Chapter 291: My Governance

"Both the Dead Range and the Fire Swamp are under new governance..."

All members of the Auric Cabal and Ichor legion shuddered where they stood in tense silence; their hearts pounded so loudly inside their chests that they were certain the others could hear. The weight of Kai’s words settled over them like a death sentence.

Now that Barbara and Chester were gone, their groups’ power had crumbled into nothing.

Every single arrangement that had once protected them and gave them benefits—the hunting, the territories, the influence—was now dust. The Dead Range and the Fire Swam no longer belonged to them.

Kai’s group—the Ambrosia Pact would now claim everything.

Of course, they were still strong.

Still one of the most powerful freshman groups under the Ambrosia Pact, but number two as well as number three were nothing compared to number one. Not to mention, before this, they had treated Kai badly.

Riding their high horse, they looked down on Kai and his group.

Now, Kai and his group had become the strongest.

All of them knew that there would be no mercy for them—it was simply the way of things.

Strong people would always dictate and rule over the weak.

Additionally, they also saw how Kai treated Barbara and Chester. Both were killed during the tournament, and even as they died, there was no emotion in his eyes. His heart remained icy-cold, like watching an insect die.

Kai studied them.

His eyes scanned the crowd and noticed their helplessness.

He could see the resignation in their eyes and the weight on their slouched shoulders.

It was natural to be like this, to expect the worst.

Being blacklisted to hunt and mine in the Dead Range and Fire Swamp. Complete prohibition from occupying the other cultivated clouds. And perhaps even crippling taxes that would put them in a state of exhaustion for years to come.

All of them already braced for those things.

Already imagining the long, bitter climb back to relevance.

But that wasn’t what Kai had in mind. It wasn’t why he had gathered them here.

Kai would rather have himself sit at the very top of the food chain by getting rid of Chester— and Barbara, not because he wanted vengeance, but because he believed he would govern far better than anyone.

He couldn’t trust anyone to be kind to him when they were stronger than him.

But he trusted himself to be kind if he was the one stronger than others.

"They’re now under my governance," Kai added—as he placed both hands behind him. "But do not be mistaken, I’m not going to bury you. I gathered you all here to impose the new rules that would apply starting today. And there are only two rules you must follow."

Kai raised a finger.

"Rule number one—the tax for all mined mana ores in Dead Range and Fire Swamp is set at five percent per person."

As soon as the crowd heard that, they made a collective gasp.

Considering that the Ambrosia Pact has full control over the two cultivated clouds, they could set the tax rate to whatever they wanted. But five percent was incredibly low. Before this, the Auric Cabal and Ichor Legion set the tax rate at twenty-five percent.

One mare ore per four mined mana ores.

Kai reduced that tax rate by more than half—it was extremely shocking.

He then raised another finger.

"Rule number two—the tax for the harvested null gems would be ten percent."

Once again, the crowd couldn’t believe how generous Kai was being.

Even though he could be a dictator, as he was now the Red Prince, he decided not to do that.

"Excuse me, Red Prince Kai." One student at the center of the crowd, someone from the Auric Cabal, raised his hand. "What is the catch for this? The tax rate is good and all, but I seriously doubt that you’d be this generous for no reason."

"Don’t lump him in with the same standards as you fuckers," Dorian stepped forward, sneering at the student behind his mask. "Do you think everyone is as greedy as you—and your previous leaders? Please. Red Prince Kai is not like that, and you better be damn grateful.

"If it were up to me... I’d make slaves of you all. Got it?"

Dorian’s words hung in the air, heavy and unexpected.

All of them exchanged glances, torn between believing this arrangement or not.

But then again, the more they thought back, the more they began to believe Kai really was not that kind of person. He had always been the one picked on—Never the one starting a fight, and also never lashing out unless provoked first.

And as they considered it, a quieter thought surfaced.

Kai deciding to be fair without hidden motives might actually be the truth.

"If I were forced to cough up a reason for being like this," Kai’s voice rang again, pulling their eyes away from Dorian. "Then I am doing this for the sake of letting bygones be bygones. No need to dwell in the past, and let us focus on the future."

Silence swept across the entire area.

Every single student immediately thought back to their families in the Hive.

Anything that happened to them would mean trouble—for their families. So, it was better for them to keep their gazes fixed ahead, to look into the future. No matter what happened in the past, the present had more urgent reasons to stay focused.

Just then, a hostile voice crawled through the air.

"After you brutally killed our leaders, you tell us to let bygones be bygones?"

Kai’s eyes shifted and focused on a female student from the Ichor Legion.

