Chapter 70: Its Name is Sovereignty (Seeking First Subscription!)
When Shaya appeared in the city at the foot of the mountain, holding Silvia in his arms.
What greeted his eyes was a sea of fire.
Scorching flames surged, licking every inch of the city’s stone and every rooftop.
The strong wind stirred up dust and ash, carrying the decaying scent of cinders.
Shaya frowned, gently shifting his body to shield the unconscious Silvia behind him with his trench coat, protecting her from the dust.
…
This ancient royal capital, named Azure Court, was uncontrollably heading towards ruin.
The great fire was merely secondary. In this world where extraordinary powers existed, if it were just ordinary flames, a few Rank 4 or higher water-attribute Monarch beasts would be enough to completely extinguish the raging inferno.
The source of the calamity was the calamity beasts rampaging through the city.
They were enveloped in a dim, yellow light, their bodies colossal as they moved among the buildings of the Royal Capital of the Azure Court, crushing houses to dust.
Through the twilight aura, one could see the appearance of the calamity beasts. Most of them were common beast species found in the wilderness of the Azure Court Duchy, such as the long-haired mammoths with shaggy fur, and giant tortoises with an ancient tree growing on their shells.
Most of them were herbivores, rarely attacking humans intentionally in their normal state.
However, driven by that dim yellow light, these normally gentle giants were now filled with bloodlust, charging madly through the royal capital, destroying everything within.
The garrison guarding the royal city assembled on the city walls in small groups, the roar of the magic cannons echoing through the sky.
Magic cannon shells exploded against the flesh and blood of the calamity beasts, blood splashing across the ground. These giant beasts’ bodies became mangled, and after letting out mournful cries, they fell to the ground—
But soon, new calamity beasts, shrouded in the dim yellow light, surged forward one after another.
Facing the might of the magic cannons directly, they seemed to defy biological instinct, never fearing death.
“Damn it, aren’t these things afraid of death?”
On the city wall, a young guard soldier slammed his palm against a nearby stone wall, causing dust to fall.
Beside him, the barrel of the magic cannon glowed crimson, hot to the touch.
On the intricate magic array, sharp warning sounds blared one after another, indicating that the magic cannon’s load had reached its limit. If it weren’t cooled down, it could explode at any moment.
Yet, even with the magic cannon’s firepower pushed to its limit, the tide of rampaging calamity beasts within the royal city showed no signs of abating.
“This dim yellow light that drives familiars into a frenzy, making them lose their reason and control…”
“It reminds me of the disaster over ten years ago, it’s exactly the same.”
The old soldier captain sighed, gazing at the collapsing, burning royal city below the city walls.
The Azure Court Duchy occupied an extremely awkward geographical location.
Its borders directly adjoined the Lost Kingdoms, constantly facing the threat of barren beast tides and the abyss.
Therefore, most of the elite troops in the Azure Court Duchy, as well as many high-ranking Beast Tamers, were stationed at the borders for extended periods to deal with any potential outbreaks.
For the same reason, the garrison remaining in the Royal Capital of the Azure Court consisted mainly of weak, old, and infirm personnel, with few Rank 3 high-level Beast Tamers.
Facing the brutal situation of a beast tide attacking the city, they had no means of dealing with it other than relying on the magic cannons to inflict damage.
If they were to personally engage these giant beasts, driven mad by the dim yellow light, their Rank 1 or 2 Beast Tamer strength would be crushed into meat patties by these behemoths in an instant, a futile sacrifice.
Boom—
A loud noise erupted, and another magic cannon exploded in the distance.
The immense magical impact blasted several soldiers operating the magic cannons nearby, severely injuring them. They were quickly carried away by their comrades for rescue.
“Captain, ninety percent of the magic cannons are already operating beyond their limits—”
“If this continues…”
The hurried report was interrupted by the old soldier captain raising his hand.
“No need to say more.”
“Abandon the magic cannons.”
“All garrison troops, withdraw from the city walls, avoid engagement, and assist the residents in evacuating.”
The sudden order stunned the surrounding soldiers.
“Has it really come to this?”
“The royal city… is lost…”
A young soldier muttered softly, a look of bewilderment in his eyes.
This was the symbol of the entire Azure Court, and the home they had lived in since childhood.
Even during the great calamity over a decade ago, the royal capital had not been completely destroyed and had quickly recovered.
But at this moment, they had to abandon it.
However, the soldiers’ bewilderment was quickly dispelled by the soldier captain’s urgent scolding.
“Houses can be rebuilt, cities can be recreated. People who die are truly gone forever!”
“What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and evacuate the populace!”
The surrounding soldiers snapped back to reality, acknowledged the order, and rushed towards the residential areas below the city walls.
Only the old soldier captain remained on the city wall, gazing at the collapsing city below with his cloudy, ancient eyes.
Towards the young, inexperienced soldiers, full of vigor but easily flustered by setbacks, he concealed some words.
