Theo came back with thousands of men behind him. Almost none of these soldiers were used in the first attack. Because they were either low-level or old. Now was the time to show themselves. They knew there weren't many troops left in the city. All they had to do was take the surrendering soldiers hostage and kill those who didn't. Theo entrusted this task to Pierce and the other nobles. He warned them several times not to pillage the city. After all, a ruined, disorderly kingdom was not what they wanted.

Their aim was to escape with minor wounds. That way, they would have enough men later on for their plans. Moreover, even these powerless capital soldiers had families in this city. Killing them would only fuel the ensuing hatred. What they needed was not loyal dogs, but siblings they could trust.

After sending the soldiers to capture the city, Thedo and Theo gathered the soldiers who had just witnessed the massacre here. When Thedo mounted his horse, the soldiers brought an old man with them, dressed in plain linen in gray robes. The soldiers quickly made him kneel before Thedo.

The gray-robed man made no sound, silently looking into Thedo's eyes with his bowed head.

Thedo wanted to kill them for betraying the kingdom, but now there was no such thing as a kingdom. This put him in a dilemma. He had always been a disciplined and proper person, unwilling to compromise on his own ideas. Next to him, his son looked at Theo. He was as deep in thought as he was. He felt that he was in no position to offer any advice.

He then turned his head from Theo and looked at the ten or so wizards the soldiers had taken hostage. They were dressed just like the man in front of them. Thedo saw and felt their pathetic state. He thought he should listen to them before finally making a decision. Even though they were all at the apprentice level, except for the man in front of them, they had considerable fighting power.

“Why did you betray the kingdom?” he asked. His facial expression had given himself away to indicate that he was in a stalemate. His forehead was wrinkled, and both eyebrows were furrowed.

The kneeling gray-robed mage was delighted that he was given a say. The moonlight reflected in his dull eyes and spread his happiness around.

At Thedo's words, he knelt even more and hit his forehead on the ground. He shouted, “Sir, our families were slaves. We were gifted children of slaves! They have fed us with little resources and forced us to fight for them. Even though we do not have a slave stamp on our foreheads since our childhood, we are no different from a slave. We've never dared to do it before, but you…we got an opportunity because of you. All we wanted was to be free people.” Said.

The tears that streamed from his eyes, flowing like rivers, mingled with the bloodstained wet floor. His face was smeared with the heavy liquid of this dirty floor.

Thedo looked at them with sadness in his eyes. Forgiveness was more difficult now. He then saw Arthur coming east to them on a horseback. Arthur nodded as if telling him to forgive.

Thedo couldn't take it anymore. “Okay, get up!” said. He then continued. “This achievement is not small, from now on you are free people. You earned it yourself. If you want, you can join my army by signing a loyalty contract.”

The man trembled slightly when he heard the word 'contract'. Thedo had to add because he thought it was something like trauma for them. “Don't worry, our contract is a loyalty contract. As long as you don't turn your sword on us, you are free.” Said.

Hearing these words, the man was relieved. He immediately shouted. "Thank you, sir! On behalf of me and my friends, thank you!” said.

“Okay, get up! What is your name?" Thedo asked. These men could perhaps become his trusted aides in the future.

“Borgh! My name is Borgh sir!” Borgh got up and thanked him again and again.

“Go and rest, now you are free to do whatever you want. If you want to join us, just contact one of my men. Let's go!" said. Looking at the other soldiers next to him.

Borgh could only gratefully follow behind Thedo as he left. After thanking him a few more times, he returned to his friends and shared the happy news with them. The other apprentice magicians, who were extremely nervous, could not hold back their tears at his words. They had heard how tough Thedo was and what they had done to Gizmo's soldiers. Yet they dared to take the gamble. They finally made it! From now on, they would continue on their way as free people! Their story would not end there!

Thedo, Theo, and Arthur marched confidently towards the palace, with hundreds of soldiers standing behind them from a new bitter war. All but three were on foot. Their first destination was the wide road that divided the capital in two. The end of the road led to the palace. When they came to the beginning of the road, people couldn't stand it because they heard the loud voices have stopped, and they looked out of the window with curiosity. From the flag carried by the soldiers, they understood that this was the unit of the rebels. Their bloody faces and bodies showed that they had survived a brutal war. Hundreds of people came out of the windows and doors as they walked and scattered all the scraps of paper and coins they could get over them. It was not an official parade, but the excited civilian population sacrificed perhaps the last money in their pockets for them. Of course, these people did this for nothing.

They were doing it purely for their hope. A new king meant new hopes! A new king meant a new age! The civilian population, who came out of their homes, followed them to the palace. While most were silent, some people were giving thanks incessantly.

Saying, “Thank you for freeing my son…” In fact, he was talking about his son who had just died in the war. Because he knew that he was the slave of this kingdom. He thought he had finally found his freedom.

