Chapter 459: Submission and Pasha
“This… this Emperor has slain a Fire Giant!”
“Gods above…”
“It’s true! A Fire Giant has been killed—killed and eaten by this Emperor!”
“He’s far more powerful than any Fire Giant! He is the Master worthy of our true allegiance!”
A massive Fire Lizard Elder, his lower body a thick serpentine tail, cried out in awe.
These slaves had been under the yoke of Fire Giants in Black Iron City for countless generations—so long that even the Fire Lizards themselves had been bred as a slave race, their bloodline bound to servitude for over a dozen ancestral cycles. To them, the image of an omnipotent “Master” was deeply ingrained, a relic of millennia of enforced loyalty.
Even after being freed, their hearts still clung to that old, sacred ideal—the chains woven into their very flesh, the psychological dominance imposed by the Fire Giants over generations, could not be broken so easily.
Rebuilding a new Divine Statue was far simpler than shattering the old one.
Similarly, shifting faith was far easier than destroying it completely.
And now, with the very embodiment of their divine master—so long considered invincible—crushed beneath a mightier, more colossal force, and devoured before their eyes, the instinctive reverence and worship naturally transferred to Kai Xiusu.
A chorus of trembling, fearful murmurs rose from the slaves.
“He granted us Free Citizen status!”
“What a merciful Emperor!”
“Yes, indeed!”
They spoke in their own tongues, each voice trembling with awe, their eyes—so different in shape, color, and form—burning with fawning devotion, with worship for strength.
Though Kai Xiusu had declared them free, most still instinctively followed their old habits, replacing the Fire Giant with this new Dragon Emperor as their Master.
“Long Live Emperor Kai Xiusu!”
“Burn, Empire of Ashen, forever!”
The Fire Lizard Elder raised his arm, shouting with fervor. His Common Tongue was clumsy, stilted, laced with the guttural tones of Fire Race speech, yet every syllable rang with genuine devotion.
Thud!
He dropped to one knee, his lizard-like head pressing against the scorching ground. His thick serpent body writhed with excitement.
One by one, other enslaved races followed, as if triggered by some deep, primal instinct. They dropped to their knees, foreheads pressed to the blistering earth, murmuring their Master’s name in reverent whispers.
The heavy chains around their necks clanked together, the metal shackles on their ankles rattling in unison, a cacophony of liberation and submission.
“Hmm… impressive.”
“Those Fire Giants really knew how to raise slaves.”
Kai Xiusu hovered high above, wings beating gently, his pale golden eyes scanning the kneeling masses below. His expression gave no hint of emotion.
Swish—
He descended slowly, landing on the ground with a soft thud, sending up a storm of ash and dust.
Ignoring the kneeling slaves, Kai Xiusu raised a claw and slashed through the air with a burst of fire, tearing open a massive spatial rift.
Through the portal stepped over a thousand soldiers from the Empire’s Fire Elemental Plane Advance Force—marching in perfect unison, rifles at the ready. Under the command of their officers, they formed a disciplined line before Kai Xiusu.
Each soldier was ecstatic. This was the Emperor’s personal inspection! What honor! How many in the Empire would never have such a chance? And yet, here they stood, before the Dragon Emperor himself.
Boom!
At the command, the soldiers raised their rifles and fired a salute.
The Fire Lizards and Fire Dwarves on the ground flinched violently, trembling in fear, thinking they were about to be attacked.
But Selkan, half-kneeling before the Red Dragon, placed his right hand over his left chest in a flawless “Loyalty” salute.
“Your Majesty!”
“The Fourth Imperial Advance Guard stands ready at your command.”
“Selkan,” Kai Xiusu said, glancing at the tense, trembling slaves, “I need you to secure control of this city—including these… Free Citizens.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“First Battalion—take over the Eastern South District!”
“Second Battalion—secure the Western Quarter!”
The officers issued orders according to military protocol.
Selkan stared at the anxious slaves, his draconic jaws curling into a grim, feral grin.
“Please,” he said, “lead the way.”
Under the slaves’ guidance, the Empire’s soldiers swiftly took full control of the city. Along the way, they encountered hidden remnants of Fire Giants—some stealthy, lurking in the shadows. But after years of relentless combat, the Empire’s soldiers had learned the weaknesses of these elemental beings, and they easily extinguished the scattered rebellions.
Still, the peculiar customs of the Fire Elemental Plane unsettled them—like the flaming fountains atop Emir’s mansion, or the trinkets the Fire Giants had collected, capable of reducing mortals to ash in an instant.
Kai Xiusu returned to the city wall, gazing up at the churning, orange-hued sky. Thick steam clouds billowed overhead, and ash rained down like snow. His pale golden eyes glowed faintly, and sulfur-scented smoke curled from his nostrils.
He looked… exhilarated.
“Strange celestial signs…”
“Is it finally happening?”
“The true envoy of the Fire Giant Great Sultan. Even if the Great Sultan himself cannot come, at least one Pasha must be sent.”
Boom!
A deep, thunderous rumble echoed across the wasteland, followed by the sharp, cracking sound of air tearing apart.
The lava river below surged violently. Wildfires across the wasteland roared higher, frenzied, consuming everything in their path. White-hot steam poured into the air, and faint, dancing flames drifted through the atmosphere like ghostly threads.
Lava plunged over the cliff, forming a colossal, roaring waterfall of liquid fire. The molten torrent shattered the earth, creating natural whirlpools that agitated the surrounding elemental energy into chaos.
Above, the sky split open with a spectacle of unimaginable scale—a flaming vortex, over a hundred meters in diameter, swirling like the gaping maw of a lion. Debris and ash were sucked into its vortex, as if the very world trembled before its fury.
“That’s…”
“A Flame Lion!”
The elder Fire Lizard trembled violently, his bloodline screaming with ancient terror. The memory of a Pasha’s colossal form—seen only once in his youth, nearly a century ago—flashed back into his mind, still vivid.
“Lord of Flame…”
“It’s a Pasha! A noble Pasha has arrived!”
He gasped, overwhelmed with awe.
“Noble?”
“Before the Emperor, no one holds the title of noble. Be careful with your words,” Selkan said coldly, arms crossed.
“Y-Yes, sir… forgive me!”
High above, the phenomenon continued. First, an arm emerged from the heart of the vortex—thick, powerful, forged from flame. Then the rest of the body followed.
A Fire Giant.
But unlike any ordinary one—this being towered over the landscape, dwarfing even the largest of his kin. At least ten meters tall, his frame was colossal, his skin a deep crimson shot through with violet veins, etched with intricate, glowing fire patterns.
His eyes burned with furious flames, twin stars of white-hot fury. On his head, two black, curved horns spiraled upward, and thick plumes of smoke curled from his body like a living aura.
His crude, scaled skin was draped in rich silken robes, adorned with golden bracelets and rings. But the most striking feature was the radiant, refined gold ring around his neck—glowing with arcane power.
It was a rare treasure, a gift from the Fire Giant Great Sultan himself. A symbol of rank, a sign that this was one of the six direct servants of the Great Sultan—only the most powerful Fire Giants were granted such honor.
“Red Dragon!”
“You have crossed the border!”
“The Elemental Plane of Fire is the Great Sultan’s realm—the sacred land of Fire Giants! You will not defile it here!”
The roar echoed across the scorched wasteland.
Kai Xiusu watched the enraged Fire Giant in the distance, his pupils narrowing. A flicker of interest crossed his draconic face.
“So… even one Pasha possesses such power…”
【Ismael Enver Pasha】
Challenge Rating: 24 (65,000 experience points)
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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