I Got Reincarnated Into a Game I Was a Top-Ranker in and I Became the Leader of a Villain Group That Will Destroy This Shitty Country - 95

Chapter 95: War

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“Ugh…. Ughh….”

Why did things end up this way?

Within his hazy consciousness, the Crown Prince looked down at his trembling hands. His vision was blurry at best and he couldn’t muster any strength in his mouth to talk. Not even coherent thoughts could come to his foggy mind anymore. This was the fate of someone who had half of their soul taken away. The only thing that fueled the Crown Prince to move was his ugly obsession. The ugly obsession to win and dominate over everything.

“Fake demon…. Fake demon…”

He didn’t want to lose. Hee wanted to win. He wanted to laugh as he watched the city engulfed in flames. Although his memory was hazy at best, he still remembered his wish. He wished to see a world where everyone was under his control. He yearned for the exhilarating moment when he reigned as the supreme ruler, holding everything within the palm of his hand. He imagined a future where he stood above everything, the complete opposite of his weak self when he was younger.

“Ugh…. Grrrh…”

However, the Crown Prince was barely able to stay conscious. His already thin body became even more emaciated, to the point his bones were poking out of his skin. Saliva kept dripping from his barely functional mouth. Breathing had become a daunting task, so much so that he had to take deep breaths repeatedly. His back was hunched, unable to bear the weight of his emaciated body. His face was devoid of any sign of vitality. He couldn’t remember the last time he slept. He hadn’t eaten in days even. The only thing that kept him alive was the life force that he continuously drew from the mercurial cube. The once ruler of the empire had become nothing more than an empty husk of his former self.

“Your Highness.”

However, the knight commander, Goering, didn’t find his lord’s appearance to be pitiful. Not like he could, to be precise. He had been subjected to the Crown Prince’s mind control. A feeling as complex as pity was beyond his capability. He had become the Crown Prince’s blind follower, almost literally even. Kneeling in the audience chamber, Goering faced the Crown Prince, who was sitting on the throne. The pitiful Crown Prince didn’t have any shred of dignity in him and yet, Goering still swore his loyalty to him. The Crown Prince had exerted more power than necessary when he manipulated the mind of his subject with black magic. As the result of the Crown Prince’s reckless wield of power, Goering’s soul had been tainted. The mind control had tainted both his body and soul.

“All the nobles listed in the register have all arrived. Would you like to meet them?”

“….Yes.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

The moment he received the Crown Prince’s approval, Goering immediately left the audience chamber. He then stared at the arrays of nobles waiting outside. Dukes, counts, marquises, viscounts—all the nobles connected to the royal family in this capital were present here. They were trapped within the castle. A space where the crimson-black mist were driving people’s mind to madness.

“…”

Goering gave the duke standing at the front a quick nod. The duke then entered the audience chamber along with an army of trained soldiers that moved in sharp, precise movement. The other nobles followed suit. All of them were moving with the same mechanical precision. The arrogance and the haughty demeanor typical of nobility were all gone. They were all moving like puppets. Their souls had been devoured. Their individuality had been erased. 

When all of them had entered the audience chamber, they knelt in unison. They were the shells of their former selves. All of them spoke in a synchronized chorus. 

“As Your Highness commands!”

“As Your Highness commands!”

“As Your Highness commands!”

Their eyes were all red. All of them. However, some of them were already rotting. Their skin had festered, revealing the skeletal remains of their faces. These were the people who had refused to oblige by the Crown Prince’s summon. They had been granted the reward of death and revived again as a ghoul. Yes. Ghouls and humans coexisted in this grotesque place. Within this twisted space, the Crown Prince rolled his eyes back several times before speaking. 

“…Our purpose is…”

“…”

“…”

“Our purpose is…”

Words didn’t come easy to him. He had to muster everything in him to utter those words out. The pitiful man was struggling desperately just to speak. He had become an empty husk, a memorial of his former shelf. 

“To kill the fake demon… Kill Kai and… Burn everything to ashes.”

Afterwards, he coughed violently several times, spitting up blood. He stared at his hands, which was smeared with his own blood before he spoke again. 

“Gather all the forces.”

The Crown Prince heaved before he continued. 

“We will strike them in two days. This is war.”

And then, the Crown Prince coughed up blood again. Though he was in pure agony, though his body were being torn apart from within, he still had hope. A faint glimmer of determination was flicking in his eyes. His red eyes glowed and widened as another coughing fit plagued him again. 

Then, the monster, the Guide, who had been standing silently by his side, looked at the kneeling nobles and the Crown Prince before smiling.

“Yes… Yes…Do your best, o’ puppets of fate.”

The strings were being pulled by the Guide from behind the scenes. With his torn mouth stretching even wider, the Guide laughed in delight.

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