Kingdom Building Game: Starting Out With A Million Upgrade Points!

Darius gasped, his eyes widening in shock as the blade impaled him straight through the abdomen. Blood spurted from his mouth, splattering onto Garik's chestplate in crimson. His wolf howled in distress, skidding to a halt as its rider spasmed.

Garik exhaled. "But to take on one far more experienced is folly. You had potential, but you were ultimately a fool."

With a brutal yank, he pulled his greatsword free, the sickening sound of tearing flesh echoing in the cold. Darius slumped forward, barely clinging to life.

Adrian's heart stopped for a moment.

"Darius!"

His son turned toward him, his mouth moving as if to say something—perhaps a final word, a last plea—

But Garik swung.

Darius's head parted from his shoulders in one clean motion. His body remained upright for a brief moment before toppling from his wolf, crumpling onto the snow like a broken doll.

Evelyne screamed in horror.

Lysara sobbed into her mother's chest, her tiny fingers clutching Evelyne's cloak in fear.

Lionel watched in stunned silence. His stomach churned, bile rising in his throat. He had been raised to follow orders, to uphold the laws of the empire, but watching Garik cut down a mother's child in front of her eyes… it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Garik turned to him, his expression cold, indifferent.

"The wife."

Lionel tensed. "…What?"

"Kill her."

Adrian's breath caught in his throat as he turned to his wife and daughters.

"RUN!" he roared.

The wolves reacted instantly, their powerful legs launching them forward into the gorge. Snow and ice kicked up in their wake as Evelyne's mount surged ahead, carrying her and the youngest, Lysara, clutched tightly in her arms. Beside her, Elyse's wolf bounded through the frozen pass, her white-knuckled grip on the reins betraying her terror.

"Stop them," Garik ordered, his voice calm, almost bored.

Lionel hesitated. His hands trembled as he scanned the battlefield. Fallen knights and shattered weapons littered the frozen ground. His fingers closed around a discarded spear.

'Do I really have to do this?'

Garik gave him a sidelong glance. "Now, boy!"

Grinding his teeth, Lionel hefted the spear and hurled it. The weapon whistled through the air, striking Elyse's wolf in the hind leg. The beast yelped, stumbling mid-stride before crashing into the snow. Elyse tumbled from the saddle, rolling violently across the ice before coming to a dazed stop.

"Elyse!" Evelyne screamed, her wolf still galloping forward.

'That's enough… I should just… let them go. But then I would be going against orders.'

Lionel thought.

He had struggled… given so much to be an imperial knight, he couldn't stop now.

He wasn't done.

His eyes locked onto another fallen spear nearby. He grabbed it, spun it once in his grip, then launched it.

The spear struck true… again.

Evelyne's wolf let out a strangled cry as the spearhead embedded deep into its side. The beast's legs buckled beneath it. Evelyne clutched Lysara tightly as they were hurled from the saddle. The impact sent them sprawling across the snow.

"Mother!" Elyse cried, scrambling to her feet.

Lionel moved before he could think—closing the distance in a dash, hoping that perhaps if he ended it quickly it would be less real, boots crunching over snow and ice. Evelyne gasped in pain, crawling backward, her arms wrapped protectively around Lysara.

"Stay back," she hissed, her voice shaking.

Lysara whimpered, clinging to her mother's dress, her tiny body trembling with fear.

Elyse's footsteps pounded through the snow as she rushed toward them. "No! Get away from her!"

'No… I can't stop now.' He thought.

Lionel barely spared her a glance before striking her aside with the haft of his sword. The blow sent her sprawling once more, her cry of pain lost in the howling wind.

Evelyne's breath hitched. She scrambled to her feet, putting herself between Lionel and her daughters. "Please," she choked out. "She's just a child… they both are… their lives would be hard without their mother."

Lionel hesitated.

His grip on his sword tightened. 'This… this isn't right…'

Garik's voice echoed as he approached.

"Do it, boy!"

Lionel fingers clenched around the hilt of his blade, he gritted his teeth.

Evelyne's lip trembled, her once-noble posture breaking as she fell to her knees in the bloodstained snow.

"Please, you don't have to do this sir knight… you don't have to be… a monster…"

Lionel swallowed hard. His heart pounded in his ears.

'Turn around Lionel. Walk away. Do something other than this.'

"What are you waiting for? Do it, NOW!"

Lionel tightened his trip on the hilt of his sword.

Then—

He pulled, then thrusted.

The steel plunged through her flesh.

Evelyne gasped, her eyes widening. "Seems I expected too much…nyou really are just a monster after all…"

Lionel barely heard her as she let out a choked sob as his blade sank into her chest, warm blood soaking her clothing.

For a moment, she swayed—then her body went still.

Lysara let out a piercing wail.

Elyse screamed, lunging for her mother, but Garik's grip found her wrist first, yanking her back effortlessly.

"Take the girls," he said calmly. "We're done here."

Lionel barely heard him. He could only stare as Evelyne's body crumpled in the snow, her lifeless eyes still fixed on him.

The monster she had called him.

Elyse thrashed in Garik's grip, her fingers clawing at his gauntlet as she fought to break free. "Let me go! Let me go, you bastard!" she screamed.

Garik barely spared her a glance. With a flick of his wrist, he yanked her closer, forcing her to stumble against his chestplate. "Enough." His voice was calm, detached, as if the girl's struggle was nothing more than an inconvenience.

Lysara, still clutching her mother's lifeless body, sobbed into Evelyne's bloodstained cloak. Her tiny frame trembled as she whimpered.

"Mama… mama, wake up…" Her small hands shook Evelyne's shoulders, desperately trying to will her back to life.

Lionel turned away. He couldn't bear to look at the child's grief, nor could he stomach the sight of Evelyne's glassy, unblinking eyes.

His fingers tightened around his sword hilt, knuckles turning white. He had obeyed.

He had done what was expected of him.

Then why did his stomach churn as if he had swallowed poison?