Chapter 468: First Speech

Walking out of his carriage, Damian immediately realized that the royal procession had been positioned at one of the less congested sections of the city square. The carriages had stopped behind several layers of guards, leaving enough open space for the royal entourage to disembark without being swallowed by the crowd. Even then, the noise struck him the moment his foot touched the ground.

A roar exploded across the square.

Thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of voices erupted at once. Some people cheered loudly, others cried as they stretched their hands toward him, while several shouted over one another in the desperate hope that their voices would somehow reach the prince.

Since the night of the rebellion, this was the first time so many people had seen Damian in person. To some, he was their new ruler. To others, he was the man who had destroyed the rebellion and brought down two of the most powerful officials in Velmora. For many, he was still an unknown figure whose future actions would determine whether he became another Lin Qui or something far worse.

Several dozen guards stood between the royal procession and the crowd, their hands resting close to their weapons as they carefully watched the restless mass before them. The people were emotional, and emotional crowds were always unpredictable. Damian’s relaxed gaze moved across them without urgency, taking in the countless faces pressed together behind the guards. He could hear their desires more clearly than their individual words. Hope. Fear. Anger. Curiosity. Relief. Hatred. Every emotion flowed toward him in waves, creating a chaotic pressure that lingered around the square.

His attention eventually shifted toward the execution platform.

Six demons dressed in ragged clothing were forced to kneel at its center. Their necks, wrists and ankles were bound with chains that pulsed with divine energy, the restraints coiling around their bodies and preventing even the slightest attempt at resistance. Golden cracks covered their skin where the chains had remained in contact for too long. Some of the prisoners had stopped struggling completely, their bodies weakened by prolonged exposure to divine power, while others kept their heads lowered as though they were afraid to look toward the enormous crowd gathered to witness their fate.

Several guards stood around the prisoners with their weapons drawn. Near them stood the executioner, a tall winged demon wearing a fox mask that concealed his identity. He held an unnaturally large crescent blade in both hands, its edge reflecting the sunlight as he moved around the kneeling demigods with deliberate patience. The weapon was large enough that an ordinary soldier would have struggled to lift it, yet the executioner handled it as though it weighed nothing. He appeared ready to strike at any moment, and the prisoners knew it.

"Sire, this way." William gestured toward an elevated platform that had clearly been constructed specifically for the event.

At the center of the platform stood a large fox themed throne similar to the one Damian had used in the royal court. Several smaller thrones had been arranged behind and beside it for his entourage, creating a clear distinction between the prince and everyone accompanying him. Damian nodded and followed William toward the stairs, his wives, guards, ministers and officials trailing behind him.

The crowd became even louder when he stepped onto the platform, but Damian ignored them as he reached his throne and settled into it without ceremony. His wives and concubines took the closest seats around him, while the ministers and officials occupied positions farther away.

Only William and Kor remained standing beside him.

Kor slowly raised one hand.

The reaction was immediate.

The guards positioned around the square began signaling one another, and the crowd gradually fell silent. It took several seconds for the thousands of voices to die down completely, but eventually the city square settled into an uneasy quiet. Even the people who had been shouting moments earlier now stared toward the elevated platform.

William leaned slightly toward Damian from the side.

"Sire, this is the time to address your people."

Damian nodded briefly while still holding the handfan over the lower half of his face. His eyes remained fixed on the crowd, but instead of immediately rising, he allowed his gaze to drift toward the surrounding buildings and streets.

"But first, I’m curious. Since the Order of Demons has made it clear they want my head, do you think they will make a move today?"

William frowned at the question, and the faces of several people sitting nearby immediately changed. Some of the weaker officials instinctively glanced toward the crowd and surrounding rooftops. If the Order of Demons decided to attack, the elevated platform would be their most obvious target, and everyone seated on it would be caught in the center of the conflict.

"I doubt that will be the case, Sire."

It was Mary who answered.

Damian turned slightly and looked over his shoulder. Whenever Mary spoke about politics or strategy, he always found himself listening carefully. She had repeatedly proven that beneath her gentle personality was an exceptionally sharp mind, and her relevance within his growing inner circle had become impossible to ignore.

"Why do you think so?" Damian asked.

Mary straightened slightly in her seat. "Well, if I were the leader of the Order, I would wait until you executed the demigods and civilians currently in your possession. Only then would I take advantage of the people’s resentment and use it to influence the eighty four legions previously loyal to the former Minister of War and Grand Chancellor. I would use those soldiers as the foundation for the main attack. After all, more than one hundred and twenty thousand armed soldiers are worth far more than six measly demigods."

The platform fell quiet.

Damian’s eyes briefly showed emotion, but only for a fraction of a second. The ministers and officials slowly turned toward Mary, several of them studying her with surprise. They had known Lord Talos’s daughter as an intelligent woman, but hearing her calmly outline a possible strategy for overthrowing the prince reminded them why the Talos family had remained politically relevant for so long.

Damian slowly nodded.

He rose from his throne and turned toward the direction where Lord Talos was seated.

