Heaven Destroyer

Lord Romaldo frowned, glancing up at the ruddy midday sky as his servants scuttled forward and opened a parasol over Romaldo and his distinguished guest. The sky rained, but fortunately, there was not much wind, or it had dried his fine new suit coat and red vest in the water. But the parasol did a fine job, protecting him from water.

Romaldo August stood with his guest on a hilltop patio that overlooked the fields. Hundreds of people worked in the rain, caring for the crops. There was a sluggishness to their efforts—but, of course, that was the way of the peasants. The peasants were an indolent, unproductive lot. They didn't complain, of course; they knew better than that. Instead, they simply worked with bowed heads, moving about their work with quiet apathy. The passing whip of a taskmaster would force them into dedicated motion for a few moments, but as soon as the taskmaster passed, they would return to their languor.

The man standing on the hill beside Romaldo turned towards him and said, "how many would you lose a month?"

"Oh, a half dozen or so," Romaldo replied. "Some to beating, some to exhaustion."

"Runaways?"

"Never!" Romaldo said. "When I first inherited this land from my father, I had a few runaways—but I executed their families. The rest quickly lost heart. I've never understood men who have trouble with their peasants—I find the creatures easy to control, if you show a properly firm hand."

The Envoy nodded, standing quietly in his grey robes. He seemed pleased—which was a good thing. The August Empire wasn't actually Romaldo's property. Like many other empires, they belonged to the Heavenly Palace.

"How do you fill the spaces of the dead workers? Is there any sign of rebellion when you forced them to work in your fields?" the Envoy asked. "The rebels are quite common in other kingdoms. They don't produce the medicines as much as we hope them to, because of the rebellion."

"Nothing to be worried about," said Romaldo. "I kept all the women and children of those men under watch and when anyone shows any defiance, we put the entire family on the deathbed. As for how we fill the spaces of the dying men? It is even easier. We would force the entire village at the same time. We won't let a single person escape. The man would work into fields while women and children would work in the castle. We never let them meet each other, we develop fear in them so they would never look into our eyes. There is no lack of peasants in the empire, after all."

The Envoy looked down, checking his pocket watch, then glanced up at the suns. Despite the rain, the suns were bright this day, shining a brilliant crimson red behind the smoky blackness of the upper sky.

"Very well, Romaldo," the Envoy said. "I will carry your proposal to the Palace, as requested. He will have a favourable report from me on your operations here."

The Envoy turned towards him. "I will leave back down the canal this afternoon."

"So soon?" Romaldo asked. "Wouldn't you care to stay for supper?"

"No," the Envoy replied. "Though there is another matter I wish to discuss with you. I came not only at the behest of the Palace, but to… look in on some matters for the canton inquisition. Rumours say that you like to dally with any woman of your empire, noble, peasant or any other"

Romaldo felt a chill.

The Envoy smiled; he likely meant it to be disarming, but Romaldo only found it eerie. "Don't worry yourself, Romaldo," the Envoy said. "If there had been any real worries about your actions, an Elder would have been sent here in my place."

Romaldo nodded slowly. Elder. He had never seen one of the Palace's elders before.

"I have been satisfied regarding your actions with the women of your empire," the envoy said, looking back over the fields. "What I have seen and heard here indicates that you always clean up your messes. A man such as yourself—efficient, productive—could go far in the Heavenly Palace. A few more years of work, and who knows?"

The envoy turned away, and Romaldo found himself smiling. It wasn't a promise, or even an endorsement—for the most part, Envoys were more bureaucrats and witnesses than mere messengers—but to hear such praise from one of the Palace's direct servants…

Romaldo turned back towards the peasants, who worked quietly beneath the constant downpour. Romaldo had always been a country nobleman, living on his plantation, completing the needs of the Heavenly Palace that was his mission, dreaming of perhaps moving into the Heavenly Palace becoming a part of that marvellous place. He had heard of balls and the parties, the glamour and the intrigue, and it excited him to no end.

'I will have to celebrate tonight,' he thought. There was that young girl in the fourteenth hovel that he'd been watching for some time…

——

Ayaan and his group rode their horses after having their breakfast. In this place, the sky was clear there was no sign of clouds, only blue clear sky and two fireballs hanging in the sky. The wind felt cold, even with two suns trying to heat the world. The wind gusts passed them rapidly as their horses galloped. 

After the constant journey of the four hours, the group saw a city, and a smile appeared on their faces. It was Odoport. The city wasn't big; it was even smaller than the Shadow City, just a little bigger than an average village due to the constant fear of the bandits and wild beasts. The Barbara Mountain Range was not far away from this place where most of the bandits gathered.

And being at the closest to the Barbara Mountain Range, the robbing and plundering were quite common in this region. The people had to live in constant fear of bandits. 

Ayaan frowned when he didn't see any guard at the entrance. There were only four men that looked local, playing cards. When Ayaan's group moved towards them on their horses, the four men lifted their gazes. "Halt!" one of the men shouted.

Ayaan looked at the man and narrowed his eyes. The man looks like a thug with a good build, the dagger also slung on his waist while his eyes shined brightly. In a single glance, Ayaan saw that this man was an Embryonic Realm cultivator and not only him, the other three were also Embryonic Realm Cultivators.

The man looked at Ayaan's group and when his gaze fell on the four women, his eyes shined, but he hid it immediately. Then he smiled at Ayaan and his group. "I am really sorry, but today our city is celebrating a festival in which we would worship our god and we allow no outsider to enter the city for ten days."

Ayaan made eye contact with his companion and saw that they were looking at him. He turned towards the leader who spoke. "If that is the case, we will leave," Ayaan said and turned his horse back and rode them with everyone else.

The man who spoke looked at Ayaan and his companions' backs and licked his lips, showing some hint of regret.

"Big bro, why did you let those people escape? Those women… ah!" the man closed his eyes and moaned pervertedly.

"Yes, big bro, we should have enjoyed those women, I have never seen a woman as beautiful as those four!" exclaimed another man.

"What do you know? Didn't you feel the pressure coming from their bodies?" said the first man. "They were far stronger than us. I am just a middle-level Embryonic Realm Cultivator. Even the leader might struggle to deal with them."

"What!?" the other three men exclaimed and felt a chill on their back.

"How could they be so powerful? Our leader is the Larva Realm Cultivator." One of the men said in disbelief. "How could a random group be so powerful?"

"Who said they are random people?" said the first man. "They might be nobles, or how could they have such a strong cultivation while being so young?"

The other three nodded in understanding. 

"Big Brother, do Boss really want to do something as big as that?" one man asked, his eyes shined in anticipation.

"Of course, we will loot this village and sell the man as slaves and fuck their women to our hearts' content." The first man said and a perverted grin folded on his lips.

"But Boss, do you think it will infuriate the Emperor if we destroy one of his villages like that?" said another man confusedly. 

The man who was called Big Brother by others looked at the three men and whispered seriously. "Will you believe if I say that it was the Emperor's order to destroy the village?" he paused and continued. "I have heard the Boss saying that the king wants slaves, many, many slaves for something. He doesn't know why, though.

"Seriously?!" the people looked at the first man in disbelief.