Episode 593
At Zeke’s single remark, King Notales and the nobles swallowed hard, their throats dry with tension.
Under normal circumstances, such an insult would have provoked immediate outrage, with orders to drag Zeke away for execution. But the oppressive aura emanating from him left them speechless, unable to muster the courage to respond.
Especially King Notales, who, upon meeting Zeke’s gaze, trembled violently, as if he might collapse at any moment.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the vivid blood-red eye glowing on Zeke’s forehead.
“No, it can’t be… a blood eye? How is this possible?”
None of the sacred bloodlines of Tantra possessed a blood eye as vivid as Zeke’s. Moreover, the power radiating from Zeke’s blood eye was palpable even from a distance.
As King Notales and the nobles stood frozen, unable to act, Saruhan, standing beside them, shouted out.
“Behold the rightful heir of Shambhala! The one who carries the name of the Blood King! Our true master commands you to kneel!”
He glared menacingly at King Notales and the nobles, his voice booming.
“The great Blood King has arrived in the kingdom! Kneel before him now!”
At Saruhan’s proclamation, a few younger nobles hesitantly dropped to their knees. However, King Notales, gathering his strength, furrowed his brow and glared back at Saruhan.
“Saruhan, as the captain of the guard, what madness is this?”
Saruhan, undeterred, responded with a fierce expression.
“False king, Tantra has now welcomed its true master. Lay down your crown and beg for mercy from the Blood King.”
King Notales’ face twisted with anger at being called a false king. He shouted, trying to ignore the overwhelming power emanating from Zeke.
“You bring some pretender here and spout nonsense! You will pay for this affront to the great King of Tantra!”
Suddenly, a blood eye began to manifest on King Notales’ forehead as well.
As the power of the Third Eye awakened, even the highest-ranking nobles and servants trembled and knelt before him. The power of the Third Eye could dominate not only the mind but also the soul of those it gazed upon, making escape from its influence impossible.
Yet, Zeke’s eyes remained unchanged as he looked at King Notales.
“How can this be?”
King Notales attempted to exert even greater power to penetrate Zeke’s mind.
But then, the red blood eye on Zeke’s forehead shone even brighter, sending a crimson energy toward King Notales’ blood eye.
With a sizzling sound, the energy from Zeke’s blood eye struck King Notales’ blood eye directly, causing it to ignite.
“Ahhh!”
King Notales collapsed, writhing on the floor in agony as if his brain were on fire. At the same time, he felt his mind being laid bare, every thought exposed.
Zeke’s blood eye was peering into his very soul.
“No, stop! Get away!”
King Notales was utterly subdued, his mind and soul conquered by Zeke’s blood eye.
Moments later, King Notales lay on the floor, drooling, his mind reduced to a blank slate, a scar in the shape of a blood eye marking his forehead.
Saruhan, standing behind Zeke, broke into a cold sweat, witnessing how effortlessly Zeke had overpowered the king.
“To subdue the king’s blood eye so easily…”
King Notales had ascended to the throne of Tantra because his power surpassed anyone else in the kingdom. Those who faced his blood eye, especially among the Third Eye clan, could never escape its influence.
Yet Zeke had crushed King Notales’ power in an instant.
Zeke slowly walked toward the throne and seated himself upon it. From there, he looked down at the hall below, embodying the very essence of a ruler.
He turned to Saruhan and spoke.
“Summon all the kingdom’s high-ranking nobles immediately.”
His voice was cold and commanding.
“Inform them that a new king has arrived.”
The sound of hooves and footsteps echoed as armed soldiers and sorcerers gathered in front of the Tantra palace.
They were the elite nobles of the kingdom, along with their private armies.
The nobles of the sacred bloodlines had come with their forces to confront the one who had seized the palace and declared himself the new king.
In no time, thousands of troops had assembled before the palace.
The nobles, leading their forces, advanced into the palace, expecting the usurper to have barricaded the gates for a siege.
But to their surprise, the palace gates stood wide open.
Tosabid, head of the Arakjimon family, the most powerful among the sacred bloodlines, furrowed his brow as he led his troops inside.
“A usurper who has overthrown King Notales and claimed the throne.”
How the usurper had managed to kill King Notales and seize the throne was unknown. It was a situation that demanded caution, yet Tosabid saw it as an opportunity.
King Notales had belonged to a rival family, putting Tosabid at a disadvantage in their power struggles.
But now, with the usurper having removed King Notales, Tosabid saw a chance to support a new king and gain influence.
“The question is how he managed to ambush King Notales. Perhaps he struck while the king was incapacitated by some drug. Regardless, with this many troops, we can subdue him, no matter his methods.”
He envisioned a new future.
“If the Arakjimon family can support the new king… I could hold the kingdom of Tantra in my hands.”
Though Tantra was a secret kingdom hidden within the Eternal Mountains, it monopolized rare resources and enslaved other races within the mountains, allowing the nobles to live in luxury.
While the lower classes fought daily battles against monstrous beasts, for the upper echelons, it was a paradise they were determined to preserve.
And at the pinnacle of this hierarchy was the king.
Tosabid, mounted on an elephant, looked up at the palace, already feeling as if it were his.
But then, something caught his eye.
“What is that?”
A dark shape hovered in the air, slowly descending toward Tosabid and the other noble forces.
With a thud, it landed in the plaza before the palace—a grotesque figure with four arms.
