The Fall of Aurelian (Extra Chapter)

The Fall of Aurelian

Aurelian Dynasty Calendar, Year 553, Imperial Capital.

The city walls of the Imperial Capital stood silently in the twilight. Those bricks and stones had been soaked in hundreds of years of sunlight and weather; every piece had been reinforced by runes, yet their edges had been worn away by time, presenting a dark gray color that was almost like iron.

Even after just experiencing a battle, the sturdy city defenses did not show any damage. Instead, the base of the wall was covered with the corpses of the rebel army and a scrapped siege war golem.

In the distance, the rebel army's camp consisted merely of tents and wooden fences. Compared to this towering giant city, it appeared tattered and tiny.

However, it was exactly these tattered and tiny rebels that made Duke Wood, who was standing on the city wall, tremble with fear.

In just two short years, nearly half of the Empire's territory had fallen, and now these rebels had even attacked the foot of the Imperial Capital.

To guard against sneak attacks, they had even destroyed the teleportation magic arrays inside the Imperial Capital.

Heavy and weak footsteps came from behind. Wood didn't turn his head, directly asking: "What did Haveland say?"

Duke Elara leaned against the battlement, panting heavily for quite a while before cursing out loud: "That bastard said he has to guard against the dwarves launching a sneak attack in the chaos, so he can't move his troops recklessly!"

Wood's eye twitched, his voice squeezing out from between his teeth: "What kind of situation does that animal think this is? Does he think if we are defeated, he can withstand the rebels alone?"

Hearing his words, Elara was startled.

"Defeated—no, that can't be," her voice was dry, as if trying to convince herself. "The Imperial Capital's defenses are so sturdy, didn't the rebel's siege war golem also—"

"They still have war golems!" Wood interrupted her, his voice even heavier. "That trash Javek, having his fortress breached from the inside while occupying such an important military town. Not only did he fail to heavily injure the rebels, he even handed over the entire armory intact. The war golems stockpiled on his end won't be less than ten. When those things are transported over, plus that guy calling himself the Demon King, even the Imperial Capital won't be able to hold."

"Then—then what do we do?" Elara's face turned pale, her voice growing weaker. "Those guys from the Temple also failed in summoning the Hero—damn it, all that money we provided them in the past, and they are completely useless at the critical moment."

Suddenly, her voice rose a bit, as if catching a lifesaving straw: "How about—how about we sue for peace! Doesn't that Demon King also want power? Marry the Empress to him, let him be King, maybe—"

Outside the city, in the rebel army camp.

The Demon King flatly rejected that ridiculous marriage request. Direwolf even opened his bloody maw directly at the envoy, terrifying the latter so much that he fled back pissing his pants amidst everyone's mockery.

After the envoy left, Rune took a sip of the fresh blood from the cup in front of him and said: "I think pretending to agree to trick them into opening the city gates would be quite good. The Imperial Capital is too sturdy; if we take it by force, the casualties we have to pay will probably not be small."

Hearing this, Direwolf was immediately displeased: "What kind of talk is that? When have the brothers ever feared death or injury fighting our way here?"

Rune glanced at him: "After the Imperial Capital, there is still half an empire to recover. Naturally, we should reduce losses as much as possible. If we just acted recklessly like you, the army would have been wiped out by you long ago!"

"You—!"

The Demon King raised his hand, skillfully stopping the mutual cursing session that was about to start between the two, and explained: "Rune, I understand what you mean, but we are not only conquering Aurelian; in the future, we also have to establish a new empire and govern it! Credibility is an invisible and precious asset. Using deception to trick open the city gates here can indeed reduce losses, but in the future, we will have to pay much more to make up for the credibility lost here."

Rune lowered his head: "This subordinate was short-sighted."

Right at this moment, a commotion broke out in the prisoner-of-war camp at the edge of the encampment, and it seemed to have a tendency to expand.

The Demon King closed Ah Huang and stood up to go check. Rune and Direwolf naturally followed closely behind.

However, by the time they got there, the situation had already been brought under control by the Demon-kin commander.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

A lizardman soldier covered in blood was pinned to the ground by a Demon-kin, and around them lay the corpses of several human prisoners.

"Lord Demon King, this soldier broke into the prisoner camp and killed seven prisoners," the Demon-kin commander stated the situation in a muffled voice.

"Lord—Lord Demon King—" Seeing the Demon King arrive, the lizardman soldier who was originally still struggling couldn't help but stop his movements, his voice no longer as irritable as before.

The Demon King crouched down and called out the lizardman's name: "Skar, why did you do this? Revenge?"

Somewhat surprised that the Demon King actually remembered his name, Skar froze for a moment, but then he nodded fiercely: "Lord Demon King, my family was all killed by that bastard Javek! I—I must have my revenge!"

"But among the people you killed, Javek wasn't one of them."

"They—they were all Javek's subordinates! They are all running dogs who deserve to die! They all must be killed—all must be killed—" The lizardman's eyes were entirely red, filled with hatred.

The Demon King looked at the corpses over there. From their clothing, it wasn't hard to tell that most of these people were gardeners and servants, with only one being a soldier.

There were naturally rules in the army camp. Even if the others felt some sympathy for this lizardman, or even empathized with him, the Demon-kin commander still lifted him up and locked him away to await trial later.

