CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 1242: Mask

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Emperor Horace’s face twisted even further at what he had just heard. He could hardly believe his ears. Even the Imperial Knights could hardly believe it.

While he might have killed his child and wife to gain his title as Emperor, it didn’t change the fact that he wanted to rule the Velkarin Empire through sheer love and protection.

The man had wiped out over a billion people within the span of seconds, and he was asking him why? If this wasn’t madness, then what else was it?

Still, Emperor Horace explained himself, after all, the man standing before him was no small-time foreigner.

"What do you mean by that? You’ve broken the Rules of War that protect ordinary people. The same rules that have kept the people of your Zarethorne Empire alive without having to witness the true scars of war. The same rules that prevent everything from descending into utter madness."

He stated, his voice filled with anger and pure anguish.

"And not just that, you’ve wiped out over a billion people. Mothers, wives, children, babies, fathers, sons. So explain yourself... Duke Azaron Wargrave. Or is Emperor Zolthemire the one ordering you to do this after what he did to my wife and family?"

He continued, his eyes never leaving Azaron’s gaze. If he allowed Azaron to leave as easily as he had come, without any form of confrontation to show for it, wouldn’t that make him look weak?

Barely two months into his rule, he had lost a billion citizens who had nothing to do with the war. What would everyone think?

Azaron stared at Emperor Horace for a moment. The coldness in his eyes had vanished, not because the anger he felt had dissipated after killing a billion people, but simply because, right now, he was acting out of sheer indifference towards life and everything else.

"You know, Emperor Horace, we Wargraves aren’t ones to scheme against others or anything of the sort. Although we may love battles, we don’t go around starting fights ourselves, yet every single time, a new enemy seems to appear out of nowhere and test our patience."

Azaron began to speak, his tone flat and indifferent. Although he had stopped the Angelic Fall Technique, the Nebula in the sky remained in place.

"And honestly, I won’t deny it, I kind of like it. It gives me an excuse to go on a rampage every once in a while."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on his face, one that contained anything but warmth, his teeth showing as he wore the grin of a madman whose mask had been broken for the first time in ages.

"All I can say, Emperor Horace, is that next time, keep the Wargraves out of your schemes. After all, if you hadn’t killed millions of my own soldiers, I wouldn’t be here seeking retribution."

He continued, his eyes still fixed on Emperor Horace as he didn’t acknowledge the dogs behind the man for even a flicker of a moment.

Emperor Horace’s eyes narrowed at Azaron’s words. He finally understood that Azaron was here because of the territories under his control. Internally, he heaved a sigh of relief, as he had thought that Azaron had come after discovering that he had colluded with the Sinvairas.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he responded to Azaron’s words.

"That is simply how war works, Azaron. You know this, I know this, everybody knows this. Don’t come crying to me because you’re on the losing end this time."

He stated, not taking a step back, as though he planned to fight Azaron and subdue him right there.

"On the losing end?"

Azaron asked as he arched an eyebrow. He raised a hand, motioning to begin his attack once more to show the Emperor that he was never on the losing end until the day he died.

Seeing Azaron raise his hand, Emperor Horace’s expression shifted into one of slight fear, but he quickly concealed it, the Imperial Knights behind him failing to notice it as they couldn’t see his face.

"How do we resolve this? Just tell me your demands, and I will meet them later, Duke Azaron."

He stated quickly, like the coward he was.

"Your Majes—"

One of the five Imperial Knights behind Emperor Horace spoke with a frown on his face. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard and seen. But before he could say his piece, Emperor Horace raised a hand, silencing the Knight before he could finish speaking.

Emperor Horace immediately sent them telepathic messages through his Lightning ability.

’Don’t just think about catching your enemies; think about the battlefield. Where do you think you’re standing?’

Emperor Horace asked the five Imperial Knights telepathically.

The five Imperial Knights immediately understood what he meant. If they fought the Duke here, the earlier one billion people who had been wiped out would seem to have died out of sheer mercy, as the resulting battle would lead to the loss of billions more.

’We will try our best to get him to retreat, then the five of you will handle it from there.’

Horace continued calmly as he finished his explanation.

’The Emperor is wise.’

The five Imperial Knights stated like idiots, as Horace had played them for damn fools.

He never intended to capture Azaron; he knew how hopeless that would be. And as for his Imperial Knights going out to capture Azaron, he knew the man would simply slaughter them. Although he could order them to do nothing, it was best to let these five death courters meet their deaths.

"HAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!!"

Azaron suddenly burst out laughing at Emperor Horace’s words.

Emperor Horace remained standing with a calm expression on his face. But deep down, he was nervous. Azaron was a man nobody had ever seen smile or laugh, as he wore an indifferent expression at all times. Yet, he had smiled earlier and had even laughed now.

Although he was a bit fearful, he didn’t believe Azaron was going to kill him. After all, it was already common knowledge that the Zarethorne Empire had killed the Velkarin Empire’s previous ruler just months ago. Could the Zarethorne Duke kill another ruler so soon?

Definitely not, right?

After all, the political backlash and everything that would follow would be too much, right?

Azaron stopped laughing as he wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. His gaze focused on the idiot before him as he spoke.

"Did you already forget my words, Emperor Horace? Did you forget I just said that I liked these types of things happening because they give me an excuse to go on a rampage?"

He asked, his smile returning once more.

"What makes you think you have anything I would exchange that for?"

He continued calmly and indifferently.

"For your information, Emperor Horace, I only plan to leave here when half of the Velkarin Empire has been wiped out. If that doesn’t happen, I won’t be leaving even if the Heavens descend."

His smile vanished as his indifferent expression returned, his broken mask fitting perfectly into place once more.

Horace and the Imperial Knights frowned at what they had just heard. Half of the entire Empire? That was sheer madness.