Chaos Heir

Chapter 1500: Allies

The echoes of Khan’s voice kept resounding and spreading further through the quadrant before eventually dissipating. Even his connection to the symphony retreated, releasing it from his command.

At that point, Khan closed his eyes, sensing the cold hand holding his and the foreign affection and pride seeping through the mental connection, but focusing on his previous words.

The speech had come out more desperate than Khan would have wished for. Soldiers followed strength, while Khan felt he had projected weakness.

Still, everything Khan had said was the truth. That war was about the very right of any mana-based living being to exist, so it was their responsibility to fight and help. It was a unifying struggle to remain alive, which Khan hoped his words had conveyed.

Of course, Khan didn’t expect much from the people in the white desert. After all, they were already somewhat confirmed allies out of virtue of their presence at the gathering.

The whole point of the speech was to reach the ears and hearts of those who weren’t in the desert, hopefully prompting them to ignore duties and oaths to prioritize the war.

Namely, Khan wanted the evolved warriors on the Global Army and noble families’ payroll to understand the gravity of the situation and forsake the dangers associated with revealing themselves, abandoning their posts to focus on what truly mattered.

Obviously, Khan wouldn’t mind if alien monsters joined his call to arms, too. He would even accept forgotten offspring of the Great Old One’s species at that point. Human evolved warriors were simply more likely to hear and listen to him.

No murmurs resounded once Khan’s speech ended. The partying didn’t resume. The guests even refrained from drinking, seemingly stuck replaying those words in their heads, conflicted about what to make of them.

That wasn’t due to the speech’s contents. Most guests were already aware of the threat’s nature in the end.

The issue was with the speech’s origin. Prince Khan was an infamous, fearsome individual, so hearing him basically begging for help was nothing short of shocking.

That went entirely against the idea that most people had of Khan. His usually overbearing and domineering actions were nowhere to be seen there. The guests only heard a man desperate to do the right thing, willing to demean and disgrace himself to achieve the greater good.

Nevertheless, before anyone could decide whether to respect or laugh about Khan’s actions, the Thilku Emperor started to stand up, generating familiar earthquakes despite his methodical gesture.

The earthquake prolonged the silence, and Khan reopened his eyes, pointing their blue glow at the tall figure towering on his left. He didn’t know what the Emperor had in mind, but spotted the intact drink in his six-fingered hand.

"[Ah]!" The Emperor suddenly cried, his voice louder than ever, but also carrying a specific purpose.

Due to the never-ending series of shockwaves, the meeting among evolved representatives was at the center of a deserted area encircled by dunes, which the Emperor’s cry blew apart now.

Sand blew everywhere but failed to reaccumulate into physical hindrances, either dispersing past the vast gathering or vanquished by the appointed defensive measures.

The crowd still hindered most guests’ vision, but the meeting’s true center was finally visible now, displaying the Emperor’s still-standing frame.

The Royal Guards followed suit, standing up, lifting their drinks at their fearsome leader, only looking at him but waiting for his speech to begin.

"Lord Blue Shaman knew about this enemy before being crowned Lord," The Emperor announced, making the quadrant’s defensive measures work overtime, "Before being crowned anything."

Unlike the Royal Guards, the Emperor had his gaze on Khan, matching his. It also sounded like he had done his research since tasking Khan with that special mission.

"He was alone," The Emperor continued, "But he fought anyway, knowing no one would believe him."

The Empire was guilty of that, too. Khan had shared the feelings from his nightmares to convince the Royal Court, but the Emperor had still waited until he brought back actual proof to mobilize his armies.

"And even if he had remained alone," The Emperor added, "He would have continued to fight, facing the whole war by himself. I’ve seen his resolve myself and will crush anyone who questions it."

Needless to say, the violent shockwaves and tremors that accompanied the Emperor’s statement sent chills down everyone’s spines.

Of course, that didn’t include Khan. If anything, he felt the urge to tease that big alien over his deadly protective stance toward him.

"But Lord Blue Shaman isn’t alone!" The Emperor cried. "Lord Special Emissary brought us together to fight the greatest war the universe has ever seen, and fight it we will!"

Thilku stood up all over the gathering, uncaring of the confused gazes the surrounding guests shot at them, lifting their glasses toward that central spot in the desert.

"And win it we will!" The Emperor cried again. "For Prince Khan’s efforts, for the Empire’s pride, and to defy death!"

That change in titles didn’t go unnoticed, but Khan dismissed it, standing up while also lifting his cup, bringing order to the symphony the Emperor had turned into a chaotic mess.

"To defy death!" Khan shouted, the sky echoing his voice once again.

"[Ah]!" The Emperor roared, inflicting irreparable damage to the quadrant, which his broadening smirk deepened. However, his eyes remained on Khan, eventually marking the end of the toast.

Khan drank, while the Emperor threw the entire cup into his broad mouth, gulping it whole. The Royal Guards echoed his roar at that point, shouting so loudly that everyone in the gathering heard them.

The other Thilku obviously followed suit, crying while emptying their cups, completing the toast their leader had called for.

Meanwhile, the Emperor stretched his now-empty hand forward, repeating his last statement in a far more contained voice, even switching to the Thilku language. "[To defy death]."

Khan didn’t hesitate to take that hand, shaking it with conviction and firmness, reassured beyond reason. Even if no one were to listen to his call to arms, he knew he already had the best allies in the entire universe.