CHAPTER 77: A RESOLUTION.

Sylus made his way outside the mansion.

Zani and Alfred followed behind him, making sure they were not too far behind.

The workers at the mansion had all hidden inside their respective rooms, sensing that there was trouble brewing—not just in the mansion, but in the city as well.

Opening the door to the castle with a single pull, the third prince stepped out, now standing before the gathering of soldiers who had been waiting for his arrival.

Surprisingly, they all looked to be over 80 in number and were also well equipped with weapons of their own.

Plus, at the very back, Sylus could see horses arranged in a straight line.

Surely, these people were ready.

While the fear on their faces was there, the determination had not fully cleared away.

It would seem the soldiers themselves had wanted the same thing for a very long time, which was to eradicate the Red Vipers from Linye.

As he stood before them, every murmur died, and all eyes fell on Sylus.

At the very front of the line stood the leader of the army, the man who Sylus had run into the moment he arrived at the mansion.

Clearing his throat, Sylus began:

"The Count, Eric, is dead. Upon discovery, I found out he was in cahoots with treason and corruption—qualities this kingdom does not stand for. As such, he was faced with the punishment labeled under these crimes: execution."

Deep down, Sylus was expecting some kind of reaction from them—be it fear, anger, or resentment.

But rather, all he got were men fully concentrated, ready to hear whatever their prince had to say.

For that, Sylus could not be any more proud.

There was no use fighting it, so he continued.

"As the Crown Prince of Verdenez, I have decided to take this territory under my command. From this moment on, every single one of you is now a royal soldier of the kingdom. Your loyalty lies with me and only me. In return, I will shape this city into what it was meant to be."

"As you all might know, for the longest time, this city has been divided into two parts: the Upper City, meant for the rich and nobles, and the Lower City, for those separated from riches and forced to put up with the harsh treatment of bad leadership.

I know that there are some of you who wanted to help but could do nothing because you were afraid of being killed or punished. And some of you might be too ignorant to understand anything outside your own bubbles."

Sylus stretched his hand to the side.

"Regardless of your reasons, if we don’t take action, these problems won’t go away. Giving power to those who don’t deserve it is not something any of us should settle for. I, Sylus Von Astrodial, refuse to settle with that. I will bring it all to the ground and from the ruins build anew. A place where happiness is extended to all—poor, rich, blind, short, and even the crippled."

"As such, today, we are going to purge the plague from this city, which are the Red Vipers. If you wish to join me, you will be compensated heavily. If you wish to run from this, and that is a decision you will live with, I don’t intend on forcing any of you. Do you have questions?"

A female warrior raised her hand.

"Go ahead," Sylus allowed her.

"My prince, I mean no disrespect, but isn’t going to war against them suicide? Many of us lack star blessings. Most that did have been killed by them a long time ago."

Sylus stared at the girl for a while; she was right.

He had observed the crowd before he even began speaking, and he couldn’t spot a single person with a title.

In truth, the city’s military strength was weak and laughable.

Still, there was a resolution.

"If that is truly what many of you are worried about, then I assure you, there is no reason for you to worry."

He spread his arms apart.

"Submit yourselves to me, body and mind; swear your loyalty to me and not the kingdom. I say this to those who want absolute strength: I am the way."

At first, what he said didn’t make sense to many of them.

How was swearing loyalty to the prince going to make them stronger?

It was said that only those born directly from the divinity—like royalty—could give star blessings to their direct subjects.

And since many of the soldiers were loyal to the kingdom, they should have gotten a star blessing from the king.

Many of them didn’t, so what could make the prince special? His Catalyst star?

From nowhere, a huge gasp erupted from the crowd as the leader of the army fell to his knees, his head bowed and blade placed on the ground.

"I, Rafi Gini, pledge my loyalty to you, my lord. I want nothing more than to be used for the betterment of this city."

Seeing one of their own truly show his loyalty to the prince rather than the king, they each began to do the same.

Individually, they each fell to their knees, heads bowed, before announcing their loyalty to the third prince.

Zani couldn’t help but feel proud at the scene playing out in front of her. Seeing others serve her lord made her ego rise.

Not to mention, the more followers Sylus has, the stronger she becomes as the first Alpha.

Not long after, every single soldier had fallen to their knees, their loyalty and submission announced out loud.

Wow, they actually did it. And here I thought what I did was edgy... Sylus chuckled silently.

Then—

[The condition for a new aspect has been met.]

[A new aspect has been born from the title, Fated Prince.]

[The Emperor.]

Description: All soldiers under you are given a Crest of Honor, allowing them to access a new form of power other than their star blessings.

Eh?