Devourer

I looked up at the wall of the capital city of Veria. I could see the soldiers on the wall trembling as they gazed at me. Not only that, I could hear what sounded like a riot in the city. I could detect the very clear scent of rotting flesh emanating from the city. There were corpses, a lot of corpses in that city.

“Great Beast, what are we waiting for? The defenders have completely rejected any form of negotiation. No doubt on orders from the royal family.” Montis said from the side.

“The Royal Family has already fled, they left on a ship the moment they got my declaration of war. They planned to use the city as a distraction for their escape.” I replied calmly.

“What? Then shouldn’t we alert the fleet? If they become a government in exile it will be problematic in the long term.” Montis said seriously, I turned to look at Montis and saw him peering at me intently. I could tell he knew I wasn’t just letting them go. Judging from his gaze he was just fishing for confirmation.

“Don’t be coy with me Grand General.” I replied with a fanged smirk.

“So the royal family is taken care of? Assassins perhaps?” Montis asked.

“No, better. That’s one of the things we are waiting for.” I replied.

We waited for a while longer and soon I sensed the pair of transport flyers approaching. One was approaching from the sea, the other was approaching from Tralis. I sent out a mental command and the ground beneath gave way and my spare body dropped down into the ground. I disconnected my consciousness from it and felt the mental load decrease. 

Using two bodies at once had a tendency to give me a headache. I looked to the left and saw the new transport flyers I made. Cecilia named them Sky Mules, which was a rather accurate name all things considered. These Sky Mules were about the size of three carriages put back to back. They had a carrying capacity of roughly twenty tons, with a storage compartment in the belly. To accommodate the weight, this creature had four feathered wings each about ten meters long. Its entire body was covered in specially designed armor plating that was lightweight yet reasonably strong. The only problem with these creatures was that it required an immense amount of food to feed them, so until our food production goes through the roof it will be difficult to maintain too many of these. 

But honestly, these Sky Mules had limited uses, I would rather not create an air based logistics network when my main enemies are a bunch of winged humanoids. In truth this was a ruse, I wanted my air power to seem weaker than it actually was. These Sky Mules could be easily modified into carriers or flying weapon platforms. However, as to if I actually want to do that it depends if I feel I can even contest the skies. The Seraphim were famously effective in the air and I’m just not sure if I can win air supremacy or even contest them. 

I shifted my gaze down to the formation of soldiers standing on top of the walls of the capital. From what I could tell the wall was horribly undermanned. My flying scouts and Adjutant infiltrators have shown me that the whole city was in an uproar. Soldiers were mutinying, the citizens were rioting and half the city was starving. This was partly due to Sarana’s spies spreading the news that the royal family had left and abandoned the city to its fate. Ironic how all that propaganda about how savage my hive has ended up backfiring. The entire city has gone mad, with many believing that they are now in the final hours of their lives. 

I angled my flight downwards and the Sky Mule next to me did the same, we slowly circled the landing zone before I gently touched down on the grass. I turned to look at the Sky Mule which was hovering above the ground as it slowly lowered itself. Insect like legs extended from its side to form landing gear. Once it touched down, its wings folded neatly over the top of its body and the side armor slid open revealing a plush and luxurious interior. 

Within on a couch sat Cecilia who was holding a glass of wine as she glanced up at the opening before calmly putting the glass of wine down. She came here because at this point the situation was going out of control. If things didn’t get resolved soon, these idiots might actually burn the whole city down. There was another reason for her presence, I detected a little angel spying on me a few days prior. She later moved on towards Tralis but I wanted her to see me and Cecilia act as benevolent rulers to win extra heaven points.

So I plotted a flight path that took us over Tralis and sure enough this piqued the angel’s interest and she ended up following us back to Veria. Now she was hovering over us above the clouds silently observing. 

“Empress. What are you doing here?” Montis asked in surprise as he immediately fell to his knees along with all the surrounding soldiers.

“I have matters to settle with the royal family.” Cecilia replied her tone slightly cold. I could tell she wasn’t really upset but she needed to play the part of a ruler that was disgusted by the callous actions of the Verian royal family.

“Friend, how long until they arrive?” Cecilia asked and I looked over to the east.

“Right about now actually.” I replied and sure enough right as I said it, another Sky Whale dived out of the clouds.

I watched as the Sky Whale descended right over to where we were before landing like the other one. Although this one was noticeably less gentle with its descent. When the side of the Sky Whale opened it revealed none other than the Verian royal family bound and gagged. There were Adjutants in there as well and they roughly threw all six of them out of the cargo hold. The family consisted of the king and the queen along with their four children. The royal couple seemed to be in their fifties and their children ranged from early twenties to children. I felt kind of bad as I looked at the terrified faces of the teenage daughter and young girl as they stared up at me.

They were all soaking wet and they smelled of sea water. Well I suppose that would be the case if the ship you were in was sunk by my hive. The rest of the crew was food since I only needed these six. 

“Ungag them.” I ordered and once it was done the begging immediately began.

I saw Cecilia’s eyebrow twitch in annoyance as she raised her arm as it glowed blue. The King and Queen were both lifted off the ground before slammed down. The two ended up as two gagging and coughing messes from the force.

