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"That is what sets you apart from him, Sir Brigon." A minotaur with bluish fur chimed in. "Ritor doesn\'t really care about his subordinates. How could he forget you who have fought alongside him in various battles?"

Brigon snorted. "I will show him how great I am, how great the potential of our army is! I will make him regret leaving us!"

"Attention to all the minotaurs who will be participating in the selection of the new general. Please gather in the western field, according to our provided information."

Brigon and his friend looked up, listening to the magically propagated announcement.

"Selections will start soon. Anyone late will be disqualified."

"Good luck, Sir Brigon." The blue minotaur tapped Brigon on the shoulder. "Unfortunately, your other supporters and I are not allowed to watch the selection."

With a determined look, Brigon got up from the chair and walked towards his room\'s exit.

***

[Vorn\'s POV]

From a tall stone tower, I looked out over the two hundred or so minotaurs gathered in the large square.

"Come on! Keep three feet away from each other!" Using a voice that was also amplified with magic, Szur gave orders to the horned creatures. "Or we can just cancel this!"

After confirming that those minotaurs had kept their distance from each other, the mare general nodded to me.

I lightly kissed Xenora\'s lips, then stood up and stepped forward.

"I know you guys can\'t wait to fight and can\'t stand long speeches. So, I will speed this up." I started to speak, then looked at my underlings. "As we know, you are minotaurs who have volunteered to take part in this selection, so that means you are ready for the consequences you will get. You all know death is a real risk in this."

To be honest, I was a bit surprised that only so many minotaurs participated in this event. At first, I thought the horned creatures would want to join because of their high ego. But it turns out that many are supporting their own comrades instead.

"The arena is this field and the forests around us. The total distance is 10 square miles." I explained. "At the edge of the arena is a magic barrier that will electrocute you. You won\'t be able to get past it. So, this is the time for anyone who wants to step down."

After waiting a while and not finding any minotaurs withdrawing, I continued. "The rules are simple. Defeat your opponents with bare hands without weapons. Make them unconscious or even kill them. I don\'t care! The last one standing is the general who will lead the regiment of minotaurs!"

The horned creatures already looked fierce, but some looked calm.

"So, with this, I will start the general selection." I took a short wooden stick from Szur, then hit it against a big bell near me. "Fight!!!"

The minotaurs screamed and started attacking each other, causing immeasurable chaos. Time had only passed a while, but I already saw that quite a few contestants had fallen.

I sat back in my chair and took a deep breath, feeling tremendously dizzy. Then, I drank the black potion from a large glass.

Shit. I\'m still not used to this disgusting taste.

"Szur requests permission to go downstairs, my lord." The mare general bowed to me. "Szur will monitor the situation with the police officers on the edge of the arena."

"Sure," I answered.

As soon as Szur came down the stairs, I spoke to Xenora. "Ah, even though this is your time off, I asked you to come here. I hope you\'re not angry."

Xenora continued to watch the fight unfold, not looking at me at all. "It\'s okay, my lord. I\'m just happy to be with you."

I sighed again. Actually, I want to rest because my energy feels so drained, even though I haven\'t done any strenuous physical activity for the past few days. But as the emperor, I must personally see this general\'s selection.

eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ "If you want to sleep, sleep, my lord." Xenora finally looked at me with teary eyes. "Let me oversee this. You don\'t need to worry about what will happen."

My mouth let out a bitter chuckle. "Ah, you already know too, huh?"

"Not only me but the others as well. You look weaker and rarely have intercourse with us." She touched my face, but unfortunately, I couldn\'t feel the warmth and tenderness from her. I just realized that my facial skin is getting numb.

Things are getting worse, huh?

"We don\'t know what happened to you for sure. Emily, Ayre, and Doc kept it a secret. Even so, we knew something was wrong with you. Even Ritor could have suspected the same thing, but he didn\'t say anything." Xenora seemed to be holding back her tears. "If you don\'t want to tell me what happened, it\'s okay. As long as you don\'t force yourself like this."

I looked into her eyes deeply. As I expected, they already knew that I wasn\'t fine. However, most of them choose to remain silent.

"Hey, Xenora." I sighed. "What happens if I\'m gone? What will happen to this empire? What will happen to you and the others?"

The succubus shook her head and began to shed tears. "Please, don\'t say that, my lord."

"Ah, I\'m sorry." I flashed a faint smile. "I shouldn\'t have asked like that. How silly I am."

I feel stupid for showing my weakness to her. Even though my health continues to decline, I must show toughness as a leader. If I don\'t do that, then the confidence of my followers and subordinates will go down. Things like that will affect our strength in the future.

"In that case, I will take your advice." I closed my eyes and relaxed my body. "I\'m going to rest. Wake me up when all this is over, Xenora."

"Very well, my lord," Xenora answered. "If there\'s anything you need, please tell me."

"Will do."