After leaving the crowd, Rune stepped closer and said in a low voice: "Lord Demon King, have you considered how to handle the humans after the war?"

"Kill them all!" Direwolf suggested as a matter of course.

Then he received an eye roll from Rune.

"Segregation," the Demon King said. "Hundreds of years of blood feuds cannot be easily resolved. Eyes blinded by hatred will not distinguish whether the human in front of them was previously an oppressor or one of the oppressed. Forcing them to live together will inevitably lead to heavy conflicts. It is better to segregate them."

Rune nodded at first, but then said with some worry: "That is the principle, but gathering the defeated humans back together will inevitably breed other thoughts. I worry about the future—"

"I understand what you mean, which is why I have prepared a leader for them." The Demon King tapped a portrait hanging on the wooden board behind him—Empress Seraphina.

"That puppet Empress?"

"Yes. She possesses the most legitimate identity. In her name, it will be easy to gather the humans together. With her around, even if a radical faction is born among the humans, it would be impossible for them to unite all their power at once. And since she could be a puppet for those human Dukes, she can naturally become our puppet too. Of course, our methods can be gentler and more concealed."

Rune thought about it and felt this was also a feasible plan. The only uncertainty was whether this Seraphina was truly that easy to manipulate. However, seeing the Demon King's confident appearance, he clearly had an understanding of this, so Rune didn't ask any further.

Subsequently, they returned to the matter at hand and set about working on a new siege plan.

However, on the second day, the unexpected happened.

Sitting in the sturdiest majestic city on the continent, with a hundred thousand elites still remaining inside the city, the two Dukes, after their proposal for marriage yielded no results, actually chose to surrender after a night of "careful consideration."

The two Dukes knelt in front of the open city gates.

Their knees pressed into the muddy water. Behind them was that impregnable majestic city. The city gates were wide open, the drawbridge was lowered, and the unwilling human soldiers had also laid down their weapons under orders.

"These humans are really—" Rune stood in the distance watching this scene, the corner of his mouth twitching, looking as if he wanted to laugh, but also as if he wanted to sigh.

He had planned countless siege strategies, prepared to fight for a month with heavy casualties.

Now, this city had opened its doors on its own, giving a bizarre feeling like punching cotton.

Direwolf strode forward, splashing mud spots onto the hems of the Dukes' robes.

He stopped in front of the two, squinting his eyes. His gaze scraped from the top of Wood's head to Elara's back, and scraped back again, like weighing two slabs of meat waiting to be butchered. "Having done so many evil deeds, you think begging for mercy will make people let you off?"

Wood's forehead was almost glued to the ground. His shoulders were trembling, his voice was trembling, trembling like a string about to snap: "No—it's not like that—in the past we were directed by others, we had no choice either! It was all Javek, Haveland, Valentine, and the others!"

Elara knelt to the side, her fat body shrunk into a ball. Hearing this, she nodded repeatedly, the fat on her face quivering along: "Yes, yes, yes! It was all their idea! We were also deceived! And that Empress, she is the true culprit! We subjects were also forced and had no other choice—we have corrected our mistakes in time, we only beg—we only beg you to spare our lives!"

Direwolf's gaze darted back and forth between their faces, the corner of his mouth slowly pulling into an arc. There was no amusement in that smile, only undisguised disdain.

Trembling, Wood held up an exquisite box from his sleeve and crawled on his knees to hand it to the Demon King. That was their greatest sincerity in surrendering.

Before he could even bring it close, because his movements were too hasty, his fingers flicked open the box lid, revealing that face familiar to the Demon King inside.

That foolish young girl who had once naively spoken of stopping the war—at this moment, only hollow, dead silence remained in her eyes.

Wood's lips were still moving: "We have already awakened. Risking our lives, we have cleared the obstacle for you—"

Elara nodded desperately beside him: "From now on, you are the true master of the continent!"

The Demon King didn't speak. This not only made Wood and Elara nervous, but even Rune looked over in some confusion.

Direwolf was even more direct: "No way, Boss? You're not really going to spare their lives, are you?"

Under everyone's gaze, the Demon King finally spoke. His voice was calm, even carrying a bit of a smile: "Direwolf, you worry too much."

"I just find it a bit funny. To think you two would actually be stupid enough to believe that killing a puppet could absolve the sins on yourselves."

He came before the two Dukes, whose teeth were already chattering: "Go back."

Wood: "Wh—what?"

"Go back, and resist with all your might. That way, you can extend your lifespans for a few more days. Savor the despair of your impending death well; this is what you deserve."

Having said that, amidst Wood and Elara's wails and begging, the Demon King left the wide-open gates carrying that head.

Direwolf let out a loud laugh. While praising the Demon King's wisdom, he talked about how he would personally rip open their bellies when the time came, and followed along.

Only Rune felt a bit of confusion in his heart—

Half a month later, the Imperial Capital was breached, and Wood and Elara's corpses were hung in the plaza.

Aurelian Dynasty Calendar, Year 555, the last Duke of the dynasty, Haveland, burned himself to death while surrounded. The Aurelian Dynasty fell from then on.

After the new Demon Empire was established, the surviving humans were driven to the South, a place filled with forests and swamps.

(End of Chapter)