Chapter 574

Hearing Leon’s suggestion, which was less about letting their imaginations run wild and more about dragging a celestial horse through the fiery pits of hell for a joyride, the two royal siblings of the fallen kingdom couldn’t help but exchange a glance. They noticed that each other’s pupils were quivering violently.

Though they’d known this guy wasn’t exactly normal, wasn’t he taking it a bit too far? A regular person, no matter how creative in thought, wouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion of destroying an entire kingdom, would they? “Whether or not we proceed is up to you two. I just threw out an idea.”

Leon shrugged nonchalantly and said, “After your surrender, part of the blood oath was indeed broken, which proves my thinking isn’t wrong: the premise of the blood oath hinges on your status as members of the Crocodile Royal Family.”

“And now that the Crocodile Kingdom has declared its downfall, its land remains intact. You both still have the possibility to leave here or be taken away from the kingdom’s territory, so the blood oath hasn’t been completely lifted from your bodies.”

“So, if you want to remove the remaining half of the blood oath, the best method is to address the root cause—completely destroy the Crocodile Kingdom and invalidate the Execution King Assembly’s blood oath at its core. Naturally, your problem will then be resolved.”

“…”

The logic made sense, but weren’t the means a little extreme? “Isn’t there a gentler way?”

Having listened to Leon’s words, Prince Andre couldn’t help but suggest:

“What if you sent people to occupy it, and then did something else to make the Crocodile Kingdom lose its territory in name only?”

“It could work, but do you really have the time for that?”

Pointing at Phelia’s body covered in crow feathers, Leon reminded them:

“Other than directly destroying the entire Crocodile Kingdom all at once, any other method would be impossible to complete before your souls are annihilated. Neither you two nor the entire Crocodile Kingdom can coexist anymore.”

Indeed, this was the only way.

Glancing at his sister’s condition, Prince Andre sighed involuntarily, then stumbled and turned around, waving toward the giant painting of “Sunset” in the distance.

Who would’ve thought that after becoming a deposed monarch once, he’d end up personally destroying the entire Crocodile Kingdom?

And while he stood before the painting, stroke by stroke erasing the people from the kingdom, Prince Andre seemed to vaguely understand something, looking back at Leon with a complex expression.

Noticing his strange gaze, Leon couldn’t help but ask:

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…”

Prince Andre shook his head and said:

“I’m just wondering why you came up with such a solution.”

“Of course, it’s to protect the Watchtower Palace and thereby safeguard all humanity.”

Upon hearing Prince Andre’s words, Leon, ever loyal to the Clearing Bureau, replied without hesitation: “For us at the Clearing Bureau, if even one of the twelve royal families is completely wiped out, ‘abnormalities’ at the Holy Spirit level will be able to freely enter the present world. If more than three are wiped out, some weaker True Gods might even barely squeeze in. This outcome is absolutely unacceptable to the Bureau.”

Prince Andre turned back, continuing to “paint” the citizens out of the Crocodile Kingdom’s territory while murmuring in confusion: “Actually, since the first time I met you, I’ve felt like you harbored some sort of hidden animosity towards the entire Crocodile Kingdom, which intensified after the attack on Administrative Zone 3. It’s almost as if…”

“You’re definitely mistaken.”

Without hesitation, Leon cut off Prince Andre’s words, looking straight ahead with an honest face as he explained: “I treat all kingdoms equally and don’t hold any special grudge against you.”

“Alright…”

Glancing at Leon’s expression, Prince Andre hesitated for a moment, then said nothing more, continuing to prepare for the destruction of the Crocodile Kingdom with his paintbrush. Meanwhile, Leon, standing beside Prince Andre, sent the young maid to take the bandit siblings away while giving him a sidelong glance.

This guy’s perception was truly sharp. He didn’t actually harbor good intentions toward the “abnormal” structure of the Crocodile Kingdom.

According to the documents obtained after the attack on Administrative Zone 3, the actual controlled territory of the entire Crocodile Kingdom was enormous, approximately forty thousand square kilometers, with thirty-seven million people living under their “system.”

But apart from the one million three hundred thousand citizens in the eight hundred districts of the Crocodile Kingdom who daily chewed disgusting vegetable paste, the lives of the remaining ninety-six percent could hardly be called living—it was merely surviving.

Especially those floating crystal mines, where countless people died every year just to extract such materials. Other types of mines and resource extraction areas, though not as brutal as the floating crystal mines, weren’t much better either.

The prosperity and advancement of the entire Crocodile Kingdom were nurtured by the sacrifice of the blood and flesh of those thirty-five million people, exchanging nearly ninety-six percent of suffering for the four percent prosperity.

No content within this chapter exists!

Although such situations were unavoidable in most kingdoms, the extent varied; the Crocodile Kingdom had gone especially overboard, taking only the “benefits” and unloading all the “burdens.”

If it were under normal circumstances, considering that even the worst order is better than total chaos, plus the fact that direct action to destroy the kingdom would result in backlash from the Clearing Bureau, perhaps he would have considered milder methods, step by step.

But now, since this matter was tied to the protection of the Watchtower Palace, with the “greater good” of protecting all humanity as justification, naturally, a grand move must be made to completely expose this festering sore!

It’s almost done…

After a long period of painting, “The Sunset Over Crocodile” was altered beyond recognition by Prince Andre’s own hand, transforming into “The Empty Crocodile Kingdom After All Citizens Were Safely Blown Abroad by a Wild Wind.”

Looking at the vast wilderness outside the painting, filled with countless stunned “little black dots,” Prince Andre exhaled slightly, then, under Leon’s expectant gaze, raised his brush soaked in paint and gave it a heavy twirl at the far end of the painting.

A burst of light radiated.

Following Prince Andre’s brushstroke, the edge of the orange-red sunset subtly bloomed with a touch of gold and quickly faded. Strangely, as the colors on the canvas grew lighter, the sunlight became more brilliant.

When Prince Andre took out his half-broken painting knife and forcefully scraped off the thick base layer, lightly applying a thin coat of white paint, the once gentle sunset at the horizon had become so bright it hurt the eyes.

In the eight hundred districts of the Crocodile Kingdom, countless fierce flames erupted, igniting everything flammable. Even metals, unable to burn, began to turn red and soften under the intense heat of the violent white sun.

(End of Chapter)