CHAPTER 676: CHAPTER 2: THE BRAVE EMPEROR

When the first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds and descended upon the land of Bratis Continent.

Gars, with the help of his attendant, donned his armor and took hold of his sword.

The Empress draped a golden cloak over his shoulders and pinned the lion head brooch, the symbol of the Vespasian Family, on him before she couldn’t help but cover her face and weep.

"Had I known," she lamented, "you should never have become the Emperor."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gars frowned. "After father’s death, who else had the right to sit on that throne but me?"

"But you have two brothers, Claudio and Allister, especially Allister, whom you’ve always said is ambitious."

"Just a man who relies on women, what right does he have to compare with me?" Gars said disdainfully. "I’ve heard that the Wing Tribe has arrived, and he only dares to continue hiding in the Northern Territory, not even daring to lead troops into battle."

"Otherwise, if I were to fail, and he could defeat the Wing Tribe, he would naturally become the next Emperor of the Empire."

"But the Wing Tribe is so powerful, and there are dragons... Who could defeat them?"

The Empress was quite agitated as she clung tightly to her husband, "Can’t you just not go, please? We can keep hiding here. Lord Essos said this place is secretive enough that the Wing Tribe won’t find it."

"They just haven’t found it for now." Gars gently pushed his wife away. "I don’t want to be dragged out by my hair from a shoe store in disgrace.

"I will die in a fair and just duel, and even if the Wing Tribe rules over Bratis Continent, historians will say that Gars, the last Emperor of the Empire, fought with dignity to his last breath," Gars declared solemnly.

But his wife and daughter clearly could not understand this obsession.

They all wished Gars would change his mind at the last moment and stay with them, continuing to hide in the small shoe shop, even if it meant living in constant fear.

However, Gars had made up his mind, and the crying of his wife and daughter was becoming a nuisance.

So the Emperor of the Empire bellowed, "Enough, no more crying."

"After my death, the Wing Tribe will likely lower their guard, and then you can ask Lord Essos to help you leave the city.

"You may head west, or north to seek refuge with Allister. After all, he is my brother and should treat you well. Just don’t go east anymore.

"The Wing Tribe has already taken over Crab’s Corner, and it’s only a matter of time before Newland becomes theirs too. Don’t go south either; I know your family has land there, but I don’t trust those elves.

"Over these nine hundred years, they’ve had a lot of land taken from them by us, now all they have left is the Eternal Green Forest, and they will not miss this chance for revenge..."

Although Gars had resolved himself to death, he was still somewhat anxious about his family’s safety and kept rambling on. He summoned the new Imperial Forest Guard Captain and instructed him to protect the Empress and the Princess before he finally stood up.

Gars glanced outside the window at the dim light, without any hesitation, turned around, and strode out of the shoe store, onto the street.

Due to the numerous air raids over the past two months and the recent breach of Lion Heart Castle by a giant dragon, the city was in a state of panic, resulting in nearly no one to be seen on the streets—it was very quiet.

Gars felt slightly regretful, as this also meant no one would witness his final act of valor.

Moreover, as he walked, an inexplicable fog arose within the city, thin but annoying nonetheless.

Luckily, Gars would not forget the direction to his castle and continued to move in that direction.

The clashing sounds of armor and sword sheath were somewhat jarring on the silent streets.

Having crossed two more streets, Gars was nearing the Junlin Tower, the snoring of the giant dragon was already audible to his ears, which made him slightly nervous.

And it was at this moment that a squad of soldiers appeared before him.

They were clad in leather armor, with daggers hanging at their waists and longbows in their hands, their backs uniformly sprouting wings.

The person who seemed to be the captain addressed Gars with a rush of unintelligible words, and Gars, unable to understand, took the initiative to speak.

"I am Gars, the Emperor of the Empire, here to find your general."

Upon hearing this, the Wing Tribe paused for a moment, then spoke again in the bird-like language that Gars did not understand.

Gars continued, "It was your general who asked me to come, he promised me a fair duel, one-on-one. Look, I have kept my oath, I haven’t brought any guards, let me pass quickly."

This time, the Wing Tribe soldiers reacted a bit more normally, and the leader of the group pronounced the syllables of Gars’ name awkwardly in the Universal Language of the Continent.

Gars nodded, pointed to himself, and asserted proudly, "Indeed, I am Gars."

At this, the faces of the group of Wing Tribe soldiers finally showed pleasure, as they raised their longbows.

Gars realized something was wrong, but it was already too late.

The first arrow struck his chest, fortunately blocked by his armor, but the second arrow whistled past his ear and disappeared into the fog behind him.

It was the third arrow that finally brought the invitation from the Death God, piercing into Gars’ unprotected neck.

The Emperor of the Empire had not had the chance to put on his helmet when the fourth arrow arrived, this time striking directly into the socket of his left eye.

Astonishment painted Gars’ face; he didn’t understand why the Wing Clan warriors across from him would attack him.

He had already identified himself.

With such doubts, the Emperor of the Empire fell on the street, and the Wing Clan warriors did not cease their assault, shooting two more volleys to ensure that Gars was thoroughly dead before they approached to examine his body.

After confirming that he truly was dead, they dragged his body over to Solomon like a dead dog.

Solomon asked Ivan, standing beside him, "Is this your emperor?"

There was no need for Ivan to answer; the shock on the face of the intelligence chief already gave Solomon his answer.

However, to be cautious, he waited for another person to arrive.

Emerging from the mist, the figure of the Elf Queen Heloise approached Gars’ body, glanced at it, and then gave a slight nod.

Solomon was quite satisfied and ordered, "Very well, this matter is now resolved. Hang this corpse on the city gates, let everyone in this city know their emperor is dead.

"Anyone who dares to resist will meet the same fate as him."

Ivan could no longer hold back and said, "Lord Solomon, why, why do you do this? He wasn’t a match for you in a direct confrontation; you could have defeated him honorably."

"I am the chief commander of the army; I don’t have time to play at duels with him. I have more important things to do," Solomon said indifferently.

"But you had promised him, promised him a death with dignity."

"Death is death, what’s the difference? If you think it’s so important, you can proclaim that he died by my hand. That should suffice."

Solomon waved his hand dismissively, not wishing to dwell on the matter any further, he didn’t even spare another glance at the body on the ground.