Chapter 434 The Doomsday Is Coming!
The dragon thought about the problem of the title, but in the end, he decided to leave for later, \'It will be a good reward for their upcoming task.\'
He glanced at the still bowing dracowyrm waiting on the black island, "You are on a good track. Keep it up, and I will give you a title in my empire that will bring you prestige and even higher standing."
Then the golden portal in the distance flickered, and a kobold rushed in, its heart beating very fast, and its eyes darted in panic.
"Your Majesty, I have bad news!"
Just from the panicked looks of his minion Vesuvius could tell that something bad had happened.
"Speak, what is it?"
"The information about the upcoming cataclysm has leaked. The world is in flames."
\'Who was it that has betrayed me?\'
A wave of anger blazed up only to immediately sizzle out as he rationality analyzed the situation.
\'No, it is more likely that it was the gods. They must have their ways to collect information.\'
"How much has been leaked?"
"Not much... no one knows the details. They only know that something bad will happen in the upcoming months."
Vesuvius turned to his wyrm knight, "Go! You have a job to do. The time is an essence."
With a nod, the dracowyrm flapped their crystal wings and shot toward the distant golden portal.
The kobold kept blabbering, "The streets are full of revolting people. Brawls are happening all throughout the empire."
\'This spread too fast... it truly had to be those churches. They definitely have the means to spread it so fast across my entire empire. On top of that sky turning red only adds to the credibility of the news, turning a rumor into fact.\'
The dragon didn\'t waste even a second more as the golden light surrounded him.
The next moment the scenery changed, revealing the huge city below him. The fires burned everywhere, with columns of smoke submerging the streets in the shroud.
His aura fell upon the streets, and thousands of eyes turned into the sky, followed by a mixture of excited, angry, and terrified voices.
"It is our protector! Ohh, great dragon lord, please protect us!"
"I will pay taxes and everything, just save my family, please."
"It is the beast that brought the anger of the gods onto us!"
The two groups rushed into each other. The fists flew everywhere, accompanied by the cacophony of shouts and pained cries.
\'What in the hell is happening.\'
POV ???:
A player ran through the streets, the fires burning in the stores around the street. A huge grin was plastered on his face, his storage pouch brimming with the loot.
"Doomsday is coming! I told you! You have called me crazy!" A dirty old man wearing drags shouted while jumping and dancing on the street.
\'It is the looting day!\' For a moment, the image of the dragon appeared in his mind making his heart skip a beat out of fear. However, he just shook his head and continued running, \'The insane hobo is right, it is apocalypse. Looting is legal!\'
All his fear was gone as he saw it back on Earth multiple times. The protesters could always fill their pockets without repercussions, robbing stores or destroying property. It was all legal!
"Enough!" Everyone froze in their tracks as the everpresent red light finally dimmed under the giant black shadow covering the entire street.
\'It should...\'
"I, Vesuvius, your king, am ashamed of your behavior."
"Protect us, ooh great dragon!" Someone by his side cried and fell to her knees. Immediately more men and women followed, bowing toward the giant lizard ruling the entire continent.
\'What the hell is going on?!\'
POV Vesuvius:
The dragon himself didn\'t know what to do. On the one hand, he knew the purge was needed to weaken the gods, but on the other hand, the pleading of his citizens made his blood boil.
His instincts screamed at him to protect what was his, even though he knew it was bad.
\'What if it is a scheme of the gods to force me and turn my possessive nature to disrupt our plans from the inside.\' The gods were ancient, and Vesuvius doubted they were dumb and stupid. Instead, he believed underestimating them would bring only his premature demise.
His mind was split and shattered just as he came to peace by sacrificing so many of his people...
\'Maybe there is another way...\' The light returned to his eyes as he found a better way that, even though still bloody, would allow him to save much more of his people.
"It is true... an unprecedented catastrophe will befall this world in six months." As his voice resounded through the entire city, the chaos exploded once more, the smell of despair and terror reaching all the way up to him.
"Your gods are weak and they can\'t save you."
The angry calls of fanatics calling him a heretic resounded by he paid them no mind, his own voice surprising them all.
"This is our anger and our revenge against those that sinned against the order of this world. You have killed and hunted my kin for eternity. Now you will be the one hunted."
Everyone was pale and trembling, even crying and sobbing, resounding through the dead silent city. No one dared to move or even beep. Even the fanatics shut their mouth under the dragon\'s blazing aura.
"What you want to ask the gods for help? Hahaha." his laughter shook the entire city like an earthquake, "Do it and you will die. The gods that you worship are the target and you are just... collateral damage."
The dragon\'s words were cruel, smashing and crippling everyone\'s hope.
"You are the lucky one that can be saved! We dragons are merciful to those that belong to us, and you belong to me.
"Pray for the mercy and forgiveness of the dragon god. Forsake the old gods that can\'t even save you, now! Accept your natural status as minions of dragons and you will be blessed with the mercy and protection!"
Vesuvius didn\'t know how many would be lured by his words and convert. Though he was sure, the number would be significant as salvation and a chance to live were strong motivations, especially in the time of plight.
"I am not promising you some fake salvation. I instead promise you the protection of my armies, my kin, and foremost myself."
The air turned even heavier as the dragon\'s glowing eyes continuously scanned the city below him and the people shivering on every corner.
"You think your gods are strong? No, they are pathetic weaklings just begging for your devotion. Now my gods will bring a calamity upon you and your gods can only watch it without power to prevent it. Think about what side is the better to choose."
\'If the goal is to weaken the gods, this will work too. This way I will be able to preserve at least a little bit more of my kingdom.\'
Still, the future was gloomy, as even if they had truly forsaken their old gods, protecting them would be difficult.
\'If Venenomius succeeds I will gain highly motivated and strong subordinates that will solve this issue.\'
"Now go! Prove your zeal and dedication to your new god by burning the temples of the old ones. Go and raze them to the ground. Tie the priests and capture them so they can be tried for their crimes of tricking you for all the years!..."
He finished in his mind, \'...Now let the flames burn to purify this city.\'
Even with all of it, Vesuvius wasn\'t blind to send hordes of unarmed civilians to fight the temple guards. He knew they would die, and that was what he needed.
His mind-connecting spell fired up, opening channels to all his important minions, \'Quickly, distribute missions to the immortals and dispatch our soldiers. Send them to protect all the valuable targets and commercial districts.
\'Have the guards ready to attack the temples, but wait till the first blood.\' The dragon\'s eyes deviously glowed as he knew how terrifying his scheme was. Even if only a small group attacked the temples and the temple guards killed them, it would fully ignite the flames of the new order.
The next instant, his aura retracted, and instantly havoc broke loose in the streets.