All Chapters of I Destroy the Empire: Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
59 chapters
Chapter 41: A Noble's Grace
Kaelen was a true noble.Sure, he loved saving people’s lives and had established a clinic to help the helpless.He still disliked dirt and believed being poor does make up for a dirty mindset.The roar of the fight in the central ring seemed to dim as people noticed him.Men with scars and broken noses stared at the pretty noble boy who had clearly taken a wrong turn.Women in the crowd stopped watching the fighters to watch him, mesmerized by his cold, aristocratic beauty.Kaelen ignored them all.He walked straight to the bar."I require three ounces of Nightshade extract, a vial of refined mercury, and... let's say, two pounds of powdered Dragon-bone," Kaelen said to the bartender, a man with no neck and fewer teeth.The bartender laughed, wiping a dirty rag on the counter. "We don't sell baking supplies, princess. Get lost before someone decides you look pretty enough to keep."Kaelen sighed, a
Chapter 42: Bandits from the Shadows I
The noon sun hung directly overhead, baking the cobblestones of the Western District's main thoroughfare.It was a wide, straight avenue usually reserved for noble carriages and military parades, flanking the high walls of the Baroness Vane’s private granary complex.Today, however, the street was eerily silent.The Second Knights had cleared it.Perched on the slate roof of a clock tower overlooking the route, Pyralis Cinderfall adjusted the strap of his leather gauntlet.The heat radiating off the tiles was uncomfortable, but it kept his muscles loose."Transport in sight," Elara's voice crackled through the communication stone in his ear. She was positioned three blocks down, hidden in the shadows of a chimney stack. "And Pyralis... it’s massive."Pyralis raised a brass spyglass to his eye.She wasn't exaggerating.The convoy rounding the corner was a fortress on wheels.Six massive, reinforced wagons, each pulled by four heavy draft horses, rumbled down the street.They were piled
Chapter 43: Bandits from the Shadows II
Pyralis used Blade Kinesis.What are they going to do? Tell Theron?He grabbed the obsidian sword he had dropped earlier.It shot up from the floorboards of the wagon, flying point-first.It pierced the knight's hand, pinning the Fire-Gem to the man's gauntlet just as it detonated.BOOM.The knight was blown backward, the explosion contained by his own armour. The grain was safe."Drive!" Pyralis shouted to Lyra and Bo. "We're leaving!"Bo abandoned his fight, leaped onto the rear of the third wagon, and grabbed the reins from the terrified driver. "Mush!" he bellowed.The three wagons—the lead driven by Pyralis, the second by Lyra, and the third by Bo—surged forward, smashing through the blockade of Second Knights.They rumbled down the avenue, picking up speed, leaving the confused and battered escort behind in the dissipating fog.The Common Lands. The Central Plaza.
Chapter 44: Iron Bait
The Third Knight’s Citadel was usually a place of relaxed discipline, much like its commander, but today the atmosphere was suffocating.Jinto Kyoran sat at his desk, staring at his bonsai tree with a look of profound irritation.Across from him, Lord Johan—head of House Aris and the man currently funding the 'Shadows'—was pacing back and forth, his face flushed with indignation."This is an insult, Jinto!" Johan spat, waving a hand toward the window where black-armoured Second Knights could be seen marching through the streets below. "Since when do the Second Knights patrol the Common Lands? This is your territory. The jurisdiction laws are clear. The Three Orders are equal under the Crown!"Jinto sighed, pouring himself a cup of sake."Sit down, Johan. You're making me dizzy.""I will not sit down! You are letting Theron and Erebus walk all over you. Are you a Commander or a doormat? Why does Erebus, a man who ha
Chapter 45: Meeting with Erebus
The Lair at the Yunis Estate.The mood in the wine cellar was heavy.Pyralis stood at the map table, staring at the blueprints of the Obsidian Vault.It was a fortress within a fortress, a subterranean bunker designed to hold enough weaponry for a ten-year siege."It's a trap," Bo rumbled from the corner. Even the giant could see it. "Too easy. Perimeter guards are half-strength. Wards are down.""Of course, it's a trap," Pyralis said, tracing the entry route. "Theron is holding the door open for us waiting for us to go in.""So, we don't go," Lyra said, curled up in her chair. "We find another way.""There is no other way, Lyra!" Pyralis snapped, the stress finally cracking his calm facade. "Look at the logistics! We need five thousand swords, two thousand crossbows, and enough armour to outfit a vanguard. We can't steal that from back-alleys. We can't forge it. We have to steal the stockpile."He looked at Ka
Chapter 46: Monsters Get Things Done
The Commander’s office was dissolving.The floor had vanished, consumed by the detonation below, leaving only the edges of the room clinging to the walls.Pyralis stood on the heavy mahogany desk, which was currently teetering on a fractured beam over a forty-foot drop into darkness.Across from him, balanced effortlessly on a sliver of stone flooring, stood Commander Erebus.The Dark Elf didn't look worried. He looked bored."Three hundred years," Erebus said, his voice smooth as oil over gravel. "I have watched generations of your kind rise and fall. You burn so brightly, you humans. And you burn out so fast. You think this..." he gestured to the collapsing room with his curved blade, "...matters? It is dust. I will rebuild it. And I will pave the new floor with your bones."Pyralis tightened his grip on King's Folly. The flames on the blade sputtered in the dust-choked air.In that moment, Pyralis didn't feel fear.