Actually—
These beast tides could be stopped.
Although there were no high-ranking powerhouses among the garrison stationed in the royal capital, making it difficult to stop the rampaging monsters.
However, the royal city was also the ancestral land of the Grand Duke Brunstadt’s family.
There were still several elders of the Brunnhildr Family residing in the royal capital who had reached Rank 4.
If they could join forces, along with the various foundational strengths and trump cards of the Brunnhildr Family, it was not impossible to drive these giant beasts out of the Royal Capital of the Azure Court and protect the city.
After all, these calamity beasts, though ferocious, lacked any intelligence and would surely be no match for opponents of the same level.
Just as Grand Duke Brunstadt had done during the calamity ten years ago.
But—
More than half an hour had passed since the commotion erupted in the city, and the beast tide had been indiscriminately crushing the town. Even ordinary soldiers of Rank 1 and 2 had reacted.
Yet, the grand and luxurious Grand Duke’s Mansion located in the center of the royal city remained eerily silent, with no sign of activity.
The Brunnhildr Family was in trouble…
This was the truth the soldier captain had painstakingly hidden, the most terrifying truth—
Houses could be rebuilt, cities could be recreated, and even, crudely speaking, people could be replaced.
But if the Grand Duke’s family, the focus of the people’s hearts, and the Grand Duke Brunstadt, the protector of the nation, were gone…
Then this kingdom named Azure Court would truly be relegated to history.
And they, who had lost their homes, would only become refugees fleeing the disaster.
Wandering between different countries, with nowhere to belong.
…
Shaya, carrying Silvia in a princess carry, walked silently through the ruins of the city.
Within his eyes, a faint silver moonlight was swirling.
Giant Twilight Calamity Beasts, one after another, stepped past him. They rampaged, their might deafening, yet they completely ignored Shaya.
One Fire-Scaled Lizard’s path even overlapped with Shaya’s.
But just as they were about to collide, the Fire-Scaled Lizard’s body shifted slightly, allowing them to pass each other.
This strange phenomenon naturally attracted the attention of those with discerning eyes.
After Shaya turned a corner, figures clad in yellow robes silently appeared on the surrounding ruins, secretly surrounding him.
One person, seemingly the leader, stepped forward.
First, he swept his chilling gaze over Shaya’s calm face, then shook his head as if finding nothing.
But immediately after, the black-robed figure’s gaze fixed on the maiden sleeping peacefully in Shaya’s arms.
“The sole daughter of Grand Duke Brunstadt… Silvia Brunnhildr.”
“And also, the key to unlocking the Master’s seal and bringing forth the twilight upon the world again.”
In his hoarse voice, there was an unbelievable ecstasy.
Almost simultaneously as the leader spoke, streams of familiar summoning light flashed rapidly.
Some strong, some majestic, some gloomy and indistinct… dozens of oppressive energies locked onto Shaya at the same time.
Without further words, and without asking Shaya’s identity.
These cultists launched an all-out assault on Shaya the moment they appeared.
They were indeed connected to Norton, and it wasn’t impossible to guess that the youth before them might be Norton’s subordinate sent to control Silvia.
However, just as Norton had said… the alliance between Norton and the cultists only lasted until the eve of this great chaos.
Silvia.
This was a key that could potentially peer into the divine realm.
No one would be at ease entrusting it to someone else, even if they might be an ally.
Wind blades, lightning, fireballs, water pillars, energy bullets…
Innumerable offensive skills were unleashed.
The multi-colored light that flashed simultaneously illuminated Shaya’s pitch-black eyes.
“I actually rarely kill people. Even if someone deserves death, I prefer to knock them out with illusions and hand them over to the Directorate for a bounty.”
“But today, I’m in a very bad mood—”
“Seeing a girl who loves me to death, begging me with eyes like an abandoned pet, that feeling is truly unbearable…”
A calm sigh resounded.
The next moment.
Within a hundred-meter radius, every cultist who harbored hostility towards Shaya was drawn by some unknown force to look up.
What met their eyes were a pair of golden pupils that had changed from pitch-black at some unknown time.
Blinding and piercing, the light was as bright as day, like molten lava.
It was like the dragon eyes of a Pureblood Dragon, or the divine eyes that looked down upon all beings from above the clouds.
The moment they saw those golden eyes.
Within the heart of every cultist, their originally fervent faith wavered, replaced by an urge to worship the owner of those golden eyes.
It was as if the owner of these golden eyes was not an adversary competing for the key, but a monarch seated upon a magnificent throne, and they were all their subjects.
On the skill description of the crimson “Heart of the Conqueror,” there was only a short line of text— “Potential to become a King.”
And what Shaya was displaying now was the advanced ability derived after the “Heart of the Conqueror” reached perfect proficiency.
Its name was—
“Sovereignty.”
Ten thousand words of update completed. I will try to update more tonight.
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