Chapter 181 - Traitor

"Grrrr!" Jeeran sprang towards the sky, leaving Carran town with Kadyn and his companions. 

"So they intercepted the emperor?" said Cecelia.

"How did they know what route the emperor would take?" asked Elora.

"Well, there are two possibilities," Kadyn began. One, they have an informer in the Capital. Second, someone has turned into a traitor."

"I think you should omit the first option," Cecelia said as her hair flew in the air.

"Why is that?" Kadyn asked. Others also turned towards her.

"I don't think the emperor is foolish enough to tell his expedition route to ordinary soldiers. Only the strongest—and trustworthy—people in the empire could know something like this."

"Who do you think is it?" Zelie asked.

"I don't know," Cecelia shook her head. "However, I have my suspicions."

"You also think it is… either Oswyn or Eugan?" Kadyn probed.

Cecelia smiled but didn't comment.

"How much time before we reach Moonbright town?" he asked. Elora opened the map that she had gotten from Carran and searched the place they were rushing to. "Just a bit more. We are about to arrive."

"Jeeran fast!"

—

"What are you doing?!" Kallus Ceston shouted in shock, grabbing the sword that dripped with his blood.

"Father!"

"Protect the emperor!"

"You bastard! How dare you betray the one who fed you?!"

Furious shouts echoed in the open sky. The murderer twisted the blade, to agonise the emperor, with a grin on his face. 

"Traitor? Bastard?" The man chuckled and a twisted expression appeared on his face. The expression that no one ever saw on his face. The expression of the maniac. Of mindless dog. Of slaughtering demon. That's what he looked like. Segast Wilbrick. Yes. No one dared to compare that calm and collected man to this evilly grinning devil.

"Why?" asked Kallus.

"Why?" Segast gritted his teeth. "I also asked why. Do you remember?"

"That—that wasn't my choice and you know it!" said the emperor with a pale face.

"Stop right there!" Segast shouted towards the people who were proceeding towards him. "Or I will dig out the guts of you majestic emperor!"

"Bastard!" Oswyn cursed.

"I would have nothing to complain about if it was you or Eugan, but Segast. What a mess," Xod sighed.

"You bastard. How dare you say…"

Segast didn't pay attention to their dog fight. He turned towards Kallus. "Wasn't your choice?" Fury surged on his face. "If you didn't have control over your choices. Then why the hell did you promise to marry her!"

"Alright!" Kallus said. "I accept that it was my fault. However, the people of the empire are innocent. How could you collude with our enemies?"

"Hehe, why should I?" chuckled the man. "Your father married you to the princess of Gubia Empire to form an alliance. It indeed helped your empire to reach unprecedented glory—but what about my sister? She killed herself!" 

He took a long deep breath. Then eyed the emperor in his eyes. "Haha, but as they say karma will always get you. The Gubia Emperor fell into Bone Spear Tower's hand. They killed every single one of their bloodline. Your father died fighting them. Now, you, and your bloodline will die as well. Just like the Gubia Empire's royalty vanished from the world!"

"But people are innocent!"

"People! Yes—" Segast said. "For these people you rejected my sister. Now you will see the bloodbath. The bloodbath!"

"Puff!"

He pulled the blade out, and then again dug into the emperor's chest. The man coughed a mouthful of blood. The blood that painted Segast's mouth red. But he didn't feel disgusted. On the other hand, he revealed an evil grin. The grin of a devil, that is. 

"You will see the carnage!" he shouted and kicked the emperor in the stomach. Kallus was smashed more than ten metres away, lying in the pool of his blood. Not dead, yet, but almost. Although he was a rank 4 mage, his body was weak as most of the mages. He could also feel something else. Something trying to corrode his cells.

"Attack!" shouted Segast. The mages of House Wilbrick and Bone Spear Tower launched an attack.

"Protect the Emperor!" shouted the Left Minster. The Right Minister was too old to go into the battle. "Where are the damn healers?!"

They hurriedly surrounded the emperor, and healers started to heal his wounds.

"Die!" a furious shout echoed, and a lady dashed amidst the enemy camp with a long wand in her hand. "Sun Burn!" she shouted and a ball-like sun descended from the sky on the enemies, roasting them alive. 

She wore a magic robe, an artefact that increased the defence and deflected the elemental attacks. Her father, Emperor Kallus, also wore the same robe, of better quality—alas, it could not deflect the physical attacks.

Her hair danced, as she spun the wand, breaking the shin of many enemies. Her valiant attacks encouraged many people, who were cowering in front of the soul-devouring army of the Bone Spear Tower. If Kadyn was here, he would recognise her—Hayla, maid of the Stunning Whirlwind Chamber of Commerce.

"Follow the lead of the princess!" shouted Xod Woulsto. He had also got to know the truth not too long ago. It seems the emperor made his three children enter a different chamber of commerce and made them learn on their own. He tilted his head and saw two men crushing their enemies not any slower than princess Hayla. They were her brothers. Big brother Grym, and little brother Palio. Xod could hardly believe that all of them had reached the rank 3 mage at such a young age.

"You aren't the only one who can suck someone dry, bastards!" a shout echoed. Fidomer commanded his summoned beast, which was merged with his body, and hundreds of small Soul Devouring Worms entered the battlefield. Sucking enemies' souls dry. The corpses littered the battlefield. Blood pooled, splashing under the feet of the army.

"Haha, die you bastards!" Fidomer laughed. However, then he felt a tremble under his feet and before he could react, the ground started to morph and took the shape of spikes, pinning him on them. The spikes vanished, and he crumpled on the ground. His body twitched and then became still.

"Son!" Oswyn screamed mournfully as he attacked Segast. "I will kill you, bastard!"

"Hahaha! Die!" Segast, however, just laughed even louder as he heard the screams. Those screams were no different than music to him. "You all should die. Every sinner must die!"

A powerful force released from his body, making Xod, Eugan and Oswyn tumble back in shock. "He—he has reached the peak of the rank 3!" Eugan's voice trembled. All of them were high rank 3 mage. 

However, without letting anyone know Segast had surpassed them. The second strongest person after Kallus was Chief Commander Dyso, who was at the peak of rank 3. Now Segast had also reached the same rank. He didn't need to fear anyone other than the emperor and Dyso. However, one of them was heavily injured while the other was not present.

"What a cunning bastard you are!" cursed the Xod furiously.

"When you have an enemy stronger than you, cunningness could come quite handy. You can see the result by yourself," he said, as he pointed towards the healers, who were trying to heal Kallus' wounds. "Do you think the blade was just any ordinary weapon?" he shook his head disdainfully. "I had dipped it in the poison given by the Leader of the Poison Hall. Though he is at the peak of the rank 3 mage. His poisons are quite effective even against the low rank 4 mages. The bastard is as good as dead!"

"Ggraaaaaa!" a weird roar filled the entire battlefield and a colossal shadow appeared in the sky.