"Lord Talos, I must thank you for raising an excellent daughter. Her contribution since our union has been nothing less than spectacular."

A silent uproar spread across the platform as several ministers exchanged looks. Damian had praised his wives before, but this was the first time he had publicly acknowledged Mary’s contribution in such a direct manner.

Lord Talos’s chest visibly swelled with pride. He calmly rose from his seat and bowed.

"I was only carrying out my duty to Your Majesty."

Damian smiled before turning away from him and stepping toward the edge of the platform where the entire crowd could see him clearly.

The city square became completely silent.

Damian allowed his gaze to move through the people one face at a time. Those who had been bold enough to continue cheering immediately quieted when his eyes passed over them. Others shivered without understanding why. The stench of mixed desire coming from the crowd was almost overwhelming. There was so much emotion directed toward him that it was difficult to separate one person’s intentions from another’s.

But that was about to change.

Damian slowly lowered the handfan, revealing his full face to the people.

"After a year of struggle and conflict, I returned to Velmora expecting to be welcomed by supporters and allies. I came here believing that this was the place where the people are mine and I am theirs. However, all I have been forced to endure in the past year has been nothing short of treachery, betrayal and insubordination from the ministers supposed to serve me, the army meant to protect me and the people I’m supposed to protect."

The crowd stared at him attentively. Even the ministers and officials instinctively leaned forward. This was Damian’s first public address to the people of Velmora, and every word he spoke would spread throughout the realm within days.

Damian paused as though genuinely considering his next words.

"I spent several nights wondering who is to blame for all of this. Is it my predecessor who failed to place trustworthy people in the right positions?"

He allowed the question to hang over the square for several seconds before shaking his head.

"Of course not. As far as I have been told, Lin Qui made this realm a paradise for demons. I cannot blame him for what a few greedy ministers did after his unfortunate and untimely demise."

A murmur moved through the crowd before several people began nodding. Of all the rulers Velmora had known, Lin Qui remained the most beloved. He had been a human who had ruled demons without treating them as lesser beings, and under his reign, Velmora had flourished.

Damian continued after allowing them to absorb his words.

"Or should I blame the people who were left without a leader for eleven years and deceived by a few bad eggs?"

He paused again.

"Of course not. If the people had a God to look up to, they would not have been so easily deceived."

This time the nodding became more energetic. Several people began cheering loudly, their voices quickly spreading through the square.

"Or should I blame the soldiers who were simply following the orders of their greedy superiors?"

"Of course not!" The crowd shouted before he could finish.

The reaction was so loud that several people on the platform stared at Damian in shock. Only his wives and William, who had already been informed of his broader intentions, understood where he was taking the speech.

Damian’s expression remained calm.

"After sleeping over the current problems of this realm, I have come to the conclusion that the ones to blame are none other than the ministers who failed to stop and curb this evil before it had taken root."

"Yesssss!" The crowd roared.

"I have decided to blame the generals who misled their soldiers and the people and deceived them into bearing arms against their God."

"Yesssss!" The response was even louder.

The atmosphere shifted completely.

People who had arrived expecting an execution were now staring at Damian as though they had finally understood him. The fear that had surrounded the square earlier was being swallowed by relief.

"And for that reason, I have decided to show mercy to all those who have seen the light and are willing to prove their loyalty to this God by sharing all they know about this heretic cult and taking an oath of allegiance. To them, I show mercy because they deserve mercy."

The entire city square exploded.

The reaction was almost violent in its intensity. Thousands of people began cheering, while cries and wails rose from those who had spent days believing their loved ones would never return. Several people fell to their knees, bowing deeply toward the platform as they shouted their gratitude toward their merciful God. The resentment that had been quietly growing within the crowd was suddenly drowned beneath relief and gratitude.

Damian stood at the edge of the platform with an indifferent expression, but behind that calm face, a sinister smile slowly formed in his heart.

The hatred directed toward him was being overwhelmed.

The desires of ordinary people became clearer as their fear transformed into gratitude, and with the chaotic emotions separating, Damian could finally identify the sources of malice that didn’t disappear.

His eyes slowly moved through the crowd.

Then he noticed them.

Several figures stood among the people with cloaks pulled over their heads, concealing their identities. Unlike the others, their emotions hadn’t changed. Their hostility remained. Some had even begun slowly moving away from the crowd as though they had realized the event was no longer going according to their expectations.

Damian didn’t move.

’Kor, take note of these people and bring them to me discreetly.’

His voice entered Kor’s mind.

Kor’s gaze immediately shifted toward the crowd. At first, he didn’t understand what Damian had noticed. Then he began seeing the figures as well. Several cloaked individuals were positioned in different parts of the square, and some of them were already attempting to leave.

’Leave it to me, Your Majesty,’ Kor responded through telepathy.

Without drawing attention to himself, Kor slowly stepped away from the platform and disappeared behind the guards. Damian watched him leave from the corner of his eye before returning his attention to the roaring crowd.

The Order of Demons had expected an execution. Instead, Damian had just handed them a problem.

And this was only the beginning.