Chapter 62: The King’s Dismissal

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: The King’s Dismissal

"Are you finished with your family reunion?" Nova asked. She leaned against a stone wall just outside the village borders.

​"The priest is dead," Krono replied. "The holy knights are scattered. But leaving this town intact is a half measure. We need to send a proper message to the capital."

​"Who is the lucky recipient?" Elian asked. His dark golden eyes gleamed with anticipation.

​"The local Baron. He governs this territory. He funded the sanctuary. He taxes the starving farmers to pay the Cathedral. He is the first ruler we will overthrow."

​"I am quite hungry. Can I eat the guards?" Garth grumbled. The mountain dragon was currently the size of a siege wagon.

​"You can eat whoever you want. Let us pay the Baron a visit. Team Usurper has official business."

​The Baron’s estate sat on a high hill overlooking the miserable village. It was a massive stone mansion surrounded by high iron fences and dozens of private soldiers.

​Krono did not bother knocking.

​"Garth, open the door."

​The dragon roared. He charged forward and slammed his heavy mossy skull directly into the iron gates. The metal completely shattered.

The massive stone pillars collapsed into rubble.

​"Intruders! Defend the estate!" a guard captain screamed from the courtyard.

​Over 50 mercenaries rushed forward with crossbows and spears.

​Elian stepped in front of Krono. The towering ash-gray monster smiled widely.

​"Master, may I collect their life force?"

​"Do not leave a single drop," Krono permitted.

​Elian opened his monstrous jaws and inhaled violently.

The golden aura of Greed flared.

The mercenaries froze in place.

Golden strings of pure vitality ripped violently from their chests and flew into Elian’s mouth. The soldiers shrieked as their skin turned gray. They collapsed as dried husks in mere seconds.

​"That is incredibly efficient," Nova noted. She twirled a silver dagger around her fingers.

​"He is very motivated," Krono said.

​"They taste like cheap wine and fear. But energy is energy."

​"Let us go inside," Krono instructed.

​He walked past the mummified corpses and stepped directly into the grand mansion.

​The main dining hall was decorated in ridiculous luxury. Silk banners, gold chandeliers, and a massive table covered in roasted meats and expensive wines filled the room.

​Baron Aldous sat at the head of the table. He was a plump, sweating man dressed in fine red velvet. He dropped his silver goblet as Krono walked into the room.

​"Guards! Where are my guards?" the Baron squeaked.

​"They are currently resting in the courtyard. They are extremely tired."

​Nova sat on the table next to Krono. She grabbed a roasted apple from a silver platter and took a bite.

​Elian had to duck to fit his massive gray body through the double doors. He stood right behind Krono, staring at the gold plates with insatiable hunger.

Garth waited outside, loudly crunching on the broken iron gates.

​"Who-who are you?" Baron Aldous demanded shakily. "I am a nobleman of the Valorian Empire. You cannot simply walk into my home."

​"I just did," Krono pointed out. "I am the Usurper. I am here to relieve you of your command."

​"You want my territory?" the Baron scoffed nervously. "You are just a wandering bandit. The Cathedral will have your head for this."

​"The Cathedral is already mourning their local knights. Your precious Commander Vael ran away like a frightened child. There is absolutely no one coming to save you."

​The Baron’s face turned completely pale. He finally noticed the pitch-black aura rolling off Krono’s shoulders. He looked at the ash-gray monster standing in the doorway and realized he was entirely doomed.

​"What do you want? Gold? I have vaults full of it. I can pay you a fortune. I can give you whatever you desire."

​"I desire an empty throne," Krono stated.

​"I can resign!" the Baron offered quickly. He raised his shaking hands in surrender. "I will sign the territory over to you right now. Just let me take my carriage and leave."

​"You taxed the farmers into starvation," Krono said. "You built a grand estate while they lived in mud. You funded a temple that burned children alive. You are the exact definition of a parasite. Why would I let a parasite escape?"

​"I have powerful friends in the capital!" the Baron shouted. "If you kill me, the King will send the Royal Army."

​"I am counting on it," Krono replied.

​The Baron leaped from his chair and scrambled toward the back exit.

​"Elian," Krono said quietly.

​"With pleasure," the monster of Greed hissed.

​Elian vanished and reappeared directly in front of the fleeing Baron. He grabbed the plump nobleman by the throat and lifted him off the floor.

​"My wealth," Elian whispered. He stared at the Baron’s silk clothes and heavy gold rings. "Give it all to me."

​Elian’s golden aura flared. The Baron screamed as his life force was violently sucked out of his body. His plump frame withered away into skin and bones.

Elian tossed the empty husk aside like trash.