“What in the world…?”
As the forces of Tantra hesitated, unsure of how to react, the creature’s three eyes began to glow red.
Though now a shadow guardian, Caligula had once been the Blood King who ruled the Third Eye clan.
As he unleashed the power of his blood eye, the nobles and soldiers alike felt a blood eye manifest on their foreheads.
“Ahhh!”
The stronger the noble’s blood eye, the more intense their reaction to Caligula’s power.
Tosabid, a sacred bloodline noble, could only scream as his brain felt like it was on fire.
“Ughhh!”
Unable to endure the pain, Tosabid stumbled and fell from his perch atop the elephant.
With a thud, he hit the ground, dislocating his shoulder, but the searing pain in his brain was far worse.
Tosabid wasn’t the only one overwhelmed. Other nobles who had brought their private armies writhed in agony as well.
The lower-ranked soldiers suffered less, but with their masters incapacitated, they hesitated to act.
Caligula’s blood eye power had neutralized the nobles and their forces in an instant.
At that moment, someone emerged from the palace, walking slowly.
With a rumble, shadows rose from the ground, forming a path for the approaching figure.
It was Zeke, clad in shadow armor, the absolute ruler.
Even Caligula, exuding immense blood eye power, stepped aside respectfully as Zeke approached.
Zeke looked down at the gathered nobles and their forces.
He raised his hand, and Caligula closed his blood eye.
The red eye markings on their foreheads faded.
Simultaneously, the burning pain in their brains subsided.
“Gasp, gasp.”
The nobles of the sacred bloodlines finally regained their senses as the pain vanished.
They looked up to see Zeke standing before them, his blood eye shining brightly on his forehead.
In that moment, they realized the enormity of their mistake.
“This is no mere usurper. He is…”
“The true king.”
“The heir of Shambhala.”
Without a word, the overwhelming power of the Blood King emanating from Zeke was enough to subjugate them completely.
The nobles of the sacred bloodlines all knelt before Zeke, bowing their heads.
“We greet the great Blood King!”
“Our true master!”
“Forgive our insolence!”
Zeke gazed at the nobles of Tantra with calm eyes.
Even without speaking, the nobles pledged their loyalty to him.
As Zeke observed the scene before him, he was once again struck by the immense power of the Blood King Caligula.
“To think that even after thousands of years, his influence still reaches his descendants.”
He could sense just how deeply rooted the power of the Three-Eyed Clan was.
Zeke selected the most distinguished-looking individual among those kneeling and commanded him to step forward.
The man was Tosavid, from the influential Arakjimon family, and he promptly approached Zeke.
“You summoned me, my king.”
Seated on a throne crafted from shadows, Zeke gazed at the army kneeling in the plaza and asked Tosavid, “Is it possible to establish communication with the outside world or set up a teleportation magic circle?”
Tosavid’s expression turned apologetic. “I apologize, my king. Though we possess ancient powers, what you ask is beyond our capabilities.”
While they could create impressive magic circles using mandra, they seemed unfamiliar with the central continent’s magic systems.
“Being so isolated, even communication is a challenge,” Zeke mused.
Whether by chance or some unknown design, Zeke had subdued the Kingdom of Tantra upon arriving here, but he saw no reason to linger.
He needed to move to the central continent, but the problem was that the system portals couldn’t be used in the Eternal Mountain Range.
The system portals, accessible through Karma Points, were convenient but limited in range. It seemed he would have to travel beyond the mountains to reach the Murk Empire’s territory.
Zeke turned to Tosavid again. “Is this all of Tantra’s forces?”
Tosavid shook his head. “These are the private soldiers of the Sacred Blood families. There are also border guards and the central standing army.”
“The central army’s main task is to fend off invading beasts?”
“Primarily, yes, but they also prepare for conflicts with external forces, my king.”
Zeke turned his head at Tosavid’s words. “By external forces, do you mean the Murk Empire?”
“No, my king. Within the Eternal Mountain Range, besides the Kingdom of Tantra, other races also live in groups.”
“Other races, you say. Are you in territorial disputes with them?”
“They sometimes raid our farms for food or kidnap slaves, leading to frequent skirmishes.”
Listening to Tosavid, Zeke began to understand the dynamics within the mountain range.
“It seems the Three-Eyed Clan of the Kingdom of Tantra sits at the top of the food chain, enslaving other races. Some of these races resist such a system.”
The Kingdom of Tantra operated on a bloodline-based hierarchy, treating external races as livestock and subjecting them to harsh labor.
Zeke addressed Tosavid again. “You’ve allied with external dark sorcerers to maintain this system of control.”
Tosavid’s expression darkened at Zeke’s words.
Indeed, the Kingdom of Tantra had allied with the Abyss to dominate other races and solidify their power structure.
They assisted in opening gates within the mountain range and used the beasts they controlled to secure their agricultural zones.
Additionally, they used the power of the Abyss to crush any rebellious races.
Weaker races had no choice but to work in the farms created by the kingdom to survive.
Zeke decided it was time to dismantle the corrupt system of Tantra entirely.
Turning away from Tosavid, he addressed the assembly.
“As the true master of Shambhala, I declare…”
Zeke’s voice resonated through the minds of all, spreading beyond the plaza to the entire kingdom.
“From this day forth, the bloodline hierarchy of the Kingdom of Tantra is abolished.”