Chapter 480 Elsbeth's Judgment
Following Vaan's claim, an immense amount of fiery power converged toward him from every direction, causing his body to shine brightly and blindingly. The intense radiance forced everyone to look away or lower their gazes, almost as if they were bowing their heads.
Instead of summoning a white sun to intimidate the mass, Vaan himself became the white sun, embodying the holiness and purity of its white flames.
Although the scale was small, the presence Vaan radiated was just as great; his divine presence commanded respect and worship.
In that instant, his gaze carried that much more weight.
Even if the people couldn't see it, they could still feel it, which forced them to acknowledge his divine might and prostrate on the ground. The being before them was someone who could dictate their life and death with a single thought, just like the Sun God they worshipped.
To the people of the Holy Knight Empire, the Sun God represented absolute authority.
Within his domain, he was both the giver of life and the reaper of death; his light was warm to those who followed him and scorching to those who opposed him.
Without the Sun God's light, there would only be darkness in the world.
The Sun God was viewed as holy and benevolent, but he never solely represented the goodness of the world. No, The mistaken belief was formed by his blinding, pure light and festered through the passage of time.
However, when the people of the Holy Knight Empire first worshipped the Sun God, he was originally viewed as neither solely good nor evil, benevolent nor malevolent – for he was the arbiter of good and evil, the bringer of balance.
Good and evil did not choose him; he decided what was good and evil.
In the past, the Holy Knight Empire frequently used the Sun God's name to conquer its neighboring kingdoms; the neighboring kingdoms were labeled heretics for not conforming to their faith in the Sun God.
Because of that, no other country in Pangea followed the same faith in the Holy Knight Empire's Sun God. To them, the Sun God was a false god made up by the Holy Knight Empire to be used as an excuse for its selfish, aggressive territorial expansion.
However, the people of the Holy Knight Empire truly believed in the Sun God. The prosperity they enjoyed was all credited to their faith in the Sun God.
As such, when Vaan's image started to overlap with the Sun God's statue in the minds of the imperial soldiers, they quickly lost their will to fight and disobeyed Elsbeth, the Queen Dowager.
They could fight any man but never a god.
Submit, and they might live or defy, and they will die. There was no in-between; resistance was futile – such was the kind of divine presence Vaan projected.
"The Sun God in the flesh…!"
"It's the Sun God! Our god has emerged!"
Following numerous exclamations of the Sun God, many old war veterans prostrated on the ground while shivering in fear without daring to look up.
After all, the Sun God was opposing their empire.
It was possible that the Sun God had emerged to deliver his judgment and wrath for their past misdeeds of misusing his name to wage war and conquer other small countries.
"What the hell are you all doing?! How dare you bow to the enemy! Get up! Get up right this instant! Get up and fight!"
Despite Elsbeth's hysterical and mad howlings, no one listened to her. Her authority as the Queen Dowager meant nothing in front of the Sun God.
No one dared to squeak, let alone speak on her behalf. The pressure from Vaan's silence also made them hold their breath. Even one clenched their rear, not daring to let out a fart.
"Elsbeth Braveheart, the emperor's mother… The Holy Knight Empire can be spared, but you won't be. A treacherous snake like you must die. But before that, I will have you spill every crime you have committed during your lifetime. I doubt the information I have is everything."
"What the hell do you know about me?! And who the hell do you think you are to judge me – when you yourself are a dishonest person with the audacity to impersonate our Sun God!"
Elsbeth spat at Vaan venomously after listening to him condemn her while looking down from above with a cool, collected, and indifferent expression.
"Impersonate your Sun God?" Vaan coldly smirked with a hint of tease as he coolly replied, "Did I claim myself as such? I am only using my power as I see fit. How you interpret it is your problem, not mine."
"And even if I am impersonating your Sun God, that would be considered a merciful act on my part since I can just erase this entire city with a wave of my hand," Vaan coolly stated. "As for your crimes… I do know quite a fair bit."
