novel
| ← Ch.050 | Ch.052 → |
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"You fools! We have sacrificed so much and helped your people out on so many occasions, just what are you trying to pull here?"
Roslin was truly angry, and it was not only because of the excessive amount of wine she had just drunk. She had been working together with Lorina for sometime now, and although it was true that Lorina's views were somewhat more radical, her motivations in helping the humans were those of righteousness and justice.
As a vampire she constantly thirsted for human blood. Still, she had never become corrupted and fallen to depravity, she simply consumed the blood in small quantities and kept control over her mental faculties largely due to this mindset of right and wrong.
However, now that Lorina's beliefs had been shaken and she was no longer sure if the undead was truly evil. Roslin was likewise found herself doubting her thinking, and right when she was the most vulnerable, the fact that she had been betrayed by the humans despite having always stayed true to them had crossed her bottom line.
"Miss Roslin, I truly hope you come with us quietly, I don't wish to do anything which would tarnish your honour...."
"Noisy bunch, how dare you doubt me. I will end your pathetic lives!"
Within seconds she had torn apart the ten royal guards apart limb from limb, using innate vampiric ability to paralyse them with fear. Her vampire instincts for bloodshed and violence as the nobility of the night had awoken and she slaughter those poor souls.
The very next day, Roslin, Lorina and her party of Warriors were charged with treason and there was a large bounty placed on their heads, wanted dead or alive. Rumours soon spread that their band had recently collaborated with a traitorous Marquis which had fallen to darkness and was known as the Devil King
'Really? Those pieces of trash actually banded together? Ha Ha Ha! Great, dealing with them together is much simpler than chasing them down individually."
I was glad to hear from Alpeon the news about Lorina. I then proceed to begin negotiation talks with the kingdom that had turned on turned Lorena's crew into rebels. We were discussing the possibility of establishing exclusive trade routes, a benefit which could not be overestimated because Necropolis had yet to do so with any other kingdom.
The land surrounding Necropolis had long been inhospitable to humans so other kingdoms held little claim on it. After all there had been many monsters inhabiting these areas which would make it quite challenging for a human settlement to survive. With Necropolis as it's capital, the surrounding lands were soon recognized by other powers as an independent nation. In just a few short years it had developed into a booming economy with its unique products and its military force didn't even need to be mentioned if one simply remembered the number of dragons it housed.
Having trading rights with Necropolis was something that any of the nations on the continent desired and they had sent countless diplomatic envoys to such end, but to this day they had all been turned down.
When the Athenian Empire heard of the trivial conditions that the new superpower Necropolis asked of them, they didn't hesitate to throw the group of misfit Warriors under the proverbial bus in order to secure this deal. It was a testament to how powerful Necropolis had become, being able to deal with Lorina's group with but a few simple promises. Roslin night of slaughter against the guards had been more than enough to sway public opinion, turning the former heroes into enemies of mankind. The human mind is quite petty in the sense that it is more likely to focus on one mistake than 10 acts of benevolence.
Necropolis' influence was so large that for fear of offending them, no kingdom was willing to accept their band.
At the end of the day they had no choice but to join the Devil King's nation. This was because they were the only kingdom which was at odds with Necropolis and therefore welcomed them with open arms because they were looking to increase their military strength.
The Devil King had been shocked by the defeat of the Elven army led by dragons, and was worried about Necropolis' military might. His forces now joined with the Warriors, were on a mission to improve their strength and had gone on countless punitive expeditions within the north where there empire was located. Razing several smaller nearby kingdoms to the grounds with an army of consisting mostly of Asmodians
Rumours of these atrocities committed by the empire in concert with the band of Warriors which had until recently been regarded as heroes, led to further resentment towards them in the eyes of humanity.
For many years now the continent had been at peace under the watchful care of the gods. There was a certain harmony between the Asmodians and Human races, which were the two most powerful on the continent. However, the Asmodian that used to be scattered and leaderless, had now gathered under the ruthless Devil King and the era of peace had come to an end.
