Devouring Dragon Heir

Klaus was seated on a royal throne made of gold and mythril. His posture was straight as he looked at the stream of people kneeling and bound by chains in front of him.

He had won the war against the Lionheart and had successfully taken over this territory; many of the Lionheart's soldiers, including the 100000 empire troops, had died and had been added to his death monster.

Meanwhile, the rest of them had been taken as prisoners and were being retrained to be included in the Riverdale army.

Right now Riverdale controlled a territory equivalent to a small empire, and they had the strength to back it up, actually, since now Klaus had five transcendents and more than 40 pseudo-transcendents working under him.

Long story short, after the fall of the titan prince, the other two had been subdued by his subordinates, namely the wind lord and the thunder lord.

He had specially ordered them to wait for him to give the final blow and just restrain the transcendent princes.

He wanted to rank up to a transcendent as soon as possible, and for that he had to kill them by his own hands. The kills of his subordinates won't count.

"Sigh!... all this effort for a void physique; I hope it's worthwhile getting such a physique."

[Of course, host, it will be worthwhile getting that physique; you can increase space affinity by absorbing the gate cores, and this time it will be more efficient. The earlier system compromised the space affinity for other better rewards, but now with this physique, it will be worthwhile.]

"Still, I have been here for so many days, and although I am getting stronger faster, I still want to go home and sleep on my comfortable bed," Klaus complained.

[You don't need to worry, host; now you have five transcendent subordinates. Just sit back and let them do it in their own ways. A group of five transcendents will be an overwhelming force.]

"You are right; I think with the five of them and the Necrolord scheming and planning in my place, the mission might be over sooner than I think," Klaus thought as his thoughts wandered while talking to the system.

He didn't even know when the throne hall emptied and only his subordinates were left. He came out of his thoughts as he looked at the six lords kneeling in front of him.

The new additions to his subordinates were the three princes he had just killed. He had named them the shadow lord, the fire lord, and the earth lord.

Their names signify the element they controlled. Although both the necrolord and the shadow lord controlled the darkness element, the situation with the necrolord was a bit special, as he used a derivative concept of the darkness element related to death and curses.

It was called necromancy according to the system.

Klaus had asked the system whether his telekinesis and corrosion concept were also derivatives of an element.

[Yes and no; these are concepts of a different category; they are derivatives of something other than elements.]

Klaus sighed, "And when should I expect you to explain all these things to me?"

[The host is not currently at a stage where he needs to learn about all these things.]

"I get it, system. I, too, am really not interested in these theoretical facts as long as they don't hinder my path. I have seen so much that I have become numb to these fantastical things, and my curiosity has died. I will talk about these things if I ever feel bored in the future."

For now, Klaus looked at his kneeling subordinate. "Good work, everyone. From now on, you five are taking over most of the headache of this mission. I will be staying behind the scenes while you take over the continent for me."

"From now on I will be there just to expand the death army and convert new subordinates, while you all will do the fighting and planning."

"And I expect 100% success from you all. From now on, you all are the second in command after me. You all will be called 'the Lords.' You all are free to create your own personal armies and influences and establish your groups as long as you all work for my cause."

"Is there any doubt?" Klaus asked as he looked at the five lords.

The Necrolord reacted to the question and asked, "My lord, what about the zero division? And what about Lysandra? Will she also be among the lords?"

"No, the zero division and Lysandra will work under me and will directly report to me."

Klaus intended to keep the zero division to himself as his personal group, ready anytime for his orders.

Klaus had given this a lot of thought the past few days, and then he had come up with this arrangement.

For now, he decided to go with this arrangement; his death army had expanded a lot, with the new numbers reaching ninety thousand now.

He needed to form new divisions and battalions and divide the death monsters under new leaders. That is why he had given this work to the lords; now they will arrange the army in their own way and create protocols and rules among themselves.

He knew these lords had different experiences from their last lives with themselves, so they had enough decision power to do such a task.

But he roughly knew that these arrangements were going to go according to the elements; for example, the fire lord would most likely take the death monsters proficient with the fire element under his wing, and the inequality in their numbers will be their own headache from now on.

After he gave a few more instructions to his subordinates, they left the hall, leaving him alone in the throne room to contemplate on his own.

Unknown to him, at the corner of the throne room, the space rippled lightly, and with a burst of wind, something flew straight towards Klaus.

thwack*

A dagger impaled on Klaus's shoulder, which was originally aimed at his heart. A ripple of shock passed through his heart as he felt the force behind the attack; it was meant to end him in a single attack.

The space rippled again. Another dagger flew his way, but before it could hit him, Klaus disappeared from the hall.

leaving behind a surprised Xylos under the cover of the invisibility ring. He gritted his teeth looking at the empty throne and a splash of blood.