"Secretly instigating conflicts between members of the pro-loyalist faction, ordering the assassination of countless key figures with opposing views, oppressing witches, removing every woman praised to be more beautiful than you, and even every person who had ever spouted a single bad word about you, your husband, or your son had all disappeared from the face of the earth."
"I could go on and list the names of every person of status you had removed within the last hundred years, but I'm sure the people are wise enough to guess your shadow is behind everyone who had mysteriously disappeared, and this is only the tip of the iceberg."
Shortly after Vaan said that, he shifted his attention to the rest of the people within the Holy Knight Empire's capital city whilst ignoring Elsbeth's livid, ghastly expression.
"People of the Holy Knight Empire, I will give you one last chance at salvation. Apprehend the Queen Dowager and deliver her to me, and you will be spared from my wrath. I will be waiting on the hill outside your northern walls, but don't test my patience."
Not even several breaths after Vaan finished speaking and returned to his hill, members of the Great Imperial Legion immediately acted. They surrounded Elsbeth, disabled her movements and magic, then dragged her to the hill outside.
As that happened, countless people also poured out of the holy city, chasing after them as if they feared being left behind, which didn't come as a surprise for Vaan.
After all, not everyone could directly participate in apprehending Elsbeth and delivering her to him. Thus, in that sense, many people wouldn't be spared from Vaan's wrath.
However, if they followed the Great Imperial Legion and Elsbeth outside the wall together, they could at least express their intent to defy the Queen Dowager.
Thanks to the dragons relaying Vaan's message, everyone in the holy city received it. As such, they all moved towards the north and poured out of the northern gate in streams with fear and anxiety.
Even so, it would still take time before the people emptied the city.
"What the hell are you all doing?! I am the Queen Dowager! This is treason! How dare you treat me like this—! So much for your damn loyalty!"
"Our loyalty lies with the true monarchy of this country, and you are not of royal blood. Thus, we can only sacrifice you for the good of the empire."
As the members of the Great Imperial Legion dragged Elsbeth up the hill, where Vaan waited with his people, the converted imperial army and the battle witch army also cleared the path for them like a split in the sea.
Eventually, Elsbeth was delivered in front of Vaan before the Great Imperial Legion retreated several steps with their heads lowered out of respect.
Elsbeth's furious curses and desperate howlings were completely ignored up until that point. But, alas, she eventually made Vaan the target of her curses in front of Aeliana.
Pak! Pak! Pak!
Aeliana repeatedly slapped Elsbeth across the cheeks mercilessly, shattering her teeth, cheekbones, and jaw until she lost the ability and strength to wail.
Only muffled growlings of pain escaped Elsbeth's bloodied, split lips.
Nevertheless, Aeliana knew how to hold back and didn't rob Elsbeth of her life before Vaan settled his business with her.
After Aeliana finished delivering her punishment, Vaan waited some time for the people of the Holy Knight Empire to gather outside the city.
Their numbers easily reached the millions within minutes. But despite such a large gathering of people, they were not noisy; no one uttered a single word.
Still, their deathly silence spoke louder than any word of unease.
They had lost a ruler and found a god, but they did not know what future lay ahead of them; they were lost and concerned.
They feared the unknown future and needed an answer, an answer that only Vaan could provide.
"Your emperor is no more, but the imperial throne is not without a legitimate heir. The firstborn of Siegfreid Braveheart, the seventeenth ruler of the Holy Knight Kingdom, still lives. So if you still have some loyalty to the old monarchy, she can be your ruler. The Holy Knight Empire will not fall under the Kingdom of Black Rose's sovereignty."
Even if the Kingdom of Black Rose had all the necessary justifications for conquering the Holy Knight Empire, there were still too many issues.
Shortly after Vaan declared that, everyone was greatly surprised, pleasantly even.
However, only the Great Imperial Legion and the loyalist imperials were happy with Vaan's decision. Many people wanted Vaan to be their ruler instead.
