Duke Serwan de Swor was an old man in his early 80s. He never had much grip inside his realm, and didn't have any real power, only symbolic power. He had been in the job for more than 50 years, and was tired. It was a shame that his only son died young, and only his grandson, who just completed 11 years, could assume the job.
Right now, he was seated in his office face to face with an mage. He was the only survivor of the final battle with the invading forces. By his side, there was his loyal butler, Jeffrey. He had just ended hearing the demands of the enemy.
"Thank you, Lord Mage. If you please, go out of the room." Jeffrey said. Soon enough, only Jeffrey and the Duke remained in the office.
"Your grace, how do you want to respond to these demands?"
the Duke sighed, and poured 2 cups of wine. "How do you think I should? We don't have armies, personnel, equipment or spirit. We don't have nothing."
The butler could look down in defeat. They didn't have anything. Reports came saying the south fell in the hands of the enemy. The defeat of the army was already common news, and the nobility was scared of what would happen next.
"Your Grace, forgive me, but… you should accept these terms. We are dead. If we stay, we are eaten. If we go, we are hunted. I think that your grace should surrender…" Jeffrey said with a depressing face.
Seeing this, the Duke finished his wine, and then a bitter smile etched on his face. "You know, I always wanted for my grandchildren to stay away from politics. My son died because of politics. I never liked the burden of the job, anyway. I just wish I can have a peaceful death, after all of this. Well, I guess things happen."
Jeffrey could only watch in defeat as his friend and master started to wait for death. "Your Grace, I will order the few guards that are still alive to erect a surrender flag."
"Please, do so." After this was said, Jeffrey got out of the room, and Serwan was left alone. After a few minutes, he decided to go to the balcony to see what kind of "gift" would his enemy send him. An hour later, he started seeing black dots, that then became silhouettes, and then enormous flying masses of metal. They were B-22 spirit bombers, and were flying low.
Soon enough, the hangar doors of all 10 bombers opened, and let out the weapon that was napalm in the form of steel canisters flew out in the city. Soon, the fire started spreading across the city. The screams formed an horrifying melody of death and destruction, impossible to see the mere possibility of hope in it. Swor City had a population of 150 thousand. In a single "small" air strike, 15 thousand were burned to death.
The Duke saw all of this unfold. He was very happy he made the decision of surrender. If not, he could only wait for the hell it would happen in the day after. After watching the last remnants of fire being extinguished, he went back into the castle.
——
"Sir, the flag of surrender has been etched on the city's entry last night."
"Surrender flags in this world are blue?"
"Yes, Sir."
"hmmmm" After expressing his comprehension, Isaac stopped looking at the city's gates and went in he direction of a car parked nearby.
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go."
Soon enough, the dynamic duo got in an armored car modeled after the Beast, used by the US president, and the convoy formed by their escort started moving in the direction of the city.
They easily got inside the city, since the gates were lowered, and it didn't take long for the convoy to reach the castle. There, they were greeted by Jeffrey.
"Welcome, honorable guests. Please, the duke is waiting for you in the throne room."
"Oh? Please, lead the way." Isaac responded.
after a few minutes of walking, both men, Josiah and a few armed robots arrived at the throne room. Inside, they met the duke, in his gilded throne, and a few high ranking noblemen that used to live in the capital.
The Duke decided to start talking. "I, in light of recent events, decided to surrender unconditionally before your powerful army. What shall we do?"
As the man with most magnificent clothing, that displayed his position as supreme commander of the army and as the enemy leader, all nobles and the duke new very clearly who they needed to direct themselves to.
Watching this unfold, Isaac started to smirk " I accept your surrender. Now, the duchy of Swor will be extinguished. In his place, The Principality of Judea shall come in existence. this Principality will share all territories of the previous Duchy, plus the forest of Madness, and will exist under my dynasty's rule, with me, Isaac Matthew Oliveira-Ehrlich, as his first leader. Is this agreeable?"
"It is."
"And all nobility rights for territory and other feudalistic rights shall be extinguished."
this demand astonished the nobility present. One man decided to voice his dissatisfaction and had just gotten up. "This is outrageous…" Bang. A hole formed in his chest. Thump. The man's body fell to the ground.
"This isn't a negotiation. Do you accept this term or not?"
"We do."
"Excellent." Isaac said with a smile. "Now, all individuals, except for my guard and the Ex-Duke, please, go out."
In a few minutes, all members of nobility left the room, and, soon enough, the room that was lightly crowded felt like an extremely spacious and luxurious ballroom.
The Duke, once again, was the first to break the ice. "What do you want?"
Isaac first took a look around the place, and then answered. "Tell me, if the enemy leader was right in front of you after his surrender, you would like to know what to do to him." After saying this he started closing the distance between himself and the Duke, until he was a foot distant, towering over the exhausted man.
"Tell me: what should I do to you?" Issac commented, while glaring fiercely at the old man.