Xylose had been following Klaus for the last five days, waiting for a moment where he was alone and unaware of his surroundings.

Even in his sleep he was being guarded by transcendents, and now it was the first time he had found Klaus unguarded, but he had failed his first attempt and let Klaus escape.

Klaus, meanwhile, appeared in the sanctuary; right now the lords were rearranging and organizing the new death army, having discussions with each other.

As soon as Klaus appeared before them, the five lords who served under him reacted instantly. The connection they shared with their master allowed them to sense not only his arrival but also the fact that his body had been injured.

Their expressions darkened, and without hesitation they rushed towards him with impossible speeds and stood at his side in less than a heartbeat.

Necrolord, the most outspoken and the most fierce when it came to protecting Klaus, raised his voice first. His words thundered across the air like a command.

"Who dares harm the Lord? Who has become so arrogant that they believe they can strike at him? Has the world truly lost its fear of death? Whoever dared such an act has already signed their own end. They should begin to count the days of their life on one hand, because their time is short."

The other lords were no less enraged. Their power began to surge uncontrollably, spreading across the small realm. If not restrained, their combined anger could have shaken the surroundings into ruin.

Klaus raised his hand, his expression steady and his voice calm, but the authority behind it made them stop immediately.

"Calm yourselves," he ordered.

The Lords fell silent, though their eyes still burned with rage. They watched as Klaus extended his hand and revealed the weapon that had wounded him.

It was a dagger, simple in shape yet carrying a dangerous aura.

The Lords immediately recognized that the weapon was unusual. Their gazes sharpened as they studied the material, the markings, and the faint residue that clung to the blade.

Necrolord, who had studied countless histories, artifacts, and materials about Starland second only to Klaus himself, recognized it instantly.

"This is not an ordinary dagger. It is an ivory dagger. The ivory has been taken from the horn of a Minotaur leader.

That creature is no simple beast; it is classified as a pseudo-transcendent monster. Its strength exceeds the limits of mortal ranks, and its materials are treasured for their durability and ability to conduct elemental mana for a long time."

The words made the other lords stiffen. They understood what such a dagger meant.

Klaus gave a slight nod, acknowledging Necrolord's observation. He then spoke clearly, explaining the situation further so that none of them would misunderstand.

"My body was struck with a poison delivered through this dagger. It was not a common poison. It was one of the iron-ranked, organ-melting poisons.

Such a poison is extremely rare, because it belongs to a level beyond the first rank of mortal toxins."

The Lords' fists clenched. They understood that even a transcendent caught unprepared could have fallen victim to such a poison.

Klaus continued without pause. "However, because of my Poison Body skill, as well as countless high-ranked antidotes and neutralizing potions, I was able to counter it before it caused any lasting damage. The poison has been purged from me completely."

Though relieved at his survival, the Lords' anger did not fade. Instead, it deepened. They understood now that the attacker had been extremely prepared. To acquire such a weapon, to coat it in such a poison, and to remain hidden until the strike—this was no ordinary assassin.

Necrolord leaned closer, his eyes locked onto the dagger in Klaus's hand. He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.

"The Minotaur leader is not a beast that exists in human lands. That monster can only be found deep within the demon territories.

Which means this dagger could only have come from a demon. And not just any demon. The assassin wielding it must have been highly placed and heavily supported.

For them to carry an iron-ranked poison on top of such a weapon, it is clear that this was no rogue act."

The implications were grave.

Klaus's eyes grew sharper as he spoke next.

"More than that, the assassin possessed either a technique or an artifact that made him invisible even to transcendent senses. That means they were inside the room long before you five entered, and yet none of you noticed. That level of concealment cannot be underestimated."

The Necrolord nodded heavily. "My Lord, that means the perpetrator must be an influential figure among the demons. I remember clearly that during the interrogation of elven spies, some had confessed that the human empires had secretly made contact with the demons.

If one of those dealings has borne fruit, then the demons may already have allies within our enemies' courts."

Klaus's expression grew colder with each word. His voice lowered, carrying a sharp edge.

"Yes. And if we consider which of the demon lords holds the deepest hatred for me, then the list narrows quickly. The one with the strongest animosity toward me is Kaziraik.

Only a few months ago I personally repelled his army from Riverdale's borders. He tasted defeat at my hands and would not forget that humiliation. This dagger, this poison, and this assassination attempt all point toward him."

His eyes narrowed, and a dangerous glint passed through them like a blade about to cut. His killing intent spread enough for even his lords to feel it.

"Kaziraik dares to poke his nose into this now; he should be ready for the consequences."