SHADOW SLAVE

Chapter 3124 Meaning of Victory

What did victory mean?

To Effie, victory had always meant getting to live another day — it meant staying alive and not having to starve. Later, that also included her family, and all of humanity as well.

But these were ancient times, and there was no Nightmare Spell here. There were no Nightmares, and no Dream Realm slowly devouring the world. So what were these people fighting for?

There were numerous reasons for war, but at its most fundamental level, wars were fought over resources. That was what Morgan had said, and she would know best.

In the case of Azarax and his Steel Horde, the purpose of war was rather simple. They were here to conquer land and plunder its riches. The land itself was a resource... the people that populated it were as well, meant to be sold as slaves. Their possessions, meanwhile — gold, fabrics, artworks, and various items of luxury — would change hands and become the property of the conquerors.

That was how militant empires, and their most privileged class — the soldiers — thrived.

Azarax knew it as well, and he also knew that his empire was only as strong as its army. As the commander of the Steel Horde, he would get the largest share of the spoils, but if he wanted his soldiers to stay content and loyal, he had to share his prize.

So, for the Steel Horde, victory meant plunder.

After an adversary stronghold fell, the soldiers were given time — usually a few days — to freely take whatever they wanted. These days were often the most harrowing and heartbreaking for the defeated people, and at the end of it, the soldiers of the Steel Horde were satiated and enriched.

Even if there was no legal text postulating the rules of plunder, it was a silent law. It was a quiet agreement between Azarax and his soldiers, and he would not break it easily — or at all.

There was a process to the slaughter, as well. Not all of the soldiers would get to share in the spoils of the war equally.

The elite forces, such as the Dread Warriors, would be allowed to enter the fallen city and take their pick first. Some time later, less prestigious legions would follow, taking whatever was left. And finally, the dregs of the Steel Horde would be sent forward, hoping to find something that their betters had missed.

By the end of it all, the city would be utterly ravaged, its population slaughtered, those who survived victimized and enslaved. The larger haul would be presented to Azarax, who would take his share and distribute the rest as rewards to his champions.

It was a barbaric, but highly efficient and motivating system...

And now, Effie was forced to watch that efficiency at work.

“How does it feel, watching everything you cherish become dust?"

Azarax's voice was not malicious or mocking, just... curious.

He chuckled, then let out a sigh.

"I am asking because I don't know."

His words were ambiguous, making Effie wonder if he meant that he had never been defeated, and therefore never had to experience something like this, or if he meant that he had never cherished anything, and was unfamiliar with the feeling of loss as a result.

In any case, he was being too presumptuous.

Turning her head, Effie glanced up at the King of Kings for a few seconds. Eventually, she said evenly:

"I think you have the wrong idea about me."

Azarax raised an eyebrow.

"Do I?"

She hesitated, then nodded.

"Have you forgotten how I ended up here? I'm a mercenary. I was paid to defend this city, so I did. The things I cherish are not here."

Azarax stared at her for a bit, his smile turning a little sinister.

"Really. Well... let's put that to the test."

In the distance, the Dread Warriors entered the city gate, with other elites following. No one stopped them. There was no hail of arrows falling from the imposing wall, no devastation of thousands of Awakened Abilities unleashed at the same time. In fact, there was no movement on the wall at all. That was because the soldiers who had defended it retreated. They had only remained at the gate in the early morning to say farewell to their commander — as soon as Effie left, Kai led them toward the inner keep.

Now, the warriors of the Steel Horde were entering the city and spreading through its streets. They rushed past the burned districts, knowing that there was not much plunder there — the areas near the gate had not been affluent, to begin with.

Their true goal was the districts closer to the castle, and the castle itself. That was where true riches were... that was where the noblest people of the fallen city were supposed to be, as well.

Noble slaves were far more valuable, naturally.

If there was one peculiar thing about their advance, it was that the city was too empty — the soldiers of the Steel Horde knew that starvation, lack of water, and the plague had culled the population direly, but they were still surprised to see just how desolate the city looked.

Azarax, however, smiled. His eyes glinted with a vicious glee.

If Effie had to guess, she would say that it was because he felt his Domain expanding. The Mason was still alive, but he could not resist the Will of the King of Kings anymore — so, at Effie's request, he limited his influence to just the castle, surrendering the rest of the city to his foe.

Now that the Dread Warriors were advancing into the city unopposed, Azarax's Will was advancing, as well.

Most of them continued to move toward the castle. Some got distracted after reaching more affluent neighborhoods, breaking into abandoned homes to ransack them. The elites who were not a part of the Dread Warriors did not hope to get their hands on the treasures of the Stone Castle, so they did not even aim for it, making their way to the residential districts where the nobility had lived.

By then, the last of the soldiers of this first, most elite batch of plunderers had already entered the city. There was an ocean of the Steel Horde fighters inside the wall, moving like ants, all drunk on greed and dark desires.

Azarax frowned faintly.

“Isn't it too quiet, priestess? I would have expected to hear wails and begging by now."

Still sitting in the mud, suffering from the early symptoms of essence exhaustion, Effie let out a sigh.

“Yeah... about that..."

As she glanced ahead, her lips twisted into a faint, dark smile.

“You'll hear it soon."

At that moment, a deep, reverberating sound resounded above the killing field. Then, the titanic stone gate of the city suddenly moved...

And closed shut.