At the centre of the city, where various carnivals and festivals are held, various individuals—men and women, old and young, with a diverse array of skin colours—gathered.
The crowds stretched as far as the eye could see, with more than a million Prismerions, each curious about the purpose of the gathering and what was about to unfold, as they couldn't remember when they were last summoned in such a way.
Various voices erupted from the crowd, each voicing their thoughts.
"Hey, do you think the Gemheart Clan organized this?"
"Of course, who else possesses the ability to call for such a gathering except for the Gemheart Clan? I heard that the main engagement banquet between the Crowned Prince, Zephyrion Gemheart, and the former Princess Crystalia Crystalforge is happening today."
"The Gemheart Clan is packed with people, including various powerful clans, families, and the other Five Major Clans. So, if I'm not mistaken, it seems that after finalizing the engagement and speaking with the other Five Major Clans, the Gemheart Clan has finally decided to make an official announcement about their consolidation of power," a young man with a sharp, intelligent gaze quickly analyzed the situation.
Everyone naturally knew that the Gemheart Clan had already seized control of the castle and had destroyed and completely suppressed the Crystalforge Clan due to the chaos that had erupted a few days ago.
Although they had their doubts at first, after noticing that the guards from the Gemheart Clan had slowly begun to patrol the streets, while the Crystalforge guards were being taken off the road one by one, they all immediately understood.
However, a loud snort suddenly rang out in the air around them.
"On my way here, I witnessed several Gemheart Clan guards being taken down by the Crystalforge Clan's guards. They weren't even able to resist before they were killed. Fortunately, I could escape the scene because they were too focused on their task and hadn't noticed me," an old man said, sighing deeply.
"What?! Are you sure?"
The older man nodded. "If I'm not wrong, I would say that the Crystalforge Clan has decided to launch an ambush against the Gemheart Clan and fight them with everything they have. As for why they summoned us here, I don't think I know yet," he said, with a frown on his lips.
They were already aware of how power-hungry the Five Major Clans were, especially during the battle for the throne among the Prismerian Young Heirs.
However, who would have thought that in this battle for the throne, the Gemheart Clan would not only defeat the strongest Prismerion in the kingdom, Queen Selene, but also destroy the Crystalforge Clan, capture the Prismerian Kingdom, all the while being supported by the Luminaris Clan, with the other Five Major Clans remaining silent?
Nevertheless, if the Crystalforge Clan had summoned everyone here because they wanted to organize a rebellion, then he was sure that everything would naturally become worse, with the involvement of the ordinary citizens of the Prismerian Kingdom.
"Well, it seems we will have to wait to find out."
"Hey, look, isn't that the Princess?"
"SHHH!! I want to understand what this is about."
Meanwhile, from within the crowd, two young women with crystal-white bangs listened to the conversation as they shifted their attention towards the makeshift stage.
It was far from their position, but not so far that it strained their eyesight before their gaze landed on a familiar figure.
They watched with interest, curious about what was happening.
….
Crystalia looked around as she waited patiently on the stage for Orion to show up with her mother.
"Princess, we have to start and hope that he arrives early," Iris whispered behind Crystalia before returning to her position.
Crystalia nodded her response with a sigh escaping her lips. She could sense the tension in the air and understood that the Prismerian citizens were each waiting anxiously for an explanation for this gathering. However, she had wanted to wait for Orion's arrival before she addressed them. Still, seeing that Orion hadn't arrived yet, she decided to continue with the public announcement, hoping he would arrive early.
Crystalia cleared her throat before addressing the crowd, "I know many of you have questions about the purpose of this gathering, but there's no need to overthink it because the purpose is simple."
She paused, taking a deep breath, before speaking even louder, "The Crystalforge Clan will conduct a public execution of the Gemheart Clan for plotting to kill the royal family, attempting to annihilate the Crystalforge Clan, and committing numerous atrocities. Some of these acts are beyond what the Crystalforge Clan can tolerate. Therefore, you are all here to witness… the end of the Gemheart Clan."
Boom!! Boom!! Boom!!
Crystalia's words resonated in the ears of the citizens below like the beats of a loud drum, shocking them into a momentary daze before they snapped out of it, continuing to stare at the stage in disbelief.
"Wait, did I hear correctly? The Crystalforge Clan intends to execute every member of the Gemheart Clan publicly."
"Is this real? Didn't the Gemheart Clan completely crush the royal family and suppress the Crystalforge Clan, even going so far as to wipe out over half of the Crystalforge Clan?"
Various voices rang out in the air, attempting to make sense of the current situation.
However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't come up with anything except that the Crystalforge Clan had someone as strong as the Queen, hidden secretly and used to bring down and capture the Gemheart Clan.
Yes, that should be it! After all, the Crystalforge Clan had Queen Selene, the strongest Prismerion within the kingdom, so who is to say that they don't possess another one?"
"HAHAHAHA!! I knew it! I knew that the Crystalforge Clan wouldn't fall so easily."
"Of course, even if the Crystalforge Clan is also among the Five Major Clans, it should be obvious by now that their strength runs deeper than any of the other Five Major Clans. After this, I doubt that the rest of the Five Major Clans would dare to go against the Crystalforge Clan."