Chapter 503 Purge
In the Kingdom of Axelor, a certain section of the capital city was roped off, while a barrier prevented those inside from going out.
Those from the outside could still enter it if they pleased, but no one was ready to do so.
However, there was one old man who was looking around and searching for something within the barrier.
The roped off section was a small area, but as it was a low-income section of the capital city, a lot of people lived inside it.
Hence, even though only 4 4-storeyed apartments were the ones that were inside the barrier, there were at least 500 people inside who had just been informed something horrific.
This area…had been chosen to be purged because evidence was found that it was inhabited by heretics.
In the morning, everything had been normal. The old man had woken up, and seeing that his wife was peacefully sleeping, he had planned to go to the market to buy her her favorite buns in order to surprise her. Even though 40 years had passed since their marriage, he loved surprising her occasionally, as the smile that came on her face each time she saw how much he loved her even after so many years was just too beautiful to forget.
They had been simple farmers, but their sons had joined the army. Being in the army was the most respected profession in the entire Kingdom, and as such, the perks were also outstanding.
The monthly pay, itself, was quite high, which led to their sons insisting that their parents should move into the capital where it would be easier for them to live. After all, living by themselves, they had to take care of everything by their own effort, which wasn't very preferable due to their old age.
Here, they had been assigned maids to help them in their day-to-day lives, and whenever their sons got some free time, they would visit and feel happy that they were doing something for their parents.
However, it seemed that fate…had different plans for them.
By the time the old man came back, the barrier was up, and although he had started to hope that it was nothing too serious, the whispers of those watching had been enough to confirm it.
Heretics.
Those crazy bastards who chose to speak ill and distribute misinformation about their glorious Kingdom and divine ruler.
Every time a heretic was found, the general area where they lived would be purged to warn those who might consider going the same route, and also to make sure that the ideas of those heretics wouldn't spread.
The old man had always been a devout believer in King and Kingdom. Yet, right now, as he stared at all the people who were hammering on the barrier and pleading that they had done nothing wrong, he wondered whether those heretics were right when they said that their Kingdom was just a brainwashed place with one of the cruelest Kings in the entire continent.
After all, why else would innocent people be chosen to be killed just to stop a few ideas from being shared?
He even knew who the heretic was. It was a young man who was in possession of a strange device from which voices appeared, and he had even talked to the man and seen that he was quite rational.
Yet, it was his fault that his wife was going to be killed.
Even though he had seen in the newspapers that the number of purges had been increasing steadily in the past few months, he had never thought that he would be affected by them.
Obviously, he had been very, very wrong.
"Ready the spells!"
The eeriest thing about this whole situation was that those inside the barrier were muted so that no one could hear their begging and crying voices, but the same spell seemed to have been cast on those outside, too, as none of them dared to speak a word and stand up to the army.
Instead, they just stood witness, while whispering amongst themselves about how 'sad' this was.
The old man just continued to search with his eyes, while hobbling toward the barrier slowly.
Finally, he found her: she was standing at a specific empty spot on the other side of the barrier, and she, too, was searching for someone.
The moment he lay his eyes on her, she seemed to sense him, too, as she turned toward him and smiled.
There were no regrets on her face. At this moment, she was just happy…that she had been able to see her husband again.
Bam!
Just as the old man was about to run in the direction of his wife, a loud sound made him turn around and look at the spot where the 4 mages from the army were situated.
A body had just been slammed onto the barrier right in front of the lead soldier, and it was that of that kid who had had that device.
Clearly, he had been ratted out by someone else.
He had already been stamped on and beaten to death, but even though the people kept gesturing at him and saying that only he was responsible, the soldier didn't listen.
He raised his hand, which made a whooshing sound appear from the top of the large rectangular barrier that had been erected.
Wind blades. Visible, revolving, shining wind blades, which looked like they were ready to descend and turn all those inside into slices of flesh and blood.
The panic in those inside the barrier increased, making them take out their anger more on the young man who was already dead.
The woman was one of the few who was unperturbed. What a purge meant was clear to all Axelorians, so she had no disillusions that she might be saved.
She only kept her eyes on her husband, taking in his visage one last time before her journey to the heavens, where she would await him.
As she saw him reach the barrier, she suddenly realized something and was going to speak, but she could only watch as he entered without any hesitation and held her hand.
Tears streaming down her face, she squeezed his hand tight and said, "You should have stayed outside. Our sons-"
"Are old enough to live even if they don't have us. Did you really think I would let you leave alone?"
"Begin!"
At the same moment, this word was shouted by the soldier at the head of the 4-person team, and as his hand swiftly cut down in the air, the air blades started to descend.
Not bothering to look up even now, the woman just hugged her husband, who kissed her forehead and returned the hug.
He felt complete now, and he didn't really care anymore.
Yet, he did feel sorry for all the other people who were being killed indiscriminately.
Would this never stop? Would innocent people continue to be sacrificed just because of the insecurity of their ruler?
He didn't know the answer, but he did wish silently that someone could change the fate of all those who had been unlucky enough to be born here.
In life, they were isolated and controlled, while being brainwashed completely that the King was the Supreme Divine Ruler who needed to be worshipped as their god.
Only in death did it look like they would have an escape.
Screams started to be heard all around the man, but he ignored them and continued hugging his wife.
However, the blade above him paused, unlike the rest which went ahead and did their job.
