"Patriarch!" one of the elders called out Daku King. "We cannot endure this any longer. Send word to Kent. Order him to surrender to the Emperor before we all perish!"
Just as the patriarch opened his mouth to speak, a deep, commanding voice echoed through the hall, silencing every complaint.
"Enough!"
The heavy wooden doors creaked open, and from the shadows emerged the Old Patriarch—Grand Elder Xian King. His back was slightly bent with age, but his eyes blazed with a sharpness that made even the strongest warriors avert their gaze.
Draped in a dark robe embroidered with the golden insignia of the King family, he stepped forward, his cane tapping against the stone floor with an air of finality.
A hush fell over the room as everyone turned toward him.
"So, this is what my descendants have become? A pack of whining cowards?" Xian King's voice was like thunder, filled with disappointment and authority.
