**Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)**
** Chapter 662: The Fall of Andor **
As King Castro of Andor clashed with the Naga Empress, the battlefield before the Royal City entered its decisive phase.
The Beast King did not participate in this battle. He was leading another troop, intending to cause trouble in Kalun. King Castro provided him with resources, and he provided the Andor army with support; this was a fair trade, and the transaction ended there.
“What, are you finally willing to show yourself today?” Empress Azshara of the Naga sneered as she calmly approached. Soldiers who tried to block her were silently impaled by mysteriously appearing water element blades. By the time she reached Castro, the ground behind her was covered in corpses, yet she herself remained spotless, her crystal shoes unstained by the pooling blood.
Castro gazed at Azshara with his sword, unfazed by her provocation. “I used to evade because the empire needed me.” Empress Azshara scoffed, “So now, this empire doesn’t need you anymore?”
“I’m not evading now, also because this empire needs me!” Castro stood before her with his sword, a faint azure Qi flame burning up the hilt. The sharp, cold blade reflected his fierce eyes. He knew he couldn’t defeat Empress Azshara, but he had no intention of fleeing, even if he was likely to become a corpse on the ground.
Empress Azshara wasted no more words. With a wave of her hand, an azure elemental array spread open in the sky. Her body was lifted by sea currents, looking down disdainfully at the human king about to make his final stand.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Shrill whistling sounds, approaching from afar, echoed as countless water arrows formed from ocean currents shot out from the elemental array. Like a swarm of locusts, they coalesced into a “water dragon” that roared towards Castro. The long water dragon traversed half the fortress, winding through the sky. It seemed to have gathered enough power before descending upon the King of Andor.
Castro glared at the sky, the incoming arrow storm emitting a humming sound, resembling a giant, semi-transparent funnel. The wind ruffled his white hair, and the Qi flames on his sword flared up by another third. He slowly lowered his fire-forged longsword to his side. Facing the arrow storm, he swept his arm upward from below, an upward slash!
“Boom—!” A crimson crescent moon seemed to rise from the city wall, rivaling the roaring water dragon in the sky. The dense water element arrows were dyed the color of the sunset by the scorching red. Water and fire vaporized into white mist, immediately shrouding half the city wall. The water dragon was shattered by a single sword strike, and the scattered water element arrows flew towards the foot of the city wall, slaughtering the left flank of the Human and Orc Allied Forces.
“I never do losing business,” Empress Azshara indifferently cast a rippling shield to block the afterglow of the Qi Slash. Castro’s lips twitched, his gray eyes filled with hatred and fury. He remained silent, taking two quick steps to charge towards Empress Azshara with his sword. As he got close, he stomped on the ground and leaped into the air, gripping his sword with both hands, and slashed down.
“Well done! Let me show you the sword dance of the High Elves!” Azshara drew a semi-transparent water sword from her chest. Holding the sword in her right hand, she struck at the airborne King of Andor several times, five water blades rotating and attacking the King of Andor from various angles. At the same time, she tucked her left hand behind her back, a touch of azure frost condensing in her palm.
Castro dodged three water blades. He couldn’t dodge the other two and could only shatter them with his sword, his momentum already half-spent. He pressed forward, closing in on Empress Azshara. Her long leg, imbued with sharp ice blades, struck like a battle axe. He narrowly dodged by tilting his head back, shattering a tower behind him. Then, he crouched and threw an elbow strike wreathed in flames towards Empress Azshara’s face. Empress Azshara seemed to freeze, taking the blow directly. With a “bang,” she dissolved into shattered spray.
Something’s wrong! As this thought arose, a seductive and sinister voice echoed from behind him. “You’ve been tricked~” Castro’s heart tightened, a chill running down his spine. Just as he was about to turn and resist, a frost spear pierced through his chest with a “thud.”
“Old man, it’s been a while since you’ve fought, hasn’t it?” Empress Azshara pushed Castro down from the air, pinning the human king firmly to the ground with a “crash.” The surrounding city wall bricks cracked under the impact, and dust rose three meters high. The entire battlefield ground trembled for a moment. Countless soldiers looked back towards the city wall, a sense of foreboding already dawning in their hearts.
“Cough, cough, pfft—!” Castro spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes blankly gazing at the sky, now stained gray by gunpowder smoke. “Tolanda, Shina, Winnie, Miel, Korol…” He slowly extended a hand, as if trying to grasp something. But his soul was burning intensely, making his presence increasingly weak. His aged hand fell powerlessly into the pool of blood.
“Burning your soul? It’s meaningless. If I can kill you, I can naturally kill your offspring.” Empress Azshara pulled the frost spear from Castro’s heart. The power of rules was causing the human’s body to turn white, frost forming on his skin. He was about to die. “Human race, eternal prosperity…” Castro smiled faintly, looking at the sky as he took his last breath.
At the same time, in the wilderness outside the Andor Empire, two young men knelt on the ground, crying and looking up at the sky. Their Qi levels advanced from Earth-grade to Sky-grade overnight, a power derived from King Castro’s sacrifice. “Father—!” “Ah—!!” Their desperate cries, like weeping blood, lingered in the wilderness.
…
In the first winter of the Wintery calendar, on a cold dusk, King Castro of Andor fell in battle on the city wall. The Royal City of Andor was captured by the Naga Legion, and the entire Andor Empire became Naga territory. However, Empress Azshara of the Naga could not find any of Castro’s children. His queen committed suicide in her chambers, and his children had long been spirited away outside the Andor Empire. Furthermore, realizing they were no match for the enemy, they used the royal inheritance abilities to divide the Legendary-grade power among their five offspring.
This was an unbearable humiliation for Empress Azshara. She immediately ordered Naga overseers to torture Andor’s ministers, attempting to force them to reveal the whereabouts of the three princes and two princesses. Simultaneously, she ordered her army to search the entire Andor Empire and its surrounding areas. However, the King’s children were not found. Instead, they encountered a vast legion of evil god cultists.
A new wave of upheaval began. The powerful Naga Legion fought the evil god cultists without fear. Empress Azshara also summoned the great surprise she had originally prepared for King Castro—the sea monster Azunax, an octopus nearing Demigod level.
One week after the death of King Castro. Crown Prince Miel and Second Prince Korol, under assumed names, arrived in the Wintery Empire and reunited with the two princesses. In a small hut, they mourned the lost soul of Castro along with Minister Malco.
