Chapter 610: The Emperor's Proclamation – The People's Choice
Hearing Kai Xiusu’s words, Olivia’s heart gave a sudden, violent jolt. She wanted to look away—but couldn’t. Her gaze was drawn, unbidden, to the people below, to their faces, their eyes.
How could this be?
The citizens of the Empire, having just heard the War Message, showed no fear, no panic, no revulsion. Instead, every face was flushed crimson. On those countless different countenances—each unique, each alive—burned radiant, ecstatic smiles.
The factory workers in the Military Equipment Plant were thrilled. War meant orders—torrents of them, like snowfall. Yes, the overtime was grueling, but it brought greater rewards, enough to buy a home in the city, to finally become true Isdalian citizens.
The soldiers were jubilant. War meant honor. Status. In their hearts, under the protection of the Emperor of the Ashen Flame, they were invincible. Victory was inevitable. War was not a curse—it was a staircase to glory, a trial for the brave.
The tavern owners and waiters were overjoyed too. War meant booming business. After the fighting ended, soldiers would return with military pay and spoils, flooding into taverns, throwing gold coins like confetti, dancing, drinking, celebrating until dawn. The streets would be drenched in revelry.
And the Players? They were ecstatic beyond measure. Champagne popped open in the streets. People stripped down to their bare skin and ran through the city in wild, joyous sprints, celebrating the long-awaited news.
To them, where was the cruelty of war? This was nothing but a massive, epic instance—grinding for experience, gearing up for glory!
Looking at these people—so different in status, yet all united in their exuberant cheers for war—Olivia sank into a deep, aching self-doubt. She didn’t know what to say.
Why… why, when war loomed, did everyone rejoice? Was it only her who was wrong?
Was this invasion truly just?
She recalled Kai Xiusu’s words:
“War is a means, not an end.”
“The Empire will bring true order to the Feiansuo Continent.”
“This is not for personal gain—it is the people’s choice.”
The Red Dragon’s voice carried a strange, almost magical power. It resonated deep within her soul, pulling her thoughts into an abyss of acceptance.
In an instant, Olivia’s mind flashed with images—like oil paintings from a forgotten age:
Fadalan civilians screaming under artillery fire.
The Red Dragon hovering in the sky, vast and terrible.
Empire workers laboring nonstop in the factories.
And finally—images of the ancient Silver Dragon, the symbol of the old order, falling from the heavens.
Olivia shook her head violently, whispering under her breath, her vision blurred.
“No… no, this isn’t right. The future order shouldn’t look like this. It’s too cruel. Too brutal.”
Kai Xiusu lowered his head, smiling gently as he leaned toward the silver-haired girl. His breath, thick with sulfur and heat, brushed against her pale skin. The Red Dragon’s pale gold vertical pupils fixed on her—strange, alien, like they were gazing upon a newborn infant. Olivia felt uneasy.
“Olivia,” he murmured, “you’re still too naive.”
He raised his head again, gazing at the sun above. “The old order is already crumbling. All outdated economic systems, all outdated relationships, all archaic political structures—will be crushed. And when the old world collapses, chaos will follow. From darkness and turmoil, a new order will emerge. Like every natural transformation, this one must be bloody, merciless. It will mean countless deaths, countless broken homes. And no one can stop it.”
He looked down once more, locking eyes with Olivia—tiny, fragile, trapped in his massive claw. His voice dropped, heavy with weight.
“Olivia… I thought you’d understand. I’m only accelerating what must happen. I’m using the Empire’s strength to shorten the pain—like a surgeon’s knife slicing open the skin, reaching in to pull out the new life, the newborn child.”
“Kai Xiusu…” Olivia looked up, stunned, staring at that face—touched with a flicker of sorrow. Was it genuine? Or another lie?
She still didn’t fully grasp his words—but she was already being swayed.
Perhaps… this Red Dragon, unlike any other, truly was saving the world?
The world spun. Her vision blurred. When she regained her senses, she stood unsteadily atop the Isdalia Grand Altar—free from the dragon’s claw.
She looked up.
The Red Dragon Emperor stood before his people—magnificent, noble, his wings spread wide, casting a vast shadow over the heart of Isdalia City.
“ROOOOAAARRR!”
The dragon slowly raised his head, letting out a long, thunderous roar—deep, resonant, echoing across the entire Anzeta Great Wasteland.
Olivia looked down. The citizens below were trembling with devotion—nearly frenzied in their reverence.
“Kai Xiusu above! It is truly His Majesty! It is Him!”
“Praise the Great Red Dragon!”
“As long as His Majesty is with us, we will surely win!”
They surged forward, pressing against one another like fanatical worshippers. Some even dropped to their knees, kissing the ground beneath the dragon’s shadow—believing that to stand in its light was a supreme honor.
The crowd’s voices roared like a tidal wave—wave after wave of unending fervor. Their energy never waned, their strength never faltered.
Because in the sky, the Emperor was their soul. Their strength. Their endless wellspring of power.
“Long live Emperor Kai Xiusu! Praise Anzeta’s one and only, supreme Emperor!”
“Wings wider than the sky, back stronger than the earth, tail longer than the mountains! All people worship together—the great red dragon in the heavens!”
Dragon Oath Knights recited their solemn prayers in unison. The monks of the Imperial Regiment sang the majestic, awe-inspiring Hymn to Kai Xiusu.
Even Olivia, caught in the storm of emotion, felt her heart stir. A strange excitement welled within her.
She looked up again. The sun’s radiance glinted off the crimson scales. The Red Dragon, backlit by the sun, unfurled his wings—golden lines tracing the flawless silhouette of a god.
