When the trumpet sounded, I could hear the bated breaths of the crowds, their anticipation, and their silent fear.
Dimitri didn't wait a single moment, launching himself like a whirlwind, his massive sword slicing through the air, aiming directly at my head.
"Your death will be swift, Heavenly Emperor!"
But to me, his attack was slow… telegraphed.
I didn't move immediately, allowing him to get closer, then at the last moment, I tilted my head slightly, and the sword slid past my side, cutting through the air instead of my body.
"What?!"
Dimitri hadn't expected me to evade his attack so easily.
Before he could regain his balance, I spun my body lightly, then raised my right hand and unleashed a swift strike with my sword.
The sound of metal shearing metal echoed in the arena, and in a split second, his shoulder pauldron split and fell to the ground.
The crowds gasped.
Dimitri took two steps back, his gaze filled with rage.
"Fast…" he muttered, staring at me intently. "But you won't trick me twice!"
Then suddenly, a wave of dark energy emanated from his body, and the air around him began to ripple.
"This is no ordinary knight…" I muttered to myself.
Then… he vanished.
In less than a second, he was behind me.
"Die!"
His sword struck with ten times the speed of his first attack.
But I didn't need to see… my sense of the flow of energy told me everything.
Simply, I raised my sword behind me, and our blades collided, but the shock didn't affect me.
On the contrary, it was Dimitri who staggered back.
"Impossible…" he whispered, staring at me in disbelief.
"Is that all you have?" I asked with a cold smile.
At that moment, Dimitri realized the difference between us.
This wasn't an equal fight…
It was a display of crushing hope.
Dimitri, despite realizing his defeat, did not give up.
He let out a war cry, surrounded his body with a dark aura, then lunged towards me in a final attack.
But before he could reach me, I moved.
With speed beyond his imagination, I appeared before him, my sword touching his neck.
"It's over."
His body stopped abruptly. His eyes widened… then he felt the deadly cold creep through his body.
"I… lost?"
I took another step forward, pressing the tip of my sword against his neck.
"Admit defeat, or else…"
But he didn't answer.
Then, slowly, he dropped his sword.
The crowds screamed, the nobles in the royal box stood in stunned silence, and the rulers present were speechless.
Their First Knight had been defeated… in less than three minutes.
But I didn't look at them.
Instead, I raised my face towards the royal throne where the King of Axentra sat, and I smiled calmly.
"Your turn."
A heavy silence fell over the arena, as if time had frozen at the moment Dimitri's sword clattered to the ground.
All eyes were on me… gazes filled with astonishment, fear, disbelief.
But I didn't care.
I took a step forward, carrying my sword on my shoulder, and raised my gaze towards the royal throne, where the King of Axentra sat, surrounded by guards and nobles.
His eyes were wide, his hand gripping the armrest of the throne trembling slightly.
He had seen it himself… how his strongest knight had fallen before me, helpless.
"Your turn."
My words echoed in the air, like an official declaration of the beginning of the end.
I moved slowly, my footsteps on the marble floor the only sound in this deadly silence.
The royal guards gripped their swords, but no one moved. They knew the truth…
If they attacked me, they would all die before they could even catch their breath.
When I reached the bottom of the throne, I stood there, staring directly at the King.
"What will you do now, King of Axentra?"
His voice trembled slightly as he replied:
"You have… you have won the duel, Heavenly Emperor, but that does not give you the right to—"
"Right?" I interrupted him with a mocking smile. "Oh no… the duel was just a game. Axentra has already fallen from the moment you agreed to this challenge."
Then I ascended the marble steps with steady strides.
"Get off the throne."
The King recoiled in his seat, his hands shaking.
"Y-You cannot—"
But I didn't wait.
With a swift strike of my fist, I sent his body tumbling onto the marble floor, while my sword pierced the armrest of the throne, embedded firmly.
The audience screamed, some nobles recoiled backward, and some immediately knelt.
"Listen to me carefully."
My voice echoed in the hall, making them all look at me in terror.
"From this moment forward, Axentra is no longer an independent kingdom. It is part of my empire."
I turned to the King lying on the ground, my eyes glowing with a cold light.
"If you prefer death to seeing this, I can grant you that wish immediately."
He looked like he wanted to reply… but he couldn't. All his strength, all his pride, had shattered before me.
Then slowly, he lowered his head…
And bowed.
"My lord… Axentra is subject to your will."
When I left the palace, the setting sun was painting the sky the color of blood.
The crowds outside, who had already heard the news, were in a state of panic.
