**'Abyssal Sovereign: The Demon's Dominion'**

Chapter 586: Chapter 585: The prince move

Hearing this, the city lord’s legs went weak, and he stumbled backward.

What?

Princess Rasel was here.

His heart pounded.

But he hadn’t done anything wrong. He hadn’t supported either side in the upcoming war.

Surely she wasn’t angry enough to destroy his city simply because of the food?

That would be unreasonable.

"Open your barns. Give the commoners food."

Princess Rasel’s command echoed through the inner district.

The surroundings immediately fell silent.

What?

They should do what?

The nobles looked at one another in confusion.

Why should they do that?

"Am... I’m sorry, Princess Rasel, but unless you intend to use your authority to order everyone in the Mortal Realm to give away their food for free, then—"

"That is exactly what I’m saying."

Princess Rasel cut him off.

The city lord’s expression stiffened.

"I’m sorry, Princess, but we bought this food for our own use. How can we simply give it away for free? And why should we?"

Although he was afraid, he still gritted his teeth and spoke.

"So you would rather let your own people die?"

Princess Rasel’s voice became cold.

"And don’t forget—you hoarded this food. All of you did. That’s one of the reasons the food shortage became so severe."..., Her face stern as she spoke.

"I’m sorry, but there wouldn’t be a food shortage if you hadn’t declared war in the first place..."

The city lord’s voice became quieter and quieter until his final words were almost inaudible.

"You..."

Princess Rasel’s expression darkened.

But before she could argue, Leon stepped forward.

"It’s alright, Saintess."

Prince Leon smiled.

The city lord’s eyes widened.

Right.

He had almost forgotten.

Apart from her noble status as a princess, she was also a Saintess of the Molak Family.

Who in the Mortal Realm didn’t know how terrifying the Molak Family was?

Only a few months ago, they had nearly wiped out the Black Hawk Organization after it attacked them.

Their Ancestor had even severely injured the leader of the Black Hawk Organization.

According to the reports, that leader was a Quasi-Rank 1 expert.

A legendary existence standing half a step into the Rank 1 Realm.

The city lord’s fear intensified.

"How about this?"

Leon spoke calmly.

"Sell the food to the people at a reduced price."

"You’ll still make money, while the commoners will have enough food to survive."

The city lord was already preparing to argue.

After all, they had paid an enormous price to hoard this much food.

Food of this quality had cost them at least three times the original market price when they purchased it.

Selling it at a reduced price now would result in a massive loss.

Why should they do that?

And why should Princess Rasel force them?

The commoners could only blame themselves for failing to stockpile food.

What did that have to do with them?

"Listen."

Leon continued.

"If you agree to this, the Ynvashi Kingdom will acknowledge your efforts."

"You will also be promoted by one rank in nobility "

"And regarding the forces that supported the princes, you will receive first priority when their territories and resources are divided after their destruction."

The city lord’s eyes widened.

So did the eyes of the surrounding nobles.

Even the elders from the various allied forces following Leon were stunned.

Wasn’t this too much?

But then they understood.

Prince Leon was using their greatest weakness against them.

Greed.

Of course they would agree.

The elders were all experienced schemers.

The forces supporting the princes ranged from enormous organizations to small kingdoms and families.

Even if some of the weaker forces were given to the city lord, those forces still possessed considerable resources.

The city lord finally snapped out of his surprise.

The rewards sounded incredible.

But there was still a problem.

What if Leon went back on his word?

"Prince, I..."

Suddenly, something was tossed toward him.

The city lord caught it instinctively.

He looked down.

His eyes widened.

It was only a coin.

But he recognized it immediately.

The Royal Family’s Order.

With this, the Royal Family would be obligated to honor their agreement after the war.

There would be no going back on their word.

Yet there was still one thing troubling him.

"What... what if you lose?"

The city lord swallowed nervously.

"I’m sorry, Prince Leon. Princess Rasel. Elders."

"But my family is on the line here."

Princess Rasel’s teeth clenched.

What about the people you allowed to die outside?

Didn’t they have families too?

But because of her upbringing and bloodline, she remained calm.

The elders, however, felt slightly insulted.

Did this man really think they would lose?

How dare he question their strength?

Only Leon smiled.

"You simply have to believe us."

"If we win, you’ll receive immense benefits."

"But if we lose..."

Leon paused.

"And let’s say the princes win."

"Do you really think you won’t be punished for hoarding food?"

The city lord’s expression changed.

Princess Rasel continued coldly.

"Yes, you hoarded it for your own survival."

"But you also contributed to the destruction of the Mortal Realm’s economy."

The city lord trembled.

He looked down at the Royal Family’s Order in his hand.

She was right.

What they had done was deplorable.

And if the princes won, there was a good chance they would be punished for it.

This might truly be their only way out.

After a long moment...

The city lord nodded.

"And... today’s meal will have to be free."

Princess Rasel added the final condition.

The city lord gritted his teeth.

He glanced at Prince Leon.

When he saw Leon nod, the last bit of hope in his eyes disappeared.

"You heard them," the city lord said helplessly. "Open the barns and distribute food to everyone for today."

The guards and nobles immediately got to work.

And just like that...

A solution had been found.

From the back of the group, Keith’s eyes widened.

His hands slowly clenched into fists.

Was this it?

He couldn’t help but wonder.

Had Leon been able to solve the problem simply because of his position?

Because he could offer the city lord and the nobles benefits—benefits valuable enough to make them willing to release their food?

Or was it simply because Prince Leon had used the resources available to him to solve the problem?

If Keith had been in the same position...

Could he have thought of such a solution?

Could he have done the same thing?

Keith remained silent.

Meanwhile, the moment the barns were opened, the starving citizens rushed toward the food.

The hollow-eyed people devoured it like starving wolves, desperately stuffing themselves as though afraid the food would disappear at any moment.

For the first time in days...

Perhaps weeks...

They were able to eat without fighting for every bite.

Prince Leon and Princess Rasel eventually returned to the camp.

Meanwhile, disciples were dispatched across the Mortal Realm.

The royal decree—a document rarely issued by the Ynvashi royal family—was delivered to various cities and kingdoms.

And just like the city lord...

They agreed.

The nobles had little reason to refuse.

The benefits offered by Prince Leon were simply too valuable.

And with their agreement came another thing.

Trust.

They began believing that Prince Leon truly had a chance of winning the war.

---

Meanwhile...

The Ancestor and Riua watched everything unfold.

Both of them nodded in approval when they saw how Prince Leon had resolved the crisis.

Even they hadn’t thought of such a solution.

Their perception of Prince Leon had changed.

First, he had exposed the mysterious organization’s scheme.

Then there was the fact that he had pretended to be a useless prince for years.

Everything about him pointed toward one conclusion.

Prince Leon was far from simple.

And now...

He had demonstrated not only his strength, but his intelligence.

The Ancestor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

This prince was becoming increasingly difficult to understand.

---

"Kill..."

Meanwhile...

Keith’s killing intent suddenly surged and its target was Leon.

Was it jealousy?, Envy?, Hatred?

Even Ronan himself didn’t know but there was one thing he was certain of.

Leon had become someone he wanted to kill.

He didn’t know why nor when it had started but he only knew one thing.

Leon was someone he had to kill.

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