The Royal Family of the Zane Kingdom was currently having an emergency meeting.
The Rhino King, who had ordered his subordinates to capture Aina and Colette, was now surrounded by his Generals and Ministers.
They were trying to think of a way to appease the Half-Elf, who had just defeated the Beast King, as well as the Oracle of the Divine Army.
The Rhino King knew that it was only a matter of time before Lux came knocking on their door.
So while he still had time, he decided to summon his loyal subordinates and ask them for suggestions on how he would be able to survive the Half-Elf's wrath.
"Your Majesty, how about you empty the treasury and offer everything to him?" one of his Ministers proposed. "That way, you will be able to show how sincere you are in apologizing for your mistake."
The Rhino King's face turned grim after hearing the Minister's proposal.
"The treasury is the backbone of our kingdom," the Rhino King stated. "Without it, our Kingdom will fall! How can you even propose such a thing?!"
The Minister lowered his head in embarrassment because he thought that this was a good idea.
In his heart, no matter how much gold and treasures the Royal Family possessed, all of it would amount to nothing the moment Lux started his massacre.
If that were to happen, who would stop the Half-Elf from looting the treasury?
"How about you step down from your throne, Your Majesty, and pass the crown to the Crown Prince?" one of the Generals proposed. "Then, you will allow yourself to become the Half-Elf's servant. Although His Majesty will be making a great sacrifice, our kingdom might be spared from destruction."
The Rhino King thought for a bit and found this suggestion to be acceptable.
Although he would definitely suffer at the hands of the Half-Elf, as long as his Kingdom survived, he could accept this Fate without any regrets.
The Ministers and the Generals all made other proposals, and the King listened to them all.
However, their discussion stopped when they felt an ominous presence coming from the East.
"He's here." The Rhino King sighed. "General, hide my wives and children in the underground shelter. Please protect them with everything that you have."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" the General saluted and hurriedly left the conference room to carry out his duty.
"All of you, stay here in the castle," the Rhino King ordered. "I will meet him myself."
With a heavy heart, the Rhino King walked out of the conference room and flew towards the sky.
He turned to face the Eastern side of his kingdom and saw dark clouds moving towards his Capital City at a very fast rate.
Ten minutes later, darkness fell upon the land as the light of the sun was blocked by the clouds in the sky.
The Rhino King looked at the Half-Elf, who was hovering in the sky, with an anxious expression on his face.
"I know that I have wronged you, and I am willing to pay the price for my mistake," the Rhino King stated. "All I ask is that you spare my family and my people. I swear that I will do everything in my pow-ack!"
The Rhino King didn't get to finish his words because the Beast King himself had stabbed his chest with his claws, literally tearing his heart out.
The Beast King didn't even bat an eye, and crushed the Rhino King's heart, killing him instantly.
"Get his family members," Lux ordered. "I'll give you five minutes to do it."
The Beast King begrudgingly obeyed his Master and headed to the underground shelter of the Zane Kingdom.
That day, all the members of the Zane Kingdom's Royal Family were turned into Half-Life Zombies by Lux.
This was the same method that he used for Sid's close friend, Sean, as well as the merchants who had become his double agents inside Twilight Rain.
As for the Saints of the Zane Kingdom, all of them were beaten up until they almost died, allowing Blackfire to absorb them.
The next place he visited was the Aston Kingdom.
This was the Kingdom that bordered the Xeno Kingdom and was also responsible for inciting the Zane Kingdom to capture Aina and Colette.
Lux mercilessly killed the King and the Adviser who catalyzed the entire scheme and didn't even bother to revive them.
Just like what he did with the members of the Zane Royal Family, he turned the Aston Royal Family members into Half-Life Zombies.
But it didn't end there.
From that day onwards, the Aston Kingdom became a Vassal Kingdom of the Xeno Kingdom.
When the neighbors of the Xeno Kingdom heard this, all of them felt anxious. However, since they didn't play a role in the kidnapping incident, they believed that Lux wouldn't harm them.
But, they were still unwilling to take any chances. Because of their paranoia, they decided to send delegations to the Xeno Kingdom, bearing gifts and promises to help Victor and his Kingdom with whatever they needed.
They thought that by doing this, they would not have to worry about Lux and his army anymore.
But they were wrong.
Just like them, the Half-Elf wasn't willing to take any chances.
He visited all the kingdoms bordering the Xeno Kingdom and turned their Royal Families and their retainers into his subordinates.
Following his commands, all of them declared to become vassals of the Xeno Kingdom, effectively expanding its territory.
By the time Lux was finished, the Xeno Kingdom was no longer a Kingdom.
It was already an Empire.
Victor didn't know how to feel when all the rulers of the subjugated Kingdoms visited him and pledged their allegiance.
He didn't expect his future son-in-law to do such a thing, and he felt quite touched by his gesture.
"Our future son-in-law is more capable than I originally thought," Aina's mother, Queen Felicia, said to her husband. "Do you still want to prevent him from marrying Aina?"
Victor could only smile bitterly because there was no need to answer his wife's question.
Prevent Lux from marrying Aina?
Wasn't that the same as courting death?
No, thank you!
Victor knew that he had no other choice but to jump into Lux's ship, or else, he'd face the consequences.
Although he was certain that the Half-Elf wouldn't really hurt him because he was Aina's father, he also understood that Lux's mental state wasn't as stable as it used to be.
Because of this, he finally talked to his daughter, Aina, and told her that he would support her relationship with Lux.
He even asked her when and where she wanted the wedding to take place so that he could prepare a grand wedding for her.
While this was happening, Lux was making his way towards the Marshlands beyond the borders of the Beast Empire.
This was the territory of the Lizard King who had assisted the Divine Army during the battle in the Divine Empire.
Lux now had two Supremes and hundreds of Calamity-Ranked Monsters under his command.
Unless the Allied Forces of the Divine Army united under one banner to attack him, no one would be able to stop him.
With his strength, he moved unhindered across the territories under the Divine Army's umbrella.
The Lizard King had already been expecting Lux's arrival, so he had already ordered his people to evacuate and hide within the vast marshlands of his Domain.
He had no intention of fighting against the Half-Elf, so he and his family teleported away from their Kingdom and sought shelter within the Underground Headquarters of the Divine Army of Light.
Their plan was to return after the Half-Elf's anger had subsided.
They thought that this plan was perfect.
However, they still underestimated Lux.
When Lux arrived at the Marshlands and found out that the Lizard King and his people had escaped, he ordered his subordinates to destroy every city that they came across.
Not only that, he also ordered the Monsters under his command who specialized in poison to taint the entire marshlands, making it uninhabitable.
After leaving the Lizard King's territory, Lux hunted down the Supreme who tried to assassinate his Master, Hereswith, during the battle in the Divine Empire next.
Although the Assassin had used every trick in the book to hide from him, he still wasn't able to escape from Lux's Map within the Elysium Compendium.
It had taken Lux three days to hunt him down, but in the end, the Assassin still fell in his hands.
With this, the number of Supremes under his command had increased to three people, prompting the Kingdoms and Empires that were affiliated with the Divine Army to declare their independence in the hope that Lux would not target them anymore.
But just like everyone else, the Half-Elf had gone against their hopes.
This one-sided conquest lasted for two months until, finally, the Sovereign and the Founder of the Divine Army came out of hiding.
But instead of fighting Lux, they went to the Elven Kingdom, the Dragon Kingdom, and the Crystal Palace.
The two Supremes had asked the rulers of these Kingdoms to help them convince Lux to sit at the negotiation table in order to reach a compromise.
As to whether the Half-Elf would accept the invitation, only time would tell.