But I stopped at the top of the steps leading to the grand arena and looked at them all.
"People…"
My voice was calm, but it carried its power across the wind.
"There is no need to fear. I do not need your loyalty… only your submission."
I raised my sword towards the sky and smiled a cold smile.
"And this is only the beginning."
For the true empire… has not yet been born.
The entire city was watching me. Thousands of eyes filled with fear, astonishment, and awe.
Their king had fallen, and now, someone else sat on the throne of Axentra.
But I was not a king like their predecessors.
I was not a merciful ruler, nor a dictator demanding blind loyalty.
I was simply… the Heavenly Emperor.
And the laws of this world would be rewritten according to my vision.
After establishing my control over the capital, the nobles of Axentra gathered before me.
The throne room was silent, as if the air itself had frozen.
On either side of the throne, dozens of leaders stood – generals, dukes, and royal advisors.
Their eyes were not only filled with fear but also with anger.
Axentra had lost its independence, and now, they faced an unknown fate.
"Whoever refuses my rule, let him speak now."
My words echoed through the hall, heavy as lead.
But no one moved.
The tension was suffocating… until one of the nobles finally spoke.
"I have only one question…" said an old man, one of the senior advisors. "What will you do with Axentra now? Will you plunder its resources? Execute its leaders? Or will you make it just a worthless province in your empire?"
I smiled and looked at him coldly.
"None of that."
The leaders exchanged worried glances.
"Axentra will not be just a province… it will be the heart of the coming empire."
Then I stood up from the throne and looked at everyone sharply.
"You don't need loyalty… you don't need fear. What I want from you is very simple…"
I paused for a second, then continued in a sharp voice.
"To follow the strong… and to crush the weak."
Just one day later, everything changed in Axentra.
I reshaped the army, replaced incompetent generals, and purged any corrupt elements among the nobles.
As for the former king?
He was sentenced to exile, to spend the rest of his life in disgrace, wandering like a ghost among the kingdoms.
But the most important change was in the system itself.
I no longer called this land "the Kingdom of Axentra."
Instead, I declared it the "Heavenly Empire," and I became its absolute ruler.
And from here… the real war began.
Because the fall of Axentra was only the beginning.
Now, it was time to control the rest of the empires.
And the whole world would witness the birth of a new era…
The era of the Heavenly Emperor.
The sky was overcast with dark clouds, as if sensing what would happen soon.
I stood on the balcony of the Imperial Palace, my eyes sweeping over the city that had become mine.
In every corner, soldiers were reorganizing their ranks, and the black banners bearing the symbol of the Heavenly Empire were raised above towers and castles.
The people were apprehensive, but they had no choice but to submit.
Yesterday, they were just citizens of a weak kingdom.
Today… they had become part of the most powerful empire in this world.
In the great hall, the new leaders sat around the round table.
Each of them represented a different tier of power:
General Falco, the commander of the new army, a man with eyes like a hawk and a long scar on his cheek.
Minister Ivan, the political advisor, a lean man but with the cunning of a fox.
Countess Serafina, the head of intelligence, a woman with eyes as cold as ice and a deadly smile.
Lord Gray, the head of the trade guild, a middle-aged man with a mind that saw only numbers and deals.
I placed my hand on the table and let my gaze pass over them all.
"The stage of acquiring Axentra is over. Now, it's time for expansion."
General Falco smiled a savage smile. "And where shall we begin?"
I looked at him, then back at the giant map before us.
On the table, there were five great empires, each possessing immense power.
But I didn't choose the strongest… but the weakest.
"We will begin with the Zilvera Empire."
Ivan raised his eyebrow. "Zilvera? But they are not the strongest. Why not face the Iron Empire instead?"
I smiled.
"Because war does not begin by striking the hardest wall, but by shattering the weakest, to serve as a lesson to the rest."
Silence hung in the hall for a moment before everyone smiled in understanding.
"Give the order, and I will prepare the armies," said Falco, eager for bloodshed.
"I want you to send them a message first," I looked at him sharply. "Declare to them that the time of independence is over, and that they must decide: surrender… or annihilation."
Three days later, I stood on a high hill, my armies lined up behind me.
On the other side, the forces of Zilvera awaited.
Their army was larger than ours, but I didn't need numbers.
I possessed absolute power.
And as soon as the battle began… I proved it to them.
I turned to my soldiers and raised my hand high.
"Warriors! Today, we begin our march towards world domination!"
"Today, we will destroy the first empire that stands in our way!"
Then, I pointed my sword towards the enemy and issued the command that would change the course of history.
"To war!"