Chapter 104: Seal of Life
"Etham, distribute the oath!"
Rios slightly turned his head and gave the order.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Etham bowed slightly and gestured to the royal guards.
The royal guards immediately moved out and began distributing numerous sheets of paper to the Elves.
Each person received a single sheet, and when they opened it, everyone was shocked by how harsh the oath was.
The oath demanded absolute loyalty to Rios...
There could be no betrayal, nor assistance in any act of betrayal. If they learned of a traitor, they had to report them immediately.
Their absolute loyalty could belong only to Rios and to no one else.
Along with many other similar conditions.
The oath was indeed harsh.
But it guaranteed Rios that they would never betray him, while also guaranteeing the Elves that they would become Rios’s closest followers.
As long as they didn’t violate its conditions, they were completely free to live their lives however they wished.
Rios would never allow betrayal to exist within his kingdom.
Nor would he allow his followers to lose their free will.
Rios looked over them, and after confirming that everyone was ready to recite the oath...
"I’m about to activate one of my techniques. The moment it’s activated, you’ll begin reciting the oath.
But let me warn you first...
Any attempt to tamper with the wording of the oath will result in catastrophic consequences.
So I advise you to recite it properly and not try to alter anything or test your luck...
Because I’ll notice everything immediately."
Rios’s voice instantly echoed across the square.
After confirming that everyone was ready, he spoke.
"Abyss Tomb... Activate!"
A suffocating black mist instantly spread out, enveloping the entire square.
Every Elf was immediately overwhelmed with fear.
"Begin reciting the oath!"
Rios’s cold voice snapped them out of their daze.
They swallowed nervously and began reciting the oath.
Rios observed them carefully.
He noticed that a small number of them had accidentally misread a few words of the oath, so he immediately warned them through communication using the surrounding plants.
Then he noticed that a small group had intentionally altered several of the oath’s conditions, believing Rios wouldn’t notice.
Rios smiled inwardly in ridicule and simply waited until everyone finished.
Five minutes later...
Everyone had finally completed the oath.
Beside every Elf, a gray gravestone emerged from the ground.
From each gravestone, a white spiritual thread extended toward the forehead of its corresponding Elf.
The Elves were instantly terrified, and the children burst into tears.
Yet no one could move.
The spiritual threads entered each person’s forehead, extracted a tiny white object, then withdrew back into the gravestones.
The same scene occurred for every Elf...
Except for those who had tampered with the oath.
When those people witnessed what had happened, a cold chill spread throughout their entire bodies.
They immediately realized they were in serious trouble.
"You may follow me now."
Rios gestured to everyone and headed directly toward the royal garden.
As he turned around and walked toward the royal garden, he activated one of the techniques of the cosmic law of life on those who had tampered with the oath.
Seal of Life!
Everyone followed behind Rios.
Under the guidance of the royal guards, they were organized into orderly rows.
But those who had altered the oath remained rooted to the spot, completely unable to move even a single inch.
Their eyes trembled with overwhelming terror.
They wanted to cry.
They wanted to scream.
They wanted to kill themselves.
But Rios had already stopped them before they could do anything.
The royal guards approached them, restrained them, and escorted them to specially prepared prison cells until Rios had time to deal with them personally.
As for the possibility of them escaping or the royal guards making a mistake...
That was impossible.
Because Rios had already made every single royal guard swear absolute loyalty to him.
In the royal garden, one thousand people stood behind Rios.
They were the first group whose powers would be awakened among all the Elves.
Everyone else remained outside, waiting for their turn.
Hooo...
Rios stepped forward and stopped before the enormous area where the white pieces had been arranged.
He quietly let out a breath.
Rios raised both hands to chest level and looked at them for a moment.
Then he clenched his fists and thrust both hands forward.
He poured all of his energy into every one of the white pieces.
Just as described in the scroll, and by following its instructions precisely...
Rios activated the arrays.
The white pieces greedily devoured his energy, activating the first array.
However, the second array wasn’t satisfied with that alone.
Rios took out ten thousand Prime and threw them into the center of the array.
After absorbing enough energy, crimson energy surged into the air.
The first array activated first, manifesting a gigantic nine-petaled red lotus that covered an enormous area capable of accommodating ten thousand people.
Then the second array activated.
Unlike the first array, which formed a nine-petaled lotus...
The second array was arranged into four concentric circles.
Everyone was left utterly astonished by the sight.
Aside from the protective array outside the city’s walls, it was extremely rare for them to see any other array.
Some of them had never seen another array in their entire lives.
Yet even all of those arrays combined were nothing compared to the magnificence of the one before them now...
Even the protective array outside the walls was no exception.
When Rios saw that the arrays had been fully completed, he smiled in satisfaction despite his exhaustion.
He turned toward the thousand Elf children standing behind him and nodded with a gentle smile.
"You may enter now.
Don’t worry—you don’t need to do anything.
Just stand in the center, and the array will take care of the rest."
Rios pointed toward the array and smiled warmly at the children.
Under the guidance of the royal guards, the children were led into the array one after another and arranged into rows beside and behind one another.
The Elf children, who had barely reached the age of ten, looked at each other nervously.
When Rios saw that they were ready, he nodded in satisfaction and muttered inwardly,
Now then... let’s find out what’s wrong with you Elves.
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[Seal of Life (Heaven)]
(Skill Description: By using the Life Bloodline, you can control and seal the surrounding life energy.)