Chapter 48: The Premeditated Chess Game: Controlling the Kingdom
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After delivering a devastating blow to the Empire's and Kingdom's warring forces, forcing both sides to abandon their conflict and retreat, Ash temporarily halted his assault. But it was only a pause. Walking casually across the battlefield as if taking a stroll, Ash moved towards the high-ranking positions within the Empire's forces. While nervous soldiers continued to retreat, he made his way up to the imperial commanders.
Gathering magic power in his hands, he released a beam of killing magic that swiftly swept through the command tent, completely annihilating the core leadership. Without delay, he turned to the Kingdom's side and did the same. As chaos erupted around him, Ash made his purpose clear to the remaining, scattered troops.
After taking down both sides' commanders, he left a trail of disorder behind him, capturing a few key officers. Under Aura's control, these officers provided the information Ash was seeking. With that knowledge, he turned his attention to the nearby estate of an imperial noble. Compressing earth and stone beneath him, he created a massive sphere, towering as large as a castle, and brought it crashing down onto the mansion, leveling it with overwhelming force.
Leaving a warning that this was a punishment, Ash took Aura, who was consolidating her magic to maintain the balance of power, and they silently proceeded to another nearby noble's residence for a further test of his control abilities.
If the noble's will was too strong, he'd abandon the attempt. Fortunately, they encountered little resistance. As nobles close to the center of power, they had become more attached to a life of luxury than one of defense. With ease, Aura manipulated their minds, allowing Ash to set the initial steps of his plan into motion.
Indeed, Ash's actions—from his battlefield intervention to these attacks—were far from meaningless. His fierce display on the battlefield served as a message, a visible show of strength, while his targeting of nobles would genuinely instill fear in those responsible for conscription. The officers he eliminated were precisely those advocating for child soldiers, making his intent unmistakable.
Alongside his aim to eradicate child soldiers and fulfill his agreement with Frank in his own way, Ash used his bold actions to cloak his more subtle movements, quietly planting seeds of influence among humans.
After all, his goal wasn't simply to take on the title of Demon King; it was to ultimately control the entire world. But with the Empire presenting particular difficulties, he started by planting a few "thorns" among its nobles.
Thus, he exited imperial territory and shifted his focus towards the Kingdom.
Although the capital was fortified by a barrier left by Flamme—a magical defense that had served as the core protection against demons for millennia—even Ash couldn't entirely comprehend its nature. Not even Frieren fully understood it, but through preserved control methods, they managed to maintain the barrier, allowing people to move in and out as they pleased while relying on internal controls.
Through this, Ash, with his powerful yet discreet abilities, infiltrated the barrier undetected, altering it just enough to permit Aura to follow him inside.
"Though this isn't your first time in a human city... it's your first in a capital with such a barrier. Impressive work~," Aura remarked playfully.
Inside the carriage, Aura discreetly opened a crack in the door, glancing at the streets around them. Amused, she raised her foot and nudged the man posing as their coachman in front, observing the bustling capital with intrigue.
Feeling a surge of impatience, he grasped her ankles and pulled them under his arms, forgoing any further words.
He closed my eyes and rested along the way until we arrived at the entrance of the Royal City in the heart of the capital.
"—Who goes there!"
At the city gates, a line of knights clad in heavy armor spotted the strange carriage that approached without pausing. Startled, they drew their weapons.
The "coachman" cast them a single, chilling glance. An invisible force swept over them, stirring up dust and scattering tiles along the ground. In the next instant, the knights were lifted from their feet and flung against the walls like fish tossed by waves.
The tightly shut gates of the royal city, reinforced with powerful magic, barely held up before crumbling like paper under the searing glow of purple light—a product of the killing magic.
Without acknowledging the guards scrambling to assemble, the carriage continued its steady pace, moving unhurriedly toward the grand castle that served as the royal palace.
At any other time, a raid like this might have been impossible. But, relying on the ancient protective barrier as their strongest defense, the kingdom's main forces and elite soldiers were already engaged in battles against demons and the empire.
The kingdom's highest authorities could not have fathomed that the ancient barrier they held in such esteem would be shattered.
As a result, only two capable defenders remained in the capital, making this the perfect opportunity. Ash was resolute; he wouldn't waste the chance. He was here to dethrone the king and claim the nation as his own, setting the stage for his future ambitions.
…
Royal Palace, Audience Hall.
In the midst of an urgent meeting to discuss the troubling reports from the front lines, the doors to the audience hall were suddenly thrown open.
A soldier, clad in heavy armor, stumbled forward and fell, then scrambled up to kneel on the floor, shouting in desperation:
"—Your Majesty! Intruders! There are intruders!!"
"Intruders? What…"
The king, seated upon his throne, was still in the middle of his response when he saw two figures step into the hall. His pupils contracted in shock, and he bellowed, "Guards! Capture these two—"
Before he could finish, Ash raised his hand without a moment's hesitation.
Boom—!
A powerful surge of repulsive force erupted, sending the soldiers who had just surrounded them hurtling backward, their momentum even greater than before. The guards' cries ceased as abruptly as they had started.
"Your Majesty…!" a nobleman whispered, his face drained of color as he stared at the king, who now shivered visibly, hunched in his throne like a man gripped by an unseen chill.
"Who… who are you?"
Ash, a youth who appeared no older than eighteen and could have passed for either a boy or a young man, exuded an air of ominous authority. In stark contrast, the king—a man well past seventy, with a bloated and trembling frame—struggled to suppress his fear, hoping only to buy himself a few more moments. Yet Ash seemed utterly indifferent to his feeble attempts.
"You may go in peace," Ash announced. "From this moment on, I shall protect this kingdom in your stead, shielding its people from both the empire and the demonic threats." His gaze swept over the nobles with an unmistakable air of finality, as if he had no intention of holding further discourse. He gestured toward Aura.
As the assembled nobles' eyes fell upon her horns, a collective gasp escaped them. But Aura's gaze held no mercy as she withdrew an ancient scale.
Realization dawned upon the crowd, and in an instant, dread took hold. They recognized the scales from legends—a rare and overpowering magic known only in whispers. Desperation clawed at them as they attempted to flee, but… it was already too late.
"Submit to the magic," Aura commanded, her voice dripping with malice as she delivered the words that made their blood run cold.
Everyone in the room froze. Their bodies, unresponsive, were held in place by her spell, and their magic flowed inexorably toward the scale. The weight of the spell drew from them, sealing their fates with an inevitability that could not be denied.
The end result was bleak—hopeless, at least for them.
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ANOTHER WEEK AND ANOTHER RANKING SO POWER STONES WOULD BE APPRECIATED
AND CHECK OUT A NEW BOOK I JUST UPLOADED:
NAME: COTE: A TALE OF CYNICISM AND STRATEGY
SYNOPSIS:-
After three weeks in the hospital recovering from a car accident, Hachiman Hikigaya feels he's missed his chance to fit into his class. But when he receives a recommendation to attend the prestigious Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, opening in May, he decides to take a fresh start—encouraged by his sister Komachi to find friends. Soon, he finds himself entangled with a unique group:
Karuizawa Kei: "You're my host now, so it's normal for us to be close."
Sakayanagi Arisu: "You seem troubled by ordinariness. I have a reliable plan for future geniuses."
Horikita Suzune: "I tried making a bento yesterday, if you'd like some."
Kushida Kikyo (with a dark smile): "We know each other's secrets, so it seems we're tied together now."
Komachi comments dryly, "Onii-chan... I'm not sure this is what having friends looks like!"