Lord of the Sky City

Chapter 828: Chapter 810 Execution!

Since being captured in Thunderhawk City, Denise and the others were thrown into the city’s prison alongside Kashu, and even the elders of The Three Great Alliances received no special treatment—they were all locked up together.

Of course, Zuluo, who had been captured earlier, was already here before them.

Rocky had considered whether these dignitaries should have been confined in a better place—throwing them directly into the prison seemed outrageous. However, Thunderhawk City was far from being a well-established grand city, and it was currently undergoing expansion, leaving the entire city in chaos. The lack of spare accommodations meant they couldn’t put these people in the City Lord’s Mansion, so Rocky ultimately opted to throw them into the prison to let them fully experience its hardships.

But now, with the Sky Alliance and the Kafka Empire having successively reached agreements with Athena, Gandalf and Ludwig, who had previously been imprisoned, had already been released. One returned directly to the Kafka Empire, while the other was escorted to the City Lord’s Mansion.

Thus, when Athena arrived at the dungeon, the only ones left inside were Denise, Kashu, Zuluo, and the chief Great Elder of the Magic Energy Research Institute, Simonuo.

Among the four, Simonuo stood out as befitting of a Great Elder. Even when confined to the cell, he remained as calm as a mountain, continuing to take notes without pause, as if his research did not stop, even in prison.

Denise and Kashu, however, remained relatively composed, sitting inside the cell expressionlessly, as though awaiting the outcome of yet another round of negotiations. So, when they saw Athena unexpectedly appear in the dungeon, both furrowed their brows—had there been any progress in the negotiations?

Being stuck in the prison, without any means to communicate with their respective representatives, they were clueless about what was happening outside or how the negotiations were proceeding. They knew nothing about whether Athena agreed to their new demands or not, and it was impossible for them not to feel a flicker of anxiety in their hearts.

As for Zuluo, he had been confined there longer than anyone else, nearly half a year now, yet he hadn’t become any less unruly—especially not now.

Rick hadn’t sent anyone to negotiate over Zuluo all this time because he firmly believed he could conquer Rocky. If that were the case, negotiations would be entirely unnecessary. Zuluo wasn’t concerned either; he had deliberately orchestrated his capture to fuel the conflict between Rocky and Heavenly Ancestor Church. He remained entirely convinced that it wouldn’t take long before he’d be freed—and freed because Rocky would be forced to beg him to leave. After all, in his eyes, Rocky couldn’t possibly endure the wrath of Heavenly Ancestor Church.

It must be said, the utmost trust in Heavenly Ancestor Church didn’t come from its followers but from Zuluo himself. Even after such a lengthy time in prison, he retained unwavering confidence. To be fair, though, Zuluo had no idea the world outside had undergone a seismic transformation.

It was for this reason that when he learned negotiations had finally begun, he instinctively assumed Rocky was losing ground. To him, capturing this many notable figures was obviously a desperate act born of cautious restraint.

So when he saw Athena finally appear, on one hand, he naturally assumed she was there to release him. On the other hand, he sneered venomously and cursed, “Athena! You damned whore! I know you’re the one behind all of this!”

“Once I’m out, I swear I won’t let you off! And Rocky, he won’t be living much longer either!”

He charged at the cell door, roaring ferociously at Athena who stood outside. Athena, however, was long used to his outbursts. Although she rarely visited Zuluo herself, she had heard that he had been this brash and animated throughout his six-month confinement.

“Young Master Zuluo, I’ve come today to inform you that the negotiations have concluded.”

“Then release me now! What are you waiting for?!”

Upon hearing that the negotiations had ended, Zuluo immediately grew more arrogant. Even Denise and Kashu stepped toward the cell door. However, their faces carried no signs of joy; instead, their brows were deeply furrowed. Based on their deductions, the negotiations shouldn’t have concluded so quickly—it should have dragged on longer before showing any progress.

Their guesses were spot on. Moments later, Athena, standing outside the cell, smiled faintly and said to Zuluo, “Young Master Zuluo, the negotiations with your side have officially collapsed. Your father refused City Lord Rocky’s terms, so tomorrow, you will face public execution.”

After delivering the news, Athena offered Zuluo a slight smile, glanced at Denise and Kashu, and then turned to leave.

“What…?”

“Wait! Athena! Make yourself clear!”

Staring at Athena’s departing silhouette, Zuluo, who had been brash and arrogant moments ago, was utterly stunned. He rushed to call after Athena, desperate to get an explanation. Unfortunately, she never responded. Her figure quickly vanished from view in the dungeon.

Watching Athena disappear from sight, Zuluo collapsed to the ground with a thud. He hadn’t expected this outcome at all—Rocky intended to execute him? Tomorrow?! How was this possible?

“Impossible… This woman must be lying to me… She must be trying to scare me…”

Sitting on the floor, Zuluo began muttering to himself repeatedly. Though his words insisted it was all impossible, he was clearly panicking now.

Denise and Kashu shared his growing unease, as the development had also caught them entirely off guard!

Just three days ago, they had been confidently assuring representatives from their respective organizations that Rocky wouldn’t kill them. Their bold guarantees were based on the belief that Rocky’s past actions indicated he wouldn’t push matters to the extreme. A major reason for their confident stance was, in fact, Zuluo.

After all, Zuluo had been imprisoned for six months, yet Rocky hadn’t executed him. This clearly signaled that Rocky had no intention of taking things too far. Neither Denise nor Kashu believed their judgment to be inaccurate, so why was the result so drastically different?

Their assessment wasn’t wrong—especially Kashu’s evaluation of Rocky was quite accurate.

Resolute, yet lacking ruthlessness.

Kashu’s remark about Rocky hit the mark perfectly. Rocky’s decisiveness in handling matters was commendable, but his lack of cruelty was often criticized. Anyone in a position of power recognized the tangled relationship between respect and fear; often, respect through fear was achieved via bloodshed.

Rocky fell short in this regard. His leniency was beneficial to his citizens, but it was equally advantageous to his enemies—including Denise and Kashu, who were unafraid even while captive due to this very reason.

Yet Kashu overlooked one crucial detail: while Rocky might lack ruthlessness, Athena certainly did not. In fact, Rocky had entrusted Athena with full authority over the negotiations in order to compensate for his shortcomings in this area. And Athena… had played her role brilliantly.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!