CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER34-BEGGING FOR MERCY

In the span of mere moments, two Expert Rank powerhouses had already been decapitated.

The speed of their deaths, the absolute gap in strength revealed in that instant, made the seven surviving mercenaries lose all thoughts of pressing Aurek further. The courage they had mustered evaporated. Not one of them dared to attack the emperor again.

Instead, they made the only choice left to them—flight.

Their bodies surged with energy, feet pounding against the stone floor, desperate to rush toward the great doors of the palace. The only thought left in their minds was escape. But they had overlooked one simple truth: Aurek had already given the command. Since the emperor had decreed their deaths, how could they possibly flee?

A faint breath of wind stirred. It was almost gentle, like a whisper. But as it passed, another mercenary’s head was severed cleanly from his shoulders, his corpse crashing heavily to the ground.

"Who is it?!" one of the survivors shrieked in panic. "Where is the enemy?!"

Their cries rang with terror. The sight of their comrades falling so easily, one after another, broke the iron-hard nerves of these men who had long prided themselves as the apex of hired strength.

They had never imagined—never even dared to imagine—that they themselves would one day be driven into such fear and despair.

When had Expert Rank powerhouses become so fragile? So utterly helpless?

It was the wind. It had to be the wind!

Again and again, the faintest of breezes whispered through the air, and each time, it heralded death. The mercenaries snapped their heads about, searching the empty space around them, every nerve straining. Yet no matter how desperately they looked, no matter how they probed with their senses, they could not glimpse their killers.

They were no longer predators. They were prey. And somewhere in the shadows, unseen hunters stalked them, striking with impossible precision.

Faces twisted with hopelessness. The mercenaries’ eyes widened as the weight of their doom settled upon them. They could not fight what they could not see. They could not resist what moved too swiftly to comprehend.

Even the scholar and the swordsman who had remained loyal to Aurek stood frozen, their expressions filled with horror. Relief mingled with fear in their hearts. Relief that they had chosen to stay by the emperor’s side... and terror at the methods they had just witnessed.

Four Expert Rank warriors had fallen within arm’s reach of them, butchered before their very eyes. And yet, neither of them had seen so much as a shadow of the killers’ faces. At most, they had caught a fleeting blur, a suggestion of motion carried on the breeze.

It was enough to shake their convictions.

It was clear now: everyone had underestimated this emperor. Aurek was no fragile sovereign clinging to mercenaries for strength. He was the true terror in this hall. Even Expert Rank warriors were no more than ants beneath his gaze.

At last, the shattered mercenaries collapsed to their knees. Their pride, their bravado—all of it crumbled before the looming specter of death. Snot and tears streaked their faces as they pressed their foreheads to the floor, begging for their lives.

"Your Majesty, I was wrong! I see now, I was wrong! I am willing to serve Crossbridge Empire! Please, spare me, I beg you!"

"Mercy, Your Majesty! I will devote myself to you! I will be your sword, your shield! Grant me one chance to live!"

Their voices cracked with desperation. Dignity no longer mattered. To live, that was all that mattered.

But Aurek did not answer.

What surprised him instead was the realization of just how fearsome the Gold Assassin truly was. Of the four mercenaries who had just been slain, all of them had fallen beneath the hand of the Gold Assassin. The strikes had been swift, merciless, and utterly precise. Every attack was a killing blow, inevitable and absolute.

At the same time, Aurek could feel the rewards pouring in. With each death, Emperor Points flowed into him in abundance.

The groveling pleas echoed in the palace, but Aurek paid them no mind. He gave no order to halt the slaughter. The Gold Assassin, receiving no command to stand down, continued his work. The other Elemental Assassins remained still, concealed in the dark corners of the hall, waiting.

The mercenaries had no way of knowing that over three hundred Elemental Assassins lurked unseen in the palace. Three hundred silent blades, waiting for Aurek’s signal. Even if a Hero Rank powerhouse appeared here today, they would surely be broken, drowned in blood. What chance, then, did a handful of Expert Rank warriors have?