“Now then…” Cecilia hissed as she reached down her body glowing from an enhancement spell. She grabbed the King by his sopping wet hair and began dragging him towards the wall. 

“I hear all of you do not wish to negotiate because of your King’s orders. Is this a king worth dying for?” Cecilia said as she tossed the King forward like a sack of rubbish.

“Go on, if you tell them to open the gates and I just might let you live.” Cecilia said as she glared down at the King. 

The King’s eyes widened in a moment of hope as he struggled to his knees. He looked quite pathetic honestly. His arms were bound behind his back and he was also rather overweight. So he just looked like this fat worm wriggling in the dirt as he tried to move himself.

“Oh for the love of the divine.” Cecilia spat in disgust as she walked forward and yanked him to his knees by his hair.

“OPEN THE GATE, YOUR KING COMMANDS IT!” the king half wailed at the wall.

What met him was an eerie silence from the wall. I could see the disgust on the faces of those on top of the walls. I could clearly understand where this disgust came from, these men were willing to die for their city and this flesh lump in soggy robes just told them to open up the gates to save his own skin.

“And here I hoped you would have some semblance of pride left.” Cecilia spat as she magically shoved the king’s head into the dirt.

“Is this your king?” Cecilia asked, her voice magically amplified to carry over to the walls.

“Look at him, he is willing to sell all of you to save his own skin.” Cecilia said and there was a wave of disquiet across the walls.

“Open the gates and surrender. I swear none of you will be harmed. I have food to fill your bellies. You will never know hunger again.” Cecilia said and I saw the hesitation in their eyes.

All was silent for a few minutes as the soldiers on the wall whispered amongst themselves. As if discussing whether to open the gate.

“Oh for the love of…” I growled and the entire wall stiffened as they heard my bestial growl echo out.

I opened my maw and sired a supercharged beam right at the protective ether dome surrounding the city. The protective dome collapsed like it was made of toothpicks the moment the beam contacted it. I made sure to aim at an upwards angle so it wouldn’t hit any buildings.

“Do you really think we can’t force our way in?” I said as I flapped my wings and channeled ether in my body. My body began to glow as my wings ignited with ether fire.

Open the gate…

Before I open it for you…

◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.♚.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦

Ariel looked down at the scene below her and shook her head at the sight of the king. The Empress was right, he truly was a pitiful wretch. Ariel knew her mother would have executed him and put a new ruler up if she knew how bad the situation was. Still what came next surprised Ariel, the Empress spared the King and the Queen, instead choosing to imprison them until their last day. This was thanks to the pleas of the children, with the teenage daughter even offering herself as hostage.

At those words the Empress let out a sigh and then ordered the royal family to be captured and taken away. Ariel was sure the King and Queen would have been executed on the spot. The Empress certainly seemed ready to do so.

When the gates opened she saw how the army entered, carrying more food than weapons. The interior of the city was a hellscape. Shriveled corpses lay on the streets having died from starvation. She could even see cases of cannibalism in the poorer sections of the city. 

I think we are going to need more men to fix this.

I think so too friend, it will take much time to rebuild. The scars on the people will take even longer to fade.

Ariel could hear the genuine weariness in her voice. In a little way Ariel’s heart went out to her, from what she could tell this Empress was genuinely trying to help but she was thwarted by the self destructiveness of humans. This was why humans needed to be guided and Ariel was aware the Seraphim had shirked this duty. It was partly due to the Syndicate but in truth Ariel knew it was just plain indifference. The Seraphim only bothered to do something when the ether received from prayers went down.

Ariel continued to watch as the Empire soldiers subdued the riots and began handing out food. The Imperials even brought a few hundred priests and priestesses to help tend to the people. At a glance this was not a small expense, the sheer amount of food, manpower and other resources would dissuade many from being so generous. Yet here they were giving out bread, soup and fruits. There was even some dried meat stored in the wagons, most likely to be used for later.

The people, although initially hesitant, soon welcomed the Empire as saviors. The King and Queen were dragged through the street and all the while the angry populace though starving still found the strength to hurl refuse and mud at them. Mercifully the children of the royal family were in a carriage further back so as to spare them the humiliation. 

Despite her short time in Tralis since she had to double back here, she was quite pleased with what she saw. This Empire was not only prosperous with its citizens living well, but it was also strong and clearly able to defend itself.

Just a few short years ago, this Great Beast might have been considered a threat to be eliminated. But now Ariel knew the winds were changing, the divine council can no longer hope to maintain control of Terra alone. Too many things are happening at once, a secure south and an ancient ally would certainly be useful. However, dealing with the ancients was always tricky, betrayal was always a concern. Ariel was no fool, the Great Beast will know that when the threats are resolved Heaven may turn on him and kill him anyway. Such was the nature of the world of the ancients, there are only allies of convenience. A friend today can easily become a foe tomorrow. Yet for now if an alliance was beneficial both Heaven and the Great Beast just might reach an accord.

Right now the south needs a bulwark and rulers that can keep the citizens happy and hopeful. Happiness and hope enhances prayers, increasing their potency and allowing heaven to fuel their warmachine.

So for the purposes of Heaven at this moment of time…

This empire will do nicely…