Chapter 911

“Citizens of Chalm! I am Lord Reign, Count of Aberis.” His voice boomed across Chalm.

Many people cried out or screamed, but they quickly realized that this wasn’t a giant, but a projection. Lord Reign was partially see-through and flickered with magic like he wasn’t really there. He had sent a message to Chalm using an extremely powerful magic to deliver it. This must be some resource he got from Imperial Cloud Meadow. I wasn’t sure if I could break this enchantment, but I decided I’d rather listen to what he had to say since he went to such an effort to say it.

“First, I’d like to offer my condolences on the death of your leader, Lord Deekson.” He said, his voice almost sounding sincere.

“Huh?” I blinked.

Lord Reign thought I was dead? No, it made sense. I had chopped off a sliver of my soul and sent it back. I’d since repaired that soul and regained my former strength, but there is no reason he wouldn’t think the Deek he had captured and executed wasn’t the real Deek. That meant, he didn’t know that Chalm still was under my leadership, and was going off the assumption the people were in a panic and worried about their future.

“You need not worry any longer.” Lord Reign broke into a smirk. “My army is on the way to take over and occupy your city. Rejoice! I am your new lord!”

This created a lot of mumbling across the town. Some people were confused, while others were angry. Everyone here was very aware of our current relationship with Alerith. They knew Lord Reign was the enemy, and they had heard many stories about how he taxed people to death. He’s also a strong supporter of abusive slave practices. After all, the vast majority of those who died in the gladiatorial pits were slaves, and that included a lot of animalkin.

“In just under two weeks, open your doors, and allow my Knights in, and we will build toward a glorious future!” His happy expression grew to a demonic frown. “And if you don’t accept this willingly, then you’ll excuse me if I’m no longer polite! One way or another, Chalm is mine! Submit, or die!”

First, he waved candy in front of them, and now he gave the stick. It was a mixture of threats and rewards. Join him toward a glorious future, or face his wrath. Of course, there was no glorious future for anyone in this city except him. He would take their resources, enslave anyone he liked and then grow even more powerful and dangerous.

As quickly as he appeared, Lord Reign’s image disappeared. When I looked back down on the spot where the messenger had been, all that was left was a desiccated corpse. It looked like this man was a blood sacrifice needed to run such a powerful illusion.

I could hear all of the citizens talking loudly. Some were filled with panic, and others were simply worried about what would happen.

“Celeste?” I asked, not needing to say more.

Celeste wasn’t bright, but when it came to knowing what I wanted, all of the girls were experts. She used wind magic, causing my voice to boom out just as loudly across the entire city.

“Citizens of Chalm!” I said. “This message changes nothing. We knew this was coming. This is what we’ve been preparing for. Originally, we planned on attacking Alerith. I never predicted Lord Reign would be so arrogant. He thinks I’m dead, and that you are a chicken without a head. The one thing you must all remember. He was wrong! He failed to kill me, and he’ll fail to hurt Chalm.

“His arrogance will be his undoing! Not only do we know when he’ll attack, but he actually plans to come here and fight on our turf! This is our land! We’ve watered it with our blood, and tamed it with our lives. Reign doesn’t know what he’s about to walk into! This is our land, and he will never have it!”

There was the briefest silence, but then the crowd exploded into a resounding cheer. If Lord Reign had heard the exploding vigor and defiance of Chalm at that moment, he’d have been much more cautious.