tilted her head innocently, "Obviously. How else are you going to bathe without getting naked?"
Lisette gasped, her gaze trembling as her face turned bright red "T-That’s..."
Camille’s gaze lowered slightly and a flicker of jealousy flashed across her usually stoic expression.
’Tch... I thought she was just a dense musclehead. But to think she is closer to Master than me...’
The three women stood in awkward silence for a moment.
Brandon let out a soft, helpless sigh "Scylla. You really have no filter, do you?"
Scylla grinned, completely unbothered "What? It’s true. We’ve bathed together plenty of times."
"I even wash your body."
Camille and Lisette exchanged a quick glance, both clearly processing this new information about their Master’s... bathing habits.
Brandon shook his head with a faint smile "Anyway, let’s finish what we started. I want the Nubines Emperor’s head."
Lisette walked to him and her brown hair was disheveled from the fight "Then you would join Nubines’ Empire into the Holy Land?"
Shaking his head, he replied "No, I will let the Eurasania Empire conquer it."
"In a way, I am the Emperor of Eurasania after all."
Lisette squinted slightly ’Yeah, I almost forgot Master is the husband of Lady Amelia Bleaufort.’
Through that marriage, he held significant influence over the empire, even if he rarely exercised it openly.
Camille nodded her head "Good move. Let Emperor Valerian and his people do the heavy lifting and take the credit."
"We weaken Nubines, they absorb it, and the Holy Land stays clean while gaining an even stronger ally. No messy occupation for us."
Brandon turned to her with a smile "You are sharp as ever, Camille."
A faint blush colored her cheeks hearing his compliment "Thank you, Master."
"Let’s go."
---
Deep within the heavily guarded war pavilion, far from the blood-soaked plains.
The large tent was lavishly decorated with silk banners bearing the Nubines crest.
A long table was laden with roasted meats, fine wines, exotic fruits, and delicacies brought from across the empire.
Servants moved silently, refilling goblets and clearing plates.
At the head of the table, Emperor Stephanus Thorne of Nubines, a tall man in his late fifties with silver-streaked black hair, was sitting.
He lounged in a grand chair with a goblet of rich red wine in his hand, laughing heartily as he tore into a leg of roasted boar.
Three kings from the vassal kingdoms under Nubines’ influence were sitting around him.
The Emperor raised his goblet high, "As long as I stand with the God, no mortal can stand against us!"
"That so-called Herald of the false Goddess? He is nothing but a man. A mortal playing at power. But with Lord Naacht Zontax on our side, we will crush the Holy Land!"
King Varak slammed his fist on the table in agreement, "Indeed, Your Majesty! With a true God fighting for us, those awakened bitches will be nothing more than tools in our hands."
"We will breed an army of them and conquer the continent!"
King Lorian laughed loudly, raising his own goblet "To the fall of the Holy Land! And to the eternal glory of Emperor Stephanus and Lord Naacht!"
Servants hurried to refill the wine as the laughter grew louder.
"That fool Kael thought he could threaten us by destroying Nacirfa. Now we will take everything from him. His land. His precious ’Goddess’s legacy.’"
"And when we are done, the world will bow to Nubines... and to the true God who chose us."
"Any moment now, we should receive word of our victory."
"The assassins I sent to kill that pregnant whore Freya should have angered him. And in his rage, he will make mistakes. Then Lord Naacht will descend and end him."
Then suddenly-
Screams erupted from outside.
Emperor Stephanus lowered his goblet, frowning. "What is that noise?"
King Varak stood up, swaying slightly from the wine "Probably some idiots fighting over rations again. I’ll have them flogged-"
The tent flaps burst open violently.
A bloodied soldier stumbled inside, with blood streaming from a deep gash on his forehead.
"Your Majesty!" he gasped, falling to his knees. "Disaster! The vanguard... it’s been annihilated!"
The Emperor’s face twisted in confusion "What nonsense are you spouting?!"
"We sent thousands! With awakened elites and Lord Naacht’s blessing! Speak clearly, fool!"
More screams echoed from outside. The sound of running horses and desperate shouts grew louder.
Another soldier burst in, collapsing at the Emperor’s feet.
"They’re dead... all of them! Killed by four people. Seems like The God is also dead!"
Emperor Stephanus stared at the soldier, his goblet slipping from his fingers and clattering to the floor.
"...What?"
King Varak’s face turned pale "Lord Naacht... a God... killed by a mortal? Impossible!"
"The entire vanguard... wiped out by four people?!"
"This... this is a lie! It must be a lie!"
Outside, the screams intensified.
Emperor Stephanus slowly stood up from his seat, "Naacht Zontax... a God... defeated?"
"By that... that damned Herald?!"
He slammed his fist on the table, "Send reinforcements! All of them! Mobilize every awakened woman we have! We will crush him before he reaches us!"
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