​"The town is yours, Krono. What is our next move?"

​"We will wait. The King wouldn’t sit idly by. Until then we will recruit men for our organisation."

---

Capital City.

King Zaelen sat upon the towering Ivory Throne, rubbing his temples in sheer exhaustion. The grand court of the Valorian Kingdom was exceptionally loud this afternoon. Hundreds of silk-clad nobles and wealthy merchant lords were arguing bitterly over the new maritime taxation laws.

​"The southern ports are completely blocked," Lord Sterling complained loudly, waving a rolled parchment in the air. "If we do not deploy the Royal Navy to clear the pirate fleets, we will lose millions of gold coins by the end of the month."

King Zaelen replied,

​"The Royal Navy is currently securing the northern border. I will not redirect our warships just because your personal spice shipments are delayed, Sterling."

​Before the angry noble could argue back, the massive bronze doors of the throne room were pushed violently open.

​The entire court fell dead silent.

​Captain Thalric marched quickly down the long crimson carpet. His heavy silver armor was covered in dust and dried horse sweat. He looked completely exhausted, having ridden nonstop from the Cathedral. He dropped to one knee at the base of the elevated throne.

​"Speak, Captain," King Zaelen commanded, clearly annoyed by the sudden interruption. "This had better be a matter of absolute national importance. We are currently discussing a massive deficit in the royal treasury."

​"Your Majesty, I bring urgent news from the eastern borders. Baron Aldous is dead. His entire estate has been seized by a hostile force."

​Whispers immediately broke out among the gathered nobles. A Baron being killed in his own home was highly unusual.

​King Zaelen leaned back in his throne. He let out a long, dismissive sigh.

​"Aldous was an obese, incompetent fool. He taxed his peasants into the dirt and drank himself into a stupor every single night. I am entirely unsurprised that someone finally slit his throat. Who claims his territory? Did Lord Blackwood finally hire those mercenaries to settle their petty border dispute?"

​"It was not a rival noble, sire," Thalric corrected him nervously. "The Grand Bishop sent me to warn you. A demon has claimed the town. He possesses overwhelming dark magic. He calls himself the Usurper. He completely wiped out the local Cathedral garrison in mere minutes."

​King Zaelen stared at the kneeling captain for a long moment. Then, the King threw his head back and laughed loudly. A few of the surrounding nobles nervously joined in the laughter.

​"Demons?" King Zaelen chuckled, waving a dismissive hand in the air. "The Cathedral is always crying about demons and abyssal magic whenever they fail to do their jobs properly. Grand Bishop Othomar sees a dark shadow in his soup and instantly declares a holy war."

​"Your Majesty, I swear it is the absolute truth. The Cathedral scrying orb cracked from the sheer pressure. The Usurper commands a massive gray monster and a full grown mountain dragon. Othomar begs you to mobilize the Royal Army immediately to crush them."

​The King’s amusement vanished instantly. His expression turned completely cold and stern.

​"Mobilize the Royal Army? Do you have any idea how much gold it costs to march fifty thousand men across the Kingdom? Do you know how vulnerable the capital becomes if I empty the city barracks? I am not going to declare a national state of emergency over a single mud farming village."

​"But the threat is real, sire," Thalric insisted.

​"The threat is a minor territorial feud," King Zaelen declared loudly, "Baron Aldous pushed his starving peasants too far. They finally rebelled. They probably hired a rogue hedge mage and a few cheap illusionists to scare the local Cathedral knights away. It is a pathetic peasant uprising, nothing more."

​"With respect, sire, illusionists do not shatter blessed swords with their bare hands," Thalric argued softly.

​"Enough," Zaelen snapped. "I will not let the Cathedral dictate my military movements based on superstitious peasant rumors. We have actual geopolitical crises to manage here in the capital. The pirate blockades and the northern border disputes take absolute priority."

​The King turned his attention to his Minister of Defense, a tall, heavily scarred man standing to the right of the throne.

​"General Kaldor, Take a small detachment of the City Watch. Five hundred men should be more than enough. March out to the eastern province, hang this so called Usurper from the nearest tree, and establish proper order. I want this minor rebellion crushed quietly before the end of the week."

​"It shall be done, Your Majesty," General Kaldor bowed respectfully.

​Thalric lowered his head in absolute despair. The arrogant King had completely misunderstood the massive scale of the danger. By treating the Usurper like a common bandit leader, King Zaelen had just signed his own death warrant.

Krono was currently building an organization in the east, and he was not going to wait in the mud forever.

​The court quickly resumed its boring arguments about maritime taxes, completely oblivious to the approaching apocalypse.