Seeing this, he turned toward the 4 soldiers whose faces were covered by masks, as they were part of a special team in charge of purging.
As he focused his aged eyes, he finally saw that one of them, a tall man, was shaking, while his head was turned toward him.
As their eyes met, the old man recognized who it was, and it was at that moment that real sadness appeared in his heart.
He hadn't been sad about dying, but being killed by his own eldest son?
Now that…was something that he couldn't put into words.
For the first time, the old man cursed at the man who was behind all this.
"I damn you to the most painful death possible, King of Axelor!", he screamed inwardly, and as he looked up to the sky, he could almost swear that he saw a few people standing there.
Already, the other 3 soldiers were getting ready to take over the spell and continue.
Ignoring whatever he thought he saw in the sky, the old man chose to help his son one last time.
"My love, don't open your eyes. Just trust me. Move with me," he said, before leading them both away from where they were standing.
Seeing this, that soldier collapsed, but he watched on and branded the image into his mind when his parents walked into an area where the wind blades were revolving at the height of one's waist.
Just before he stepped into it, the old man waved at his son as if to say goodbye, and this, more than anything, broke that soldier's mind and heart into countless unsalvageable pieces.
The old man continued hugging his wife even after they entered that field of spinning blades, and as their upper bodies separated, they continued hugging each other, ignoring the pain and focusing on the warm feeling that came from being in a loved one's embrace. Even while the life slipped away from their bodies, the smile remained on the face of the old woman, as she did not need to embark on this last journey alone. It was only the old man who had an expression of grief and frustration before his death, but even that relaxed into one of peace in the last moments before he slipped away because he could tell what his wife was feeling, and he felt the same.
The soldier saw this sight, and fainted.
As this extremely disturbing scene came to an end in this way, if one were present in the sky above the area, they would hear a rambunctious laugh echoing all around from a man who was sitting in a chair and watching everything.
Right now, he was clapping his hands and moving back and forth as if he had seen some great scene in his favorite television programme, while the man who was standing beside him was looking at him with a veiled expression of disgust and fury on his face.
"Did you see the looks on their faces? That soldier thought he could stop it! And that old man, hugging his wife even after there was only half of him left…priceless! Placing his son on duty during this purge was a masterstroke on my part, I tell you!"
While laughing, the man in the chair said sentences like these, praising those below as if they were 'actors' instead of real people who were dying for his entertainment.
Finally, unable to control himself anymore, the standing man spoke in a frustrated tone.
"My King, weren't you the one who…"
"Yes, I was the one who let that communication trinket that is connected to the Network reach that guy's hands. I can't call for a purge with 0 proof, can I? He had the chance to turn it in, but he didn't! I should thank him, though. If he had turned it in, I wouldn't have had such a good show!"
As his laughter resumed, the standing man's fists closed and began to shake, but he said nothing.
Ever since that incident when they had been defeated and had had to call their troops back after canceling the attack on the Hidden Kill Sect, the King had…changed.
For one thing, he had relapsed to become a Peak Exalted Human again, because of the timing of the news from the Hidden Kill Sect that had caused his return to his power as a Warrior to reverse.
Since then, the King seemed like he had become infected with some sickness, as he spent most of his time planning stuff like this and relishing in the 'performances'.
"Oh, Minister. I know you think I'm crazy, but everything has a purpose. This is just preparation for my Champion path. Even if I explained, you wouldn't understand. Now then,…"
The King was about to continue, but suddenly, a message reached them both, making them stare at each other with shock.
The King was the first to react.
"Get the troops ready! We march on Lanthanor as soon as possible!"
Yes!
No mages meant…that there would practically be no defensive magic to worry about!
Yet, the piece of news that reached them next made them pause again, before their jaws dropped together, unable to believe that what they were hearing was true.
The Kingdom of the Elves…had allied with Lanthanor, and were bolstering the Kingdom with their mages?
What the f*ck?!
However, once again, the King was the first to recover.
"This is still a golden opportunity! Contact the other Kingdoms and the Big 4! We should quickly start the plan to destroy them! No alliance can stand on Angaria!"
Nodding, the Minister disappeared and began to do so, while the King returned to the throne room.
He waited with bated breath, while trying to not let excitement take over his mind.
Was this finally it? Was it finally time for him to take his sweet revenge on that bast*rd King?
His face was filled with a hopeful expression, but one hour later, when he re-heard the replies that he had just gotten from the other Kingdoms, fury ate up that hope while he began to spit curses without abandon.
The Hidden Kill Sect and the Black Raven Kingdom had sent the reply that although two Kingdoms had entered an alliance, their overall strength was still that of only a single Kingdom, as Lanthanor had lost its Mage Corps that it was most famous for.
So, the two rulers had said that there was no need to hastily form plans that would only result in useless loss of life, as that alliance had no power to take over anyone else, anyway.
He had actually expected this from these two, as they were both connected in one way or the other with that bastard King.
His main hope had been the Sect of Hedon and the Kingdom of Arafell, so when they sent the same reply, although he knew that they were right, he just couldn't accept it.
Somehow, the first alliance that was going to stand had been made, and it had been done in such a manner that for the first time in the history of Angaria, it was going to be unchallenged.
The more he thought about it, the more did one sentence start to revolve over and over again in his head, until he finally shouted it out, startling the minister in front of him.
"SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE F*CK?!"