"This…" The servant sweated before he said, "The Desolate Crow Clan is one of the four clans under the Desolate Netherbird Tribe with a deep ancestral history."
"This servant is afraid that if Your Highness continues to push them, they will only grow disloyal to the tribe and rebel, Your Highness."
"Once their flames of fury are ignited, there's a chance they could awaken their ancestral bloodline and grow into a fearsome force—even the tribe will have to take seriously."
"You don't need to worry about that," the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince said coolly before he explained, "I planned to use the Desolate Crow Clan's forces as the vanguard anyway. They are just cannon fodders that are destined to die in battle."
"Yet, Your Highness is expending much efforts to acquire these cannon fodders…" the servant sighed with silent lamentation.
The Desolate Netherbird Second Prince was evidently not fit to rule, but he was a person with grand ambitions that supersedes his capability.
Coercing the Desolate Crow Clan was a mistake, capturing their leader and elders was another mistake, and torturing them was a great mistake.
It was just one mistake after another.
The consequences of the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's actions will one day bear down on him and swallow him whole.
"It's fortunate that the Venerable Paragons are currently in secluded cultivation. Otherwise, this servant is afraid of what the Venerable Paragons will do once they hear of your deeds, Your Highness," the servant said.
"As long as I beat my elder brother and prove that I am more worthy of leading the tribe as the next chief, neither my father nor the Venerable Paragons will care of my means."
"By the time they exit seclusion, it would already be over. They will have no choice but to accept me!" the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince stated with sinister glint.
Shortly after, the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince frowned and said, "Since you have no news of the princess, then I suppose you bring me news of the Desolate Crow Clan's leader and elders' submission?"
"That… is also not why this servant is here, Your Highness. Please forgive this servant for not meeting your expectation," the servant bowed and pleaded for forgiveness.
The Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's frown deepened before he finally turned around and gazed at the servant with great scrutiny before asking with irritation, "Then what the hell are you here for?"
"The Desolate Crow Clan's leader and elders have been tortured and starved for days. If we don't feed them and let them replenish their energy, I'm afraid that they will all die, Your Highness."
"Hmph! If they had just submitted to me, would we have to go through such troubles?" the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince snorted with frustration before he barked, "Let them continue to starve! I don't believe that these people will remain stubborn forever when they are on the brink of death!"
"Your Highness, please rethink your decision!" the servant quickly pleaded before shouting, "The Desolate Crow Clan's leader and elders are already too weak to even move! They need some supplements or treatment now!"
"You've been disagreeing with me since the start and have not done a single thing that is useful for me. I don't need an advisor like you!" the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince stated coldly before he barked outside, "Men, drag this person out and behead him!"
"Your Highness! Have mercy!" the advisor was shocked badly by the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince's ruthlessness.
Nothing was more frustrating than providing suggestions that the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince never takes seriously nor follows, rendering his job worthless.
Even so, the advisor never thought that a day would come when he could possibly lose his life for simply doing his job!
"This servant was never against you, Your Highness! All this servant has ever done was provide the best possible choices for you to make, Your Highness! Your Highness—!"
The advisor was eventually dragged out by two Early-rank 2 Transcendent Guards and beheaded in cold blood.
Even the nearby servants felt a chill in their hearts.
The only way to survive when following the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince is to never argue with the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince and only listen to his orders obediently like mindless puppets.
The Desolate Netherbird Second Prince never heeds the advice of his advisors.
…
…
…
At that moment, a group of black-winged people lied bundled together inside of the rotting cell of a prison located beside the training ground where warriors spar and conduct drills for discipline.
Blood stained the cold, rocky floor amidst scattered black feathers and moldy old-aged food that had been around for god knows how long.
If not for the faint breaths coming from the bundle of black-winged people which proved that they were alive, one would have assumed they walked into an abandoned slaughterhouse for pigs and chickens.
"It seems like the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince does not have any intention of letting us go until we submit to him," the Desolate Crow Clan's Clan Leader spoke weakly.
"This might be where we meet our end. If anyone is getting cold feet and afraid of death, you may voice your submission now. It may save your life temporarily."
"Hmph! The Desolate Netherbird Second Prince is too tyrannical. He is just a brat drunk on power without the means to back his ambition. Such a person will definitely fail and fall early. If I was to die either way, I should die proudly."
"That's right! I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees—only to die a dog's death in the end. If we are destined to die here, then so be it."
The elders stated their stances firmly but also stubbornly.
"Good! The Desolate Crow Clan has no cowards. I am proud of you all," the Desolate Crow Clan's Clan Leader, Lidoran, said with gratification.
"Even if fall here today. Even if the clan falls tomorrow. Know that my daughter is still out there, carrying the bloodline of our clan. As long as she lives, our clan will never truly die out!"
"And when she finds out the truth of today and becomes powerful enough, she will surely avenge the disgrace we experience today tenfold, a hundredfold! Whatever it takes to make the Desolate Netherbird Second Prince pay the price!"
"Such a tyrant will never live long!"