The music swelled. The air thickened with sacred grandeur.
In her blue-gray eyes, Kai Xiusu now stood not as a man—but as a statue of deity. Sacred. Dignified. Untouchable.
Her mind reeled. The lines between the fiery, impassioned dragon and the divine, radiant emperor blurred beyond recognition.
Which one was real?
Or were they both merely facets of the Emperor of the Ashen Flame?
Olivia whispered, her voice trembling:
“Kai Xiusu… what are you truly?”
High above, the Red Dragon flapped his wings, surveying the countless souls below—each one gazing up at him with frenzied devotion.
Through his high rank and spells like 【True Sight Eye】, Kai Xiusu saw it clearly: a flood of pure, radiant strength rising from the spiritual souls of the Empire’s people—like sacred dew.
Faith.
Raw, uncorrupted faith.
Good. That’s exactly how it should be. When I claim true Divine Essence, they will all become my strength.
But now… more important is to awaken them. To ignite their war fever. To rouse the sleeping beast—our Empire of Ashen—into full life.
Kai Xiusu looked down, thinking.
Then—on his brow, the Supreme True Dragon Crown, studded with gemstones, emerged from the dragon’s head, glowing brilliantly in the sunlight, amplifying his majesty.
“My beloved subjects,” the Red Dragon began, his voice booming like thunder, shaking the city and echoing across the entire Anzeta Great Wasteland—amplified by the Empire’s domain.
Instantly, massive phantom images of a dragon’s head appeared in the skies above every city within the Empire—Bathor City in the north, Northwind Keep, Stravburg in the south, Blackstone Fortress.
Their ruler. Emperor Kai Xiusu of the Ember Empire.
And as Kai Xiusu spoke, each phantom head opened its bloody maw, roaring in unison.
Now, not just the people of Isdalia—but nearly a million citizens across the Empire—humans, great goblins, Tieflings, ogres, wyverns, chimera—every soul raised their heads, staring up at the heavens.
“My beloved subjects,” the dragon declared, calm and steady. “Greetings.”
“I am Kai Xiusu Claudew Noirikexius—Ruler of the Anzeta Great Wasteland, Emperor of the Empire of Ashen.”
His tone was flat—just stating facts. Yet in the Empire, this was already sacred knowledge.
And still, the entire realm erupted.
“Long live!”
“Long live Emperor Kai Xiusu!”
“Praise the Great Red Dragon! Bless us with victory! Let us be unbreakable!”
No need for embellishment. No need to recount past triumphs. Simply appearing was enough.
The Emperor of the Ashen Flame was victory. He was hope. He was the source of endless strength.
Of course, some fanatical “Dragon Fanatics Association” chapters dared to shout heresies—demanding to touch the Emperor’s tail, his claws, even… the end.
But they were quickly reported by outraged citizens, then seized by the Imperial Guard’s Tiefling enforcers.
Kai Xiusu, high in the sky, paid no mind. He continued, his voice calm yet powerful:
“Today, I send you to war—not merely for conquest, but to defend justice. To challenge the injustices of the world.”
【Charmer】in full effect. His words twisted reality—turning aggression into righteousness, war into holy duty. Even millions of citizens failed to sense the lie.
“These southern lands,” he said, spreading his wings, summoning a hurricane, “they are richer than ours. As the past Emperor of Fadalan said—a land flowing with honey and milk, buried in gold. A divine gift.”
“While we were trapped in the barren, desolate Anzeta Wasteland—suffering poverty for thousands of years—until the Empire was born. Only then did our lives begin to change.”
His voice grew louder, edged with fury.
“But they didn’t value it! The foolish divine heirs fought among themselves, squabbling over the legacy of the Holy Faedran Empire. They seized all the central lands—turning paradise into hell!
Should our people of the Empire of Ashen not deserve such a land? Should we just stand by, watching arrogant Fadalan lords tear each other apart?”
“NO!”
The people roared back, faces flushed, voices like crashing waves.
Kai Xiusu stood firm, voice cutting like steel.
“As Emperor of the Empire of Ashen, I will not allow it. My last hope—my beloved subjects—shall claim sunlit territories. We shall stand tall with pride, knowing we are citizens of the Empire of Ashen. Only when our banner flies high above the Northern Aether, beneath the cheers of victory, and the Fadalan remnants accept peace—only then will I find true peace. Only then will I know true stillness.”
“We will make the Empire of Ashen’s name feared across Feanso. We will make the southern scum tremble at the very mention of us. No more mockery. No more contempt!”
“Conquest!”
“For the Great Blueprint of the Empire of Ashen—give everything!”
“We will forge a new order! We will make our name their nightmare!”
Each cry sent a new wave of frenzy through the masses. Their shouts rose like a storm, shaking the earth across millions of square kilometers.
Even though Kai Xiusu’s speech was filled with illogic, with contradictions, in the grip of this collective madness, the people had lost reason. Lost themselves.
They were no longer individuals—they were part of a war machine, a beast of fury.
Workers, officers, citizens, merchants—everyone was swept into the storm. The Empire’s order amplified it, deepened it.
And this was precisely what Kai Xiusu had sought.
The continent was too vast. If they stopped, the backlash would be catastrophic.
So the Empire of Ashen must never cease. It must keep conquering—until the entire Feiansuo Continent lies beneath its shadow.
Now, at the call of its master, the monstrous beast had awakened.
Its target: the south.
And on the Isdalia Grand Altar, Olivia watched the frenzied crowd.
She felt alien. Out of place. A pang of loss tugged at her heart.
Perhaps… she was wrong.
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(End of Chapter)
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