She has curly black hair and bright green eyes.

"What is your name?"

"I don’t have to state my name. And I’m not going to forget what you did."

"What I did?" Kai’s voice turned icy, and his eyes narrowed sharply, turning into a blade. "I made a bet with Barbara; there are witnesses to that bet, and she lost, so she fulfilled her end of the bargain by killing herself. As for Chester, he was corrupted, and I simply have no other choice but to kill him."

"Bullshit!" the female student roared and unsheathed her dagger, infusing it with mana until the blade turned green. "Chester was supposed to win! He’s a High Angel, and you’re simply a Lesser Angel. You must’ve cheated! I refuse to believe you’re that strong."

"Cheated...?" Kai chuckled inwardly.

Ironic for this female student to say that he cheated when Chester was the one who was given all the advantages to win that round. Kai was the one who got tortured before the tournament. Kai wasn’t the one who wielded strong gears. Kai wasn’t the one who was given enhancement serums.

And for some reason, despite the obvious, this female student still thinks that he cheated.

"Did you seriously believe that? Believe that I, a Lesser Angel, cheated?" Kai asked.

Just that question alone broke her delusional reality.

In the academy where the Lesser Angel was treated the poorest, how could he cheat?

Seeing the anger radiating from the female student, Kai nodded his head.

"I get it... You’re his girl, aren’t you? I understand that you’re grieving—but think clearly for one second and accept reality." Kai tilted his head a little. "Chester is simply weaker than me, and thus, he lost. But that’s in the past. Don’t make a mistake that’ll ruin your future."

"You cheated, and I’ll expose you by killing you here!" the female student charged.

Even as the truth pressed down on her, even as the cold reality charged the air, she refused to believe it. Her stubbornness got the better of her. Her dagger came up, pulled back to her ear, and as she closed the distance, she swung horizontally with everything she had.

She aimed to carve a line across his face.

Once he bled, everyone would see.

Once he was wounded, they would understand that he had cheated. That his rise was a lie.

But reality had never cared about her delusions.

Kai’s hand moved in a blur of motion. His fingers pinched the dagger mid-swing, stopping it dead in its arc. The impact should’ve sliced through his head. Instead, the blade was stopped, trapped between fingers.

And at that moment, the female student’s eyes flew wide.

Her breath stuttered.

Kai’s eyes narrowed as he squeezed the blade, shattering it.

Clang—!

Pieces of steel rained down between them, glinting under the golden sunlight before clattering to the stone. Her fingers were still curled around the empty hilt, while her mind scrambled to catch up with what her eyes had seen.

Before she could move, Kai raised his index finger.

Mana gathered at the tip, and he pressed it gently against her chest—right at the solar plexus.

"Deep Slumber."

Splash—!

A discharge of energy spread across her body, lighting up every nerve at once.

And then, the slap came.

Kai’s palm cracked across her face with enough force to send her tumbling sideways; her body dragged through the ground before stopping ten yards away. She didn’t get up. She couldn’t, to be exact.

Her body was paralyzed by the dark energy that infiltrated her mana flow.

Only her eyes moved, still trying to understand what happened.

"The sooner you accept reality, the better it would be for you." Kai lowered his hand, and his expression was unchanged. Then, he shifted his focus back to the crowd. "Seems like there will be a third rule that I’m going to put in place.

"Rule number three—anyone who cannot move on from the past would be crushed. Anyone who still wants to go against me would become a pariah." He turned towards Dorian. "Dorian, if you’re willing."

"Sure," Dorian chuckled sinisterly as he limped towards the paralyzed female student.

He stopped when he towered right beside her.

"Hm... If I scarred your face, the mask would cover it." Dorian mumbled inwardly—but the female student could hear him clearly, and fear began to creep into her eyes. "If I pull out your limbs, you won’t be able to mine. Oh, I know what to do."

Dorian squatted down and reached his hand towards the female student.

Even in her paralyzed state, she still tried to move.

But she couldn’t.

Dorian’s fingernails lengthened into claw-like points, and then seized the female student’s ear. A sharp twist. A brutal yank. Blood streaked down the side of her face as her ear tore free. Her mouth opened to scream—but no sound came.

And to make sure she couldn’t hide it, Dorian went further.

He grabbed a handful of her curly hair and cut it short with his sharp fingernails.

Only then did Kai speak again.

"I am willing to be magnanimous and forget about the past," He declared. "But don’t think even for a second that I don’t have a heart to break you down. I am still the Red Prince. Fall under my rule, or be like her. Your choice."