Chapter 247: Punishment

"One… two… three… seven elders. I will need two of you to accept the punishment."

Their new ruler had just asked for two lives, in exchange for the freedom of the rest. In all honesty, the request was uncanny. It was an outrageous order, one that they wouldn't easily accept.

Tristan could clearly tell tension had suddenly risen, as everyone in the hall was pressured by his dictator-like decision. The hall was enshrouded with eerie silence and no one wanted to open their mouth lest the repercussion would be called upon them.

In the end, it was Tristan who broke the gradually chilly atmosphere.

"So.. how do you all want to do this? I'm up to anything, honestly." said Tristan nonchalantly, while folding his leg over the other.

"If you don't have any ideas, I can suggest some. You all can vote, or someone can volunteer themself. Oh, what about my personal favorite, a lottery. Anyway, any of these three will be fine for me."

Looking at how Tristan said those words so casually while he sat high on the throne somehow made these top-level fighters the Forlorn Kingdom had to sweat buckets.

An eerie silence encompassed the hall for another period of time, until someone decided it was time to deliver their thoughts.

"Tristan.. Why are you doing this!?"

Tristan's head turned to the source of the voice, and saw Serene. Apparently, only his wife dared to ask those questions.

With a warm and affectionate smile on his face, he looked at the beautiful blonde and said, "This needs to be done, Serene." a hint of doubt appeared on her face, to which he immediately responded. "Just trust me."

Even though she indeed hadn't known Tristan for long, this time looking at his actions to his current decision somehow made Serene feel she didn't really know what kind of person her supposedly husband was.

The new Forlorn Prince, due to the death of the other one, Elroth, wasn't able to hold himself back anymore as he finally said his mind.

"My Lord Monarch, I can personally vouch for these people. They will definitely be loyal and offer their services to you wholeheartedly. So, please reconsider."

Tristan, only chuckled hearing such word

"Hahaha, Prince Elroth, that was exactly the kind of behavior that got you betrayed. Anyway, you probably know those seven people and could vouch for them, but what about the others? Can you guarantee that all of them will be loyal?" asked Tristan with a smile, that unknowingly brought shivers down Elroth's spine.

"The others.. My lord?"

"Yes, of course. The others." said Tristan casually. "I want this punishment to be applied to everyone, each and every elf in the Forlorn Kingdom."

Elroth's face became pale when he heard what Tristan was trying to do, and the others couldn't help but follow him as color drained off their faces. He was about to say more when Tristan added, "Oh, My mistake, we should take those who are under 15 out of the equation."

Even though Tristan had 'reduced' the severity of the impact, Elroth was still troubled by the matter.

"But my lord.. That's still more than 700 elves."

"700? Alright! Is that going to be a problem, Elroth?" asked Tristan, this time without his prince affix. He did that intentionally, and it seemed to be working as Elroth appeared to be pressured and unable to say a word.

Tristan was about to dismiss them because the matter was done in his eyes when one of the elders suddenly stood up and shouted, "I cannot stand this anymore!" 

He quickly tried to convince the others to not listen, labelling the punishment as nonsensical and preposterous. Tristan, on the other hand, just lazily sat on his throne and watched the scene

Apparently, the others were smart enough to stay quiet and not respond, making the expression of the elder that stood up pale. Especially so, when the latter found out familiar blood constructs had surrounded him. Extreme fear flashed in his eyes, as his mind recalled the fate of those who faced it.

"How is it, my elders? Would you all like to vote for this one? He's already volunteered himself, after all."

No one answered, and the situation became even more tense. Prince Elroth asked Tristan to consider the punishment one more time.

"Please, my lord, reconsider the punishment. If you really didn't want to do so, at least please enlighten us on your decision. Why must you do this?"

Tristan looked at Elroth and said, "It's about consequences of action, taking responsibility of fault, and listen to fucking order!"

"What else do you need?" Tristan said so calmly that it gave everyone the chills.

Elroth fell silent, and Tristan ignored him as he turned to the elders once again. "I will only ask you one more time. Would you vote for this one to take the punishment?"

One by one, the elders began to nod their heads. The moment some of them had given their consent, the blood construction immediately penetrated the chosen elder from all directions, turning the other party into a honeycomb.

[Blood Extraction]

[A mix of 6200 high-quality blood cells were found]

[Extracting and filtering the blood cells...]

[2150 Blood Essence points gained]

Of course for Tristan, there was actually one real reason for deciding on such cruel and barbaric punishment. It was no other than his need for blood. After all, his entire existence depended on whether he still had Blood Essence or not.

The idea for this punishment Tristan took from one of the books he read back on Earth. It was the story of a certain renowned empire that dominates the world 2000 years ago. And it was mentioned that the empire used this method to discipline their soldiers whenever they lost a war.

By adopting this method, not only Tristan would be able to know who among them was not following the orders, he could also make sure these elves remember how their new ruler has a strict rule about punishment. And hopefully, afterward, they would not be dumb enough to betray him.

Most of the elders should be smart and astute enough to comprehend his intention. After killing the one elder he added another reason to convince them all.

"I am the Blood Monarch, and you all should know this by now. Your sacrifice will pave the way for your ruler to be stronger, to become your greatest protector! Receive my punishment willingly, and you the Forlorn will be my people"

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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v.e.l,