"This is the rise of a new era!" A bandit, accompanied by a group of twenty thugs sauntered into a luxurious household, kicking down the iron gates casually.

The one at the lead wore a reddish crown, one that strengthened him beyond human levels. He carried a sabre that weighed thirty kilograms, a weight that wasn't wieldable. But in his hands, it was akin to a thin wooden stick as it freely moved as he deemed fit.

Boom!

With a snort, he flailed the sabre, shredding three guards into severed pulp, roaring in excitement, "Kill all the men and capture the women. We'll have a feast tonight."

"Please, spare me." A guard shouted, clutching his severed hand as he crawled backwards in fear. He stared at the bandit as if he were a monster.

"Nope," The bandit grinned and brought down the sabre, painting the ground crimson. He looked around, watching the masters of the household huddled deep in the estate, "That's our next target."

They killed their way through the pack of guards as the bandit was unstoppable. Soon, they arrived before the main hall of the estate, one where all the people of importance had taken refuge.

Grinning with a bloodthirsty gaze, the bandit joined his hands together and lifted the sabre slowly. And then, followed by a guttural bellow, he slammed it down on the wall, cleaving it into two.

Kyaa!

The women and children within the hall screamed in fright as the men there rushed at the bandit, brandishing their swords and spears.

Clang!

Within a couple of minutes, all the men were cleaved by the bandit.

"Hehe!" One of the thugs stared at a well-developed woman while licking his lips, "Boss, she's my target."

"Wait," The bandit frowned all of a sudden, despite securing victory. He stared at the faces of everyone in the hall and said in suspicion, "None of them is from the main family. They're all from the branch families."

He approached an old lady, motioning for the thugs to tie up the rest, "Do you have something to say to me?"

"Drop dead!" The old lady spat on his face.

"If you refuse to tell the location of the main family, it doesn't matter." The bandit lifted his sabre, intending to cleave the old lady into two, "I can always ask the others."

"I'm confident in my interrogation skills"

"Stop!" A feminine shout resounded aloud as a girl appeared behind the thugs all of a sudden. She seemed around sixteen to seventeen years old, carrying an arm-length bow. Slung on her hip was a whip.

Her stature was pretty petite and she was short for her age. But, there wasn't an ounce of fear in her expression as she glared at the thugs, "Don't target the innocents, you trash. Come fight me if you dare."

Hearing her loud shout, the bandit blocked his ears in irritation, "For such a small girl, she sure has a loud voice."

"No, Lady Flonna! Please, you need to escape." The captives in the hall shouted in despair the moment they saw the girl, "You're the sole survivor of the main family."

"You need to continue our family's legacy"

"So, she's from the main family." The bandit grinned, "As long as I make her mine, this entire city would be mine through legitimacy."

"Boss, let me capture her." The perverted thug from before stepped forward, staring at the girl with a heated gaze.

"Sure," The bandit said casually, "Don't kill her."

"I know, boss" The thug had just spoken when his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Pierced halfway up to the shaft in his forehead was an arrow, too fast to even realise what had happened.

Guh!

Kaah!

Argh!

Three more thugs collapsed at the same time as the girl, Flonna tugged the bowstring. She slowly removed the drape covering her head, revealing a golden crown, one that seemed to be embedded in her head, ethereal in nature.

The moment it was revealed, a blinding light shot out from her, reaching the skies.

"Her Majesty is alive!" A commoner far away stared at the beam of light and exclaimed instinctively. He prostrated on the ground, ignoring the mud that dirtied his clothes.

Like a domino effect, everyone on the streets prostrated towards the beam of light, further reinforcing it.

Flonna nocked another arrow and aimed at the bandit, releasing it calmly, "Die!"

"No!" The bandit couldn't even react. He put up his sabre to guard against the arrow, gasping in despair when the arrow pierced through his treasured sabre like it was paper and punctured his body.

An instant later, a sonic boom erupted as the arrow had actually broken the sound barrier, the resulting vapour cone rupturing the bandit into blood mist.

The terrifying bandit was killed instantly, terrifying the thugs that lost all their will to fight.

"Guards!" Flonna shouted as a group of armed men rushed in at her command, "Execute these thugs!"

The thugs had already lost their fighting spirit and hence were slaughtered easily. With that, Flonna successfully culled the chaos and took up the throne as the city's ruler, announcing to all her citizens, "I'm your Monarch!"

The crown on her head became further reinforced when everyone in the city submitted to her rule. This was the power system introduced by the Monarch System, one where people became monarchs as long as at least one human submitted to them.

The moment they were recognised as a monarch by at least one person, a crown would form on their heads, granting them strength. This strength gain was directly proportional to the number of people that had submitted to them.

Therefore, it was a contest of numbers, with deceit and betrayal ever-present. After all, anyone could become a monarch and attain strength to destroy buildings, be impervious to blades, immune to poison, etc.

The power system was as intended by the Monarch System, but what it didn't sense was a small quirk.

Seated on her seat, Flonna ruled her city. Years passed and the semblance of power became deeply ingrained in her, especially since the fate of everyone in the city was decided by a word from her.

One certain day, Flonna was deep in meditation, staring at the screen that appeared before her.

<Ding!>

[Pay a tribute and gain a Skill]