Thedo, Theo, and Arthur, with thousands of assembled soldiers and civilians behind them, came up to the huge gates of the palace. Other nobles were also trained. Thedo felt that he had to turn around and make a public speech. After all, the city was surrounded by his men. There were hardly any important people left in the kingdom. There was only one king who expected to let go of his crown. The weak king.

He guided his horse and looked at the crowd, torches in their hands, illuminating the capital like daylight. “Today, we made history! We finally got rid of the dictators, or rather, these bloodsucking leeches!” Thedo's horse nodded and neighed. "I promise! For a fairer world! I promise! For the welfare of our future generations! I promise!...Now, with your permission, I'm going to take my crown!” ' he said and turned his horse. He had an angry expression on his face. With his own words, he was gassed. He quickly rode his horse to the palace. With hundreds of soldiers behind them, Theo and Arthur followed in excitement.

Confidence was instilled in the hearts of the crowd who heard his word, along with his strong and straight back.

It was not known who shouted first, but soon the crowd began to shout in unison. “Long live KING THEDO! LONG LIVE KING THEDO! LONG LIVE KING THEDO!”

Master Mo and the civilian rebels who were with him, wanting to help, also scattered among the crowd. Tears in his eyes and the glow created by the combination of moonlight with torches reflected like a sun in his eyes. They were constantly raising and lowering their fists in the air.

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“LONG LIVE KING THEDO!”

Thedo and the others encountered no obstacles as they entered the palace. Countless corpses could be seen on the roads. None of them showed signs of injury or poisoning. It's like they just died in natural ways. The door of the main palace was wide open. The guards in front of the gate died in the same way. Arthur frowned, examining these bodies. He could only think of one thing when their owner died, they too died because they were under a heavy contract. Anyway, they would soon have their answer.

They rode horses through the palace. Even the huge hall where the king was housed was open. Thedo immediately gave the soldiers a signal with his hand, and all the soldiers settled in every corner of the palace. Arthur cast a spell on all three of them before they entered the main hall. Something like a transparent shield surrounded them. When they entered the doors of the Main Hall, they were met with a sight they did not want to see at all. Around a large banquet table, the missing nobles who had not joined Thedo had perished in their chairs. The king was sitting on his throne. His crown was turned sideways on his head and fell over his ears. At the king's feet, a servant had fallen to the ground with a tray in his hand. A mark could be seen on his forehead. It was most likely one of the cruel slave symbols. The king was still holding a goblet in his hand. He was poisoned by this goblet. His fat body hadn't swelled much yet. Despite this, the fat hanging from his waist covered the seatbacks. His swollen, blue-purple face and lips made him look extremely persecuted.

Arthur couldn't stand the stench inside. He realized that the smell was due to a familiar poison. Made from the yellow lily root, this poison was tasteless and odorless until you drink it. The real thing was after drinking. It would quickly rot the body from the inside, destroying the organs. So it constantly expelled unwanted foul-smelling gas from the stomach and various other orifices.

Arthur approached and examined first the servant lying beside the king. It was clear from the color of his skin that he had not died from poison. This one died by contract, just like the other soldiers in the palace. He quickly searched his pockets and found an empty bottle. He opened it and cast a spell. After the spell was cast, a yellow mist began to form on the bottle. The mist slowly took shape, taking on the shadow of a lily. Then Arthur blew something into the lily-shaped shadow, and the mist dissipated.

When he began to examine the king, he could not believe his eyes. He quickly cast a spell and waited carefully. At that time, Thedo and Thedo came to him. "What happened?" ' Thedo asked, looking at Arthur, who looked surprised.

Arthur didn't answer. He waited a while longer and there was no reaction from the king's body. He approached carefully and cast a spell again. This time he got a reaction. The king has moved! Well, at least he moved his lips.

"He's not dead yet!" said Arthur, unable to believe his eyes. If it were the fact that he didn't get any reaction from his spell, he would've left him there as 'dead'.

Thedo quickly drew his sword, but as he was about to cut his neck, Arthur stopped him. “Wait, he wants to say something!” said.

“ Why?! How can we expect this scoundrel to have such an honor!” It was clear from his words that Thedo had a grudge against the King. Theo frowned as well.

Regardless, Arthur stopped them. Shortly after, the King moved again. It took longer this time. Afterward, Arthur thought there would be no point in waiting like this and took a potion out of his dimensional bag. With a spell, he took off its cap and let it flow into his mouth. He was extremely careful. He knew that the moment he touched it, this poison would also infect him. The king slowly began to come to himself as he drank the potion.

Meanwhile, Arthur warned the two not to touch any corpse. He even told the duo that he shouldn't use his sword especially to kill the king. It was not contagious with a sword, but at the slightest mistake, it was possible to lose the new king. This damn poison was so dangerous.