"We don't want the legitimate heir! We want you, Your Divine Grace! Please lead us!" they said.
Unfortunately, Vaan could only shake his head and disappoint them.
"I can be your protector but not your ruler," Vaan coolly stated.
Even if the Kingdom of Black Rose had all the necessary justifications for conquering the Holy Knight Empire, there were still too many issues.
More importantly, Vaan had no interest in the throne.
A ruler had too many responsibilities and managerial work, something he didn't have time for; it would hold him back and delay his improvement. As such, it was better to put someone else he could trust in power.
That way, he could still have control over the country and not be burdened by its responsibilities, no matter how many countries he ended up controlling through such a method.
At the same time, the countries wouldn't be alarmed by any single country gaining too much power and territory through war and risking a continental war.
It was the best choice to make.
After all, even if Vaan prepared all the necessary steps for the Holy Knight Empire to fall under the Kingdom of Black Rose's sovereignty, the probability of starting a continental war still wouldn't be reduced to zero.
He couldn't expect everyone to make reasonable and wise choices; he had to account for the stubborn and stupid.
Humanity could be united under a single cause, but not a single nation. People wanted their independence, even if it was just an illusion.
Nevertheless, shortly after Vaan spoke, the imperials quickly gave up.
Afterward, Elsbeth's ability to talk was restored before she was interrogated with magic under Vaan's orders. And with everything recorded and projected on a large holographic screen, her crime was revealed to everyone one by one, including the shocking truth of three hundred years ago.
The Queen Dowager was far more vicious and venomous than the people could have imagined. Even her origin was startling.
Elsbeth had been eyeing the position of queen even before she was married into the Braveheart royal family, and she was originally a brothel worker from the capital's red-light district.
In other words, Siegfried's younger brother, the previous emperor, had married a prostitute!
The Braveheart royal family would have never allowed it if they had known it!
Alas, Elsbeth managed to change her appearance, erase her history, adopt a new identity as a noble's daughter, and marry into royalty! Her deceit and cunningness in pulling it all off were shocking but also impressive.
Nevertheless, Siegfried's younger brother was never Elsbeth's target for marriage.
Elsbeth had attempted to seduce King Siegfried on numerous occasions. She made King Siegfried's official wife, Anastasia, infertile and unable to produce a male heir solely so she could have a chance with King Siegfried.
However, King Siegfried never spared her a glance. Only after she realized she had no chance did she settle for King Siegfried's younger brother, Argos Braveheart.
The people were even more shocked when they learned Elsbeth ruined the strong brotherly bond between Siegfried and Argos and awakened Argos's ambition for the throne.
Siegfried and Anastasia's sudden deaths were subsequent outcomes of Elsbeth and Argos's ambitions.
The people eventually became numb to Elsbeth's list of crimes as they were revealed from the oldest to the most recent years.
Elsbeth seemed capable of every vile and immoral deed possible, even sleeping with her great nephew – though they had learned earlier that she was a commoner without any blood relations to Duke Elfed's family.
Even so, it didn't make the people any less enraged after they learned all her wicked deeds. Not a single person from the Holy Knight Empire's capital city revered or respected her at that point.
"It's no surprise that the mother would be more devilish than the devil spawn she raised," Vaan commented before asking the people, "How do you all want this wench to answer for her crimes?"
"Off with her head!"
Countless people roared outrage amidst other death sentences as Elsbeth regained clarity of her mind and grasped the situation with a nasty look.
"Very well. The Queen Dowager shall give head to every man present."
Following Vaan's calm declaration, Elsbeth's expression froze before flushing with a darker shade of red from anger and humiliation.
She was now the Queen Dowager, not the cheap whore she used to be!
"That's not what they said—!"
Puchi!
Vaan decapitated Elsbeth with a quick swipe of his sharp claws before anyone could register what was going on.
Elsbeth died with a furious expression as her head rolled down the hill.
"It was just a joke; don't take it too seriously. But I guess it's too late to tell you that," Vaan casually said shortly after.
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