Chapter 464: The End Of An Era
While the news about Aegon Veyr being named as the next Dragon dominated the media cycles, covering everything from page one to three of most major newspapers...
...back on page four was another important story.
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BREAKING: Black Serpents Guild Officially Disbanded
By Reema Kotra | Galactic Herald | Pg. 4
In what analysts are calling the most decisive state-led crackdown in recent years, the Universal Government has officially dissolved the Black Serpents Guild following their refusal to comply with a classified order pertaining to "an artifact of strategic relevance."
Sources close to the Galactic Herald confirm that the artifact in question was a Divine Scroll, that was obtained from the dead body of the previous Evil Dragon Noah, and belonged to the Evil Cult.
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Timeline of Tensions
Day 1: Universal Government issued a classified demand to the Black Serpents, requesting immediate transfer of the Evil Cult’s Scroll.
Day 2: Black Serpents respond with a thinly veiled threat, implying that refusal to back off by the government may result in the scroll being gifted to the Evil Cult.
Day 3: Universal Government initiates Operation Fanglock under the capable supervision of Commander Entrail.
Planet Twin Fang was immediately encircled by over twenty two hundred destroyer class arc ships.
Zonal temporal lock initiated, cutting all dimensional escape.
While the space was locked for logistics and support craft travels.
Day 26: The Stalemate officially ended, full assault launched under Commander Entrail.
Day 27: Planet Twin Fang declared non-viable. Site terminated.
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Commander Entrail Declares Victory on Operation Fanglock
"You don’t threaten the universal government with threats of allying with the Evil Cult and expect a negotiation."
— Commander Entrail, Post-Strike Debrief
In a televised address that lasted under ninety seconds, Commander Entrail confirmed the successful dismantling of the Black Serpents Guild, declaring that the scroll is now under full Universal custody.
When asked about the use of planetary destruction protocols, Entrail simply responded:
"They were warned. They gambled. They lost."
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Casualty Report: Key Serpents Executed in Purge
By Jarven Holt | Righteous Times | Pg. 4, Column 3
Multiple sources confirm the confirmed deaths of Vice Guildmaster Antonio, operations director Sev’Nar, and war strategist Mai Caloré, all eliminated during a precision incursion preceding the orbital strike.
Guildmaster Dupravel Nuna remains missing, with several intelligence reports suggesting he may have been extracted moments before the attack, possibly through an unauthorized evac channel. Search for the criminal is currently ongoing.
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EDITORIAL: An Era Ends in Fire
By Kys Valden | Independent Sentinel
For decades, the Black Serpents sat on the top of all reputable guilds of the righteous faction, neither fully under the thumb of the universal government, nor fully outside it.
They thrived on ambiguity, sheltering dangerous knowledge under the veil of self-policed neutrality.
But neutrality is not loyalty. And when they chose to blackmail the very empire that once tolerated them, they wrote their own ending.
Whatever secrets the Evil Cult’s scroll once held, they now belong to the machine of government.
And the Serpents?
They now belong to history.
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Public Opinion Mixed: "They Deserved It" vs "That Could’ve Been Us"
Compiled VoxPop | GalaxStreet Live
"The Serpents should have handed the damn scroll over. You don’t mess with maniacs like Commander Entrail."
— Rhys Helmar, Rodova graduate
"They told us for years Twin Fang was untouchable. Turns out no one is."
— Vena Tal, urban reporter
"Kinda scary, though. I mean, just wiped a whole planet like that? Is this what the government’s willing to do now?"
— Anonymous student, Genevaris Academy
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Former Guild Properties Seized, Members Blacklisted
Over 800,000 registered Black Serpents members have had their adventurers licenses revoked, their properties frozen, and their identifications flagged for audit. All surviving members have been given 48 hours to either register under approved new righteous faction guilds or face legal action under Intergalactic Article 417-B: "Failure to Dismantle."
End of Report – Pg. 4
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The Black Serpents were no more.
The Universal Government had made its statement—loud, decisive, and absolute. Any faction that dared overplay its hand would face consequences far beyond negotiation.
Their tolerance had limits. And this event made one thing clear: rebellion, even under the guise of autonomy, would not be entertained.
In recent cycles, several independent guilds had begun demanding the same privileges once granted to the Serpents. But after this, their ambitions were sure to wither.
The destruction of Twin Fang was not just a punishment... It was a warning.
And it echoed across the stars.
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(Meanwhile Dupravel Nuna)
Despite the destruction of his guild, Dupravel somehow saw his life being spared, as instead of being slaughtered like his Vice Guildmaster, he was sedated and quietly shipped to Planet Granoda.
It was Mauriss The Deceiver who had given the order to spare his life, and Entrail being the ever loyal soldier, had no reason to question it.
While he had already defeated Dupravel in battle and could have ended him on the spot, he chose to obey—partly out of duty, and partly because he found no glory in killing someone so thoroughly broken.
Dupravel, once feared across stars, had barely managed to defend himself before falling.
As despite his beastly appearance, there was no real defiance left in him.
Only confusion and fading pride, as Entrail bound him in silence and arranged the extraction so discreetly that even the direct generals under him remained unaware.
Eventually, as Dupravel finally regained consciousness, the air around him was thick with the scent of incense and perfumed oils, while raindrops that hit like shards of ice continued to pelt down on his skull.
He blinked slowly, the weight of sedation still clouding his mind, as the scene before him came into focus.
Two celestial beauties, barely dressed and impossibly graceful, moved in slow rhythm across the glistening frame of a man reclining on an unadorned stone throne.
Their hands worked across his shoulders and chest, spreading sacred oils with reverence, while a bowl of crushed fruit and rare stimulants rested by his side.
Mauriss.
The Great Deceiver.
Dupravel tried to speak, but his throat was dry, his limbs too heavy.
Mauriss simply turned his head slightly, a half-smile curving across his lips as he raised a glass toward him.
"Good morning, Monarch Dupravel," he said, voice smooth as velvet. "I trust the journey wasn’t too rough."