Chapter 474: 462 Imperial Blood Book
The battle around Black Rye City quickly came to an end.

Otto flew high above and saw some Western Empire soldiers still resisting. He soared over the battlefield, unleashing breath attacks with wide areas of effect and overwhelming power, striking from above.

These breath weapons forcibly blasted open multiple gaps in the crowded ranks, turning the affected areas into hell on earth within an instant.

Scorching flames, raging thunder, and thick strong acid wreaked havoc on the battlefield. The unfortunate people who were targeted didn’t even have their bones left behind, as they were wiped from existence in the blink of an eye.

Those who were lucky enough to avoid Otto’s attacks looked on in horror at the irregularly shaped massive trenches, their hearts filled with despair.

They numbly gazed up at the Silver Dragon circling in the sky, not daring to even entertain the idea of resistance.

“*Clatter…*”

“*Clatter…clatter…*”

With the first wave of Western Empire soldiers dropping their weapons or collapsing soullessly to the ground, the rest soon followed suit.

Burning with passion and patriotism when they arrived, their spirits were now completely crushed.

Some bloodthirsty monsters didn’t care whether their enemies had dropped their weapons or lost their will to fight. Their claws and fangs were still craving blood.

If Otto hadn’t eventually stopped them, these bloodthirsty monsters would have continued slaughtering the Western Empire soldiers without end.

Otto wanted conquest, not destruction. The demoralized Western Empire soldiers had many more valuable uses than becoming food for the monsters.

As for dealing with them, that was now Gaz and Saru’s headache.

Otto himself only needed to provide the overall direction.

Humans were always a contradictory race.

Gaining their loyalty was always both the easiest and most difficult task. Conflicting as it seemed, that was the truth.

Perhaps one particular man would serve as a good catalyst to speed up the process.

With this thought, Otto’s gaze turned to Dudley.

The Empire’s Guardian was currently sitting dispiritedly on a bench made of pure energy.

Considering his splendid armor, he really seemed like a caged bird.

Unbeknownst to him, time quickly slipped away.

At Otto’s request, Dudley cooperated unconditionally and made great efforts in integrating the Western Empire’s forces.

While providing such attentive service, his only request was to ensure the safety of his only daughter.

Otto agreed, as it was just a simple task.

None of the Western Empire’s people could leave the vicinity of Black Rye City, so news about what was happening here didn’t spread for quite some time.

Utilizing this information gap and Dudley’s assistance, Otto took control of a third of the Western Empire’s territory in less than a month.

Only then did the Western and Eastern Empires realize that something was wrong.

At the same time, a reality they didn’t want to believe was presented before them.

Dudley, Empire Guardian, had defected!

Of course, when this information first arrived on the various leaders’ desks, nearly every one of them refused to believe it.

But after repeated confirmations yielded the same result, even if they still struggled to accept it, they had no choice but to acknowledge the fact.

As they finally accepted this reality, their first thoughts were of what to do next.

First, some people with ulterior motives thought of Dudley’s daughter who supposedly remained in the Western Empire’s Imperial Capital.

Once they dispatched people to search for her, however, they discovered that the girl had disappeared without a trace.

Ensuring his daughter’s safety was Dudley’s only condition for Otto. Naturally, Heel had already been secretly sent away and had now reunited with Dudley near Black Rye City.

The one responsible for helping her escape from within the Western Empire was the long-established spy network in the Empire, currently headed by the long-missing Black Rose.

With Dudley’s defection and Heel’s disappearance, the army that had once mobilized the entire country to face the enemy in Black Rye City remained silent.

Facing the shocking intel sent from the frontlines, the nobles in the Imperial Capital were filled with despair.

What on earth had happened? How could their once-great Empire and its wealthy foundations have vanished so suddenly?

No matter how difficult the situation, life had to go on.

And now, the Western Empire was left with only one choice.

Not long after, Golden Emperor Gode was tightly bound and delivered to the Crimson Empress in the Eastern Empire’s palace.

His mouth was stuffed with a white cloth, and he was wrapped up like a dumpling, only missing a ribbon to finish the look.

At this time, the Crimson Empress sat sternly on the throne, her eyes fixed on the blood letter in her hand and her chest heaving up and down.

The letter detailed everything that had happened to the Western Empire during this time, including Dudley’s defection.

Though the Crimson Empress found it hard to believe, the Western Empire’s imperial seal and the remaining nobles’ seals accompanied Gode and the blood letter, symbolizing their unconditional submission to the Eastern Empire.

Unfortunately, aside from the commoners and land, the Western Empire no longer had anything to offer.

As for wealth? What hadn’t been consumed in the endless wars had found its way into the pockets of the various nobles.

Even on the brink of ruin, these greedy fools hadn’t forgotten to fill their coffers.

The Crimson Empress was well aware of these idiots’ actions but was helpless to intervene.

Under the current imperial system, the nobility formed the foundation of the country. Even though the Empress knew full well that these nobles were capable of doing more harm than good, she couldn’t do anything about them in the short term.

Of course, she would accept the Western Empire’s lands, but as for those ministers of a fallen nation, she would keep them at bay to prevent any unnecessary trouble.

But the Empress was certain that they wouldn’t be bouncing around for long.

Handing over such a hot potato to her and expecting her to wine and dine them?

With this thought, the Crimson Empress angrily tossed the blood letter aside, her cold gaze falling on Gode, who wriggled on the ground like an insect.

Finally, she mercilessly sentenced him: “Hang him. Then, wake the Dragon Slumber Army and bring Vanas to me.”