Did these mercenaries truly think themselves untouchable, that by calling themselves "hired blades" they could defy the emperor?

The slaughter raged on. One after another, the mercenaries fell. Heads rolled across the marble floor, the hall echoing with the wet sound of bodies collapsing. The smell of iron grew thick in the air.

Still, the survivors begged. They howled, promising anything—wealth, loyalty, their very souls. But Aurek remained unmoved. His expression was as calm as stone, his silence unbroken.

It did not take long. Within minutes, the last of the mercenaries who had dared to raise their blades against Aurek lay lifeless. Their severed heads scattered across the chamber told the grim tale.

The emperor stood among the corpses, his robe unstained, his composure unshaken. And with their deaths, his Emperor Points soared.

Then something unexpected happened.

A gleaming notification appeared before his eyes:

[Emperor Points have reached 10,000. Emperor’s Store successfully unlocked.]

Aurek blinked, then allowed the faintest smile to cross his lips. An unexpected delight amidst the carnage. He had not anticipated this reward.

But he did not open the store immediately. Instead, he turned his gaze back to the scholar and the swordsman who still stood frozen, minds reeling from what they had witnessed.

They were both pale, their eyes wide, their thoughts racing. They had never imagined matters would escalate so far.

Before tonight, they had believed that ten Expert Rank mercenaries were a formidable force, the kind of presence that could shift the balance of power in any land. They had thought Aurek needed them desperately.

Reality had proven otherwise.

Aurek spoke, his tone level, almost casual. "Since the two of you have chosen to remain, I will not treat you poorly. But understand this—I need people who can truly serve me. Do you understand?"

The words jolted them from their daze. Both men bowed deeply, nodding fervently.

"Your Majesty, rest assured. We will serve you faithfully, with all our strength!"

...

With that, Aurek turned, his robes sweeping softly as he walked toward the palace doors. His footsteps were calm, steady, unhurried, as though he had not just overseen a massacre.

And as he stepped into the light outside, his voice carried back into the hall, calm and clear.

"What happened today never happened. Crossbridge Empire still has twelve mercenaries."

The meaning was obvious. The presence of twelve Expert Rank mercenaries was a deterrent, a symbol of strength. There was no need for the outside world to know that ten of them had been slaughtered here tonight. Spreading the truth would only bring unnecessary trouble to Valoria Palace.

Yes, this emperor was shrewd. Ruthless, but shrewd.

And most astonishing of all—he was barely in his twenties.

"Your Majesty! Are you all right?"

Angie was the first to rush forward, her face drawn with worry. Behind her came a tide of soldiers and Royal Guards, weapons at the ready, eyes sharp.

The disturbance had been immense. The energy released by Expert Rank warriors in combat was impossible to conceal. Angie had feared the worst, yet she had been powerless to intervene.

Aurek waved her off lightly. "Do not worry. I am fine. Go and arrange for the mess inside to be cleaned."

Angie blinked, hesitating. Clean... the mess?

But when she stepped into the palace, her breath caught in her throat.

The sight before her nearly made her collapse.

Ten mercenaries—all of them Expert Rank—lay headless on the ground.

"This... this isn’t real..." she whispered. "It can’t be real..."

Her mind struggled to grasp the scene. Expert Rank warriors were supposed to be unmatched, invincible to ordinary men. Yet here they were, butchered in Aurek’s hall like animals in a slaughterhouse.

If this truth ever spread, the capital would erupt in chaos.

Just then, the two surviving mercenaries spoke, their voices grave.

"His Majesty has already given his command. What happened here ends here. It must not leave these walls."

As they said the words, a heavy silence fell.

But in their hearts, both men trembled with a different thought:

If they had chosen differently earlier, if they had turned their backs on Aurek... then they too would be lying in pools of their own blood, their heads rolling across the marble floor.