Chapter 63 63: Crusade
Azekiel had decided which Empire to target next. For him, it was a task that was going to be really easy since the King of Wrath wasn't on this floor. So he could clear this floor and get the rewards before the King of Wrath could even come here. But before that, there was something more important he needed to do.
He commanded the men in the castle to prepare a feast for him. Since he was more the King of an Empire, he didn't need to send his people back to Floor Zero to bring the food, which made it more convenient.
A Royal Feast was prepared by the Chefs, which included over a hundred delicacies.
The Chefs had thought that Azekiel wasn't going to finish all this. That's why they had started resting for the day.
However, before they could even get out of the Kitchen, they were told to prepare more since Azekiel had already finished most of what they had prepared.
The men were horrified to know about this.
"I thought there was only one person? Did more guests arrive to meet His Majesty?"
"No, it's still him. He finished all that himself. In fact, it's him who sent me here to bring more, so prepare fast before he runs out.
The chefs hastily got back to their stations and started preparing more.
Azekiel had gotten stronger, but his appetite had also increased. Even he was surprised at how much he was able to eat. He didn't know how this was even possible. How could his body even hold you much food? Just how fast was his metabolism now?
He had started getting tired of eating, but he still continued, only stopping when he was full.
After having dinner, he instructed the Ministers to take care of his Empire in his absence while he was going to help his army on the battlefield.
Taking a horse, Azekiel straight went to the battlefield. He even left his Porters behind in the castle as they weren't needed for now. He only took one person with him... The body of Elijah.
After riding for a few hours straight, he finally reached the battlefield. Just as he had expected, his army was at a disadvantage.
The reinforcements of the Empire of Greed had already reached the battlefield, and they were overwhelming his army.
It was fortunate that the reinforcements were tired since they hadn't slept in a long time. They were running without rest. Otherwise, the Azekiel's army would've been finished already
Azekiel's horse ran through the battlefield, avoiding the stray attacks that came to it.
As more and more people saw the battlefield, more and more people started dropping their weapons. Azekiel's army could see the body he was carrying. It was the body of the enemy King. If he had this body, that meant the battle was already over.
"Men, fall back! The battle is already over! Enemy King has been slain! We have won!"
The excited roar of the General brought everyone's attention to Azekiel. Cheers erupted on one side of the army. The other side was deathly silent as they watched their King being dragged.
Azekiel stopped his horse in the middle of the battlefield.
He glared straight in the eyes of the old man he had met last time on another battlefield.
The old General was already scared to see this demon again, but what was worse was that this guy was carrying their dead King! That meant they truly had lost. He didn't even need to issue the declaration, as all his soldiers had already realized it. All the soldiers of the Army of Greed dropped their weapons and went down to their knees, surrendering before Azekiel.
The General of the Army of Greed also came down his horse.
Azekiel tossed Elijah's dead body to the General of the Army of Greed.
Watching the body flying to him, the old man stepped back and tripped to fall on his butt. The body fell a few feet away from him.
"Didn't I tell you to give him a message?" Azekiel asked. "Did you not tell him that I was going to kill him if he stood in my path?"
"I-i did. But he didn't listen." The old man hastily sat on his knees. "We surrender, my King. The Empire of Greed is now yours."
"It certainly is. But this isn't the end of it. The Crusade isn't over yet. There is still one more war for us to win."
"One more War?" Both the Generals looked at Azekiel in confusion, not understanding what he meant.
"I meant what I said. There is one more war we need to go through—the War with the Empire of Wrath. Come to the Capital City of Greed. We will meet up with the other half of our army and rest for the night. Tomorrow, we will invade the Empire of Wrath!" Azekiel declared in a commanding tone.
All the men were stunned at the declaration. Just as they thought that the war was over, they needed to fight another war? The person who was most stunned was the General for the Army of Gluttony.
He moved closer to Azekiel. "What is this about another War? Is there a reason for it? I thought all you wanted was to protect this Empire."
"I have a reason for it, but I can't tell you yet. Just listen to what I said and prepare for one more war."
Azekiel didn't explain much. He just issued his decree before getting down from the horse. He walked over to all the bodies individually, using Soul Snatch to get whatever he could.
Since he had leveled up quite a lot, the stats he received from each of the Soldiers were quite negligible, but the number of dead soldiers was just so much that he couldn't ignore them.
It was only after absorbing all the soul energy which was available that Azekiel got back on the horse again and started advancing toward the Empire of Greed.
The others couldn't question his decision either since he had proved how strong he was already. All the soldiers climbed on the horses and followed Azekiel.
The massive army, which was made by combining two armies, entered the Royal Capital of City of Greed which was already taken over by the army which Azekiel sent here as a safety mechanism.
Azekiel went to the Castle of Greed while a declaration was made overnight in the entire city that the old King had died and there was a new King, Azekiel.
Azekiel had another dinner in the castle before sleeping. The soldiers were also arranged a place to sleep at night.
With the first ray of light in the morning, all were up and prepared to depart after donning their armors. They were waiting for Azekiel to arrive.
After eating once more in the morning as soon as he woke up, Azekiel also prepared to depart. He wore a new set of clothes that were available in the castle, unused.
He wore a deep blue robe on top of a light blue attire. In the entire army, he was the only person who wasn't carrying a weapon in his hand.
The massive army left on its Crusade to conquer the Empire of Wrath.