In order to deal with the new threat, humanity's kingdoms likewise had to form a union, simply to ensure their own survival. And the war between the Devil King and Humanity's union had been now been ongoing for some time. To deal with the new threat of the Devil king and the Warriors which had joined him, one of the High God's Messiah had descended to join the fray.
'Hmm... looks like they are all fighting amongst themselves, so far everything is going according to plan.
'Johra when you first explained to me your plan I thought it was one of peace and prosperity, but now seeing it for what it truly is I'd say you would be hard pressed to find someone who is crueler than you. You played with those poor warriors live's like a puppeteer. First forcing them to betray humanity which caused them to lose the favor of the gods. You gave them little choice but to join up with the Devil King's army, permanently cementing them as the villains.
'That's what I enjoy most, seeing the brutal betrayal and their struggle to survive while I watch on casually. '
'Remind me to never make an enemy out of you. '
While conversing with Gnoss I was looking down at my metropolis from atop the observational tower. Half of it was the golden fields used for agriculture while the rest was a vibrant city.
It was truly a gorgeous city, home to countless artistic pieces made by the dwarves and I was proud of the different number of races that were all coexisting in harmony. I had formed a habit of looking down on them every so often while Valenor lay her head against my chest and fell asleep. I had everything I would ever want.
'Alpeon, how has the digging been going?'
'Lord, I was just about to make a new report to you, while digging a new layer full of bizarre insects has been discovered. '
I had instructed Alpeon to proceed with excavating along the World Roots. About every 1 km we would without fail encounter an new floor filled with a new species of insects and the further we dug the stronger these new species would be. It was a fruitful affair as the more layers were discovered, the more I could raise my level and the more nectar we could collect.
We had indeed collected an abundance of the nectar, it was was enough to provide for more than 6~7 times Necropolis' current population. However we weren't distributing it for people to drink and it was reserved as a strategic resource to be used only for the crops. The extra grains from these crops would then be crushed into fine powder which if mixed with normal water, would produce similar result to the pure nectar; albeit being far more economical.
Some of the more scientific craftsmen in Necropolis were also focusing on researching new dishes that could be created or fields of magic to be studied in concert with the nectar.
As time went by, the development of Necropolis never slowed down and likewise the level and strength of my subordinates also increased. I wasn't at all arrogant in thinking that i could take on the rest of this world with my army. The Palace warehouse contained uncountable riches and rare items from around the world and Necropolis' prosperity was evident on its citizens' faces.
"I'm starting to get fed up of this peaceful lifestyle, is it time to get my revenge on those Warriors?"
I asked Valenor while I stroke her silver hair with the back of my hand. She nodded back enthusiastically.
The time for laying low had past and the phase for my true revenge was about to begin.
'Alpeon, inform the Union's Kings that the Lord of Necropolis will lend a hand to defeat the Devil King. '
'Has the time for our revenge finally come?'
'Yes, we've waited a long time! Prepare the bottles of nectar, select but the bravest and strongest to join me on the battlefield and I will show you a great victory!'
'It will be an honour Lord. '
From that day forth, Necropolis began to finally reveal its true form. Although its peaceful atmosphere hadn't changed, the forces which I had been amassing and training in secret, deep beneath the ground had finally surfaced. It was the concentration of the world's finest soldiers and equipment all in one place.
Indeed Necropolis was a city designed and built for war. Although its economic and cultural development wasn't trivial, its main purpose was that of military power because none of that mattered if you weren't strong enough to hold onto it. It had the power to take on any army in the world, this was without even mentioning its guardian dragons.
Still, for those that knew the truth, they would say that the true guardian of the city would forever be the pinkish gold skeleton. Just this Undead King alone could bring an entire nation to its knees with but a single glance.
So, in but a small and otherwise peaceful corner of the world, Necropolis with simply over one hundred somewhat troops was about to rewrite history on the continent.
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Glossary:
Devil King: Evil leader of the Asmodians and Talvin's killer.
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