Chapter 47: The Weight of Steel
Pyralis leaned back against the crates.‘Monsters get things done.’"Fine," he whispered to the dark. "Then let's be the best damn monsters this city has ever seen."The Common Lands had been through a lot recently.The distribution was organized chaos.The barges had docked at a hidden culvert in the deepest part of the slums.From there, the "Cinderfall Network"—the fifteen freed slaves Pyralis had recruited—moved the cargo.In the ruins of a tenement block, hundreds of men and women lined up.They were gaunt, dirty, and angry.But today, they stood straighter.Bo stood by the crates, handing out weapons like he was distributing candy."Sword. Keep point up. Stick 'em with the pointy end," Bo instructed a scrawny tailor, handing him a shortsword."Shield. It goes on arm. Don't drop it," he told a washerwoman.Elara moved through the lines, correcting grips, adjusting
Chapter 48: Saint and Sinner
The rain in the Common Lands washed the streets of blood and grime. No, making the grime slicker.Princess Isolde Valeriana, disguised under a heavy, nondescript wool cloak, moved through the labyrinthine alleyways near the River Gate.She kept her head down, splashing through puddles that smelled of chemical runoff and despair.She was usually accompanied by the invisible safety of her station, but tonight, the air felt different.It felt sharp.She turned a corner into a dead-end courtyard behind a tannery, looking for a shortcut back to the noble district and then, she stopped.Three men stood at the other end of the yard.They wore common clothes—rough spun tunics and muddy boots—but they didn't stand like commoners.They stood with feet shoulder-width apart, hands resting near their waists, chins tucked.Standing tall and aloof, like Knights.Isolde turned to leave, but two more stepped out from the shadows behind her, blocking the exit."Lost, miss?" the leader asked. His voice
Chapter 49: Broken Hearts
Three Years Ago. The Royal Palace Gardens.The air was filled with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and the distant sound of violins.Seraph Ignis, eighteen years old and looking uncomfortable in his dress uniform, was leaning against a marble railing.He was laughing.Aelia stood next to him. She wasn't wearing armour.She was wearing a dress of simple emerald green that matched her eyes.She looked radiant, happy, and completely smitten.She loved him."Stop pulling at your collar," Aelia teased, swatting his hand away. "You look handsome. Try to act like you haven't spent the last month sleeping in a trench.""This collar is tighter than a goblin's grip," Seraph complained, grinning at her. "I'd rather be in the trench. At least the mud doesn't try to strangle you."He reached out and tucked a loose strand of red hair behind her ear.His touch was gentle, reverent."You shine brighter than any of them, Aelia," he whispered. "The sun looks dull next to you."Aelia blushed, leanin
Chapter 50: As Usual
The Estate of Lord Johan was a sight to behold.Situated on the highest hill of the Noble District, it looked down on the burning Common Lands like a god looking down on an anthill.The gardens were filled with magical lanterns that floated like fireflies.The ballroom was a sea of silk, velvet, and diamonds.The Event taken place was the "Unity Gala," a party thrown to pretend the city wasn't tearing itself apart."I hate them," Elara whispered.She stood near the buffet table, dressed in a simple but elegant maid's uniform, holding a tray of champagne flutes, but her knuckles were white."Smile, darling," a voice drawled beside her. "You're ruining the ambiance."Pyralis Cinderfall stood there, but if Elara hadn't known it was him, she would have walked right past.He caught his reflection in the polished silver of a serving platter.The face staring back wasn't the sharp-featured, amber-eyed wolf that terrorize