A Degenerate's Tale

Abelis was the speaker for today's event. As the Prince Consort, his position was neither too high nor too low to be speaking at such a grand event.

If a servant were to speak, the royal family's prestige would be tarnished. If Saryll were to talk, she would put herself in a lower position than Ari.

"Today is a monumental day for the Elven Kingdom," Abelis spoke smilingly. "The engagement ceremony of my daughter, the Crowned Princess, Alea Venroris and my successor, the next Prince Consort, Earl Roth."

"I am well aware that my successor is an unfamiliar figure to many here."

Abelis paused. His eyes gleamed to emphasize Earl's position as his successor.

"While being my successor, he is also the successor to humanity's Archmage of the generation, Ari Roth. At his young age, he has already reached the Expert level in magic and great proficiency in Spirit Magic. He also holds the position of the Imperial Palace's youngest Royal Aid, assisting Her Majesty in daily matters."

"Not only that..."

The ceremony became long-winded, with Abelis talking about Earl's achievements and his blossoming relationship with Alea.

"Now that I've introduced my successor let's continue with the ceremony."

"Crowned Princess of the Elven Kingdom, Alea Venroris. Please step forward."

"Yes, father." Alea followed Abelis' instruction and stood before him.

"Sion of Roth family, Earl Roth. Please step forward."

"Yes, Your Highness." Earl copied Alea and stood before Abelis.

The three of them stood magnificently in the middle of the grand stage. The spectators watched with bated breath.

"Alea Venroris, do you agree to be promised to Earl Roth?"

"Y-"

However, just as Alea was about to reply, the scene took a turn.

Soldiers surrounded the stage in an instant. Each group carried different banners, signifying the group they belonged to.

"...What... is all this..?" Abelis slowly croaked. A terrifying shadow had cast over his golden eyes. The troops unconsciously took a step back when they met Prince Consort's gaze.

They felt like they had fallen into the abyss of hell. Ice cold, suffocation gasped at their throat. At this moment, they all knew. If they took one more step, it would be the end of their life.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness. Please hear our plea."

The nobles behind this stepped forward.

They were all elderly elves with hundreds upon hundreds of years of life experience.

While Abelis was known as the strongest within the Elven Kingdom, all these elderly gentlemen were of the same calibre.

They were the former heads of the ancient families, the pillars of the kingdom.

An immense pressure descended upon this ceremony hall. Everyone invited to this event was of high ranking, but they found themselves unable to withstand the pressure.

A red cloak of killing intent wrapped around Abelis. This was the man who had earned his title as the strongest. His killing intent was so strong it had manifested into the physical realm.

"Men, bring my sword."

This was a man who was ready to kill.

On the other hand, Saryll was relaxed.

"Hold your hand, Abelis." She then looked to the group of nobles. "You may speak."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The designated leader of the group politely bowed. He was the former head of the Arianne family. The family had produced many outstanding Spirit Knights throughout the century.

"Please rethink your decision! Tainting the royal bloodline by marrying a human is no joking matter. We've been your loyal subjects for generations. Our lord is the royal family, holding the purest bloodline. We, the ancient noble families, along with the royal family, supported the Elven Kingdom for centuries. We cannot bear to see the royal family go down like this!"

"Your words ring true, Elder Arianne," Saryll responded calmly.

A glimmer of hope appeared in the eyes of the nobles, which then quickly came crashing down.

"However, I've made my decision. It is you all's fault that you have not produced a candidate worthy of my daughter. And it is also your fault that you've lost all my trust.

The incident occurred many moons ago. Did you think I've forgotten the attempted assassination of Saryll Venroris and Alea Venroris?" The majestic Queen of Elves said smilingly.

Chills went down the spines of everyone in the room. Those who were in the know gasped at the revelation of this information to the public. Those who were unaware felt they received news they were not supposed to hear.

As Saryll let the information sink, she made her verdict. Her gaze became cold, and she announced.

"I... no longer need your support."

Along with Saryll's verdict came the crushing pressure of the Archmage. Ari stood from her seat, and the troops surrounding the stage came crashing down on their knees.

"Saryll. These guests of yours are quite rude." Ari spoke in a relaxed tone.

"My apologies, Ari, but these are not my guests. They appear to be the private troops of these high nobles."

"Very well then. I shall remove them to make room for my guests." Ari then lingered her gaze on the group of elderly elves.

They had come from the shadows to make a mess of her son's engagement ceremony, so they were not going to get off lightly.

"Kneel."

"Archmage. You may be strong, but there is not such a large gap in our power." The elders spoke chillingly.

"Kneel."

Spirits surrounded the elders to protect them from the crushing pressure from Ari.

However...

Pshhhh!!

There was bound to be a crack in this great barrier.

Blood sprayed out of Elder Arianne's mouth. Regardless, he still stood tall.

"This level of magic is not enough to make me kneel... Archmage..!"

The crushing pressure intensified, and the ground began to crack. Ari emotionlessly stared at them without a word, increasing her mana output bit by bit.

One by one, blood sprayed out from the mouth of each elder of the ancient noble family.

"If you'd like them to kneel, I can make them kneel for you."

Suddenly, a great voice rang.

A gigantic magic circle opened up at the hall's ceiling, and three dragons descended.

"D-dragons!?"

The Great Dragon Lord, Demon Lord Zeddro, Demon Lord Idu.

"We're quite late to the party, so we will remove these pests for you. Kukuku." The black dragon announced.

"Kneel."

Like puppets with their strings cut, the elven elders fell to the ground with a single word from the Great Dragon Lord.