Chapter 56: The Rupture of the Bloodline (Part 1)
"Kill him!" King Alaric shrieked.
His voice cracked violently and echoed across the silent sands of the Royal Colosseum.
He gripped the velvet railing of the Royal Box so hard his knuckles turned a waxy, sickly white.
"Are you all deaf? Seize that green animal! He violated the duel! He murdered a noble of the High Forge!"
I stood in the center of the pit.
The steam from my Vanguard Arm vented in thick, white plumes against the stagnant heat of the arena.
Sir Vaelen lay at my feet like a crushed tin can.
His silver-etched armor was ruined.
The blue sparks of his shattered mana core flickered weakly before dying out in the dirt entirely.
I did not look up.
I just listened to the King panic.
"Guards!" Alaric screamed again. He leaned so far over the railing that his heavy, ruby-encrusted crown slipped sideways.
"Tear that goblin apart! I want his head on a pike by sundown!"
The Royal Guard hesitated.