When the king opened his eyes, he saw the three in front of him. There was a surprise in his eyes. Then regret.

“Am I dying and doing my punishment?” he muttered. His voice was so hoarse and scratchy that you might think a dead man was speaking.

"No, you're not dead yet, but you're close," said Arthur then continued. “Tell me, what happened here?”

The king looked around with his hazy eyes. He didn't even have the strength to move his head. He could only move his eyes. “Do I need to say? Everything is out there.” Said.

“And how are you going to explain the guards outside?” Arthur, too, began to get angry.

“Isn't he out there too? For killing my brother." Said. Then he looked at the steward lying at his feet. “I trusted him.” Said.

Arthur then fell silent when he realized that the death of these guards was due to the second-level mage he had killed at the east gate. 'Could I have saved them if I hadn't killed him but held him captive?' He then answered his own question himself. 'No, it's impossible. He would have killed himself rather than being a prisoner.'

The king began to speak with regret as if he had accepted his fate. “Then, if we had acted differently rather than like this if we had even been friends, would anything have changed?” he asked. He said this looking into Thedo's angry eyes. He then looked at Thedo's son. He saw the same eyes in him.

Thedo shook his head. "No, it wouldn't change." Said. He aimed his sword at his heart. “The future of today was certain. If it weren't for us, it would have been someone else. You have made this already small island a dungeon for many talented people. You thought you were an angel, but you were no better than a demon wandering in hell.”

He then slowly thrust the sword into the king's heart without any pity. He gave his sword a little more power and nailed it to his throne. The king's face was still expressionless at first, but after a while, the pain reached his brain.

“Arrrrgghhhhh!!!”

His facial expressions came back. He shouted out for the last time before he died. “THEDOOOO!! THEN I REGRET THAT WE DID NOT KILL YOU TWO FATHER AND SON! YOU DESPICABLE DOGS. ARGHH! PUAHH--.” Thedo let go of the sword and quickly took two steps back. He didn't want his blood to get on him.

His last words came out of his mouth, spewing blood and cursing. He then closed his eyes, but there was no peaceful death at all. He showed his true face at the last moment. At this time the sun came up. The first rays of the sun tried to illuminate the main hall but failed to suppress the heavy air here.

"I should have killed you then," said Thedo. But now it was too late for everything. There was no question of going back in time.

The trio turned around and approached the door to leave. At that moment, several soldiers appeared at the door. There were twenty-five women among them. All of the women had arrogant expressions on their faces. As if they had created the world. Seeing the king's corpse and the state of the main hall, they frowned and many even screamed. A few young girls shouted, “Dad!” She tried to run to the king, but the soldiers stopped them.

"Sorry, my King! What should we do?" one of the soldiers asked.

It was as if Thedo was making the hardest decision of his life. It was a decision harder than Borgh's freedom. He looked at Arthur beside him. Arthur shook his head and raised his hands. 'There is nothing to do.' He then nodded. 'You have to do what has to be done.' It was like saying.

Thedo couldn't help but think. What if these were their own grandchildren? What if his son would turn into such a king in the future and his children would get their share from him. He then frowned. He quickly dismissed these thoughts. 'No never! Never while I'm alive.' he said from his heart.

Again, thoughts did not leave him alone. Could he, discipline these children? No, they were used to comfort. Arrogance was part of them. That too was impossible. In the end, he made a difficult decision.

“Are there any children of the nobles on our side among them?”

A beautiful middle-aged woman answered before the soldiers. “Heh, those bitches are already dead!” said. Thedo recognized this woman. She had a mole on his lip, which made it hard to forget. He thought to himself. 'Her father's body lies there! Doesn't she feel sad at all?'

Shortly after, he answered his own question through the woman's eyes. 'No, she doesn't even care about his family. All she cares about is herself. '

He spoke, pointing to one of the soldiers. "Get them quickly, out of my sight!" said. He then made eye contact with a soldier and nodded while the women didn't see him. The soldier nodded at him as well. He understood the meaning of this nod. Thedo was saying that these women should not live. There was no way to fix them after this time.

Asked Arthur as the trio were walking out the door, "So when are you crowning?"

Thedo replied with a smile. "Later...Later. First of all, we need to clean these places.”

Theo also had a smile on his face. The trio emerged from the main hall of the palace, with happy faces, in triumph.

Maybe from exhaustion or excitement, but no one noticed the shadow outside the window.

The shadow's face could not be seen because the sun was rising behind it, but it was obvious that he was trying to get inside by stretching his hand to the window.

However, the shadow froze when he saw the three happy smiles. He stood there in complete silence for a few seconds. Then he frowned and turned around. He ran at full speed into the city without looking at the palace again.

That shadow was William, and the scene just before was not pleasant for him to see.